Joinin' the Montero Club with a Gen 2.5

[jlocster]

Sleeping Platform Build

So, using Grasscat/off-roader's excellent design (thanks guys) I went and put together a sleeping platform in my rig.

The process started with removing the rear seats.


Then I cut four posts out of 2" Schedule 40 Abs pipe. I fitted end caps on both ends of each post and drilled a 3/8" hole on the top end cap. The end caps are not glued on. Overall length of the posts with end caps was +-13 3/4".


Next I cut 3 pieces of 1/2" ply. One large piece was 33" x 54 1/2" and 2 smaller pieces were 16 1/2" x 51".
In the large piece I drilled 8 holes, four 3/8" inch holes to attach the posts, and four 5/16" holes to attach 5/16" turnbuckles. The posts and turnbuckles are attached to the plywood with carriage bolts. The turnbuckle carriage bolts are 7" long and the turnbuckle is secured in place by a jam nut.


Next I cut indoor/outdoor carpet to fit both sides of each plywood piece. I bought 15 linear feet (15'x6') at Home Depot and I had 1 linear foot left over.


Glued the carpet down with Liquid Nails and then stapled around the edges.




One down, 2 to go.


I used closet rod to support the forward most section of the platform. 3 1/2" long 5/16" carriage bolts slip fit into the end of the rods to hold the rods in place. Rods are 20 11/16".


Carriage bolt raised to show where it passes through the platform.


Platform extended. I used four 12" piano hinges to connect the platform pieces.


Continued...

 

[jlocster]

Sleeping Platform Build cont.

Loose storage underneath.


Platform stowed back on itself with rear seats up.


Width of folding section is limited by c-pillar clearance.


Final thoughts...
At this point the rear section of the platform does flex a bit when I sit directly in the middle of it. When I lay down it doesn't flex. For the record, I weigh 230lbs. It isn't supported by anything other than the posts now, so I may brace the underside in the future. Without bracing, 3/4" ply for the large section would probably work better.

The length of the platform at 66" is a few inches short for me, but not uncomfortable to stretch out on. I'm 5'10" and my feet hang off the end a bit with my body fully extended. For taller folks (6'+), the dimensions I used would have to be lenghtened a bit. You could probably add 4'' more overall easily.

I'm almost able to sit upright on the platform, although I have to lean my head a bit. The available height is definitely functional for me, though taller people might feel cramped.

 

[jlocster]

Santa Cruz Overnighter

Last Sunday (Easter) I drove up to Santa Cruz to test out the sleeping platform. I left Santa Monica at 5pm and went up Highway 1 the whole way just for the hell of it. The further north I drove the foggier and drizzlier it became. By Big Sur I was driving inside of a cloud. I pulled into Santa Cruz at about 1:30 am, hungrier than a hostage, and wouldn't you know it, the the only place open for some food was...Denny's. So be it. By this time the weather had gone full blown monsoon.

After I ate I drove outside of town, found a secluded spot and pulled off to the side of the road to spend the night. Shocking realization...I had to get outside of the car to set up the platform...not good in a raging downpour. In denial I spent 15 minutes contorting in the truck trying to set everything up from the inside before I finally gave up and went outside. That said, after I got back inside and the platform was set up and the doors and windows were closed, I was so comfortable and happy to be in a vehicle and not in a tent that I passed out with a smile on my face. That was about 3:30 am and I didn't wake up until almost 10. I slept like a baby. Ah man it was beautiful sleeping in the rain like that.

No pics from the bivouac unfortunately as my camera (phone) was dead.

But here are a few from the next day's return trip.

Lighthouse outside the Santa Cruz Marina


South of Carmel


Elephant Seal Rookery at Piedras Blancas (Near San Simeon)


I'm definitely looking forward to more nights out on the platform...even in the rain.

 

[off-roader]

Nice.
glad you like the platform design.

As far as the platform bending, it bends w/ my 175 lbs weight so we used a piece of 1x2 pine cut to the full width and screwed it across both ends of the rear most platform section.

To clear the side of the body when folding, I cut the corners of the folding piece which you can see in the animated gif of the platform folding in/out.

As for carpeting we used the same color brown as you did, but for the folding piece, I used black carpet on the side thats exposed when its folded closed so that when im parked somewhere & unsavory types look into the back of my rig to see what I have there, it will be tougher for them to tell there's a platform there.

 

[Imnosaint]

Nice work. Can't think of a better place to try it out as well.

 

[jlocster]

Thanks off-roader...it was your animated gif that set me to work.

Saint, agreed...the Pacific Coast Hwy is a drive everyone should do at least once. I read on your blog about your PCH adventure as well, superb writing and pics...well done!

 

[jlocster]

Junkyard Expedition

Some free time over the weekend drew me to the wilds of the Sun Valley junkyards looking for any items that would come in handy. I can usually count on finding at least a few good Montero specimens as turnover is high...the Los Angeles region willingly satiates the hungry Junkyard Beast.

High on the wishlist was the near mythical and always elusive Gen 2 bouncy seat frame, a Gen 2.5 locker with 4.27 gears, driver's side door-lock/window switch console and door panel, and 16" Gen 3 or Montero Sport steel wheels.

Further on down the list: Aisin locking hubs, cloth seats and newer-ish seat belts, extra fog light switches for auxillary lighting.

At the first yard the candidates were 3.

2 identical blue 92 RSs...




...the second of which obviously belonged to Steve Jobs.


And a white 95 LS.


2 months ago there were 3 Gen 2 SRs with lockers intact and a clean Sahara Beige Gen 2.5. Although the locker in the 2.5 was removed it endowed me with its windshield and side window trim. Sadly those trucks were no longer present, no doubt crushed and freighted to China, soon to be transformed into shiny Harbor Freight wrenches. Painful, yes, but the march of progress never rests.

I passed a Trooper when something caught my eye.


I almost took them just because I couldn't bear the thought of them going to waste...I sure hope they don't.


Although I was looking for 16" steel wheels, I was able to put together a set of 6 Gen 2 15" steelies which may suffice. Couldn't say no because when they're gone they're gone.


The bane of the junkyard. This little fella forced me to leave the yard, go to the store and return with reinforcements...namely, a large ball pein hammer and chisel. It came off.


Continued...

 

[jlocster]

Junkyard Expedition cont.

In the end my haul was:

A tow hitch...might be nice if my pop up tent trailer dreams materialize.


Gen 2 mudflaps, which don't appear to fit my Gen 2.5 on cursory inspection.


An improved antenna mast.


Driver's side door lock actuator...may or may not be the cause of my non-unlocking driver door.


Gen 2 cabin light door switches.

FYI, these are apparently not compatible with Gen 2.5 switches. The Gen 2s have one lead pin and one plastic pin in the connector while the Gen 2.5s have 2 lead pins in the connector.

Gen 2 15 inchers.


In the end, I got exactly nothing I started out looking for...which almost always seems to be the case...and precisely why the thrill of the hunt is such a damn good time.

 

[nwoods]

i've never done the junkyard thing. Do you bring your own tools in and just have it, or how does it work?

 

[jlocster]

Nwoods, all it takes is a $2 entry fee and a box of your own tools, and then, yeah, its Man vs. Machine. Its an interesting experience and often the only way to source miscellaneous small parts (trim/switches). I actually thought of you while I was there as you mentioned you needed a front skid plate in another thread. Unfortunately all the Monteros I saw had either missing or damaged skid plates.

 

[off-roader]

Nice finds... The Isuzu hub won't work in your Mitsu if that's why you're considering buying them.

In my experience on the forums from all these years, the most likely cause of your door lock issue is the switch. You can either disassemble/clean/rebuild them or replace them.

 

[jlocster]

Yeah, I just thought a lot of the Isuzu guys on the forum might want them...I just hate the thought of desirable parts being wasted/crushed. I actually posted a thread about them in the "Other" vehicles section here, in hope that someone who needs them gets them.

As for the door lock switch, I did take mine apart and the individual window and door lock switches are soldered onto a circuit board...are people soldering on new switches? It didn't appear rebuildable to me otherwise.

The other common door lock problem I've read about on 4x4wire involves the door lock actuator: worn rubber bumpers inside the actuator cause the internal gears to over-rotate and unlock the doors immediately after they are locked. I actually pried open my driver side actuator already to see if the bumpers were worn, but they weren't so I reinstalled it. This makes sense since I don't have the lock/unlock problem, mine simply won't unlock. Long-winded way of saying I bet you're right off-roader, its probably the switch.

 

[jlocster]

Junkyard Expedition II

Remember those Isuzu Aisin hubs I left behind at the junkyard?...I went back and got them after work today. It was bugging me and I couldn't leave them behind, I just didn't want to risk them getting smashed. Is that insane? Please don't judge me.

And then while I was at it I found a second pair of Isuzu Aisin hubs that had eluded me over the weekend on this...


...so I took those, too.

Can I use them? No. Will they make someone else happy? Yes. I know this because I remember how happy I was to find my Montero hubs. So here's my plan: I'm gonna pay it forward. Well, you can read about my plan here.

This is because today I'm feeling magnanimous. And here's the story why:

After leaving the big junkyard, I decided to stop by a smaller import junkyard that was on my way home, even though I had just been there two days previous. It was 5 pm and they'd be open until 6. I thought since it was prime LA traffic time anyway, I might as well look around a junkyard for an hour instead of idling on the freeway. Maybe I'd come up on another pair of Isuzu Aisin hubs since I seemed to be on a streak.

So, I started my walk around the yard at the 93 SR that I had pulled the trailer hitch from on Sunday.


This thing was thrashed on the inside. Interior was totally gone. Stripped. What a mess. The seats...wasted. They needed to hurry up and crush this thing to make room for something else. Yeah, especially that knob under the passenger seat. Wait, say what?


No, it can't be. No, wait..it IS!! Holy Moly! Mother of Mary! And then a ray of light shone down upon me from the heavens and I heard Angels sing...Hallelujah!!


I had just found a pair of honest to goodness Montero BOUNCY SEATS!! Number one on my Montero fantasy parts that I'd never find list.

Of course, my next immediate thought was: I'm an idiot!! How in the world did I overlook these two days ago? Well, that's clearly because the driver's side adjustment knob had broken off and the interior was stripped already and it was surely one time I didn't even need to look for bouncy seats because they are never in these things by the time I get to them anyway...oh man I got lucky!

Ok, so now it was 5:15, I had 45 minutes to get these frames out...shouldn't be a problem, right?

Meanwhile, inside my head:

"Seat anchor bolts, 14mm, looks like four of them per seat, easy to access...done. Now, lets get these frames off the seats...looks like 12mm, again four per seat...reach into the box, no thats an 11mm, no thats a 13mm, wait where's the 12mm? Oh, its a small socket, it fell from the top tray into the bottom of the box, I'll just rummage around and get it. Ok, its not there. Wait, I'll just rummage around some more and it will appear. It's still not there. Oh CRAP! I must have used it at home at some point and not put it back in my junkyard box when I was done.

This is a problem. I'm driving a Ford Probe, it's got a hatchback but these seats are big. I need to get them off because they'll never fit. I'll just try a combo. Nope. I'll try channels. Nope. I'll try vise grips. Nope. I'll try pliers. Nope. I'll try a needle nose. Hell nope. Ok, don't panic, I'll just walk outside of the yard to the tool guy and buy an overpriced, no name emergency socket. Nope. He's already left for the day because it's 5:30.

Ok, I am not gonna leave these here. Not gonna happen. I guess I'll just buy the whole shebang and drive home with the hatchback open."

And so that's what I did. I bought two jacked up seats that were attached to bouncy frames for double what I would've paid for just the frames because I left a critical piece of kit at home. Good thing I wasn't in the middle of the Sahara. The lesson, of course, is...put your damn tools back.

Well the seats got home.


Yuck


Then I got to thinking, where in the hell did I put that 12mm? There should be a deep and a shallow around here somewhere. Oh no, no way. Not possible. I'll let the empty socket case tell the rest.


Who does that? Who sells a metric set with no 12mm? Harbor Freight, that's who. I'll bet their standard set doesn't come with a 1/2". This set is going back on principle.

But that was my fault and I know better. Caveat emptor. It's not the first time I've fallen victim to Harbor Freight's intoxicating, yet unholy allure of ridiculously low-priced tools. "Penny wise, pound foolish," my Dad would say, "especially when it comes to tools." When will I ever learn?

But I'm not mad and I'm not complaining...because I found Bouncy Seats!

 

[Blighty]

Ha great story and an even greater find. I love the idea of you trolling the breakers yards looking for elusive parts. You never know what you'll find in the places you've been to a hundred times. Glad to see the build is coming along frugally and creatively. Thanks for the update.

 

[nwoods]

Fantastic write up.