Montana Tacomas

Stupid people at Yellowstone again.

This time a 9yo was thrown by a bison.
https://kbzk.com/news/outdoors/2019...rzFxL9JlXIGlonejCePLl3PY6mfoVi2ZmWVd-FXlwgjGc

 

Those are 34s haha so you might need more than a cab mount chop..

 

Damn! Beat me to it. Might be rude but man she got some air!!

Edit; no video in link above, adding link.

https://billingsgazette.com/news/st...q7ACVKXXO4ZMRAAl7ErEQToS-Q5AQkA8VUZ4u11szwGA8

 

Already had a few places in mind for the plates, but I'll check those out. Done plenty of suspension modification in the past, so I'm not worried about the alignment.

I'm using another build as a guide for mine and that one only needed a CMC, so with how similar the builds will be dimensionally, I don't think it'll be an issue.

 

I happen to know a guy who can do an alignment....

 

Again, stuff that happened 7-8 year ago and before my involvement. Literally some of the very first episodes. That said we are still learning and certainly still pushing the comfort level of some team members. Persue trouble. On our very last trip I taught a class on breaking a bead, repairing internal tire damage and reseating a bead via air or combustion. We add skillsets each time we travel.

I’ve been fortunate to have some pretty amazing adventures over the last decade or so. I can’t think of one of them that we went into 100% prepared. Hell we bought a car and raced the Baja 1000 while everyone else telling us to “work up to it”. We may have looked like a bunch of buffoons (and certainly some let us know that) but in 50 years I won’t be telling the story about the time we stayed home because we weren’t ready

 

I wasn’t on the Boulder Basin trip... that was a handful of the new guys planning their own adventure and executing. Were they in over their head? Perhaps. But there is exactly how people learn.

You apparently make time to watch the show regularly? If you don’t like it, why watch? I wish I had the time in life to watch stuff I liked let alone the time to watch stuff I don’t like lol

 

It’s both ethically and environmentally acceptable to trim, prune or cut a tree allow legal access to a trail. Don't use a knee jerk reaction to assume everyone with a bow saw or chain saw is operating in an environmentally unfriendly way.

Really? You’re going to compare Yellowstone and cutting down a tree on a narrow trail.


Gents, with that logic. Every trail in the west would eventually be choked from a full-size 4x4 route to a SXS route, to a ATV route until they close it to motorized travel. We have a USFS adopted trail here in Utah and have cleared dozens of miles of trails each spring/summer. It’s not uncommon to trim encroaching trees along with deadfall on a legal right-of-way.

 

Damage control? Simply offering a perhaps less jaded perspective imo. Most of the criticism relates to admittedly naive choices the XO team made 7+ years ago and as I have mentioned several times I don’t think you’ll find anyone past or present that considers everyone of those decisions a sound idea lol. I’ve absolutely done my best to help educate the team where I can and where I have appropriate knowledge and the team as a whole is always attempting to refine and learn. I’ve been a member here on TW for sometime and have alerts for anything in my sphere. When I saw an XO discussion I figured I would chime in. Certainly not the first time on the many forums I participate in... can guarantee as long as we are making episodes it won’t be the last. It’s naive at best for anyone to think our content will entertain or be suitable for all, it’s not. For those that take the time to watch it and enjoy it, I say thanks. For those that gave it a try and didn’t enjoy it, I say thanks there too.

Yes, Cruiser Outfitters is my day to day. I keep a lot of irons in the fire (too many) but I’ve been doing Cruisers full time now since 2006. Never thought it would be a lifetime job but here we are.

Lol. Yeah, it’s gotta be one of those.


I am a member of the group. I primarily cover logistics and borders. I had just finished a Panamerican Highway trip with Expeditions7 when Clay (whom had been a cinematographer on several of the E7 legs) was getting ready to do Mexico and Central America with his group. I was invited to join them for the trip. I’ve since done McKenzie Trail, South America, Australia, some Toyota USA projects and a handful of smaller trips with the team. I’ve not done every trip so I’m not always going to have insight as to how or why decisions were made and I don’t always agree with even the decisions I make after the fact. Keep in mind for every 20 minute episode you see, we film for about a week so while the storyline is completely authentic, often there is backstory that just wouldn’t fit in the episode.

 

Mmm pretty sure clay was on that trip wasn't he? He isnt a "new guy".

And no. I haven't watch and don't watch it. The only reason I know about that is someone point it out to me. So I watched through bit of it. Cracks me up the video edit isn't even in order and it bounces around where they are in the trails too ha

So yeah. I don't watch it. But when a friend says you made a video of trails in my back yard that I grew up on, if course I'm gonna skim it to see what you did. That's not a very good argument to my point about presenting what we do in backwards way to please sponsers...but whatever.

You asked, I answered, your retorts have no weight or substance...just like the videos.

I'm happy for you and everyone there that gets to basically off-road for a living. Id bet money everyone is jealous of that. Doesn't mean you're doing a good job at it though, and I'm saying that as a fellow offroader and a professional audio engineer that works in film.

But keep at it, always room to grow. I can only hope one day you guys will go back to showing people it's not about the gear you have and rig you have but who you're with and the adventure you have with them.

 

Right, I said the new guys planned the adventure. We were in Australia when they selected a place to go and planned the trip. Clay wasn’t originally planning to go but figured he should hop in last minute. The other gents come from a variety of experience, Richard drove his Toyota pickup to Ushuaia (see Desk to Glory) but didn’t have much experience in a full-size at the time as I recall. Will is brand new to off-roading, Eric has a bit of experience (sheriff deputy) but I’m guessing not with a full-size truck? I’ve never traveled with either of them personally.

I suppose it’s all relative. Plenty out there that are happy with our work, do find inspiration in our efforts and are willing to invest with us be it time or sponsorship money. Your definition of “good job” and mine might be quite different for free content that poeple are compelled to watch only under their own good will.

Ironically most conversations I have with folks that don’t like XO is their dislike of the newer episodes that admittedly have far more sponsor influence. They often wish it could be like the original episodes where it was just some friends out adventuring. Yet with the exception of the Wyoming trip, all of the comments in this thread have been about the early trips and the distaste for them. Proof you can’t please them all? I too wish we the gear wasn’t so centric to trips but the show does require a quite robust budget and free content on YouTube doesn’t pay much at all so the admins have chosen high quality manufactures to work with and in exchange they rightfully want to see their products discussed, used and show cased. It is a business and does employ up to a half dozen full time folks at any given time. It’s not easy work (imo) but it’s growing and at the end of the day that is the sign of success. I thank you for at least giving the show a chance.

PS I have to ask. Is your post count legitimate? 23 posts per day for the last 9 years? I thought I was pretty invested in some forums but that is getting some work done. Impressive.

 

I think everyone here would agree the first episode up independence pass was great. It's after that it went down hill for most I think. Was for me and others I've talked with.

If sponsers have steered the ship even more in the last few years than way back than...then I really don't want to watch haha no offense. I felt sponsers steered the ship too much early on so if it's worse now it defeats the point. Which is what I think most were saying in here about the show being a "sell out" so to speak.

I know the amount if work and effort it takes to make what you make. Again, I do production for a living myself. And for that it's commendable.

When creating content that is good and free, you are at the mercy of the people. But the old saying "build it and they will come" is true in this case. I'd be willing to bet your viewership would be much deeper if you had stuck to your guns more and done it your way first and sponsers second. Are sponsers going to like that? No, you'd likely loose some. Sure. But eventually you'd get them back or find replacements because there would be no denying your powerful presence on the web.

Right now I'd be willing to bet most of your audience is young offroaders that are new to it and don't know much from the get go. The amount of people that have been doing it a long time that follow your channel heavily is probably on the low side. Which pays the bills. But it's not going to build a legendary content creation channel. Which I'll admit I dream Big and go big all the time and never like selling myself short. But whatever. I digress.

And yes as a content creator you'll never ever make everyone happy. Impossible. But as a content creator you shouldn't be making content to make anyone happy but yourself and if others like it. Great. And that's really what's important. Now that is more of a business and people's lively hood it's a little different pressure though..haha


Either way, it's cool there are 12 people getting paid for it. I'd bet that could grow with the right moves but who really knows.

Time will tell!

 

Cutting down vs. trimming.. yes I will compare that to Yellowstone. If it’s a mature tree along a road, it was always there. That means you can and should avoid it. Trim if needed. I have blasting experience, can I move some some of your rocks in Arches or a state park? I really want my trailer to fit.

Also in all of your arguments, you are acting like people are saying YOU did all those things. They are referencing the show, whether that is 1 year ago or 10. Your defending way to hard, which actually makes it a less productive argument.

At this point we should really all agree to disagree. All this is doing is making this a shit thread.



How about that buffalo video?! Guess there’s a reason you don’t encroach on the wildlife.

 

Always there? It was a ~4” (chest height measure) partially dead tree as best I can see from the video. That makes it what? 10-15? years old and now leaning into the trail that is undoubtedly much older and was likely originally a dozed route? We clear FS routes (with their blessings) on a regular basis for similar hazards to maintain legal access for full size vehicles. Let it grow over, you’re going to lose access, simply put.

If a rock is limiting legal access to a full-size route in Arches or a State Park here in Utah, yes, please move it. Or let us know and we’ll work with our federal, county or state land managers to ensure legal continued access. I’m a Utah State Trail Patrol and Tread Lightly master trainer as well as a past president of the Utah 4 Wheel Drive Association, I take access seriously and entertain every opportunity to maintain access on Utah’s OHV routes.

 

Eh, there's a limit I think to that. Not every trail needs to let a full size rig through. Thats just wishful thinking and silly.

That's why there are Jeep trails specifically and ATV trails. I don't personally see the point of trying to fit a full size everywhere.

 

I don't disagree there. But if the only thing limiting a particular usergroup is a single half dead leaning tree that is much younger than the trail itself I think one is working well within a sound outdoor ethic to remove it. BLM/FS and State orgs regulate and maintain MVUM, MTP's and Rec Plans. They can ans do exercise their ability to limit routes to designated widths, weights, and seasonal closures.

Access and trail improvements are not black and white, while something might feel wrong to some, it's entirely legal and ethical. Come to a desert race sometime, the BLM permits massive Trophy Trucks to pass side by side on two tracks thru vegetation. Cow paths become 20' silt beds. For every user that doesnt want full size use on a legal route, there is an anti-motorized user that thinks all motorized travel should be eliminated.

 

So anyway....heading up to polebridge this weekend. What's everyone's favorite baked good from there? Lol

 

Huckleberry bear-claws duh...

Great subject change btw... thank you!


Edit; wife says the Huckleberry bars almost beat the bear-claws.

 

I know a place in town to flex her out and see if you rub afterwards.

anything with huckleberry