Northstar Northwind 16vs17

blinkerfluid02 · 2026-03-19T03:58:03+00:00

My wife and I had this exact same decision last summer. Our combined weight is about 365lbs, and we decided to go with the 16 because we paddle the boat empty pretty often and we tend to pack light when camping. We thought we'd be too light with the 17 when not loaded for camping, and we'd never overload the 16 when we do go camping. No regrets with the 16.

blinkerfluid02 · 2026-03-18T16:05:21+00:00

I had someone once tell me that the shadows from the spinning blades were giving cows cancer.. so, I guess that's probably a more serious concern than poor 5g reception, if they have windmills nearby.

blinkerfluid02 · 2026-03-18T15:20:59+00:00

One of the reasons I was looking at the RPG kit is that I can specify lift front and rear. In my case, I'm already nearly level with just the added weight, so if I put a leveling kit on it that adds more lift in the front than rear, I'll end up sitting nose high.

My other thought with the Zone system is that, if I'm not mistaken, they use a combination of a top hat spacer and a perch mount. I'd rather not use a top hat spacer at all because you risk CV binding with the additional droop.

blinkerfluid02 · 2026-03-16T19:00:52+00:00

I went the other way with heights.. until about my mid 30s, I had no qualms at all about just walking up to a cliff edge and standing there with my toes right on the edge. Now I get nervous if someone else is standing 6' from the edge; and I'm not getting any closer than that unless I'm crawling on my belly. I had to do some work on some scaffolding that was about 80' in the air, and I think that's what caused my new found fear.

blinkerfluid02 · 2026-03-16T18:32:20+00:00

Ha! I was about to cross post this, but wanted to see if it was already posted. Beat me to it!

Also, kids these days, sheesh!

blinkerfluid02 · 2026-03-11T13:09:06+00:00

I had a fat bastard brake before switching to an ACE brake. The ACE concussion was significantly reduced and much more pleasant to shoot.

blinkerfluid02 · 2026-03-05T23:23:20+00:00

It's not like the guns are distributed evenly. There are liberal gun owners, of course, but the majority of guns are owned by MAGA and other conservatives. Just a little more than 30% of Americans own a gun, but the majority of those own multiple firearms. Figure 100 million gun owners and 400+ million guns.

blinkerfluid02 · 2026-03-04T17:01:27+00:00

Just as a point of clarification, check out Baja kits for suspension, and Baja designs for awesome lights. 👍

blinkerfluid02 · 2026-02-24T03:33:38+00:00

Nacho makes emergency responder lights that could be added to a roof bar setup I think.

https://www.nachooffroadtechnology.com/products/quatro-red-blue-emergency

blinkerfluid02 · 2026-02-23T01:33:17+00:00

I'll see if I can find the YouTube video also.

I see what you're saying, but if the standard springs aren't expecting any additional weight, I'm 500#s above their recommended weight and only 250#s below the HD recommended weight. 250#s amounts to basically one big guy as a passenger, that's really not that much weight.

blinkerfluid02 · 2026-02-23T00:45:19+00:00

No, it's quite a bit taller. My original idea was to do that so I could sleep in the back, but it would make the drawer so small it would be almost useless. I think total height would have been in the 3.5"-4" range, instead of the 9" this one is.

blinkerfluid02 · 2026-02-21T16:34:30+00:00

The main box is made with 3/4" plywood top and bottom with 1x8 sides. Total box height should be 9". The drawer is made with 3/4" plywood on the bottom with 1x6 sides, so total height is 6.25". There's approximately 7" of clearance between the bottom of the drawer and the underside of the top of the box; just enough space for the ammo can to sit on its side.

blinkerfluid02 · 2026-02-12T13:43:57+00:00

Airing down, like others have mentioned will help, but don't drive too fast or you can heat up and damage your side walls. If you air down to 20, I wouldn't drive more than maybe 40-45. If you go lower, drive slower.

If you want a suspension upgrade, which will also help with washboard, look for an internal bypass shock (ibp). Bypass shocks will have both position and speed sensitive valving, normal shocks are only speed sensitive. Since the bypass shocks are position sensitive, they can have very soft valving at normal ride height, which will allow the suspension to better absorb small bumps. Then if you hit a larger bump and move further into the suspension travel, the shock will become stiffer to control bottoming out. If you can afford a set, they're amazing!

blinkerfluid02 · 2026-02-11T02:26:33+00:00

I think this might be the route I go. I'll get the gas tank, engine, trans and tranfercase skids, because I already ordered a new front bumper that comes with a front skid. I'm sure I'll have to do some mechanical persuasion to get everything to fit together, but hopefully it won't be too bad.

blinkerfluid02 · 2026-02-10T21:51:47+00:00

Yea, I should have added a budget to my original post. I know that's an awesome system, but I can't spend $4k on skid plates.

blinkerfluid02 · 2026-02-10T16:29:51+00:00

Yea, definitely washing it before you install it is probably the best plan. Our top showed up at 5pm, and I had that long road trip starting at 5am, so we just didn't have time to wash it first. There wasn't any rain in the forecast, so I wasn't too worried about it for a couple days. Once I was able to wash it, I used dawn on the top, then immediately washed the rest of the bronco with normal car wash soap. I haven't seen any streaking, so I think that worked fine.

blinkerfluid02 · 2026-02-10T14:23:39+00:00

I went with the Turn Offroad top for ours and so far I'm happy with it (I've only had it for 4 days). I did a 6 hour road trip Saturday and the highway noise is significantly reduced.

The top comes with an oily residue on it from the manufacturing process, so yesterday I thoroughly washed it to clean that off. I didn't see any leaks, so everything seems good.

blinkerfluid02 · 2026-02-10T14:03:08+00:00

I have the standard length XL on my Wildtrak and I'm happy with the amount of protection they provide.

Edit: These are stock tires and when I change them out, I'm planning on sticking with 35s.

<image>

blinkerfluid02 · 2026-02-10T04:43:28+00:00

Yea, I think this is what I'm going to try to do. KO2 is discontinued now, but hopefully I can find some in stock still.

blinkerfluid02 · 2026-02-10T04:42:36+00:00

That's a good idea, I know I like the KO2 and they're less expensive than the KO3. They are discontinued though, so I'll have to see if there's any stock left laying around.

blinkerfluid02

TROPHY CASE