Today I learned...

"BJ" (benjamin-bignell) 02/15/2015 at 15:24 • Filed to: TIL, bad timing, V8 POWER!!!

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... that it's a bad idea to buy a car immediately after Christmas. Vacation bills + gifts + car purchase + insurance & reg + winter utility bills ($180/mo for heating, vs $0 in the summer) makes my credit card very sad.

I could have planned this better, but oh well. Come spring I should have enough cash for tires and other equipment I need. The weaker Canadian dollar isn't helping any, either - I had planned to get a few things across the border, but now it's probably not worth it.

I'm still happy with my purchase, at least. 4WD is great, and having a V8 makes me all silly - I'm driving like a teenager again, powersliding all over the place just because I can. :)

Gabriel > BJ 02/16/2015 at 13:15

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At least the price of gas have dropped during that time!

BJ > Gabriel 02/16/2015 at 22:01

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Yeah, but we're still getting ripped off. And this week it's been up a bit again.

I'm a long way from a set of skids and sliders at the moment, esp since I need to buy my basic recovery gear first.

Who made the sliders on you truck? I'm looking at the Demello sliders and they are much cheaper than either BudBuilt or Shrockworks. I haven't seen anything bad written about them either.

Gabriel > BJ 02/17/2015 at 06:39

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Mine are Shrockworks, works and looks good. They are not a step and their lead time a really long. And they are bolt-on, no welding needed.

BJ > Gabriel 02/17/2015 at 08:42

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I'd like to find some weld-on sliders with a kickout so that the kids can use them as a step in the rear, at least. But 500-600 US dollars is awful pricey right now. I guess I need to be patient!

Gabriel > BJ 02/17/2015 at 09:22

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Yep, if I have to change it, it will be one that can be used as a step. Some people find the kickout problematic when the sliders rest on rocks, as they will move the truck sideway but I guess that it won't happen too often.

Personally, I prefer bolt on sliders or one that I can remove easily so I can repaint/touch-up after a long salty winter or after a few rocks.

BJ > Gabriel 02/17/2015 at 23:06

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The kickout is actually designed to do exactly that - push you away from the rock. My understanding is that this helps in tight spots where you're intentionally using the slider to pivot around an obstacle. By pushing the rear end out near the end of the turn, the rear wheel should more easily pass.

This is, of course, all theory because I've never actually offroaded... :-)

Gabriel > BJ 02/18/2015 at 06:50

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Sometimes you want the kickout for this, but if you are in a tight pass and you have a rock on the other side near a body panel, you are going to hate the kick it's giving you! Then again, I try to stay away of these situation and I prefer my sliders to just slides over the rock.