Coyote; aka my 96 D1 5 speed build thread
- Thread starter Ray_G
- Start date
Ray_G
Explorer
To be fair it was perfect off hwy, it's just that working it through the mtns (with an LR3 towing a trailer patiently waiting for me to get up to 'speed' (70)) was less than optimal. Couple that with having tasted a built 4.6 in my last truck...
The engine is actually great truth be told.
Ray_G
Explorer
More VOT photos; Team 5 (+), recovery ops, etc
Some more pics from the event:
We constituted Team 5 of VOT, Twin Mountain Offroad Adventure-named after the park our teammate John is opening just outside Moorefield, WVa. Until about the Thurs before the team was going to consist of a D1 and a SWB RRC but the tranny on the SWB went so John defaulted back to an LR3-suffice it to say it was a good chance to see how capable that truck was (is) and it didn't disappoint. A lot more pics of that over on the VOT thread.
The wheeling afforded several chances to use most of the recovery gear in the truck:
The better half certainly got plenty of time pulling cable-in all conditions:
For us the story of VOT is really more about the other teams we worked with, without Team 6 and Team 10 we'd never have done as well as we did-it was fantastic wheeling with everyone
A hell of an event, in many ways this shot from the 2nd night says volumes
Some more pics from the event:
We constituted Team 5 of VOT, Twin Mountain Offroad Adventure-named after the park our teammate John is opening just outside Moorefield, WVa. Until about the Thurs before the team was going to consist of a D1 and a SWB RRC but the tranny on the SWB went so John defaulted back to an LR3-suffice it to say it was a good chance to see how capable that truck was (is) and it didn't disappoint. A lot more pics of that over on the VOT thread.
The wheeling afforded several chances to use most of the recovery gear in the truck:
The better half certainly got plenty of time pulling cable-in all conditions:
For us the story of VOT is really more about the other teams we worked with, without Team 6 and Team 10 we'd never have done as well as we did-it was fantastic wheeling with everyone
A hell of an event, in many ways this shot from the 2nd night says volumes
Ray_G
Explorer
VOT issues
I would be remiss if I didn't document my moments of stupidity, the fickle nature of chance, and just the sheer reality of wheeling that created issues at VOT. Throughout the trip up, during, and back the truck did extremely well mechanically so nothing to report there. Likewise the final tweaks to the suspension (OME 2" w/10" 7100's up front and OME shocks in the back) along with the drivetrain (4 pin up front, TT in the back going to RT axles) all handled it all without fail.
Where fail happened is my fault, i.e. telling the driver to go a little faster than she was comfortable with on day 1, morning 1...so as we went through some of the mud we hit a rock...thereby exacting revenge on me for ever having said "You know, steelies are great but how many people have ever actually broken an alloy..."
That left us with the spare going on during day 1. Fortunately DAP is still open (who knew?) and Springfield was right down the road...the next morning I called as they opened and since we were stuck with a 1000 start time anyway-i.e. dead last-we set out to get one of the two 16" wheels that were in stock. What luck...it was a color matched 3 spoke for a RRC...
To add insult to injury, by night two getting on top of Mt Rainforest we ended up like this:
Which provided the chance to use the X-Jack (which is a great piece of gear once you realize it requires some good exhaust pressure-i.e. skinny pedal-and proper placement.
Thankfully no other major tire issues throughout the rest of the trip, but that doesn't mean we didn't look super classy on the way home with 2x Cyclones, 1 steel spare and my new favorite wheel on the truck rolling down the highway...
I would be remiss if I didn't document my moments of stupidity, the fickle nature of chance, and just the sheer reality of wheeling that created issues at VOT. Throughout the trip up, during, and back the truck did extremely well mechanically so nothing to report there. Likewise the final tweaks to the suspension (OME 2" w/10" 7100's up front and OME shocks in the back) along with the drivetrain (4 pin up front, TT in the back going to RT axles) all handled it all without fail.
Where fail happened is my fault, i.e. telling the driver to go a little faster than she was comfortable with on day 1, morning 1...so as we went through some of the mud we hit a rock...thereby exacting revenge on me for ever having said "You know, steelies are great but how many people have ever actually broken an alloy..."
That left us with the spare going on during day 1. Fortunately DAP is still open (who knew?) and Springfield was right down the road...the next morning I called as they opened and since we were stuck with a 1000 start time anyway-i.e. dead last-we set out to get one of the two 16" wheels that were in stock. What luck...it was a color matched 3 spoke for a RRC...
To add insult to injury, by night two getting on top of Mt Rainforest we ended up like this:
Which provided the chance to use the X-Jack (which is a great piece of gear once you realize it requires some good exhaust pressure-i.e. skinny pedal-and proper placement.
Thankfully no other major tire issues throughout the rest of the trip, but that doesn't mean we didn't look super classy on the way home with 2x Cyclones, 1 steel spare and my new favorite wheel on the truck rolling down the highway...
Motorvated
Nature Junkie
Really like some of your ideas and execution. dont be surprised if you see some similar things on my new Disco! Great write up
Ray_G
Explorer
Many thanks, this site-along with Dweb and Defender Source-has been a great source of info for me so if my thread helps folks with ideas for what to do (I feel like it might help more with what not to do!) then it's been worthwhile.
Good luck with your build, hit me up on the side if any of the stuff I've posted is unclear b/c of my rambling nature.
r-
Ray
Ray_G
Explorer
VOT: Modifications feedback
Last big post of VOT related stuff that I'd planned was hitting some of the mods that I'd done throughout the build to provide feedback on them. As covered earlier most of the recovery gear was used at some point; tree straps, shackles (soft & hard), kinetic rope, tow strap, etc. The hi lift was used in anger-but to pop the bead off the mud filled tire vice lifting a vehicle substantively. The X-jack was a great tool for safely lifting the vehicle to be sure.
Some of the other smaller things are show here:
I'll cover the nav aides specifically in a sec but the ipad mount worked flawlessly both offroad, fire roads, and on the highway. For approx $30 from Amazon I have to say it more than paid for itself. The two handheld radios on the front seat are cheap Baofeng dual band VHF/UHF radios, covered extensively here in the communications forum all I'll say is that we left the CB on for inter-team comms and in case the staff had to reach us but used the VHF for intra-team comms throughout and they were fantastic. Paired with the Yaesu RT covered earlier in the thread the clarity and range of the radios was superb. The battery life (both had the extended batteries) was excellent and despite the rain, mud, and abuse neither had any real issues. At a little over $30 for the base unit off Amazon it's hard to understate how good those things are for the cash. (http://www.amazon.com/BaoFeng-UV-5R...&qid=1376738593&sr=8-1&keywords=baofeng+uv-5r) Biggest reason I spent a few minutes setting anchor on it is mainly b/c I loath my CB in comparison but on the East Coast you can't escape it.
A variety of other things pictured are worth discussing:
-Hard copy map was fantastic for the big picture of the event and each day, shows the utility of the gazetteer to be sure.
-tree strap started riding on the floorboard under the navigator's seat quite a bit. That was April's doing, the 2nd time she crawled out of the window and opened up the roof rack mounted storage box for it she decided that at least one could safely ride under her feet for most of the time. Can't fault the logic, and it got used a lot for us and others.
-Seat covers, both front and back, saved a lot of damage to the interior (along with the essential rubber mats on the floor). Can't wait for Kexby to produce D1 front seat covers to complement the rear seats I already have. That being said the cheap Cabelas covers have more than earned their worth.
Rear bumper
The bumper endcaps I crafted as a last minute thing more than held their own despite repeated thrashings. For a cheap, hobby welder, fix I have no complaints about how they turned out and how they fared after getting smashed against trees, pushed along mud banks, testing the departure angle, etc.
Some navigational feedback:
The ipad as a nav device was fantastic for a dedicated navigator. Only issue we found was that using it for protracted periods did wear the battery down (we had a backup ipad in case it went below 10%)-I guess I shouldn't have pulled it out to take pictures with it so much. Despite that comment it never died, and for the purposes of VOT where we were using pdf maps it navigated exceptionally well regardless of the absence of cell service. The garmin montana in the RAM mount on the dash we kept focused toward the driver (changed it to a top down, N up orientation vice automotive mode) and that worked well as many of the roads the navigator and driver could both see coming up and dialogue about time/distance/speed/etc. The N up orientation became key on the 4th day as we were truly exhausted and heading south...as simple as it sounds being able to say 'Turn East' vice trying to mentally realize that instead of turning right the vehicle needed to turn left was key.
Camping ergonomics:
Working out of the back of the truck for many things worked very well, the fold down table proved its worth and all the time spent obsessing over load out into the front runner boxes, the action packer, peli, etc was worthwhile. What I will say about the above picture is that we can do better...as that was less than optimal. I'm not convinced I want to go full blown awning though they are really nice, but what wasn't fantastic was this ghetto fab setup to keep the rain off the coffee. I have some thoughts on how to create a decent solution to that problem. I was also very happy with the water storage rotopax, having a couple in the back of the truck that were securely mounted but easy to access/easy to pour came in very handy throughout the trip. The carbiner->bungee<-carabiner setup(s) that we put in prior to departure worked very well not just for clipping bags in to keep them in place but also became laundry lines and the like. A very good cheap mod for internal ergonomics.
The GSI coffee press worked very well in conjunction with the rear mounted jet boil. The rest of my team was incapable of movement without coffee so that was a critical piece of gear. The second picture illustrates my preferred morning routine.
Overally the trip afforded a great chance to validate the truck's build and load out. Most of our feedback was focused on camping gear (better thermarests, perhaps a double bag...how awesome the kifaru woobie is) and not on the truck itself.
Now I just gotta get the truck back in shape!
r-
Ray
Last big post of VOT related stuff that I'd planned was hitting some of the mods that I'd done throughout the build to provide feedback on them. As covered earlier most of the recovery gear was used at some point; tree straps, shackles (soft & hard), kinetic rope, tow strap, etc. The hi lift was used in anger-but to pop the bead off the mud filled tire vice lifting a vehicle substantively. The X-jack was a great tool for safely lifting the vehicle to be sure.
Some of the other smaller things are show here:
I'll cover the nav aides specifically in a sec but the ipad mount worked flawlessly both offroad, fire roads, and on the highway. For approx $30 from Amazon I have to say it more than paid for itself. The two handheld radios on the front seat are cheap Baofeng dual band VHF/UHF radios, covered extensively here in the communications forum all I'll say is that we left the CB on for inter-team comms and in case the staff had to reach us but used the VHF for intra-team comms throughout and they were fantastic. Paired with the Yaesu RT covered earlier in the thread the clarity and range of the radios was superb. The battery life (both had the extended batteries) was excellent and despite the rain, mud, and abuse neither had any real issues. At a little over $30 for the base unit off Amazon it's hard to understate how good those things are for the cash. (http://www.amazon.com/BaoFeng-UV-5R...&qid=1376738593&sr=8-1&keywords=baofeng+uv-5r) Biggest reason I spent a few minutes setting anchor on it is mainly b/c I loath my CB in comparison but on the East Coast you can't escape it.
A variety of other things pictured are worth discussing:
-Hard copy map was fantastic for the big picture of the event and each day, shows the utility of the gazetteer to be sure.
-tree strap started riding on the floorboard under the navigator's seat quite a bit. That was April's doing, the 2nd time she crawled out of the window and opened up the roof rack mounted storage box for it she decided that at least one could safely ride under her feet for most of the time. Can't fault the logic, and it got used a lot for us and others.
-Seat covers, both front and back, saved a lot of damage to the interior (along with the essential rubber mats on the floor). Can't wait for Kexby to produce D1 front seat covers to complement the rear seats I already have. That being said the cheap Cabelas covers have more than earned their worth.
Rear bumper
The bumper endcaps I crafted as a last minute thing more than held their own despite repeated thrashings. For a cheap, hobby welder, fix I have no complaints about how they turned out and how they fared after getting smashed against trees, pushed along mud banks, testing the departure angle, etc.
Some navigational feedback:
The ipad as a nav device was fantastic for a dedicated navigator. Only issue we found was that using it for protracted periods did wear the battery down (we had a backup ipad in case it went below 10%)-I guess I shouldn't have pulled it out to take pictures with it so much. Despite that comment it never died, and for the purposes of VOT where we were using pdf maps it navigated exceptionally well regardless of the absence of cell service. The garmin montana in the RAM mount on the dash we kept focused toward the driver (changed it to a top down, N up orientation vice automotive mode) and that worked well as many of the roads the navigator and driver could both see coming up and dialogue about time/distance/speed/etc. The N up orientation became key on the 4th day as we were truly exhausted and heading south...as simple as it sounds being able to say 'Turn East' vice trying to mentally realize that instead of turning right the vehicle needed to turn left was key.
Camping ergonomics:
Working out of the back of the truck for many things worked very well, the fold down table proved its worth and all the time spent obsessing over load out into the front runner boxes, the action packer, peli, etc was worthwhile. What I will say about the above picture is that we can do better...as that was less than optimal. I'm not convinced I want to go full blown awning though they are really nice, but what wasn't fantastic was this ghetto fab setup to keep the rain off the coffee. I have some thoughts on how to create a decent solution to that problem. I was also very happy with the water storage rotopax, having a couple in the back of the truck that were securely mounted but easy to access/easy to pour came in very handy throughout the trip. The carbiner->bungee<-carabiner setup(s) that we put in prior to departure worked very well not just for clipping bags in to keep them in place but also became laundry lines and the like. A very good cheap mod for internal ergonomics.
The GSI coffee press worked very well in conjunction with the rear mounted jet boil. The rest of my team was incapable of movement without coffee so that was a critical piece of gear. The second picture illustrates my preferred morning routine.
Overally the trip afforded a great chance to validate the truck's build and load out. Most of our feedback was focused on camping gear (better thermarests, perhaps a double bag...how awesome the kifaru woobie is) and not on the truck itself.
Now I just gotta get the truck back in shape!
r-
Ray
Ray_G
Explorer
I hear you, this truck in many ways is the manifestation of having lost my 94 5 speed in the midst of PCS moves, deployments, etc when it because too much to deal with. I always regretted selling her and thus sought out the 5 speed when I got my feet back under me.
I'm down in Cville a fair amount since the wife is going to school there so if you're down that way, drop a line sometime-I have plenty of free time there while she crashes on her classes or the ones she's teaching.
r-
Ray
Lono
Adventurer
Ray, I JUST saw this thread of yours...Boy do I wish I had seen it before the VOT (or, maybe not!). What I really wish is that I had taken the time to take a close look at your rig. You've incorporated so many great ideas, coupled with obviously great execution, into this truck. I think we're coming from similar places (family, hobby welder that likes to fabricate. etc..), so if imitation is the highest form of flattery, be prepared to be flattered big time. The headliner "fix" alone is worth its weight in gold to me. So tired of looking at mine sagging but loathed the idea of tackling a replacement. Never thought of what you came up with... The storage setup you came up with is just about perfect looking for what I have and how I use my truck. I have a 15lb power tank and your setup looks great. Its like you saw my "to do list" for my truck but actually had the cojones to make it all happen before VOT. Anyway, I could go on and on...
Are you gonna make it to the Vermont Overland Rally and Workshop in October? I'll supply the beer while you let me crawl over every inch of your truck with a measuring tape!
Steve
Are you gonna make it to the Vermont Overland Rally and Workshop in October? I'll supply the beer while you let me crawl over every inch of your truck with a measuring tape!
Steve
Ray_G
Explorer
Steve-
I wish I, we, could get back up for the Rally & Workshop in Oct but I don't think its in the cards-the wife went back to school (PhD program...a little intense) and I took leave for most of Aug between the VOT and another camping trip (pics to follow in this thread) so I'm banking on the Conclave down here in VA and past that a low key winter unfortunately. Hope the thread helps, and by all means if you have questions or want pics of things (and comments on all that I've done wrong, twice (or three times) before getting right, etc hit me up: ray.gerber(at)gmail.com.
r-
Ray
Ray_G
Explorer
Vestiges of VOT
So some more pics as I continue to suffer withdrawal from VOT and also acknowledge some things needed to be dealt with...while I acknowledge she's never going to be a show truck, some of the wheeling took a serious toll on the paint. Day 3's sticker stop in particular...which necessitated washing, waxing, etc
The front quarter panel shows that she can still gloss up a little...but the doors illustrate that there are some damn deep scratches there! I may do the paint pen thing just to green it up a bit, but oh well-she gets used as intended.
Having spent the better part of $20 at a couple of car washes, no small amount of chagrin occurred when I opened the hood and remembered this...
As shots from the event continue to come in the Synchro guys posted theirs and I found these two which I posted over on the Rover pic thread but love enough to toss in here too:
If only I'd busted the other DE by that point...it didn't make it through the rest of the event.
So some more pics as I continue to suffer withdrawal from VOT and also acknowledge some things needed to be dealt with...while I acknowledge she's never going to be a show truck, some of the wheeling took a serious toll on the paint. Day 3's sticker stop in particular...which necessitated washing, waxing, etc
The front quarter panel shows that she can still gloss up a little...but the doors illustrate that there are some damn deep scratches there! I may do the paint pen thing just to green it up a bit, but oh well-she gets used as intended.
Having spent the better part of $20 at a couple of car washes, no small amount of chagrin occurred when I opened the hood and remembered this...
As shots from the event continue to come in the Synchro guys posted theirs and I found these two which I posted over on the Rover pic thread but love enough to toss in here too:
If only I'd busted the other DE by that point...it didn't make it through the rest of the event.
Ray_G
Explorer
New shoes: 255/85R16 BFG KM2 MT's
The death of one of the KM1 245's at VOT set in motion a plan that I'd had in the back of my mind for awhile; the desire to go back to the tire size I'd had on my first D1. I also wanted to get a current production tire-despite some misgivings heard about KM2's compared to the originals. All of which led to the very unhappy UPS or FEDEX guy who got to sling these
Not to mention my good friend Mr Milton over at the Auto Hobby Shop who got a Sun am workout mounting them.
How she looks at this point-sorry for the driveway shot but wheeling will have to wait a few weeks till Conclave
Decided to hold onto the AT's for awhile, may throw them back on for winter and such...so I pressed a dolly into service to be able to continue the next level of tetris in my tiny garage
The death of one of the KM1 245's at VOT set in motion a plan that I'd had in the back of my mind for awhile; the desire to go back to the tire size I'd had on my first D1. I also wanted to get a current production tire-despite some misgivings heard about KM2's compared to the originals. All of which led to the very unhappy UPS or FEDEX guy who got to sling these
Not to mention my good friend Mr Milton over at the Auto Hobby Shop who got a Sun am workout mounting them.
How she looks at this point-sorry for the driveway shot but wheeling will have to wait a few weeks till Conclave
Decided to hold onto the AT's for awhile, may throw them back on for winter and such...so I pressed a dolly into service to be able to continue the next level of tetris in my tiny garage
94Discovery
Adventurer
What size are they?
Ray_G
Explorer
255's net you about 33.5"