Box Rocket 1995 FZJ80 Build

[pyrate]

Don't drink coffee, nor would I put it in the console. haha. Still a good word of caution for my alternative choices of caffeinated beverages.

Haha, neither do I, but any liquid could ruin your day. Nice cockpit design though. A great clean build all the way 'round.

 

[pyrate]

Do these seat covers have decent pockets in the back or allow access to existing? I can't seem to find info.

 

[Silverhorse]

educate me on HAM vs. CB

 

[Box Rocket]

Do these seat covers have decent pockets in the back or allow access to existing? I can't seem to find info.

They have pockets

 

[Box Rocket]

educate me on HAM vs. CB

I'm no expert and there are many more knowledgeable that me on this subject. In fact, there's a whole section of the forum dedicated to communications that will have loads of info.
But the short answer is that HAM has far better range than CB and operates on different frequencies. They are both amateur radios but an FCC license is required for HAM use. CB's are becoming less and less common and more and more people are using HAM. But for me, it's mainly because the trips we do are either very spread out from the group, or we travel solo and need improved range. Also, it's what we use for our race truck and chase vehicles so it will be a needed piece of equipment for my 80 to work as a chase vehicle.

 

[lumpskie]

Hey Box Rocket,

Did you have to trim your fender flares at all with 35s and the Slinky setup? I'm in the middle of deciding whether to put flares back on my rig or fill in the holes...

 

[Box Rocket]

Hey Box Rocket,

Did you have to trim your fender flares at all with 35s and the Slinky setup? I'm in the middle of deciding whether to put flares back on my rig or fill in the holes...

No flare trimming. Little pinch weld hammering and mud flap trimming.

 

[Box Rocket]

May has been busy. It started out with a trip that's been in the works for several months. The guys from Autocraft in Australia that make the Slinky kits and Redline Land Cruisers (their US Distributor) wanted to do an "overland" style trip and asked me to help with the route. It was essentially a "Utah Traverse" that some others have done but we added some extras. We started in St George, UT and went south to Toroweap on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Then we went east and camped near Lake Powell and made our way further east (and north) to finally end in Moab 3 days later just in time for Cruise Moab. It was a fantastic trip! Part of the goal of the trip was to do some product testing on the Slinky products. That was a huge success.
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At the beginning of the trip before we left, I made the switch from the Stage 1 shocks on my Slinky kit to the Stage 4's. The stage 4's are remote reservoir 2.5" shocks with internal bump zones and Compression Dampening Control (CDC) for full adjustability depending on load and terrain. I'll be writing a review on these for TCT Magazine but I will say that these are awesome shocks! We were regularly at speeds above 70mph on the twisty dirt roads and through whoops and washboards with full loads and RTT's. Good stuff.
I was glad to have the use of the two-post lift at the IH8MUD HQ to swap the shocks. Made it much easier than trying to swap them in a parking lot.

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A few shots from the trip

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The rear shocks use a piggyback reservoir instead of a remote reservoir for ease of fitment.

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[ulySSes]

As usual, great pictures.

 

[pyrate]

Nice upgrades. I was wondering why we didn't see you at the OE West. Can't wait to see the write up on the testing.

 

[Box Rocket]

Well, the Mickey Thompson Baja Claws I've been running for the past year needed to find a better home. Overall I really liked the Baja Claw. They were really good offroad and the only performance issue was that they would tend to "push" in hard corners while going fast in the dirt. Just a bit more understeer than the MTR's I had before them. If my truck had been an offroad only truck I may have stayed with them because they did great offroad in my experience.
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On the road they weren't bad but got very noisy as they wore. Also, I had a stretch where my toe was out of alignment and it caused the tires to start cupping. The cupping and wear on the outer edges of the tires was what caused me to notice and check the alignment. Because of the cupping, the tires also started to ride pretty rough. You could feel every lug hit the pavement when you were going at slower city speeds. I think the noise and cupping could have been avoided with ensuring the alignment was correct and with regular rotation.
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But, they're on to another life on my son's minitruck. They still have life in them and will work great for my son for a while.
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Got myself a new set this morning. Some love 'em, some hate 'em, but I've had good feedback from friends that have them around here and how they perform in Utah terrain so I decided I'd give these a try. If I don' t like them, I'll probably be back to the MTR's permanently. But one thing is for sure, I'll give these a proper thrashing. Cooper STT Pro. Stayed with the 315's.
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[Mushin_Noshin]

Great tire, have had zero issues with mine 20k plus miles

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

 

[Box Rocket]

This was two weekends ago. Just haven't had a chance to post any here. I've been prerunning routes for the 4xOverlandUSA Southwest Adventure 2017. Found some really cool areas that I think will be great. Need to make some tweaks to the route in a few sections and then go prerun again. For those interested this trip starts the weekend before Cruise Moab next spring. If you want to see some pics from the 2016 trip you can see some of the pics earlier in this thread or you can see it here. 4xOverlandUSA - Southwest Adventure 2017
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[Box Rocket]

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[Box Rocket]

On the way home one of my rear brake pads shattered and came out of the caliper, leaving only the backing shim. The pads were not worn out so it was a bit of a surprise. Didn't see it until I got home. Didn't hear it over the noise of the truck. Destroyed the rotor and the caliper. Got it all replaced on Saturday so all is well now but kind lame. Never had a pad shatter before.
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Carnage pics

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New parts.