New Northern Expeditioner - Build Thread

[Engeek]

Thanks Northfacetraveller!
I am loving the truck and now have the clutch sensor issue all figured out. I just got an old sensor and rebuilt the two used sensors to make one working sensor:bike_rider:.
The truck is from the GVRD, I also know the old owner got everything done at shops as I have all the records. Maybe your signature is at the bottom of one of the service receipts! I hope it lasts me a long time, but it is not going to get the posh city life that it has been thus far exposed to. I had to change the antifreeze and pull out the never used block heater cord for our recent bout of -25 C. Winch should be going in hopefully this week (Titan TW16) and I am 75% sure I am picking up my 'new to me' 2000 Grandby this weekend!! After that I will be in camper and truck build mode and have zero extra coin..

 

[Engeek]

Filling the ARB hole!

Let the fun begin!
I researched winches and decided that I would need a minimum of a 15k capacity. The heavy truck laden with full FWC and possibly a moose :elkgrin: in the back would be VERY HEAVY. In the great white north a Warn M15 would have been at least $2k, if not more, and I was looking for more affordable options without getting a total POS. I then stumbled on a few reviews on Titan Winches and had a couple email conversations with the company owner Duncan. I was very impressed with his level of knowledge and very happy to find out Titan is a Canadian company. As luck would have it I put in an order when the winch was still on special and got what I feel is a great HD winch for a reasonable price. Comparing the specs online it comes in very close to what Warn has listed on their site for comparable winches. A few days later and a package that weighs more then my wife shows up on the door step:Wow1:! Only problem was the regular remote was broken in half, a quick email to Duncan and a new one was sent with tracking number within a few hours! That is what I call service.
Now for the dirty stuff....

Insert very shiny Titan TW16:

Into very empty lonely ARB Sahara Bar:

Of course it is never that easy. The solenoid box will have to be relocated under the hood or somewhere accessible inside the bumper which may be better anyhow. The ABR mounts have the winch on its side (bolts on through the front) and the solenoid box would be facing the intercooler and completely inaccessible. I think I am going to opt for the under the hood location because it is out of the elements and I have a wireless remote anyhow and will just have to turn it on.

So I now need to make these cables much longer:

I think I am going to use welding cable (more strands then battery cable) in a 2 or 1 size for these cables and solder the ends on and use shrink rap over that for extra protection. Only problem is that I do not have much room under the hood of this seemingly massive truck... Any advice on where to put the box under the hood or any other suggestions?

Oh and I leave at 5am tmr to drive 635km (395mile) one way to pick up my new to me FWC GRANDBY!! :bike_rider: I am pretty excited, but know it will be a long day.

 

[mires]

Nice truck. I always wanted one but never could justify it.