Overland DREAMING fun

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Cheapthrills
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Overland DREAMING fun

Post by Cheapthrills »

I'm looking to build overland rigs some day so I'll be looking to do mods for power, reliability, fuel economy in a pair of waggies. Estimating weight around 7000lbs loaded after mods, Obviously would need good road maners on and off road while towing small trailer for gear and spare fuel maybe few parts and tools too.
Obviously med supplies and some food storage (along with means of cooking).
Rooftop tents, recovery gear(some shared between two or three vehicles).


So thus being said I need ideas for engine tranny mods and/or swaps for reliability and MASSIVE FUEL ECONOMY GAINS from the stock setup. And any other input you have.

Maybe going from a dream state to reality via how to get sponsorship would be great too

Look forward to seeing your input

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rocklaurence
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Re: Overland DREAMING fun

Post by rocklaurence »

Go with old school ID diesel, manual transmission and over built axles--you want good milage and reliability. Other than that just build it to fit your needs. Look at some of the Prepper sites for Dooms Day ideas.

racerx12003r1
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Re: Overland DREAMING fun

Post by racerx12003r1 »

Rock is 100% right. For efficency, you cant go wrong with a diesel. A mechanical injected Cummins 4BT or 6BT is very reliable. With the right pump, if you were to have a problem with the shut off, you can hold the pump open with a string,wire, or a wire tie. As long as the engine will turn over, pretty much it will run as long as you have fuel. No battery required.
Daniel

1980 J10 Thunderbolt Grease slapper (formerly Beast II)

Topic author
Cheapthrills
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Location: Sedalia colorado

Re: Overland DREAMING fun

Post by Cheapthrills »

I somewhat agree and that maybe the way it goes someday. Remains to be seen. Although I was kinda just looking to hear what other ppls dreams where. And heck, what trek would you shoot for? I have a few copycat treks I want to do, Trans American Trail , central America, Canada and Alaska. Again I'm just dreaming, but it's fun to dream.

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Adventure_Wagon88
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Re: Overland DREAMING fun

Post by Adventure_Wagon88 »

Building mine up as something of an overland rig. I want it to be my daily (so I can stop driving a stupid minivan!) but also comfortable enough to take the family on a long trek while towing a camper. One of my big dreams has always been to do a road trip and be able to do some moderate exploration off road and really get off the beaten path. My plans involve a pretty basic (at first anyway) Cummins 4BT, 5 speed manual (either Ford ZF or NV4500), lots of sound deadening and insulation, HP D60 front and 14 bolt rear, 37" tires, fully skidded and armored underneath, probably a full internal cage at some point. For lift it'll be SOA up front (already done) with a shackle flip and traction bar in the rear. I'd love to do an Atlas but that's crazy dreaming on top of everything else I just listed! I've been all over the country, but my wife and kids have not. With the exception of one trip together to Colorado and a few times to Chicago, my wife has not been off the East Coast! Our oldest is 5 and youngest is 4 months. We only had 2 kids last year when we went on a family trip to visit my sister in Chicago and to this day the older two play "vacation" (which they call 'cation haha) where they pretend to pack up and go on a trip. I want to have my rig diesel'd and road trip worthy by Spring 2018 so we can start doing some little excursions with the family, maybe spending 2-3 weeks at a time on the road showing them some of my favorite places and discovering some new ones.
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REDONE
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Re: Overland DREAMING fun

Post by REDONE »

Our member derf introduced me to our local overlanders a while back. I've gotta say it's really opened my eyes to the full spectrum that is overlanding. The most avid and active members drive rigs that are capable out of the box like LR3s to wranglers that are only mildly modified. The biggest difference I see between overlanders and mild wheelers is the gear they carry with the single biggest difference being that all overlanders are set up with real comms: at least two bands, APRS, and they know how to use it all. The rest is all carefully tailored gear that they've learned they need or are experimenting with from or for their own experience.

If I have anything of value to add to this conversation I think it's that last part. Adventure more; when you say to your self "man I wish I had a ______", you know the next gadget to buy or the next mod to make.



I'm probably not anyone in this topics definition of a true overlander, but I'm definitely a medium-core adventurer. My wife and I hit every state park in Colorado between 2014 and 2015. Not a single night spent in a hotel. While there was a lot of pavement under us as we criss crossed the state, there was a lot of dirt to!
79 J-10 (Honcho Mucho) KE0LSU
304/Performance Fuel Injection TBI/MTA1/SP2P/Magnum rockers
T18/D20/D44s&4.10s/33" Mud Claws
Grizzly Locker Rear
4" front spring drop, 5" rear shackle flip
Chevy style HEI (ECM controlled)
Dolphin "Shark" gauges in a fancy homemade oak bezel
3/4 resto, rotting faster than I've been fixing it.
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tedlovesjeeps71
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Re: Overland DREAMING fun

Post by tedlovesjeeps71 »

REDONE wrote:Our member derf introduced me to our local overlanders a while back. I've gotta say it's really opened my eyes to the full spectrum that is overlanding. The most avid and active members drive rigs that are capable out of the box like LR3s to wranglers that are only mildly modified. The biggest difference I see between overlanders and mild wheelers is the gear they carry with the single biggest difference being that all overlanders are set up with real comms: at least two bands, APRS, and they know how to use it all. The rest is all carefully tailored gear that they've learned they need or are experimenting with from or for their own experience.

If I have anything of value to add to this conversation I think it's that last part. Adventure more; when you say to your self "man I wish I had a ______", you know the next gadget to buy or the next mod to make.



I'm probably not anyone in this topics definition of a true overlander, but I'm definitely a medium-core adventurer. My wife and I hit every state park in Colorado between 2014 and 2015. Not a single night spent in a hotel. While there was a lot of pavement under us as we criss crossed the state, there was a lot of dirt to!
I generally view the difference between Overlanding/Expedition vs wheeling as intent. As a wheeler I like to pit my rigs capabilities and my skill against obstacles. It's rarely more than a week with "trails" selected and tried.
I built my XJ with more overlanding/expedition in mind. The ability to successfully go off the beaten (or unbeaten) path as well as road travel for an extended period with minimal reliance on civilization. An off road/trail rig may share some similarities, extra gear/parts/etc but it is hard to thrash it daily for long periods. Plus it's less "comfortable" though more capable to get in the truly nasty stuff.
Most ovelanders go for the journey, preferring to navigate around the brutal in favor of the survivable. They are not necessarily out to "concur" the terrain, more like negotiate it...experience it.
There is an additional group, often looked at funny like they are weirdos. These folks, Survivalists, often create a vehicle with many features of both wheelers and Overlanders as a "bug out vehicle".
My suggestion to the OP (and any interested) is research. A Lot! Visit sites like the Expedition Portal and Survivalists boards. Look at all aspects of possibility and start with that. There is a lot of interesting technology as well as proven old fashioned stuff which can compliment each other to make a very functional rig.
Good luck!


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Topic author
Cheapthrills
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Re: Overland DREAMING fun

Post by Cheapthrills »

Thanks guys some good input and good ideas.
I'm aware there are all different breeds and understand the difference in them all (I think) . My reasons are there are places I want to see and things I'd love to experience meeting new friends and testing my skills that I'll learn and ones I already have. I'm not trying to be a die hard survivalist or anything like that.

Being in a position to assess risk vs time and recources and saft,with a group of friends and or family sounds like a terrific experience on top of experiencing new culture both here in the stats and across our borders.

I know there's a lot to learn and it's not an overnight preparation to departure in my case it will be a dream for a long time before I can even think about assembly of these several week trips to where ever. But I've dreamed of doing this in fsjs for a about 2 years now since I bought my first fsj.

Thank you for your input and suggested research direction. You guys are awsome hope to talk to you guys more about this and maybe meet someday.

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Lumpskie
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Re: Overland DREAMING fun

Post by Lumpskie »

I ran 4 yakima drip rail bars with my RTT setup and really liked that. I'm also crazy happy with my 2" Alcan springs (I only run 30" tires). Beyond that, I didn't have my waggy specifically set up for overland stuff. But I have done a number of muli-day trips with it. With the big cargo compartment, I could fit everything a family of 3 (plus dog) needs for a week.

Image

Image
Last edited by Lumpskie on Tue Dec 20, 2016 5:33 am, edited 1 time in total.
1989 Grand Wagoneer - Rebuilt 360, 2" Alcans, 10" travel Gabriel Guadian shocks.
1996 Land Cruiser - 1HD-T Diesel, Gturbo (23psi), Wholesale Automatics 442f, F/R ARBs, 35" Duratracs, ARB Rear Bumper, OME 2" lift, home built sliders and aluminum belly skid
2000 Honda Civic - Integra GSR engine, transmission, shift linkage and axles, 200hp, 33 combined mpg
2006 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 9 - 437hp/447ft-lb

Topic author
Cheapthrills
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Re: Overland DREAMING fun

Post by Cheapthrills »

Man that is a really good looking waggy,

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REDONE
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Re: Overland DREAMING fun

Post by REDONE »

Cheapthrills wrote:Thanks guys some good input and good ideas.
I'm aware there are all different breeds and understand the difference in them all (I think) . My reasons are there are places I want to see and things I'd love to experience meeting new friends and testing my skills that I'll learn and ones I already have. I'm not trying to be a die hard survivalist or anything like that.

Being in a position to assess risk vs time and recources and saft,with a group of friends and or family sounds like a terrific experience on top of experiencing new culture both here in the stats and across our borders.

I know there's a lot to learn and it's not an overnight preparation to departure in my case it will be a dream for a long time before I can even think about assembly of these several week trips to where ever. But I've dreamed of doing this in fsjs for a about 2 years now since I bought my first fsj.

Thank you for your input and suggested research direction. You guys are awsome hope to talk to you guys more about this and maybe meet someday.

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Here's some more resources for you. Our local overlanding forum has a lot of the "nuts and bolts" info more condensed that expedition portal. Also, EP has a lot of over the top extreme end mods, gear and write ups that are just unrealistic for those who are not independently wealthy or without corporate sponsorship. I feel it pushes the median away from the actual mean and mode of the overlanding population. This forum has real people with real jobs and families still living the overland life, and they show what they have and how they use it in real life.

http://rockymountainoverland.com/forum/index.php

I was serious earlier with the comms, they are all HAMMs. IN addition to the useful range of the radios, APRS is a huge deal. It's a free open sourced GPS mapping deal that ALSO allows you to connect to the internet to send messages or allow friends or family to track your location on the internet. For extended trips into the wilderness it's 1000x better than a CB and tomtom, in fact it's not even in the same league. For those who've been to the sandbox, it's Blue Force Tracker for civilians.

http://rockymountainoverland.com/forum/ ... video.594/

And since the spirit of overlanding is the adventure I really want to impart the medium-core nature of my adventures. I hope that I can show that the dream doesn't have to start with the once in a lifetime drive from the Yucatan to Nova Scotia , here's some medium-core pics!

I mentioned earlier all the Colorado state parks. It was Christmas of 2013 my wife (GF at the time) and I were at Cherry Creek state park dog park and we decided that our New Years resolution for 2014 would be to visit every state park in Colorado. There were 44 state parks (because Colorado River state park has 3 locations), which meant a LOT of weekend road trips. I made an adventure board to track our progress:
Image

We were both working a lot so obviously, 2015s resolution was to finish what we started! In that time one state park went away (Bonney Lake), but fortunately they added a new state park to take it's place (Staunton). Both years we made it to Ouray, too! We did some of the trips in my J-10 and some of them in her Honda Fit, and after a heavy dose of reality we learned that the best was to prep for a 4 day trip was a lot of 2 day trips, and a weeklong trip by taking lots of 4 day trips. Since we wanted to spend our time adventuring rather than wrenching we got a Cherokee Trailhawk and I couldn't be happier with it. Locker, low range, and hooks front and rear right out of the box as well as a quiet comfy ride over the thousands of paved miles. Some of my favorites from those little trips:

Castlewood Canyon
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San Luis state park. It's an empty reservoir. The post apocalyptic feeling was amazing!
Image

State parks weren't the only adventures. We also went to the Bonneville salt flats.
Image

2015 Ouray was our "baby moon". My wife (fiance' at the time) was a real trooper driving the trailhawk!
Image

Adventuring dialed down a bit with the arrival of my daughter, but we still adventured. Our first adventure with the kiddo was for ourwedding in Grand Lake, Colorado...IN FEBRUARY!
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In the summer both my ladies were troopers for a week long adventure to/in/back from Ouray. My daughter napping at the KOA
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It's time to wheel dad, get me out of this sleep sack and lets go!
Image

Drunk on apricots in Hotchkiss, CO on the way back.
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Sometimes I had to split the party and send my wife and daughter by plane and drive with the dogs. This was searching for an overland route from Bend to Eugene, OR
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And sleeping in Sinclair, WY after they closed the highway to Laramie. -10 with wind chill. Glad I had my dogs!
Image

In the famous last words of Calvin, "It's a big world out there Hobbes old buddy, let's go explore it". :)
79 J-10 (Honcho Mucho) KE0LSU
304/Performance Fuel Injection TBI/MTA1/SP2P/Magnum rockers
T18/D20/D44s&4.10s/33" Mud Claws
Grizzly Locker Rear
4" front spring drop, 5" rear shackle flip
Chevy style HEI (ECM controlled)
Dolphin "Shark" gauges in a fancy homemade oak bezel
3/4 resto, rotting faster than I've been fixing it.
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REDONE
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Re: Overland DREAMING fun

Post by REDONE »

The overland trip I've been dreaming of is a week exploring uinta county in Utah. I've only spent a day exploring it back in 2007 looking for a secret military space port (that replaced area 51). There was a lot of interesting stuff I didn't have time to check out. If anyone is bored on the internet, go to Google maps, search "big park Utah", switch to satellite or Google Earth and just start zooming in on stuff. Why does this place warrant special note in Google maps, when there is not a shred of information on it anywhere else on the internet!?!?

Unfortunately, this is a real tough sell for a family vacation idea...
79 J-10 (Honcho Mucho) KE0LSU
304/Performance Fuel Injection TBI/MTA1/SP2P/Magnum rockers
T18/D20/D44s&4.10s/33" Mud Claws
Grizzly Locker Rear
4" front spring drop, 5" rear shackle flip
Chevy style HEI (ECM controlled)
Dolphin "Shark" gauges in a fancy homemade oak bezel
3/4 resto, rotting faster than I've been fixing it.
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tedlovesjeeps71
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Re: Overland DREAMING fun

Post by tedlovesjeeps71 »

Great posts Redone! Very true on the EP having some beyond reach builds for the average man. But it does stir ones imagination which isn't a bad thing. Overlanding is about adventure and your C&H quote nails it. We don't necessarily NEED a big, fancy, super rig to explore. We just need to do it, and stay within the safety margins. People used to "Overland" in the family station wagon. Bone stock surplus keeps opened the more difficult trails and its blossomed ever since. It kind of goes with two major aspects when looking at a vehicle. How far can I reliably go off the beaten path and how comfortable do I want to be while doing it. Be it a dedicated rig like the turtle Expedition trucks, your own built creation, or even Moms Camry... it's the adventure. See it before you can't.


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Topic author
Cheapthrills
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Re: Overland DREAMING fun

Post by Cheapthrills »

Wow that was an awsom reply .... Castlewood canyon is in my back yard basically. I'm in sedalia been there a handful of times. Your family is handsome great to see some fun pics of your travels

Uintah County sounds like a good trip for a couple buddy's idk that my little family would be interested in that one
Image
Here is my boys first camp trip to tin cup pass/st. Elmo it was a three day trip done in our 95 broncoImage

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Topic author
Cheapthrills
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Re: Overland DREAMING fun

Post by Cheapthrills »

Image that road was tiring daddy
Imagetime for me explore on my own daddy bear

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Topic author
Cheapthrills
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Re: Overland DREAMING fun

Post by Cheapthrills »

Image good friend who did most of the cooking (he's good at itImage ) we had a great time even when we replaced a motor mount in bronco with a piece of fire wood bottle jack a socket set and drill to re drill mounting holes that whernt right from factory (stupid aftermarket parts)

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REDONE
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Re: Overland DREAMING fun

Post by REDONE »

So you're a transplant here to CO? Have you considered goin' on up to South Park and havin' yo' self a time? (There's friendly faces everywhere. Humble folks without temptation). :P
Image

To keep this mildly on-topic for "off road tech", here's my $100 worth of comms I've gotten in the hopes of keeping up with the real overlanders. The yellow radio is a dual band baufang that I plan to set up for APRS with either a cheap tablet or just my phone, since it's little more than an MP3 player most the places we adventure. The other unit I plan to use for actual comms. It's got a built in fan and more peak power than the baufang handheld, but neither one is going to talk to russia without one heck of a repeater. Fun thing about APRS, is that nearly all NOAA weather stations are APRS repeaters or nodes. So long as your radio can reach a weather station, you're hooked to the APRS net!

Image

If you click the link below, every "WX" is an APRS node! It might even open with the map of where you are instead of me. ;)

http://aprs.fi/#!lat=39.73920&lng=-104.98470
79 J-10 (Honcho Mucho) KE0LSU
304/Performance Fuel Injection TBI/MTA1/SP2P/Magnum rockers
T18/D20/D44s&4.10s/33" Mud Claws
Grizzly Locker Rear
4" front spring drop, 5" rear shackle flip
Chevy style HEI (ECM controlled)
Dolphin "Shark" gauges in a fancy homemade oak bezel
3/4 resto, rotting faster than I've been fixing it.

Topic author
Cheapthrills
Posts: 632
Joined: Wed Nov 02, 2016 7:09 am
Location: Sedalia colorado

Re: Overland DREAMING fun

Post by Cheapthrills »

Well I've passed threw more times than I can count... not really a transplant but was raised between mountain towns and Vegas I bounced back and forth a lot but primarily started here. At a few months old. I'll have to look around for comm stuff. Right now I'm looking for a different career as I can't depend on mine anymore (directional drilling power utilities). So will be more serious after things get better, if my forever sick wife gets to a functional point that would help too... migrain issues for the past few months

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REDONE
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Re: Overland DREAMING fun

Post by REDONE »

Colorado is awesome for more than one reason (or even two or three).
https://www.leafly.com/news/science-tec ... -sufferers

I'm not a fan of recreational use. I still voted to legalize it because child rapists belong in prison, stoners belong at a Red Rocks EDM show. For medical use I'm a huge fan. Consuming something you can grow yourself can't possibly be worse than a chemical cocktail with a 15page warning label and an old people on bicycles commercial.

Edit to include>>> I have a lot of friends in the energy sector (engineers; civil, environmental, electrical). BP is moving their head quarters here next year, so even if the field shrinks, Houston will feel it before we do up here.

2nd edit>>> you plan to make Ouray? And if so how many days? We always take a full week (with both weekends) but only spend 2-3 days in Ouray so we can adventure there and back.
79 J-10 (Honcho Mucho) KE0LSU
304/Performance Fuel Injection TBI/MTA1/SP2P/Magnum rockers
T18/D20/D44s&4.10s/33" Mud Claws
Grizzly Locker Rear
4" front spring drop, 5" rear shackle flip
Chevy style HEI (ECM controlled)
Dolphin "Shark" gauges in a fancy homemade oak bezel
3/4 resto, rotting faster than I've been fixing it.

Topic author
Cheapthrills
Posts: 632
Joined: Wed Nov 02, 2016 7:09 am
Location: Sedalia colorado

Re: Overland DREAMING fun

Post by Cheapthrills »

We don't do rec weed either. But she does have a laundry list of med issues that I have suggested the med card for but there are other hurdles before she can attempt that

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