Toyman01
Adventurer
This is not going to be a large tire, go anywhere beast. BTDT. I'm over it. I'm building this to run the GA Traverse and eventually the Trans American Trail. Mostly cruising dirt roads in the national forests and camping. It will eventually end up as a TOAD behind my 56 Ford bus, SanFord. It will see as much highway as it does dirt.
This is the starting point, as bought a couple of years ago.
Right after I bought it I took care of some maintenance problems. It was running hot, so it got a 3 core aluminum radiator, water pump and t-stat. It was also leaking transmission fluid out of the front bushing and seal so it got a transmission rebuild. I also replaced the headliner, front rotors, calipers and pads, and took care of some other minor issues.
There is stayed for a little over a year. I still had the Samurai to play with and this was mostly a people hauler. It made a few trips to the woods just to keep the 4WD lubricated.
What I would like is 4 seats, solar power, refrigerator, camping capable and fairly self sustained. Pretty much everything that wouldn't fit in the Samurai.
I don't particularly want a RTT, and at 6'2, I don't want to sleep in the back. I don't mind setting up a tent and comfortable cot.
Last week, we started with the roof rack. The one that came with it was so small as to be useless. I frequently camp with a 10X10 popup canopy. I wanted the roof rack to be able to hold one. Done
Next up was the refrigerator. I already had a Base Camp 43qt. It's not the smallest or the most efficient, but it's paid for. It's going to be the biggest real estate hog. This is where it's going to land. I'm still on the fence about building a slide out for it and a set of storage drawers for the back. That decision will be made tomorrow.
The battery is a 100AH AGM and it will be mounted directly in front of the refrigerator in a battery box.
That's it so far. The plan is to make a good bit of progress tomorrow. We shall see.
This is the starting point, as bought a couple of years ago.
Right after I bought it I took care of some maintenance problems. It was running hot, so it got a 3 core aluminum radiator, water pump and t-stat. It was also leaking transmission fluid out of the front bushing and seal so it got a transmission rebuild. I also replaced the headliner, front rotors, calipers and pads, and took care of some other minor issues.
There is stayed for a little over a year. I still had the Samurai to play with and this was mostly a people hauler. It made a few trips to the woods just to keep the 4WD lubricated.
What I would like is 4 seats, solar power, refrigerator, camping capable and fairly self sustained. Pretty much everything that wouldn't fit in the Samurai.
I don't particularly want a RTT, and at 6'2, I don't want to sleep in the back. I don't mind setting up a tent and comfortable cot.
Last week, we started with the roof rack. The one that came with it was so small as to be useless. I frequently camp with a 10X10 popup canopy. I wanted the roof rack to be able to hold one. Done
Next up was the refrigerator. I already had a Base Camp 43qt. It's not the smallest or the most efficient, but it's paid for. It's going to be the biggest real estate hog. This is where it's going to land. I'm still on the fence about building a slide out for it and a set of storage drawers for the back. That decision will be made tomorrow.
The battery is a 100AH AGM and it will be mounted directly in front of the refrigerator in a battery box.
That's it so far. The plan is to make a good bit of progress tomorrow. We shall see.