Rocinante

[mowerman]

"I'm not sure if they replaced the speedometer when my truck went through the program but it came to me with 43,000 km on the clock"

based on the many MOD ones I have seen i would say thats original mileage

 

[Charo]

Very cool. Wish I had seen you when you stayed here in Plainview, TX! Would have been fun to talk Rovers as there aren't too many folks around here that share the addiction. Have fun with your new truck.

 

[TownDiver]

Very awesome! Congrats with the smooth transition!

I only wish I struck the lottery as well! Mine got held up in customs is Tacoma, begining to look a little bleak :/ had to petition it.

 

[chris snell]

So my truck has spent the last few months in storage up in the PNW while I'm down in San Antonio. My wife is attending an Army school as we transition to a new duty station and I'm stuck down here Rover-less with lots of time to think about what's in store for my truck in the upcoming months.

Here's what I'm thinking.

Short term:

- Rock Ware HD steering
- Sliders: maybe Rock Ware, maybe my own design
- Man Behind The Iron Mask-style Rock Ware diff guards
- Ditch the ANR4583 "Wolf" wheels for some 130 steelies
- Fresh XZLs all around
- Food grade stainless steel water tank under the sill, my own design
- JSQ rear hitch
- JSQ corner guards
- New springs to achieve a more leveled appearance with only a minimal lift and no dual cardan driveshaft requirement.
- Icom IC-706MkIIG installed into the Tuffy box.
- "RoboKitty" controller for Diamond K9000 motorized antenna mount. My own PCB design. Need to add debounce code into my firmware and update the PCB to use a single, long screw terminal instead of three small ones.

Longer Term:

- 300 Tdi. I have a brand new motor ready to go, but I have some big trips planned. I don't want to take the truck out of action for a year just yet.
- R380 and LT230. I have new rebuilds of these ready to go.
- Badger soft top. I'm going to have to locate a Tithonus soft top and send that to Chris for a custom top...that, or find someone with a Tithonus who can bring their truck to Chris for measurements.
- Sleeping platform for the back. This is not going to be easy to solve but I need a fold-down cot that will not interfere with cargo storage.

 

[EricTyrrell]

Why ditch the wolf wheels? What do the 130 steelies look like?

Who do people prefer the XZLs over common off-road tires? Where do you even buy those?

Genuinely curious

 

[proper4wd]

Sounds like you have some very good plans, if you execute it properly then switching over to the 300Tdi setup should take days rather than a year. Do you have a short or long bellhousing R380? I would be interested in purchasing your military spec LT77 for a fair price.

 

[chris snell]

The swap could be done by a shop in a few days but I want to do it myself and I haven't done one before.

I'm planning to keep the 2.5 NA and the rest of the drivetrain. It's in such good condition that I was thinking about hanging on to it to build a Defender with my son someday.

 

[overlander]

Why ditch the wolf wheels? ...Genuinely curious

x2

 

[chris snell]

There's nothing wrong with Wolf wheels. They are certainly sturdy. I just prefer the look of the 130 steelies and you see them so less often on North American 110s than the Wolfs. The 130 wheels (ANR4636) may be lighter, though probably not significantly.

As for the XZLs, I am a convert. Their toughness is legendary and I find the road ride to be more quiet than the siped KM2s that I ran on my old D90. They're small but more skinny than short so they tuck well while still providing decent clearance underneath the axle. I don't have to lift the truck to run them comfortably, which is a big plus in my book. I decided on my last trip that I will never run a dual cardan driveshaft again after seeing them fail on two friends' trucks despite their regular lubrication. I want to a tire/lift combo that will keep the suspension and driveline as stock as possible.

 

[Scott Brady]

I want to a tire/lift combo that will keep the suspension and driveline as stock as possible.

Stock is the new black - for good reason

 

[Motorvated]

Great looking truck and well documented story as well. Good luck with it!

 

[chris snell]

Looks like some of my photos in the story got hosed up when I reorganized my photo sharing. It's fixed now.

 

[David Harris]

There's nothing wrong with Wolf wheels. They are certainly sturdy. I just prefer the look of the 130 steelies and you see them so less often on North American 110s than the Wolfs. The 130 wheels (ANR4636) may be lighter, though probably not significantly.

As for the XZLs, I am a convert. Their toughness is legendary and I find the road ride to be more quiet than the siped KM2s that I ran on my old D90. They're small but more skinny than short so they tuck well while still providing decent clearance underneath the axle. I don't have to lift the truck to run them comfortably, which is a big plus in my book. I decided on my last trip that I will never run a dual cardan driveshaft again after seeing them fail on two friends' trucks despite their regular lubrication. I want to a tire/lift combo that will keep the suspension and driveline as stock as possible.

I too have been wanting a set of those 130 wheels for the same reasons you mention. You don't see them because they're rare here in the U.S. and in the UK they cost around 250-300 per wheel new. Don't know why that is. Looks like they would be a great wheel on a Series to widen the track out to the fenders without changing the look too much. Totally agree on keeping the suspension mild. There are so many good reasons to do this and the vehicles are so damn capable from the factory that anything more isn't really needed in over 90% of situations. The other percent probably isn't what you want to do with that nice 110 anyway.

 

[chris snell]

Took the 110 for a spin today with my son at the helm.

​

 

[jrose609]

Great video! Way to get him started early!