Cynicalriders "J0hnny5 is ALIVE!" 01 build thread.

I think IKEA adds 5 eaf points. Careful your points are adding up...

 

Shit! I gotta chop some more fenders and monstaline the truck or something to make them go down.

Got my SS gift from @Irongrave:



He made me this beer caddy and cutting board as well as gave me some Carolina brews! Super stoked!

Of course I immediately enjoyed one while I worked on my next mod:



A big issue I had out west was my axe's were unsecured and buried, and were the one thing I always wanted to get to first.

I also wanted to make my shovel easier to access, so I came up with a simple and free solution when on trips.

 

Ahhhhh....

Mike the Lumberjack.

That’s the first thing I remember when I first met ya!!!!!

 

Drunken rage lumberjack lol

Santa hooked it up this year.



Also was having high idle issues and found a busted vac line:

 

Fridge mounted. Love it!

Did some trail cutting on my parents property too. Trying to make it a place a couple trucks can camp at if we go shooting nearby.

 

Which model dometic is that? 64 or 49 quart?

 

It's the CFX65-DZ, it's storage capacity is 53 Litres or 56 Quarts. The DZ version doesn't get the cool wifi capability but comes with the ability to have a freezer compartment and a fridge compartment with temps set in one location using a removable insulated divider. It was awesome keeping burgers frozen solid while having my drinks stay cold but not frozen.

 

I have skids mounted so I can wheel again!

Got together with Ant and a bunch of other DB's at BPF and fabricated new straps to replace the joke of a strap under the frame for the back of the skids. TO be fair, those straps were never meant to hold the amount of weight and abuse I put them through.

The original straps were only 1/8" thick, with what was basically two tack welds on each side and small bolts.

I replaced it with 3/16" and a bigger 8.8 bolt with a welded nut.

IMG_9138 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_9139 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

The goal was to get as much weld holding this new strap on as possible. And it's being held on by a fuck ton more than what the stock strap was being held on with. The frame in this area is very odd with weird bends even after I ground some out. So it wasn't possible to get it flush but I got it as close as possible and Ant filled the gaps with welds.

IMG_9141 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_9142 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_9144 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_9146 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_9148 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

After we got that done, I wanted to try to keep this skid from bending again. The tough part is that the steering rack is in the way so I was limited with how far I could make the supports go out.

I love projects like this because it's a nice easy place for me to practice my welding.

IMG_9150 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_9151 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_9152 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

 

Holy shit I got to go wheeling again! Felt amazing to really push the truck since Moab. It's also been over 2 years since I got to wheel in any kind of snow or ice so that was a bit of re-learning as well.

First give @Lux 's trip report a read, awesome details there:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/nj-b-s-thread.274779/page-3175#post-16947373

The one spot where he said I got tippy definitely got my heart racing. I definitely felt the drivers front lift up pretty high on me, and felt the passenger rear go full compression, could have gotten ugly quickly.

This was the right way to be getting up it:



But when I slipped off the line, my nose was pointed more in line with the power lines above. I think I made @V5ioV regret riding shotty with me there.

Some of the favorite pics James got of me:





James also let me borrow his camera so I could try to shoot my truck at what we dubbed as the NJ - TOTW:

DSC08352 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
DSC08357 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
DSC08358 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
DSC08363 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

Also snuck in a shot of Mac:

DSC08359 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

Also this sexy shot @V5ioV got of me:

IMG_9327 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

Now for some iphone pics:

IMG_9255 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

This place we explored was awesome. It had a little bit of everything. It had water crossings, hill climbs, ledges, rocky obstacles, off camber, tight woodsy trails, etc. Definitely will be visiting up there more often. This was also one of the first harder wheeling trips I've done with Mac and she did awesome. She looked like she was having a blast. The only downside of where this spot was, was years of trashing the place. Garbage in the look outs, and holy abandoned vehicle land batman. Old shot up cars, a burnt frame of a samurai, jeeps, and other random wrecked/burnt cars. It was a shame, and I would want to look into getting a clean up going, or just cleaning up when I can when I am up there.

IMG_9304 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

Anywho some photos:

IMG_9262 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

@Rockbaron1
IMG_9265 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

IMG_9266 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

IMG_9272 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

IMG_9274 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

IMG_9285 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

IMG_9286 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

That's NYC in the background.

IMG_9291 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

Looking over the edge we saw some dicks pushed a Jeep down there relatively recently.

IMG_9292 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_9294 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_9298 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

Other than that, the views up there were awesome:

IMG_9299 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

You can read in James' trip report about these fiasco's. Steve was stuck pretty bad but @JCjeeper was stuck worse than I have ever seen anyone stuck. We would have been fucked without a chain saw.

IMG_9305 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

IMG_9307 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

IMG_9311 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

IMG_9312 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

After this trip a winch got put even higher on my list, especially in slick conditions where another recovery vehicle isn't always the best answer. Also getting and carrying a chain saw and waders is not a bad thing to think about either. I had fun and can't wait for the next adventure. Videos of what I have at least, will follow soon. Still working through Moab videos and that trip report.

 

Awesome post... I did not regret it cuz of the sketchy situation we were in, but because I wanted to record it for you and I couldn't even get out...

Thanks for letting me tag along...

 

Hahaha word, good then, I know you don't scare easily. It's a shame too because that would have been a crazy video to watch. I wasn't willing to repeat it for the video though.

 

Nice writeup Mike wish I got a picture of that tippy moment myself, was too focused on watching lol. Me and @Subway4X4 wanted to get a cleanup day going too, because there are a few spots specifically that are really bad. Near those old house foundations is usually a popular bonfire spot so there is garbage everywhere. Glad I could introduce you to the place, Im hoping to get back up there later on when its dry to check out some new stuff.

 

Chainsaw and waders FTMFW!

 

It's a shame too. When we used to do the Pine Barrens clean ups it was organized through 4x4 clubs and got the Townships help. Because of it's location, that's kind of not an option up there. Def down for helping beautify that area a bit if I can.

I need to figure out more places to put shit. First gen's are great for wheeling, but hard to carry a bunch of stuff without a cap, and I don't want a cap.

 

Bedrack and action packers

 

I knew it was a sketchy spot and that's why I asked 1st before I got out lol.... my man said "i think you better stay in" lmao

 

I had a nice little tub setup going for when I went out west with Plano's. I'm basically maxed out with the setup I went out there with. That being said, one box was a dry storage food box specifically for the purpose that I know I'll be carrying 2 weeks of food with me. I can probably setup another box for a chain saw and other similar things for harsher camp conditions and save some space. Been working and reworking my three tub setup to suit my needs, so eventually I'll come to something that works well in all situations eventually.

That shit had my heart pumping, that's for sure. I was seriously considering setting up a safety line to back out of that particular position we were in.

 

Subd

 

It would be cool to see that spot legitimized like AAOA. Clean up would do a world of good.

 

That would be the best option for that area. I would love to see that.

First video:

https://youtu.be/8Xrc1Iv8J_k