Ski Bum Truck V2.0, F450 Rough Road RV

[Bubblegoose1]

A storm was headed through Friday night which was supposed to bring snow. So what did we do? Pack up and go looking for it!

Off the highway and headed up for more altitude

Found the snow line, so we parked and called it a spot for the night. Whipped up some tasty dinner and had a nice little fire. A couple went by just as we were headed inside for dinner, just after dark. Driving a 4x4 early 80's Toyota Chinook camper, say hi if your on here! Looked awesome

Woke up to 3" of new stuff! So pretty.

Kid and dog had a good time.

No drama heading down in the morning, we were a little worried as its pretty steep. I had grabbed some chains on the way home from work, but first gear idled us down the hill safely.

Now the interesting parts..... 4x4 doesn't work.... At least the hubs wont lock in with vacuum as they are supposed to. So I started tracing vac lines. So far they all look good, but I did find a dead seal.... I cant for the life of me figure out what this part is called.

Its this seal at the end of the axle tube. I dont think it has anything to do with the vacuum system as that's all in the hub. Looks like a ***** to get everything out to change it......

Nice exploring pics.

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[dwh]

Looks like "outer seal":

 

[java]

Looks like "outer seal":

That it does! Seems to be a dust seal from my Googling....

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[RC413]

Just a debris "seal". Not an issue, the real seal for the oil is at the diff. Glad you got some snow. We have been hot all "fall" here in south east PA.

 

[java]

Just a debris "seal". Not an issue, the real seal for the oil is at the diff. Glad you got some snow. We have been hot all "fall" here in south east PA.

Thanks, any issues with a nit of moisture getting in there? May try and glue it up with RTV....

Yeah snow was nice! It's all rained out now though I bet. Snow level went way up

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[patoz]

Just a debris "seal". Not an issue, the real seal for the oil is at the diff.

That's what I was thinking also, but it's been so long since I worked on one, I couldn't remember for sure.

 

[java]

Looking for some larger front mud flaps, perhaps rally car style, what are people using for cheap flaps that don't freeze and break.

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[Ozrockrat]

Looking for some larger front mud flaps, perhaps rally car style, what are people using for cheap flaps that don't freeze and break.

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IKEA cutting boards. Being from AZ I am not sure about the freezing and break bit though!

 

[java]

IKEA cutting boards. Being from AZ I am not sure about the freezing and break bit though!

I have heard they break.... But they are cheap enough to make a few pairs! Possibly what will get used if I don't find something better suited.

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[Ozrockrat]

If you go to a truck parts place you can get the stuff that looks a bit like synthetic grass. It last fairly well on my trucks and keeps the spray to a minimum. The other theory is that it sheds snow and ice but I have not tested that. It does seem to work with most of the sandy mud we have around here but I wouldn’t like to guess how it would handle the black soil we have in Australia.

https://www.ryderfleetproducts.com/mud-flaps-c-8342

 

[Bubblegoose1]

I have heard they break.... But they are cheap enough to make a few pairs! Possibly what will get used if I don't find something better suited.

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I used cutting boards to fabricate rear mud flaps for my JKU, when I went to 40s. Worked well for over 2 years. No breakage.

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[java]

If you go to a truck parts place you can get the stuff that looks a bit like synthetic grass. It last fairly well on my trucks and keeps the spray to a minimum. The other theory is that it sheds snow and ice but I have not tested that. It does seem to work with most of the sandy mud we have around here but I wouldn’t like to guess how it would handle the black soil we have in Australia.

https://www.ryderfleetproducts.com/mud-flaps-c-8342

I have seen those, weird looking, but seems to work well. I want something stuff enough to stick out a few inches without support, the cutting boards may be the go to.

The doors and box got covered with mud last trip, would like to keep that to a minimum once they stat de icing the roads....

I used cutting boards to fabricate rear mud flaps for my JKU, when I went to 40s. Worked well for over 2 years. No breakage.

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Cool thanks, they are cheap too! And you have to get meatballs....
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[HowardH]

Might consider used snowmobile track also. Kinda neat looking and seems to work well.

 

[java]

Might consider used snowmobile track also. Kinda neat looking and seems to work well.

Oh! I have seen that for rears, I'll have to look into it! I do have the back half of a snowmobile tucked behind the garage too. Not sure there is enough clearance for the paddles in the front. Hmmm

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[java]

Decided to do a little "camp light" project. Sometimes I hate having the bright outdoor lights on, so I did some little puddle lights along the bottom edge of the truck. Enough light to find the stairs, but not be overly bright.

Start with cheap marker lights, they mount in a 3/4" hole.

Bottom flange that runs around the truck is ~1.25", works great, drill a 3/4" hole.

Pop in the rubber ring first, them slip the light in it.

One cheap light up switch from Amazon, still need to make the bracket.... Apparently I am out of large angle alum.

And done. Camera makes it a little brighter than it is, but they don't shine in your eyes, and give enough light to find the stairs etc.