My 92 Dakota back country rig build

[xjman88]

Had the time today to get the swing out tire carrier installed. It wasn't as difficult as I expected. Here are a couple pics of the finished project. My apologies for the night time pics as I wanted to get some pics posted tonight. I will take some more tomorrow. I've actually enjoyed the build up on my truck. I have to get creative to make parts from another vehicle work on the Beast.

 

[xjman88]

As you can see I had to relocate the j can mount to the drivers side.

 

[xjman88]

I got the carrier finished up today. I added a mount for a utility light. I have one of my old Hella 500s on there for the moment. Will be picking up an led 3x3 cube light this Friday along with a 42 in led bar. That's going on the roof of the cab.

 

[xjman88]

View attachment 397428

 

[xjman88]

Went out on a 30 mile trip this past Sunday. Had a good time. Everything held up except my lower radiator hose. Was in 4 low in a spot called Moon Rock. The front end flexed a little too much and put my fan through the hose. Luckily I had a spare. Anyway here are a few pics. And i did clean up the antifreeze that I lost. That's my buddies JK in the background.

 

[Wildcat]

lookin good. gives me inspiration as im considering a dakota for my next truck.


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[Ashton]

Love the budget conscious additions you've made and your set up so far. That canopy looks cozy and effective. New Mexican ingenuity at its finest! I do love the landscape out there too, we have some land down near Gila, NM on the river. Excited to put some of your ideas into a context I can work with, and take the rig down there for some adventures.

 

[xjman88]

Thanks for the kind words. I realized I needed to build a different type rig. So far so good.

 

[xjman88]

So I realized I needed a little bigger tires to gain some ground clearance. I picked up a set of 4 KM2S in a 32x11.50x15 w a KM as a spare. Got them installed this past weekend and took a run out by my residence. They handle pretty good. Also took a 60 mile round trip on the hardball and were ok. They seem to be alot bigger than the 31s I had. Anyway here are a couple of pics.

 

[xjman88]

View attachment 403914

 

[xjman88]

I also removed the mechanical clutch fan and added a 16 inch electric one. I gained a little more horsepower and a little better fuel economy.

 

[Travelin _man]

Nice to see a Dakota!! I had a 88 3.9 and a 90 2.5. Keep up the great work!!

 

[xjman88]

Upon realizing the truck runs a little warmer than I'd like, I put some 1.5 inch hood spacers to help rid of some heat. We've had a couple 90 plus days here and it runs a little cooler. Had to make a couple adjustments to the hood latch, but all is good now.

 

[kojackJKU]

same tires I had on my 98 Dakota. well..not the km2....but the KMs....worked awesome.