92 TFR @ Big Bear Lake
Hi. New forum member here. I just bought a 1992 TFR the other day. It is a gas guzzler compared to my 2001 front wheel drive Rav4 (almost half the mpg,) but for driving around Big Bear, drives down the mountain during storms and in winter at night (ice on the roads and no guard rails on the 38 the back way to the high desert,) I guess it won't be too bad on the gas money. I have the added benefit of being able to go on the forest service roads around Big Bear as well of course, plus trailoring a boat or jet skis if I get a boat or jet skis some day which I plan to.
The previous owner put in a stiffer rear spring and better shocks. I just bought 4 Goodyear Wrangler A/T SilentArmor tires yesterday, but sort of wimped out on the size, getting the 235's. They didn't have the 31's in stock, and I don't plan to do much agressive offroading - although if I ever meet up with any of you, I might end up resenting the 235's? By the way, the silentarmor wranglers are currently rated #1 by tire users at
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surve...eed_rating=WR&speed_rating=YR&speed_rating=ZR . Followed closely by the Bridgestone Dueler A/T Revo's. Both tires are designed for off and on road performance - the best of both worlds. If you go to the tirerack web site, once you find a tire to click on, there will be a hyperlink on the tire page - something like "compare this tire with similar tires" - when you click on that link, you get to see the ratings by the tirerack users. On the right it shows how many collective miles (from all the users rating the tires) have been reported on the tires - it seems like a great way to find out about tires from the horses' mouths. Since the SilentArmor is a new tire, there are many less miles reported than the Revo's. But I went for the SilentArmor's since they were rated higher for ice and deep snow and since I live in Big Bear. (Although with 235's I guess I'd be better off still if I had gone with the 31's for ice and deep snow?) SilentArmor's have Kevlar strands in them, replacing nylon. Whether this is a marketing gimmick or not remains to be seen, but they are rated #1 so far.
It would be fun to hook up with members who come to Big Bear. Although I may not be doing as hairy of offroading as others. I've done before the holcomb valley trail through the old gold mining country here. I have not done any other trails here. Way back when I horsed around a dirt road that follows and crosses in a few places the south fork of the santa ana river in barton flats, when I had a Toy 4x4 pickup.
The TFR is pretty awesome, even being 14 years old, other than the gas guzzling. If it keeps me and/or my family alive, it'll be worth it, along with some offroad adventuring and some boat trailering. (And maybe meeting a few new friends.) I'm 44, married with two young kids. Members with TFRs and kingergarten/first graders would be especially a good match to offroad with, taking the whole families.