Spring Vacation Boondocking Adventure, 2013

[ClydesdaleKevin]

LOL Frederic!  I'll take my Jeep any day...I would have added a quip about buying American in there as well, but my Jeep was made in Canada... :)rotflmao   1992.  I plan on adding a snorkel, a tail pipe mod to bring the exhaust above water level, a small lift, and bigger tires, although nothing crazy.  What year is your Land Rover?  I love the old ones!

Hey Frank...not a big chrome fan on anything but a Harley...lol!  I plan on keeping the colors on this Jeep just as they are, even when we have it repainted.  BUT...what year was his Jeep, and how badly was it totalled?  Still looking for a good frame I don't have to weld, as well as all the soft top hardware.  I plan on selling the hard top and going to a full soft top sometime in the future.  So if its older than 96 (a YJ) I'd be very interested in other parts off of it, including the frame and maybe even the axles.

Kev

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Got the booth all set up...and man does it look sweet!

Then worked on the Jeep soft doors.  It took a lot of bending and reshaping to get the frames to work and align as best as they possibly could with the bimini top, but I took it for a test drive in high winds, and they do the trick!  Should keep the cab pretty dry in even the windiest rain storm too!  Color is slightly off, but they won't be on most of the time.  They'll be stored in the back under the tonneau cover.

Here are some pictures of the soft doors, along with pictures of the bungee cord setup I made to keep them closed and tight:

















And here are a few pictures of the rain cover.  Made by Smittybilt.  Goes on and off literally in under 2 minutes with quick release straps.  Very well made and a very good price on eBay!











The rain cover will fit better once I get the tonneau cover and install the belt rails to hold it down, but it fits pretty darn well just as it is.  One modification I really need to make is to the front...I need to slice it and sew it along the front corners where they hit the mirrors.  If it wasn't for the relocation mirrors on the windshield hinge, it would sit a lot tighter and lower and protect the open doors a lot better. 

The soft doors are super light and fit pretty tightly after some bending.  They also fit perfect above the rear wheel wells, so once the tonneau cover is in place, that is where they will live...covered and out of sight when not being used, with plenty of grocery room under them!  I have dubbed them the Emergency Storm Doors!

Tonight we have guests for dinner...Patti made her incredible homemade lasagna...YUMMMM!!!  Sometimes you just gotta break your diet!

And then later tonight, my rain cover will get tested in real life.  Huge storm coming in, temp is supposed to drop from today's 85 degrees to the low 40s, high winds and rain, then rain for the next 2 days.  Glad the weekend is supposed to be nice!

Kev

[M & J]

You definately need to get some bling on the wheels though. They look out of place - stock.

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Lol oldrockandroller!  I'm going to go with black steel wheels, nothing fancy, but strong and the right width for 31s.

Kev

[Stripe]

Kev,
Rover D2 2000MY. Before they soccer mommed them, Can't stand the new ones. My particular model has the hydraulic suspension that auto rights the body in high speed turns, and automatically lifts if it should get caught on a rock. I'll post a scan of the relevant page in the manual that describes it better. 
Wouldn't mind getting my hands on this one LR Defender I saw when I was in London and one I drove in Afghanistan.
I could only find this one pic for now, but I have a couple more somewhere that has the cot and small dresser/desk and will post when I find 'em.

Fredric

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Sweet Frederic!  I like the REALLY old ones like this:



I like the older Jeeps better, but one of these would definitely be my second choice!

Its a rainy day.  I have to brave the rain soon and go get some cigs and pick up the mail at the office, then take some pictures of stuff for a small eBay auction I'm putting together.  Other than that its just going to be a lazy day in the warm RV.  Did I mention how well the Wave 8 catalytic heater works?

Kev

[Wantawinnie]

Here is my Ramcharger, it is a replica of the one I had back in High School that dad bought new. I restored it 2 years ago. Trying to figure out a way to make a toad out of it.

[Stripe]

Kev,
That's a Defender, lovely thing ain't it? 
I nearly bought the one in the pics, but $30k for a LHD Defender is too high IMHO, plus they put modern Rover rims on it and that just made it look ugly. I do like the green though.

Wave 8, going to have to look into that thing.  Might be worth investing in.

Stay safe,
Fredric

[Stripe]

Nice Ram!  My stepdad had one just like that. He replaced the front bumper with a bumper he made from a Railroad tie. Custom cut it and routered some letters in it (dun remember what it said )
He took that thing off roading any chance he had..    By the way, that is the same model I was talking about with the custom top.

Fredric

[ClydesdaleKevin]

EASY and cheap to make a Toad out of it!  Its an old school thick steel bumper!  Even Blue Ox bumper mounts are cheap...its what we have on the Jeep.  If its an automatic it becomes more problematic.  If its 4 wheel drive, can it be towed with the transfer case in neutral?  If its a standard its a no brainer, 4x4 or not for that year.

If its an automatic, you have 3 choices...either disconnect the driveshaft for towing and hang it under the frame ( a big POA, but we used to do it and its not a super big deal), or buy a driveshaft disconnect or transmission pump.

VERY nice by the way!  I love the old Dodge Rams!

Kev

[ClydesdaleKevin]

The Bestop Windjammer came in today, just in time!  I didn't install the bottom channel frames yet because of the weather, but strapped it onto the roll bar and sealed off the front compartment...SWEET!  Cold and rainy all day, and my trip to the store was dry and warm!

I'll install the channels once the tonneau cover comes in...do all the drilling and whatnot at once.

Other than that, it was a very COLD and wet rain day today!  Got up this morning, and it was 50 degrees.  Later this afternoon it got to 40 degrees.  Its now in the 30s...

Gotta love global warming!... :)rotflmao :)rotflmao :)rotflmao

Kev

[Wantawinnie]

The Ramcharger is a 4wd automatic. I am planning to swap a fuel injected 5 speed in it.

My main concern is the weight. It is somewhere in the 5000# range.

[ClydesdaleKevin]

With that new diesel you are putting in, you won't have to worry about a measly 5000 lbs...lol!  I used to tow fullsize vans LOADED with crap with our first RV, the Ark, with a 413, and the Itasca with a 454, and had no problems.  Glad I have a lighter vehicle now, but those engines handles the weight.  I don't think you'll have a problem at all towing it 4 wheels down.  Heck, since its 4x4, even leaving it as an automatic you should still be able to tow it with the transfer case in neutral and the transmission in any gear.

Kev

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Finished setting up the booth today, went to the ATM and pulled out cash for a bank, took our costumes out of the storage compartments, and then decided to rig up something better than a bungee cord for the soft doors on the Jeep.  Bingo!  I used some camo ratchet straps I already had, up over the roll bar and down to the loop that holds the bottom of the seat belt.  Its puts a strap right where the door latch goes, and the door latches even work for opening the doors!  You have to help the straps into place for closing them, but its way more elegant than the bungee cord.  And they are quick release, so I can take them off quick when the doors are off, and put them on in a jiffy when I need the doors back on.

So all is prepped for tomorrow, and I think this is a good time to conclude this chapter of our adventures!  Spring vacation is officially over.  Let the new chapter begin!

It will be called Oklahoma 2013.  Yep...creative and all I know... :)rotflmao

Kev