Is your truck's suspension ready for that off-road adventure?

You don’t look at that rugged terrain as a problem; you see it as a challenge and an opportunity. Your truck is up to the challenge and so are you. Well, hopefully, your truck is up to the challenge and, hopefully, your off-road suspension is up to the challenge, too.

Off-roading isn’t for the faint of heart, whether we’re talking about the driver or the truck (or even a car modified for off-road use). Highways and roads beat the heck out of cars. This time of year, it’s a good idea for most people to start thinking about having their steering and suspension checked, considering all the potholes and such they’ve driven through all winter. But, if we’re talking about an off-road vehicle, the abuse is 10 fold and that off-road suspension better be tough.

What that means is that, before you hit the undeveloped landscape for some serious off-roading, you’ll want to make sure your vehicle is up to the challenge. That starts with the off-road suspension of your vehicle.

An off-road vehicle’s steering and suspension are the front line of defense against the abuse of negotiating hills, rocks, rivers and lunar-like landscapes. If the off-road suspension isn't up to the task, even if the engine is in the peak of performance, you’re liable to find yourself stuck in a ditch.

Nothing spoils the fun as fast as twisting a tie-rod end while going over a log, or breaking a spring when you’re trying to bounce it over a rocky ridge. Getting a tow from off-road is, shall we say, inconvenient.

So, this time of year, as you consider hitting the open off-road, take a good look at your truck, or other off-road vehicle, and make sure everything is ship-shape. The same holds true if you’re preparing a vehicle for its first off-road experience. This isn’t the time for shortcuts.

As an article in Road & Track magazine points out, “Suspension: Don't make the common mistake of getting a cheap body lift kit.” There are simply some areas in life where you can’t skimp. Fixing a vehicle for off-road adventures is one of those areas. Do the job right, using the right equipment – quality equipment – and you’ll have an off-road adventure that is less likely marred by breakdowns and problems.

Is your antifreeze safe from freezing this Richmond winter

You still have time to have it checked Well, there’s no denying it – winter tends to get chilly here in Richmond. We have to deal with snow and ice on the roads, scraping the same off our windows and windshield, and staying warm while we drive. Of course, you had your antifreeze checked before winter rolled into town. What?! You didn’t have your antifreeze checked before winter clamped down on Richmond? So, how’s your antifreeze doing? If you haven’t had it checked, there’s really no way of knowing, is there? This car has overheated in the middle of a Richmond winter. But, on the other end of the spectrum, the antifreeze can also freeze if it's not up to its job. Hopefully, you haven’t had a serious problem with your antifreeze already. If you did, you’d probably know. When antifreeze fails, it’s a potentially catastrophic condition for your vehicle’s engine. You could have hoses that have burst because of freezing antifreeze. Worse than that, your engine block may have crac...

Blocks of ice falling from cars in McHenry could cause accidents or damage

We’ve all seen those blocks of snow falling from behind the rear tires of a car when the snow rolls into McHenry . Fortunately, they’re just packed snow that will disintegrate under your vehicle’s tires as you simply drive right through them, right? Don’t count on it. Those blocks of snow are often packed so tight, condensed by the thaw-and-freeze cycle, that they’re anything but oversized snowballs . They’re often more like boulders. Hit one of those blocks and the collision between the block and one of your tires could send you careening off the road or into oncoming traffic. In some cases, they’re so solid you could pound them with a sledgehammer with little effect. They truly can represent a serious road hazard. The problem is that it’s difficult to tell how solidly they’re packed when you see them on the road, left their unwittingly by another driver. Either way, your best bet is to try to avoid them. But you want to be careful dodging blocks of ice in the road, too. You need...

Get out to McHenry Music Festival for a good time and music near to home

Some folks here in McHenry will load up the car and head out to Red Rock Amphitheater near Denver to see a show. Some will go to the MSG Sphere near Las Vegas. Some will go to the Bonaroo Festival Concert to see a show. That’s quite a bit of driving and you’d better make sure your vehicle is up to the trip. What happens, however, if something goes wrong – if your vehicle breaks down while driving there or back? What happens if the show is canceled, as happened this year with the Bonaroo Festival? We’re talking about some serious inconvenience, aren’t we? Wherever you go, whether your driving to Colorado, Nevada, Tennessee or anywhere else in this continent, you want to perform your due diligence and make sure the vehicle is up for the trip before you go. And it doesn’t really matter if you’re driving somewhere to see some live music or for any other purpose. A breakdown can be costly and may put you at the mercy of weather conditions or nefarious characters that come across you while y...

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