RE: Anti-Sway
Bud,
Tell us exactly what you have and you will receive a plethora of answers specific to your rig. General consensus is to get there by degrees installing one upgrade at a time until you reach equilibrium. For AK, (of which there my be 50 domestic units on here that have done the road), you want a little sturdier and stiffer attitude from your suspension and anti-sway upgrades. Personally, I would make airbags the last resort and make mechanical spring upgrades first resort.
Sounds like you want to skip the "suspension adventure" part of preparation and go right to the final working product.
Each brand of truck has a different molecular makup with some susp. upgrades working much better on X truck than they do on Y truck.
I see it my crystal ball: "All will be revealed". Just watch how the died-in-the-wool GM owners start buzzing around your camp. Only listen to them.
regards, as always, jefe
RE: Trip Report: a man, his dog, fly rod and TC in the Sierras
Buzz,
Wonderful TR! It had all the elements; time/space/location/action/good story line/variety of pix/thegoodthebadandtheugly.
Josh Lingo: That would be the self same Deer Creek that is 1000 feet below us off Washington Ridge, 10 miles east of Nevada City. The fish are still jumping. We take a steep jeep trail down Casci Road to the 100 yr. old exploded dam on Deer Creek.
regards, as always, jefe
RE: Tetons In Late September
Dan,
Great T.R. on Yellowstone and the Tetons in October. Thanks a bunch (of bananas) for the fine travelog. Just great pix. We have friends who live in J-hole and look forward to winter mountaineering around this time. Hardy folk.
regards, as always, jefe
RE: Tetons In Late September
Listen to Bryan; he knows from whence he speaks. Since you are not part of Club TC, I would counsel having all-wheel drive and M&S rated tires in good condition. Cool and snowy comes early to that part of the country and you don't want to get caught with your proverbial pants down. I've been there in June when it was cold and inclement. The times you are contemplating could be magical for pix. The date is October 6th. The location: our campsite, east side, Sierra Nevadas, a lot further south and west of the Tetons. Jeanie is turning on the propane: Not a good day for picture taking. It got down into the teens overnight. You just never know.
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z240/jefe4x4/DSCN1953-1.jpg
regards, as always, jefe
RE: rear sway bar
since you have overloads ( I assume above the main pack) you might consider Stable Loads instead of a sway bar.
I have a 3/4 t. Dodge with double, 1 ton overloads above the main pack; the factory not-so-thick anti-sway bar; Rancho 9K's set on the stiffest setting; and Stable Loads. This system has worked well for me without the 'recoil' and side-to-side sway you get with air bags. With the rather wimpy factory anti-sway my rig is very stable on corners and does not 'BOINga-Boinga-boinga' when I drop a wheel in a hole. The secret is all those dumb old leaves dragging on each other, saying, "duh, what happened?".
I have tried with and without the anti-sway bar attached and it made some, but not much difference. I always detach one side on the anti-sway bar when I get off road, further diminishing the pull/sway/recoil on big pot holes. An attached anti-sway bar pulls you from side to side on bad roads.
It took a lot of experimentation and the corporate memory of my Jeeping dayz to get to this point.
regards, as always, jefe
RE: The Emotions in a TC
Jamin',
You really kicked the ant farm here. It seems we all come into TC-town on a different road.
My road into town was on the 'freedom to boondock' trail via dry camp mesa. But even before that I bought a TC so I could tow my Jeep to the trailhead and have somewhere to hang that was not laying on the ground. The hard core rock crawler thing is receding with age, and now my old Lance (sister to yours) is in the pure maintenance mode. A few things have broken down, over time, but everything works. But, she soldiers on to house Jeanie and I on our travels and is like an old pair of shoes: you just can't bring yourself to throw them away. These old shoes have cleats to get us through any weather and any road or trail condition: be it sand, snow, rain, or mud.
We still have a few trips left in the old girl and are in the planning stages of one of the most epic trips in a TC that I could dream up: The circumnavigation of the continental U.S. boundary states. Clockwise. In time for Fall color in N.E. 16 to 20 weeks. Camping every beach camping possibility on the Pacific, the Atlantic and the Gulf.
Yes, it is small in there, but we have learned to live with it. With just two consenting adults, we've learned the 'TC Ballet' on getting around inside on a wet winter's night. Luckily, neither of us has any claustrophobia. Small tanks? Yes, indeed. Instead of dumping every two weeks, we must dump within 5 or 6 days when dry camping. Even then, we have mitigated the problems of small tanks with some painless, inventive measures. The upside is the lack of weight you carry around with you.
Following much advice gained here, right here, I have worked on sustaining Cabeza de Vaca enough to have a lot of ownership in the old gal. We have gotten a lot more enjoyment of the old box than our initial investment of $6500 would indicate.
Yes, I would say I am attached to the girl.
Here is a pic of her on a dry lake in Owens Valley about a month or two after purchase in 2001 looking trim in her few year old patina, with Mt. Whitney above the box:
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z240/jefe4x4/DSCN0234.jpg
which has slowly morphed into the trail eating, trusty, beat up junker we so enjoy:
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z240/jefe4x4/DSCN0467_zpse183d9fd.jpg
regards, as always, jefe
RE: Swan Song
The vid worked fine. The music is not my cup of dish, but the filming of the vid sidebar was interesting. Oh and the red rocks were there is spades and do look great on the 24" monitor.
jefe
RE: 7 Bros On The Mojave Road, Day 2, part1
Since I was on the trip, I never tire of seeing the trail again, especially pix of my late 2bro, Jerry. Several of the people on this trip want to do it again late this fall, many of them on bicycles with a support team of TC's.
Thanks again, Alex for putting the time and effort into this. Alex on the 3rd day on the trail. The end is near and where is the trail?
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z240/jefe4x4/DSCN0525_zps1e7a2174.jpg
regards, as always, jefe
RE: Help with wheels and tires.
I'll just add another opinion here. If you EVER plan on running lower pressure for sand or loose ground, or deep snow, I would counsel staying with your stock 16" wheels and going with a high rated 285-75R16. There are a few out there that are 3750 lb. rated, up to 3950 lb. rate. I doubt you would have more than 7900 pounds on your rear axle. As was said, the stock wheels can take it, and they're probably 7" wide with a good back spacing to save your front wheel bearings; wide enough to run low pressure on sand. 19.5's have no seating ridge and are not recommend for low pressure running. They are great on pavement, however.
My fronts are 305-65R16's which are 33" in diameter, and still fit on my stock Dodge wheel.
I ordered the tires from National Tire with free shipping they were about $265 apiece. 3750 load rated; very aggressive mud tread, AND very quiet; can air down for sand; the best of both worlds. So, again if you are never going to be in sand, get the 19.5's and run the wheels off-em'.
It's a choice. This one is the least expensive.
regards, as always, jefe
RE: Is it a truck camper?
Only if you have a truck camper do you have any slide-in specificity. To the unwashed, a camper can be any kind of 'camping' vehicle, whether it be a pop-top tent trailer with wheel barrow sized wheels, or a chassis mount 'camper' as shown above.
If others are puzzled by our Truck Camper designation, which they are; to wit the pop-top camper folks who chime in anytime the term camper is used by us, assuming it's what they have, then so be it. That's why I'm up for a new term for the off road version of the truck camper...you guessed it: XTC.
regards, as always, jefe
RE: Swan Song
I'm agreeing with Silver. When it's over, it's over.....maybe. I'm still hoping he has just hit the 16-weeks-in-a-truck-camper wall and will eventually bounce back. But, that' s up to him.
I wondered why anyone would want a camper that tall on a GM .75T until he squeezed out the back door. Doug is 6 foot 7 or 8". Which makes me think the ideal height for a TC-er in a normal or smaller camper would be 5 foot 6.
I spent a lifetime in great hotels in 40 foreign countries on business (the music business) and if i never see another packed flight and crowded terminal, I would be happy. Air travel ain't what it used to be.
I've been cogitating on our projected trip around the U.S. boundary states. Stringing it out at least 16 weeks, it may be our swan song too. In the meantime, there are a couple great trips yet to do.
regards, as always, jefe
RE: Personalized license plate?
I'll try for a pic of my CJ-8 rock crawler's plate, which is:
ROKHUGR
It's kind of self explanatory as it is beat to pooh, as a result of grinding over all that Sierra granite.
It is odd that the vanity plates are mostly on jeeps and such, not TC's. Must be a jeep thing.
The name on the door of my TC is CABEZA DE VACA which is double entendre as Vaca was the earliest Spanish explorer (who wrote a riveting trip report over his 10 year oddesy From Florida to eventually Mexico City in the late 1400's) and that the TC looks like the head of a cow.
regards, as always, jefe
RE: Swan Song
DG,
Say it isn't so. You and I have not done a trip yet. Besides, a D-max is just getting warmed up after 10 years. I enjoyed your trip vicariously, and appreciate the sifting and editing of pix to give a nice variety of scenes. You look for the same kind of stuff we look for: tying disparate elements together to form an eclectic mosaic.
It was nice to meet you at OX2013. I wish we had more time to palaver. Your rig at OX:
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z240/jefe4x4/DSCN0585_zpsd7ecc418.jpg
regards, as always, jefe
RE: New Step for Lance Camper?
It is now dark and I wanted to see if this 'glo-step' thing was just hype or what. Yes, they actually glow an iridescent green. They're no halogen, but get you centered on the steps in the dark. No I'm not going to stay up all night and see if they're still glowing at O dark thirty.
jefe
RE: New Step for Lance Camper?
Just today I installed a new set of Torklift Glow Steps (4-steps) to my Lance 165-s. They are wider across the breach, and a deeper step, all aluminum and seem more Stable than the flimsier, narrower aluminum steps they replaced. They also come with all stainless steel fasteners, a real plus for longevity. The lag bolts i removed were rusted to about 1/2 their original size. They looked like some 3rd century artifact from the Aegean sea. I'm surprised the old steps didn't just fall off. The top U shaped attaching bracket failed on my old set.
There is a nice little cable loop to corral your steps during travel. The glow step part comes in as 2" square patch of glow tape, either side of the steps that retains some light after dark, kind of like the hands on your Dick Tracy watch. The only caveat I see is there is a space between the rear of the camper and the first step. If you miss with your foot, you could go down to de-feet in a bad way. My brother John had this problem and broke his leg doing exactly that. I'm sure we'll get used to it.
This product seems well made, with heavier bracketry where needed only, and stiffeners for the application to the camper itself. They come in a 3 , 4 , 5 step versions, so should fit a wide variety of applications. The accompanying installation instructions were so-so. None of the examples fit my application. Of course my Lance was made in 1998. So far I like the steps, but time will tell. And I'll tell you.
regards, as always, jefe
RE: TC organization
Cardboardeaux? I love it. I remember backpacking with a good bottle of wine (lo those many moons ago) and we would scrape the label off; pull the cork and cut it in half an reinsert....just to say we were saving weight. Priorities is priorities.
All the important stuff has been said. There is almost no correlation between what you can take in a MoHo and what you try to squeeze into a TC. You learn over time what works and what doesn't, and that takes making your own mistakes.
Before traveling to OX2013 last month, I went completely through the TC, every nook and cranny and removed all the non-essential items. In 12 years, we've accumulated a lot of excess 'stuff' that is now gone and can't hurt us any more. Kind of like spring cleaning. It makes you feel good to get out from under 2 or 3 versions of the same gadget, or maps of Manitoba or Alaska while you're in AZ.
Probably the best 'organizational' gimmick was to start a list of things to take. If you go back in the archives, there are plenty of lists on here to peruse. The thing about a list is, it doesn't show the value or utility of any item, only a spot on a line. Also, we have three lists. One is summer TC-ing, which we do so very little of; and another is a Fall-Spring list. The one we use most is the winter list. Quite a few differences between the three lists. I don't want to know how much my H.D., V-bar truck chains for a 33x15.50 super single tire on a 12" wide wheel weigh, but it is consequential.
Before you do anything, once you get the rig, camp in your driveway or on the back 40 for a weekend with just the minimum. If you have something there that is not used, ditch it.
The must-take-next-time list will take care of itself.
regards, as always, jefe
RE: circumnavigation of the U.S. via the boundary states
Great responses here. Keep those links coming. I looked at some and it is a bit like comparing apples to oranges, since we don't need more than a parking space to stealth camp in. Stop motor. Pull down steps. climb said steps. Pull up steps. Close door. Pull down shades. Voila! Instant domicile.
We have traveled with other friends and found we like to motate at a faster pace than any of them do. So, we do plan to move every day (with a few exceptions) traveling oh, maybe 100-200 miles per day to the next place of interest. Of course this is all about the distance between attractions. It may be like our tour up the Oregon Coast. Some of those days we only traveled 20 miles up the coast to the next State Campground. But, we are not lingerers.
Yes, we are planning on visiting every beach camping experience open to us, from Mass. down the coast to Assateague to the Outer Banks, with our last beach experience being driving the 100 miles down the beach on South Padre Island on the Gulf. We are set up for dune running lowering the pressure in those super singles (and on-board air to get them back up).
I'm hoping to drive a lot of secondary roads and not just interstates from end to end. You see more local color and the mpg's go up. @62 mph we get 15 mpg without a headwind or hills. @70 mph it drops to 12-13 mpg. @ 45 mph (secondary road speed) it can be 16 mpg, which is good for a 10K pound white windbreak.
It looks like leaving around Sept. 1st or so we can time it to see the Fall Foliage in the Northeast by October 1st. With 4 wheel drive, traction diffs and the go-anywhere capability of our rig, only a big hurricane would deter us. Not as likely in October. We've been thru 100 mph winds during a sudden Haboob in Death Valley:
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z240/jefe4x4/DSCN1316.jpg
and 4 foot snowfalls with the XTC with no deletorious effect.
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z240/jefe4x4/DSCN1843.jpg
I really don't know how much time this will take. I depends on how many whiffs we want to take of the flowers.
But, with your kind input the picture is starting to have much more focus.
regards, as always, jefe
circumnavigation of the U.S. via the boundary states
I have tried in vain to find someone that has done a circumnavigation of the U.S. via all the states that touch the borders. This would be the northern tier, the Great Lakes, the Atlantic seaboard, the Gulf states, the Southern tier, and the Pacific coast. It's a personal bucket list quest for info. I don't want anyone to design our road trip, which I figure will take 10-14 weeks to accomplish, but rather any personal experience or anecdotal info that could help shape the epic journey. You may want a few details before you respond:
We attended a great presentation by Bruce Baldwin at OX2013 in Flagstaff with this same title. He has done this for 30 years! in various RV's, now in a converted transfer ambulance (the tall one so the medical folks can stand during transit) and gave us a glimpse of what, how, when, where, who of the 4 or 6 times he has done this. He showed us where to RV in Manhattan for free! What a Gypsy Bruce is. He told us alot about dry camping, stealth camping, and all the low-cost camping you can do and gave us a host of references to look at.
Jeanie and I, married, in our 60's, elderly mother (97), (read my sig below for motational details), we move right along from attraction/event, usually at a faster pace than others we have traveled with, want to see fall colors in New England, looks like a clockwise traverse starting about mid Sept, we like (4x4) beach camping, oddball exhibits and military stuff, we plan to visit many of the restaurants featured in triple D's, and we like to hike and walk the off-beat areas, because we still can! Our rig is 20 feet in length, will fit in an regular parking spot, and we have done lots of stealth camping in big cities as well as down by the river.
It's difficult to read what other people have in mind as to travel, but our object is to live eclectically, using Bruce's resource pages as a guide, which include camping at Federal, State, County, and Local parks and campgrounds, with a smattering of high bucks hotels.
He really got me going with a fascinating talk.
It may be that we'll have to break this into areas that people know about and string it together when we go.
regards, as always, jefe
On the Mojave Road in March: click on pic to play-
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z240/jefe4x4/th_VideoMar15102713AM_zpsa6c32e14.jpg
RE: Boondocking around the Four Corners area-W/ JEEP IN TOW????
Pez,
There are just so many great spots that I have personally been to, it's really a matter of point-and-shoot. My only admonishment for July/Aug. is to get up high, above 7K feet elev. to beat the heat. So, the San Juans, the Sangre de Cristos, all around narrow gage country, like Ouray, Silverton, Ridgway, Lake City. We camped at Molas Pass once, and it's above 10K feet and nice and cool with so many jeep trails.
regards, as always, jefe
