Yoinkers... You're funny guy...

[KaiserBill]

Understanding intent on a forum is like playing poker on the internet. It just doesn't work right. Fortunately it would take a lot more than a bit of trolling to ruffle me. Doesn't mean I won't poke back if I think the opinion is ill-informed. I just think that (like you said) Kaiser is a different kind of off-roader and is outspoken. Trying to tell him publicly about the tread-lightly mantra and the negative effects of trashing the trails, will all fall on deaf-ears. Its just not his style.

That being said - he's in to the trial truck style of wheeling - which seems popular in most former soviet and eastern european countries (which I've surmised from the language in the plethora of youtube videos). Sweet. Unfortunately, there aren't many (any?) places near me where people do that kind of wheeling. I saw a deuce and half up in Rausch Creek driving through a mud hole and making a 9 point u turn.

Kaiser - seriously - what do you do if you get a flat tire with that thing or pop a bead? Do you use a bottle jack under the axle to lift it up (even small ones are rated at 20 tons) Do you just drive on the other tires to safety or a shop? Can it be done by a single person? I've seen a stryker tire changed by one person, but it took some serious effort and some staging.

What kind of mileage do you get? I get between 16 and 17 with my turbo. My carb'd v8 CJs got maybe 8-10mpg. I can't fathom what a trial truck my burn through..

Tread lightly-- I am treading lightly as 18500lbs of truck will do. I mean come on. The bigger the truck the less ecofriendly it is.

Tires: Well they aren't hard to get off the front with a proper heavy duty breaker bar and 2 ft pipe. The only problem is to remember Right Side of the truck has right hand threads and the left side has left hand threads on the tires. I use a couple of 20ton jacks and bring a serious amount of cribbage. The duals are more annoying but they can be done in the field. It is best to get to a flat spot and then repair the tires. As for the loss of a bead- not big issue since the tire is tube type-- yeah baby 1940's tech. But trying to reseat the bead in the split rims will probably get you killed in the field. It is best to put the spare on and fix in the shop with the tire cage-- that is unless you like being dead or maimed. Again 40's tech at its best!

Fuel consumption on the high is about 10mpg cruising at 50mph at 2400rpm if you do a 900 mile trip. Around town you get about 6mpg. The Trail Trucks maybe get 2-4mpg-- did you see how much black smoke-they had the injector pumps turned up very high.

[Timmy]

Tread lightly-- I am treading lightly as 18500lbs of truck will do. I mean come on. The bigger the truck the less ecofriendly it is.

Funny, when that phrase started to become popular for off-roading, I just don't think they envisioned it being used on military vehicles. You could say the same thing about grenades and dynamite. "Blow-up lightly!" "Well, I try to blow-up as lightly as possible, but let's be real, it's 5 sticks of dynamite and there's only so much I can do to be eco-friendly with 5 sticks."

[KaiserBill]

The truth is that if you drive off-road you will do damage to the environment. I personally, try to keep the damage to areas where its overall impact is reduced. Like blowing up 5-sticks of dynamite in a quarry and not in a pristine river bed.