I am totally stoked with the rig. The biggest improvement came with the cut fenders. The 37's didn't rub at all on this trip and I definitely had max articulation on some of the trails I ran. Another huge improvement is the weight loss on this thing as it took a lot less work to get up the rocks. I think I used the lockers less than half of what I did the last time I ran these trails. Also loving the short rear end, no a$$-dragging on any rocks. This is also the first trip on the FOR springs I recently mounted. They are not as harsh as the OME's I have always run but there is much more body roll than before and I have to get used to that. I can't wait to take this thing up to Johnson Valley!
You would think but the tubing is pretty light @ roughly 2 lb/ft. It's just a matter of time before I flop mine & it''d be nice to lose alot of the top weight
You have to realize how I was set up when I wheeled this in the past. The rig was a hybrid, Rock Crawler/Expo. It was a HEAVY PIG!!! Yes, the tube for the cage added weight, but this was more than offset by losing the roof,windows, rear hatch, complete interior (2nd row seats, carpet,plastic, rear heater, non working CD player, etc....). And yes I added rear exo but I had this before. integrated into my HEAVY 4x4 Labs bumper (picture below). I also got rid of my HEAVY (165lbs dry) drawer system (picture below) which I always had packed with more $hit than I needed. And then there are the doors. Have you picked up a door yet, they are HEAVY. These will get removed on the harder, tighter trails only. I would have to guess that this is at least 500lbs lighter. If not, it sure feels like it .
rig in Carlsbad today, awesome work VCCruzr...and thanks for the first dibs on the Edelbrock shocks..
