Recent content by idn88

I have never had a set but I they are promoted as easier to jack up and down than the manual type. I imagine it depends on the weight of your rig. Not sure what kind of maintenance you must do to them. If you already have them I wouldn't see any particular reason to change them out until they...

If you can get your car rigged up to sleep in, you shouldn't need much. Some food, some water, a few clothes and toiletries. Make sure you have some extra cash for emergencies. Worst case scenario if it isn't working out for you after a couple days get a cheap motel and "regroup" I would...

That topic has been hashed out here multiple times.   Cooler = lower up front costs, simple - best for == those starting out, those who don't need refrigeration all year due to climate (or not fulltiming) or those without the up front budget for fridge / solar system Fridge + Solar - up front...

I guess they have now posted the cooler test online - or maybe it was there before and I didn't find it - just happened in to it today: http://expeditionportal.com/the-big-chill-overland-journals-cooler-test/

I don't know where to post this.  Thought others might be interested?  Overland Journal did a test on a bunch of coolers in the fall 2015 issue - Yeti, a bunch of their knock off's and a couple 80 dollar ones from Wally World.  Filled with the same amount of ice, were in the sun half day and...

If it were me - you know what they say about Opinions - I wouldn't be buying a vehicle with over 200K on it unless it had extensive service records that seemed, legitimate, and /or I was paying a very low price, hence an expensive repair which is likely at this age would make it worth while...

On modern computer controlled engines if a cylinder was missing - even intermittently - the ODBC should pick it up and throw a code.  So if your compression was awful you should get a mis-fire code, along with a bunch of other emission codes.  This is the likely (but not guaranteed) scenario...

That looks pretty sweet! The one in the video is an S10, so hopefully the opening on a full size is a little bigger? If you get one be sure to report back.

The issue is not putting the plugs back in once they have come out cleanly. The issue is that if they have already been in there for 10 years they may be seized and take the threads with the plug or the plug can break and stay in the head if you pull them. If you don't know how long they have...

I think it would depend a lot on how many miles you plan to put on it each year. If your not going to drive a ton of miles each year, newer makes no sense. Probably 8 years old / 100K or just over seems to be the sweet spot. However I would agree rust free is well worth the effort. Most...

Depending on the engine, I don't blame him one iota. 5.4L ford - plugs might be seized in.  Each one costs about 400 bucks dealer price to fix the stripped threads x 8. A lot of newer engines require the intake manifold to come out.  Can cause future air leak problems. A lot of newer engines...

The whole xxxx mileage thing is really a misrepresentation of engine component wear. If I drove a engine at highway speed continually for 200K miles you would see hardly any internal wear. You might need timing chains, but that would be about it. If I drove the same thing for 100K in start...

With AWD do you really need winter tires? The cost of rotating them and holding extra rims to me far outweighs any savings long term. If it were me, I would find a All Season with a good traction rating. They are rated by letter, AA, A, B, etc. Of course the rating is for wet roads, not...

A compression test is never a bad idea, however if it has really bad compression the OBDII will usually throw a code. However you would need to check for codes and also that all the readiness monitors are all set - meaning the owner hasn't simply just reset the codes. A good ODB II tester will...

This is why new cars are so popular. Not all used car dealers are bad (however the "buy here - pay here" crowd usually should be avoided). Sometimes the corner lots are owned by someone just trying to make a living. Craigslist can work, but those often are dealers also (even if they don't...