I bought 2 pieces of 2x2 aluminum diamond plate from tractor supply and it was cheaper than lowes by a bit. Less than 100 for both. I didn't want to install fasteners through the existing alum. front to avoid leaking so I did a little research on velcro type fasteners.
I found "super lock" from 3M available at Radio Shack which is interlocking mushroom heads. Very strong. Wont sag over time like velcro. I used one 2" strip at each corner and one halfway up each side. Its been on for 2 years with no issues. Use a thinner diamond plate but one that is still stiff.
This allows easy removal if you want to take it off for some reason and again no piercing the outer material.
Boy am I glad I read about your Artic trip. No way am I driving through all that. Between Wyoming- Montana- and Southern Alberta I can see all the mountains and wildlife I could ever want without driving hundreds of miles on muddy dirt/gravel roads at 15 MPH.
We plan on an Alaka trip but we'll camp on the way from Michigan to Washington. Take an Alaskan Cruise and travel back home and stop at Glacier Nat'l Park and Banff & Jasper, Canada on the way.
Thanks for all the photos and monolog.
Bill, it seems that you missed the purpose of this particular trip. Our intention was to drive the most northern roads in North America that is physically possible--not just with a truck or SUV, which is relatively easy, but with a full-fledged travel trailer. In other words, the challenge of the journey was as important as the sights along the way. Naturally, such a trip is very hard on the equipment. I'm still working on the last stages of the trip before posting to our web site and part of that will be an epilogue containing among other things, a list of snafus.
Another thing we've learned is that even as slow as it seems when we're driving our RVs on normal highway, we're still going way too fast to see the detail of what's there. Sometimes, even the 15-20 MPH we drove for days on end was too fast. Spotting a Ptarmigan and her chicks in the tundra, for example, isn't easily done at normal highway speeds.
As for being able to see mountains and wildlife? We don't have to leave the comfort of our home to do that. Our livingroom and dining room overlook the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the San Juan Islands and 10,781' Mt. Baker to the north. To the south & west we have several 7,000+ mountains of the Olympics. Speaking of the Olympics, just a mile from our house, the road heads into the Olympic Forest and mountains. About 8 miles later it ends. After that is the largest contiguous area in the Lower 48 without a road. IMHO, that is about as good a definition of the land being wild and natural as it gets.
Mt Baker to the north
Mt Constance & the Olympics to the south as well as our F250
And the wildlife? We have an incredible diversity of wildlife right at home--not in some other state or even down the road a bit on the mountain, but right from our deck:
Roosevelt Elk in our yard - that's our house on the right
Bald Eagles are a regular site & two mated pairs have their nests nearby. I took this photo from our deck.
Turkey Vulture flock on neighbor's tree
A Cooper's Hawk scouts for his lunch from one of the Douglas Firs outside our dining room
Northern Harrier feeds in the field next to our orchard
We've also had the privilege of working with wildlife rescue & rehab.
My wife (on the left) helps the vet treat the chest wound on a Bald Eagle. She was successfully rehab'd and released a few weeks later, but before she ripped open the forehead of the woman on the right.
I had the opportunity to handle this cougar when it came in. She lives in the Portland Zoo, now.
One of my favorite photos. Her mate had a bum wing an couldn't fly and in the process of caring for them, I got a bit close & took this photo of the female on her eggs.
* This post was
edited 11/11/09 02:19pm by SteveRankin *
Steve & C. J.
"Gracie" the Rough Collie & "Bo'sun" the Bichon Frise
What about having the bottom half of the front of the trailer sprayed with one of those truck box liner products instead?
When I rebuilt the front wall of my old Nomad I used 1/16" checker plate on the bottom but I don't think that would look so good on a trailer with a molded front cap like the Komfort we just bought.
06 Dodge Ram 3500 Cummins 6 spd std with a few mods.
2007 Komfort 274S
Fisherguy wrote: What about having the bottom half of the front of the trailer sprayed with one of those truck box liner products instead?
When I rebuilt the front wall of my old Nomad I used 1/16" checker plate on the bottom but I don't think that would look so good on a trailer with a molded front cap like the Komfort we just bought.
We have a gentleman in our camp club that did that to the front of his motor home. Color matched to the graphics. Four+ years and it still looks like new. Thinking of doing this in the spring myself.
2000 4X4 Excursion Limited 6.8V10, 4.30, 124,000 miles
Hellwig Rear Sway Bar
Roadmaster Active Suspension
2000 Coachmen 297 RKS (Approx. 9000lbs loaded)
Reese Dual Cam Sway Control
I WORK FOR FORD, SO I DRIVE A FORD!
Offline
.jpg)
