Run to the Hills! - Jason's Completely Stalled Colorado GTFO Build

Framing is done in the man cave! And the door even fits in the rough opening! Next up is running a couple 15A circuits, then installing insulation after that.

It’s getting there!







This is sorta what the end result will look like with the office door right between my workbench and my tool boxes.





I also got the RTT back on the bed rack, and holy FUCK do I love the hoist system. After having the damn thing nearly crush or herniate my shit so many times putting it on and taking it off, it’s a damn godsend. It took three minutes to get it back on the rack and lowering it was super controlled with the block and tackle. I’m incredibly pleased. Now I know for sure that the tent can live in the shop most of the time and it can be conveniently be dropped on the bed rack on the rare occasion that we want to camp like Insta influencers.

 

Manual or electric hoist system? I’m probably going to install a couple here soon. Just starting research.

 

It’s manual, but because it’s a 3-pass block and tackle, it is super easy to raise and lower the load under control. I really like it.

Here’s the post describing it in a little more detail:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...rado-gtfo-build.427567/page-123#post-23134290

That said, there are some fairly inexpensive 120VAC electric hoists out there if you wanted to go that route.

 

I ended up building an overland trailer to solve this issue...

 

Just lag bolts into the garage ceiling joists?

 

Per the instructions, I used lags to bolt 2x6s to the trusses (I think I was able to catch at least three of them), and then the pigtail lags screwed into the 2x6. I also ran the eye bolts for the ratchet straps into the 2x6 as well. It’s stupid solid.

 

Nice. There's a very good chance I'm building a new garage and was wondering if I could do something while it's still just framing and not drywalled.

 

Nice! That’s totally doable then. Let me know if you need a hand with anything.

 

do you just tie off the rope to hold it in place?

 

Will do. Thanks.

 

It has a cleat (?) that’s part of the block and tackle assembly that acts kind of like a climbing ascender. I don’t tie it off only because the ratchet straps get cinched down as soon as the RTT is up against the ceiling. If I weren’t using the ratchet straps to ultimately hold the tent rather than the hoist, I’d definitely tie the hoist rope off instead of relying on the cleat (if that’s what it’s called).

 

Gotcha im picturing the clear as a device similar to those auto belay things in climbing gyms lol. Regardless it looks legit. Im gonna give it a go

Edit climbing ascender lol

 

My dad just built one with a cheap ATV winch. Works great.

 

Friday afternoon, my lady and I hit Johnny Park Road from Hwy 7 and managed to find a pretty incredible campsite with a killer view of Mt. Meeker and the summit of Long’s Peak, both of which were only a mere six or seven miles distant as the crow flies. It was really amazing that we got the site at all because there were people everywhere, despite the drizzly weather.

As soon as we got out and started unloading the truck, the rain stopped and the clouds started to break up a bit, and for the rest of the evening we were treated to one of the longest and most impressive sunsets I’ve ever experienced. It just kept getting better and better and better. The pictures don’t do it justice. I’ll just say that I’m pretty damned grateful to have been there to experience it.



















After we watched the last of the light fade from the clouds, we noticed that the mosquitoes had ratcheted up their assaults, so we decided to retreat to the tent. As we were winding down, I glanced out the window just in time to see the crescent moon rise over the ridges between us and the Twin Peaks. It ended up capping off an amazing evening.





Little did we know that the scene around us was only going to outdo itself the next morning. We both woke up slightly before sunrise since our mattress isn’t in the shape it used to be and a great nights sleep wasn’t in the cards. Since we were wide awake, we got out of the tent and got the French press going, just in time to see the first hints of pink hitting the underside of the clouds that were still hanging around. Almost as if on cue, as soon as we had our coffee in hand, we were given front row seats to a sunrise every bit as stellar as the sunset the night before. To cap off the ‘show’, and to make it completely clear who the stars were, we were treated to a full rainbow, the terminus of which was the stunning Meeker massif and its dramatic signature ridges. It was almost as if the place was now just showing off because it could.











As quickly as it had started, the rainbow faded out, the spotlight on the Twin Peaks went out and cast them into shadow, and we decided to take our coffee back upstairs to the tent and be lazy for the rest of the morning. As we did this, the clouds began to consolidate and I decided to make breakfast before the inevitable rain hit. We had just enough time to eat our leisurely breakfast before things started getting wet. Back to the tent for more reading and coffee, we kept our ears open to watch for an opening in the rain that would let us break camp without getting soaked. Once it came, we made good use of it and were ready to move out with plenty of daylight to spare.





With the kids at their grandparents until Sunday, we were in no rush and no pressure to be anywhere or do anything, so we decided to check out the near side of Pierson Park and maybe hike up to the landslide that cut the trail in half a few years back.

It’s not a technical trail by any means, and the truck was doing great, but the rain was steadily getting worse to the point that the road was now a set of twin gutters moving a good amount of water. We got to within about a mile of the end of the trail where it takes a relatively steep drop down into a valley and I decided I didn’t want to find out just how good my tires really were when we were trying to climb back out of it. So we turned around, met back up with Johnny Park Road and ran it out the rest of the way to Hwy 36 and back home.





The truck did great, and it was absolutely fucking fantastic to be able to just pull the truck into the shop directly, grab our clothes bag, plug in the fridge, and leave the truck loaded up rather than be forced to unload everything immediately because I didn’t want to leave it outside. Now today I can unload at my leisure and then wash all the road funk off of her.

 

TW calendar worthy for sure

 

Thanks, Josh! It’s definitely one of my favorites!

 

Even with the clapped out flares, she’s still purty.

 

Haha my flares are mega clapped out too...

 

Yep. It’s inevitable!

I'm going to try bedliner on mine at some point. Seems like guys have had pretty good results with it.

 

Yeah I've been torn about what to do with them. I was planning on hitting them with SEM trim paint but I'm too lazy to properly prep and paint stuff...