We Cover Everything
Reader: Ok, everyone loves when their rigs are covered and I am no exception! I'll never complain about the lack of coverage, because you have great articles that give me ideas that I might not get if you only covered a small number of vehicles. And, I get my early bronco fix from bronco driver. Yes, I'm partial to ebs and love that you had three articles that mentioned them: "bronco daze," "backyard axle buildup" (sure looked like the underbelly of an eb), and "carburetor basics." Yep, life is good!! Thanks for holding to your core beliefs on what this mag should be.
Reading the letters to the editor each month I see that you are constantly being challenged on what should be written and published. You have maintained your position of being a wheeling mag for the masses. By covering the old and new, the cheap and expensive, this magazine has gotten better each month of the 15 years I've read it! Congrats and keep up the great work. Now, figure out how you can clone pw because he is the perfect editor for this publication.
Tom patton
White lake, MI
Editor: Thanks. We try to cover everything even though some people don't see that. I wish I could clone myself as well so I could go wheeling instead of sitting in front of this computer!
Reader Feedback
Reader: You said in your latest editorial that you wanted some reader feedback, so here it is.
I grew up in tempe, arizona, and have been wheeling the trails of arizona since I was a kid and my dad taught me how to wheel. I own three jeeps, but have owned and wheeled a wide variety of vehicles, including an '87 dodge raider, a '66 vw baja, a '78 F-250, a '96 dodge cummins 4x4, and a '98 toyota tacoma 4wd. Currently I own an '05 jeep tj with 33s, a 4.0L, a dana 44, a detroit locker, alloy usa shafts f/r, armor, 4.88s, and lots of goodies. I also own a '77 CJ-5 with a 258, a T-18a, a dana 20, 31s, and a full cage.
The first point is that I would still like to see a variety of vehicle write-ups and trail runs in the magazine. Personally I love jeeps, and I don't want to wheel anything else. But that doesn't mean I don't enjoy write-ups about samis, rovers, broncos, blazers, and buggies. Other magazines either have too many jeeps or not enough. I would like to see every 4x4 represented in your magazine, at least proportionately to the number of owners who wheel those vehicles.
I would like to see lots of moab action and trail rides where not everyone has 37-plus-inch tires. I know most guys in my club run tires in the 31- to 35-inch range and don't have three-speed transfer cases and viper engines. I would like to see lots of "real-world" rigs alongside many of the fantasy rigs out there, as well as more oddball 4x4s, trars, and baja/ sandrail action (maybe not too much).
Finally, I would like to see even more arizona wheeling. I love it when you guys come out here and hit the trails. I am sure one of the many clubs would love to take you guys out and give you a great trail run with amazing pictures. We've got a few who might even flop on command for the camera. I suggest the azvjc found at www.virtualjeepclub.com, if you ever plan on coming to arizona and hitting some of our famous trails.
I think you guys have done a great job of balancing these things in the past and I hope you continue for many years into the future. By the way, strapped sandals do rule for wheelin. You're right! I got a sweet pair of nikes for $35 at big 5 that have been along for quite a few wheeling trips thus far.
Morgan richardson
Flagstaff, AZ
Editor: That about says it all. I grew up in tempe, had a 4x4 store there, and cut many of those famous trails with the help of lots of good arizona wheelers!
Geography 101
Reader: I want you to know that i'm not being critical of you in any way here, just a geography 101 lesson for all concerned folks out there who follow every word you say (just like me). In your dec. '07 issue, you noted that kane and denise riccardI on the ultimate adventure hailed from the great state of maryland (just like me) but in the text you said they drove "down from the northeast." But, of course, you know that maryland is not in the northeast. Being south of the mason-dixon line (subject for a future lecture) puts maryland, at best, in the so-called mid-atlantic states. On the other hand, the locals running the state government back at the start of the civil war wanted to leave the union, maryland being a mostly farming and tobacco growing state at that time. But alas, they could not. Being as maryland partially surrounds washington, D.C., there were almost as many federal troops around the countryside as state residents. The rest is history and maryland residents have had a bit of an identity problem ever since. I hope you didn't make it worse for them. It's already a tough world out there!
David Margulies
Acton, CA
Editor: Right you are. By the way, I grew up in tempe, and graduated from arizona state university with a bs in geography. Maybe that's why I had a 4x4 store.
H1 returns
Reader: It's no secret that you guys do not favor independent suspension on a 4x4. However, you voted the original hummer one of the best 4x4s of all time. If a four-wheel independent suspended machine can actually be such a capable off-roader, how do you explain this apparent contradiction?
Steve
Via 4wheeloffroad.com
Editor: Independent front suspension (IFS) has its place in the world, as everything does, including irs. As a rule, most is setups suffer from weak design and construction and by their very nature aren't as durable as a comparable solid axle due to the myriad of extra components and exterior forces. Is does some things better than a solid axle, such as high-speed desert running, while they fail miserably in most rock courses. We'd love to try and make a do-all, be-all is, but the force hasn't been with us yet. Check out all of the "red sled" buildups in the past year and you'll see our point. As far as voting the original hummer one of the best 4x4s of all time goes, more than its suspension is taken into account. Just like most beauty contests, spindly arms and legs don't mean the whole package should be thrown out.