Texas sportsmen know all about long drives (the lyric “I’ve seen miles and miles of Texas” ain’t no joke), but anyone who routinely drives long distances in remote areas knows the danger of running out of fuel. To counter this, Phillips—who often drives to New Mexico to hunt deer—wanted a larger fuel tank. Stamper recommended a 14- gauge aluminized steel (for superior rust resistance and strength) model, which mounts between the driver’s side frame rail and the drive shaft. By moving from the 26-gallon stock tank to a 38-gallon tank, Phillips increased the range of the truck by 50 percent.
To make the long rides more bearable, Phillips also upgraded the tires.The design of the Uniroyal Laredo AWT light-truck tires strikes a good balance between on-road and offroad performance. The tires will also run much cooler on long runs than their beefy heavy-lugged offroad cousins—which helps ensure long tire life. Since Phillips likes to hunt in rough, remote country, he wanted two final additions to his truck: auxiliary driving lights and a winch. Superwinch supplied the X9, which boasts a line-pun rating of 9,000 pounds and 100 feet of wire rope; and IPF recommended its RV Sports Series driving lights, as well as a halogen backup lamp.
By the time I got a chance to drive the revived Chem Phillips was ecstatic about the performance gains. “It’s got a lot more pep,” he said, “and I get better fuel economy to boot. I’ve really got a truck for the long haul.”
Indeed he does. So do you. Don’t think for a minute that you can’t modify the modern “computer” truck.We may not be able to yank up the hood and dive in with a socket wrench the way we once did, but as the aftermarket learns to combine bolt-on hardware with plug-in software, we’ll still be able to tweak our 4×4s.
After the field test, I told Phillips that I was impressed with the truck’s overall appearance—particularly the body, which was in surprisingly good condition except for some scratches along the body panels.
“Are you going to get those taken care of?” I asked.
“Hell, no!” Phillips snorted. “Those are war wounds created by oak and mesquite branches. Around here we call ‘em Texas pinstripes.”
“What about that big scratch on the hood?”
Phillips laughed. “That’s from when my buddy over here sighted in his gun. He forgot to put a pad down.”
“Yeah,” Stamper chipped in. “But I’m paying for it now. Every time we get stuck hunting, he makes me get out in the mud and run the winch.”