July 2014 | Volume 7 | Issue 3

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As another May comes to an end, another Rock Therapy goes in the books.  Filled with dusty days and blurry nights, Rock Therapy 2014 was again a must attend Tacoma events of the year.  

Nearly 70 trucks were in attendance this year (including Tacomas, 4Runners, FJ Cruisers, a couple Lexus GX450 and even a Jeep), showing off their rigs and new modifications to their friends of new and old.  This was a great opportunity for the sponsors to see first-hand, their products on a variety of customer vehicles.  At the same time, it was a great opportunity for the attendees to meet and hang out with their favorite sponsors and thank them first hand for their hard work.  

 It has long been a dream of mine to have a 4 door fj40. But until recently it was just that. My original plan was to cut a 40 into quarters and place it on an 80 series chassis and then just fill in the voids. At SEMA 2013 I learned Todd at Aqualu was thinking the same thing, so after a couple phone calls and emails we got rolling. My basic requirement was that I wanted the body to fit directly onto an 80 series chassis. I wasn’t concerned about the drivetrain or suspension too much as I was going to change all that anyway. The plan was a fuel injected v-8, custom 4 link rear and 3 link front and 40-42” tires. 

From air up to air down, your tire purchase can be a major component of any truck build.  We recently teamed up with Cooper Tire and FN Wheels to put the Cooper Discoverer STT to the test and see how it handled all of our overlanding needs.  After nearly 10,000 miles over a variety of terrain, the Discoverer STT has handled every test given to it with ease.  

Since the first day the Cooper STTs were mounted on the FN Wheels Five Stars, I knew this was going to be a good relationship.  The STT has an aggressive look that really stands out with the matte bronze finish on the unique Five Star wheels.  The first matter at hand was to ensure proper fitment within my wheel wells for the larger 315/75R16 tires.  Measuring only 11.9” wide, they were a great option as I had previously cleared for 305/70R17 tires which measured 12” wide.