Recent content by deserteagle56

I call BS on Maintenance! Leaf suspensions require more maintenance due to moving parts? What moving parts? Compared to a coil suspension which has to use a track bar, and an upper and lower control arm on both side of the axle???

^This! I've owned both leaf-sprung and coil-sprung 4x4 vans. Current one (2007 Quigley) is coil sprung. I live out in the middle of Nevada - very few paved roads. All those rough dirt roads wear out all the bushings on a coil suspension pretty fast - and as mentioned, then you have loose...

There's an abandoned mining camp out in the middle of Nevada that I visit every once in a while. Cabins are still in good shape so the Boy Scouts use it for yearly gatherings. One of the rooms has a working piano still in it...with a Hank Williams bobblehead sitting on the piano!

Well...around here I've not seen any "geezers" packing. But the other day when I was in the local Walmart there I saw two different couples "packing"...open carry, both husband and wife. One couple had to be early 20s, the other slightly older. And no one was making an issue of it.

Good to see that Left Hand Collet canyon is open again. It was completely washed out and impassable a couple times in the past few years.

I would not recommend the KDSS option. You can go on the 4Runner forums and read about all the problems owners have had with that system. As long as there is a locker in the rear the 4Runner is very capable on gnarly terrain. Actually, from my reading the KDSS is more of a help controlling...

This guy is acknowledged to be pretty much the guru as far as Toyota vehicles. Here is his take on the new 4Runner:

Then you will be a beta tester for a redesign, with all new engine and transmission. I'd wait a year or two and let them work out the bugs. Toyota does good work but if you follow trucks at all you know that the recent redesign of the Toyota Tundra did not go well...had to recall most of them...

Yup! Didn't know it when I bought mine but found out afterwards that all 4Runners are built in the Lexus factory in Japan. Which is why you can't actually order one to your own specifications as you can a Ford or a Jeep. I ordered a Jeep Wrangler some years ago and when it arrived 3 months...

All three are capable and enclosed. Only one is reliable, and that is the Toyota. Caveat - talking about 5th generation and older 4Runners. Jury is still out on how dependable the new 6th generation will be with the turbocharged 4 cylinder engine and all-new transmission. I've been a Jeep...

For the roads you are mentioning a dually is not a problem. Mine has thousands of off-pavement miles on it with no problem - see pic below. Never had a rock stuck between the tires...I'm sure it does happen but it is pretty rare. I worked at a mine all my life where there were a lot of dual...

Long Hollow Road to the Catlow Valley in Oregon:

Yes, absolutely! That hard side will weight 3000 lb or more once you have it loaded for traveling. If you carry all the other stuff you mentioned you are looking at another 1000 lbs on top of that. So now, not only are you looking at an F350 but maybe even a dually. Any half ton will have a...

In Fable Canyon, Utah...far from any roads so I couldn't show my Yamaha!

Bought a 2016 F150 4x4 Supercab with the 3.5 Ecoboost new. 80,000 miles on it now and never been in the shop for any reason. Change oil/filters and rotate tires is all I've ever needed to do. Overall fuel mileage since new, hand calculated, is 20.5 and that includes a lot of miles towing a...