All-Pro Off-Road
Serious off-roading is rough on equipment. Only the toughest gear will stand up to the hardcore bashing and thrashing of rockcrawling, mudding and desert running. Even the toughest equipment, however will not last forever under these conditions. Once a part or component has been hammered on enough times, it must be replaced. Fortunately, with the rapid evolution of off-road engineering, the replacement is often much stronger and will withstand more abuse. In the case of the 1985 Toyota 4-runner in our story, we are replacing it’s fourth front bumper. Yeah, this rig has seen some serious trails from Moab to the Rubicon over the past ten years.
While early Toyota trucks are a great foundation, they do require a few modifications to make them capable of serious off-road use. Sure, you’ll need the basics, such as larger tires, lower gears and some kind of traction-aiding device in the differentials, but first there is a more important issue at hand. The steering on these early Toyota trucks was not designed with hardcore off-road use in mind.
Ok, you’ve lifted your rig so you can put those big tires on, and you take it out on it’s maiden wheelin’ trip. The first thing you notice is how the terrain seems to guide the tires while fighting your biceps. If this sounds familiar then you probably have manual steering. Many of the older rigs on the trail only came from the factory with a manual steering box. There are several options to remedy the manual steering blues. Upgrading to a power steering setup is the most basic route, then there are a number of companies specializing in hydraulic ram setups. There are also many combinations using common power steering boxes in addition to a hydraulic ram assist. With the vast variety of power steering system components available, the possibilities are quite endless.
