Boden Build 2015 DCLB 4x4

This is one of two penny trees on the Mojave Road. I think this is the main one that has been there the longest.


While hanging out near the penny tree, a coyote casually walked up to say hello.


I've mentioned the watering hole a couple times already. This really was a great location. Early morning light.


Another shot at the watering hole.


There's one seriously technical and steep hill on the trail. I think you can bypass this if you want, but I embraced the challenge. I walked the hill first, noted my line, and very carefully navigated down the hill in 4-wheel low. This is looking back after completing.


Gov't Holes is another good destination to visit. I would have preferred being here at first light, but that'll have to be for another trip.


Later that day, I ventured up to the Cima Dome area. I spent quite a bit of time around here scouting for pics. This is taken from Cima Road while standing on top of my Flippac.


I then prowled the desert floor on foot for an hour or so.


Lots of cool viewpoints of Cima Dome.


That afternoon, I drove up some side roads to find closer views of Cima Dome.


Of course, there's more to photograph aside from Cima Dome.


Then the light started to get low in the sky.


And a little alpine glow.

 

Great photos. Do you have any interior shots of your flippac? I'm curious to what the sleeping arrangements are like in that thing.

 

Nothing yet. At this point, I haven't configured any storage or anything. Just before this trip, it was a mad dash to finalize a few things, such as connecting an interior light. But aside from that, it's just an empty bed with the shell on it. I have lots of plans for the interior. Keep checking in and I'll post pics of before and in progress shots.

 

..love the build on these units. i'm a new user and find the valves to have 'recoil' at the lowest simmer levels: turn it down, and it opens back up. hopefully the valves 'break-in', i've thought of repetitive open/close motion to advance the break-in. like the content in your build thread, cool truck.

 

I haven't spent that much time with this stove yet, so I haven't noticed any 'recoil' effect with the valves. My only observation was that you can't get a really low flame for precise cooking. But then again, we're camping. I think a good burner plate will be a great addition to the kitchen setup.

 

Near the Lava Tubes, there's great views of cinder cones.


On the fourth night, I camped near some sand dunes up against Little Cowhole Mountain. This was a rarely used campsite, so I had great seclusion. I spent the afternoon photographing around camp.


The mountain off in the distance is Cowhole Mountain.


This texture caught my eye.


Darkness took over, and I had some fun.


Then the beers kicked in.


And another...or two.

 

I awoke the following morning to a subtle, but interesting sunrise. This cloud formation caught my eye.


After breakfast, I continued around Little Cowhole mountain. Climbing up the hillside a bit offered this fantastic view.


As I neared the west end of Little Cowhole Mountain, I wormed my way up a road as far as I could go. Stunning views with the edge of Soda Lake on the right.


I passed this water tank earlier, and felt that it needed some attention.


Up close and personal.


I took the rangers advice and bypassed Soda Lake, following the Eastern edge out to Baker.

 

Although I bypassed Soda Lake, I really wanted to get to Traveler's Monument. So I decided to test the mud. I figured that if I went slow, I'd notice if I'd be getting in trouble before it happened. I made it.


I placed a rock on the pile and soaked in the views. I contemplated going all the way back across, but chose not to. I bet I could have made it. Conditions looked pretty good.


Leaving Soda Lake and driving the last leg was stress full at times due to the thick sand. Although I had means of extricating myself, I'd rather not. Once in Afton Canyon, I was blown away with the drama of the location.


I could definitely spend more time here with great light.


More texture underfoot.


I swear I didn't add this cloud. It really was arching over the mountain.


Exiting Afton Canyon follows the railroad and then turns under this bridge.

 

This is the last high point at the end of Afton Canyon before going back down into the wash to follow the Mojave River.


I saw this hill and was mesmerized. The light was looking like it had the potential to be killer at sunset. But after an hour of waiting, I could see that it wasn't going to hold. Meanwhile, I took this photo.


Reaching the end of the Mojave Road, I was greeted with this plaque.


This is the last section of road that leads down to Camp Cady.


Before hitting the pavement to return home, I stuck around until dark.


Not the best sunset I've seen or photographed, but certainly a fitting end to a great trip!

 

I think it's time to get back to the truck. I've got more pics of my trip coming, but these will need some work on them first. Mostly because they're film shots and need to be scanned and processed. In due time. For now, I thought I'd list some updates to the truck.

Before the trip, it was a mad dash to get a few things done. First off was mounting my Hi-Lift jack. I contemplated where to mount it for quite some time. In the end, I chose to mount it on the ARB front bumper.


This ended up being a pretty good location. It doesn't really block my sitelines that much. It does rattle, though.


The ARB bumper had two mounting tabs with holes already in them. These can be used for antennas or lights or whatever else one chooses. I ended up using Quick Fist mounts.


Here's a closer detail.


For the most part, this holds the Hi-Lift in place. As I said earlier, it does rattle a bit. To secure the handle a little more, I used these velcro wraps that I've had for years. They're designed to secure mic cables and such.


Ultimately, I think I need to raise it up a bit or protect the end of the handle because it's rubbing on the bumper.


I purchased a neoprene boot from Amazon, which helps to protect not only the Hi-Lift, but also the bumper where the jack would be resting.

 

If you can use longer bolts and use hockey pucks as isolaters, it helps a bunch. Cut down a lot on the rattle from my truck in the bed. I didn't have a long enough bolt, so I cut the puck in half. May be an idea for you. Solves the rattling and gets the jack a bit higher. I also just used wing nuts and washers to keep it in place.

 

Another quick mod before the trip was to mount my gas can. Again, I hemmed and hawed over where to mount it. In the end, I chose inside the shell at the rear of the bed on the driver side. Not sure it this will be permanent, but it worked for now.

When at camp, I'd quickly remove the can and set outside. No problems with this and not really too much of an inconvenience.


I used T-nuts in the bed's accessory rail and fabricated a metal z-shaped bracket. It's really crude, because I don't have the tools or knowledge to work with metal. Anyway, the metal bracket mounts to the accessory rail and a piece of plywood mounts to the bracket. The gas can cage then mounts to the plywood.

 

That's a great idea!!! I think I'll use it. For this setup, I really just needed to mount it somewhere for the trip. Now I can take my time to do it right.

 

The Flippac I purchased came with an interior dome light. I ultimately plan on a dual battery setup, which will be in the bed, but there was no time to do it for this trip.

So a quick mod to connect the light was to run wiring from the Bussmann RTMR, which is already installed. I used a spare fuse position that's not relayed.

To get the wiring into the bed, I used a

$15 Daystar, Universal Firewall Boot, Single, Accommodates 3/8" to 1" Diameter Wire Bundles, fits any vehicle that needs a wire loom, KU20040BK, Made in America , Black

Daystar firewall boot that I purchased from Amazon. This required drilling a 1-1/4" hole in the bed, which appears to be fiberglass and not plastic. At least the smell indicated that.

The hole was placed at the front passenger side. This is where I ultimately plan on putting the second battery and where I've always wanted the entry point for the wiring to be.


It seems like a big opening, but it's sealed underneath with zip ties. When the larger gauge wiring is installed, this will fill up quick.


The dome light had existing wiring, so I simply tied in using quick disconnects.


The wiring travels across the front of the shell and then continues underneath the fabric, which covers the shell interior.


OMG! I'm so glad I did this mod the day before I left. The light was very beneficial when waking up in the morning before sunrise.

 

Just an observation...my sliders got seriously pitted from all the sand and gravel getting kicked back up. What's weird is the location. That are at every cross-member on the forward facing side. Yet the underside is not pitted. There's scrapes on the underside, but not pits like this picture shows.


So...I think I'll be painting the sliders soon. I'm already seeing slight signs of rust.

 

And one last observation and question for now that hopefully someone can help me with. While camping one night, I was sitting around the fire and all of a sudden, I heard this weird whining/buzzing noise coming from the truck. I had no idea what this was and why. Hell! The truck had been sitting there for hours without moving or running.

Anyway, I crawled under the truck and determined that the noise was coming from this device.


Does anyone have any idea what it is and why it suddenly made noise in the middle of the night? To get it to stop, I simply turned the key to the on position and then back off without starting the vehicle. Weird.

 

Mike the sound you heard is a self leak test of the fuel storage and EVAP system. It has woke me up on occasion when I sleep in the truck. lol

Great updates by the way, looking good!

 

Dude! Awesome pics of the Mojave Trail!!! I absolutely loved this trail! It was so fun!

 

Love the pictures and the flippac, def on my wish list

 

Thanks for the info. I'm glad it's intentional. Very weird to have the vehicle do something on it's own.

Thanks! It's definitely a fun trail. I'll probably do it again someday, because a buddy of mine wants to do it. If anything, I'll be going back to the Mojave Preserve for sure!!!

Thanks you! The Flippac rocks! It's pretty much the catalyst for the truck build. As soon as I saw one I had to have it!!!!!