4BY4tech magazine 1-5

 



4 4TECH BY

 



    

                       





                                       

           



    

  

             

      

                  

    

         

MAXIMUM ARTICULATION

           

! ! ! !                                        

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4 4TECH BY

                                       



                           

 

                        

                                    

    

            

                                  

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What winch should I buy?

Over the past 5-10 years the market has been flooded with low cost winches, many of which I would not touch with a 10 foot pole. A winch is an investment you can move from rig to rig, buy the best you can afford. Buy a winch (and take time to learn how to use it safely) that is rated 2X the weight of your rig and a good bumper before you buy a lift kit, lockers, cool tires and light bars – please I’m tired of dragging you all out of the bush with your 50 inch light bar

A winch should be pretty high up your priority list if you want to hit the trails.

There are a lot of choices and for almost every budget. The CJK8 is getting a Warn 8270-50 which would be near the top end, however follow this rule of thumb - buy the best winch you can, buy a winch rated 2X the weight of your vehicle. Mount it properly and carry recovery equipment such as tree savers, shackles, a snatch block, gloves and make sure you winch safely! blasting me in the face. Plus no one should wheel without recovery gear. Before you hit the trail you should have tug straps, shackles, a good jack and other relevant recovery gear for your adventure, and cloths in your rig that are warm enough for you to stand in the bush all night with no fire. And last but not least – start saving for a winch and good bumper. You will never see me on the trail in a rig I built without a good quality winch… did I mention buy a winch?

Do I need lockers?

The short answer is maybe. And first off do you know what you are really asking for? I’ve seen guys WWW.4BY4TECH.COM

drive circles around others without lockers. My first locker purchase was a Lock Right in an old Jeep CJ circa 1990 or so. It was so I could keep up with my buddy in his Toyota. Why? Because he had a rig that totally out flexed mine at the time so he could keep wheels on the ground and left me spinning.

So the real short answer is pretty much yes… Lockers though do have a down side, they are tricky in icy conditions, and be a bit finicky on paved hot roads and they come in an array of flavors from relatively cheep at $500.00 to expensive at near $1500.00 for top of the line

Diff lockers come in a wide variety. from electric locking like the E Locker above giving you the option of locked or unlocked to the Randy’s Spartan Locker below which installs inside a stock open carrier.

lockers you can activate with switch and require a professional gear set up (and more money).

Many people tend to add lockers once they have a lift kit and larger tires so adding a gear change to compensate for the big tires typically goes hand in hand and can make that bill easily $3000.00+ to do both axles. So Lockers are really indispensable off road – just make sure your buying them for the right reasons and have a pro do the install for you.

Tire chains or low tire pressure for snow - and two chains, 4 chains, front chains or back chains?

Its wintertime so this tread will be coming up on your local boards if it hasn’t already. The answer to me is – chains are for ice – fat flat tires are for snow. I love to snow wheel – I will never run on chains for snow – they are meant to dig though ice to find traction – how do you think they will do in soft snow?

Yup – dig. Your best chances in deep snow is to stay on top and not dig and do everything you can with your gas and brake pedals to control tire spin. If you go out snow wheeling with me get use to be me telling you to stop spinning your tires. So the questions of front or back for chains? Well you will have to ask someone else as for me its neither – I don’t own chains for my 4x4 I own big tires, beadlocks and drop to 2psi or less for snow. Now you will bark that sure Alstick but you have 44-inch tires, we can’t fit those. So I can say I’ve run circles around guys with me on 35s and even tires people say are crap in the snow. One more trick, lots of square biting edges. Taking your rock crawling tires with rounded off lugs from getting chewed up spinning on rocks will get you nowhere, my dedicated snow wheeling tires do not see rocks – ever, and are all grooved for extra biting edges.

Now icy highways, chains are a great thing to carry, as are proper rated tires for the conditions. I have a set of chains in my pick up.

Last but not least, never feel like you can’t ask questions from the old guys like me on the trail, and there is really never is a stupid question except “are we there yet” as the journey should not end till there is 6 feet of dirt overhead.

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                                                         

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

 



  

    

      

   

        

     

 



4 4TECH BY

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

    

             

  



4 4TECH BY



 



    

       

           

 



4 4TECH BY

    

4 4TECH BY



4 4TECH BY

S S S S S S S S S S S S S S

     



 

     

     

 

  

  

     

 



4 4TECH BY



 

SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S

 

SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA     

    

  



      



  

        

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 

SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA 

     

      

        

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 

SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S 

          

 

 

         



         



4 4TECH BY



 

 

               

 

       

  

 

    

           

  

 



  

4 4TECH BY

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 

SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S

 

SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S                       

   

    

  

  



       



4 4TECH BY



 

 

        

      

  

  

        

 



4 4TECH BY



 

SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S

 

SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S                         



           

  



        



4 4TECH BY



 

 

SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S         

     

 

         

 



4 4TECH BY



4 4TECH BY

4 4TECH BY

S S S S S S S S S S S S S



        

           

  

          

4 4TECH BY

 



4 4TECH BY



 

SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S SEMA SEMA SEMA SEMA S

 

                       

! ! ! !



4 4TECH BY

                       



                          

                            

 

                               

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                                       

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                                

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                                

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                           

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                         

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 

           

            

              

4 4TECH BY

 



4 4TECH BY



   

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                       

                        

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4 4TECH BY

                      



                       

   

      

                    

 

     

 

       



4 4TECH BY



   

   

           



4 4TECH BY

          

      



      

                 

 

   

       

       

    

                          



4 4TECH BY



                   

                                                 

  



4 4TECH BY



4 4TECH BY

 



4 4TECH BY

   

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                            

       

        

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        

               

       



4 4TECH BY



 

   

      

        

      

                                    

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TOYOTA TRD PRO By: Albert Vandervelde

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In recent years we have come to relate the Toyota TRD program to trucks and 4x4s on the car lot but TRD stands for Toyota Racing and Development, a branding that grew out of the TOSCO program started in the 50s and changed names in 1979 and covers everything that goes fast with special performance programs from Toyota. Backed by Ivan Stewart in the early 90s Toyota was a force to be reckoned with in Baja racing taking many Baja 1000, Baja 500 and Nevada 400 wins along with Pikes Peak and (CORR) Championship off road racing titles and that continues with many racing programs today including paved tracks, rally racing and short course off-road racing.

In 1997 the TRD branding came to the pick-up truck line with a TRD off-road package, which continues to today with the all new TRD Pro packages we had the chance to test in the Tacoma, Tundra and soon to be released in the 4Runner (there was one for unveiling but we were not allowed to drive it).

The Toyota events team set up a fun rally course on a private wood lot for us to get some dirt time in with the TRD Pro truck line up for 2017. This very steep and loose dirt hill showed off the prowess of the crawl control in the Toyota Tacoma.

For a die-hard four-wheeler it was pretty tough to keep my feet off the pedals and allow the speed control and braking system to slide the truck down the hill. While the system is effective it’s pretty noisy as it uses the antilock braking system to lock and unlock the brakes as the truck descends the hill. Cool technology that I think very few truck buyers will ever use.

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What is really in the new packages besides cool stickers on your ride? Toyota teamed up with Bilstien shocks for the Tundra and Fox for the Tacoma for true off-road performance in the suspension. Adding an inch of lit with TRD tuned coils up front and

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progressive leafs in the rear makes room for larger P265/70R16 Goodyear Wrangler All-Terrain Kevlar-reinforced tires, which still had good road manners (not as aggressive as the BFG All-Terrain tire package that came on the late FJ Cruiser). The TRD package also comes with heavy-duty skid plates to protect the vitals when hitting your favorite off-road trail and TRD-tuned stainless steel exhaust. Interior style cues include TRD specific seats and trim to let everyone know what you’re driving.

The Tacoma has become quite a large truck. As you can see here its close in length to the Tundra however it’s quite a bit narrower and it shows inside. All our tester fleet was in the gray color.

The hills all around Blue Mountain Resort in Ontario were awash in fall colors and it turned the road and gravel portion of the trip into an amazing tour.

The Tacoma comes equipped with Fox triple bypass shocks on all 4 corners ala-Ford Raptor while the Tundra comes equipped with Bilstien remote reservoir shocks.

In the case of the Tacoma you also get the “Crawl Control” function (not available on the Tundra and neither is the optional rear selectable locker). This was on display over several steep sand hills. The Crawl Control has 4 pre set speeds and whether it’s a steep decent or a steep climb, the throttle control and braking are handled by the computer with no driver input. As a hard core 4x4 guy it was pretty tough to let the Toyota make the decent down a drop over 45 degrees without my working the brakes and gas but it did it with flying colors through the quick release and grabbing of the brakes from the anti slip system, which sure makes a lot of noise when active. Personally… I’d rather have my feet on the pedals.

The off-road course set up also had a speed section with some nice big bumps that got the truck light on its tires and a rally course section with lots of elevation change and slick ran soaked fields that had the traction control and anti skid system in fits if not fully turned off (and all the trucks very

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sideways if you liked that kinda thing – and I did and so did many others with hoots and smiles from all). This put the special off road shocks in full view and the handling was excellent from both trucks. I found out in the Tundra that it takes two steps to get the traction control to turn off and stay off and not interrupt your fun by coming fully back on and grinding you to a slippery hill sliding stop.

Strange that despite the near 381HP 5.7L V8 in the Tundra I was able to make it around the track faster in the 278HP 3.5L Tacoma – I’d say weight and agility is in the Tacoma’s favor here and those triple bypass Fox shocks.

Despite all this off-road prowess in these new models, they were still very pleasant to drive on pavement and the country roads that took us winding through the Blue Mountains of Southern Ontario to the private lot where we had our off road fun. The TRD Pro package is not something to avoid if you plan to use your truck or SUV for mostly going back and forth to work like

More event pictures click here. we all have to do to pay for our toys. The TRD Pro is just as happy hauling you back and forth Monday to Friday so you can take that time on the weekends and have some fun as well! Take a minute and check one out yourself – I think you will find these trucks a lot of fun!

The stars of the two trucks are the Fox and Bilstein shocks that make up the TRD Pro package. Fox in the Tacoma and Bilstein in the Tundra. Ride quality on and off road are excellent.

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                      

   

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            

 

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       

               

       

              

          

 



4 4TECH BY







     

                 

           

          



4 4TECH BY



 





       

        

  

  

! !

  

                  

!

 

! !

  

 





!



!

 

              

! !



   

  

! ! !



   

                                                                                     

 

! !

               



  !

 



 

   

!

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It doesn’t seem to mater how many times I’ve been to Moab for Easter Jeep Safari that there are trails I haven’t run and such was the case for Cliff Hanger.

Cliff Hanger can be found along Kane Creek Road the road that also gives access to Moab Rim, Pritchett Canyon and Kane Creek trails. Rated as a 7 out of 10 on the Red Rock four Wheelers scale the trail dropped quickly off the road from a staging area over a series of steep steps to the bed of Kane Creek. The entrance itself can be one of the more difficult sections of the trail and once down in the creek bed you start to creep upwards on the slick rock steps towards Amasa Back. The trail consists of small rock ledges with more difficult sections as you climb. The Name Cliff Hanger comes from the section just before you get onto the Mesa of Amasa Back and you skirt the edge of a steep drop with a nice 10 foot drop in the middle to give you a little “pucker” factor in both directions.

As this is an in and out trail and popular with the Red Rock four wheelers for the Safari trails you need to check the days of use in the Easter Jeep Safari paper to make sure the trail is open as the club will block the entrance for trail days – hence why I have not runt his trail yet!

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The large steps at the entrance and only one “easy” route up and down unless your up for the large steps to the right can get congested at Easter Jeep Safari - hence why the Red Rock 4Wheelers close the trail for organized trail days. Check the event paper for open days – or join the safari trail days and guarantee you get to run this one!

Cliff Hanger trail takes you to the Amasa Back and is short but sweet at 4.5 miles long – each way of course as this is an in one way and out the same way trail. Lots of 2-4 foot steps and of course the section that runs along the cliff edge where this trail gets its name. Red Rock 4Wheelers gives this trail a 4+ rating on their 1-5 Scale.

My view of Cliff Hanger from the back seat... I have never gone trail wheeling from a back seat – ever! Welcome to the world of 4-door Wranglers where you can run a 4+ trail with the whole family onboard.

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The view from the edge of the trail over the valley was spectacular even with rain clouds in the distance. The “Cliff Hanger” section is short but has a difficult climb that tips you towards the passenger side the edge on the way up and the driver side towards the edge on the way down.

This was a solo run for us in an all-aluminum Aqualu bodied Jeep JK on 38s and a 5.3L GM LS engine owned by Jason from Modern Classic Enterprises – lent to us for the day with their buddy Kraski at the wheel! With a capable rig like this the trail took us a couple hours. Can’t wait to have my Aluminum CJK8 here in 2017!

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There are sections where its difficult to pass especially along the cliff edge and if several groups are running the trail there can be delays. Or Jeep was a custom aluminum 4 door JK on 38s and really didn’t have difficulty on this trail however we watched several groups struggle with lesser rigs getting out of Kane Creek and back up the series of ledges back onto Kane Creek Rd. as we were solo the going was pretty quick and we were not held up on the harder sections so cleared the trail up and down in a couple hours while skipping the dirt roads out to the edge of the Mesa for the view across the slick rock landscape.

If your looking for that next step up in trail difficulty in Moab this is great trail with amazing valley and river AEV (American Expedition Vehicles) was hosting a customer trail ride on the day views though out the trail and should we visited – below is Chris Wood guiding his group up. They were coming down be on your Moab must do list! as we were trying to enter the trail with a lot of fairly inexperienced wheelers so were taking the careful routes. A few smaller groups turned around due to the fact it takes time to get a large group like this out of the 1 way section of the trail. We risked it and managed to beat them through the narrow section in the creek bed as we were a group of 1 (explains all the green Jeep pictures) – we ran the trail and caught back up as they were going up the easy out on the trail entrance. Of course we weren’t worried about that we were in a rental – so up the big steps Kraski went!!!

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This 4 door AEV truck conversion was actually not with the AEV trail ride group but its amazing you can get a rig this long through a tougher trail like Cliff Hanger and come out still looking good.

Interested in the Easter Jeep Safari... www.rr4w.com

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                     

                      

                      

         

          



4 4TECH BY



 



     

        

   

 



4 4TECH BY





     

        

         



4 4TECH BY



 



      

                

 

         

     



4 4TECH BY



          

     



!! ! !

 

! !     

4 4TECH BY



4 4TECH BY



 

4 4TECH BY

 

          



4 4TECH BY

     

 

 

                 



4 4TECH BY



       

        

     

                



4 4TECH BY



 

                      



   

 



4 4TECH BY



     



4 4TECH BY



 

         

4 4TECH BY

 



4 4TECH BY



DEPARTURE ANGLE

SEMA is nothing if not an amazing car and truck show, the best of the best are trotted out by the manufacturers to show off their latest and greatest parts.

If the old adage “win on Sunday sell on Monday” is still relevant its here at SEMA! I always take time to take a lot of pictures – over 600 in fact, many have been on my Facebook page, Twitter account and Instagram account of everything from cool hot rod engine bays to of course all the trucks – so here you go, 60 of the ones that kinda tickled my fancy! Click the red box for all of them!

Click to the right for images of all the great trucks from SEMA 2016 Oh yeah and click to subscribe right here!!!!!

Got a great shot for the back cover?

Send it in albert@4by4tech.com and if I use it here I’ll stick $50.00 in your pocket!

Until then SUBSCRIBE!!!!!! still free.

Yes you can click here to do that too!