New to overland

[DCFire]

I have done outdoor treks in the onfoot extreme backpacking but looking at building a multi-purpose rig out of a 2000 zr2 blazer I bought. I want to build a capable rock crawler but also overland vehicle to take on trail treks camp and keep treking. And it also to be street able for long distance.
Crawler side of the build to be 35-37x12.5 tires with a solid axle conversion custom steel bumpers rock sliders and a exo cage roof rack built in and retain the spare tire.
The overland part it where I'm not sure what to design into this rig. I plan a dual battery with a large inverter. But space is limited, the bumpers will have integrated air tanks front winch and tool storage.
But what other things do I need to plan for in design of such a rig?

Sent from my N9100 using Tapatalk

 

[Rosco862003]

It's hard to tell you where to start without first knowing, where you plan on going. In other words, you mention long distance, but what exactly do you mean by that? Do you plan to stay within the USA borders, or do you see yourself heading down the Pan-American highway? I think that most people here would agree that each build will be different, and a lot of it plans on where you live, and on where you're going. Let's take tires for example. Although a nice deep mud tread will work well for rock crawling and looks awesome, it isn't ideal for overland treks due to the heavy weight which exacerbates wear on suspension and steering components, mud tires typically work well offroad but are actually inferior to a good all terrain in the sand, as the mud tire will want to dig instead of float on the soft granular surface, and will also wear quicker on road. A solid axle swap, while awesome in technical offroading, can cause headaches down the road if not done correctly. If you have a custom setup, and you need let's say a leaf pack, or shock hoop, whatever really, it's going to be harder to source these custom parts if you're on some backroad in Guatemala, and they are most likely not going to have that 37" tire that you plan on running. Also avoid putting things on your roof if at all possible. I agree that it looks pretty cool, but in reality it's not advisable to how it affects gas mpg negatively, raises your already high C.O.G. and becomes a PITA when you're trying to pass through some low lying brush. A 35"-37" tire weights on average between 60-70 lbs w/o a rim. All together you're talking about throwing 100 lbs on your roof.

It may seem as though I'm telling you not to do anything at all to your vehicle. In a sense I am, and I will say that I think it's best to take a stock vehicle out and get a sense of it's capabilities and its shortcomings. Once you have a realistic assessment on your vehicle as a whole, then plan your build from there. I know that you said you want a rock-crawler/ overland rig, and some people may disagree, but I don't see the two going hand in hand in a realistic sense. Obviously you can take a vehicle with 35" tires down on an overland adventure, but the point of an overland vehicle is to have something that you know is reliable, the better mpg the better especially if you're talking long distances that gas adds up my friend. the list can go on but, overall I think by rock-crawling you're subjecting your vehicle to alot of abuse that will come back and bite you at the most inopportune time while down the road in some far off country while outside of your comfort zone. Alot of the builds on here are absolutely nasty, and is what attracted me here in the first place, so I'd be hard pressed to say I don't have a list of things I want to do to my car. But at the end of the day if you take anything from this post, just make sure that whatever you add has a quantitative and qualitative purpose. You want to make sure you're not adding un-needed weight (keep the GVWR in mind) and you also want to stay away from anything that will add complexity to your build for no rhyme or reason. Ask yourself if you really need a dual battery system with inverter? Don't assume that because you see a vehicle with a rooftop tent and a lighting system that draws from the hoover dam that you actually need all that. You may or may not, again it's hard to tell you where to start without first knowing what your plans are.

Although that was a bit long winded, I hope it helped out a bit and look forward to hearing what your plans are.

 

[4D55 Performance]

Welcome to the forum. The primary goal of this site is to promote and support vehicle-dependent exploration throughout the world by 4wd, motorcycle and bicycle. Many members on this forum even use 2wd applications for exploration and overland travel. The most important rule to overlanding is Keep It Simple Stupid or KISS. The more you modify a vehicles primary systems the more problematic it becomes. Not only is it more prone to failures but it becomes more difficult to maintain and repair. This includes heavily modifying the suspension. I would recommend leaving the vehicle in stock form if you are serious about overlanding. If you want to do extreme rockcrawling then you should look at purchasing a different vehicle. The S10 Blazer is capable of doing most trails at Moab in stock form. Personally I find it more fun to take a limited rig on a mild trail than taking a very capable rig on a difficult trail.

Long story short, if you want to ride on 37" tires and have a solid axle up front, get a different vehicle like an FZJ80 or Jeep.

If you plan to keep the Blazer and your are serious about overlanding, keep it close to stock. Maybe add some skids, lockers, aggressive tires, 1-2" lift, winch, sliders, roof rack, drawer system, CB, GPS, RTT etc

By the way, I love the little ZR2 blazer and think they would make a fabulous expedition rig in stock form.

 

[DCFire]

Thanks for the long winded advice. I won't be doing anything out of the US at this time, that may come when I'm older and can afford such travels with time and income. The little zr2 I have just doesn't meet the level of offroading I do. But at the same time I'm not an extreme wheeler. I understand the tires and such. Its them difficulty of looking a building a multi use rig I'm trying to balance a happy medium between the two. If I build this particular rig I will be utilizing the suspension from a jeep Cherokee so parts will be stock or accessible except for mounting points. But trails and snow treking smaller lower "stock" have a harder time... as I learn more and think and design this rig it looks that really the two worlds don't mix well bit still looking more towards a capable wheeler with the occasional long distance trail trek. I'm not really the drive to a trail and run it then go home type. I want a rig equipped to run for a week of two at a time

Sent from my N9100 using Tapatalk

 

[4x4junkie]

With a Dana44 SAS that ZR2 should be plenty capable. If it's anything like my Ford, it should have WAY more room inside for all your gear than a Jeep too (probably even more so). And best thing of all, you already own it.

Not sure what rearend it has (10-bolt 8.5"?) but with 35-37" tires I'd probably suggest a swap to a Ford 8.8" or 9" at the same time you do your SAS (Explorer 8.8"s are a dime a dozen at wrecking yards and have shafts that can be redrilled for bolt circles as large as 5.5"). The rest of your existing drivetrain (eng/trans/t-case) I would think should be fine.

I do agree with something said above, the potential for a well-modified rig not being reliable is there, however like also said, it is completely all about building it correctly.
Best advice I can give is to avoid using one-off custom parts in as many areas as possible (use or adapt stock-application parts for it wherever you can... if you narrow down an axle (say, a F-150 D44), narrow the housing so that you can use a readily-available (aftermarket) early Ford Bronco axle shaft in it vs one you'd have to have custom-splined... use stock radius arms w/bushings and track bar to locate the axle vs custom-made suspension links with rod ends... use a set of OE spring & shock mounting brackets instead of coil-over shocks, things like that). This will improve the odds many-fold you'll be able to obtain parts right away at an autoparts chain store or a wrecking yard should an issue ever come up.

I built my Ford with the above in mind and don't really have any regrets in how it's built. I done a fair amount of trekking around places like Death Valley and Mojave Road (in addition to Rubicon, Dusy, etc.) and think the two can mix quite well. But again, how you build the rig is what's important... if it doesn't handle well, rides rough, and the tires are unbalanceable (out of round, etc), then of course it's not going to be a pleasant ride during milder runs. Keep the suspension geometry as close as possible to what would be a stock setup (no steep link/radius arm angles, etc.), use radial-ply tires (except maybe the Goodyear MT/R-K) and you should be fine.


Something you may want to get (or build) is a storage unit to put in the back to store all your gear (and sleep on/in if you're not into tents, like me). Should be able to get plenty of ideas for one from this thread:
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/9034-Post-up-your-drawer-storage-system

Welcome aboard. :beer:

 

[DCFire]

I plan on d44 front and rear from a Rubicon jeep. Also that way I utilize stock jeep parts and mounting. I am currently putting the frame dimensions into CAD to see how well the two meet up and how and where to mount to the zr2 frame. I may only run a 35 just due to geometry of what can be built reliably.
I'm also debating a trailer but that's extra weight and mpg in tow but could eliviate a lot of items in the blazer. This rig will also be converted to full time two seater. I will keep researching and designing before construction.

Thanks for all the pro and cons advice

Sent from my N9100 using Tapatalk