Winter Projects

Ahh winter, it sneaks up on us every year, no matter how much we think we are ready for it we are never as prepared as we want to be. Christmas seems to come out of nowhere, and consumes much of our time; and our budgets! Then New Years comes and we all make resolutions that we know damn well we won't follow through on. But then what? What do we have to look forward to after that? It conjures up images of being snowed into our primitive log cabin's huddling around the fire, and hoping to make the rations hold out till spring.

But for the offroader winter means so much more, it means it's time to take care of all the little issues with your rig that you put off to get you through that last trip out on the trails before putting it away for winter. It seems every year we come up with a grand list of upgrades and changes that we need to get done during our winter maintenance. Perhaps it's a faulty wiring harness that has been causing your electric fan to cut out and make you overheat, or you are finally going to make those half doors you've been wanting for a couple of years. Some guys take this time to all out rebuild their rigs, new engines and drivetrains, adding more lift, or maybe even a whole new suspension, or a custom roll cage. For me I have locked myself into a complete new build before spring, and haven't even unstrapped the new Jeep from the trailer from when I bought it back in October!

Whatever the project, this is the time of year that we all swear we are going to get it done, and that we "Won't wait until the last minute like i did last year" But the truth is that the rig is probably sitting in our shop, maybe in some level of disassembly... meaning you put it on jack stands and pulled the tires off before walking away from it. But soon the pressure will be on, as the days get a little longer, and we get that unseasonal warm day we all get the itch, and then we look at the calendar and remember that spring is right around the corner!

Our club has been doing an annual Easter trip to Windrock Park in Tennessee for the past couple of years, and it's been a great way to shake off the winter funk. But that also means that we have all locked ourselves into a solid date to get our shit together! This year the trip is a full week, so that means making sure that whatever you have planned for upgrades better be reliable!

So let this be the reminder to all of you guys like me that have been putting things off, and thinking you still have all the time in the world... GET OFF YOUR ASS, GET IN THE GARAGE, AND GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER!

Miller Multimatic 200 Review

Miller Multimatic 200 Review

This week I wanted to take s few minutes to review a really good tool that I am asked about constantly... "What's a good welder to start out with?"... Anyone that knows about welding knows that this is a pretty vague question. Most people trying to get their home shop set up with a welder will underestimate the capabilities, or even how quickly they will outgrow that cheap Harbor Freight welder; or they will feel like they have to have the biggest and best TIG welder with more options than you will even know what to do with, let alone actually use... most guys in their home shop doing basic fab won't need custom AC waveforms, or customizable pulse settings. 

So what makes my opinion worth listening to? I'm just another faceless idiot on the internet right? You're partially right... But aside from having a love for the off road world which has built my skill set from a builder standpoint. My full time job is as a Welding Team leader at a field machining company (Check us out here), I hold AWS certifications in Welding Inspection, and Welding Supervision, I hold welding certifications for all of the "normal" processes. Each job that comes my way has unique challenges, so I need to KNOW what equipment will be the right fit for the project. Sure, we have some really cool toys, and some serious welding power that we send all over the world to perform weld repairs, but we also have a few great small machines for when you need to pack light and perform a small repair in a tight spot.

One of my favorite machines in our arsenal is one of our smallest... but also has some of the best options, and welds silky smooth. It's a Miller Multimatic 200 CC/CV there was a LOT of skepticism when this little 40 pound baby sized machine came to us... So I put it to the test in an attempt to make it fail in our shop before taking it out on the road... It passed every test I threw at it without showing any signs of wanting to give up! 

What can it do?

This little machine can do it all! Stick, MIG, Flux core, TIG, and even Spool gun for aluminum! The set up is super easy as Miller has done a great job of labeling everything well, and made every part rugged and easy to use. Wanna run some solid wire MIG for some suspension work? No problem, turn the dial to MIG and tell it the wire size, and material thickness, the machine sets itself! Wanna TIG weld some headers? No problem, Swap the work lead and plug in your TIG torch right in the front, turn the dial, set you tungsten size and material thickness and your ready to go! 

It even has dual gas inlets in the back so you don't need to swap the lines! Need to go over to your buddies place and weld his trailer back together? And all he can give you is a 120v extension cord? Yup, you've got this. Swap the cord end from the standard 210v and the machine switches itself, hook up your stick lead and burn in that 3/32" 7018 like a pro. 

Check it out on the Miller Website

or 

Buy it here

What CAN'T it do?

Now sure, I love this little machine, but it's not a power house. It isn't for heavy fab, and doesn't have AC TIG so you won't be TIG welding aluminum with it. 

The bottom line is that this little machine is a perfect fit for someone that wants a serious welder in their shop that can handle whatever little project that might come their way, now at $2,500 with all the options it's not cheap. But when you think about the fact that this one little machine that can fit under most workbenches can do the job of three machines it takes the bite off a bit. 

My wheeling family

Off roaders are a strange bunch, most of us dedicate portions of our lives to a pile of parts that isn't worth any where near what we have into it. I paid just $300 for my ZJ, I stopped counting when I passed the $10,000 mark on parts; my "new" one cost me just $50 and I'm sure it will end up costing me WAY more than I told my loving and understanding wife it would cost to get it trail ready. We happily give up our weekends, late nights, early mornings, heck sometimes even holidays just to get our rigs ready to go to the next event.

So why do we do it? Why do we give up so much of our free time? So much of our hard earned money? There's no prize for crawling over a hard obstacle, we certainly don't get paid for that long hot day out on the trail. But damn is there a reward! It seems every time we load up and head out to an event, or just a weekend at an off road park or trail we meet new people, it doesn't matter where you are from, or what you are driving, you WILL find someone that you connect with instantly. Most of my closest friends are people that I've met out on the trail somewhere. Half the time we don't even know each other by name "hey, you're the guy with that wicked WJ on tons right?" and BOOM that's how it starts!

Social media has made it super easy to stay in touch with your wheeling family, hell, I talk to them more than I do my real family! My wheeling family spreads from my home state of Maine, to my current home in Wisconsin, extends to Minnesota, North Dakota, Colorado, and down to North Carolina. We are all from different backgrounds, wheel completely different types of rigs at all different levels. But we are all connected, and wouldn't think twice about lending a hand on any given Sunday to get that new locker installed, or help recover your stuck/broken pile off the trail; sure we would talk crap the whole time, and laugh at how stupid you are... But we know that the next time the tables will probably be turned.

My wheeling family may be mouthy, drink to much, be a bit odd, and certainly be the worst possible influences out there that will almost certainly talk you into hitting a line that you have no business attempting, but they are what makes that 8 hour drive to the trail worth it.