LJinLA's '94 Expedition Trooper

[smote]

The first thing I did to my Trooper after bringing it home was to install a set of Yokohama Geolanders in 245/75lt16. They're geared a little more toward road manners and are very comfy on the highway, but have also handled everything I've thrown at them off-road (which, admittedly, isn't a whole lot but they've done some decent trails). I do wish they were a little taller, though as I have 2" of lift going on soon.
I've also heard nothing but good things about the Goodyear duratracs. They're not cheap though, but I'm saving my pennies for a set to replace the Geos.

 

[LJinLA]

I'd go with the 235/85r16 E at 40 PSI hwy 32 psi abound the city and about 18-20 psi trail. I've run that tire on a few trucks of similar weight with those pressures and its been a good setup. Good hwy mileage and enough deformation for most trails.

Thanks a lot for these psi values, I'll keep them in mind.

 

[LJinLA]

Paint the hood flat black with a spray can. You can do a really nice job if you take a few minutes to prep it. Ignore the roof for now. It may get covered up by a rack or something eventually. Otherwise I would paint the roof white it its going to be an expedition rig.

Can you put some Lordco seat covers over the front seats?

I was thinking of painting the entire truck with Rustoleum. I've seen other trucks done this way, and they don't look bad at all. Plus, is economical and makes it easy to cover scratches. Any reasons why I should not?
The driver's seat is totally collapsed with a large hole in it. For the time being I'm driving it with some thick carton placed on the seat, but it will soon need to be replaced. I am trying to locate a couple of leather seats from an LS. A friend in NM tells me they have U Pull And Pay yards over there where these seats Iin nearly new condition) can be found at $25 each. I'll find something locally. I plan on getting rid of the rear seats, since I'll build a storage/sleeping platform for expedition travel.

 

[LJinLA]

@Ray Hyland
Thanks for the advice on tools.

@smote
I almost bought four all-terrain 235/85R16s with 80% tread left @$25 each off CL yesterday. Someone else unfortunately got there before I did. That would have been an incredibly good deal.

 

[jeffryscott]

the 235's would have been a great deal, just keep looking. With patience you can find some nearly new tires on CL. You might even search CL for dead Troopers and just give the owner a cheap offer to get it out of their hands, tow it home take the good parts and sell it for scrap.

If I didn't have kids, taking the back seat out and building a platform for storage and sleeping would be ideal as the truck has so much room.

I'd be happy to check the pick and pull here in Tucson for bits as last I checked there were at least two Troopers at it, but seats would be cost prohibitive to ship.

I have storage drawers in mine that pretty much sit flush when the seat back is folded down, when it cools down I'm looking to reconfigure my setup. I may or may not keep the drawers, just trying to figure out what works best for me as I'm trying to organize my kit and get the setup a little more modular (looking at things like Wolf Pack storage boxes).

Keep searching, seems like you have a good idea of where you want to go with it.

 

[BigSwede]

I was thinking of painting the entire truck with Rustoleum. I've seen other trucks done this way, and they don't look bad at all. Plus, is economical and makes it easy to cover scratches. Any reasons why I should not?

I did that on my last Trooper, I had beat up the body so often I had to do something that I could re-paint myself as needed. Painted it 'khaki' color camo paint, Rustoleum I think, from Home Depot.



As with most paint jobs, preparation is everything. Every little spot that I failed to scuff with sandpaper peeled off. But it's not a tragedy as you can always touch those spots up next time.

 

[Morticon]

Interested to see what happens here. I think 235 85 is a great tire. What's the story on 255 85s? If a 285 75 r16 fits no issue then they should fit stock? If not then with the one 2" lift it should definitely fit?

 

[jeffryscott]

255s are the optimum size for the Trooper, would like to get those for mine but tire choices are so limited.

 

[LJinLA]

I did that on my last Trooper, I had beat up the body so often I had to do something that I could re-paint myself as needed. Painted it 'khaki' color camo paint, Rustoleum I think, from Home Depot.



As with most paint jobs, preparation is everything. Every little spot that I failed to scuff with sandpaper peeled off. But it's not a tragedy as you can always touch those spots up next time.

Could you give me a few pointers on proper preparation? If there are any online resources you referred to to do the Rustoleum job, please share them here. It would be very helpful as I have never painted a car before and wouldn't want to make a terrible mess. By the way, the paint job you did on your last Trooper looks GREAT! I wish I could learn how to do something just like that...

 

[BigSwede]

Heh, it's a 50/50 paint job...looks good at 50 feet or 50 mph. Well it wasn't that bad, and I liked the flat khaki color.

It's not difficult to paint, the hard part is having the patience to be meticulous with prep. You have to sand/scuff every bit of the surface you are painting, including in body panel joints and tight spots...anything you miss will peel, because glossy paint won't hold new paint worth a damn. And get yourself a lot of masking tape and newspapers for masking stuff you don't want painted.

The nice thing about a rattle can paint job is you can touch it up easily later. That 93 was my rock crawler, so I dinged the sheet metal numerous times.

 

[Ray Hyland]

Heh, it's a 50/50 paint job...looks good at 50 feet or 50 mph. Well it wasn't that bad, and I liked the flat khaki color.

It's not difficult to paint, the hard part is having the patience to be meticulous with prep. You have to sand/scuff every bit of the surface you are painting, including in body panel joints and tight spots...anything you miss will peel, because glossy paint won't hold new paint worth a damn. And get yourself a lot of masking tape and newspapers for masking stuff you don't want painted.

The nice thing about a rattle can paint job is you can touch it up easily later. That 93 was my rock crawler, so I dinged the sheet metal numerous times.

Yeah, that was why when you said the paint was peeling on the hood and roof I was thinking "paint the hood first".

It will show you what the final result will look like before you get too committed.

 

[LJinLA]

@BigSwede & Ray Hyland

Did you use a brush or did you spray it on? If a brush, what brand/type, specifically, is advisable with Rustoleum paints? Did you dilute it with a solvent/paint thinner, or applied it as is? Thanks.
I think the end results you have achieved don't look bad at all..

 

[BigSwede]

I just used rattle can...didn't prime it either, just scuffed up the paint and sprayed a couple of coats on there.

I don't have many pics of the paint job because I got the 95 not long after I painted the 93 RS





It was sort of a 'desert tan" look...

 

[Ray Hyland]

To clarify, that's not my truck in the photo it's just a random image to show the look.

My whole truck is Rattle-can black. It was a Swat team truck before I bought it so it came in flat black. I've used the spray can to touch it up as required. You can get ok but not great results with a spray can. But still better than a brush unless you spend a lot of time rubbing between brush costs.

This is my truck.
Ray

 

[LJinLA]

OK, guys, great, thanks a lot for the info and for posting the pictures.
They look great, just the look I want for mine.
How many cans did you use to wholly paint your Troopers?