No it's not another "I'm sick of the downfalls of this truck" thread.
I just got back from my second trip to Paragon. While I have an absolute blast wheeling and enjoying the comradery of my fellow wheelers I'm in a constant state of worrying that I'm going to break something, or dent a panel, etc etc.
The guys I went out with today made an excellent point. Why spend 500 on sliders, 1500 on a winch and bumper, and another couple hundred for beefier skid plates, when I can take the 2 or 3K I'd dump into this one and get a beater and start building it up.
I came back from Paragon today with NOTHING to show except a t-shirt, and a nice dent in my rocker panel and driver's side door. Speaking of which, I got the shirt because of this little incident. It says on the back, "I came, I wheeled, and I went home in one piece" However, there's a little arrow pointing to the space between I and went that says Almost. LOL. I would have pictures and videos but my camera man bailed on me this morning. :sosad:
My trip to Paragon taught me a lot! For instance, the level-o-gauge I got is just plain worthless. I was way too busy keeping an eye on the trail in front of me than that stupid little gauge. Although I know my truck's roll over angle is somewhere between 40-45 degrees, as I would of laid my truck on it's side today if it wasn't for the rock that dented my rocker panel and door. I glimpsed down and saw the ball floating somewhere between 40, and 45. I also learned that I need more ground clearance. I came down real hard on the driver's side of the frame and got stuck...really stuck. I also learned that when someone with more experience waves you on to take a bypass...take it!
Anyways, I'm still going to keep this truck, but after I install my sliders, no more mods, and only light wheeling. I'm gonna start hunting down a reg cab toyota from the mid 80s. One that already has a solid front axle and build it up. This way I can go wheeling, beat the piss out of my beater and not really care that I did, have a blast doing it, and not worry that my DD will be out of commission til I get the money to fix it.
Anyways, happy wheeling, and be careful.
I just got back from my second trip to Paragon. While I have an absolute blast wheeling and enjoying the comradery of my fellow wheelers I'm in a constant state of worrying that I'm going to break something, or dent a panel, etc etc.
The guys I went out with today made an excellent point. Why spend 500 on sliders, 1500 on a winch and bumper, and another couple hundred for beefier skid plates, when I can take the 2 or 3K I'd dump into this one and get a beater and start building it up.
I came back from Paragon today with NOTHING to show except a t-shirt, and a nice dent in my rocker panel and driver's side door. Speaking of which, I got the shirt because of this little incident. It says on the back, "I came, I wheeled, and I went home in one piece" However, there's a little arrow pointing to the space between I and went that says Almost. LOL. I would have pictures and videos but my camera man bailed on me this morning. :sosad:
My trip to Paragon taught me a lot! For instance, the level-o-gauge I got is just plain worthless. I was way too busy keeping an eye on the trail in front of me than that stupid little gauge. Although I know my truck's roll over angle is somewhere between 40-45 degrees, as I would of laid my truck on it's side today if it wasn't for the rock that dented my rocker panel and door. I glimpsed down and saw the ball floating somewhere between 40, and 45. I also learned that I need more ground clearance. I came down real hard on the driver's side of the frame and got stuck...really stuck. I also learned that when someone with more experience waves you on to take a bypass...take it!
Anyways, I'm still going to keep this truck, but after I install my sliders, no more mods, and only light wheeling. I'm gonna start hunting down a reg cab toyota from the mid 80s. One that already has a solid front axle and build it up. This way I can go wheeling, beat the piss out of my beater and not really care that I did, have a blast doing it, and not worry that my DD will be out of commission til I get the money to fix it.
Anyways, happy wheeling, and be careful.