Se7en62's '99 Montero Gen 2.5 Overland Build & Adventures
- Thread starter Se7en62
- Start date
Se7en62
Adventure Seeker
About a week ago, I was digging around on FB Marketplace and came across a set of 10" 100w Lightforce Blitz 240's for $100. They had been used on a guy's trucks driving back and forth from Alaska to Texas, so the were a little rough. Nonetheless, I couldn't resist, so I picked them up. After a call to Lightforce USA in Oregon a pair of new covers ($60) and mounts ($30) were on the way. I disassembled them and cleaned their reflectors as best as I could. Now they are as good as new and ready to light our adventure across Arizona next week!
Se7en62
Adventure Seeker
We're heading to Arizona next week! We leave on Tuesday evening and will rendezvous with a group of friends from Texas and North Dakota in the Prescott area along a route setup by a buddy of mine. My wife and I's work schedules won't allow us to leave on the 15th with the group from Texas, so we'll be meeting them about half-way through their 879-mile route.
The guy form Arizona who will be meeting up with us is affiliated with the Arizona Backcountry Explorers, and he's posted a brief write-up here:
arizonaexplorers.blogspot.com
In preparation for this trip and given current snow-fall and other bad weather throughout the Southwest, we've started some extra prep ahead of this trip. Primarily, just going around the truck insuring everything is good to go and adjusting what isn't. We've also bumped up our sleep system to include a 20°F canvas double bag from Teton and a Mr. Buddy heater in the annex. Speaking of which, this will be the first time in 3 years that we've used the annex on a trip. The new CVT covers have enough material that we can no stow the annex under the cover and leave it all connected when it transit.
You might also notice that my hood is no longer black! - I found an MMUSA Member about 70 miles away with a blue Gen 2.5 he was parting out. I scored the hood, OEM headlights and taillights, OEM fog light switch, a spare set of ignition coils, and a hand full of other odds and ends for $120.
The guy form Arizona who will be meeting up with us is affiliated with the Arizona Backcountry Explorers, and he's posted a brief write-up here:
7 days on an epic journey across Arizona
Arizona Backcountry explorers is back on the trail!
In preparation for this trip and given current snow-fall and other bad weather throughout the Southwest, we've started some extra prep ahead of this trip. Primarily, just going around the truck insuring everything is good to go and adjusting what isn't. We've also bumped up our sleep system to include a 20°F canvas double bag from Teton and a Mr. Buddy heater in the annex. Speaking of which, this will be the first time in 3 years that we've used the annex on a trip. The new CVT covers have enough material that we can no stow the annex under the cover and leave it all connected when it transit.
You might also notice that my hood is no longer black! - I found an MMUSA Member about 70 miles away with a blue Gen 2.5 he was parting out. I scored the hood, OEM headlights and taillights, OEM fog light switch, a spare set of ignition coils, and a hand full of other odds and ends for $120.
xtracrispy
New member
Nice looking truck ?
Pretty sure I saw you on broken arrow yesterday. I spied the expedition portal sticker when I was behind you guys on the way out.
Pretty sure I saw you on broken arrow yesterday. I spied the expedition portal sticker when I was behind you guys on the way out.
Se7en62
Adventure Seeker
The Cardone CV axles that Shovel shared are the same one's I run, based on his previous advice and the "Stuff" page on Adventure Driven Designs website.
Thank you and I'm glad you enjoyed it! I'll be updating this with a recap of last week's Arizona trip soon.
Bingo!
Ha! I hand-stand and lifted a rear tire in a big way right in front of a RR HSE as we were leaving Broken Arrow. Was that you?!
xtracrispy
New member
That was in fact me. I saw your hand-stand, it was majestic ?
Se7en62
Adventure Seeker
Hahaha! My butt did pucker just a bit, but I was trying to get out of the way so y'all could make it around.
Se7en62
Adventure Seeker
Alright, we're obviously back from AZ. Here are a few photos from that adventure. Total mileage was something like 2,300 miles over 5 days and we saw everything from sandstone to mud and even a bunch of snow up around Williams, AZ. We started on Crown King, then headed to Sedona to run the Broken Arrow trail. After that, I picked up a spare set of wheel-bearings since I could feel one of mine beginning to fail.
We then drove up through the Sedona Canyon and made our way to Williams as a blizzard set in. The wheel-bearing began to come apart 2 miles from our rendezvous point with our friends, so it was white-knuckle that last 10 minutes.
After about an hour and a half, we had the outer wheel bearing replaced and were back on the road to find a campsite in the Kaibab National Forest. Unfortunately, the deep mud of the Kaibab and the heavy snow-fall had us deciding to shake-up around Williams and reassess in the morning. - Part of our group pitched their RTT's at the edge of the Love's parking lot, while my wife and I and another few folks grabbed the last hotel rooms of more than one hotel.
The following morning, we awoke to a really beautiful scene of pristine powder. After regrouping, we drove over to Kaibab Lake to make some pancakes and enjoy the snow-covered scenery.
A few hours later and we had visited the Grand Canyon and headed out to find a site in Monument Valley. - This ended up really cool, with a local Navajo inviting us to camp on her plot below Mitchell Butte in the very spot John Wayne filmed his 1956 movie 'The Searchers.'
We then drove up through the Sedona Canyon and made our way to Williams as a blizzard set in. The wheel-bearing began to come apart 2 miles from our rendezvous point with our friends, so it was white-knuckle that last 10 minutes.
After about an hour and a half, we had the outer wheel bearing replaced and were back on the road to find a campsite in the Kaibab National Forest. Unfortunately, the deep mud of the Kaibab and the heavy snow-fall had us deciding to shake-up around Williams and reassess in the morning. - Part of our group pitched their RTT's at the edge of the Love's parking lot, while my wife and I and another few folks grabbed the last hotel rooms of more than one hotel.
The following morning, we awoke to a really beautiful scene of pristine powder. After regrouping, we drove over to Kaibab Lake to make some pancakes and enjoy the snow-covered scenery.
A few hours later and we had visited the Grand Canyon and headed out to find a site in Monument Valley. - This ended up really cool, with a local Navajo inviting us to camp on her plot below Mitchell Butte in the very spot John Wayne filmed his 1956 movie 'The Searchers.'
Se7en62
Adventure Seeker
It's been a long, long 5 months since my last post. We haven't done many trips over the summer since I started working on my private pilot's license, but a lot of maintenance has been done. Namely, the last two week's work on replacing all the front-end bushings with Siberian Bushings, replacing tie rods, ball joints, wheel bearings, Aisin hubs, and an idler arm with a Chromoly kingpin. I have also adjusted the suspension to exactly where I want it and gotten the tires rotated and balanced and the oil changed in advance of tomorrow's 2,400 mile trip across TX, NM, and through CO's most scenic backcountry.
I'll update with pictures of maintenance and another trip report soon...
I'll update with pictures of maintenance and another trip report soon...