The Bigger Red Pig

lstzephyr

wanderer
I'm glad everyone has been enjoying this thread. Its fun to read the comments.

A couple things have happened to my truck. Can you spot the newest mod?

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I went to Barranca del Cobre as well.

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I did some volunteering at the Overland Expo too.

More details soon. In the meantime here is the link to the report of my latest bike trip.

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=674795
 
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lstzephyr

wanderer
Ha yep a little lift in the front and the tires got smaller. The backs were so worn out that they were 2 inches smaller than the fronts. So today it got new tires. I got the same size as it had before 235/85, and it drives just fine. I wanted to go larger to get some gearing, but it does 65 without any drama, and I don't really need to go faster than that.

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Sorry I can't do a write up on the front spring install. I was stressed out and just pretty much knocked it out by myself in one day. It was convenient as pretty much everything needed to be hit with a really big hammer to get it loose, so it was great stress relief. I will say if you want to do this, unbolt the shocks and driveshaft first, then get two floor jacks to move the axle around, spray pb blaster on all the bolts, get a really big hammer and go to town. I had to cut the bolts off the springs on the shackles to get the springs out. It wasn't too bad though.

Anyway, here are some pics. I thought I really needed to bring the back end up but after the new tires its only sitting about an inch low in the back. I may do something about it or I may just leave it.

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It now has a lot better suspension travel, and rides great. It was an amazing difference! I no longer have any problem with the ride, and it even drives straighter. I think it is now 4 inches taller in the front from where it was sitting.

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Much better.

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I'm pretty happy with it at the moment. It works just fine like this, and does everything I need it to do. Onward.

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lstzephyr

wanderer
They are skyjacker 2.5s. Although it brought the front up a lot more than 2.5 inches. I must say it made a huge difference in the handling of the truck. For once a part I installed on a 4 wheeled vehicle was more than worth the effort. Normally bike parts make a major difference, and car stuff does not. Not the case this time. The truck turns better, stops more normal, drives straighter, tracks better, death wobbles less, and even vibrates a bit less over stutter bumps. Its amazing what a little suspension will do!

So I took the truck to Mexico the other day. There isn't any pictures from that yet as I used my old film camera, but it was only a little hop across the border to show a friend around Nogales. Then she invited me with her to LA and it sounded like fun so away I went.

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One of the things I have been trying to do since I bought a nicer camera is to take more pictures of people and to branch out into other areas of photography. So this trip was a lot more artistic shots than scenery. It is LA afterall.

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We spent a bunch of time hanging out at a tattoo shop as my friend was visiting another friend to get some work done. I wanted to get a tattoo as well, but unfortunately I didn't have the extra money. On the last day I realized I had more than enough afterall, oh well.

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We spent a day wandering around Hollywood, and I realized quickly that I am much more comfortable in the middle of nowhere Mexico than I am in a LA shop. Its funny, as I was less freaked out when I was lost in the mountains of mexico than when I was lost on Venice beach!

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Ye olde redneck pig didn't exactly blend in either. It was one of the largest non commercial vehicle I saw in the inner city. Parking was a challenge as most of it was parallel and pretty tight. My mountain man roots came out a couple times as I ran over curbs and ran into a couple concrete barriers with the tires to get the truck turned. I have had a few ideas in my head of building something bigger, or cutting this truck down to shortbed size. This trip convinced me that I would prefer a short bed truck.

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At one point we tried to park in a parking garage, and it was a bit tight. I drove under a door that was angled with no room to spare, the cap scraped a bit. After going down the slope I found out the roof got much lower and we couldn't go that way, but when I went to back out we couldn't get out either. I had to take the cap off in the garage to get out. The cab cleared with a 1/4" to spare. Not my brightest moment, but entertaining none the less. It was about 1 am when I got the truck stuck, and about 2am by the time I got it out, and 3 am by the time I found other parking. There are pictures on my friends camera I will post later. I had to laugh at the fact I've gotten my truck stuck in the snow, the sand, the mud, and now in a parking garage!

We slept on a bunch of people's couches throughout the week. I really thought I would be sleeping in the truck most days as we never knew where we were going until late at night. One night we hung out at a bar until 2am only to find a place to sleep at 3am. Showing up with a case of beer does wonders sometimes. I ended up only sleeping in the truck once on the way back at a rest stop at the Cali/Az border. It was just for a quick power nap.

One of the days we went out to Malibu. We stumbled upon the pacific coast highway and I can't really explain how pretty it was. I really enjoyed that day on the beach. There was a lot of driving in traffic to get there and back, which made me a bit cranky but the girls cheered me up quickly and good times were had by all.

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I was not in a grand hurry to leave that beach! I was sitting on a rock sipping on a hot pacifico, and loving life. This was not exactly my normal type of trip, but that is the entire point. I was out of my element a bunch of times but hey I wouldn't trade it for the world.

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Metcalf

Expedition Leader
Could you have aired down the tires to get the truck out of the parking garage? I had to do that once with a fire engine.....totally sucked.
 

SChandler

Adventurer
Thanks for the info on the springs. I still can't decide if I want to do the Skyjacker springs or something else. Looks like a fun trip.
 

BCHauler

Adventurer
An adventure with three of the best things a man can have: his truck, Pacifico, and his lady(s!).

Thanks for sharing.
 

Maximus Ram

Expedition Leader
Could you have aired down the tires to get the truck out of the parking garage? I had to do that once with a fire engine.....totally sucked.

I had the same thought when I read that. I can't even get my 97 into a parking garage here. Got it into one in Tahoe once...after taking out my cb antenna:sombrero:


Great write up and pics....always better with some beautiful company along.
 

lstzephyr

wanderer
Glad you all liked the pictures! I like to share, plus its something for me to look back on later and remember.

Could you have aired down the tires to get the truck out of the parking garage? I had to do that once with a fire engine.....totally sucked.

I thought about it, but I really didn't want to deal with trying to figure out somewhere to air the tires back up at 2am in Hollywood. The biggest problem was that it was a roll up door, and the cap pushed it up when going through, but I couldn't push it back up to get it out. The door had come down about an inch or two. The door was on a pretty good slope too, about 30 degrees, which made it more difficult to get out than in. This wasn't a ton of fun, but I was trying to look at the positive side, so we just laughed and took off the cap. I bet a fire truck would have been a bit more challenging.

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Nothing like taking a truck apart a bit to get it out of somewhere. I was just happy to not have to call anyone for help.

Lately all the trips where the truck has come out have been with women. If I am going by myself I usually just hop on my bike. There were definitely some times I would have greatly preferred my bike, but I can't say I am complaining, as having the girls around was great!

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Metcalf

Expedition Leader
You should pick up one of the mv-50 compressors from an auto parts place. Fits behind the seat and works great for a $70 compressor. I have used it to air up my Michelin's so your little tire should be no problem :)
 

Cards81fan

Osage Hilltopper
One of the days we went out to Malibu. We stumbled upon the pacific coast highway and I can't really explain how pretty it was. I really enjoyed that day on the beach. There was a lot of driving in traffic to get there and back, which made me a bit cranky but the girls cheered me up quickly and good times were had by all.

I spend a LOT of time in Simi Valley/Westlake Village for work and make the drive to Malibu nearly every time I go. It is absolutely beautiful. I just park my rental, walk the beach, watch the sun set while eating some awesome seafood at a picnic table.

It feels worlds removed from the rest of the LA rat race. I especially avoid The Valley; this humble country boy just doesn't feel comfortable there :)


PS - The water is flippin' COLD isn't it???
 

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