Any Members in Arkansas?

Ok. I think i've only been up between Ponca & Pruit maybe.
It was narrow and really low flow every time I've been. Some spots barely ankle deep but a few holes looked really deep and just kinda suddenly appeared between shallows. I could see the bent trees and weeds on banks showing it can get really wild in those narrow places. Heard stories that it can change fast too when storms come in.

 

Ordered the backwoods adventure mods front bumper for the wife’s 4runner last week. Might do a video of the install on this. Pretty excited to see it in person.

 

I now have their front and rear on my Taco. I just followed their install videos which were pretty well-done. The front was relatively easy to do by myself -- in fact I just adjusted the front a bit this weekend. There's a bit more flex in the aluminum than I accounted for, and I could hear the bumper ends banging on the body panels on really rough roads. I trimmed off some more of the body panels and slid it forward a bit, so hopefully that quiets it down. I now have some spots to touch up where it wore through the powder coat, but at least it's aluminum and won't rust.

The rear was a bit more involved. There were 2 left brackets in the box, and when they were going through their stock looking for the right one they noticed that some of the brackets were actually manufactured incorrectly. They actually thanked me for helping them find a serious issue, and they updated the design of the brackets so the pieces are notched in such a way that the welders can't assemble them incorrectly. The rear took some extra hands to hold it in position while getting the bolts started, but my wife and daughter were champs and only had to hang out in the danger zone for about 10 minutes. Also, the hardware kit was a little off and short a couple of bolts, but I elected not to drill the frame for those holes anyway as it seemed a bit overkill (the side brace is an L-bracket with a big bolt through the bottom, don't think it's going anywhere. I pulled @TerraNerva up a short incline with it, so it's solid enough. Their Pathfinder lights for the rear were $200, but I found similar lights on Amazon for around $30 that appear to be the same ones.

Anyway, other than the minor part issue with the rear, they seem to have solid products. Fit and finish were perfect on both.

 

Got any pics? This sounds pretty cool

 

Here are some pics.

Fresh install of the rear.


Fresh install of the front.


Side pic of rear.


Side truck view after returning from CO.

 

LOL, caught myself (bottom center) stuck in traffic. I kept thinking this was a RITO Jeep trail ride last weekend

 

Almost famous...

 

Got the backwoods bumper installed on the 4runner with the badlands winch!

 

Looks good . I would have nervously shaking too much to make that first cut

 

That’s my buddy making that first cut! He jokingly was saying I had to sign a release form for that cut.

 

Showed my wife those pics and asked if I could cut hers up to put to put an off road bumper on. "It's been a long day and I can't deal with your child AND your ridiculous questions. Pick one."

 

Deal with the child and take ridiculous questions for fun

 

Supported

 

But look how sexy!!

 

That's exactly what I told her.

 

Last weekend I took my son and two members from Toyota Trucks of Arkansas on a trip from Simpson AR (HWY 7) at Beindorf Rd. up to Pindall on HWY 65. We stopped at Victor for lunch and arrived at the Buffalo before 6 PM just before sunset. The sunset made for some nice "golden hour" pictures of "The Narrows" and the Woolum crossing. My son Andrew made the following pictures from the "Narrow Ledge" bluff.

I would like to learn more about the history of trails from HWY 7 on Beindorf Rd. east and north to the Victor camp and up to Woolum and to Pindall. I think some of the trails may be over 100 years old. I see old houses and camps that look like the roads provided the local people with a path to larger roads or businesses.

@TerraNerva Chip - Do you have any idea how I can find a source for researching trail history in that area.

 

Cool trip and pics! Not sure about trail history, but I found a series of 3 books by Brooks Blevins called A History of the Ozarks with good reviews. I'm not sure if he goes into much detail about particular areas, though, and the "Ozark" area is pretty big. That particular Victor area has a lot of old stone walls running along the Illinois Bayou, and a few cemeteries. Seems like people have been there for a while.

 

I think my son has the Ozarks book. I'll go get it.

 

None that I can think of right off, but you may look into some of Tim Ernst books. He does primarily hiking trails, but usually includes history of the area in the text. Some research on that East Fork Wilderness may offer some history, too.