OVERLAND Series: PART 1

OVERLAND Series: PART 1

2020 FORD SUPER DUTY F250 BAJA FORGED Edition

We are starting our series off with our BAJA FORGED Ford F250 4wd. This was the perfect platform for what we needed but it can be a pretty big truck for most. We wanted a vehicle that could handle the weight we were adding, still be able to tow our 32 ft fifth wheel, and act as a chase truck with a good ride. So we chose the F250 as the platform since it checked all the boxes on our list.
I want to start off by talking about what is underneath this truck and what it takes to support the heavy load that was added. The number one thing that gets overlooked when someone is setting up their vehicle is their suspension set up. When building these amazing vehicles to go out and do what you need it to do, a lot of people focus on the camping set up first and not what is supporting you getting there and back. Adding that new heavy load is one of the number one things that affects the way your vehicle handles as well as adding wear and tear in a different way.
Your stock suspension is set up to carry your factory weight and most are set up to handle mostly street with light off-roading. When adding this new weight it puts a lot of stress on your suspension, steering components, and much more that can break or fail when you are out on a trail.
We have been on wash boards roads that have done more damage than a more technical sections. This is why retorques are extremely important before AND after going on a trail. Also, always make sure to BRING TOOLS with you when heading out.
On our F250, we installed the ICON Vehicle Dynamic 4.5″ stage 5 kit …this kit includes 2.5 Shocks, Dual Rated springs kit, adjustable trac bar, Dual Steering stabilizer and Upper and Lower 4-link system. We get asked a lot by our customers why we push ICON so much and the truth is we believe in their product! ICON offers a holistic engineering style, which means they build all their components to work together for the best possible engineered product. We offer may different suspension brands and are familiar with most of them out there and all brands offer different pros and cons. When we suggest a brand to our customer, it’s because we know it’s the best one for your set up, even if we don’t sell the brand.
In addition to the ICON kit we added the Hellwig Product front and Rear Sway Bars, plus their Bigwig Airbags and the Viair OBA (On Board Air) system as well as the Transfer flow midship Tank to get that extra mileage range we were looking for.

4.5″ ICON VEHICLE DYNAMIC KIT INCLUDES :

  • DUAL RATE SPRING KIT
  • REAR LEAF SPRINGS
  • FRONT 2.5 VS PB CDCV PAIR
  • REAR 2.5 VS PB CDCV PAIR
  • ADJUSTABLE TRACK BAR KIT
  • DUAL STABILIZER KIT
  • 4 LINK FRAME BRACKET KIT
  • FRONT UPPER LINKS

FRONT LOWER LINKS

In this article, let’s focus on suspension. This kit comes with a Dual Rate spring…If you notice from the picture above that the top of the spring has a tighter coil than the bottom of the spring. This is how you can tell it is a dual rate, otherwise the coil spring will look the same from top to bottom. The top of the coil is the 1st phase of the spring, this is for street driving. The bottom half where the coil starts to change is called the 2nd phase and this portion is used for the heavier conditions or off-road. I always recommend going with a dual rate spring to give you the best of both worlds. Some companies also have a heavy duty spring that can help with that added weight, like a roof top tent or the extra gear, but those are mostly for vehicles that have a rear coil spring set up.
This suspension set up has a 2.5 VS PB CDCV shocks…. Now for the average person that is a mouth full of acronyms, but here is the break down of what that all means. 2.5 is the diameter size of the shock body. VS means “Vehicle Specific”, this is more important than most people think because not all shocks are VS. Some companies will have the correct length and ends you need for your vehicle but only offer a few options for the valving… and the valving in how the shock works is everything! PB means “Piggy Back” which is talking about the reservoir that is located on the side of the shock body ( you can have a PB or a RR, “Remote Reservoir”, which is attached by hose that can be mounted away from the shock body or to another location of your choice.) CDCV is short for “Compression Damping Control Valve”. CDCV technologies allows for 10 different compression damping levels that can easily be adjusted by a knob located on the reservoir. This allows you personally to adjust how you would like your vehicle to ride due to the terrain or load you have on your vehicle. Say your vehicle is a daily driver, so you set the CDCV knob to the softer settings. Now if you want to hit the trails on the weekend, you can get out and adjust those knobs to a harder setting. We played with ours a few times while going out to see what setting we liked ours set to and now we know when we head out just where we want to set them for the perfect ride. So we just used the word “Compression” . Compression is self explanatory, its when the shock compresses from a bump or force. The opposite motion of compression is “Rebound”. Rebound is when the shock returns to its original state after being compressed.
Lets dive inside the shock for a minute. The valving of the shock is what helps control the flow oil inside the shocks. There are small flat valve stacks that sit on top of the shock shaft that is located inside the shock body. The oil for the shock get pressed through the valve stacks and depending on the size of the valve stacks, it regulates how fast the oil flows through it. These shocks have a combination of oil and nitrogen. When you are told your shock has a 210 psi, “Pounds per Square Inch,” they are talking about the nitrogen charge. This is something you have to check every once in awhile. You don’t want to run your nitrogen below 100 psi because it could cause the nitrogen to leak out and then you have no nitrogen and a shock that will not work at its full potential. Check with your shock manufacturer to see where they recommend to set your shocks psi at. We normally charge $10 per shock to recharge them. We check ours before every off-road trip.
Next, at the very top of the photo above, there is a long black bar that has a heim joint at one end, this is the adjustable trac bar. The trac bars job is to center the axle underneath the vehicle correctly. When lifting a vehicle it is recommended to go with an aftermarket adjustable trac bar to make sure that adjust for the shift in the axle position from it’s new ride height.
Honestly… when getting into shocks and all the different types it can get to be overwhelming! So even though I might cover some of the tech lingo and the basics on how it all works, there are some really great videos out there that will cover the more in depth discussion on how a shock works and all the differences. I included some videos below that ICON provided and I suggest checking them out…..
In this article I covered some of the basics on the suspension set up we have on our Ford F250 Super Duty and wanted to help you understand more of the tech lingo as well as the function of it. But really this series is about the importance of your vehicle set up. There are reasons these companies spend so much time and effort to create these products that work. They really do make a huge difference and we want to make sure when you are making this investment into your vehicle that you are making the best decision for your set up. We’re always here to help you select the best suspension combo for your set up.
Overlanding series: Part 1 was all about suspension… but if you follow the rest of the series, I will cover some more products and the importance of them as well as help guide you in setting up the perfect rig for you and your needs!
In this 6 parts series, I will try to cover all the different suspension platforms, but let me know if there is something you would like to see covered in this blog series and I will make sure to include it.
Thanks for reading, till next time…
-Sara Morosan-
Sara@lge-cts.shop

BUILD SHEET

For a complete build sheet on our Ford Super Duty and a part list, visit our website where you can view the complete gallery of the build process, purchase all the products and learn more about the complete build!

CHECK OUT ICON VEHICLE DYNAMICS SHOCK VIDEO’S HERE

ICON1K ‘Test & Tune’

Take a seat and ride along with ICON’s R&D team as they put in some off-road miles for new product testing and validation purposes. Taken straight from the dash cam of ICON1K test sessions, these videos are perfect to play in the background while enjoying some chill beats and off-road driving

HOW TO: MAINTAIN YOUR ICON SHOCK ABSORBERS.
ICON shock absorbers are high quality, rebuildable, race style shock absorbers designed for optimal performance. A unit of this caliber on your vehicle does require some routine maintenance to ensure that they continue to look and perform at their highest level.
HOW TO: ADJUST ICON CDC VALVE SHOCKS
Tune in with Scott from ICON Vehicle Dynamics as he explains what the ICON CDC Valve is, how it works, and provides recommendations on adjusting the shocks for your vehicle setup and driving style.

THIS WEEK’S FEATURED DESTINATION IS…

Holcomb Valley in Big Bear, Ca
Holcomb Valley is located in the mountains of Big Bear, CA
just off of Highway 18
Since this is right in our back yard, it’s one of the places that we visit the most during the summer! You will notice that we do a lot of trail rides up here and camp outs. Big Bear has a lot of outdoor activities to offer including ….a lake for fishing and boating, horse back riding, camping, off-roading, and great history. Make sure to check it out.
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Get out and Explore…. Overlanding, our new series

Get out and Explore…. Overlanding, our new series

Overlanding seems to be a huge topic these days and I completely understand why. For many years people have been exploring our great land and seeking adventures that are beyond the pavement. With the way that our world has been changing we’ve seen a huge increase in the Overland and camping scene.
We’ve been in the off-road industry for over 37 years and every year we continue to grow in this marketplace. As fellow adventure seekers we get a lot of customers that ask us for our opinions on many different topics, that is why we started these blogs. So if you ever have questions about something we mentioned or didn’t mention, reply to this email and we will try to answer it as best of possible.
On this series we will be talking about our Overlanding adventures. There is nothing like getting out there and just soaking it all in and expanding our Horizons….When I am out on a trail and discovering something new that just gives me this a feeling that reminds me that we are all part of something that is so much bigger. There is this great big world out there that is just waiting to be discovered…well discovered by us.
So you are like YES, lets do this!! I am READY! Packed up and ready to head out of town…. BUT are you ready for this great adventure?
I have done blogs about “Are YOU ready to off-road” and it had some great tips but setting up your rig for overlanding is a different game. This month we will be talking about Overlanding and some basics to start with, but there is a whole big world when getting into this subject. For now I wanted to start with the foundation.
This will be a 6-part series to make sure that you understand everything you need before heading out. Each week we will cover one Vehicle and the set up on that vehicle. Each featured build vehicle has a completely different set up for a different life style, use, or specific Rigs. We will also include one product review for an essential camping item and a recommendation for a destination point.
The first section about the vehicle may get a little technical but I want to make sure that I cover everything to make your adventure the best it can be.
The proper set up is very crucial and often overlooked. This could make or break your trip. There is so much to talk about on this topic, so I am going to dive into mostly suspension and the basic lingo that you need to know, if you want more technical tips, just email me and I will answer them the best I can.
The product I will go over will also be on our website at LGE-CTS.com and you can purchase directly from our website. If you need help building your off-road or overland rig and getting set up, Let us build it for you! Contact us and make an appointment.
Thanks and I hope you enjoy our series about Overlanding.

-Sara Morosan-
LGE-CTS Motorsports

Photos by Aaron McKenzie

FEATURED PRODUCT

METHOD RACE WHEELS BEAD GRIP TECHNOLOGY

I picked the Method Race Wheel Bead Grip as our featured product on this newsletter, mainly for the reason that it’s great technology and not a lot of people know about it and they should. When off-roading the first thing we do when hitting the trail head is air down our tires and make sure they are at the correct PSI for the terrain we are about to hit. What some people might not know, is you can’t go below a certain PSI on most wheels, otherwise you will pop a bead and no one wants that. You may hear about beadlock wheels and if you are a serious off-roader you have them on your vehicle. Bead locks are great and you can air down to low as you need. The issue with beadlocks, they are not D.O.T basically they are NOT street legal and beadlocks require maintenance they can loose air and you need to check your bolts. The BEAD GRIP Technology from Method Race wheels, allows you to run a street legal wheel and to still be able to air down to that lower air pressure that you need for the dirt road. Plus, they cost less then a BeadLock wheel. Check them out on our website, HERE for more information and pricing.
Check them out on our website, HERE

FEATURED DESTINATION

LONE PINE/ALABAMA HILLS, CA

Our featured destination is Lone Pine/Alabama Hills area located in California, located in east of Sequoia National park and Death Valley National Park.

We were introduced to this location from the Nitto Tire, Driving Line Team when they invited us to be in episode 3 of their new series “On The Trial” all the photos above are from our trip when we were there last November.

I picked this location for a few different reasons. One, It’s beautiful here, cold but beautiful. with the Sequoia National Park mountain range as your back drop you can’t get a bad view from any angle.

  1. The history in this area is unreal! Beside the countless movies that feature this area. It is also the home of the famous Manzanar National Historical Site which was a Japanese internment camp, which is a part of our history.
  2. The off-roading and exploring in this area is amazing….so many different terrain and some many areas to go and visit. We checked out the rewards Mine which is this crazy mine that you can drive inside of….My sister drove the Ranger in, I walked. lol.

This was such a beautiful trip and the drive was easy to get up there. I highly recommend adding this to your todo list of trips to explore.

DON’T MISS OUT ON THE UP COMING NEWSLETTERS

DON’T MISS a single series….Join our Newsletter TODAY

SERIES….PART 2
2020 Ford Super Duty F250 BAJA FORGED Edition
SERIES….PART 3
Hellwig Products 2020 Ford Ranger “Attainable Adventure Ranger”
SERIES…PART 4
BAJA FORGED 2018 Ford Expedition
SERIES…PART 5
Advanced Accessory Concept 2020 Ford Ranger
SERIES…..PART 7
AUTO REVOLUTION 2015 TOYOTA 4RUNNER “OVERLAND RUNNER”
Want MORE…. all of our Blogs and Newsletter are located on our website. https://www.lge-cts.shop/blog/
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BIG BEAR TRAIL DAY A HIT

BIG BEAR TRAIL DAY A HIT

So I am sure you have heard me say this before and I will say it again…. We love off-roading and we love to have people join us! A few times a year we will invite our friends and customers to hit the trails with us. We do different levels of trails and yes sometimes we push people to go a little bit beyond what they are use to… but I always say it’s better to go out and learn how to handle these terrains with people that know what they are doing for your first time then. Whenever we are invited to go out with Off-Roaders that are more experienced then us, we also try to say yes… It’s were we learn the most. So, if you are ever nervous about joining one of our trial days, don’t be, we are here for you!
So, a few weeks ago we hit the trials of Big Bear, Ca. We met up in Fawnskin, CA at 9:30 am on a pretty warm Saturday for our local mountains where we briefed the group on trail etiquette for those new to the scene. Wheels were up at 10:00 am as we departed north on Rim of the World Drive to the trail head at 3N14. We had 33 vehicles join us from all over southern California show up for a fun (unofficial) trail day on a early Saturday morning. From modified Jeeps, stock Jeeps and SUVs to Raptors, full-size trucks and daily drivers. Of course we took our 2019 Ford Ranger to lead the group, and our Gen 1 Ford Raptor for our recovery/Chase vehicle.
We had a pretty amazing group…. large, but amazing mix. A lot of new faces joined us and some familiar faces attended to also lend a hand and support the group including Sean Holman and Jay Tilles from The Truck Show Podcast, the team (Cody, Matt, and Jose) from Trail Chasers Podcast (talk about some fun radio banter), Funshine Jeep Girls Club, Jason and Marcel from Auto Revolution, AJ and the Team from Paramount Automotive and Dave Cole, creator of ULTRA4 Racing and King of the Hammers. Make sure to check out the links below from Trail Chasers and Truck Show Podcast to hear what they had to say about our adventure.
We followed the planned route that we pre-ran a few weeks before using our OnX GPS app and can confidently report that everyone had a great time, even the few vehicles that had to decline the hill climbs because their vehicles just weren’t quite equipped to make the obstacles. Maybe they’ll take advantage of our July Summer Sale going on now (shameless business plug 😉 – details below).
In the end, everyone tackled their fears and did a great job out on the trail. We can’t wait to do it again soon. Hopefully we will see you out in the dirt with us!
Many thanks to everyone who attended and thank you for supporting our small business during this time! We appreciate you!
Thanks!
-Sara-

Missed out on our Trail day…..Here is the Route that we took

HEADING OUT AND DON’T WANT TO GET LOST….DOWNLOAD THE OnX GPS APP.

Sale Ends Soon!

Our July Summer Sale is still going on! Make sure you don’t miss out on these huge savings before they are gone!

Summer Sale Here!

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🔆 July Summer Sale 🔆

🔆 July Summer Sale 🔆

Bundle and SAVE BIG!

Up to $500 OFF*

Bundle ANY product in SUSPENSION, LIGHTING and WHEELS!

BONUS CATEGORY: All BAJA FORGED Products

 

There has never been a better time to #ReDefineYourRIDE!

$125 OFF

Bundle a minimum of $2500 in qualifying product. Coupon Code: Summer5  

$500 OFF

Bundle a minimum of $5,000 in qualifying product. Coupon Code: Summer10   Promotion Dates: July 17 – July 31, 2020   *Discount applies to qualifying products, including Suspension, Wheels, Lighting and BAJA FORGED products only, and does not apply to tax, shipping or other LGE-CTS Motorsports services, including installation, custom paint, custom fabrication or collision repair. Maximum discount amounts: $125 OFF for minimum purchase of $2500, $500 OFF for minimum purchase of $5000.   Discount can be redeemed online or by phone: 909-599-2203   For technical and order assistance, please contact sales@lge-cts.shop Mon-Fri 8am-target=”_blank” href=”

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DON’T SEE WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR….EMAIL US AND ONE OF OUR TEAM MEMBERS WILL HELP YOU GET THE PART YOU NEED.
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Get ready to hit the Dirt……

Get ready to hit the Dirt……

Get ready to hit the Dirt……
This Saturday ? Trail Day, July 11th
We are excited you are JOINING US in Big Bear! We will be heading out for a mild day of off-roading in the Big Bear Mountain area on July 11th!

We love to explore the different tails that are right in our back yard and would like to invite you to join us! This will be a mild to moderate off-road trail day (perfect for beginners). Nothing too challenging, but there will be some narrow, off-camber areas and some loose or mild rock sections; nothing difficult, great for learning and fun for everyone!

Since we are all responsibly practicing social distancing we will keep our stops to a minimum and as such this is an unofficial trail run. That said, we will stop randomly and briefly if there are area we want to explore and you may do so at your own risk. We want to go out and enjoy the great outdoors and its not safe to go off-roading alone, especially if you are new to off-road driving. This is a great way to meet others that love to drive on dirt (like us) and we will be onsite to assist if needed. If you need help on the trail please feel free to ask and we will give you the best guidance we can.

PRELIMINARY DETAILS:

COMPLETE LIST OF DETAILS WILL BE PROVIDED TO REGISTERED PARTICIPANTS:

·     9:30 AM – Meet at Trailhead (gassed up, prepared and ready to go!)

·     Trailhead is in Fawnskin: Rim of the World Drive, Grapevine Canyon

·     GPS Coordinates: 34.27291, -116.95007

·     9:30-10:00 AM – Air Down and Brief Meeting (standard trail guideline and trail etiquette)

·     10:00 AM – (Hard Time) Wheels Up/Depart on Trail

·     12:00 AM – (Approx.) LUNCH BREAK at Lookout Point

·     3:00 PM – (Approx.) end of trail.

·     Kid / Dog Friendly (Leash Required; for your dog, not your kid)

·     BYO Lunch/Water

·     Pack in Pack out….Please do NOT liter on the trails.

VEHICLE REQUIREMENTS:

 

REQUIRED:

·     4WD

·     Seat Belts

·     Good Attitude

RECOMMENDED:

·     MIN 32-Inch Tires

·     OnX Off-Road App (Maps & Coordinates)

NOT-REQUIRED:

·     Lockers

 

We sent out a newsletter earlier this week with some items to pack, if you missed it Click here. for “Tail Day Must Haves” . We have emails with specials go out monthly so make sure to check them, if you ever have any questions about our product we sell, email our sales team at Sales@lge-cts.shop

We can’t wait to see you out on the Trail….If you want to read some more about Beginner Off-Roading, check out our May blog Here.

See you out on the trail!

-Sara-

LGE-CTS

Few more pics from the trail:

Here are a few photos from our Pre-run. We have a couple off-shoot trails that are Black Diamond rated, they are short but for the more experienced drivers that want to try it, let us know if you want to and we will let you know when we come up to these crossroad.
Download the OnX Off-Road App and we will text you the trail map for July 11th!

OnX Off-Road App

We pre-ran this trail run using the OnX Off-Road App. If you have the App (or download and start the 7 day trial) let us know and we will send you the track for July 11th. You will have to email us at sara@lge-cts.shop or you can reply to this email and we will add your info to the text list.

 

Make sure to check out these past videos on other trails we have done with our friends and partners:

For more great videos check out our media page on our Media page!

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