Crankshaft Culture Gear Garage: 5.11 Tactical Load Ready Utility Large Tote

April 29, 2021 / Mercedes Lilienthal / Leave a comment

Everyone needs a great tote bag. No joke. No matter if you’re lugging around heavy vehicle recovery gear or oddball-sized items, owning a durable go-to carrying case is important. Enter 5.11 Tactical’s 39-liter Load Ready Utility Large tote. In our opinion, it’s all that and more.

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We Are United By Horsepower

April 26, 2021 / Andy Lilienthal / 3 Comments

These days it can seem like we’re all so separated. There’s a pandemic that has kept many of us apart for more than a year. There have been deep political rifts that have divided people. And in the automotive spheres, social media allows people to split up into their own camps on just about everything….

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Mitsubishi In Moab: We take our Pajero to Easter Jeep Safari

April 7, 2021 / Andy Lilienthal / 2 Comments

We typically go to Easter Jeep Safari for the annual gathering of off-road enthusiasts, primarily Jeeps—duh. I’ve been to the event for work many times. We even drove our Jeep Cherokee out there one year. We barely made it, but that’s another blog post. This year, we took our 1992 JDM Mitsubishi Pajero, aka the…

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Dangerously Slow New Cars?

March 24, 2021 / Andy Lilienthal / 2 Comments

I was recently reading a post on a Facebook group about the Subaru Crosstrek. We all know this lifted Impreza isn’t going to set any land-speed records. They’re not going to light up the drag strips on Saturday nights, right? They’re designed to let people go down rutted gravel roads or just as easily hop…

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2020 Alcan 5000 Rally Memories: The Sourtoe Cocktail

February 18, 2021 / Andy Lilienthal / Leave a comment

It’s been nearly a year since we participated in the mother-of-all-winter rallies, the 2020 Alcan 5000. We’ve been reflecting on some of our favorite moments and are putting together some fun memories. One of these was our night in Dawson City, YT Canada and the infamous Sourtoe Cocktail.

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Lifted Toyota Yaris

January 30, 2021 / Andy Lilienthal / Leave a comment

After seeing a host of lifted cars at the 2014 SEMA Show in Las Vegas, I proclaimed on Subcompact Culture that lifting would be the new lowering. In other words, we’d see more cars getting the off-road/rally treatment rather than the slammed-in-the-weeds look. Well, it’s 2021, and we’re seeing just that. In fact, this lifted…

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You Know You’re on the Alcan When …

January 17, 2021 / Mercedes Lilienthal / Leave a comment

It’s hard to believe it’s been almost one year since Andy and I competed in the 2020 winter Alcan 5000 Rally. Who would have thought an old 1991 Japanese Domestic Market right-hand-drive diesel Pajero would be competing in temps that reached -40, much less finish strong in a rally that lasted 10 days and over…

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Review: Coastal Offroad Mitsubishi Delica Off-Road Bumpers

December 11, 2020 / Andy & Mercedes Lilienthal / 1 Comment

Review: Coastal Offroad Mitsubishi Delica Off-Road Bumpers

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Our Delica Gets a Long-Range Fuel Tank

November 30, 2020 / Andy Lilienthal / 3 Comments

Our 1994 Mitsubishi Delica Space Gear, aka the TBD Tractor, just got a new long-range fuel tank. This Long Range Automotive tank brought in by Long Range America ups our fuel capacity and extends our Delica’s range significantly. In fact, here’s a video all about it.

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Coastal Offroad Delica Space Gear Bumpers: Installed and In Action

November 23, 2020 / Mercedes Lilienthal / 1 Comment

We have the Coastal Offroad high-clearance front and rear bumpers (with skid plate and swing-away tire/jerry can carrier) finalized! We thought we’d do a walk-around video showing the Coastal Offroad Delica bumpers’ advantages for off-road driving, camping, and carrying extra gear.

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