Captain Texas Anvil JKU build

[ratled]

See if you can go back to the tire guy and a get a few free stems. The ARB deflator is a good piece of kit, I have one and like it, it works by backing out the stems. On occasion a bit of grit gets in there and tweaks the steam. Always nice to have a few on hand to just pop in a new one. Usually a guy who just sold you a couple of tires won't balk over handing a out a few just in case

ratled

 

[Captain Texas]

See if you can go back to the tire guy and a get a few free stems. The ARB deflator is a good piece of kit, I have one and like it, it works by backing out the stems. On occasion a bit of grit gets in there and tweaks the steam. Always nice to have a few on hand to just pop in a new one. Usually a guy who just sold you a couple of tires won't balk over handing a out a few just in case

ratled

He actually asked me if I wanted my old stems and said no. *******, well i'll be back to get them rebalanced.

 

[Captain Texas]

Deposit is placed for the Ghost Divide Expedition in May!

Ordered up a Front Runner pop up ground tent and will order up a Tembo Tusk Skottle.

 

[Captain Texas]

Parts

Just got off the phone with my Jeep shop in Austin (Round 2 Off-Road, I highly recommend them, John is the man!) and we worked out things that should be done ahead of the Ghost Divide Expedition.

First off, Snorkel! Going to get an AEV snorkel installed because if I get stuck in the convoy, I don't want my air filter to get clogged up with dirt while I'm out in the bush. I may get a pre-filter later on but first thing is to get the snorkel installed.

New front track bar. We decided that a Synergy trackbar is the way to go. Steersmarts is good but really overengineered for what I need and the Synergy is still a quality product for less money. This came after having my episode of Death Wobble in December, I figured I can kill two birds with one stone being a new HD track bar and one that's adjustable.

New steering stabilizer. To be honest I am just not impressed by the Rancho steering stabilizer. Because it is a gas charged shock, it pulls the steering wheel a bit and that bugs the hell out of me. He is going to get an adapter bracket for a Teraflex 9500 that will work with the stem part of the Ultimate Dana 44. (My only gripe about that axle, why a stem! No one uses a stem!)

And lastly wiring up the E-locker in the UD44. In case I get caught in some gnarly stuff, having a usable locker will help quite a bit.

The time period to get this done is middle of March.

 

[ratled]

It is so nice to have that "magic button" of a diff lock. I have only had to use mine twice last summer but man that 1st time was nice... by myself, now what m I going to do, oh yea, the "magic button" . Just the back one and *POP* off you go. You will be very happy you have it the first time you have to use it

Any thoughts to relocating the breather tubes? A cheap piece of mind

ratled

 

[Captain Texas]

It is so nice to have that "magic button" of a diff lock. I have only had to use mine twice last summer but man that 1st time was nice... by myself, now what m I going to do, oh yea, the "magic button" . Just the back one and *POP* off you go. You will be very happy you have it the first time you have to use it

Any thoughts to relocating the breather tubes? A cheap piece of mind

ratled

I did raise my breather tubes for the axles myself a few years ago but the transmission and t-case ones are still stock. Honestly, I don't think we will be going through serious water on the GDE.

 

[Captain Texas]

So went to Discount Tire (again) to get the wheels re-balanced. Ended up waiting 2 whole hours for them to work on my Jeep!

Turns out i'm not crazy and that some of the weights did fall off. It's been crazy cold in Fort Worth and the guy told me that when it's cold that the weights don't like to adhere well to the wheels. He did a proper job heating up the surface and making sure everything was A OK.

I'll wait to get a job done right then to have them rush and do a piss poor job. Drove up to 68 mph on the toll road and drove well.

 

[Captain Texas]

So the original AEV Snorkel I was going to buy was sold already. Damn.

When I talked to my shop yesterday we were just going to get a new one from AEV and call it a day. Thankfully I had put a WTB on the AEV forums and found an AEV dealer that is willing to sell me a brand new one at a bit of a discount. He is also willing to sell the Pre-filter at a discount as well, I just have to pay to ship.

Sweeeeeeeeet.

 

[Captain Texas]

Ordered up a Tembo Tusk Skottle for the GDE. Can't wait to cook a meal on it!

Currently working out a cooler/ fridge solution for the GDE. My best option is probably going to be a YETI cooler. Need to ask my Uncle if he has one I can use for the trip. Has anyone used a high insulation cooler for a long trip? Any success?

 

[BulldoginaJeepwithaColt]

Ordered up a Tembo Tusk Skottle for the GDE. Can't wait to cook a meal on it!

Currently working out a cooler/ fridge solution for the GDE. My best option is probably going to be a YETI cooler. Need to ask my Uncle if he has one I can use for the trip. Has anyone used a high insulation cooler for a long trip? Any success?

I have two different sized Grizzly coolers that I use for week long trips with success. IMO they are similiar to the Yeti's but a little more cheaper and made in the USA.

Just freeze water bottles/jugs prior to your trip and use them inside in lieu of or in addition to ice cubes to maximize the cooling ability. When they melt, you have cold drinking water too. If you have the time, you can also prechill the empty cooler by filling it with ice a day before and let it sit overnight before loading it up as well.

Good luck and hope to see some pic's of your trip and your vehicle load out.

 

[ratled]

I also prechill the empty cooler by filling it with ice a day before and let it sit overnight before loading it up as well.

^^^^ THIS ^^^^ You should do this with everything going in the boxes also.
I do this with the cooler I use as fridge and the 12v freezer before every trip. For me, 1 liter soda bottles seem to be the right size to have enough mass to last but small enough to allow room for the things I want to keep in there. They are small enough I can refreeze them with the 12v Freezer in a timely manner.

I know one guy who uses dry ice in 2 boxes for long trips. He he use one as a fridge for his daily needs and one he calls his freezer which he only opens once a day to grab what ever he will need and puts that in fridge

ratled

 

[BulldoginaJeepwithaColt]

^^^^ THIS ^^^^ You should do this with everything going in the boxes also.
I do this with the cooler I use as fridge and the 12v freezer before every trip. For me, 1 liter soda bottles seem to be the right size to have enough mass to last but small enough to allow room for the things I want to keep in there. They are small enough I can refreeze them with the 12v Freezer in a timely manner.

I know one guy who uses dry ice in 2 boxes for long trips. He he use one as a fridge for his daily needs and one he calls his freezer which he only opens once a day to grab what ever he will need and puts that in fridge

ratled

I believe I read about those week long river rafting outfitters using dry ice too for their coolers. I might just have to try that out for myself this summer. Good tips!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk

 

[ratled]

I believe I read about those week long river rafting outfitters using dry ice too for their coolers. I might just have to try that out for myself this summer. Good tips!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk

Do a test run at home with your gear and see how long you can make it last. A car parked in the sun will simulate warmer spring temps

ratled

 

[Captain Texas]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone!

Got the Front Runner Pop Top tent in the mail today. Was a bit worried that it wouldn't be big enough but it is sparingly large for a pop top style tent. My Dad and I are not big guys so I think there will be plenty of space for us to sleep in the tent comfortably. It has plenty of inside pockets and hooks; overall great quality for the price point.

Setup was about 2 seconds no joke, and putting it away wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Stole the idea of storing it by prying it against the rear roll bar and the roof from Bruce the Rubicon. Also I ordered two more eye bolts and with a bungee cord, I plan to store paper towels and toilet paper just like Bruce's on the Front Runner interior rack.

Also got a patch. Got to get that patch game going before Overland Expo West!

I plan to get some of their wolf boxes as well, just need to see how the setup works during spring break. My Dad and I are planning on doing a short camping trip to get a feel of the setup and see if we want to change anything before the GDE.

 

[Captain Texas]

Small update

Came home for spring break and got a few things in the mail and ordered a few more for the GDE in May.

My FrontRunner order for two of their chairs and the 7-gallon water bag came in the mail. The build quality of the chairs is great and they are surprisingly comfortable to sit in. Thank god their water bag doesn't have a water taste to it, should be a good solution. I may end up getting another one because the recommended water intake is about 2-3 gallons a day per person. Math doesn't work out for two people for more than two days at that. Really like the canvas that protects the bag.

The Tembo Tusk Skottle came in also. Cooked up eggs and ham for breakfast on it and damn does this thing cook cast! First time I have ever cooked on a wok style grill before so that was new. The ham had a really good smokey flavor to it that we think the Skottle gave it. Thumbs up from me so far.

AEV Snorkel is also in. The Jeep should be going in the shop really soon to get that installed as well as a new front track bar from Synergy, the wiring for the front E-Locker installed to the sPOD, and a Teraflex steering stabilizer to replace the POS Rancho unit.

Going to get the tires rebalanced again... The ride on I-35 was just ******* to be blunt. The Discount Tire shops in Fort Worth just haven't impressed me with their balancing. The Discount Tire here in Lakeway does a ton of Jeeps with big tires so I think that they have better experience balancing 35s and up.

Also some small things. Took off a few stickers and took off the chrome Jeep badge on the grill. I like the look a lot better.

Finally ordered up the Bartact universal Fire Extinguisher mount, will get a 3lb extinguisher soon-ish.