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wilfredmerriweathr posted:Suzukis are alright but round these parts the gen 3 4runner (1996 to 200...2?) is the best suv in that bracket for actual offroading (not rock crawling, but overlanding and accessing the wilderness) and general reliability. I don't think the North American 4 Runner is the same thing as the Australian Prado. For one thing, Prados look different - the back end especially is different, from the side and from the rear. 4 Runners are here, they seem to be based on the HiLux platform (at least in Australia), and were the HiLux Surf until the mid-90's when they became their own thing. I can find for sale both Prados and 4 Runners from the same year. I do not want to go larger, I'd like to keep it smaller! Thanks for the point about the 3.0L, they are indeed widely available but there are plenty of 3.4L. There's a 5-door Grand Vitara, I think 2008 MY, at a used dealership here in Armidale, we might try to test drive it before we go much further. Ferremit posted:There was a guy here in Adelaide who just rolled his 90 series 3.4L V6 prado to the dealership for its million km service!
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Jan 24, 2019 10:35
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speaking of rolling 90 series Prados, my not-quite-in-laws did just that with theirs on the freeway a few months ago. They came out with nary a scratch. I wouldn't like to try that in a Vitara, Grand or otherwise.
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Jan 24, 2019 13:21
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The 4runner is absolutely the North American market version of the Prado chassis, along with the Lexus gx. They switched from the hilux chassis to prado in 1996 model year, for Gen 3. Sure, Japan and other markets have both but the 4runner is absolutely a Prado platform truck. As is the Lexus gx470/460. The Lexus very much looks like the Prado but even the 4runner is Prado platform. Wikipedia can tell you more... Tldr: 4runner = Prado chassis, some mechanicals. Different body and interior. Lexus gx = 90% prado. wilfredmerriweathr fucked around with this message at 21:48 on Jan 25, 2019 |
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Jan 25, 2019 21:38
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Prado used to be Landcruiser chassis based (hence xJ70/90 etc code) and 4Runner/Surf Hilux chassis (xN60,130,185) but it might have changed in the later generations and they’ve always had the same engines (2LT, 3L, 1KZ).
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Jan 25, 2019 21:49
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Looks like post 2002 4runners were based on the Prado but we don’t really get them in NZ/oz and the older models were Hilux based
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Jan 25, 2019 21:56
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ExecuDork posted:That's seriously impressive! Assuming it rolled in under it's own power. Yep. Rolled in, had a service, had the odometer reset back to 0 cos it ran out of digits and it’s off to Melbourne in the next few weeks https://www.cmitoyota.com.au/blogview/Toyota-Prado-Taking-tough-to-next-level/504
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Jan 25, 2019 22:30
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wilfredmerriweathr posted:The 4runner is absolutely the North American market version of the Prado chassis, along with the Lexus gx. gimpsuitjones posted:Looks like post 2002 4runners were based on the Prado but we don’t really get them in NZ/oz and the older models were Hilux based Good to know, thanks! I find the whole Land Cruiser line very confusing, the car sales websites will let me choose a trim level ("badge") but I don't know the differences between, say, the GX and the GTX. Gumtree Australia lists about 2 dozen possible badges under "Land Cruiser" in their advanced car search feature. slothrop posted:speaking of rolling 90 series Prados, my not-quite-in-laws did just that with theirs on the freeway a few months ago. They came out with nary a scratch. I wouldn't like to try that in a Vitara, Grand or otherwise. I hope nobody minds if I post a few examples of what we're considering. It's the long weekend, I have work to do this weekend, and it's as hot as out there so no actual hands-on car shopping will be happening for at least a few days. But if anybody has any insights - even "yes" or "no" - I'd love to hear it. If this is the wrong thread for this kind of thing I'll move to another. Grand Vitaras (Grands Vitara?) https://www.carsales.com.au/cars/de...GhoC5dIQAvD_BwE https://www.carsales.com.au/cars/details/Suzuki-Grand-Vitara-2008/OAG-AD-16821542/?Cr=0 Prados (Pradoes?) https://www.carsales.com.au/cars/details/Toyota-Landcruiser-Prado-1998/SSE-AD-5819279/?Cr=15 https://www.carsales.com.au/cars/details/Toyota-Landcruiser-Prado-1999/SSE-AD-5841241/?Cr=25 https://www.carsales.com.au/cars/details/Toyota-Landcruiser-Prado-1998/SSE-AD-5773070/?Cr=26 This last one has the 2.7L I4 petrol engine - any thoughts on that? Horribly underpowered? Surprisingly lovely fuel consumption for a 4-banger? Secret wonder-motor from Toyota?
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Jan 26, 2019 04:15
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Mine has the 2.7l 3rz, it's juuuuuuust powerful enough to not be an issue, provided you keep it in the right gear on the 5sp manual. Don't try to get one with a 2.7 and automatic. The 3rz is great and they reused the block for the next Gen 2tre or whatever it's called. If available I'd get a v6 or diesel but there is nothing wrong with the 2.7 and that 98 probably gets along just fine. I can maintain 80mph no problem, just gotta plan ahead going up big grades and keep it above 3k rpm in those situations. The i4 only has 30hp less than the 3.4l six. wilfredmerriweathr fucked around with this message at 20:44 on Jan 26, 2019 |
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Jan 26, 2019 20:23
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Get a diesel bro
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Jan 26, 2019 20:55
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^^wise words right here
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Jan 26, 2019 21:15
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Has anyone used a Truetrac LSD? Looking at one for my rear end to replace the dodgy Toyota unit + as a significantly cheaper option than an E/air locker. Don't like the idea of auto un-lockers, prefer an LSD.
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Jan 29, 2019 06:01
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gimpsuitjones posted:Has anyone used a Truetrac LSD? Looking at one for my rear end to replace the dodgy Toyota unit + as a significantly cheaper option than an E/air locker. Don't like the idea of auto un-lockers, prefer an LSD. Haven't used one, but my opinion anyway: It's full carrier replacement, so you are going to spend more of your time or pay for more of someone else's labor to install, vs a "lunchbox" locker (lokka/aussie, lockright, etc) in an open carrier. But if you already have an LSD, you'll need to do that no matter which way you go. Other options - I've never rebuilt an LSD, but I'm sure that's a thing. There's also the cheaper chinese ARB copy air lockers (TRE) that are about half price of an ARB. Or finding another cruiser 3rd with an elocker and modifying to fit the housing (if needed) and running an aftermarket controller.
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Jan 29, 2019 16:51
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gimpsuitjones posted:Has anyone used a Truetrac LSD? Looking at one for my rear end to replace the dodgy Toyota unit + as a significantly cheaper option than an E/air locker. Don't like the idea of auto un-lockers, prefer an LSD. With what in the front? I'm pretty happy with front Lokka and rear viscous (shimmed). But the Patrol LSDs poo poo on anything Toyota offered.
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Jan 29, 2019 23:46
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Open front at this stage. Really want 2 selectable lockers but honestly for the amount of use they’d get I can’t justify the cost at the moment, and a functioning rear LSD would get me a moderate increase in traction which would be adequate for now (I think)
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Jan 30, 2019 01:19
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There’s a ton of opinions about this, and different use cases, but on road, I’d get an LSD (or something) in the rear first. Off road, I’d put a lunchbox locker in the front first.
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Jan 31, 2019 17:51
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I'm sure I already posted this in here but I was looking for a different pic and saw it so I'm posting it again. The fact that you can rent poo poo like this in Moab is awesome and if I were rich I would start a foundation that paid for underprivileged automotive enthusiasts to fly to Moab and rent poo poo like this. e: apparently I hadn't posted it, bonus.
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Feb 1, 2019 02:34
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Anyone see this https://youtu.be/eFD4Fd03bq8 My takeaway is that using a towbar is probably ok every now and then, since to get it to break you have to have the snatched vehicle tied to a tree so that it won’t actually move at all, and snatch it 8 times absolutely flat out with way more runup than you’d ever use in the real world before the towball will break. Be interesting to see the same thing done with recovery points
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Feb 2, 2019 22:27
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Don't snatch off your towball jesus. Some oval office got killed doing that a year or two ago in some park down around Sydney. It's not something you'd ever need to do even if you don't have any other gear. Pull out the towbar chuck the end of your snatch strap in the receiver and put the pin through it.
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Feb 3, 2019 00:40
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bird with big dick posted:I'm sure I already posted this in here but I was looking for a different pic and saw it so I'm posting it again. The fact that you can rent poo poo like this in Moab is awesome and if I were rich I would start a foundation that paid for underprivileged automotive enthusiasts to fly to Moab and rent poo poo like this. Wow that is awesome, I didn’t realize that you could rent a built off-roader. My travel boner for Moab just went from “go sometime in the future” to “wanna go now!”
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Feb 3, 2019 00:58
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ili posted:It's not something you'd ever need to do even if you don't have any other gear. Pull out the towbar chuck the end of your snatch strap in the receiver and put the pin through it. There's a good chance you'll bend the pin doing that, but hitch-insert tow hooks exist and are dirt cheap. Agreed on never pulling using the trailer ball, though.
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Feb 3, 2019 03:23
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Yeah let me rephrase. I’ve always heard how dangerous it is to snatch off a tow ball, been told that in half a dozen work 4wd courses over the years, never done it, always use proper points etc, am aware that people are occasionally killed by it Based on all that, I was surprised how much it took to get one to break in a setup where old mate was trying as hard as possible to break it. I’d like to see what happens with recovery points in the same sort of test.
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Feb 3, 2019 03:50
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gimpsuitjones posted:Yeah let me rephrase. I’ve always heard how dangerous it is to snatch off a tow ball, been told that in half a dozen work 4wd courses over the years, never done it, always use proper points etc, am aware that people are occasionally killed by it The big one is you dont KNOW what the ball is like- For all you know old mate has been using it to pull tractors out of a bog hole on a chain, or its been dunked into the ocean every day of its life launching a boat. The pins are extremely hard to bend- we tried with a good forged steel one and it maxed out my 12T press before it took a permanent kink. But for the $35 for a hitch receiver its not worth the risk.
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Feb 3, 2019 05:35
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bird with big dick posted:I'm sure I already posted this in here but I was looking for a different pic and saw it so I'm posting it again. The fact that you can rent poo poo like this in Moab is awesome and if I were rich I would start a foundation that paid for underprivileged automotive enthusiasts to fly to Moab and rent poo poo like this. This is oddly timely. I just found this thread today because I got back from Utah where we rented a jeep for a day to explore/hike Grand Staircase. I know very little about off roading beyond watching a handful of YouTube videos. As someone who has explored many forest service and BLM roads, but only cautiously in a basic 2wd, it was a ton of fun. The alternate route suggested to return by the rental people ended up being miles of thick mud from melting snow (not something I had intended to do). I'm amazed we didn't get stuck, given my complete lack of experience, but we managed. In hindsight it was a blast, if a bit intense at the time. It's completely empty out there in the winter. We saw a total of two other vehicles the entire day, and that included the most popular hiking trail in the area. And yeah, we saw lots of modded and souped up jeeps to rent in Moab. I don't know much about that stuff, but now I wished I had rented there, too. We were there primarily to hike, though. The whole experience has accelerated my unfortunate desire to buy a vehicle more capable of back road exploration. It's always been a thing I've enjoyed tagging onto our camping/hiking adventures.
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Feb 12, 2019 23:01
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Grand staircase and Escalante are one of my favorite places in the state.
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Feb 13, 2019 00:11
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JUST MAKING CHILI posted:Wow that is awesome, I didn’t realize that you could rent a built off-roader. My travel boner for Moab just went from “go sometime in the future” to “wanna go now!” I'm going again in April, but our group usually goes on the week after the Jamboree, there are people around but not crazy amounts. Now that there's Skywest flights to Moab, you can fly directly in, but the flights aren't generally cheap unless its offseason. Another option is to do guided tours, there's a few groups that run the popular trails in Jeeps and H1's so you can get a feel for different routes and then rent something to explore on your own. It's always good to go with a few folks who have done it before, that's how I did Moab. Although these days I'm past the getting my truck beat up stage of doing stuff and would probably stick to more casual/scenic trails. I think my last trip I did Metal Masher Reverse and you got that 6 foot drop with no bypass, even with brand new 37" BFG's on my H1, it was still a bit more of a drop than I'd like and I wound up cracking a steering box bolt, no big deal I swap it out, but I'll probably give that trail a hard pass in the future  I'm getting old.
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Feb 13, 2019 13:16
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JUST MAKING CHILI posted:Wow that is awesome, I didn’t realize that you could rent a built off-roader. My travel boner for Moab just went from “go sometime in the future” to “wanna go now!” Yeah me either. The only wrangler rental I’d ever really heard about is the places in Colorado that rent stock ones and make you sign something that says if you take it on Black Bear they’re allowed to murder your firstborn and confiscate your 401k.
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Feb 13, 2019 18:51
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I’d always planned on getting a Rubicon and doing some fairly major mods but that rental made me decide that if I want to do serious off roading I should just go to Moab and rent one of these periodically and for the stuff I want to do locally (mostly farting around on old mining roads) I can do it with basically any 4x4 with a mild lift and decent tires. So I got an F-150 and the lift is getting put on it today.
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Feb 13, 2019 18:57
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So, I bought this. The problem with them is they spoil you when. It comes to offroading. I had the 1000x before this but I sold it in September. Now the XX is out, designed by Robby Gordon himself. It's built like a trophy truck. And weighs 1800lbs empty due to the extra strong and over built parts on it. The rollcage is a real cage made from thick Dom tubing. All the mounting points for suspension and tie rods are double sheer. It uses a Yamaha inline triple and makes around 140hp. It's short on horsepower vs the turbo setups from polaris and canam, but it's also much cheaper. And the Yamaha sidewinder sled engine is a direct drop in, which makes 350hp with a tune and race fuel. 
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Feb 16, 2019 12:48
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 Drove out towards Crystal Peak outside Reno but turned around once the snow started getting deep. I don't think we would have had a problem but my wife thinks we would have, so... Picture taken near the start of the road, where the snow was obviously not deep. Never been out here during the winter but its apparently popular for winter off roading, saw two groups of 3-4 vehicles heading up past where we stopped. One group had what looked like a nearly stock 3/4 ton dodge. Other group had one of those things where you look at it and say "did that used to be a Jeep or a Toyota?" so maybe it gets super nasty closer to the peak. I think it does basically get to Donner pass elevation so maybe there's 5' of snow up there.
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Feb 17, 2019 03:17
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Went on a weekend trip with friends and friend's family just outside of Death Valley. No story, just random pictures  A cool place Hollywood people like to film.  Heading towards a snowstorm.  Climbing some steep sections where all the wind was.  What is this? looks very Jeep-ish but I've never seen one before.  "supposedly" one of Charles Manson's crew's trucks,  The stars inside. Note: this is also a $13k option on Rolls Royces nowadays.  Burros.  Leaving the storm.  Mines!  Classic 'river' crossing at the end of the trail.   Near the campsite.  The road home weren't too bad neither. 
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Feb 19, 2019 07:16
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Dayum! Gorgeous area That vehicle looked like an old power wagon maybe?
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Feb 20, 2019 02:39
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Great photos! When I did Mengel Pass I think it was this same weekend in Feb a few years ago, and it was sleeting on us at the top. Such a great area. Striped Butte is amazing. I took all the same photos in Ballarat lol. If you haven't read Helter Skelter you definitely should. tuna posted:Near the campsite. Where'd you camp? We found a narrow little strip of BLM south of Ashford Junction but I'm always looking for new spots.
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Feb 20, 2019 06:24
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Paulie posted:That vehicle looked like an old power wagon maybe? Yeah has some elements of that and other things. Haven't found anything from googling though. :/ The Royal Nonesuch posted:I took all the same photos in Ballarat lol. We bought a jar of moonshine from the guy there and enjoyed it. We haven't gone blind yet! The Royal Nonesuch posted:Where'd you camp? We found a narrow little strip of BLM south of Ashford Junction but I'm always looking for new spots. We were at Panamint Springs (looks like you were on the other side of those mountains pictured - also we saw a campfire at the very top of that peak one night. Maybe Roger's peak? I'd love to camp there some time!). We did the trip with my friend and his fiance (who we camped with), and her mother / mothers husband / kids, etc. were in an RV/tents/cabin. Their parents cooked us amazing meals from the RV so it was very much wonderful glamping until we went back to our own fire/tents. Without the basecamp we could've just driven until dusk and camped wherever, there were so many great spots we saw. Speaking of which, we got to test out our new gazelle T3 and sleeping cots, they work really well. Freezing temps is about as low as I'd like to go without extra insulation on the cot itself, but setup and packup was so nice and easy. tuna fucked around with this message at 10:32 on Feb 23, 2019 |
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Feb 23, 2019 10:29
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With a set of new tires on, I finally took the CJ-7 on some dirt roads. I hit FR 462 up above Tijeras and had a pretty good time bumping along down this rutted-rear end road which frequently had giant rocks embedded in it. Should have taken pics of the road some, but at least I got a decent one of the Jeep... Two interesting events: 1. As I pulled off the county road there was a little red hatchback in front of me, like a Yaris or something. I figured they'd go up the gravel road and turn off at the parking area just before the road gets rough but nope, they headed on up the forest road! I followed, sure I'd see them rip out their oil pan (there were plenty of places they could have) but those ballsy bastards made it to the campground a couple hundred yards in. Much respect. 2. On the way back out I was coming around the corner and BOOM there's one of those side-by-side ATVs hauling rear end toward me. I was in first so I just stopped, but they had just gunned it through a puddle and kind of panicked, so they swerved and rolled the thing onto its side. Luckily it had a rollbar and they were wearing seatbelts, so I hopped out and helped them push it back upright and they were on their way. I wish I had got a picture of them hanging there but I didn't want to be a dick. Anyway it was a fun little jaunt even though I didn't go very far. It happily hopped its way through some stuff that would make me pretty nervous in the Ranger, and I'm hoping it'll be helpful for hunting this year.
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Mar 17, 2019 01:17
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Very nice Renegade  Pham Nuwen posted:1. As I pulled off the county road there was a little red hatchback in front of me, like a Yaris or something. I figured they'd go up the gravel road and turn off at the parking area just before the road gets rough but nope, they headed on up the forest road! I camp, we all camp, but then you get "camping people" and they always seem to manage to get their run-about-town cars down some gnarly roads. It always amazes me. I just assume they're all driving rentals. Pham Nuwen posted:2. On the way back out I was coming around the corner and BOOM there's one of those side-by-side ATVs hauling rear end toward me. Haha typical sXs behavior.
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Mar 17, 2019 08:51
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Just gonna leave this here: https://youtu.be/CtdSLyp9GJk Just an awesome video that makes me wanna drive a million miles an hour over rough roads.
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Mar 17, 2019 18:44
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jonathan posted:
Just don't fold your F-150 Raptor in half because you forgot it isn't a trophy truck. Or do; I'm not the boss of you.
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Mar 17, 2019 20:14
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jonathan posted:Just gonna leave this here: I miss desert racing. I was part of a class 8 team but poo poo happened and the dude bankrolling it all had to focus on work for a while and another key member went through a divorce so that ended that  Expensive hobby. I used to get paid to go pit, not really paid but I got free fuel, hotel and food to hang out in the pits and help with recovery/maintenance. Also miss offroading in California deserts
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Mar 18, 2019 05:12
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tuna posted:I camp, we all camp, but then you get "camping people" and they always seem to manage to get their run-about-town cars down some gnarly roads. It always amazes me. I just assume they're all driving rentals. That was me with with my first car. My parents hand-me-down 1991 Toyota Camry. I learned that it was quite stout on the forest roads. As long as the ruts weren't too deep, you could go almost anywhere with it. I loved seeing people's faces in their Jeeps and 4x4s when I came around a corner, my blue car grey with mud.
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Mar 18, 2019 06:10
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Safety Dance posted:Just don't fold your F-150 Raptor in half because you forgot it isn't a trophy truck. Never owned a raptor, I was shopping for one back in 2012 or so. I got a new f150 last spring but it's just a normal one. I did pick up a new wildcat xx though, which is kinda like 80% of a class 10 buggy.
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Mar 20, 2019 16:15
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