sorry to hear 13.5 years is a hell of a run for a bird dog. i remember when i was young i saw a picture of a gordon in outdoor life and thinking that is a bird dog.
samurai was nice and light but not a great heater and tracks are very rough riding and the samurai really shook i was worried about the steering on the samurai as it was tiny and manual. no problem on the 4 runner.
cop, people could shoot you, putting up with drunk people, shift work and did i mention people probably will try to shoot you? 22.00 an hour no thanks.
ive had american truck tracks on a samurai and a 02 4 runner neither had locking diffs but rear diff would be nice for slush holes. they add about a foot of width so most trailers with fenders arent wide enough. i didnt have anti rotation on them but i will next time i install them. pretty much...
i have seen some really good lab crosses one was a springer lab cross, and one was a lab gsp cross. would i risk a year of training then another 6 to 10 on a unproven cross? I wouldnt