Z's Approach/Utility Build

No sooner it’s alll cherry and this happened... never loan out your truck! (Happened last month-its already back in the shop getting a new rear quarter) Aaargh!

Got quite a bit I want to do before heading out to DV after Xmas. Slee/ARB compressor setup, new rubber. (Landed on toyos since bfgoodrich m/t’s in 255/85-16’s are on national backorder)

 

What happened?

 

It’s not as bad as it looks. Driver lost control despite coaching, “now remember, this is a tall truck on tall tires, it doesn’t handle like your compact hatchback...” swerved off the road into ditch where tire burped off bead, rolling truck on to side. Minor damage to front 3/4 of driver side but pretty munched rear quarter. No damage to anything else. Thankfully no other vehicles were near and driver was uninjured. Nearby farmer was super kind and righted vehicle. Sadly, it got towed to scrap yard (I was told it was being towed to an “appraiser”) awaiting death before USAA adjuster and I connected and got it back to me. All it needed was to have the spare put on to be totally driveable. Anyway, all good now, getting repaired.

 

All back together....


I'm just hoping I don't have to talk to the insurance folks again for a long time! That said, they've been great. Go USAA.

 

Glad it's back! Love your truck and jealous of your garage!

 

Thx Smelly! The garage... just wait. It's about to go insane.

 

Here's a quick write up and some photos of our recent trip to Death Valley...

So first off... If you have never been and are open to some light wheeling (well, check conditions, they can change dramatically, i hear) I'd strongly recommend entering via Goler Wash/Mengel Pass. The wash is incredibly cool, and the view to the Striped Butte is stunning. It reminded me of going to Yosemite for the first time. Simply breathtaking.

We fueled up in Trona, aired down, and blasted past Ballarat to enter the wash. Saw a a couple very 'street-only' seeming vehicles coming down so that meant either they'd turned around, or the road was not in bad shape. The canyon is so narrow and beautiful (saw chuckar, sheep) it was really exciting to drive up. Didn't notice any obstacles worth mentioning till near the end of the climb where some steep/off-camber stuff presented itself. There was even a go-around. We powered up. Passed the ranches (for next time) and got to the pass at dusk. Decided to just camp right there.

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Loved it so much we just stayed, watched folks get up and over a little flex-y/rockey bit (one guy in a stock suburban!) ate, took photos, went for a walk... Watched people come and go from the valley, the cabins.... Great way to decompress after a busy holiday.

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I want to come back and do the out and back north of the butte (Pleasant Valley?)

We motored out Warm Springs Road and once in the valley proper were stunned by the hordes of people. Decided right there to just power through to Panamint Springs, gas up, and head over Hunter Mountain and escape the crowds. Hunter Mountain had some snow, but we heard that there wasn't any mud. So we went for it.

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Made a dubious camp right in the Ulida Flats... We were just too tired to keep going and all the side roads we'd planned on exploring up on Hunter Mountain were snowed in. Didn't feel like camping that high, either. It was cold enough down lower!

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Through to Teakettle Junction, then south to the Racetrack. Glad we got there early before dozens of folks showed up. We hiked Ubehebe Peak (totally worth it!) and were blown away.

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Now, I was a little nervous about Lippencott. (With a nervous passenger) but it was also really chill. Some bumps midway down, but didn't even need to get out to scout. A stock Land Rover was following us.

Saline Valley... wow, we'll be back to explore. We stopped at the springs (lots of folks, surprisingly, given there was no soaking) washed our faces and then started looking for some quiet place to camp. SO many folks in the valley though, so we kept pressing up as it got colder and colder. We were aiming for a little side road on the map. The road got narrower and twistier - really fun - and I began to wonder if we were going to end up at Steel Pass. The side road is closed, and again, we were done driving, so we camped in the huge gravel parking-lot space just above the pass. Didn't think we'd see folks but two HUGE groups motored through, both looking like they had expected to find the spot empty so they could camp. Thankfully they kept going and left us in solitude (thanks if you're out there!) We decided to just chill here and enjoy the mountains and j-trees. Went for a couple walks... enjoyed the bathtub. And then got set on our last night for an early departure to get through Dedeckera Canyon and to the Dunes before having to speed home.

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I was eager for the ledges in the canyon... Turned out they were also no big deal! I think the fall season of traffic meant that tons off folks have been 'improving' the obstacles. I will be curious to see how hard they are going in the opposite directions, and after the winter has it's way with the improvements... Anyway, also a very cool, narrow canyon to drive through. My passenger got a little nervous with the narrowness at the obstacles, but all good. We popped out to enjoy sun just starting to hit the dunes. They are also amazing. I could come back here again.... when there are fewer folks (lots and lots of folks camped out here)

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The drive out towards Big Pine/Bishop was also stunning - a bit of snow but the road was clear. The road to N. Pass looked pretty snowy, but there were lots of tracks going that way. Another time, we'll check that out too. Can't wait to get back.

Thanks again to all the folks in this thread for all the great info. I got big kudos from the missus for having our route so dialed.

 

Nice trip! Was just there before new years following a similar route. Leaving via the snowy north pass was very cool.

You didn't happen to see a guy in a maroon e150 with Florida plates did you? I came across him near hunter mtn pulled over with his hood up. He explained he was trying to rig up a hose from his windshield washer fluid to his air intake as a means of water/meth injection.... I advised against it and then got away as fast as possible.

 

Thankfully missed that guy! Holy crap! Did see a dark blue new Ford pickup just below mengel with a bit saying “11/7 everything ok will be back” that thing had been there almost two months!!!

 

That's a long time for the truck to be sitting there!

 

So... this happened:
I just gave up on the home-built shell project and pulled the trigger on a GFC v2 Camper. Ordered in Dec 2020, picked it up in August. The more I thought about what I wanted, the more i realized it was pretty much that camper. Big plusses being a very 'open-able' shell that is secure(ish) for my gear, and a tent that sets up and breaks down in seconds. Yes - it really is that fast.

I also managed to put that big dent in the passenger side rear panel. Must have been in Death Valley! LOL!

Now I might need new springs in back - had 4 sports of crap in the back.... hunting, fishing, kayaking, and backpacking!

I for sure have some wiring to do! (some plug in power and lighting for in the tent and in the shell) Also on the list:

• dust-mitigation? (man, it is a dust collector back there)
• possibly some rust prevention. She has cancer, but not too bad, so wondering how far to take that. We want another 50k for sure.
• re-route ham radio antenna (camper covers it)
• and maybe more lights. I mean... you can never have enough lights.

Driving home last week from Eastern Oregon - stopped at some hot springs.

(cross posted here)

 

Nice Taco!

 

After 7? 8? years we finally decided to make the truck's name official and I made a little badge for "Trucky" that also commemorates the wife's and my 10th anniversary! (The aluminum anniversary! LOL)
I have a second badge ready to send to the anodizer and then engrave so it shows up better... Or might try filling in the letters with black enamel. We'll see...

 

Subbed to see what you do with your gfc. Im slowly working on projects on mine!

 

Just getting word out i am giving away my prototype RTT rack: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...ent-frame-bed-rack-free.738948/#post-26304438

 

Been working on a little gizmo to make leveling my truck easier. I'm not a fan of the inclinometers that mount on the outside of the truck because they are... well... outside of the truck! And, the inside inclinometers are all more aimed at not rolling your vehicle (it seems) and are big and clunky. I noticed my iphone's level is pretty sweet so I'm cooking up a design for a leveler that uses the iphone level so you can level while ooching around a camp spot:

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V1 works pretty well! you stick it on your center console, then get the camper dead level (I used a carpenter's level) and then you dial the screws around till your phone is also reading dead level. One thing i learned is your body is really sensitive to level-ness. Turns out there is a little hysteresis in the phone's level so we were sleeping ever so slightly with our feet higher than our heads. (<1°!?!) So, I need to bias the calibration so the phone is somewhere between dead level or with the foot of the bed up to 1° pointing down hill. Other things I will improve - the PLA is not hot-car compatible, and my 3d printed bumpers are not soft enough... so, on to V2.

If anyone is interested i might make a couple and ask for your feedback!

 

In! Where do I sign up?

 

Yer in! lol. dm me an address and I'll send you a V2 when i get it done. Currently waiting on some material. the PLA i used turned in to a taco when the car got real hot in the sun! LOL.

 

How do you access the iPhone leveler? Settings or an app? Thanks.

 

search for the 'measure' app. it's standard on ios... there's a button in the app to switch to level. it's pretty good! I used it to align my front end! (better than the $50 digital level from home depot!)