Four Wheeler October 2017

It seemed like a great idea at the time. A bunch of my 4x4 buddies and I were having a bit of a soiree around a campfire on a farm late one night when someone suggested we should go wheeling. My better judgment was already strapped into the passenger seat, beckoning me like one of those wily Sirens of Greek mythology. Short story: I climbed into the driver seat of my K5 Blazer, pointed it to a pasture, and promptly sideswiped a big ol’ fence post. Post was fine, Blazer wasn’t. This was back in 1986 and the younger me had a lengthy excuse list as to why my K5 kissed that post. One of my excuses actually made sense, and it was that I didn’t see the post because it…

KEN.BRUBAKER@FOURWHEELER.COM 2017 PICKUP TRUCK OF THE YEAR FEEDBACK Well, for the big $$$ it [Raptor] better be! I’d still pay wayyy less and get a new 6.4L Power Wagon. ZAKKARY SWAYZE VIA FACEBOOK Was there ever any doubt? Huh? Ford trucks best on the planet! DAVID K. BROWN VIA FACEBOOK Better be for $70K-plus. SETH NUNN VIA FACEBOOK Chevy must be too much competition for all these so they didn’t include them. JEFF LONGFIELD VIA FACEBOOK Worth every penny. BOB LANEVE VIA FACEBOOK 1994 Chevrolet: the most indestructible truck on the road, hands down. JOEL BOOKHAGEN VIA FACEBOOK Love my Power Wagon! They’re right though, heavy as hell. MITCH PEDERSEN VIA FACEBOOK Why didn’t you guys just test the everyday 4x4 trucks that people actually use in everyday life for work and play? ANDREW HAWKS VIA FACEBOOK Power Wagon. No other truck comes close. JOE MCHUGH VIA FACEBOOK 2020 winner:…

EDITOR@FOURWHEELER.COM THAT’S INTERESTING → The ’17 Jeep Grand Cherokee snagged itself another title: Japan Eco-Car tax incentive vehicle. It’s a tax break for buyers, and this Jeep is only the second gas-based, American- made/brand to qualify there. The first? Come on down again, Jeep—the ’16 Cherokee Trailhawk. → Seems the automotive and aftermarket industries are taking over Silicon Valley. The newest resident is Porsche Digital, which is going to be all about digital things, as well as mobility and connectivity. → Now you can get a Nissanthemed credit card. As in, it’s a Visa that gives you points toward vehicle purchases, accessories, and services. Or, oh, hey there, also cash. → Here’s a fun idea: Whip out your Nissan credit card and go to the movies. Specifically, to the new Toyota 4D Engineering Theater at…

EDITOR@FOURWHEELER.COM REMOTE MASTER Wilwood now offers Compact Remote Tandem Master Cylinders. The new master cylinders offer an increased range of mounting options for hard-to-access and space-limited applications. Each master cylinder features left and right hand pressure outlets and can be fed with either direct-mount or remote-feed fluid reservoirs. The four bore sizes available include 7⁄8-, 15⁄16-, 1- and 11⁄8-inch. They can be matched to a range of brake caliper combinations in either power or manually actuated systems. The Compact Remote Tandem Master Cylinders are offered with a protective black E-coat finish or a media-burnished bri reservoirs. The four bore sizes available include 7⁄8-, 15⁄16-, 1- and 11⁄8-inch. They can be matched to a range of brake caliper combinations in either power or manually actuated systems. The Compact Remote Tandem Master Cylinders are…

editor@fourwheeler.com HUMANS ARE, WITHOUT QUESTION, VERY reliant on our sense of vision. Unlike most mammals, the human sense of smell and our ability to hear is pretty pathetic. Which is to say, in a hypothetical competition you will almost always lose a sense of smell battle to your faithful friend, Fido the trail dog. A bat might be blind, but has hearing that makes us seem like a distracted teen when it comes to listening. The fact is that we are visual mammals, mostly using daytime vision. We use visual communication all the time, and in every day of our lives. According to biologists, the number of rods and cones in the human eye make our daytime vision very good, and our nighttime vision not so great (and we can relate…

editor@fourwheeler.com LIGHT AT NIGHT. IT’S WHAT WE WANT. IT’S WHAT we need. Whether you’re trail riding, on the jobsite, or high-speed haulin’ after dark, quality lighting provides reliable vision and safety. Much of the auxiliary offroad lighting these days is of the light-emitting diode (LED) type. Advances in electronic technology have allowed manufacturers to get tremendous light output from small semiconductor sources without expending huge amounts of battery power. Rigid Industries, which is located in Gilbert, Arizona, is an industry leader in high-end LED lighting for automotive, marine, and industrial applications. The company has been around for about a decade building and innovating new improvements for its products. LED technology continues to advance and over the last several years semiconductor LED manufacturers have pushed light output upward from about 100 lumens per watt…