how hard do you wheel?

[65swb45]

I don't build trucks to go looking for trouble, but to make sure I can deal with it when trouble finds me. So far that calls for drawing the line at the Hammers, which just seems like looking for trouble. Have or plan to try just about everything else. A dozen times thru the 'Con, half a dozen on the Dusy, and a boatload of trips to the cali desert, where the washboard takes its own special kind of toll.

Sometimes I still wonder how I haven't rolled once in 25 years of wheeling, when I've had the trucks to the edge [literally, hanging from cables] so many times. I think driving slow helps a lot.

As far as body damage goes, it's amazing what a rattle can can do. Good enough for the cover of Toyota Trails!

 

[killer1954]

Mark

It was nice hanging out with you, a guy that can make a washer from a spring on the side of the road and can entertain you around the campfire. I'll never think of "Stairway to Heaven" quite the same way again

 

[JoeCanadian]

looking around, i see a lot really straight cruisers, many with some mild to moderate lifts, a couple more extreme ones, but not many dents. so what kind of wheeling do you guys do? fire roads (is that even wheeling?)? mild, wide open trails? or are you guys just really good drivers who know and respect the limits of your rigs?not trying to start anything here, just kinda curious.

well i dumped my rig into 22 feet of water and swam to the beach. is that hard or mild??

Vancouver Island submerged truck recovery expedetion

https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=183337

 

[High Desert]

Pussyfooter

this is about a tough as it gets..sometimes the driveway has snow on it but then I usually take my sidekick in case some dumbass S.O.B. slides over my way..

Last winter I was out getting groceries and it rained a little...I was gonna get out and lock my hubs but I had my wingtips and a nice shirt on so I just toughed it out and made it home.

I was going to take the Cruiser to a KOA over in Sisters and camp but I couldn't get my mechanic on the phone to see if it needed serviced. I just sat in the garage and looked at it that weekend..gee it gets cold out there! But I keep the Cruiser covered so I think it's okay...

 

[cruiserhead]

I don`t have a straight panel on my truck.Either I`m wheelin` it hard or I don`t know how to drive it yet.

 

[chicago]

I just did the Rubicon for the first time!
I never knew what "PUCKER FACTOR" truly was till then...
The rain for 2 days didnt help my psyche much either!

I have a lot of dents and dings, broken tail lights and side mirrors, but Im still pretty much a rookie, so Im fairly certain that its just driver skill and NOT that Im wheelin hard...

Chicago

 

[rusty_tlc]

I'm a Bondo & Krylon guy.
The whole passenger side is about 1/4" thick bondo, has been since before I owned the rig. That combined with the rusty sections make the whole tub and front fenders a write off. It also makes me pretty fearless on the trail.

I got a $20 body tool kit at Harbor Freight. I pound out any dents as much as I can then fill with bondo and spray a coat of Hunter Green Krylon on.

My rig meets the 10' rule, from 10' away it looks pretty good. Any closer and you can see the warts.

 

[chicago]

I'm a Bondo & Krylon guy.
The whole passenger side is about 1/4" thick bondo, has been since before I owned the rig. That combined with the rusty sections make the whole tub and front fenders a write off. It also makes me pretty fearless on the trail.

I got a $20 body tool kit at Harbor Freight. I pound out any dents as much as I can then fill with bondo and spray a coat of Hunter Green Krylon on.

My rig meets the 10' rule, from 10' away it looks pretty good. Any closer and you can see the warts.

Hey RustyTLC,
Is that bronco?

Chicago

 

[bustanutley]

I ride my 40 hard, and put her away wet

I built it to use it. I take a trip about every other week during the warmer months. I have rolled once or twice, and have flopped a bunch. This summer I went to Moab, South Dakota, Monte Vista, Rangely, Buena Vista a few times, Penrose couple times, Montrose, and a few other local places. Right now the truck is in hibernation even though nothing is significantly broken at the moment. It hopefully going to be seeing some significant upgrades before phoenix in Feb!

Oh and flat black works really well at hiding body rash Not to mention that 40s just kinda fit thru everything.

 

[Nay]

There's a difference between difficult and stupid. The dents come from stupid.

I did just finish spending about 15 hours polishing the damn oxidized paint, though. Not because I cared that much, but because it was eventually gonna rust even in dry Colorado. She looks real purty now, but still dented.

I always have a right quarter panel dent for some reason. It's just in the DNA.

 

[bull]

There's a difference between difficult and stupid. The dents come from stupid.

That is a silly comment. A lot of dents come from trying difficult lines. Not just being stupid..but I guess you have to try those hard lines to find that out..

Or maybe it is just different wheeling in the NW?

I'm actually proud of this dent. It save our 80 from rolling down a very steep hill while we were off camber..

 

[D'Animal]

I wheel as hard as my Gears in my Rears allows as well as my winch allows.

 

[Nay]

That is a silly comment. A lot of dents come from trying difficult lines. Not just being stupid..but I guess you have to try those hard lines to find that out..

Or maybe it is just different wheeling in the NW?

I'm actually proud of this dent. It save our 80 from rolling down a very steep hill while we were off camber..

I have dents - they come from doing the stupid difficult lines that your spotters are warning you about

My tongue and cheek point was that seeing pretty rigs vs. beat up rigs is more a function of the owner's "know when to quit because I care about my rig" than it is about running difficult trails or not.

I don't run trails that are so difficult that they are damage mandatory in a rig the size of an 80 - I run trails that are moderate if you take every bypass and diffcult to entry level hardcore if you don't bypass. I don't wheel to take bypasses, and my few real dents have all come from real moments of driver error where I pushed it to far. My picture leaning against the tree is exactly like yours, except that you drove through and ripped off some goods where we pulled from the side to get it off the tree before coming forward. Otherwise, the size of the main dent is about the same.

Of course, you poor coastal types are about guaranteed damage in those tight trails. Go to Moab and you can do insane stuff and come home with some dust. You get a dent in Moab using reasonable common sense and chances are you dented 2-3 sides at the same time

 

[LandCruisers4Life]

I'm not into trashing my vehicles, but I like to wheel. I am not a rock crawler, but if I encounter some rock crawling on a trail, I deal with it and get on with the fun stuff. I have been in some very precarious positions and have run lots of trails over the years without incident but one. That one incident caused a LOT of damage to my FJ40, as it was a roll over at night down a hill. I drove it back up the hill and home afterwards. I continued to drive my bashed up FJ40 for about 4 years before deciding to park it and begin the long process of a restoration. Now we wheel our Rover, and my new FJ I bought a little over a year ago. I've had the new FJ on some pretty rough trails for a stocker, and it performs great. I can hardly wait to start transforming it into the expeditionary vehicle I desire. So you can wheel hard, and dumb, or you can wheel hard and keep your head. I made a mistake years ago, a bad judgement call allowing my ego to get into the way of better judgement. I don't do that anymore. Older, and wiser and more into fun than ego.

 

[peepers]

love my truck... my wife loves my truck and i dont want to beat it. i wanna keep it straight and so does she... glass 6 roads and easy trails are what make me happy.

 

[agent orange]

A tree fell on my truck in a hurricane years ago, so the roof has always been a little on the crumpled side, so i really dont care about body damage. I try and keep the doors straight so i can enter and exit, but every panel has taken a shot at least once, and everything at rocker level is trashed.

Im never selling the truck, and i like to follow the minis and 40s on 38s i wheel with. I keep up, i just get tagged and hung up more than they do. Its all in what you want to accomplish. I want to wheel blacks, so i deal with the damage.

 

[brownbear]

with my trucks they are family rigs, so it's kinda limiting to the adventure. Plus when you get really far from town and are alone it's kinda silly to push things too far.

I use my trucks for long distance bush machines(like a cruiser was made for), so it comes with the territory to take the easier path when the option is there.

 

[Dirty Toadette]

i like the toad the way she is-- not perfect or afraid of a challenge, but fairly clean and straight. we've gotten some MINOR dents here and there and buff-out-able scratches, but I'd be really bummed if we rolled or flopped her. We tend to keep to the moderate trails with a bit of everything for variety. Overall, she's a family wagon meant for family wheelin' and haulin'.

 

[dmede808]

I don't "wheel" so much as I "cruise"

I use my truck as an off-road road-trip platform, in a more expedition style of cruising (what the wagons are more suited to IMO). This usually just means forest service roads or desert track. Some minor stream crossings, shallow washes and not too big rocks... but lots of miles of open road with no one around. When your on a solo road trip away from civilization caution is the word of the day and avoiding what most "wheelers" lunge at is what keeps you going

 

[stuck in GA]

Well when I had my cruiser I drove it hard. Check the pics at the link at the bottom for some examples. Or ask from the people at gsmtr. If you got it wheel it.