I would like to add a few items that The Whaz; Alex, Cal, and jefe; the four-down XTC-ers have in common in regards to vehicle prep.
1. All single rear wheel; all pre-smog (no soot bag, urea canister or D.E.F. tank) turbo diesel Chevy's, Ford, or Dodge RAM that were not in the, "do not buy" era. The Whaz and jefe have much sturdier aftermarket wheels. Both found the stock wheels to be insufficient.
2. 2 with the lightest, least tall, least wide, full featured Lance hard side TC's to traverse those pesky narrow trails.
3. 2 with OUTFITTER! pop up campers on 8 foot beds for a lower profile and better obstacle clearance.
4. 2 with winches: Alex's 17.8K pounder, and my 15K pound Warn.
5. All with a variety of traction devices to help when you get the axles all twisted up; 3 of them with traction aids, front and rear. The only truck with an open front diff belongs to Alex.
6. 2 with a small lift: Whaz's 6 inch and jefe's 3 inch suspension lift.
7. All with upper overload springs and/or Stable Loads or equivalent.
8. All have a lot of experience in the rough, half of the group coming from the hard core jeeping tradition, and the other two ready to push the envelope of what and where you can go with a well prepped truck camper.
These TC-ers have walked the walk and have improved their rigs over time.
jefe
