The Getaway...Crom's build and adventures

This makes me wish I could like a post more than once. Haha! Actually the little lady isn't opposed to me wandering off alone. Kinda funny actually because just the other day we just talked about me getting away for a solo trip. But in all honesty, and not to sound cheesy: I know that the minute I got back, aside from missing her, I'd tell her all about my trip and tell her that I wish she would've come with me. We have a really solid relationship and she's helped me through some of the hardest times of my life. Gives me a super long leash to do whatever I want, but also keeps me grounded if I get too rowdy and I do the same. It's what keep us going. While we don't have kids, we have a house full of little furry creatures that might as well be kids. All of our pets are on a raw food diet which is awesome for their health and not too much more expensive than store bought kibble, but it's a chore to keep up with. Prep, freeze, thaw feed, repeat... It's a time suck but since she's got so much on her plate, I try to do as much as I can so that she has time to study and work. I tell her I do what I can around the house so she can study so that when she's done, she can be my sugar momma and buy me truck parts. Haha!

 

Good stuff guys! I'm getting married at the end of May, and we'll have very similar scheduling issues to work through. I'll obviously be very new at this, so it's very helpful to see what has worked for others.

 

Congratulations Jesse! That's great to hear!

 

Thanks Nick! We are really stoked.

 

Congrats man! Best advice I can give is trust eachother. You picked eachother and you have to know that you can trust your teammate and vise versa.

 

Good advice. Just stumbled on this though in the funny pics thread.

 

Yes, trust! Complete honesty, unless if she is asking if the dress makes her look fat. Then lie like a salesman selling used cars.

Honesty, integrity, loyalty are highly valued in my relations.

 

Another big project off my list. Auxiliary door seals, stop dust and reduce wind noise. Wind noise is reduced, dust sealing to be evaluated soon...

Link to original thread idea.

It takes a lot of trial and error to get this right. Too much new insulation makes the OEM seals no good, so a careful balance must be found.

Also, there are irregular surfaces and tolerances that are different between the doors so what works on one door may be off for another.

But in a nutshell, what I did can be used as a guide, just like the OP in the original thread.

Also, there are two kinds of adhesives sold with seals. The 3M stuff which is great, and acrylic which is not so great for automotive use. The seals with 3M are much more expensive. I have about $70 into my seal project.

EDIT: DO NOT USE SEALS WITH ACRYLIC ADHESIVE, USE THE 3M STUFF. ACRYLIC ADHESIVE, CAN'T TAKE THE HEAT IN HOT WEATHER. 3/15/2016

Heat gun was helpful, and sound deadner roller.




I used the 1/2" Trim-lok seals on the bottom of all the doors. AND the 1/4" EPDM on the front door edges.

1/4" EPDM seal on front door edge.


The pear shaped stuff was used on the door edges for the REAR doors.


I also used the 1/4" stuff on the B pillar, and I had to reinforce the OEM seal as it was deforming. The piece is horizontal in the photo.


There is a noticeable reduction in wind noise.

Lots of trial and error to get this right. One really helpful tip is to cut 1" test pieces and apply them on the front door, then open the rear door to observe the collapsed profile to make sure the seal is doing its job.

 

Next on my list is the Total Chaos cam tab gussets, then sound deaden the truck. After that I'm taking the entire month of December off from working on the truck. Sound deadening is a TON of work I've got all the supplies, mat, foam and mass loaded vinyl, etc.

 

I look forward to learning from your struggle. I dibble dabbled into the sound deadening threads and posts in the past, but never in earnest. Now with the 2nd gen tin can DC, I am for more interested and motivated.

On first gens, apparently the rear cab wall has the greatest effect.

On this second gen, I can't wait to do the doors and get some better speakers, possibly Marv adapters/baffles too.

Are you going after the roof? Is it necessary/possible without headliner mayhem?

 

Looking forward to a Crom type review on sound deadening. I did the back wall of my old access cab, and it made a very big difference. The double cab is much better in stock form, so I haven't bothered with it yet...

 

My behind-seat bins will come out too...eventually, and I am still trying to envision something that is like that custom aluminum Molle panel but not a molle panel, perhaps with quick fist style attachments point and the like.. But need to account for sound deadening back there and how that may affect attachment etc.

 

Love this thread Nick! I'm also in La Mesa....Rolando area off Rolando Blvd and University.

I'm going to be making my first trip up to Joshua Tree in 2 weekends with friends. They have Westfalia's so they won't being doing anything crazy. Any recommendations on what to make sure we go see on a first trip there? I will be pulling my trailer up so I can get away from base camp an explore.

 

That's a good cost-effective, practical, and almost immediately attainable plan. LOL. I like it.

The horizontal rib that provides mounting and latch hard points for the seatback messes with the space efficiency, and I want to take advantage of the "recessed" areas above and below it. Do you already have a design in mind that works around that?

 

I don't believe you.

 

i hear you, i'm tired of doing shit alone. these are the kinds of experiences you want to share with your SO, not have to tell them about afterwards

 

I will do the roof, but it will be last. The doors and priority #1 and then the back wall. Agree that 2nd gen is a tin can.

I would have never even thought of the sound deandner project, UNTIL I pulled out the rear bin for the air compressor install. I too like yourself, and Double D, have no plans to put back the plastic bins. They do take up a lot of valuable space. The bins have some dampening material, but it's your typical recycled fiber filler stuff, aka gross.

Side note, when the wife saw insider her door ( I replaced her window lift motor a while back ) she was like, WTF?!? There isn't anything inside the door and the door panel had Styrofoam in it which only made her ever more disappointed.

The second Gen isn't that different.

Thanks. I've data mined the sound deadner installs here on TW going back to 2009, and elsewhere. My approach will be very practical, but adding my own twist here and there. The best resource on the net for learning about it is the Sound Deadner Showdown website, by Don Sambrook.

All of Don's work is based on scientific research which I can appreciate it. He also fire tests all the materials he recommends to make sure that the hazard for vehicle fire isn't catastrophically worse! Good stuff!

According to his site there are Four Lines of Attack for reducing noise

1. Control vehicle component - mostly panel - vibration and resonance.
2. Block air borne sound.
3. Decouple objects that would otherwise transmit vibration or make noise themselves by making intermittent contact (rattles).
4. Absorb.

In short, I'll be doing 1,2,3 and skipping 4 for the most part.

One of the most helpful and knowledgeable TW members in this area is Steven, @ItalynStylion. He wrote up a great tutorial (6) years ago, now locked, located here.

I'll be following his guide. Thank you Steven!

Thanks the for adhesive product tip. I'm not looking forward to the headliner.

This project will be one of those "How do you eat an elephant?" conundrums. Answer: "One bite at a time" i.e. one door, one panel at a time. Too daunting to do it all at once.

Precisely the same thinking here. The space is there, but how best to utilize it and make it count. I have no plan yet what I'm going to do, except for deaden first, then compressor goes in on drivers side, then see how the rest of the space can be utilized.

Right on Matt! Great to hear. Yay SD

Must see attractions? Keys View Overlook is pretty cool. You're standing on the North American Plate, looking at the Pacific Plate and the San Andres fault in between, and good view of the Salton Sea.

In the heat of the park, I like the Barker Dam. And hall of horrors rock climbing wall is neat. If you like hiking, Ryan Mountain is neat, but probably be busy on weekend.

Barker Dam (stock image from google search) When I was there it was dry as a bone, many years ago.


Google search image of Keys View Overlook


So J-Tree, if your camping in the campgrounds in the fall on the weekend you can expect them to be at 100% capacity. So get there as early as possible. In 2013 we camped with (3) other families in Jumbo Rocks (a neat campground, big, good boulders, etc). From experience we knew what we were up agaisnt so we executed our plan with military precision. Two of the Dad's in our group departed San Diego Thursday night and reserved (4) adjacent sites in one of the loops. The rest of the caravan arrived on Friday and all was well. We had a large space for our group and it was excellent.

If I could sum up Jumbo Rocks, it's fast approaching the likes of Mission Beach on the fourth of July! Not bad on the weekdays, but weekends, it's a zoo.

We have also stayed at Belle which is a nice campground in two loops with only a few sites. We liked that best because it was quieter and for whatever reason when we were there, there lots of families with small kids, yet still I got the late night party folks right next to our site.

Cottonwood is a nice campground, but haven't been there in (9) years, and just read a report here on TW, that it was rowdy with no noise enforcement.

If you wheel, lots of the soil is rocky in the park, so the pace of trails can be slower. The Old Dale mining district is great for exploring from all the reports I've read, and it has access to BLM land for free back country camping. I have explored in an adjacent area near the Eagle mine which was fun.

Hopefully that helps you!

And you have good cause not to! I got some carrier bearing questions for you, i'll post in yer build thread soon. Thanks for making one.

Agree 1000% percent. I backpacked the Grand Canyon in Feb 2009 over a four day weekend. I did it with a hiking partner and it was a fun memorable experience, but I wished it had been with the wife, she just could not get the time off. To this day, she has yet to see the grand canyon.

My backpacking buddy from '09

 

I agree. This is really the only way to tackle this. I've seen people go all in and do it at once. But I don't have the luxury of space to leave my truck parked for that long. As it stands, I'm still waiting to do the front doors and roof. It's just not that high on the priority list before I leave on my trip. But you never know...

 

Ahhhh...Barker Dam. You gotta love it when there's water. The only problem is that it gets crazy crowded due to it's easy access.