clean wheeler vs trail beater

[swynx]

whats everyones opinions on this?

i have several buddys that will wire wheel, and paint every part they can get to any time they tear something apart. in the end there rig looks really nice. they beat on there rigs pretty good too. but they only rock crawl and snow wheel

i on the other hand get a lot of motivation from these types of rigs but i always tell myself "1 mishap on the trail, and you got a beater" so i dont go to the same extent they do. plus i also dont mind mudding, i would rather wheel all year and deal with the mess than wheel for 3 months only.

 

[RonD]

Not a good or bad thing, it is personal preference.

If it makes it more reliable or run better/longer then I am for it
If it makes it look better then I wouldn't care one way or the other

If you are taking things apart then cleaning parts usually makes it easier to put back together.
Paint a part? well if it can rust then yes, coat of primer and the seal it with paint.

I never wash my windows, I use the washer fluid and wipers but just never occurs to me to do the windows.
I have a friend who cleans my windows anytime he has to ride in my truck or car, lol
Yes, he washes his car a few times a week and windows, just his way, has to be clean, and painted and shined up.

He says it is Pride in Ownership, and that I am just lazy.
I say well I do work on my dirty vehicles so they are always running well, so I can give you a ride when your clean vehicle is NOT running
So we are each lazy in our own way I guess

IMO just a personal preference.

 

[mavereq]

I have an early bronco that's linked on both ends with 37's and a 408 stroker. As much as I want to take it out and beat the shit out of it, I just can't. That's why I'm building a ranger truggy now. The only real value is in the parts, so I can beat it like it owes me money.

 

[BLOODBANE]

This is my Tough Trail rig. I dont see any point in destroying perfectly good vehicles. It does have a few dents in it, but for the most part it still looks good. My whole point in doing a trail is to do it with no damage.....

This is my DD( I also use it on trails). Again it is not beat to hell. I have had it in some interesting positions......

. Some of the only damage it has.

You dont have to kill a rig to make it work on the trails...

 

[BlackBII]

I like making things better than I found them. This goes for everything.

I'm like your friends in that i like to wire wheel and repaint everything I do on my truck, replace all the hardware, chase all the threads, use antisieze on everything and it's just a trail/camping rig.

I like things to be nice and easy to work on later. Thanks basically means rust prevention but there's also taking pride in the work you do. Why not make things nice? It's nice to have nice things.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I decided after eating dried mud for a month doing my engine swap I was done with mudding, that got old really fast.

Trying to restore the truck too, and since the only place to go mudding is minimum maintenance roads that farmers don't like being torn up and if everyone didn't know my truck they could just call the sherif as opposed to yelling at me. Nobody has said anything to me and that is how I like it.

It doesn't take a lot more effort to clean and paint parts when you upgrade/change parts.

 

[wildbill23c]

If you are going to take it out on trails and beat the crap out of it, why bother with a bunch of body work and paint, you are inevitably going to smash it into something and do damage anyhow so spend the time and money in things like wheels, tires, lockers, engine and transmission mods, etc. Don't waste your time with body and paint crap. Sure keep the rust at bay...but don't spend a ton of money painting and removing dents and scratches...best thing is just rattle can paint LOL...$4-8 for a can of spray paint for touch ups and you are good to go LOL.

Now, if you are building a show truck, spend as much as you can on making it look good inside and out, but remember you gotta have the truck reliable to drive too.

 

[swynx]

I decided after eating dried mud for a month doing my engine swap I was done with mudding, that got old really fast.

im about at this point. i used to love watching the mud fly, but now i just crawl thru the mud.

i generally throw a coat of paint on stuff when i take it off if i havent touched it up before. but some of my friends will rub down there rig and throw a fresh coat of paint on all the parts just to go to a show and shine.

I'm like your friends in that i like to wire wheel and repaint everything I do on my truck, replace all the hardware, chase all the threads, use antisieze on everything and it's just a trail/camping rig.

i as well do this, i suppose i just dont care much about the body, i try and keep dents out of it tho.

 

[bobbywalter]

i dont give a whole lot o fawks on the fresh and clean appearance.


i use the hell out of my vehicle and its built to work and play. like blood says, you do not have to destroy the vehicle to wheel it.

to have a dual purpose rig, accepting a rattle can paint job with common paint goes a long ways towards keeping things respectable by being able to keep up with the minor or major panel repairs as they come cost effectively.

my vehicle is rotting away, but is used heavily....likely one of the oldest daily driver/wheelers around here. as need and or time allows i do a repair here and there to keep it on the road.

its primary purpose is a road vehicle with high capability, and it has been on some of the toughest trails this side of the mississippi.


this thread below has some of the variation as it evolved.

you can have both. but you have to live with the compromises as well.

http://therangerstation.com/forums/showthread.php?t=162840

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I do use mine around my acreage kind of like a side by side ATV though. I don't go looking for trouble but I do find it from time to time.

It was also my first vehicle and I am trying to restore it so it has that working against it too for hardcore offroading.

I live on a gravel road, it gets dirty... but it is my baby.

 

[Shran]

I paint any new part that goes on, with a few exceptions. But I don't go out of my way to keep everything looking shiny and new. I know a few guys that will paint and repaint anything and everything, right down to brake drums and stuff. Never really saw the point in that, especially for a trail rig.

I am pretty committed to keeping things clean, though. Leaks and dirt/oil/rust buildup on stuff drives me nuts, there is nothing I hate more than working on a car that has a half inch of crap built up on everything so leaks get fixed quick and everything is kept thoroughly washed.

Dents etc I am not real fond of but my trail rig looked like a golf ball from hail damage before I got it so a few more dents are OK but I do try to avoid body damage. This new 94 Explorer I got is already pretty bad though so I'm not gonna regret making it any worse.