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Over 6+ years on engines I operated all over the country.....thousands of miles all over the western USA. My home base was around the Salmon/Challis National Forest and the BLM lands in that area.

Yes, it happened all the time on the light engines. We would get rocks stuck in the duals just driving around on regular BLM/FS roads. Everyone that operated an engine was taught to check the duals often and how to remove rocks using the 'chain' method where you loop the rock and back over the...

Changing the inside tire requires taking the outside tire off also. It is just extra stuff and extra steps to manage. Having dually rims 'stick' in place is also pretty common. Being able to air the tires down goes FAR beyond ride quality. A vehicle with properly aired down tires will be more...

I ran DRW F350-450 BLM Wildland Fire Engines around for 6 years in a past life. Running dually rear tire packages created more problems than it solved in my opinion. We tried for years to get them to let us try a super single style setup. They just kept buying us tires....and we went through a...

It would have been nice to see wheel width taken into account, wider tires are going be behave differently on a narrower vs wider rim. The testing setup was biased towards the narrower tire that way. One of the major downsides I see with narrow tires is that they tend to lose lateral stability...

For me, a 'Bead Buster' was a game changer for field tire repairs. It is the only reliable solution I have found for de-beading a tire in the field. Yes, you can 'try' to do it with your jack or whatever, but I just find that super cumbersome and dangerous.....more of a parlor trick. The...

I run them on my F350. They have been a very good tire all-around for me. I went from Goodyear Duratrac to the XT's. For me, the snow/ice performance was much much better......and continued through multiple winter seasons. I did have some light cupping on the front tires, but I think that was...

1-4 are best done in a 'lab' setting, you don't want to field break gear to find limits. That is very dangerous without any of the associated safety umbrella when knowingly breaking parts. 5 is always going to be subjective to a degree and doesn't require a load cell, but I would love to share...

Here is an excellent explanation about some of the thermal properties of the Dyneema fiber by the company that invented it . Well worth the watch.

Yes, and that is why I prefer to run winches that have the brake and motor system out of the drum. The only true thermal rope damage I have ever seen is from a poorly setup in-drum brake system that was often time powered out instead of free spooled because the lever was stuck. That did create...

Here is a good visual for how the strength of Dyneema fibers react at elevated temps. Remember, every fiber in that rope has to be at those temps to see even this small decrease in ultimate performance. We should not be operating the rope anywhere near MBS even in drag recovery. The rope winch...

Agree with the temps being relevant, but also not anywhere near any kind of danger zone.... UHMWPE fibers are also an incredible insulator, every single fiber in the rope need to be above the critical temperature before we start to see a decrease in performance. Not just the fibers that are in...

A good video about the concept explained and clarified in further detail.

By 'solid' you are saying no holes? No holes in the wheels makes it pretty hard to wash out the back side of the wheel without having to climb under the vehicle.

Here is a good industry article about some of the challenges with anodizing, and specifically hard coat. https://www.ctemag.com/news/articles/sizing-anodizing They mention the surface texture changes, specifically with heavy hardcoat.....and is in line with what I see on my own parts. As...

Just one note, compressors last longer if they aren't sucking hot air from under the hood. This has been an issue with many ARB twin installs under friends Jeeps hoods.....my compressor under the passenger seat is goin on 8 years old now without any issues while more than one of them has had...

You are conflating a HARD finish with being a SMOOTH surface. I've been very clear on the science behind it all in past posts....and I will try to sum it up again for you and those following along. Anodizing of aluminum is the rapid acceleration of the NATURAL formation of the oxide layer on...

......again......anodizing has no 'friction' advantages over polished aluminum. I've tested both extensively. If you have some data you would like to share, I would love to see it. A gritty rope 'could' wear bare aluminum faster, but again.....the winch rope is not generally going to be a...

That is why the first line of the post is 'Let's talk about the concept of being able to double rig recovery rings for 4-5:1 mechanical advantage'. I also mentioned the general concerns you listed. I thought that was pretty clear this was going to be a general discussion about it and an...

That was my older 'off the shelf' ring solution before I started producing my own....( and it was rather thin standard anodizing ( because its 'blue' ) that was used to allow the company producing the ring to mark and brand their product ) I've tested dozen of rings and ring designs along my...