How Did You Get Started, And What Are Your Plans?

[honda333]

Well, i grew up racing & riding dirtbikes and since i broke my hip & femur, i have now started my off-road journey. I just have an old 1996 toyota tacoma 4x4. need to get suspenson put on it, but i had a rollcage welded inside, so thats a start. Would love o get some feedback on what i should get on as far as suspension goes, with somewhat of a small budgett???

martin
Ocotillo - Ride Ocotillo Wells

[shimniok]

I got started in 4x4 when I was into photography and my Nissan SE-R was too low slung to explore dirt roads. I shopped around and settled on the Grand Wagoneer-- price and features were spot on. I spent two years looking for a CJ off and on first, but all were crap for a lot of $$. After purchasing the 86 GW in 97 I quickly got into wheeling, first trip was to Moab. Good place to start I guess. Soon the photography took a back seat and I was taking photos more of wheeling than anything else.

Michael

[bc backroads]

i bought my first 4x4 when i was 13, a 67 merc with a 390 4spd, {damn i wish i hadn`t wrecked that truck} i grew up on a cattle ranch in the interior mountains of British Columbia, cars were a uncommen sight, we had 28 miles of rough {graded every 15 yrs} road before you hit 40 miles of graded gravel road on your way to town {the last 10 miles were paved} we did all our own repairs there on the ranch, it was unheard of to drive to town for repairs.

never got any schooling on mechanics, it was learn as you go, by 16 i was building motors, trannies and transfer cases, dad would say " you broke it, you fix it" i owe him for it. now i pass on what i learned to my sons, i have 5 4x4s now a 06 dodge 1500 quad cab{daily driver} a 77 ford shortbox {514 stroker c6 np 205 dana 60s } a 86 f350 diesel{ wood truck} 86 ranger mitsibushi 4cyl turbo diesel{the mountain goat} and a 76 f250 with a 65 f250 body { a work in progress , 429 4spd np 205 , coming soon 44 ground hogs} wheeling for my family is like going to church, we go every weekend, until the snow hits, then we pull out the sleds, i feel sorry for all the people in these groups trying to shut our back country down, THEY JUST DON`T GET IT, to some of us its a way of life, and i will fight to the death to protect our rights to go out and get dirty

[1976chev]

i just got a 1976 chevy c10 and as looking to lift it 4 inches what do you reccomend for best overall quality and best price because i don't have too much money to spend

[stumblefoot]

Originally Posted by 1976chev

i just got a 1976 chevy c10 and as looking to lift it 4 inches what do you reccomend for best overall quality and best price because i don't have too much money to spend

rough country makes a good 4" lift pretty good price too.

I started wheeling at the Governments expense. Joined the Army at 17 years old as a driver 64B. Jeeps, Kaiser 3/4 tons and duece & a halfs. Off roading at Ft Leonard Wood Mo. Then off to Europe to trash around the training areas. Then some great sand racing in the middle east (it was safer back in the 70s) the sand racing experience came in handy during desert storm 1. I retired in 94, and been wheeling at my own expense since then. A few CJs an Internatioal scout, an awesome Bronco. Now its a 84 Blazer, and still have some Jeeps to play with.

My buddy had a '70 chevy 2x body lift and 33s. My first truck! After I sunk that afew times. I moved on to a CJ5 that was to small. Next would be a '71 K-5 then an '84 K-5, fullsize 4x4 chevy van, then my baby '86 SUB 35s 400+ hp all the bells + whistles still have it. Then comes the wife. And a 99 XJ then '99 WJ, '00 TJ, And now the LJ all the trucks Ive had they all have pro&cons but the LJ is by far the best allaround 4x4 out of all of them and I beat on every one of them. The most important thing I've learned over the years is to Tread Lightly.

[01mickey]

I started out of a need to get to and from home we lived in teh country up in the area of lake Erie.
So lake effect snows would pretty much burry us as kids i remeber having to go out and litterly dig out the front door.

So i learnd early that it was a good idea to have a 4x4 of some kind around at all times.
and when your not useing them as a tool theyare great toys!! the wife hates this idea but hey she shall learn to LOL

I recently got back in to it after returning from Germany with the wife and kids to Texas. i wanted to go hunting and the 03 monte carlo SS just didnt fit the bill. so i wanted Needed a truck to take hunting. so i started to look and a guy at work had the 86 4x4 i paid 400.00 in payments for it.

I need to do some real work on it but hey it is goign to be a fun thing to do. and also i can enjoy it instead of sinking th emoney in to my monte carlo. I have put enough in to it ove rthe last 4 years. not including purchase price of 24,000 i have put 7-10,000 in to it. and when trying to sell it i was offer 12,000 from a dealership. for a car that has won 4 shows go figure.

[rezrider]

neighbor brothers/best friends of mine each got a bike, parents already had a truck and travel trailer. They took me with them for a weekend at Escape Country in orange County (years ago). Got the bug, dad bought me a 73 Suzuki TM 125...had that until 78, bought a new Yamaha TT500 ( a real sled)...modified the heck out of it, forks, swingarm, shocks, etc. Got an 85 Honda XR600 ( a cadillac compared to the TT). Sold it, got out of riding for about 10 years. Got back into it with quads, a toy hauler to carry them around. Went on a long "guy ride" where all thother guys had bikes. It tore me up! Decided i was done with quads and bought myself a used Husky 610. All this time I/we have ridden in the desert in the fall/winter/spring months and the mountains (when it was legal) in the summer. Now it's stricktly the dez. Bought property in Johnson Valley (funny story), directly across the highway from the entrance (Boone road) to Means dry lake (the Hammers). I had posted a thread previously about the tornado that was to blow thru JV last night and was wondering if anyone has heard of the results of any damage, etc.!

[Trucker]

It started back in 2005 when I helped my grandad move rail-road crossties in the southern New Mexico desert of Truth or Consequences for a week, and he gave me a 1973 Dodge D200 2WD Auto. I dig the truck, just put a newer 360 into it to replace the factory 360 I tore up. Originally bought by my great-grandad.

I'm considering purchasing a Dana 44 front axle, transfer case, standard transmission and steering colmn (sp?) as I would like it to be a standard 4-wheel-drive, but I may just leave it as-is.

It got worse when he gave me a 1997 Dodge Ram 1500 4x4, 5.2L manual 5-speed, NV2500 transfer case, 3.55 gears on LT245/75R16 tires as a graduation present. It was his pride and joy, as he bought it new. It's the best truck, I love it!

I don't plan much for it, except a Gibson exhaust, Hypertech programmer, off-road lights, Herculiner, and possibly some Ranchhand brushguard/bumper deals. I daily-drive it, so I try to keep it clean and squeeze gas mileage out of it as much as I can. Besides, with 147,500+ miles on the ticker, i can't afford to beat on the thing! hahaha..

[mathewhadley]

It was Curley who taught me how to bulldog and it was Curley who convinced me to go back to college. So, if it wasn’t for Curley, I would have much better knees, but also no degrees and no career.I have many fond memories of Curley, but will share two which I believe best describe him.
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Mathew hadley

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