Wisconsin 4Runners - Cheese Heads Unite!

Does the name "HondaKen" have anything to do with Country Sports? Or perhaps it's just you liking Hondas that much. Don't get me wrong... I've had plenty of Hondas in my life, and love 'em still............ just asking.

 

No, I've been a fan of Honda most of my life, so it seems like a good handle. Hmm, I like Kawasaki too...maybe that could have been more clever... That said, I bought my last one there anyway.

 

Who has their Stormy Kromer?

 

I met the owner. He got a big contract to do the ceiling in the Smithsonion museum..

 

Hey, there's a meet and greet next weekend in Hubertus if anyone's interested!

Picture swiped from Tacomaworld:

 

Hey all,
Wanted to pop into this thread and say hi. I’m another cheesehead from the Milwaukee area. My 21 runner is my first 4x4. It’s a daily driver, but I bought it with the intention of exploring a bit more.

@Chris In Milwaukee and @Thatbassguy, Ive been drooling at your build threads for inspiration. I’m planning/hoping to check out Drummond island this spring or summer, so I need to get at least minimally prepared. I was shooting the bull with a friend over a beer last night and decided the first order of business is tires, and sliders for this summer’s potential adventures. Then skids and maybe even a level or mild lift over the course of time (spacers/cosmetic is what Im thinking at this point).

Anywho, it seems 4x4s are like boats, and airplanes. Anytime you spend anything, it’s always in base units of 1000 dollars. So that will force me to pace myself lol.

I’d love to get intelligence on any nice trails. I’ve been known to do spur of the moment drives to the driftless area, so maybe some of the TWAT trails are a good start. Are there any good resources that piece these trails together?

 

The T.W.A.T from around Potosi, WI to Lansing, IA is pretty fun and easy. There are some cool sections further north as well. Potosi also has a very nice brewery/restaurant with a beer museum.

There are fire roads and old logging roads all over that can be fun, but you need to use the Motor Vehicle Usage Maps to make sure you're not on closed roads.

The Pipeline and surrounding area is pretty cool, but many of the roads are closed seasonally, and some are only open to ATV's and ATV's so you really need to watch where you go.

I hope to be hitting the Trans Wisconsin and Potosi Brewery within a month or so. We do group runs there pretty regularly. You're welcome to join us whenever we do.

Good call starting with tires.

 

Awesome!!! Thanks! Are the motor vehicle usage maps easy to find, available as pdf links?

 

See you there!

 

@Thatbassguy has the trail gouge and is my source of information on outings. Be sure to follow him for cross-group info on adventures!

 

Here's where you can download the Chequamegon Nicolet National Forest districts.

https://www.fs.usda.gov/main/cnnf/maps-pubs

You can use these with Avenza Maps and other offline map apps and they will work with GPS. There are other popular map apps that show trails as well. I like the MVUM because the key shows open and closed dates and what vehicles are allowed.

 

Thanks!!! Looks like i got some research to do!

First step: tires? What would work well at stock wheel size, that wouldnt look dumb for when i get a 2 inch lift? So much info out there, it’s overwhelming!

 

I have 2” lift with stock-sized tires. Looks dandy! But I have AT tires, not factory. So “looks good” is relative.

Come up to Hubertus next weekend and check it out!

 

Any decent all terrain with some meat on the sidewall will look good with some lift. There are a handful of A/T's that are consistently popular.

Falken Wildpeaks are easily the most popular option, and very few have had complaints or issues.

KO2's and Duratracs have been popular for a long time, but a few have had bad things to say about them. I had a set of KO2's for 29K miles and thought they were fine. @Chris In Milwaukee has had a set for awhile now as well.

The Toyo Open Country AT3 is very popular right now as well, but some don't like the sidewall tread, saying it's not aggressive enough. I have a set in 285/70/17 C load and am pretty happy with them. They held up well to a summer's worth of trail runs, including playing in the rocks a little bit.

There are threads here dedicated to most of the more popular tire options. Tacomaworld has more traffic and more tire threads as well.

 

@Chris In Milwaukee , @McSpazatron

And, anyone else who is attending the meet in Hubertus tomorrow, there is a $5 day use fee. Apparently, the folks who set it up, didn't realize this at first.

The fee can be paid here:

https://www.washcoparks.com/parks/passes/daily_pass/purchase/

 

Got mine. Good to go! I’ve been fined at that park before.

 

Good to know! Just in the nick of time too! Are we gonna meet at the park and ride and caravan up?

 

Yes. A couple of Tacomaworld guys are meeting at the Watertown plank road park and ride 8:45-ish. Will we see you there?

 

See you all there! I’m going straight to the park.

 

I’ll be there! Hopefully a pic of my park pass on my phone is enough? Not sure if my printer is operational lol

 

To clarify, Ill be at the watertown plank road park and ride at 8:45

 

Me, too. Should be a good crew!

 

Your license plate will be in the system. That’s what the park police will be checking. On your phone should be good if they ask for it.

 

We won't be able to make the trip down there this time, a young man is having a retirement party from the Army/Air Force, we HAVE to be there, he is like a son to us. Maybe next time, sounds like a good time, don't forget the pics.!

 

Make sure you thank that young man for his service!

We'll see you at another one of these gatherings or a trail day.

 

I will surely do that, 23 yrs. of military service is a good thing to celebrate! You all have a great ride!

 

I had to bail before lunch, but Im glad I got to meet you guys! Looking forward to the next time!!!

 

Lotsa neat trucks out today. Good turn out! Probably 50 vehicles all said.

 

Thank you! I hope the party was good!

It was great meeting and talking to you!

Good times! It was good catching up on BS!

Picture shamelessly swiped from Tacomaworld :

 

Nice picture, party was great, I let the 'Man of Honor' at the party take a ride in our 4Runner with his wife, when they returned, they were all smiles! We may have 1 more 4Runner owner around here in the near future! Drone pictures are cool, a perspective you would otherwise not have.