Desert Proven
Observer
I've been a member for a while, but mostly just lurking.
Over the years, and unbeknownst to us, I guess you could say we've been building an "expedition vehicle".
Here's the background. We've been going to Baja for almost 20 years and have traveled extensively (and lived) in South America. I started with a VW camper, then a 4x4 Ford Ranger, then a Gas 4x4 Dodge, then our current truck. We've always talked about setting up a truck that could take us back to South America, and in the mean time get us back and forth to Baja. Oh yeah, and we've got two small children.
We started with a Four Wheel Camper, and it worked for a while, but we had a number of issues with it.
We sold it and bought an Outfitter. The camper was a little more spacious and feature rich, but was a little heavier and we found it a little more difficult to balance the load at speeds.
We sold it too and went back to simplicity. We purchased a Gemtop shell with all the re-inforcing you can add on from the factory and had a custom roof rack built to fit. We then added a standard carpet kit in the back and I'll be building some custom, removable drawers for underneath the sleeping platform. Having worked as river guides for years, we're pretty set up with an outdoor kitchen, tents, etc. The shell works well as a bed for the kids, and the roof is good for adults.
In addition to the above mentioned items the truck sports the following:
Diesel
6sp manual
Banks Power
AEM Intake
4:10 gears with limited slip
KORE Racing suspension with Fox 2.5 inch racing shocks and VR Coils
KORE Control Arms
10 Pound Power Tank with air tools
Custom front bumper with 15,000 pound Warn winch
Baja Designs Fuego Series HID lights wired to the high beam dimmer switch
PIAA Fog lights
Pull Pal
Aluminum, ex military sand ladders
Recovery Kit (tow strap, tree/boulder anchor, shackles, pulley, gloves, etc.)
Custom rear bumper with dual swing away carriers for spare and four gerry cans and a built in Tool Box
Hi-lift Jack
35 Inch Toyo Open Country M/T - E Rated
IPOD
Handheld GPS that I still don't know how to use
Baja Topos (work better)
I'm sure there's more, but that will give you an idea. The truck is built for speed in the desert. We've beaten motorcycles (probably not really fast ones) from Puertocitos to Coco's corner and from Coco's corner to the highway. Even with it's weight, it does pretty well in the sand with the bigger tires. I haven't really had it in the rocks much, but I'm warming up to the idea.
Here's a few pictures...........................I'm getting a "problem with the database message from the Expedition Portal"............I'll attach later.
Over the years, and unbeknownst to us, I guess you could say we've been building an "expedition vehicle".
Here's the background. We've been going to Baja for almost 20 years and have traveled extensively (and lived) in South America. I started with a VW camper, then a 4x4 Ford Ranger, then a Gas 4x4 Dodge, then our current truck. We've always talked about setting up a truck that could take us back to South America, and in the mean time get us back and forth to Baja. Oh yeah, and we've got two small children.
We started with a Four Wheel Camper, and it worked for a while, but we had a number of issues with it.
We sold it and bought an Outfitter. The camper was a little more spacious and feature rich, but was a little heavier and we found it a little more difficult to balance the load at speeds.
We sold it too and went back to simplicity. We purchased a Gemtop shell with all the re-inforcing you can add on from the factory and had a custom roof rack built to fit. We then added a standard carpet kit in the back and I'll be building some custom, removable drawers for underneath the sleeping platform. Having worked as river guides for years, we're pretty set up with an outdoor kitchen, tents, etc. The shell works well as a bed for the kids, and the roof is good for adults.
In addition to the above mentioned items the truck sports the following:
Diesel
6sp manual
Banks Power
AEM Intake
4:10 gears with limited slip
KORE Racing suspension with Fox 2.5 inch racing shocks and VR Coils
KORE Control Arms
10 Pound Power Tank with air tools
Custom front bumper with 15,000 pound Warn winch
Baja Designs Fuego Series HID lights wired to the high beam dimmer switch
PIAA Fog lights
Pull Pal
Aluminum, ex military sand ladders
Recovery Kit (tow strap, tree/boulder anchor, shackles, pulley, gloves, etc.)
Custom rear bumper with dual swing away carriers for spare and four gerry cans and a built in Tool Box
Hi-lift Jack
35 Inch Toyo Open Country M/T - E Rated
IPOD
Handheld GPS that I still don't know how to use
Baja Topos (work better)
I'm sure there's more, but that will give you an idea. The truck is built for speed in the desert. We've beaten motorcycles (probably not really fast ones) from Puertocitos to Coco's corner and from Coco's corner to the highway. Even with it's weight, it does pretty well in the sand with the bigger tires. I haven't really had it in the rocks much, but I'm warming up to the idea.
Here's a few pictures...........................I'm getting a "problem with the database message from the Expedition Portal"............I'll attach later.
