Clutch’s deep thoughts thread...

[phsycle]

I don't like the ARB either, but it isn't on there for looks though.

Ha ha, sometimes I think I need 2 of them. One built out for exploring and a stock one for commuting. Hey now! There is a thought!

View attachment 481598

Yeah, I know you said you have it on there for deer protection. I just like the stock bumper better---that's all. One benefit is that it makes you a bro overlander, which I will be sure to point out from time to time.

I am now daydreaming about buying a 1st Gen double cab and converting it to 5-sp.

Just the labor alone would worth it. 4X8 gets a little tight with 2-3 bikes in there. Even 5X8 is squeeze.

That does get tight. I couldn't fit my ATV in there in a 4x8, either. 5x10 is probably the way to go.

 

[2manyprojects]

My D'max Colorado has the "Auto" mode for the transfer case. I'm still not 100% sure what it does, or avoids over just going to 4 Hi, but it's there.

V-8 conversions are great, but unless you're driving mostly street/highway or hardcore wheeling and willing to accept even less fuel economy, they aren't the quite the sublime solution. I've been driving my FJ-60 L/C with V-8 conversion for 9 years now, and my little diesel for 2. While I love the power and sound of that Ramjet under the hood of the 60 (fulfilled my childhood hotrod fantasies), the little D'max is doing everything I want with less drama and much better economy. I park them together every night, hoping one morning I'll wake up and find a nice little Toyota diesel in the driveway...

 

[jasmtis]

Wasn't aware of those trucks being AWD. And cycling the hub lock is so Ford. There has existed transfer case differentials for like 30 years.

Try 70 years(well, really 50 if clunky traditional transfer-case based systems don't count), Series 1 Land Rovers had full time 4wd in 1950, albeit with an unusual freewheel unit that worked sort of like a Detroit Locker, where the front axle is locked on throttle and disengaged off-throttle. The LT95 gearbox that came to the Series in 1969 and the Range Rover in 1970 was a manual transmission with an integrated two-speed transfer case that included a lockable center diff.

 

[2manyprojects]

I have to confess I could be a poster boy for ARB, but they aren't light. They recently released the Summit bar for the 2nd gen Colorado's: 185 lbs added to the front end (no winch)! There's a cute little video of an ARB rep talking up the bumper and then going on about the release soon of an OME suspension, mostly to support the weight of that bumper?

My pet peeve with a lot of trucks I see around town is the front permanent-mount winch. I have no issue with winches and Warn is in town here, but it amazes me how many people have that 80-100 lbs setting up front, and have used it maybe 3 times ever. I've spent more time helping people fix them when they try to use them and find it's corroded / failed/ seized. I know if you need it, you need it, but my little manual Wyeth-Scott has more than paid for itself in multiple vehicles.

 

[bkg]

Try 70 years(well, really 50 if clunky traditional transfer-case based systems don't count), Series 1 Land Rovers had full time 4wd in 1950, albeit with an unusual freewheel unit that worked sort of like a Detroit Locker, where the front axle is locked on throttle and disengaged off-throttle. The LT95 gearbox that came to the Series in 1969 and the Range Rover in 1970 was a manual transmission with an integrated two-speed transfer case that included a lockable center diff.

didn't early jeep Cherokee's (full size) have AWD in the 60's as well?

/i'm a wealth of useless information

 

[phsycle]

I know if you need it, you need it, but my little manual Wyeth-Scott has more than paid for itself in multiple vehicles.

Is that basically a come along? How has it worked in recovery situations?

I agree with the winch. Awesome to have. But seldom gets used (for me). I was thinking of just adding a recovery point, or a recovery bar, then just carrying a come along or hi lift.

https://www.bpfabricating.com/products/tacoma-recovery-tow-hook

http://mobtownoffroad.com/product/front-recovery-bar/

 

[Clutch]

Yeah, I know you said you have it on there for deer protection. I just like the stock bumper better---that's all. One benefit is that it makes you a bro overlander, which I will be sure to point out from time to time.

I am now daydreaming about buying a 1st Gen double cab and converting it to 5-sp.



That does get tight. I couldn't fit my ATV in there in a 4x8, either. 5x10 is probably the way to go.

Ya know...I wouldn't mind a 5-sp DCSB for a run around vehicle.

Need to throw up the "O" "L" gang sign when I see another Over-Land Bro pass. Ha ha!

5X10 would give me an extra 2'...that would be nice.

I was going to throw my stock bumper back on, but I left it in AZ by mistake when we moved. Could buy another...but deer. (well Pronghorn in the pic)

 

[jasmtis]

didn't early jeep Cherokee's (full size) have AWD in the 60's as well?

/i'm a wealth of useless information

Something like that, I know I've read about Jeeps with full-time lockable 4wd much earlier than you'd expect from Jeep especially though I'm unsure of the year.

I too am a wealth of useless information, especially about cars and trucks I don't and will probably never own. The Rover tidbit is at least somewhat relevant to my life because I want to replace the viscous unit in my later Range Rover Classic with an LT230(the non-integrated lockabl;e center diff transfer case that followed the LT95) sooner or later

 

[phsycle]

Ya know...I wouldn't mind a 5-sp DCSB for a run around vehicle.

Need to throw up the "O" "L" gang sign when I see another Over-Land Bro pass. Ha ha!

5X10 would give me an extra 2'...that would be nice.

I was going to throw my stock bumper back on, but I left it in AZ by mistake when we moved. Could buy another...but deer. (well Pronghorn in the pic)

Sell it for $600 + the stock bumper. There is your trailer money. It's like @2manyprojects said--adding components to use a handful of times over the course of the life of the truck....may not make sense. Of course, right when you take it off, there will be an antelope standing in the middle of the road around the corner. .....In the middle of the night. .....During a blizzard.

 

[jasmtis]

Sell it for $600 + the stock bumper. There is your trailer money. It's like @2manyprojects said--adding components to use a handful of times over the course of the life of the truck....may not make sense. Of course, right when you take it off, there will be an antelope standing in the middle of the road around the corner. .....In the middle of the night. .....During a blizzard.

Doesn't that apply to most protection and recovery mods though? Just because you have full skids and sliders doesn't mean you should go around trying to put them to use, but it could very easily mean the difference between thinking to yourself 'well, guess I smacked a rock' before carrying on with your trip and a very expensive day.

 

[Clutch]

Sell it for $600 + the stock bumper. There is your trailer money. It's like @2manyprojects said--adding components to use a handful of times over the course of the life of the truck....may not make sense. Of course, right when you take it off, there will be an antelope standing in the middle of the road around the corner. .....In the middle of the night. .....During a blizzard.

Ha!

Not a total poser Do try and hit the dirt as much as possible, so I can justify the ARB and well the truck itself. I'll go do some "micro-overlanding" if I have a long lunch...this spot isn't too far from work. I'll go plunk around for an hour or two, eat lunch then head back to work. Doesn't everyone do that, yeah?



The "Westfalia" and "<---Pass" stickers are homage to my old VW. Manual Gear Box Preservation Society sticker is the other.



Even have a moto trailhead 10 minutes from work, and I run up the mountain on singletrack. Bike is plated...I'll trailer it to work, when I get off..I'll change into the clown suit, then ride over. Awful here I tell you, just awful!

 

[2manyprojects]

Is that basically a come along? How has it worked in recovery situations?

I agree with the winch. Awesome to have. But seldom gets used (for me). I was thinking of just adding a recovery point, or a recovery bar, then just carrying a come along or hi lift.

https://www.bpfabricating.com/products/tacoma-recovery-tow-hook

http://mobtownoffroad.com/product/front-recovery-bar/

Wyeth-Scott

The Wyeth could be considered a "come along", but will pull up to 3K single line and you can generate a lot more pull than a regular come-along. It's fairly light (30 lbs) with the AmSteel synthetic line and comes with pulley to double the line. While I wouldn't challenge any electric winch to a pulling contest, I've been pleasantly surprised how much it will pull, if you're willing to crank it. Kind of like a Hi-Lift, you're more limited by how invincible you feel attempting to use it.

What I like is keeping it in a tool bag with a tree strap and some shackles and being able to grab it and take it where ever needed. Picture you start sliding sideways on a narrow trail and hitting that, "holy @&%$, I'm going to lose it off this edge!". Stop, secure the rig, grab it and pull laterally from the bumpers or sliders until back on the good stuff. The winch in the front is great when you want to pull straight forward, otherwise you're in the middle of a physics experiment.

I'm still trying to figure out a removable electric winch mount that doesn't have to stick out like a pole vault pole, and can be used front and rear...

 

[2manyprojects]

Clutch, we're probably all posers, given the armor on our trucks vs. actually using it. I only wonder how many get so caught up in the "look" without realizing they're adding 350 -500 lbs to their rigs...

Wife and I were lucky enough to spend 2 mo's in Australia back in 2003. This was our rental car:


(Diesel, of course!)

We picked this up in Sydney and drove most of the Eastern coast. I'll never forget checking out everything with the mechanic when we picked it up. Picture this gruff guy with a thick german accent, "When you're driving, don't worry about the kangaroos, they'll bounce. BUT, watch out for those wombats, they'll mess you up!". We later stopped at a zoo and I got a close look at a wombat; picture a sawed-off buffalo without horns...

 

[phsycle]

Ha!

Not a total poser Do try and hit the dirt as much as possible, so I can justify the ARB and well the truck itself. I'll go do some "micro-overlanding" if I have a long lunch...this spot isn't too far from work. I'll go plunk around for an hour or two, eat lunch then head back to work. Doesn't everyone do that, yeah?

View attachment 481608

The "Westfalia" and "<---Pass" stickers are homage to my old VW. Manual Gear Box Preservation Society sticker is the other.

View attachment 481609

Even have a moto trailhead 10 minutes from work, and I run up the mountain on singletrack. Bike is plated...I'll trailer it to work, when I get off..I'll change into the clown suit, then ride over. Awful here I tell you, just awful!

Nice. That would be too much distraction for me. Like going to college in Hawaii.

I'll be getting my share of armor. I'd like to get some skids and maybe a rear bumper, perhaps this Black Friday. I bashed the stock one up pretty good wandering in Colorado.

 

[phsycle]

Wyeth-Scott

The Wyeth could be considered a "come along", but will pull up to 3K single line and you can generate a lot more pull than a regular come-along. It's fairly light (30 lbs) with the AmSteel synthetic line and comes with pulley to double the line. While I wouldn't challenge any electric winch to a pulling contest, I've been pleasantly surprised how much it will pull, if you're willing to crank it. Kind of like a Hi-Lift, you're more limited by how invincible you feel attempting to use it.

What I like is keeping it in a tool bag with a tree strap and some shackles and being able to grab it and take it where ever needed. Picture you start sliding sideways on a narrow trail and hitting that, "holy @&%$, I'm going to lose it off this edge!". Stop, secure the rig, grab it and pull laterally from the bumpers or sliders until back on the good stuff. The winch in the front is great when you want to pull straight forward, otherwise you're in the middle of a physics experiment.

I'm still trying to figure out a removable electric winch mount that doesn't have to stick out like a pole vault pole, and can be used front and rear...

I might pick one of those up. Either that, or a portable winch and add that receiver hitch up front.