First and foremost, pirate4x4.com and the Pirates of the Rubicon are two entirely separate things. Yes, pirate4x4.com DID start out as a message board for the Pirates of the Rubicon, HOWEVER, it is no longer just that. It is more of an extreme rockcrawling board than anything now. It brings together pretty much the best of the best in the offroading industry. From baja to crawlin, a lot of people in the offroading industry check that board out.
So, to re-iterate my point, if you are talking about the Pirates of the Rubicon, you are talking about a very small and select group of individuals. If you are talking about board members of pirate4x4.com, then you are talking about something entirely different, as they absolutely are not one and the same.
I think there are quite a few things that EVERYONE needs to learn about fully modifying a vehicle.
#1. Most of the members of pirate that post on a regular basis have hand built a lot of stuff on their rigs. They've fabbed the suspensions, the steering, all of it. Yes, they've used parts from different vendors along the way. Hell, you bought the lift from pkdavis, did you not (this excludes mudrat, et al who did their own lifts)? However, not everyone has the same access to certain tools that other do. Not everyone has a lathe or whatever sitting around.
#2. Have you ever actually read the board and just not paid much attention to the BS that goes on? Certainly, there is plenty of flaming that goes on, however, there is a TON of tech, and there sure are a helluva lot of great guys on that board. And I'd venture to say that a lot of the people on that board are responsible for actually trying to keep the Con and many other established trails in Cali open. Read the Rubicon Trail Talk forum sometime and you'll see what I mean.
I realize why you guys did it, and you (I'm sure) knew you'd catch flack, hell, it happens on your home turf all the time, does it not? Maybe you didn't do all 26 miles, but hell, you attempted it, and now know some weak points on your rigs.
Oh, and another point, sure there are plenty of vehicles that are modified that are no longer much of the OEM manufacturer, but at some point, that is necessary. Just like mudrat making a 12 inch lift and wanting bigger tires, the parts aren't always strong enough and you can do one of two things:
Get bigger axles, etc. or keep breaking and wasting your time fixing it.
Which would you rather do? I know if someone (like Bobby Long and his magical process) made a strong halfshaft, you'd probably jump right on it, correct? Or if someone made different gearsets. It's the same when someone puts a bigger axle under their vehicle or simply put a locker in. It's modifying the vehicle to do more than it already does.
All of us need to quit bickering like a bunch of children. It's doing no one any good, and we all look stupid arguing about this.
And yes, you did get some haters on the board, but you also got some great support, and I'll post the links up as soon as I get them.
Jamie
