NAS LR3 build with an overseas twist

[Ray_G]

Question is, anything else I should be considering replacing as she nears 150k given the upcoming waterpump/t-stat/hose/belt changes?

I recall a good upgrade to do while replacing the thermostat is to move to a metal bleeder T because the plastic one tends to get brittle and fail:

https://expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/lr3-thermostat-housing-assembly-replacement.136365/

Quite so, a brass T went on shortly after arrival in Abu Dhabi a few months after buying the truck. That’s one of the first mods everyone should make, either deliberately or the truck will help you make it an unscheduled replacement.


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[Victory_Overland]

@Ray_G The one thing I like about my ARB RTT is the window and door overhangs! I honestly do not know if they are required or not since this is all I am used to. I see many of the hard-shells do not have overhangs for any openings; how do you feel about water intrusion on sideward wind and rain and is it an issue with the hardshell tents?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Ray_G]

@Ray_G The one thing I like about my ARB RTT is the window and door overhangs! I honestly do not know if they are required or not since this is all I am used to. I see many of the hard-shells do not have overhangs for any openings; how do you feel about water intrusion on sideward wind and rain and is it an issue with the hardshell tents?

Thanks in advance!

A valid question, and certainly one of the things we considered as we looked at hard vs soft shells. Having only limited time in the tent thus far, with only one night being in a light rain, I don't have an experience base to make a judgment. Yet. I'm hoping to fix that this fall.

Initial impression is that the construction of the hardshell should mitigate that unless it is a very severe sidewind with a lot of rain. One of the reasons we went clamshell vice 360 was actually so if we encounter a situation where we pull into a site and the weather is already bad, we can face the front toward the prevailing winds to mitigate the effect of water coming in from the side. If the weather comes in after we've set up we may be challenged. Bear in mind my wife loves meteorology and I recently gave her a Kestrel 5500 w/all the bells and whistles, with the intended purpose of when we show up to camp places she's start playing with her toys (and hopefully give us some sense of things like incoming weather). My biggest concern if the rain is bad and we're already static? Ventilation.

More to follow as this thing gets used a bit more this fall.
r-
Ray

 

[Victory_Overland]

Thanks @Ray_G ! Yeah, I didn't think of the ventilation issue either as with the 360 we usually have some sort of airflow in one direction or the other. I can't imagine the water being too much of an issue as you can close that side if needed, but then you do have the ventilation problem to deal with.

Clamshells are definitely the way to go for on top of the rig in my opinion. I love my ARB, but plan to move it to a trailer set up eventually since I have sleeping options in the truck in the works. Right now, I just can't justify the cost when I have a perfectly good RTT I barely use right now! hahaha

Thanks again,

E

 

[Ray_G]

Truck was weeping coolant fm water pump so I opted to have my local mech do that, belts, t-stat/t-stat housing/hoses since the coolant was being drained anyway.

Discovered all this after a driveway oil change

So parts were ordered.

Now of course the tailgate won’t open...awesome. More parts to order.

I’ve been working on crossbars for the RTT to carry maxtrax and maybe an eventual solar panel. I was not satisfied with off the shelf options that clamp to the Autohome gutter mount style fit kit, so I started fabbing using steel and aluminum L track:

Should be able to get the MT on this weekend, validate it all works, and then pull it for painting.


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[Ray_G]

Life and times of LR ownership continue. Tailgate got stuck, closed. So that joy of a job was conducted. AB’s kit for it does make for a simple job once you get it open. If your truck is getting on and it hasn’t been replaced...

So we missed VOR which was very sad, but when the chance to hit Uwharrie came up since Scott F’s jeep was being auctioned I jumped at the chance to take my wife down there since I found it to be a neat place with great people. That turned into a phenomenal weekend.

Heading out with peeps from 36hrs.

I found the tent really didn’t effect wheeling the truck all that much (if at all) from a COG perspective.

Heading toward Daniel.

The group heading up.

The LR4 on 19’s ultimately became the discretionary vehicle-I don’t fault John at all for that.

So we played around a little further up but eventually came back down.

Having an I4WDTA trainer with you to spot helps...a lot.

Back at the trailhead we put the PT to work airing us and the Taco with us back up.

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[Ray_G]

Also at the trail head Izzy discovered his LC’s tire had a near miss when the valve stem was mangled.

So we got to it, I just laugh bc 80 series...hood up and being worked on (not really...)

With the spare on we went back to UORTC for the night. The wife busted out the Kestrel 5500 to play with.

We set up the tent for a much cooler night.

Did I mention the wife has a Kestrel?

Good times with good people.

In the realm of things that work: leveling blocks:

Along with a well refined coffee setup.

Which makes the wife happy, and capable of leaving the RTT where our double bag was awesome as temps got down into the 40’s for the first time in a long time.

The beauty of the truck was it was setup to roll in about 3min and then we drove the 6hrs back to N VA without a hitch.

Oh, other than the ‘check brake pads’ light coming on. So it never stops.


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[Ray_G]

Guy Fawkes means bonfire at Twin Mountain.

As usual the weather up there was varied, with a decent amount of cold/wet.

Autohome continues to be an excellent investment and we are learning each time we use it. Double bag on top of the memory foam enhanced mattress, with memory foam pillows (we both like brick pillows for some reason). All stays inside when we put the shell down.

I made some protection for the upper brake light. A sandwich of neoprene, thin stainless, and then rubber diamond plate to make sure when we get in/our feet don’t slam into that expensive to replace brake light. I opted to double side tape the ends that touch metal with silicone to help stick the over the light.

Leveling blocks working out well.

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[Ray_G]

Realized I never put a pic of the step I put over the 3rd brake light to protect it. Nothing super elegant here, but thus far it seems to work as intended.

I invested in a couple of the Australian Labtronix bonnet antenna mounts after seeing Unseeone’s setup at 36hrs. Finally got around to getting a VHF antenna mounted.
I opted to paint it black, then put some inner tube over the potential rub point to replace the plastic coating that comes with it.

All told the mount is excellent, though it does protrude by necessity. Truck is, well, it is what it is at this point.

Ironically the back is getting some more work to house the maxtrax in a BROG bag since external mounting options are not working out as desired. The bag is awesome, but doesn’t have a good handle on the ends. Some cheap Jeep roll bar handles sorted that.

More to follow there, as I go to shelf 2.0, with a drawer in the works for...coffee!



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[amcjen]

Great stuff, as always. Didn’t know about the bonnet antenna mounts, very slick.

I’m about to embark on a custom drawer build myself, so looking forward to seeing how others approach it.

 

[Ray_G]

Great stuff, as always. Didn’t know about the bonnet antenna mounts, very slick.

I’m about to embark on a custom drawer build myself, so looking forward to seeing how others approach it.

Here's the link for anyone looking for that mount: http://www.labtronx.com.au/aerial-bracket.htm
Not cheap, but great customer service, quickly shipped and a very solid piece of gear-thus well worth it.

The drawer setup...mine is likely to be a disaster of mildly ironic self mockery. The wife wants a fancy handle on the front, so I've upped the ante and said then I'm going to stain it. Will look completely out of place.
r-
Ray

 

[Victory_Overland]

@Ray_G Always great stuff!

 

[Ooops]

My Prospeed roof panels are starting to warp ... in Phoenix AZ.

Markq-
Fascinating...everyone told me to get the roof panels when I ordered the rack and I opted not to

I have to put my hand up and say I was one of those telling you to get them, they looked like such an elegant solution.Now bother me if mine haven't warped as well. So your choice was well and truly vindicated

For my climate of harsh, full on sun I still think a solid floor offers a lot of benifits, so I've just boarded mine mine with 12mm exterior ply as an experiment. Its the first time I've had it fully boarded, man there's a lot of real estate up there

Realized I never put a pic of the step I put over the 3rd brake light to protect it.

Ray would you mind showing how you attached the step. I'd very much like to do some thing similar to mine to stop a small crack from turning into some thing terminal.

Olly

 

[Ray_G]

I have to put my hand up and say I was one of those telling you to get them, they looked like such an elegant solution.Now bother me if mine haven't warped as well. So your choice was well and truly vindicated

For my climate of harsh, full on sun I still think a solid floor offers a lot of benifits, so I've just boarded mine mine with 12mm exterior ply as an experiment. Its the first time I've had it fully boarded, man there's a lot of real estate up there

Will be interested to see how the ply works out; I agree a solid floor has benefits. All told I'm still pretty happy with the chicken coop flooring. Would be nice to have it all the way across the decking but given that the RTT is up there more than not now, that's basically moot.

Ray would you mind showing how you attached the step. I'd very much like to do some thing similar to mine to stop a small crack from turning into some thing terminal.

Olly

No pics of it, but the attachment was really simple thus far: 3m double sided tape for the metal to metal contact on the sides, with a good dose of black silicone adhesive for the neoprene to brake light part to give it more grip. Thus far that's been adequate.
r-
Ray

 

[Ooops]

No pics of it, but the attachment was really simple thus far: 3m double sided tape for the metal to metal contact on the sides, with a good dose of black silicone adhesive for the neoprene to brake light part to give it more grip. Thus far that's been adequate.
r-
Ray

Many thanks Ray