It has been a bit since my last post. I did manage to get out on the trail a few more times before summer ended. The most fun trip was following my buddy in his built Wrangler (35's, 4:1 transfer case, dual ARB's) over Reno Divide and Taylor Pass to Aspen. We took in a Reverend Horton Heat concert and then came back home via Pearl Pass the next day. Great trails, great music, and spectacular scenery added up to one last good wheeling trip for the year. I did rip open a sidewall on one of my tires on Taylor Pass. 15 plugs later it held air but not sure if it would when mounted on the truck. Here's a pic of the gash:
The good news is that I found a spare before coming home. There are some guys in Snowmass that desert race Toyotas and call themselves Fire Guys Racing. They hooked me up with a race worn BFG Baja MT for a reasonable price and mounted it for me and I was back on the trail. Super cool of them.
A pic from the top of Taylor pass:
I haven't done much to the truck lately. My wife started talking about getting a new car and since I don't want a car payment I decided to put my truck money into her 4Runner. She got a new Old Man Emu Suspension, Cooper AT3 tires, and a new stereo complete with subwoofer. She now has her "New Car".
However this winter my truck will be "off the road" as opposed to "offroad". My folks just bought a new Subaru and gave me their 1997 Outback that has 220,000 miles on it. Dad said the dealer wouldn't really give him much for it and that it needs a few things. I have fixed a few things and I now have this to drive while my truck gets parked in the garage while I deal with some of its issues this winter:
So; finally, a truck update and things to be fixed this winter. I put a woodstove in my house last winter and the truck has been serving duty as a wood hauler as well now. As much as I hated to do it I sold the Wildernest. It was too much of a pain to take on and off when I needed to haul wood, and I didn't really have a place to keep it when it was off. It was sad to see it go but I did make a couple c-notes over what I had into it. I'm thinking about a Softopper top as a replacement. It will still give me a dry (albeit, less comfy) place to sleep and I can just fold it out of the way when I need to haul anything. And now that I don't have the weight of the 'Nest I will probably pull off the extra leaf in my rear springs for a better ride.
I also have a few major things that need done. The used rear end that I put in had enough backlash to eat up my transmission. It no longer stays in first or third gear. So first order of business will be to pull the rear third member and have the backlash set up right. Next is a new transmission. I have found rebuilts in the $1,200-1,600 range. But I have also found them used with a transfer case in the $300-400 range. Guess which route I will be going. You got it: used, but with a slight twist: I hope to take the extra cash saved and have the transfer case rebuilt by Marlin Crawler with the addition of his 4.7 lowrange kit. I already have a new clutch and flywheel setting on the shelf in the garage so I am already ahead of the game on this project. Since the tranny will be coming out I may as well put it back in with a Budbuilt transfer case crossmember and skid plate combo. Of course the Marlin and Budbuilt parts are on the wish list side of things.
She also needs a new exhaust. Do I just replace the muffler and tail pipe or go with a header and all new exhaust behind it? I have a few other things on the "to do" list as well. Only time and money will tell what exactly gets done but, I will try and take pics and update as Ruby gets her new parts over the winter. Here she is as she goes into hibernation for the winter:
