This meme: This is my New Year’s resolution. We picked up our 2001 Jeep Cherokee, aka, The PDXJ, in July 2016. Almost immediately, we started working on it, and we haven’t slowed since. Whether it was standard maintenance things, minor repairs, or aftermarket upgrades, I feel like all we’ve done is work on the thing….
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You’ve got your 4WD vehicle, and you’re wanting to add larger tires on it. Cool! You’ll likely be able to go more places and do more things with that extra bit of meaty rubber and you know they look good. However, there is one downside that comes along with adding larger tires: Your rig is now…
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There are a few specific things many look for in a truly off-road capable four-wheel drive vehicle. This includes a two-speed transfer case with low range; solid axles or at least a solid rear axle; a durable ladder frame vs. unibody construction (with the exception of the Jeep Cherokee (XJ), of course); and arguably a manual transmission…
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Until recently, the where was something missing in our Cherokee’s JCR Offroad Vanguard bumper: a winch. After all, what good is a winch bumper without a winch? This week, I installed a WARN VR10-S into the bumper on The PDXJ, aka, Project Cherokee, aka “Cranky.” This is Warn’s latest winch in its standard-duty VR lineup. I’ll actually…
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The Teal Terror (the former Subcompact Culture project vehicle) and our Dinoot J Series trailer are the focus of the latest installation of the Trailer Supported Adventuring series in OutdoorX4 magazine. Despite the fact the Suzuki is gone, it lives on in print. The Dinoot, however, is still safely parked under our carport and now gets…
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“You modified a Toyota Yaris? Why bother?” Yep. Heard that one before. “You drove from Oregon to Colorado in that?” [points at our Suzuki Sidekick and trailer] Uh huh. Got that multiple times. When talking cars, some peoples’ eyes glaze over when I’m telling them we have a customized Toyota Yaris as our “go kart,” and a lifted…
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What weighs just over a ton and has a big booty? If you said the 2017 Mitsubishi Mirage G4 sedan, you’d be right. If you guessed a rhinoceros, you’d also be right. Continue reading
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I’ll make no apologies: I like Yokohama tires. I first had Yokohamas back in 2006 when I got a set of 205/50/16 AVS ES100 tires for my Scion xB . A couple years later, I shod my Toyota Yaris’ wheels with 195/55/15 S-Drives. In fact, I just replaced them last month with the same tires. So when…
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New Chevy Spark ACTIV = Lifted + Roof Rack + Body Cladding. They say “crossover,” I say out-of-the-box rally crosser. Hmm. I wonder if I could shoehorn a set of all-terrain tires on this? Read more on Subcompact Culture …
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When one mentions New Zealand, what immediately comes to mind for most people is Lord of the Rings, kiwi birds, bungee jumping in Queenstown, or perhaps the odd wonder of glow worms. But not for me.
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