RockCrawler.com

  • Frana Transforms Short-Course Racer into Rock Racer for TREC Season Finale


    Loves Park, IL (October 12, 2012) – After a great run at a MAORA race in Marengo, Indiana, John Frana and his RCV Performance/”the Official” Brand Name Prescription Card/Sway-A-Way/Rooster Synthetics/Frana Vehicles Honda-powered AWD Super Buggy headed to the Badlands Off-Road Park in Attica, Indiana for the TREC season finale. TREC, which stands for Trail Racing Endurance Circuit, is a monthly two-hour endurance race that runs on a seven mile long course that winds its way through the eight hundred acre off-road park. John Frana and his crew chief Ryan Brumund competed this spring with only limited success. The October race would have the Northern Illinois team run well, only to a have a navigation error prevent a podium finish. (more…)

  • Torchmate CNC Cutting Systems Powers Brad Lovell to Dual Off-Road Championships

    Lovell builds and repairs race rigs with Torchmate table on his way to championships in TORC Pro-Light and Ultra-4 Pro

    PHOTOS BY THOM KINGSTON

    RENO, NEV. – The days leading up to his TORC Pro-Light Championship race in Lancaster, Calif. on Sept. 29, Brad Lovell was where he can usually be found before each short-course race – stationed at his Torchmate 4X4 CNC machine, fabricating race components to ready his Pro-Light rig for the off-road battle of its life.

    The season of hard work in the garage paid off in the biggest week of Brad Lovell’s racing career, when, fresh off of being crowned Ultra-4 Pro champion, he backed it up with his first-ever TORC Pro-Light series championship at the Lancaster racetrack. (more…)

  • 2010+ TOYOTA FJ CRUISER ROOF CONSOLE

    Toyota’s FJ Cruiser is a retro vehicle, inspired by its iconic predecessor the FJ40. The FJ40 was a capable off road vehicle, but offered little in the way of interior features. While clearly more sophisticated than its ancestor, the current day FJ Cruiser has remained true to early 40 series interior styling. It has a sparse vertical dash that offers limited storage and accessory mounting locations.

    The Outback Roof Console provides a practical location for your CB or long range radio. Positioning the radio just above the rear view mirror ensures it is clearly visible from the driving position. The microphone and cable are hooked out of the way, yet are easily reached when needed. Roof consoles arrive ready for a standard DIN size radio installation with optional sized adapters available (see chart below) . (more…)

  • Quick and Dirty: NEW Warn Zeon Winch Series

    Warn Zeon12 winch on a Ford F150
    Warn Zeon12 winch on a Ford F150

    Quick and Dirty…Warn Industries has released a new generation of winches, their Zeon Series.  This new series combines legendary Warn reliability with a sleek symmetrical modern design and will not only perform on the hardcore offroad rig, but will look great on your daily driver as well.

    Watch for more details in the next few days on the great new Zeon lineup from Warn!

     

     

     

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  • NEW ARB SKYDOME SWAG

    This small ground tent is an Australian staple known commercially as a swag.

    While it may look like the combination of a bivvy and pup-tent to most North Americans, the SkyDome swag boasts some remarkable features that will have you stowing your current car camping tent in the garage permanently.

    This little beauty is fully waterproof and made of water and rot proof canvas, heavy enough that you won’t have to worry about snags or tears or damage from rolling around the back of your 4×4. With the optional cargo swag-bag (coming soon), strap it to your roof rack or spare tire and save your precious cabin space for more weather sensitive items. (more…)

  • TEAM TRAIL-GEAR RACING LOGS SECOND WIN FOR

    Fresno, CA-Team Trail-Gear Racing took home top honors at the NorCal Rock Race in Prairie City, California on Saturday, September 29, 2012. Driver Matt Messer and co-driver James Schofield beat out more than a dozen drivers in the 4400 class to stand at the top spot on the podium.

    Team Trail-Gear started off strong by beating out the entire field in their first heat and running a close second to Alex Hardaway despite a flat tire in the second heat to earn a front row start position in the main race. The main race lasted only 17 minutes but provided a lot of action for both the racers and the spectators. “Alex Hardaway had a clean shot from his start position, but he got hung up on the first rock section,” describes Messer “I rammed him to get him off the rocks. He rolled in the next rock section opening the door for us. James [Schofield] gave me the thumbs-up so I hammered it. We stayed out front all the way to the checkered flag.” (more…)