Leppz Overland Build and Trip Reports

Teaser shot from my trip this weekend. More photos/trip report to come once I have a chance to go through more of my media.

 

oh man the weather this weekend was awesome eh? We did a road trip this weekend as well. friday night to kelowna, saturday morning to revelstoke, skied all day, saturday evening to canmore, hiked and stayed at a friend's place, then sunday afternoon all the way home! but the rockies are so majestic, it was beautiful.

That looks like Jones lake in your picture? Looks incredible!

Oh and also, you can buy uninsulated crimp connects in multiple gauges at napa

 

Yup Jones Lake. I've actually never been there before and I've wanted to check it out for a while. Beautiful spot and the mountains create an unreal backdrop. The weather was awesome all weekend. It was a great trip until right at the end when my dumbass friend tried to drive through the lake with his 4Runner and nearly sank the thing. Took 2 hours and a dodge 3500 with a winch to get him out.

That is quite the weekend trip all the way to Canmore and back! How was the skiing in Revelstoke?

Also, thanks for the tip on NAPA, I'll have to check them out.

 

Haha man that's the second thread in a week where somebody gets stuck in a lake! Video evidence in @mwc273 build, just to relive your weekend haha.

It was the closing weekend at revvy, and in the morning the runs were bulletproof ice, but it did warm up and get more fun!

 

Lol shit, just checked out that video. Buddy was in deep!

My buddies mishap wasn't that bad but still pretty dumb none the less. I tried relentlessly with my Tacoma and my kinetic recovery rope to try and get him free but I couldnt gain enough speed and traction and run length because of obstacles to bump him free. I was able to move him a couple feet forward before I eventually got bogged down in some mud myself. A third truck came over and pulled me out of the hole I dug and then we tried with two trucks tied together to pull him out but couldn't budge him before we broke a strap. A dodge 3500 came by and had to tie his truck to a stump and winch him out and I damn near thought his cable was going to snap. I'll throw some video up and more pics hopefully later tonight.

Here's one of my buddy and his truck stuck with a smug look on his face.



"It looked like gravel to me"

Another angle


After this weekend I think a winch just went higher on my future mod list.

 

Jones Lake, April 2016



After meeting up with some of our friends (4runner and Pathfinder) we made a quick stop in Chilliwack to grab a few last supplies before heading out. Pay close attention to the mountain range in the backround. Jones lake sits at the base of this mountain range.



After taking exit 153 off Highway 1 for Laidlaw/Jones Lake and then taking the turn for Jones Lake FSR the road turns to gravel and quickly starts to rise from the Fraser Valley.



There are a few switchbacks that offer a great view of the valley below.

After climbing over 600M from the valley floor you are once again greated by the same mountains pictured in the background of my first photo.


A little info about Jones Lake itself.

Source: https://www.bchydro.com/community/recreation_areas/jones_lake.html


We arrived at Jones Lake and decided to check out the west side and west side rec site. The rec site was pretty much full but that was okay with us because we had no plans of staying in a rec site anyways. We drove through the rec site and onto the mud flats to grab a few photos.



The ground here is fairly deceiving on the flats. I wouldn't venture out here without a second truck as its quite easy to get yourself stuck as I was soon about to find out.

I tried turning around to head back to the rec site and ended up getting bogged down in the mud. I radio'd over to my buddy who was a little ways ahead of me that I'd need a little help getting out of the hole I just dug myself. If my truck wasn't loaded with all my camping gear, 40L of water and a ton of firewood and 3 people I probably would have been alright.



I broke out my shovel and then my Kinetic Recovery Rope, D-ring shackle Hitch Receiver, a spare shackle and hooked up the rear of my truck to the front of my buddy's 4runner. With just a slight tug I popped right out of the hole and we were on our way to head back through the rec site and then over to the east side of the lake.



Not wanting to camp at either of the rec sites on the east or west side we drove south towards the end of the lake and found a secluded spot in an area that we nicknamed "The Tree Graveyard". There is lots of dispersed camping along the shoreline on the east side of the lake but every good spot was taken with people as it was already about noon on a Saturday. The spot we scouted out required us to cross a small creek. I went first because if anyone was going to have an issue with the crossing it was my DCLB Trail Limo fully loaded down with camping gear.



We got the other trucks through and quickly set up camp.



And a few more photos of our campsite.




Packed up my gear and then started making the trek home. One the way out we played around on one of the sandy beaches and grabbed a few more photos of the trucks.



We left the sandy beach, headed back on the main FSR and then went out one last time on the mudflats at the beginning on the lake. This is where things turned ugly fast. For some reason my friend absolutely had to drive his fairly new 4runner through the water and into the lake. I screamed at him over my radio "DO NOT GO IN THE WATER" but he was like a kid in a candy store and simply couldn't resist driving his truck into the lake. He made it about 5 feet before he got absolutely bogged down in mud. I was shaking my head the entire time, I knew he was going to get stuck.




After trying his locker and crawl control and not gaining any ground we made our first attempt at recovering his rig. I tried pulling him out with my tow strap shackled to my recovery rope but I just couldn't gain enough traction and speed in the mud to budge him very far. I was able to move him 2 feet at best. I eventually got bogged down in some mud myself. Luckily a pair of older gentlemen rolled up in a chevy laughing at the situation that my buddy had got us into. They offered to pull my truck out from the ruts and holes I had dug trying to free my friend.



After we got my truck out we decided to change the angle of the pull to some better ground by using a stump to wrap the straps around. We tied the two trucks together to slowly pull my buddy forward but we couldn't budge him at all before one of the tow straps that the chevy owner had supplied snapped.

Here is a video of that, the strap snaps right at the end.
https://youtu.be/0YCc8iooEwQ

Luckly another older gentlemen rolled up in a dodge 3500 with a winch and offered to pull my friend out. He tethered the rear of his truck to a stump and pulled the rear of the 4runner out.
Heres a video of that.

https://youtu.be/XhyGWLLQ_dI

After we got his 4runner out we headed home and vowed to stay away from lake beds for a while

Post recovery.

 

That looks like an awesome trip man! I want to get up there we were actually thinking of this weekend!

I'm curious though, I was always taught to never pull in reverse. Why did you choose to face that way? The reasons were that the reverse gear isn't as robust as the others, and also that if a winch line or clevis breaks it won't go through your windshield. You also get more traction at the rear wheels.

Just wondering!

 

When I got stuck originally in my truck when I tried to turn around it wasnt bad enough to worry about which way the truck was facing. It was just easier to pull up the 4Runner and hook it on to my truck. I have video of that recovery but it's pretty lame, my truck just needed a little tug to get out of the hole I sank into. I was never worried about snapping a strap or shackle or damaging any gears on the 4Runner.

When my friend drove into the lake and I tried freeing him by myself with my kinetic recovery rope I hooked it up to the back of my truck and drove forward to gain as much momentum as I could before the strap kicked in. This was a way heavier pull and I made sure to orientate my truck properly for that.

When we tried pulling with the second truck I wanted the load between the two trucks centered and pulling even between the trucks. The Chevy had two hooks on the front of his truck (one on each side). We hooked one end of the tow strap onto his truck, ran it through my reciever shackle and then back to the opposite side tow hook on the Chevy. If I tried pulling the other way around the Chevy would have been pulling on just one side of my truck because of the way the stock front recovery points are on our trucks. The stock front recovery points on the Tacoma are garbage, not to mention my TRD skid plate prevents me from pulling at any angle without risking damage to the skid plate itself. It's really not a good design.

 

aha! makes sense. ive just seen a couple videos of people pulling in reverse lately and wondered if i was missing something

 

I picked my Truck up from my Toyota Dealership this evening. My Headunit died on me a few weeks back and Toyota needed to bring in a new replacement from Pioneer. My truck is a "Sport Premium" which is a Canadian only version offered in 2014 (and possibly other years) that adds "Leather" seats and Navigation. Because it is a Canadian Taco the Entune App features (Traffic and weather, etc) were not enabled on my truck when I first bought it. I was pretty pissed when I first bought my truck and learned that these options weren't available to Canadian owners. These options were greyed out in my app section previously on my deck. . Since getting my new deck the weather and traffic are now accessible to me in my app section menu. It seems to me that Pioneer (they make the entune headunit for Toyota and the warranty claim went through them) sent Toyota an American head unit without the entune apps disabled. The apps still don't work because I can't download the app with a Canadian Vin number. I'm wondering if it's possible to get the Entune apps working now that I have an headunit from an American Tacoma.

 

So I can download the Entune App with a US version of Itunes, but in order to make an account I need a US Vin Number. If I can find a way around that I can probably get the apps to work. Hmm...

I went back to to Jones Lake this weekend. So happy to have a working radio and backup camera again. I was going crazy listening to my own thoughts while driving

 

so I'd be really keen to find out if we can get Entune App in Canada, even if I have to find a US vin etc. (as long as it's legal)
I can't believe we pay thousands more and get cheaped out on communications. Even less expensive Toyotas have better communications. Other manufactures cheap cars have better communications. and, hands free driving is the law. what up Toyota!!!
any comments?

 

Why not just replace the headunit with an aftermarket one?

 

Yeah I think we will be going back to Jones lake again too! We went there last weekend and it was amazing. Just the wife and I. We made it through the entire stump section, and even had to pull out a land cruiser! Successful trip! Haha our camp setup isn't nearly as cool as yours though

 

My Entune deck has Navigation, Bluetooth, hands free calling, reads texts to me, etc..

The only thing it doesn't have is the traffic apps, weather apps, and music apps that work when hooked up to your phone. It is within my understanding that unless you have an American replacement head unit in your Canadian Tacoma (like mine has from a warranty claim) then there's no way to get it working as those apps have been programmed out of the deck from factory.

 

Nice @WormSquirts. Sometimes a simple setup is nice. It can be quite a lot of work setting up and then packing everything back up at the end of the trip. I enjoy making camp because it's exciting but packing everything back up at the end is always a drag. I've got it down to a science now though so it's pretty fast.

I love Jones Lake, beautiful spot and it's really close to home.

I spy a cooler though, where is the fridge?

 

Haha! The cooler is what we keep our pots and stuff in as well as food that doesn't need to stay cold like buns or whatever! Fridge is on a platform behind drivers seat =]

We don't have a platform though, so we have to flip up the mattress to load stuff, then pull it all out to set up our bed. I use the bed of the truck too much to lose all that space, which is a bummer cuz drawers would be so awesome

 

Neat build!
I like that shower setup - I too feel that the roadshower unit is overpriced. Looking at building one for myself as well but out of Schedule 40 PVC.

 

Yeah I use a memory foam topper and some self inflating mats underneath the memory foam for extra padding. Everything rolls up individually nicely. I had an actual foam mattress out of an RV in my old truck, a 2000 Ford Ranger, and it was a pain in the ass because it didn't fold up nicely or roll up. With the memory foam and self inflating mats I can roll each piece up and keep the entire bed open for gear without fighting with a mattress. Another thing I do on trips where I'm jumping from campsite to campsite each night is instead of rolling up and packing each piece of the mattress/bedding I roll up the entire mattress and bedding (sleeping bags, blankets, pillows) to the front of the box and then just flip up the second front hatch on my platform and use that hatch to separate it and the rest of my camping gear. I've been meaning to get some photos of how that works but I haven't gone on a trip yet this year where I've had to do that. All I have to do is remove the gear from the back, flip down the hatch, unroll everything and the beds ready to go. Its a great system and probably just as fast as setting up a roof top tent.

The platform is key for me because it allows some gear to stay inside the bed of the truck. I've played with the idea of a drawer but ultimately have decided against it for now. Some of the gear including my Easy-up Canopy and camp chairs barely fit underneath my platform. If I made a drawer it would consume some height and I wouldn't be able to store those things underneath. Its also nice to climb into the truck at bedtime and take off your shoes on the tailgate and shove them underneath the platform. If I ever do build a drawer, it would only be one side of my platform so that I could still store my canopy and camp chairs underneath. Adding a drawer would also add weight to the bed. I'm trying to keep the weight down for now until I do something with the stock suspension.

You could build a pretty simple removable platform with just some 2x6 cross pieces and some plywood. I had a setup similar to that in my old Ranger. I've been meaning to do a post about my old truck because it had a very similar setup to my Tacoma, but a little less refined. Here's some pics of how my old platform on my Ranger worked. Everything was super easy to remove. I ended up adding some plywoof "tabs" to hold the blocks in the side in place, but can't find any pictures of that on my computer. I used the blocks to raise and lower the platform, because the mattress didn't roll up or fold nicely more gear had to be stored underneath the platform during transport otherwise it would be sitting on top of the mattress and not very secure and most likely get my bed dirty.

 

Thanks @hometaco. I was looking at building a shower out of Schedule 40 PVC as well. I even got bored one day and did up a crude drawing in MS Paint a while back on what I wanted to build.



My reason for switching to the MWC (Military Water Can) system was for refilling purposes.
When I'm camped with the shower I'm not anywhere near a pressurized water source. If the two of us wanted to shower I don't think my design would hold enough water for the both of us without having to be refilled. That would mean I would need to fill up a water jug and then climb on top of the truck and hold it up there to refill the shower. I didn't really like the idea of that balancing act so I went with a system where I could refill the shower on the ground from any water source and then only have to lift it on top of the truck once and set it in place. Its still not a fun task but its better then trying to balance a water jug to refill the shower.

Good luck with the build if you decide to tackle it though. Let me know how it goes!