Out of the 7500 members we got on the site how many of you are "Elite Explorers?" I mean I'm really surprised that more people don't try to help Rick out with the site. I mean come on its only $30. I'm not tryin to sound like an A**hole here but we all seem to get upset when something on the site goes down or something like that. Me personally I would've paid more then $30 to become an "Elite Explorer" and help Rick out. Gees its only the best Explorer site out there.:D

One thing I am glad for right now is that you have to be an elite to post here(i think) and flame me for this!:nono:

no you dont.

I agree with you 100%. I would have gladly paid more money for the membership . People complain and say they don't have enough money to support the site, but what about that new stereo system you just bought? What about that new set of rims? Surely if you can afford to maintain and put gas in our expensive trucks then you could at least help out the guy that has made this site into what it is today. Come on guys let's give Rick a little "Christmas Present" this year and get some more guys to become Elite Explorers.

Originally posted by TarHeel085
oh yeah, another lil tid bit of info i thought any of you would be interested in, im very bored, there are 130 pages of people that have NEVER posted a thing. thats (i think) dont qoute me on it, is 3250 members of the board. thats wild. thought you might enjoy that! :mattmoon: factor this in and you really only have around 4250 members. fine you happy im gonna do it tonight OK! Jason_25, how is the ECX website goin?

Tarheel,
Did you ever read the post about someone(we won't name names) getting herculiner on himself? We had alot of nobodies joining those first few day just to post and never come back. I'm talkin about the real members. The ones that are here every single day. I agree with Jason. Its almost Christmas lets get alot of you to join.

yeah i know, i just wanted to put that out there. :smoke: oh yeah if you become an elite-explorer do you still get a sticker?

TarHeel085,
I believe the answer to your question is No.

Also, I believe that only Elite Explorers can post a "new thread" but anybody can reply........

"I would have gladly paid more money for the membership ."

You can always make an additional donation last I knew should you want to give more than the $30 membership. Most of the 'Top 20' people are mods or Elite, or give back a lot of information. Everyone can help out in their own little way.

i say we keep posting here and keep it on the 15 recent post list for as long as possible. That will the idea some exposure. By the way i want to stickers, and i will pay for them if thats necessary.

:chug: to everyone who is already elite:chug:

You can order the stickers on the explorer4x4 page, that's where I got mine :)

Originally posted by expo5.0
i say we keep posting here and keep it on the 15 recent post list for as long as possible. That will the idea some exposure.

:D

PS - Is that what you had in mind?

Wow! I thought I was going to get flamed for this one. I'm really glad that there is alot of us that feel the same about this and this site. My Elite dues are due and I plan on sending Rick more then the $10 for the next year. Even though My ARB locker for the 8.8 and my flares came in and money is tight right now, BUT this site has saved me sssoooo much money and time I have to give back to the man that makes it all possible.

Yeah, I plan on sending more than 10 myself. I don't know when they're due though...any clues?

Rick will send you an e-mail when your dues are up.

that was exactly what i had in mind. thanks.:D

someone should convert right now, and post here with their first post.:)

ok ya happy im an "Elite Explorer". now i just nees to go and take a good pic of the X tommorow. the one on there right now, it was real dark. :chug:

A wise man once told me,

"Congrats on your newfound Eliteness"

:chug:

oh, so you mean Heath? :D

I must really have TwoTone duped if he called me wise... If I were so wise I wouldn't be looking for a new transfer case for my X... But then again if it weren't for this site I wouldn't have meet a lot of the friends that I have now, wouldn't have had a killer summer wheeling, wouldn't be a production consultant for Mountain Media, and I also wouldn't be looking for a transfer case for my X... But you know what... ITS ALL WORTH IT... I'm glad there is such a great site that I can go to and get information about my X... I don't think any of us show Rick enough thanks for what he's GIVEN to us... Even at $30 we're just helping to maintain the sites space and bandwidth... What about his and everyone elses 100's of man hours that go into this site EVERY month to keep this a nice and quiet neighborhood to come to, hang out, and get info on your beloved X...

THANKS GUYS!!!

I really appreciate your thoughts and comments. i have also gained immensely from this site. Last summer was a great example. I drove from Phoenix to Chicago and met with friends from this site in nearly every state in between.

I have made literally dozens of new friends of people who I have met and others who I have just chatted with online. I have also learned a lot from you guys which in turn saved me money :D

Starting the Ford Explorer enthusiast page and seeing it through to this point is one of the greatest accomplishments in my life and I feel i have a lot of other things to be proud of as well. This one just seems to benenfit the most people and I find great satisfaction in that.

I do feel like I need to apologize to a lot of the "Elites" though for not following through with the stickers in a timely manner. It turned out I'm not much of a mail order sales kinda guy. I just get to overwhelmed with day to day stuff and some things get pushed back... in some cases months:( At this time I do believe everyone has been taken care of who was supposed to get a sticker.

Several months ago I took off the offer for the sticker for Elites so I wouldn't disappoint anyone else.

As most of you have seen I have added a few perks this month and I have one more biggie up my sleeve which I think everyone will enjoy and I hope it will be an incentive for even more to join. Details to come :D

Thanks again for all of your support!:chug:

C'mon Rick, now you make me feel that I will miss out on joining now because I could have held out for a freebie. Oh well, I'll get a new screen name if you are handing out solid front axles or 302's for the new elites when that deal comes around(just remember me)

No, no one will miss out on this... Elite Explorers that is. All Elites will be able to use this upcoming feature.:D

So Rick when can we be expecting this secret feature? C'mon don't hold out on us!! Dannys right, huh? Your going to give us all pre-cut dana 44s, huh? C'mon Rick tell us!!!!! :D

I chose to hang out for a few weeks to make sure I was going to stick around. After a few mods and getting to know some of you I was hooked. I signed up as an elite explorer a few days ago. I know first hand how much dedication it takes to update and maintain a website of such magnitude, especially w/ a full time job on top of that.. 3 cheers for Rick!

You Da Man!

:chug: :exporange :chug:

Yes what others have said on this thread are true. We have met a LOT of nice people and have learned a lot about my Explorer.

I bought my Explorer just to build it to four wheel, but I didn't think it would end up like it has if it wasn't for all the help here on the board.

Like Rick, I had the chance to meet other Explorer owners off the board in Chicago. If it wasn't for this board I would have gone to Chicago and just set in the motel room that first evening.
I didn't get to wheel with them, but I did get to see there rides.

Then there are the runs that everyone works hard at getting together. Once you have been to a run you will understand the hard work these people put in to get everything put together.
I would just like to say if you have a chance to go on one of the main runs make the plans and go.

Then you will see the "Elete Explorer" will mean more to you.

Even though I know I am probably the least posting Elite out there. I still feel that this site is well supported. Now if only I could find the time to join ya'll in some runs. Keep up the great work Rick and everyone else invovled in the site. And to all the other Elites you guys and gals are the best. If it wasnt for ya'll then I wouldnt have done the things that I have.


:chug:

Yea, I am gullty of not getting out on the trails/posting has much as I should as well. But I do love the site, and the updates to the site keep coming.

I would also like to give a big thanks to the Ms. Rick, has she putts up with him doing this for us.

You have installed some explorer pride and I think I will go buy some stickers!:us:

Originally posted by gage
I would also like to give a big thanks to the Ms. Rick, has she putts up with him doing this for us.


Otherwise known as Char :p

I know this site has saved me money, but the links everybody posts for their favorite toys ends up costing me money...

But it's a cool forum, and I didn't want it to go away, so I joined awhile back.

Be looking for my project posting. I have my X interior out, if I can get my wife to let me use the digital camera I will take some "before" pictures...even though there has been a lot done over the years.

3 cheers for Rick and all the other Elites!!!!!:bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

IMHO, and I do not know Jeff, or even his last name, but a link on his site on Explorer Maintenance is the one that got me a long time ago. He takes donations, so throwing him a bone or two wouldn't be a bad idea. His site has a lot of useful information.

I'm throwing him $10 right now.

Joining PayPal is free... just click on his paypal button on his page.

:rolleyes:

That's Jeff Singleton's page. I have contributed to his site as well. Very informative.
http://www.glue.umd.edu/~singletn/exp.html

bump.....:D

Originally posted by Rick
No, no one will miss out on this... Elite Explorers that is. All Elites will be able to use this upcoming feature.:D so when is this feature going to be availible to us??

well i sent the money for eliteness on saturday. any idea how long it takes before i get it activated? not in a big hurry or anything, just curious. i don't even have a pic yet to put under my name.
i honestly didn't feel like i was a true member until saturday when i did my first mod of swapping the mono leafs for the 4dr pack and putting on warrior shackles. but i loved the new look so much and that only happened because of this site. before, i was just dreaming about all the mod stuff and getting info. i think that is why a lot of folks don't send in $$ for elite status. they just like to read and see pics and dream, but don't plan on REALLY using the info. that's how i was until i did my mod. now i'm hooked and will definately use knowledge i have gained from this site!

I feel great now...I AM NOW "ELITE".

Give me until the end of the day. I just got back from Truck Haven last night :D

take yer time.. i'm in no rush. i wasn't trying to push it along, just being curious.

I just can't wait to have my X under my name....YEAH!!:D

thanks studded! you finally got me off my arse and i have now joined the elite! i doubt that my icon or elite status will be shown here, but i have done it. a HUGE thanks to rick for making this site possible. i should have done it alot sooner!

It's good to see the uprising of elite explorers lately. Congrats fellas...

Here's the avatar I want.

Wow, that's a sweet lookin' X man...

Hey, you don't have to thank me!!! I just wanted to help Rick out with the site.


By the way Rick I should get a free shirt or sticker for gettin all these nice people to join as Elites.:) j/k!

Originally posted by TwoToneFordExpl
Wow, that's a sweet lookin' X man...



Thanks TwoTone

Hey those are MY Head Light covers in that Picture!

Well now I know what it will look like when I HERC the bumpers and all the gray trim....

Originally posted by CBoug76
Hey those are MY Head Light covers in that Picture!

Well now I know what it will look like when I HERC the bumpers and all the gray trim....


Sorry...I forgot to get written consent to use them in display. Did you see my new ones yet?? They're different.

A little blurry..but oh well.

BTW..what is the latest and greatest feature for the Elite Explorers???

Hey!! Check me out! I'm Elite now. Just though I would try this thing to see if it works alright.

Is that picture of you in the tube at the Badlands in Indiana??

Hehe, yeah that would be the badlands in Attica. That would also be the place that stole my front driveshaft. The pic under my name is also from Attica. It is down in the creek bed that goes to the tube which is in the picture that I got on the last post. Can you tell by the mud only behind the rear tires?

Hi sherwood...where is grass lake mi??? Are you gonna be going to Silver Lake in April?

Hey SSIKORA,
Grass Lake is located between Jackson and Ann Arbor, just a tiny little town. About Silver Lake in April, As long as the date at which you all go is not too close to the little ladies due date of April 5th, I should have the ok to go. I obviously wont know until it happens so I can't give a yes or no on that one. Thanks for the invite though and keep me in mind for the future trips. Maybe we can bring the little one, hehe. Thanks again, Eric

I think there are 2 days planned. April 7th..and the 28th. 95XLT is org. it I think. Let him know. The more the better.:bounce:

Yeah, he e-mailed me and let me know that your all going in April. The later date would be much better, but we'll have to wait and see. Would love to go though. It would be the first time since the lift. Need to test it out on the sand.

it's nice to know that there's more of us joining the ELITE...... if you know what I mean.....

and oh yeah Rick,,,,,, that sticker.... well, I, you know, sort of, well, hmm, hmm, never got it....

but I can't wait for the new feature...

Oh yeah, is that new feature still coming up? I thought I just kinda missed it or somethin...

Yeah me too!!! Its good to see more and more people giving back to the site thats helped them so much.


Rick are you just teasing us with this new feature?:D

No tease. It's just something that's fairly complex to purchase and install. The script needs to be modified to work with this message board.

So we'll be able to write using wingdings and it will have a translator huh...

Well...I see the posting in the moderator catagory saying that the website was updated!! I don't notice anything of hand...what is the update Rick?

Sorry, nothing to get excited about just a maintenance update from 2.2.1 to 2.2.2.

Rick

This sticker thing still goin on now? If so, would it still apply even though I didn't pay?
What kinda sticker is/was it? Windshield sticker?!