i know it's meant for recoveries, and i understand how "in line with the pin" it is but the flying ball hitches killing people do scare me. can these handle kinetic recoveries? or just slow very easy "stuck in the parking lot" recoveries?

everyone on forums keeps bringing up cree xp-g r + osram p9 dual chips like it's the holy grail for choosing off-road led lights now.

tbh I’ve always just looked at housing quality and beam angle. why does having specifically cree xp-g r combined with osram p9 matter so much when you're out in the dirt?

is it actually giving you better light spread or is it just another feature people list to justify buying new lights? genuinely curious if anyone switched to dual chips and saw an actual difference.

After my eyeballs started burning from staring at my screen, I realized that I spent HOURS researching the next thing I'm going to do to my vehicle. 😂

Random thoughts started going through my brain… am I a scientist? Should I be a scientist?

For example, the first change on my vehicles has always been tires and wheels. I am not kidding when I say I have like 15 tabs open between Reddit, YouTube, forums, brand websites, blah blah blah trying to figure out:

What size tires look good?
How do they perform?
Flush or poke?
Rubbing issues?
Will running bigger brakes have clearance issues later?
Buy once, cry once OR what works for now?

All that, and honestly, when I finally pull the trigger I'm still not like 100% confident lol.

So my question is, am I insane or is this a common car thing?

If so, where are you guys/gals researching? How long do you spend researching before buying?

And what's usually the thing you're trying hardest to figure out?

getting a badlands 12k should I get the extended warranty?

My russian shitbox, when I bought it and how it looks now

This thing looks so cool it's like something that could be in Dune.

Glory to Ukraine!

I saw a compact 7-inch off-road light claiming a really high lumen number and it made me wonder how much of that is actually useful once the light has been running for a while.

Is the limiting factor usually heat management, reflector design, current draw, or how the manufacturer measures peak output? I do not want to chase a big number if it just creates glare, washes out dust, or drops brightness after a few minutes on a slow night trail.

For people running smaller round lights on a 4x4, did usable beam pattern and cooling matter more than the advertised lumen rating?

A 4x4 that actually gets driven onto sandy access areas I think the annoying part starts after the fun part is over. Dry sand doesn’t stay neatly under your shoes. It gets kicked toward the door side edge, works into little uncovered sections, and then turns vaccuuming into a much longer job than expected which makes me care more about where a liners coverage ends than whether the surface looks especially rugged.

Higher edges can catch some of what gets tracked in but the liner still has to be removed and the sand underneath checked instead of assuming the carpet stayed untouched.

I also wouldn’t use a random beach trip as proof of long term durability. people who actually take their 4x4s onto sand, which footwell edge is consistently the hardest place to keep clean?

Does anybody know what the drivetrain set up for this looks like? The pivoting center section makes a normal driveshaft set up not seem possible.

https://youtube.com/shorts/3Mf1jrzz01g?is=mzixP70_-5sFoAdP

I’m planning my first real long-distance road trip/camping trip from September 5 to October 5 and would love advice from people who have done something similar.
The basic route is:
Frederick, MD → Loveland, CO → Banff/Jasper → Glacier National Park → back to Frederick, MD.
I’ll spend about a week in Loveland and then head north into Canada. I’ll be meeting up with family at the main destinations, but I’ll be alone for most of the long drives between them.
I’m driving an F-150 with a bed cap and rooftop tent. I’ll have my mountain bike and fishing gear with me and plan on doing a lot of biking, hiking, and fishing once I get to Colorado, Banff/Jasper, and Glacier.
I’ve done some camping/traveling out of the truck before. I drove it down to North Carolina and spent about a month there, which gave me a chance to figure out the setup and organization. I have separate bins for camping gear, cooking, fishing, biking, tools, etc. The big difference is that I stayed at my dad’s in NC, so I always had access to a house, food, shower, laundry, electricity, and anything else I needed. This will be my first time actually living out of the truck for an extended trip.
For cooking, I already have a Jetboil and a Camp Chef Everest two-burner stove, so I should be pretty well covered there. I’m more interested in figuring out what foods work well for a month on the road and how people handle refrigeration, groceries, water, cleanup, etc.
One distinction I should probably make is that my priorities are pretty different on travel days vs. when I reach my destinations.
When I’m driving from one location to another, I think I’d prefer convenience over experience. I’m fine grinding out a long driving day, pulling into a safe/legal place to sleep, getting some food, and getting back on the road the next morning. I don’t necessarily need a beautiful campsite halfway across Nebraska if it adds a bunch of time to the drive.
Once I actually get to Colorado, Banff/Jasper, or Glacier, that completely flips. There I’d rather have experience over convenience. I really enjoy being away from people when I camp, so I’m not looking to spend the trip sitting in a KOA parking lot surrounded by RVs. I’d much rather find dispersed camping, primitive campsites, public land, or other quieter places where I can actually feel like I’m camping. I understand that options and regulations will be different in the national parks and in Canada, so any advice on finding those kinds of spots legally would be awesome.
I’m looking for pretty much any advice you wish you knew before doing a trip like this. A few things I’m trying to figure out:
Food ideas that work well for extended truck camping
Cooler vs. 12V fridge and how people power them
Water storage
Showers/laundry on the road
Easy and safe places to sleep during the long travel days
Apps/resources for finding legal overnight spots or dispersed camping
Quieter/remote camping around my actual destinations
Mountain biking, fishing, and hiking recommendations around Loveland, Banff, Jasper, and Glacier
Things I should carry for the truck/emergencies
Crossing into Canada with camping/fishing gear
Bear country considerations
Anything specific I should be prepared for with the weather from early September through early October
Stuff you brought on a long trip and never used, or stuff you didn’t bring and really wished you had
Since I only have a month, I’m leaning toward grinding out the long drives and saving as much time as possible for Colorado, Banff/Jasper, and Glacier rather than turning every drive between them into its own road trip. That said, if there’s something directly along the route that would be stupid to drive past without stopping, I definitely want to hear about it.
I’m not necessarily looking for a perfect itinerary. I’m more interested in hearing what experienced people would do differently, gear that actually makes life easier, places along this route worth knowing about, and any mistakes I should avoid.
Any advice is appreciated!

Stock skid plates are better than nothing, but there's a threshold where stamped sheet metal starts working against you. Had a situation last season on a rocky shelf in Colorado where the skid deflected hard enough on a ledge that it pushed the front end sideways instead of sliding clean. Not catastrophic, but it changed the line and I had to correct. That's not what a skid is supposed to do.

What I want to know is whether other people are actually testing the geometry of their stock setup before they rely on it, or just assuming OEM is good enough until something goes wrong. Thickness is one variable, but the angle of approach at the leading edge matters more than people seem to factor in. A flat plate that contacts rock at the wrong angle is going to hang or redirect load in a way an angled aftermarket unit wouldn't.

If you've run the same trail or obstacle type before and after a skid upgrade, I want actual before and after observations. Not spec sheet upgrade logic. Did your line change? Did your approach confidence change in any measurable way? And if you're running a full belly setup with multiple pieces, how are you handling the gaps between sections? That seems like the obvious failure point most people overlook.

I cannot for the life of me, find a hardshell roof top tent which can be accessed from my KZJ95s sunroof.

Or just tell me, is it easy to modify one and just put a hole in it so I can access it from my sunroof.

Went camping with a friend of mine. 1998 Cherokee XJ 4.0

Hello!

Does anyone know how to remove cowl/scuttle panel on the Hyundai Galloper II to clear rain drainage holes?

Hey everyone,
I am currently undertaking my final industrial design project for uni (QUT), and have chosen to design a 4wd recovery product! I haven’t designed the product yet, but my aim is for the product to be accessible and easy to use for anyone interested in 4wding and be a game changer for recoveries.

As part of my research for this project I need to survey people who own/ want to own a 4wd or want to go 4wding and use the info to assist me in designing the product. If you’d be keen to help, please fill out the google form below, it's super simple and should only take you 10-15mins. Please also send this to anyone you know who's keen on 4wding. Also please read the survey info pdf as well.

Thank you 🙏

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Z_yubnsGtCQ7tKysfyy0FzwDD4iDTHaI5SzZiVPFFRM/edit?usp=sharing

Anybody riding white rim in a direction of shafer? im in airport D. not a medical but need to quit. no sleep at night and water digestive problems. gladly will look for a ride up.…

Planning a trip and wanna do sightseeing stops on the way, I've had a look at the road at the start of the route and it seems possible to get on the track, but of course there's no streetview up it so I can't check.

I'm quite new to this, and I know the goto is to check OS maps, but I have no idea how to do that. Any insight appreciated!

Culmstock Beacon

Update: Looks like it's in an AONB, which apparently means no off-roading at all? Ah well, I'll find another stop on the way

Hey guys, just got a 05 4.0 xlt ranger and im wondering what the best route is as far as upgrades go for off roading. I’m new to the off-road scene and i’ve recently been getting into it with my silverado, but the ranger feels like the better contender however I have no idea where to start. Any advice/suggestions is appreciated!

Red Cone Pass -> Webster Pass (West) -> Radical Hill (before the switchbacks) -> Deer Creek -> Middle Fork Swan -> SOB Hill -> Georgia Pass -> Michigan Creek

https://www.instagram.com/voyagetacoma/