Life With A Supercharged RRS For an Overland Rig

[Colorofkris]

The roof bars/baskets are a huge improvement to the functionality of these, my FrontRunner load bars are one of my favorite additions.

You should be able to have somebody drive next to you and see if you have a bent rim. I saw a RRS with one last week that was very visible. Couldn’t catch up to the guy to let him know though.

If it’s not that, you might try having the tires road force balanced. One of my BFG KO2’s felt like it was out of round, the shop claimed they had road forced them but did it again and found two were out, it solved the problem.

I get running the CB if that’s what guys you trail ride with use and you already had it. I ended up going with GMRS primarily due to not wanting a big visible antenna, along with that hopefully becoming the standard that things are moving towards. Midland’s MXT 275 will mount under the driver’s seat with minimal mods to the bracket, and the controls are on the handheld mic so you don’t need to access the base unit. I went with the “ghost” antenna that’s only a 3” tall cylinder. It makes for a much sleeker install overall, plus it’s nice having cheap handhelds you can pass off to a buddy without a radio or a spotter.

Roof bars are awesome. Now I need a proper rack though. Current basket is a no go for me. Im thinking a flat rack will be better, however no rush. Function over form when it comes to healing gear.

I will deff have to look into the tire/ rim issues further. Im supposed to meet up with a buddy for a quick trail ride this weekend so I will prob have him run along side me on the way there.

For the CB, being that I do own one already and so do the people I ride with it makes it easier. I am interested in various radio options, just don't have the budget to spend on a new setup yet. I do love the long antenna look, just hate the mount option currently. The good thing about velcroing the cb radio itself is the ease of removal when it comes time to swap.

 

[Colorofkris]

Snagged a couple photos on my way home today.

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[Colorofkris]

Made some progress on the sleeping platform this weekend. The drawer box itself is all cut and fitted to size. Next up will be cutting the sleeping plat form and the support fold out to size. Here is a mock up of how it’s going to sit in the trunk of the rover. (All three seats will sit up right btw)

I will be picking back up tomorrow on it. Need to run to the store and get longer bolts to mount in the luggage hoop holes for the bottom platform. Tomorrow I will be cutting the foldout supports to size and measuring out the sides/ supports for mounting location so I can cut the drawer pieces to final size.

On another note I did finish the install on the cb radio as well as the rocker switch panel. Everything is wired up and good to go. After I’m done with the drawer I plan on going back and doing a less sloppy wire job on the panel switch. There is a good bit of excess wire that needs to be trimmed up. Aside from that looks good and non invasive on the dash which is great. Now I just need some off-road lights!

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[Colorofkris]

No pics today but I did work on the drawer system some more. I’m learning a lot really fast and it’s been a process so far. I’ve screwed together the main box frame picture above and cut my supports to size. Tomorrow I’m going to hit up the hard ware store to get a different set of hinges, the ones I picked up are not going to work for the bed platform. After the sleeping platform is done and the supports are done I will work on the drawers which I need to re cut to size to make up for some size changes I had to make for fit. I am also brain storming on ways to access the tool bin under the trunk where the spare tire wrench’s sit. That’s usable space that I feel would be a shame to loose, also I would loose access to the spare which is useless now anyways with the larger tire set up I’m running.

Anyways, tomorrow I will be back at it. Hopefully I will get everything done so I can start on the drawers Thursday. The plan is to pull it all back apart to sand the corners and seal it Friday.

On another note the Velcro failed on the cb mount so I did end up drilling in the original mount for the radio. It’s sitting on the same panel just a little higher up. I’m digging it though! Pics will be on my next update.


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[gatorgrizz27]

Does the spare tire sit underneath the vehicle and lower down with a winch like the LR3’s? If so, the Front Runner drawer systems just have a hole run through them and a socket on an extension to get it out. If it’s inside under a lift up panel like the Range Rovers, you’ll have to pull all that out to access it.

IMO, a full size spare is mandatory for any vehicle where you’ll be traveling out of town, whether on pavement or dirt. A plug kit and compressor is a handy addition but not a real substitute.

I had one tire sling the whole tread off with no prior warning, one that blew a hole in the side wall bumping a curb (as well as another on my wife’s RR), one where the wheel cracked from a brake caliper bolt that backed out, and another where I don’t recall what happened but required mounting a spare tire I had on a rim. The first and last were literally in the middle of nowhere, but for 5 all of them a proper spare was the only solution.

 

[Colorofkris]

Yes the spare is just like the lr3. The system I am building will actually slide back over the rear seats to allow access to the cargo area.

As for full size spare, yes it’s a deff must. Just haven’t gotten to it yet. I plan on a hitch mounted spare which will solve the larger tire issue. When I get the right roof rack I will temporarily mount it on there.


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[Colorofkris]

Camper box is going pretty good so far. Officially screwed together in the truck now. Tuesday I mounted the bed plate and supports and last night I installed the rest of the bed plates. The wife and I hopped in and everything felt pretty good and stable. Size wise it’s pretty nice as well. I will be ordering the mattress this weekend. Drawers will be getting done this weekend as well. Once the drawers are finished it will be coming out, disassembled, and I will be doing a finisher on the wood. Pretty dang excited! I am currently working on filming the process and once completed I will prob do a better full on write up on the process so stay tuned. Here are some pics of the progress as well as the permanent mount for the cb radio.


This is the bed and supports folded in to allow the seats to sit up right

This is the bed folded out laying on the supports

And this is the final mount for the cb

 

[Colorofkris]

End of July update-

Dang it has been a busy month! First off I just want to say it feels good to make progress on the rover let alone the amount I’ve been able to get done. There is still a good bit of work ahead of me next month though.

As of yesterday I officially finished building the sleeper/ drawer system and after getting it all together I tore it all back down to prep it for the finish (I will save the info on the finish for when it’s all done.). I’ve got a lot of sanding to do over the next week in hopes to have it completed the following weekend. I am using a clear finish because the wood color is actually pretty close to the interior color of the rover.

Here are some pics of the finished product....

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[Todd780]

That's pretty slick. Well done.

 

[Colorofkris]

That's pretty slick. Well done.

Thank you!


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[Colorofkris]

Beginning of August update:
It seems that my progress has come to a halt sadly. Work started up overtime so I have been very busy. I have been continuing on the drawer system however it’s at a snails pace. I began sanding and now am in the cleaning process before applying finish. I’m hoping to pick up on it this week and try to finish it by the weekend. Mattress and lighting came in and now I just have a few more things to add. That’s about all that’s going on at the minute.

Side note....sun roof is leaking from the seal, so that is another project I have to tackle when I get some spare time.

I’ll try to have another update with some progress at some point this month!


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[Colorofkris]

It is finally complete! after a lot of hard work the camper box is officially installed and completed (for now). Mattress has been cut to fit and the LED lights are installed. A few things will be on order Friday which will be rain guards for the windows so we can keep them cracked while sleeping even in rough weather as well as some mosquito netting for the windows. Batteried powered fans are also on the list of things to get. For winter I do plan on picking up a heated blanket. I plan on running as much of this off of a usb power bank as possible or sticking with rechargeable items that can charge while driving or plug into a power bank if need be. My goal for this week is to fit up all my camp gear to see what type of space I have in the rover. I did sell my roof rack basket because it was ugly, so I do plan on purchasing a low profile rack system in due time, just don't have the budget for it at the moment. I have a hitch rack however to use temporarily. I think the drawers will provide plenty of space though.

Here are some photos of the completed set up with the mattress in (This is a full size mattress btw, 4in memory foam, the only trimming I did was the width, I had to cut roughly 5in). I plan to get some better photos soon just event been able to do much with the crazy weather and work..

 

[Colorofkris]

Did a quick load out with my camp gear this afternoon. Im surprised at how much room I have left over in just the drawers alone. Cooler will sit up in the second row seats next to the dogs, and one of the drawers will most likely be designated for dry food. I plan on getting some small modular containers to better pack the drawers. Aside from that just need to load in our personal item like clothes and such. Pretty dang excited though! The last pic is the Leds that I installed on the front of the support. I think I'm going to add a bit more accent lighting which will be ran to a rechargeable power bank. Maybe some in the drawers as well.

On another note I finally got to readjusting my leaking sunroof via the 4 adjustment screws. Waiting on some rain to check and see if it leaks. It doesn't show any gapping like it did before so I'm crossing my fingers.

anyways here's the mock load up...

 

[Colorofkris]

End of August Update:
Now that the camper box build is done I think its time to give it some R&D. Depending on my work situation this weekend we are going to take it for a quick overnight trip somewhere close to see how it does in hopes to take a 4 day trip for Labor Day weekend up in the mountains. Pretty excited about taking a camp trip finally amongst all of the covid 19 stuff. The goal is to hang in one of the national forests and just keep to ourselves and hang out with our dogs. This will give my wife and I a chance to get started on a much anticipated project that I have been trying to accomplish for a very long time, which is also a big part of the reason I bought the rover and built the camper bed. That being the start of an outdoor/ adventure channel on YouTube or whatever platform seems suitable. I am very aware of the diluted overland and camp scene that is now filling the internet with endless content, but it does not deter me from wanting to pursue my goal of having content of my own. I have always enjoyed making content and would love to combine everything I enjoy into one hub of content that I can create/ The goal is to create content based around the rover, vehicle travel/ camping, mountain biking, hiking and backpacking, videography/photography, and camp/ outdoor cooking. That being said as I further progress the development of this channel I will utilize this platform to do write ups on trips and provide build information as normal.

On another note in regards to this update I am starting to put in some work on the rover interns of ware and tare maintenance and preventative maintenance. I just hit the 105000 mile mark, so I am going to do front and rear differentials as well as transfer case, active cornering/ dampening fluid, Im working on cleaning air filters now, oil change at 110000, and a few other small projects. Big projects in the near future as well will include control arm bushings and tie rod ends. Some other small projects I have recently tackled or am tackling right now include the sunroof alignment (which after weeks of messing with I think I finally got), I did some injector cleaner treatment (I plan on making this a regular service now), removed the cb antenna mount which was a piece of garbage, and I plan to do a headlight adjustment now that the lift and tires are situated. I may have forgotten a few things but that's all I can think of at the moment.

Hopefully as the cooler weather starts to come towards the end of September I can start getting out for some camping in Osceola NF and Ocala NF. The wife and I are both really looking forward to utilizing the sleeping system. I will hopefully have some photo updates soon of the bed in use as well as the rover!

 

[Colorofkris]

Well Labor Day turned out to be a heck of trip. I will do a full write up and post some pictures soon about how it all went down. It wasn’t terrible but the rover showed its true colors, fault after fault and a dead battery first thing in the morning 15 miles deep into the Forest with no one around. We ended up cutting the trip short by a day to meet up with some family that’s was in from Cali due to the fires, but it was beautiful in the mountains and really enjoyed spending some much needed quiet time with the doggos and the wife!


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