Vanilla Gorilla: 2017 Power Wagon build

[Bayou Boy]

that’s great to hear! I love my AT3Ws. I’ve had some input on the upcoming RT and the AT4w and I think everyone will be really pleased with the next generation of Falken products.

did you get into any rain? They do exceptional

Not enough that it was a true test. I was shocked at how tall the tread blocks are when they showed up. For as tame as they look in pics, they are more comparable to the Toyo AT Extreme in the level of "aggression" than anything I think. As for the noise, while they are not as quiet as stock junk tires, they are very acceptable and it's a tossup of whether the tire noise or wind noise is more audible at times. Also, there is a significant decrease in rolling resistance from the Toyos. With the 30k mile 315/70r18 Toyos, I set the gear selector on 5th with the diesel to keep the tranny comfy. It would pull in 6th on flat ground but didn't seem happy. We pulled the entire trip in D with the 37" AT3Ws with zero issues. I have stock gearing and pull a heavy ORV that is probably 9000-9500# loaded for a trip.

Good to hear that some new tires are coming out. i know it takes a while for all the sizes to fill in and we should be able to get what I want by the time I wear these out.

 

[marshal]

Not enough that it was a true test.

I'll be interested to hear what you think as winter sets in if you can find yourself some snow some place.

 

[Bayou Boy]

I'll be interested to hear what you think as winter sets in if you can find yourself some snow some place.

Will do. I'm in Louisiana...but we camp a ton so will most likely make it to find some snow for the kids.

 

[GCecchetto]

Nice build! Glad I got pointed to it by another member, will save me some time finding some components and such for my swing away tire carrier build. I was almost ready to buy an EXP 1 bumper to save me the build time, but after reading about the issues, I'll stick with building my own.

Here's a couple photos of my truck. Not a Power Wagon, Power Wagon grill on a Cummins powered truck. The build of it is mixed in with my camper build in the Dirt Sherpa thread.

 

[Jmicm13]

Have read through this entire build thread, so awesome. Super interested in the new Falken's you mentioned as I am eyeing some of the new Toyo AT3's as a possibility. Do you have any more info on either of these tires and if I should delay getting tires until they come out?

 

[marshal]

Well its been a hot minute since I've posted. A lot has happened

at 65k miles, the shift solenoid in the transmission went out. Apparently this is a known issue, because the valve bodies and shift solenoids were of poor quality - there is even a service bulletin advising on it, but Chrysler refused to help me and I was out $1500 to repair it with a full valve body replacement.

she turned 83k miles the other day and still going strong. I have another Leitner rack on it again, and the 38's are now mounted with about 20k miles through them. They're great tires, but I really miss my AT3's. Im planning on a set of 38" Falken RT's this winter.

Kind of changed direction again on the assembly of the truck - I've come to grips with the fact that my life prohibits me from doing much travel, so local stuff it is. As a result I've decided to refocus the truck on supporting a dual-sport Moto so that I can explore the gobs and gobs of narrow trails that exist here on the east coast, and then come back to base camp. The Leitner rack will house an awning, my compressor box and a road shower. a MotojackRack will support a Husky 701 off the back that I'm in the process of acquiring.

 

[Kingsize24]

Love the look of those 38's on your truck.

Well its been a hot minute since I've posted. A lot has happened

at 65k miles, the shift solenoid in the transmission went out. Apparently this is a known issue, because the valve bodies and shift solenoids were of poor quality - there is even a service bulletin advising on it, but Chrysler refused to help me and I was out $1500 to repair it with a full valve body replacement.

she turned 83k miles the other day and still going strong. I have another Leitner rack on it again, and the 38's are now mounted with about 20k miles through them. They're great tires, but I really miss my AT3's. Im planning on a set of 38" Falken RT's this winter.

Kind of changed direction again on the assembly of the truck - I've come to grips with the fact that my life prohibits me from doing much travel, so local stuff it is. As a result I've decided to refocus the truck on supporting a dual-sport Moto so that I can explore the gobs and gobs of narrow trails that exist here on the east coast, and then come back to base camp. The Leitner rack will house an awning, my compressor box and a road shower. a MotojackRack will support a Husky 701 off the back that I'm in the process of acquiring.

View attachment 617418View attachment 617417

 

[nater]

@marshal any details on the 38" rt? I would very much consider as your atw3 recommendation has been outstanding for me.. is this the rubitrack?

 

[marshal]

@marshal any details on the 38" rt? I would very much consider as your atw3 recommendation has been outstanding for me.. is this the rubitrack?

It will be a nice hybrid between the MT and AT, lots of siping, good Tread blocks and a nice square profile. 3 speak severe snow rated.will be out in the spring

 

[chet6.7]

at 65k miles, the shift solenoid in the transmission went out. Apparently this is a known issue, because the valve bodies and shift solenoids were of poor quality - there is even a service bulletin advising on it, but Chrysler refused to help me and I was out $1500 to repair it with a full valve body replacement.
Kind of changed direction again on the assembly of the truck - I've come to grips with the fact that my life prohibits me from doing much travel, so local stuff it is.

Did you stay with a stock VB,or go aftermarket?
Changing direction in life,as Bruce Less said,be like water...something I need to be better at.

 

[marshal]

Did you stay with a stock VB,or go aftermarket?
Changing direction in life,as Bruce Less said,be like water...something I need to be better at.

stock so that the work carried a 30k warranty

 

[marshal]

A Swedish thing followed me home

IMG_8667 by Will Marshal, on Flickr

 

[Pnwfullsize]

A Swedish thing followed me home

IMG_8667 by Will Marshal, on Flickr

Hows it handle with the weight back there? Could you slide your rack bars forward and carry the bike in the bed?

 

[marshal]

Hows it handle with the weight back there? Could you slide your rack bars forward and carry the bike in the bed?

The bike and jack rack are about 350lbs combined. I also have 75lbs worth of Leitner rack, 60lbs worth of gear pods, 110lbs of spare tire, and an 120lb SDHQ spare tire mount in this photo. SO all in all, about 375lbs of junk in the bed, and 350lbs cantilevered 2 feet off of the rear of the truck.

I don't know what that math comes out to as weight equivalency with the cantilever, but the truck sat level and rode like a Cadillac.

I could put it in the bed, but I'm not really keen on walking a 285lb bike up a 45º ramp to a bed-deck height of nearly 4 feet off the ground, especially with it primarily going to be just me - I needed a functional one-man setup

 

[Pnwfullsize]

The bike and jack rack are about 350lbs combined. I also have 75lbs worth of Leitner rack, 60lbs worth of gear pods, 110lbs of spare tire, and an 120lb SDHQ spare tire mount in this photo. SO all in all, about 375lbs of junk in the bed, and 350lbs cantilevered 2 feet off of the rear of the truck.

I don't know what that math comes out to as weight equivalency with the cantilever, but the truck sat level and rode like a Cadillac.

I could put it in the bed, but I'm not really keen on walking a 285lb bike up a 45º ramp to a bed-deck height of nearly 4 feet off the ground, especially with it primarily going to be just me - I needed a functional one-man setup

I totally get your reservations about ramping it uo there. I have thought about a hitch mounted carrier, sounds like there's no noticeable negative effect.