As I sit here putting this next magazine together it is March 23. A thought occurred to me, "CRAP! I have to leave for Moab next week!"

Then I thought, "No problem, I have lots of time to get ready – just a few parts to change." Actually no, it is right on top of me again and it looks like wrenching until the morning I leave to get ready – again. Tires are in a pile, CB on the seat, hood in a corner and all my new hydraulic parts on the bench. I'll make it, but sleep will have to be optional. I try pretty hard for this not to happen so to have it creep up on me took me by surprise this morning.

Let's hope this isn't a sign from the wheeling gods – or maybe it is – you are not allowed to be ready in advance of your first big wheeling trip of the year. Things go wrong when you are ready. Last year Ian Redden was bolting his Samurai together the day before we left for the Rubicon – it ran like a top.

Last year I painted the Toyota three days before our Detroit Locker Adventure in Washington State – ran perfect all summer.

I am going to stick with this tradition and not think about those other trips...

This issue we have a feature on the new FJ Cruiser. In a span of a few days in March, I was in Indianapolis for a trade show, home for two days then a trip to Ottawa for the chance to ride and drive the new Toyota before it hit showrooms on the 27th.

I have said for many years that we are lucky that Jeep has kept itself honest with the TJ giving us a vehicle that will still be with us long into the future that we can turn into an off-roader suitable for everything from trail running to extreme wheeling. All other manufacturers have given up on this segment. Ford ended the early Bronco in 1976, Toyota did produce a BJ Toyota into the '90s, but they are so scarce you might as well end the Toyota run with the last FJ-40 in the early '80s.

Just as the Suzuki was getting popular with off-roaders - it was gone too.

Land Rover had a short run for the Defender 90 but even with Ford at the helm it hasn't come back.

Then all of sudden there has been a land rush of decent (if not front solid axle) vehicles to choose from. Lockers can be found in everything from Chevy trucks, Hummers, Jeeps and Toyotas. Ford gave us a glimpse a few years back of a new Retro Early Bronco but alas, it has never come to fruition, probably for the same reason the D-90 is no more.

I was starting to think we would all be driving Jeeps and nothing else, though I am sure DaimlerChrysler would like it that way.

So kudos to the manufacturers for giving us a glimmer of hope, if not our solid axles back.

Our eagle-eyed readers were on the ball the past few issues and caught me napping at the keyboard.

In our Axle ID article I said Dana 60s came with 31-spline axles. Well they don't, they are 30-spline and 35-spline - thanks, Phillip.

Also in our Rancho coil-over article, I didn't quite quote the published formula right for figuring out spring rate.

Once you figure your sprung weight per corner the formula says to:

Take your primary and tender spring (two spring system) and multiply them together. For us that was 250 x 350 for 87,500. Take the two coils and add them together – gives us 600. To arrive at effective spring rate, divide 87,500 by 600 for 145.83 – actually lower than what we already had.

But taking our sprung weight into consideration the spring company suggested we needed a 350-500 combination that would have made the Jeep ride like a rock. So I wrote it the way I did – sorry for the confusion.

Now, I really have to get back to my last-minute prep for Moab!

Albert Vandervelde
Editor, 4WD Magazine