Official Tennessee Thread

just in general. Trying to get as much traction as possible

 

(I know you know this) LBL and Moab are very far opposites from each other. The "problem" with trail riding down here is usually the ruts. Its gonna be a random underground rock or tree root that hits the sidewall just right to debead the tire. When I had my non beadlock setup, I debeaded probably once every other trip and every time it was in a spot in ruts where you kinda said "what tha fuck happened?". I never debeaded in the rocks though. So not debeading at Moab makes perfect sense. We always talk about driver mod. This is a good example of that. Knowing when to air down low and when 20 will be just fine. Once again, just try it and find out and hopefully retain that knowledge for next time.

 

Yeah no doubt. I used to have some on my 94 yota when I was young and dumb and no one to tell me any better and would air down to single digits (don't remember exact numbers) just to see what would happen. Never lost a bead though. Not until I bought some cast "fancy" wheels and then learned why i couldn't do that anymore. Haha

 

$1000? Are you sure? I think my wheels were $320 for 4 then the beadlock rings and hardware was like $300. Then it's as simple as welding the rings on to the wheel and you got a beadlock wheel. My wheels are Black Rock. I run a 1/4" spacer up front to clear the calipers. No other mod was needed.

 

I am not sure lol. Also I made 5 of them here.

 

Yup the ruts get you, also sliding down slick hills and hitting the tire into something and side loading it. The 2 times I've blown a bead was this way.

 

There is a semi-scientific way to determine the best PSI for your vehicle. Using Chalk and a sheet of cardboard, cover a section of the tread with the chalk then drive over the cardboard. Check the tire print left on the cardboard, at full pressure the edges should leave less of a print than the middle. Air down a little bit at a time until the print of the tire is a complete even print side to side. That will establish the upper PSI limit to get full traction from the tread of the tire. Continue airing down and checking until the middle of the print starts to fade. That will establish your lower PSI limit to get full traction from the tread of the tire. To be completely correct you need to do that for each tire. Somewhere between the upper and lower limit, depending on the terrain (sand, mud, rocks, etc) is where you want to have your tires. Now to do all that is a painstaking pain the ass, and I don't know anyone who has actually done it. Though somewhere in my military training, there must have been a whole chapter on this subject for me to be able to recall this sooo many years later!

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/2005-pre-runner-to-4x4-conversion.188158/

 

Koo

Looks good. You making me one next lol.

 

Level 8 brand?

 

MB — it’s their house brand. If you plan to wheel your rig, avoid at all cost.

 

Ah, just double checking. I have level 8 wheels, bought them from discount but couldn't remember if they were a house brand. Haven't been aired down since I got them either though.

 

Thinking about "upgrading" my two man tent to a four man tent... reason being I don't have a lot of room to move around in the 2 man tent. I basically have a tarp version of a coffin. Anyone rocking the ozark trail variety? Or anything else I can get at wally world?

I am starting to realize that the capacity for tents is overstated as much as gun safe capacity! Looking at a four person tent that only has 2 sleeping bags in it do the other two people sleep like spider man?

 

With tent ratings I've found that subtracting one is okay, and subtracting two is comfortable. I have a three person Alps Mountaineering Zephyr that's nice for 1-2 people, doesn't break the bank, and is still light enough for backpacking. I can shoehorn a queen size mattress in it.

 

I sleep in this tent on a 9" thick queen air mattress with my lady and 2 medium dogs and a couple clothing bags. Was fine when it was just Polly and 2 humans, now, Draco is getting much larger.

Need to expand and put the pooches on the ground. Needy/spoiled lil fuckers!

 

Pole to pole or hole to hole, but never pole to hole.

 

I'll have to check wally world for that one. Could have swore I saw that a couple months ago, was tempted to pick one up. Good rain resistance? Warm?

 

Check dicks sporting goods. The exclusively sell field and stream tents. I love mine. I have a pretty good amount of room for a 3 person tent, also it has the vestibule in the front to store gear/muddy boots.

 

hmm.... maybe I'll take a look at Academy. Not a fan of dicks balls and bats

 

Held up well in the rain so far, but this is my 2nd new one. Haven't had it for more than a year, yet. @MedlinAround's dog decided to make a doggy door INTO the side of it to come in and see me and Polly one night after everyone passed out at the Gorge. Both tents held fine in rain so far. I always waterproof once a year and just assume they come proofed from factory, hasn't always been the case in past tents, but these both had it. Better safe than sorry with a $50 tent.

Warmth, leaves a bit to be desired. 3 sides are almost entirely screen mesh, but the fly comes below them by about 3" or better. Used a Mr. Buddy heater at Harlan last year and VERY glad I had it. Perfect 3-season tent, not so much for winter camping. Will see what dropping a real tarp over the tent does for warmth on the next trip if needed.

A good sleep system is paramount over the tent imo. I've built shelters for true 'roughing it' in the BSA out of pine bows and moss for a roof, needles and leaves for ground padding, self-inflating backpack mat and a nice sleeping bag. Tired of that shit, though.