General | Trucks and Trailers

Offroad Vehicles

August 5th, 2008 by Shenron

We mostly think that wherever we have to drive there will be clean, well lit, paved roads to drive on, however for many people offroad vehicles are perfect for outdoor recreation or a necessity for getting from point A to point B in rural areas. There are many types of offroad vehicles available. Here are just some of the most popular.

SUV (Sport Utility Vehicles)
The SUV is perhaps the most popular offroad vehicle; however most SUV owners will tell you that they have never took their vehicle off a paved road. While SUV’s are always romantically paired with mud and backroad trails, they aren’t generally the best vehicles to go offroad with. For one, their suspensions are made for flat, paved surfaces. Their tires and body height generally does not give enough clearance and the engine, transmission and other components such as lights are not protected from offroad elements found such as shrubbery, tree branches, ponds, rocks, etc.

Jeep
The Jeep is an offroad vehicle in a class by itself. While many individuals use Jeeps for paved roads, there are models that are generally built for offroad use. They include all the attributes that make them the perfect vehicle for daily driving offroad. Some of the features that make Jeep’s perfect offroad vehicles include the fact that their suspension is made for trails and dirt, they have four wheel drive, their high body height gives lots of clearance for rocks and brush. Their lights and other components are protected and they usually include a winch so that if they get caught in the mud, they can tie a cable to a tree and pull themselves out.

Dirtbikes
Dirtbikes are another popular offroad vehicle. They are perfect for the dirt, trails, mud, snow, etc. Dirtbikes are mainly for recreational use, however some do come with lights and signals for street use as well (called Enduros).

Quads
Quads are four wheel open vehicles which are more closely related to dirtbikes than a Jeep. They can range in size from a 50cc engine to large diesel engines that tow cargo. They are perfect for utility uses and are used by lots of park rangers and those that live out in rural areas.

Dune Buggies
Dune Buggies similar to Jeeps are mainly for recreational fun in the sand. They have wide paddle tires and a roll cage to protect the driver. They are usually lightweight and made for sand or desert driving. Their suspension is also specially made for offroad use.

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Diesel Trucks

August 5th, 2008 by Shenron

While most cars today are powered by gasoline engines, many light trucks and practically all heavy duty trucks are powered by diesel engines. It should be noted that both gasoline engines and diesel engines are similar in that they are both internal combustion engines, however for heavy towing and long hauls, diesel engines definitely have an advantage over their gasoline cousins which usually means that most trucks today are in the form of diesel.

How Diesel Engines Work
Gasoline engines provide power by first mixing air with gas and then this mixture is compressed by the component in your engine called the cylinders. After being compressed it is ignited using the engine’s spark plugs. However, diesel engines work slightly different. First, air is compressed then it is mixed with the fuel, it should be noted that when air is compressed the effect is that it heats up, ultimately causing the fuel also to ignite and combust.

The Four Stroke Diesel Cycle
Diesel engines are known for their four stroke cycles. The fours strokes that are part of the diesel cycle include:
The intake stroke- The valve opens to allow air in.
The compression stroke- The piston closes the valve compressing the air inside.
The combustion stroke- The piston reaches the top compressing the air tightly, it causes the mixture of fuel and air to combust and once again forcing the piston down and the air valve open.
The exhaust stroke- The final stroke is the exhaust stroke in which the piston is in the down position allowing the exhaust from the combust to escape.

Advantages of Diesel Trucks
Heavy duty trucks are usually found with only diesel engines. There are two main reasons why most heavy duty equipment including trucks opt for diesel engines. The first is that they generally use much less fuel. On average, a diesel truck can use about 30% to 50% less fuel than a gasoline engine. The second reason is that diesel engines are much more reliable. They generally don’t require as much maintenance as gasoline engines and last for a much longer period of time. Since diesel engines do not operate at such high temperatures, their engine blocks also generally tend to last longer.

Disadvantages of Diesel Trucks
There are a few downsides of diesel trucks. Primarily that that they are slightly noisier than gasoline engines, they don’t operate well in extreme cold and they may pollute more than traditional gasoline engines, however technology over the last few decades are not only making diesel engines in trucks more cleaner, but quieter and more efficient.

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Trucks Fuel Economy

July 21st, 2008 by Shenron

The words truck and fuel economy usually do not go hand in hand. Trucks in general use much more fuel than passenger vehicles because of their larger size, amount of weight they are towing, poor aerodynamics and maintenance issues. However, for those that own trucks or looking to own one, you can improve your trucks fuel economy by following these tips.

Choose Diesel over Gasoline Engines
If you are planning on buying a truck, it is usually better to choose a diesel engine over a gasoline engine. For most heavy duty trucks, engines almost always only come in diesel; however, light trucks usually offer you a choice. Diesel engines have been improved over the last several decades and are now more efficient, quieter and easier to maintain. Most diesel engines can increase truck fuel economy by 30% to 50%. Besides increasing fuel economy, maintenance costs can also be lower.

Keep Your Truck Properly Maintained
Since most trucks are used for business purposes, they are relied upon to work hard. However, many times this extra work duty causes trucks extra wear and tear. By keeping your truck properly maintained, you can easily increase your trucks fuel economy by 5% to 10%.

Properly Inflated Tires
Just like cars, a truck’s fuel economy can improve when the tires are inflated to the proper level. Make sure that you always have an air gauge to measure the tire’s pressure and consult your owner’s manual as to the proper air pressure of the tires.

Don’t Haul Unnecessary Loads
Many trucks are made for hauling, however many truck owners keep unnecessary weight on their vehicle that they don’t need. Keep your truck’s load as light as possible and you will save a lot when it comes to fuel economy.

Avoid Stop & Go Traffic
Obviously, you always can’t dictate where your truck will need to make deliveries, but generally speaking, stop and go traffic can waste fuel unnecessarily. Try to drive at periods of the day and night that have less traffic and offer smoother traveling. It is also a good idea to stay at a steady speed- usually 55mph in which your trucks engine is calibrated to offer the most fuel economy.

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Things You Need To Take With You When Going Off Road Driving

June 25th, 2008 by Shenron

Four wheel drive vehicles are extremely popular and are an important part of many people’s lifestyles. Much like people once would head off into the hills on horseback to get away from it all, people now days can head off into the hills in a four wheel drive vehicle. Whether you are heading out for such an off road trip in a four wheel drive truck or an SUV, there are some basic things you need to take along for your own enjoyment, convenience, and above all safety. Driving off road is a great way to spend down time and also release some stress, but it can turn quickly into a bad day or even a tragedy if some of the necessary items you should have with you are not there.

Offroad Driving

Things you need to take with you when going off road driving:

First Aid Kit
The most important thing you need to take with you on an off road driving trip is a first aid kit. When driving off road on unstable land and among cliffs and trees, anything can happen. When it does you should be prepared for the worst.

Tool Box
Bringing the tools you may need for minor and even semi-major repairs is very important, knowing how to use them to make those repairs is also important. Doing this can lead you to avoid some serious expenses related to repairs and vehicle recovery.

Vehicle Jack & Spare Tire
When driving off road, the chances of having to change a tire are multiplied because the roadway you will be on is not nice flat smooth pavement. If that were to happen, having a jack and spare tire will make your situation a lot more doable.

Electric Drill
If extensive repairs are needed to a vehicle, these repairs will go much more smoothly if they are able to be done with cordless power tools.

Flashlight
Whether your off road trip is taking place in the day or night, a flashlight with new batteries is a necessary item. During engine work it can come in handy to see into dark places, and during the night time it can be useful to find your way out of the darkness.

Duct Tape
Whether repairing a hose or any number of other minor repairs, duct tape may make the difference between getting your vehicle back to civilization or having to leave it behind and walk out of the wilderness.

When all of the necessary items are included in the vehicle when you take an off road driving trip, it extremely lessens the chances that something can go wrong. In fact, if something does go wrong, being prepared for the worst can lead you to recover faster when bad things happen. Enjoy your off road trip, but take care of yourself and your passengers by making sure you are as prepared as you possibly can be.

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The Evolution Of The Jeep Cherokee

June 14th, 2008 by Shenron

Sport utility vehicles have been around for a long time and they serve a number of different purposes. Some people drive an SUV because they need the stability and performance available during bad weather, others drive an SUV because of the added passenger and cargo room available, others utilize an SUV because their driving habits include going off road, and finally there are those that drive an SUV because of the status of having a more expensive car. One of the more popular sport utility vehicles for a number of years has been the Jeep Cherokee. It was one of the first successful SUVs and it made its name performing well in off road situations. The Jeep Cherokee has gone through a number of changes over the years and remains popular with outdoors enthusiasts as well as Jeep afficionados.

The Jeep Cherokee SJ series started production in 1974 and was manufactured by the Jeep brand of the American Motors Corporation (AMC) until 1983. The Cherokee was originally marketed as a more sporty version of the Jeep Wagoneer that had been manufactured since 1963. In fact, the early Jeep Cherokees shared a large number of features and parts with the older Jeep Wagoneer. One of the large attractions to the early Jeep Cherokees was the fact that if someone were to own one that had been assembled with the 6.6 liter V-8 engine, it was far faster than any other similar four wheel drive vehicle in the marketplace, it had no problem reaching highway speeds greater than 100mph. The SJ series of Jeep Cherokee was developed originally as a two door vehicle and a four door version was not added to the line until 1977.

The Jeep Cherokee SJ series ended production in 1983, and the XJ series started production the following year. The Cherokee XJ was popular and stayed in production from 1984 through the 2001 model year. The XJ was a more compact version of the original Jeep Cherokee SJ and many attribute it as the first of the modern SUVs based on it being used by many people in place of normal passenger cars. The Jeep Cherokee XJ was immitated by other automobile manufacturers and soon after its introduction the market was suddenly flooded with a great number of SUV options for buyers to consider purchasing. The Cherokee XJ was available thorugh its entire run in both two and four door versions.

The plan that Jeep, then under the ownership of Chrysler, had was to phase out the Jeep Cherokee XJ and phase in the Jeep Grand Cherokee. Due to its popularity though, it was decided to go ahead with the introduction of the Jeep Grand Cherokee even though they would continue production of the Cherokee XJ at the same time. The Jeep Grand Cherokee began production in 1993, it had been intended to hit the market in the late 1980’s but was moved to a non-priority project when Chrysler decided to focus on redesigning and marketing their mini vans. The Grand Cherokee was immensely popular upon its initial release and has remained so throughout its production run. In the first year of production, 1993, Jeep also made a luxury version of the Grand Cherokee that was sold as the Jeep Grand Wagoneer. In 1999, the Grand Cherokee was extensively redesigned including having the structure of it stiffened greatly using Porsche Engineering. The redesign of the Grand Cherokee in 2004 included many modern options like rear seat DVD players and an optional 5.7liter Hemi V-8. Only minor changes have been made to the Grand Cherokee since those last design changes.

The Jeep Cherokee KJ series was introduced in 2002, in North America the model was known as the Jeep Liberty and was seen as a replacement for the popular Jeep Cherokee XJ. The Jeep Liberty was available in either two wheel drive and four wheel drive versions, and with a great number of options and modern styling. The Liberty carries the spirit of the Cherokee which inspired it forward into the 21st century.

The Jeep Cherokee revolutionized the old sport utility vehicle market, and then it provided the impetus for the modern sport utility vehicle market too. The model won over many fans based both on its comfort and functionality in the city as well as its high level of performance when off road and putting its four wheel drive status to the test. The Jeep Liberty takes the torch from the Jeep Cherokee and appears to be well on its way to establishing itself as a worthy successor.

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