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This is a unique custom trailer built from an early 1990s Aerotow trailer. The chassis was built by Reno fabricator Bradd Davidson for hard off-road use. It has an extended tongue with a standard 2” ball coupler. It can be shortened or converted to 360-degree coupler. The tongue length was set...

I may have been a RTT skeptic for a number of years in the past, but at this point I'm fully on board. We usually have one on our trailer, which is a lot more convenient than having one on your truck. But the 4Runner isn't a daily driver. While there are a lot of reasons to like a Roof Top...

"I bought this pickup truck because I needed more space than an SUV," is what you might have heard me say about a year ago when I bought a used 2017 Toyota Tacoma Double Cab, Short bed TRD Off-Road. (DCLB TRDOR). And that's a good reason to get a midsize pickup instead of an SUV like a 4Runner...

RV Life My grandfather lived in Louisiana and for a little while he had a dolphin. One summer he drove it out to where we lived in Michegan and took us all on a big road trip. Of course, I mean the Toyota based cab over recreational vehicle, not the marine mammal. And while that RV was...

In 1996 Ford killed off the last bronco. The full size, two-door beast we'd loved since the seventies, was gone. It took 24 years for them to bring it back. But in 1997 they launched the Expedition, a full-size, 4 door SUV following on from the wildly popular Explorer and taking the next step in...

I suppose on some elemental level, every dirt road looks about about like the next. Just an endless valley. Another scraggy mountain range with a name that only means something to the dusty pioneers who gave it. But every road leads somewhere. And this one brings us back here to Sage Valley, The...

Last month I went out with Harry Wagner and Bradd Davidsonto test and shoot photos and video of the new ARB Hydraulic Jack for off road vehicles. I did a test of each lifting Harry’s Jeep LJ. My conclusions are that the ARB JACKis a far better and safer tool for lifting a vehicle than a Hi-Lift...

On a recent group trip we came across a perfect natural experiment to see how OPEN DIFFERENTIALS, LOCKERS, and TRACTION CONTROL handle the same obstacle. I got video of it all and you can see that below. Here are my thoughts on what we saw: How A Differential Works Here's the best video I've...

I think we can all agree that the Ram Power Wagon is the best looking production 4x4 truck on the market today. No? Ok, well then. Can we at least all agree that with a factory lift, front and rear lockers, disconnecting sway bars and burly skid plates and guards and a 12,000 pound Warn...

I’m not going to go into the WHY of a bed rack like this. I think it’s a concept that isn’t super obvious since you can’t really carry lumber or big ladders on it. If you get it, awesome. There are a lot of off-the-shelf options to make a bed rack like this. The best designs I’ve seen are low...

The Snake Lake Jeep trail starts at Gold Lake in the beautiful Lakes Basin California. This is an area we’ve spend a bit of time over the years, but not nearly enough given how close it is to Reno. You could camp here every weekend for an entire season and never get bored. That’s a good idea...

So if anyone is following my Aerotow trailer project, I noticed that there was a MAJOR failure where the tongue assembly bolts to the structure of the trailer. It's all in the video, and the photos below. If you have an Aerotow, give it a check and think about reinforcing it a bit. I think...

The road to Leavitt Lake was the first real test of our trailer in 4-low. It did really well! Trailer action starts about 1:50 Tire pressure is down around 15 psi. I think I'll also take a leaf out of the springs as it's really stiff even fully loaded. The 4Runner tows it OK, but the gearing...

3rd Gen 4Runner DIY Dashboard Accessory Mount I made with 22 gage sheet metal from Home Depot and 3m double stick tape. This holds my iPhone 8 Plus on a Steelie Magnetic Mount, radios and an iPad Mini 4 in a DIY mounting clip. If you make one of these, make sure you use a tape that is not going...

This is version 3 of an SUV Cargo Storage deck that I’m calling a Drawerless Drawer System, and I think I’m done for now. Here's the build video with full process. At the end I address the critical measurements. Keep reading below for more build details and measurements for a 3rd gen 4runner...