Most of you that know me know I drive a big ol' F-250 diesel to haul my boat around. Well, ownership of said vehicle nearly changed hands this weekend to the narcos.
Came into town Friday afternoon, got a room at Playa Inn, went and got the boat out of storage, cleaned and gassed it, then dropped it off at Safe Marine to head out in the morning. Went to La Curva for dinner with the wife, back at Playa Inn about 9:30. Stopped over to talk to Dave and have a drink at Capone's. Back in the room about 11:00 or so. We had a room at the front of the hotel, right along Sinaloa and the truck was parked in the hotel parking directly beneath our room.
Get up to go fishing and head down to the truck in the morning, get in, go to put the key in the ignition and... WTF? Why isn't the key working? At this point, I'm only half-awake, no coffee yet, mild hangover, and it takes a minute for it to click -- the key isn't working because the ignition has been completely punched out. I look at it, then look down and start picking up pieces of the ignition switch off the floor.
Right about then, you get that sort of sick to your stomach feeling. We check the rest of the truck. Absolutely nothing missing. Expensive fishing gear in the back? Still there. My Captain's bag with GPS and electronics for the boat? Still there. Passports and Mex papers in my document bag in the console? Untouched. They wanted the truck and didn't give a damn about anything that was in it.
So, went into the hotel, called a locksmith. Figured out that they punched out the door lock on the passenger side to get in. Literally smashed it to pieces. Then, smashed the ignition, but broke a key off in it and were screwed (or interrupted) at that point. The locksmith was excellent and had a new ignition switch installed in under an hour. The hotel reviewed security tapes (they do have working cameras and security patrol). The video showed nothing, other than me getting something out of the back of the truck before I went up to bed for the night at about 11:00.
My truck has an alarm, but apparently I forgot to reset it. I usually turn it off when we're loading and unloading stuff, or when I'm working with the boat because I constantly set the thing off as I'm in and out. Still, the truck was securely locked. In over 20 years of staying at Playa Inn, I've never had anything go missing - they generally have pretty good security.
Lessons learned: 1) Always remember to reset the alarm (duh). Complacency on my part almost cost me my truck. 2) The truck will be getting a secret kill switch. The locksmith told me that he could steal my truck in under a minute, even with the alarm on, so don't think you're safe with an alarm and a Club on the steering wheel. He also pointed out that my truck is the truck of choice for narcos - F-250, 4x4, BFG off-road tires and diesel. 3) I was damned lucky.
Just passing this along to make everyone aware - if it happened to me, it can certainly happen to you! :(
GOOD COMMENTS AND WARNING
My one ton 4 x 2 duly is sure not a truck of choice. You can get it stuck in the sand on the pavement. You were realy lucky that all the other stuff was still there.
in my college years I used to install car alarms and I can tell you with certainty that as soon as a new system comes out within 2 days the thiefs know how to disable it, car alarms are the bigest waste of money there is, it takes longer and it is noisier to brake thru the club than anything and the cheapest thing to have and you can make it very easy yourself is a kill swicth to the starter, a little toogle switch under the dash where it is hard to find and nobody but you will be able to start that car,truck or any motorized vehicle for that matter, you will still need the keys if you do it right and be able to start the car. :eek3:
More than once when I've been at a place that felt wrong, I've discreetly taken off the coil wire. Unless the thief's watched you do it, it's going to stop anyone from stealing your vehicle.
Like you Stuart, I've been staying at the Playa since it was 22 rooms and I've always felt my vehicle and property was safe. Maybe the street side was just the wrong side this time?
My alarm system has a gas kill. I don't care about the stupid sounding alarm, I keep it for the gas kill. I kinda wish I could silence the alarm part but can't with the gas kill........
Geez... and I just bought a new (to me) 2007 F150 4x4 to haul my own junk down there. Maybe I'll be installing an electrical cutoff switch before the next trip down...
Thanks for the heads up Stuart!
You would think that after an episode like that, Jesus would have been nice enough to let you out on the water to catch some fish.
Maybe next weekend you should plan to go to church instead of RP...:-D
There has been quite a bit of theft and vandalism in that neighborhood. I have heard of 2 stolen vehicles in front of Capones and a friend of mine had his custom grill stolen off of his Hummer directly in front. Another friend had bricks thrown at her car over the wall by her house. Broke the winshield and made some mean dents. Not saying that it is worse there than other parts. Maybe I have just heard more stories about that area. On the brighter side, 99% of the crime here is non-violent.
Ignition kill switch is key. curious as to why the video showed nothing. I use surveillance video at my business and the tapes don't lie. That place is not that big and the views are unobstructed for the most part,I wonder what the security personnel were up to while the theif was hammering your locks.
Ignition kill switch is key. curious as to why the video showed nothing. I use surveillance video at my business and the tapes don't lie. That place is not that big and the views are unobstructed for the most part,I wonder what the security personnel were up to while the thief was hammering your locks.
Indeed, Ernesto. One of those things that make you say "Hmmmmm..." I could see why nothing showed up on the camera. The camera is on top left corner of the building, pointing down onto the parking lot from above. There is no camera on the right side of the building. The parking along the front of the building is very tight. It would be easy for someone to creep up from the right, go in between the cars, and break in through the passenger side, which is exactly what happened. The camera just doesn't have a good view from that angle.
As far as the Security Guard... totally unknown. I used to know all of the guards at Playa. There were usually three or four there every night - one on each corner of the building. Times have been tough; maybe they let most of them go and are relying on the cameras. I sure haven't seen any of the ones I knew of late. And, as much as I hate to say it, it would be easy enough to slip the guard a twenty to just happen to be on the opposite side of the building at a given time. Hard to know, but I have to imagine the hammering of the locks definitely makes some noise.
The truck will have a kill switch before I go back down. I'm also installing Jimmi Jacker plates in the doors. They can smash the door handles all they want and still won't be able to pop the lock rods. Which just means they'll have to smash a window to get in. I *hate* thieves!
Jim - I'll talk to Dave next time I see him. Maybe he should consider a security guard to keep an eye on vehicles out front. The place gets fairly busy and I can see where it would be easy pickings for a good car thief.
Damn that sucks Stuart. I had my truck broken into once and I thought it was because I left it unlocked, then the cop pointed out the tiny hole where they jammed a screwdriver in to pop the lock. I had Jimmi Jammers installed the next day: http://www.jimmijammer.com/
I also use one of these: http://www.gunvault.com/mini-mini-deluxe.html mounted on the floor just to the right of the 4x4 shifter. Since it's bolted above the transmission, thieves can't get to the bolts easily. Besides gun storage, it's great for holding your passports and cash. I also keep my car registration and insurance there as we had some cars broken into at work and then they used that info to rob drivers houses.
I usually tip the guards if they have any wherever I'm at too. One place in Nogales actually had his son sit on my truck the whole time I was shopping.
More than once when I've been at a place that felt wrong, I've discreetly taken off the coil wire. Unless the thief's watched you do it, it's going to stop anyone from stealing your vehicle.
Like you Stuart, I've been staying at the Playa since it was 22 rooms and I've always felt my vehicle and property was safe. Maybe the street side was just the wrong side this time?
This works in a pinch. A more convenient way of accomplishing the same thing and without disabling your battery powered components, would be to install a coil kill switch on the coil battery fed wire, and mount it discreetly in the cab.
This works in a pinch. A more convenient way of accomplishing the same thing and without disabling your battery powered components, would be to install a coil kill switch on the coil battery fed wire, and mount it discreetly in the cab.
That's all well and good if your vehicle has a coil. Diesels don't. I'm looking at alternatives that disable the fuel pump relay and this system.
That's all well and good if your vehicle has a coil. Diesels don't. I'm looking at alternatives that disable the fuel pump relay and this system.
That looks like it would cover mostly all bases. Price? I wonder if someone with knowledge and access to a variety of 'cannon' plug caps could foil the system?
I also usually drive my old truck instead of my new one, hoping that it would be less of a target. My son drives a new Hummer which makes me nervous.
That looks like it would cover mostly all bases. Price? I wonder if someone with knowledge and access to a variety of 'cannon' plug caps could foil the system?
There are over 100,000 combinations to the cap, so it would take a boatload of plugs and a lot of luck to figure it out. It disables multiple systems and each one is wired differently at installation. Better yet, all of the wires coming out of the thing are the same color - black. They advertise that no thief has ever defeated it.
I haven't gotten a quote back on installation yet, but understand it's about $499 installed. If you're a real good do-it-yourself type, there's one on Ebay for $125. Doesn't come with any instructions, so you better know what wires you're chopping up and reconnecting. I like it because it's totally passive once installed; just pop the cap and put it on your key chain and rest assured your vehicle is gonna stay right where you put it. Even if they break into it, they won't be able to start it.
Kind of reminds me of when I was a kid, about 12 - I had gotten this super cool bike for my birthday - metal flake purple, banana seat, high rise handlebars, five speed shifter. And of course, I got a lock for it. Rode it down to school for an afternoon swim session and locked it up to a guard rail. Came out later after swim session and the bike was still there. But, because they couldn't steal it, they smashed it. Bent the frame, broke the wheels, totally destroyed it. Yeah, I was pretty damned heartbroken. People can be such azzholes.
When Don and I were there a little over a month ago I noticed the same thing Stuart. I didn't see the guards that are usually at the entrances.
This works in a pinch. A more convenient way of accomplishing the same thing and without disabling your battery powered components, would be to install a coil kill switch on the coil battery fed wire, and mount it discreetly in the cab.
That would be easy to do, but I don't often get that feeling where "it felt wrong". No problem with "battery powered components", as far as I can tell nothing has to be reset. As we say in Mexico "no problem":cool:
Stewart you need to post this list on the Ford...that should keep a reasonable narco from stealing the old boy:
Forbes’ list of losers includes these vehicles:
Cadillac Escalade
Chevrolet Colorado
GMC Canyon
Dodge Nitro
Chevy Aveo
Ford F-250
Jeep Wrangler (above
no problem...if there are any Aveo owners out there i don't think the narcos will take a car they can't fit 2 dead bodies in so you are safe...
No, the reason is because in spanish "A veo" can be translated to "I see it" so the dead bodies will be on sight, just like the shevy "nova" meaning "does not go", wierd how names can make or break a deal:eek3:
Hmmm. $499? That price makes a simple kill switch much more attractive. I was asking an insurance agent once whether there was a discount for Lojack, and his reply was "if it was stolen, why would you want it back?" Of course, I'd want the thieves caught and prosecuted but he was right: if someone defiled my truck, I'd rather just collect a check and start over. So making it too hard to steal might just have the truck ending up like your bike. Of course, being stranded in Mexico does put a wrinkle in that theory but I've managed to make it back stranded before.
That's another reason I'm sticking with Liberty Mutual because they cover your vehicle 65 miles inside Mexico. I guess I put that $499 toward 'customized' vehicle coverage.
Stuart said:
There are over 100,000 combinations to the cap, so it would take a boatload of plugs and a lot of luck to figure it out. It disables multiple systems and each one is wired differently at installation. Better yet, all of the wires coming out of the thing are the same color - black. They advertise that no thief has ever defeated it.
I haven't gotten a quote back on installation yet, but understand it's about $499 installed. If you're a real good do-it-yourself type, there's one on Ebay for $125. Doesn't come with any instructions, so you better know what wires you're chopping up and reconnecting. I like it because it's totally passive once installed; just pop the cap and put it on your key chain and rest assured your vehicle is gonna stay right where you put it. Even if they break into it, they won't be able to start it.
Kind of reminds me of when I was a kid, about 12 - I had gotten this super cool bike for my birthday - metal flake purple, banana seat, high rise handlebars, five speed shifter. And of course, I got a lock for it. Rode it down to school for an afternoon swim session and locked it up to a guard rail. Came out later after swim session and the bike was still there. But, because they couldn't steal it, they smashed it. Bent the frame, broke the wheels, totally destroyed it. Yeah, I was pretty damned heartbroken. People can be such azzholes.
either guards were asleep, or on the take of the guys who tried to steal your truck. I would look for a better place to stay.
Don't know if you guys are familiar with La Palapa Condos and Casitas. They are located two blocks north on the road opposite of the entrance to Manny's.
The two bedroom condos have garages, and the parking for the Casitas is fenced and secure.
The rates are $60.00 for the Casita and the condos are $100.00.
They are owned by Americans that have lived in Rocky Point for over 20 years. Great people.
If you are looking for another convenient, nice, clean place to stay this is my choice.
Plus guys it is worth it to stay there just to see the GARAGE Les has at his house which is located on the property! Ask him, he will be glad to give you the tour.
Hmmm. $499? That price makes a simple kill switch much more attractive. I was asking an insurance agent once whether there was a discount for Lojack, and his reply was "if it was stolen, why would you want it back?" Of course, I'd want the thieves caught and prosecuted but he was right: if someone defiled my truck, I'd rather just collect a check and start over. So making it too hard to steal might just have the truck ending up like your bike. Of course, being stranded in Mexico does put a wrinkle in that theory but I've managed to make it back stranded before. That's another reason I'm sticking with Liberty Mutual because they cover your vehicle 65 miles inside Mexico. I guess I put that $499 toward 'customized' vehicle coverage.
This is good to know since almost no other US insurers will cover Mexico. 65 miles places the insured right in Penasco and so I would be curious to know if coverage would include the Mayan, for example which might technically place the vehicle a few miles outside the coverage area. I would also be curious to know if repairs would have to be done in Mexico or at least based on Mexican labor rates.
I guess sometimes we just get very relaxed and let our guard down and let someone take advantage of the us. Could happen to anyone. Thanks for sharing.
@ Jim We have AARP and it covers in Mexico aarp.thehartford.com, used to have allstate they cover 75 miles down..
I guess sometimes we just get very relaxed and let our guard down and let someone take advantage of the us. Could happen to anyone. Thanks for sharing.
@ Jim We have AARP and it covers in Mexico aarp.thehartford.com, used to have allstate they cover 75 miles down..
The site says 25 miles below the border?
Also, didn't Rosy once say that US coverage in Mexico carried no legal protection under Mexican law?
I used to buy yearly coverage in Mexico that I thought was pretty reasonable. I totaled a new Chevy 4X4 and it took me over a year to collect, but they paid me full price. I now have an older 1 ton diesel and an older Ford Ranger. Nobody is interesed in stealing either and that's just fine with me. I've had good luck with mechanical repairs and the body work is as good as anywhere. Some of the body shops do work good enough to regularly fool customs. I've been offered a few thousand bucks to ferry a motor home to Phoenix. Yes, I keep company with all kinds of folks. Morality doesn't bother me as long as I don't get involved in anything illegal. The bad guys are just as much fun to go fishing with as anyone else. They usually keep their business and recreation separate.
I used to buy yearly coverage in Mexico that I thought was pretty reasonable. I totaled a new Chevy 4X4 and it took me over a year to collect, but they paid me full price. I now have an older 1 ton diesel and an older Ford Ranger. Nobody is interesed in stealing either and that's just fine with me. I've had good luck with mechanical repairs and the body work is as good as anywhere. Some of the body shops do work good enough to regularly fool customs. I've been offered a few thousand bucks to ferry a motor home to Phoenix. Yes, I keep company with all kinds of folks. Morality doesn't bother me as long as I don't get involved in anything illegal. The bad guys are just as much fun to go fishing with as anyone else. They usually keep their business and recreation separate.
That may be true as long as some other bad guys don't get into it with them while you are around!!!
This is good to know since almost no other US insurers will cover Mexico. 65 miles places the insured right in Penasco and so I would be curious to know if coverage would include the Mayan, for example which might technically place the vehicle a few miles outside the coverage area. I would also be curious to know if repairs would have to be done in Mexico or at least based on Mexican labor rates.
Allstate is another company that covers while within a certain distance of the border. Just remember that you will still need to meet your legal obligation to carry Mexico liability insurance. You absolutely must buy liability insurance to drive in Mexico. This is inexpensive and to have an accident (even if its the other guy's fault) and not have it can cause you huge problems.
If you purchase the liability insurance from the ProAlliance website (listed below), 10% of all commissions will be donated to the Adopt-a-Classroom and Youth Sports Foundation charities.
Hey Mark...got a check for you for last month's sales!
Allstate is another company that covers while within a certain distance of the border. Just remember that you will still need to meet your legal obligation to carry Mexico liability insurance. You absolutely must buy liability insurance to drive in Mexico. This is inexpensive and to have an accident (even if its the other guy's fault) and not have it can cause you huge problems.
If you purchase the liability insurance from the ProAlliance website (listed below), 10% of all commissions will be donated to the Adopt-a-Classroom and Youth Sports Foundation charities.
Hey Mark...got a check for you for last month's sales!
Thanks Rosie... I will be going out to meet with "sunshine" aka Cathy in a little bit so I will give you a call before I swing by your office... I had a meeting with Blanca Soto yesterday and we are going to be starting something and we could probably use a little help... I'll talk to you soon...
I received a call from Alma at the Playa Inn today. She and the staff were very apologetic about what happened. She said that they went back and reviewed the video tape minute-by-minute. At 3:55 AM, they saw someone quickly cross the street into the parking lot by my truck. Within a minute, they said they could clearly see the interior lights of my truck go on, although they could not see anybody in the truck. At 3:58 AM, they saw the passenger door quickly open and close and the would-be thief quickly exit back across the street. Less than three minutes in the middle of the night. Don't ever doubt that "Gone in 60 Seconds" is a reality; alarm or no alarm.
I explained to Alma that I don't blame Playa Inn or hold any grudges against them - thieves can strike anywhere. It's likely they staked my truck out and watched the security guard's pattern and knew that they only had X amount of time before he'd be back around the corner again. We discussed that other vehicles had been stolen from Capone's. She said that they are considering bringing back a 2nd security guard now, even during slow weekends.
The concern on Playa Inn's part is obvious and is greatly appreciated!
Stewart, I man soon be the owner of a 2009 Ford f 150 4wd limited addition(or some crap name like that) truck.It has those big fancy mesa suburban gangster dip**** rims on it. Will this massively effect the amount of weight it will haul? http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/823857-payload-question.html
Stuart said:
Just a brief follow-up:
I received a call from Alma at the Playa Inn today. She and the staff were very apologetic about what happened. She said that they went back and reviewed the video tape minute-by-minute. At 3:55 AM, they saw someone quickly cross the street into the parking lot by my truck. Within a minute, they said they could clearly see the interior lights of my truck go on, although they could not see anybody in the truck. At 3:58 AM, they saw the passenger door quickly open and close and the would-be thief quickly exit back across the street. Less than three minutes in the middle of the night. Don't ever doubt that "Gone in 60 Seconds" is a reality; alarm or no alarm.
I explained to Alma that I don't blame Playa Inn or hold any grudges against them - thieves can strike anywhere. It's likely they staked my truck out and watched the security guard's pattern and knew that they only had X amount of time before he'd be back around the corner again. We discussed that other vehicles had been stolen from Capone's. She said that they are considering bringing back a 2nd security guard now, even during slow weekends.
The concern on Playa Inn's part is obvious and is greatly appreciated!
Stewart, I man soon be the owner of a 2009 Ford f 150 4wd limited addition(or some crap name like that) truck.It has those big fancy mesa suburban gangster dip**** rims on it. Will this massively effect the amount of weight it will haul? http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/823857-payload-question.html
Stuart said:
Just a brief follow-up:
I received a call from Alma at the Playa Inn today. She and the staff were very apologetic about what happened. She said that they went back and reviewed the video tape minute-by-minute. At 3:55 AM, they saw someone quickly cross the street into the parking lot by my truck. Within a minute, they said they could clearly see the interior lights of my truck go on, although they could not see anybody in the truck. At 3:58 AM, they saw the passenger door quickly open and close and the would-be thief quickly exit back across the street. Less than three minutes in the middle of the night. Don't ever doubt that "Gone in 60 Seconds" is a reality; alarm or no alarm.
I explained to Alma that I don't blame Playa Inn or hold any grudges against them - thieves can strike anywhere. It's likely they staked my truck out and watched the security guard's pattern and knew that they only had X amount of time before he'd be back around the corner again. We discussed that other vehicles had been stolen from Capone's. She said that they are considering bringing back a 2nd security guard now, even during slow weekends.
The concern on Playa Inn's part is obvious and is greatly appreciated!
LOL yes, junk those crap wheels and get yourself some nice Weld's or Centerlines and BF Goodrich All Terrain KO tires. You just want enough wheel to clear the brake calipers.
If you really want payload capacity get airbags too.
Jerry - Does it have chrome 24 emblems on the front fender? Dude, you be stylin'! For those that have no idea what I'm talking about, the current trend in the 'hood is to take whatever piece of crap you drive and slap the absolute biggest wheels with Band-aid thin tires under it. And, you gots to be advertisin' it, too, by putting chrome brag emblems on the front fender!
On the serious side, yes, those rims and tires will affect your load capacity and will be worthless if you ever decide to actually shift it into 4X4 and hit the sand. Sub was spot on - get the BFG AT radials. Absolute best tire for the money in Mexico, anywhere. I've run and abused them for years and have never had one fail on me. There's a reason they say 'Baja Champion' on the side of each tire!
I have a 2004 Toyota Tundra and it came with 22" rims and low profiles tires. It hugged the road great but gas mileage sucked and all I had to do is drive by sand and I got stuck. Bought some take offs from a new FJ40 and the guy was putting on 22's.
It must be an Arizona thing Stuart, as the natives know what tire to buy. My first Bronco had Firestone ATX's which were absolute pieces of ****. If I ran over flypaper I would have been stuck. When I got my first set of BFG's my friends were all mud-bogging in some good soupy mud after a monsoon. Everyone was getting stuck with their Pathfinders and other crap except me and the guys with mud specific tires (way too noisy). I tried 2x4, even stopping and going in reverse but it would just spin for a second then throw the mud off and get traction. (it took two days and a full garbage can of mud to clean up the carnage so I don't recommend this test)
Best testament to BFG is the fact that I always have a full size spare on hand and in 23 years and 4 trucks none of them have ever seen the ground. I use them as an actual size tire tread guage.
Rick it makes you wonder when you see some of those guys headed to the Dunes with their 22's huh?
Ahhh Sub... reminding me of the mud-bogging days! Yeah, been there, done that many a time. Used to love to go up to the Salt River after a heavy rain and hit the muddy trails. My motto used to be "Will winch for beer!" and Lord only knows how many stuck 4x4s I pulled out of the muck. Also remember bogging through farm fields down in Chandler after a good rain. Would take an hour to wash all the mud off the truck and the street would look like a major mudslide hit the neighborhood! Bet the City of Tempe street sweeper just loved my cul-de-sac!
Different testament to the BFGs - there have been times I've had to air them down to near flat to get out of the sand. They always held a bead on the rim, no matter how much I had to gun it to get out of the sand. Then, slow roll back into town to air them up. Didn't hurt them a bit. The tri-guard sidewall is what makes the difference.
Mark - c'mon... you *know* you want a set of 40's!! That is, if you could actually keep them on your car in the barrio! <snicker>
OK...you 4 wheeling gurus (Stuart/Sub/anybody else)...got a question....
Have a Dodge Ram2500 diesel....2WD with posi.....no lift.....if I put a couple of those babies on the rear (like 35/12.5/17 if I can fit them), and air'd down, would it help me driving around on some sand or launching off the public ramp in town? Or do I still need 4WD? I got stuck out at Playa San Gorge when I went out on the hard crust, and finally broke thru. Also got stuck out at Encanto (on the hill/parking area overlooking the beach that is now not accessible). I run LTX 265/70R17 Michelins on my truck....
Absolutely, they'll help. Don't know that you need 35's; those are pretty damn big. Still no guarantee you won't get stuck with only two wheel drive. Most of the Mexican guys that run around on the beach use nearly flat, bald tires and two wheel drive. Then again, most of them aren't driving behemoth diesels - just small Nissans or Toyotas. I seldom run my diesel on the beach. Just too damned heavy. Where the 4x4 and the BFGs come in super handy is on the boat ramps - you'd definitely see a difference launching and recovering.
I would keep them around 32 11.5's or whatever metric equivalent gets you the wider footprint (still can't stand metric tire measurements).
If you go too much bigger than what you are at now you might need to change your differential gearing.
I'm running 35's and while the 6 liter diesel will pull them I still get more turbo lag than I did with stock gearing. I'm going to have them changed and other stuff done when I have money to burn.
With 32/12.5/17's I can get about a 2 inch wider tire, with just about the same diameter (about .4 inch larger).....everything I've heard/read about driving on sand depends on "floating"...which means the widest footprint that you can get....but I still have the probem of the front tires sinking in if I don't change those out....right???
Yes - because that's where most of the weight of your truck is. But, still not as big an issue because they're just rolling; there's no traction taking place as you have with your rear wheels. I'd recommend that whatever tire you decide on, you go to the same tire all the way around. I never change just one or two tires; they're always changed as a set of four. Once they get bad enough that one goes or starts to look iffy, the others certainly are not far behind. I hate changing tires beside the road in Mexico. Never have had to on my truck, but have had to change plenty on the trailer until I finally found the right tire. Been nearly three years now since I've had to change a tire (knock on wood!).
Shari...I could probably pick up a decent used Jeep for less than what those UTV's (or whatever they call those things) are going for...can you believe they want $15K for those things??? Wish I could...but can't afford another vehicle...still paying for my Dodge....
The 3 or 4 times I REALLY "needed" 4wd doesn't justify the added costs of a 4WD with the additional maintenance, lower fuel economy, plus the initial cost differential.....
Thanks for the info guys. i think it has 20-inch wheels and 35/12.50R20 tires What if i just put the tires/rims you guys are suggesting on the back? i carry around 20-30 50 lb bags of specialty concrete mixes quite often with my 99 chevy 1500 4wd without a problem... QUOTE=Stuart;18004]Jerry - Does it have chrome 24 emblems on the front fender? Dude, you be stylin'! For those that have no idea what I'm talking about, the current trend in the 'hood is to take whatever piece of crap you drive and slap the absolute biggest wheels with Band-aid thin tires under it. And, you gots to be advertisin' it, too, by putting chrome brag emblems on the front fender!
On the serious side, yes, those rims and tires will affect your load capacity and will be worthless if you ever decide to actually shift it into 4X4 and hit the sand. Sub was spot on - get the BFG AT radials. Absolute best tire for the money in Mexico, anywhere. I've run and abused them for years and have never had one fail on me. There's a reason they say 'Baja Champion' on the side of each tire![/QUOTE]
Well we're far from the original topic so I've got a vehicle question. Anyone want to guess fuel consumption of a Ford E-450 7.3L turbo diesel? It's on a class B motorhome so probably pretty heavy.
Probably around 10 mpg which would be double that of the gas motor.
Definitely get the wider tires all around Joe. While we're on the subject, wider tires help on trailers too though you will sacrifice some fuel economy on the road. I was using standard 14" trailer tires on my jetski trailer in Oregon and it was like pulling a barge. Switched to lower profile tires and wheels as wide as would fit and they roll again.
I had my truck stolen over a year ago down at RP. I was at the Peacemaker circus mexicus concert the last year it was by Sunset cantina. I had left my truck (F250) right in front of the Thrifty's ice cream near by.
Lucky for me, the federales recovered my truck (40 miles away, towards sonoita) later that night. It was busted up, but running.
The thieves had popped the passenger side lock and busted the ignition.
Since then, I put a blank plate on the passenger side in place of the lock and jimmi jammer on the driver side. I also had revelco installed.
