jefe here. I've been lurking about 10 minutes. I've had many an 'expedition' vehicle in the past 42 years. Currently, it's a plusher version, a hard side truck camper. Yeah, I know, if it's not a tent, it's not 'expedition' worthy. That was then and this is now. No matter what you call an 'expedition vehicle' it has a wide interpretation as to what is worthy.
My view is, it's really a state of mind, a kind of game we play thinking about driving across the Visciano Desert to Malarimo, or a short drive on dirt and mud from Capetown to Niarobe. What all these far out places have in common is lack of traction with civilization. Non city. Loose and fragile governments with even fewer restrictions on where you can go. In a pure sense, this pretty much looses the USA, Canada, Europe, as attractive destinations.
I've owned and built up:
1949 Jeep Utility Wagon, GM V-8, overdrive, 5.38's and the first springs-over-axle (SOA) conversion I'd seen successfully done. This was in 1965. In fact when I was a writer for Off-road.com, I used the term SOA for the first time in a piece about axle swaps, and the term has come into common usage. So in a wierd way, you could say I am an 'elder of the tribe' of off-road adventures, with about 1.5 million miles in rigs with more than one stick piercing the floorboard.
1966 Toyota Land Cruiser, FJ-40, factory PTO winch, with matching 'jeep' trailer. We got way out in that thing.
1970 Toyota Land Cruiser, FJ-55, Warn 8274, Hone O.D. GM V-8, Power lok rr diff, 'Tomba Burro' front bumper, 3" spring lift, 11-15 Tru Trac tires. Had a tent boot made for sleeping 2 adults, 2 kids inside. Big italian roof rack. Put about 200K miles on this one. The body was pretty rusted out when I sold it. Just once or twice in the surf in Baja sealed its fate.
1980 Scout Traveller, 118" W.B., removable hard top. Factory Nissan SD-33T 6-cylinder turbo diesel, T-19 all synchro trans, Dana 300 t. case, SOA, 33x12.50's, 21 mpg traveling, D-44 axles with trac loc's. I made a rear spare rack with a couple 5 gallon cans. All in all, this made for the best 'expedition rig' i've had. It would run on 3rd world diesel and could carry a good load a long way and was very reliable, if not under powered. We drove the famed Rubicon trail a few times in this one.
1982 Jeep Scrambler, CJ-8. Only the tub and part of the frame is original. This one's still here, but it's tag says it all: california lic: ROKHUGR. It will go anywhere, and has the space to carry stuff, but it's so single purpose, it's noisy, slow, and drafty. Maybe TMI, but,
1982 Jeep CJ-8, desert sand and Nutmeg, AGR power steering box and pump, MORE 1-1/2” forward steering box brackets, Chevy power discs front and Cadillac disc rear, removable 10 watt CB, spice 1/2 cab hardtop and hard doors, all tinted glass, Full Kayline Nutmeg soft top and full soft doors, windjammer, 1/2 doors and bikini top, custom soft cab top, custom rear tonnau cover, rear seat
ENGINE:
4.4L I-6 block and crank, with .060” overbore pistons and rings,
4.0L, High Output head with Mopar MPI fuel injection, Hesco adjustable fuel regulator
Hesco with gage. H-264-14 cam (.470” lift) and Cloyes double timing gears and chains
advanced 4 degrees, High Volume oil pump,
stock ‘95 XJ exhaust header, 2.5” aluminized tubing, cat and12” glasspack.
hand throttle, MORE engine mounts.
2-5/8” AutoMeter gauges (0-4K tach, oil, temp, Volt, Vacuum)
DRIVETRAIN:
NP-435 (6.69.3.34/1.66/1.00/8.26) Adapter by Advance
clocked Dana 300 w/ 5 gear TeraLow 4:1 gears, and Currie twin sticks, Woods drive shafts,
6 bolt SuperWinch hubs, u-bolt style u-joints, 130:1 crawl
Dana 44, 30 spline front, w/ARB, Warn 4330 ChroMoly shafts, ChroMoly steering-over rods with 1 ton TRE's, Parts Mike steering-over knuckles, CTM U-joints, 4.88:1
Dana 60, 35 spline rear w/ARB, Mosier H.D. shafts, 4.88:1. 4XDoctor pig cages
SUSPENSION:
Springs-Over-Axle w/ 7 leaf Old Man Emu 4” lift YJ rear springs on front, and 7 leaf YJ, 4'” lift rear springs. (about a 9 “ lift) Rancho 9000 adjustable shocks. H.D. shackles. Extra long S.S. brake hoses.
OFF-ROAD OUTFITTING:
Fenders trimmed to clear 37-13.50 Super Swamper IROC's
on Rock Crawler 10” wheels. Extra wide rubber fender lips. Currie steering brace and welded/over boxed front frame horn, Radiator saver. Stubby 'rockhugger' front bumper, Ford Mutt recovery “D” rings. roll cage, Wrecking Ball Proof custom rocker panels, "Off-Your-Rocker" steel rear diamond plate quarter panels, 24 gal. steel tank and steel skid plate, Premier Power underhood welder (180 amp alternator), welding outfit, 4” AC grinder, Premier 20 lb. CO2 Power Tank. Class III hidden reciever hitch/ pintel
Usual extra parts taken: regulator, hubs, spare T. case, frnt/rr yokes/ u-joints, complete rr driveshaft, main leaf with eyes, bag ‘o NBW's, some metal plate, brackets, strap, angle. Enough tools.
RECOVERY EQUP: Warn #8274 Winch, 20' and 30' towstrap, tree saver, snatch block, 3 “D” rings, 20' hardened chain with slip hooks, 4' breaker bar, Safety Seal tire repair kit.
In the meantime, we've had (3) Jeep XJ's, 1990 (I rolled it off a cliff in Telluride), 1989, and currently Jeanie's snow/winter car, a 1999 Jeep Cherokee. This model would make a good, if spartan, expedition rig.
If your still here, I run what I brung, which is a 2001 Dodge 3/4 ton 4x4 Cummins with a Lance Lite (very light, very small) camper. You know, time has a way of pointing you in certain directions, and this is my current chapter of a hard-core off-road live-in machine. My sig below has some of the particulars. Be it know that you can hard-core with a hard side camper. It's just slower and more deliberate, kind of like what I've become.
See what being on here for 10 minutes has wrought?!
see you down the bumpy road,
regards, as always, jefe
[/IMG]
My view is, it's really a state of mind, a kind of game we play thinking about driving across the Visciano Desert to Malarimo, or a short drive on dirt and mud from Capetown to Niarobe. What all these far out places have in common is lack of traction with civilization. Non city. Loose and fragile governments with even fewer restrictions on where you can go. In a pure sense, this pretty much looses the USA, Canada, Europe, as attractive destinations.
I've owned and built up:
1949 Jeep Utility Wagon, GM V-8, overdrive, 5.38's and the first springs-over-axle (SOA) conversion I'd seen successfully done. This was in 1965. In fact when I was a writer for Off-road.com, I used the term SOA for the first time in a piece about axle swaps, and the term has come into common usage. So in a wierd way, you could say I am an 'elder of the tribe' of off-road adventures, with about 1.5 million miles in rigs with more than one stick piercing the floorboard.
1966 Toyota Land Cruiser, FJ-40, factory PTO winch, with matching 'jeep' trailer. We got way out in that thing.
1970 Toyota Land Cruiser, FJ-55, Warn 8274, Hone O.D. GM V-8, Power lok rr diff, 'Tomba Burro' front bumper, 3" spring lift, 11-15 Tru Trac tires. Had a tent boot made for sleeping 2 adults, 2 kids inside. Big italian roof rack. Put about 200K miles on this one. The body was pretty rusted out when I sold it. Just once or twice in the surf in Baja sealed its fate.
1980 Scout Traveller, 118" W.B., removable hard top. Factory Nissan SD-33T 6-cylinder turbo diesel, T-19 all synchro trans, Dana 300 t. case, SOA, 33x12.50's, 21 mpg traveling, D-44 axles with trac loc's. I made a rear spare rack with a couple 5 gallon cans. All in all, this made for the best 'expedition rig' i've had. It would run on 3rd world diesel and could carry a good load a long way and was very reliable, if not under powered. We drove the famed Rubicon trail a few times in this one.
1982 Jeep Scrambler, CJ-8. Only the tub and part of the frame is original. This one's still here, but it's tag says it all: california lic: ROKHUGR. It will go anywhere, and has the space to carry stuff, but it's so single purpose, it's noisy, slow, and drafty. Maybe TMI, but,
1982 Jeep CJ-8, desert sand and Nutmeg, AGR power steering box and pump, MORE 1-1/2” forward steering box brackets, Chevy power discs front and Cadillac disc rear, removable 10 watt CB, spice 1/2 cab hardtop and hard doors, all tinted glass, Full Kayline Nutmeg soft top and full soft doors, windjammer, 1/2 doors and bikini top, custom soft cab top, custom rear tonnau cover, rear seat
ENGINE:
4.4L I-6 block and crank, with .060” overbore pistons and rings,
4.0L, High Output head with Mopar MPI fuel injection, Hesco adjustable fuel regulator
Hesco with gage. H-264-14 cam (.470” lift) and Cloyes double timing gears and chains
advanced 4 degrees, High Volume oil pump,
stock ‘95 XJ exhaust header, 2.5” aluminized tubing, cat and12” glasspack.
hand throttle, MORE engine mounts.
2-5/8” AutoMeter gauges (0-4K tach, oil, temp, Volt, Vacuum)
DRIVETRAIN:
NP-435 (6.69.3.34/1.66/1.00/8.26) Adapter by Advance
clocked Dana 300 w/ 5 gear TeraLow 4:1 gears, and Currie twin sticks, Woods drive shafts,
6 bolt SuperWinch hubs, u-bolt style u-joints, 130:1 crawl
Dana 44, 30 spline front, w/ARB, Warn 4330 ChroMoly shafts, ChroMoly steering-over rods with 1 ton TRE's, Parts Mike steering-over knuckles, CTM U-joints, 4.88:1
Dana 60, 35 spline rear w/ARB, Mosier H.D. shafts, 4.88:1. 4XDoctor pig cages
SUSPENSION:
Springs-Over-Axle w/ 7 leaf Old Man Emu 4” lift YJ rear springs on front, and 7 leaf YJ, 4'” lift rear springs. (about a 9 “ lift) Rancho 9000 adjustable shocks. H.D. shackles. Extra long S.S. brake hoses.
OFF-ROAD OUTFITTING:
Fenders trimmed to clear 37-13.50 Super Swamper IROC's
on Rock Crawler 10” wheels. Extra wide rubber fender lips. Currie steering brace and welded/over boxed front frame horn, Radiator saver. Stubby 'rockhugger' front bumper, Ford Mutt recovery “D” rings. roll cage, Wrecking Ball Proof custom rocker panels, "Off-Your-Rocker" steel rear diamond plate quarter panels, 24 gal. steel tank and steel skid plate, Premier Power underhood welder (180 amp alternator), welding outfit, 4” AC grinder, Premier 20 lb. CO2 Power Tank. Class III hidden reciever hitch/ pintel
Usual extra parts taken: regulator, hubs, spare T. case, frnt/rr yokes/ u-joints, complete rr driveshaft, main leaf with eyes, bag ‘o NBW's, some metal plate, brackets, strap, angle. Enough tools.
RECOVERY EQUP: Warn #8274 Winch, 20' and 30' towstrap, tree saver, snatch block, 3 “D” rings, 20' hardened chain with slip hooks, 4' breaker bar, Safety Seal tire repair kit.
In the meantime, we've had (3) Jeep XJ's, 1990 (I rolled it off a cliff in Telluride), 1989, and currently Jeanie's snow/winter car, a 1999 Jeep Cherokee. This model would make a good, if spartan, expedition rig.
If your still here, I run what I brung, which is a 2001 Dodge 3/4 ton 4x4 Cummins with a Lance Lite (very light, very small) camper. You know, time has a way of pointing you in certain directions, and this is my current chapter of a hard-core off-road live-in machine. My sig below has some of the particulars. Be it know that you can hard-core with a hard side camper. It's just slower and more deliberate, kind of like what I've become.
See what being on here for 10 minutes has wrought?!
see you down the bumpy road,
regards, as always, jefe
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