Hackster's crew cab first gen cummins

[rube bonet]

Warn's documentation shows this winch mounted in either way... feet down or feet forward

http://www.warn.com/truck/winches/images/1759/86243A0_rs.pdf

I read that too, I just wasn't sure it was right. The M12000 lb manual shows foot forward and 6 mounting points total... http://www.warn.com/truck/winches/src/images/47/63418B7_rs.pdf

Looking at the pics, the VR is built on a much smaller frame than the M12000, explains the difference.


Either way, sorry-hi jack over, the bumper looks clean.

.

 

[hackster]

Thank you all for the concern, it is great that you guys are thinking about my well being and safety.

I am very good friends with a number of folks from Warn, have wheeled with them for years. Two of them in engineering both said absolutley no issue with the bumper the mount or the winch. So I am pretty confident that it will be just fine. I do have two additional mounts that will be tied back to the body mounts in addition to the 6 bolts that hold the mount to the frame.

Got the truck back from the tranny shop and got the carpet and sound deadener as well as the rear seat and seatbelts installed.

Truck is good so far.

I sold the black truck so this is the only truck in the house...


Ill get some interior pics up soon, bout ready to do some exploring with this terd.

Sean

 

[hackster]

Got the winch and u joint finished up yesterday as well as removed the cummins display panel from the dash and built an abs panel to hold a boost guage and get guage on the right side and 5 led lights on the left window of the panel. Looks good.

Came home tonight after working late with little motivation. Headed out to get a pipe tap and got back around 7:30. Asher was here and we made quick work of drilling and tapping the manifold installing the egt probe wiring up the guages.

Also dealt with some mush brakes and found the reservoir for the rear brakes empty.

So we added in some fluid bled the brakes and hot damn this thing stops on a dime now. Good work there.

Finishing up under the dash and I found a few wires that needed to still be hooked up so against my normal odd personality we hooked up one that I thought was a dome light but it turns out it was the cab lights.


Now I normally don't like cab lights but I gotta tell you it looks pretty **************

We took it around the block. Brakes are night and day difference.....I know imagine that right. Egt works great boost works great...has no problem burying the boost needle on the 30 lb guage.

All in all the short list is getting shorter for now. Need to hook up the dome light figure out the emergency brake light on the dash build a center console a hitch and wire up a trailer plug. Compared to the start of the build its a short list.

Should be buttoned up this week if all goes well.

Snow wheeling with it this Saturday.

Sean

 

[redthies]

I sold the black truck

I can't believe you didn't call! I was going to ask if you'd sell the black one, but figured you were keeping it

 

[hackster]

I can't believe you didn't call! I was going to ask if you'd sell the black one, but figured you were keeping it

Sorry man....The plan was to keep it as I thought this thing was going to be a bit more not street friendly with the "big" tires and beadlocks. But as it started to come together, its really about the same truck with two extra doors on it and a little bit bigger tires, not a whole lot different though.

In my head, I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted it to look like, hindsight being what it is, I wish that I would have gone with some 40" tires and regear it to 4.10's with ARB's front and rear, I just dont know how well it will tow with that big of a tire, not to mention if you got a flat towing with a 40" tire, I think it would be one hell of a ride.

Sean

 

[Metcalf]

I tow things all over with my 1st gen on 39s. No big deal. Mine is just a regular cab longbed. It does sit low for the big tires though. I think that helps.

 

[redthies]

I'll survive. It will make it's new owner happy I would think.

I lost a wheel on my Tundra (dealership error after getting an axleshaft replaced on warranty). I was towing a 24' trailer from Cloverdale out to Fort Bragg Ca on the nasty windy road through redwoods. It was running a 6" lift with 35" MTZs. It really wasn't that hard to deal with, but I give a lot of credit to the equalizing hitch I was using.

If you get some time in the daylight, I'm sure I'm not the only one who would love to see more pics!

 

[hackster]

I will try and snap some interior shots this afternoon, after I get it cleaned up from the weekends wheeling.

Its a viscious cycle with tires. The 37's and 3.54's work really well on this truck, dont know quite why but they just do. If i do 40's its a regear for sure.

I was able to get the front bumper finally bolted down with some proper hardware, I got some tow attachments on the front bumper just in case. Also built my rubber innerfenderwell panels to close the gap between the inner fender and outer fender to stop the water and mud from getting up into the engine compartment.

Loaded up tools strapped on a shovel, high lift jack and a 35" spare tire just incase something happened, i figured it would be better than no spare at all.

We managed to get up into some deeper snow as we went up in elevation but I was enjoying the wheeling and did not snap any more photos.

The truck did suprisingly well in the snow, we went up with a bunch of othre people and made it up to the base camp area in two wheel drive and probably a foot or so of really fresh snow.

The front suspension is pretty descent, not a desert truck by any means its still just some leaf sprangs. The rear suspension is another story.....its rough, really rough. I will have to make some changes to this before the big alaska trip.

But all in all the truck works really well, no issues with the drivetrain, body electrical brakes or anything really.

Its time for some lockers in the axles and see just where this thing will go.

Sean

 

[E.Roy]

Oh man, that makes me look forward to some snow wheeling. We'll see if Buffalo actually gets some snow this year with the climate change we have been seeing over here

 

[redthies]

What are your plans for accommodation on the Ak trip? I am more curious on the bed design if you are doing longer trips. Trailer?

 

[Rot Box]

Love the snow pics. Can't wait for snow wheeling :coffeedrink:


Such a good looking pickup thanks for sharing.

 

[my1stcummins]

Rams are always at home in the snow.:sombrero:

Awesome truck in those snow shots! Where was that? I can't wait to get up in the hills in Bellingham this December when I get some time away from frigid Alberta.

 

[hackster]

What are your plans for accommodation on the Ak trip? I am more curious on the bed design if you are doing longer trips. Trailer?

Yes, the plan is to tow a trailer. I am planning on starting off with a military trailer, pintle hitch on 37's and hummer beadlocks. The plan is to have some type of living quarters inside with an onboard shower, heat and some other stuff to make a 3 week trip comfortable for the three of us. We have a dog that will go with us on the trip so we need somewhere for him to sleep and he has to be able to get in and out so a rooftop tent is out of the picture.

I downloaded some GPS apps for my tablet after the weekend of exploring. We had such a great time up just exploring in the show that I might just get hooked on this adventure stuff afterall.

Has anyone on here used backcountry navigator for an android tablet? If so, how well did it work when you were outside of normal city coverage?

Might try and get out this weekend and do some more exploring, with the temps cooler, I am betting that we are going to see some snow pile up soon.

Sean

 

[my1stcummins]

I hear ya on the rough springs in the rear, two days ago I purchased a set of sulastic springs, won't have them installed until Christmas, but I've heard great reviews.

www.sulastic.com

 

[lamontagne]

Loving this truck, I've always liked the 1st gen trucks.