Tundy, house and beetle build thread...and exploring.

YESSIR!

I wanted to do it this year anyways. And since I'll be in Canada already....

The only thing I have planned so far is the beg of August I need to figure out where to fly to LA from for a few days. Other than that... schedule is open.

 

Picked up some spare fuses, u joint, wheel studs.

Looks like I'll need to swing by Toyota to grab other stuff.

 

How long do you plan on spending there? Do you have any ideas on which season you wanna be there?

 

Good question.

Season.. it'll likely be August. And I'm not going to rush it. So it depends on route and what there is to see along the way. I'd be fine with that part of the trip taking a month. Unless someone is tagging along, then that may not work.

I need to see about a flight to la.. that'll tell me where i need to be. Hopefully there's a cheap flight from an airport up there.

If not I'll roll towards the west to find something. Started to look last night and got sidetracked.

 

Alaska Hwy info, by the way you need a better map if you think the Hwy goes along the Pacific. Stays east of Mountains, basically NW from Edmonton, ALB.

https://www.themilepost.com/features/faq-driving-the-alaska-highway

 

Bow chica wow wow

 

Shovel/ax combo mount. Easily accessible, lockable. Just need an ax. Or a better one than what i have.

 

And a comfy custom sized memory foam mattress.

 

Got a shakedown trip starting early tomorrow.

Ordered the rest of the spare parts.

When i get back I'll be putting out the tools and getting them organized as well as all the spare stuff i want to bring (zip ties, nuts/bolts, adhesives, fuses, etc) and organizing that as well.

The real countdown begins.

 

The shower looks more enjoyable than the bed

The RV is coming along nicely!

 

And it'll get tested in 24 hours!

 

That is one porn I never want to see.

 

Teaser pics from a good shakedown run.

Just left Colorado, into Wyoming for a minute and back into Utah. Gassing up then hitting 3 corners.

 

Crossed borders 10 times today... CO/UT/WY, currently in CO. Saw some strange lights, not sure if they were northern lights or aliens.

Got a picture i really liked... Among many.



My new wide angle lens for my big boy camera might be going back... It doesn't seem to focus well and all pictures posted so far are straight from my lg g5.

 

Finally remembered who it was that did an CO-Alaska trip with great pics.

http://www.mountainphotography.com/gallery/road-trip-2016/

 

I want to go NOW!

Those pictures are amazing.

 

Purchased a few cargo nets for some storage of light items on the roof over where the rear seats used to be as well as inside the topper. Will build a Maxtrax mount at some point for the roof rack.

The swingarm for the stove works, but not as well as I want, so I'll be building a slide out at some point.

Have some bug netting on the way to make covers for the windows so I can leave them cracked or open without bugs.

Exhaust relocation is scheduled for Thursday.

After seeing the cool videos and capabilities of a drone... eh, bought one of those stupid things as well.

New air filter on the way, need to change the oil before the trip. All my other spare parts are already loaded up (CV assembly, tie rod end, a few lugs and wheel studs, u joint). My tools are also all loaded up and ready to roll. I've started to pack my stuff into the bins they'll be in on the trip so I can try to organize them better before I hit the road.

 

Impressive creature comforts onboard.

 

2nd Annual Memorial Day weekend trip dubbed the Dino Run. Doubled as a great shake down run for the truck. I forgot the water intake hose, so I didnt get to try out the shower in real life, but I know it works. Figured out I want to move the stove a little, but it does work very well.

It was awesome pulling up to camp and being ready. There was a little rain the first two nights, and I just ended up sleeping in the truck every night since it was so convenient.

4 days, over 1,000 miles driven, as much gravel/dirt as possible. 10 border crossings between CO/UT/WY.

Yampa Bench


Echo Park Campground


Echo Park Campground Sunset


Whispering Cave just outside Echo Park

The climb out of Dinosaur National Monument

Heading towards 3 corners

Ditto

3 corners, parked in WY, looking into WY.

Little slippery in areas since we were chasing/dodging rain the whole trip.

Finding a way through the wash


All of the pictures were taken with my phone...Had a new wide angle lens for my camera that was a big disappointment and I barely used it.

A winch was used two times, had one tire tear a sidewall on a rock that was hanging out in a high speed area (I think a BFG, whatever comes stock on rubicons). And then rubi front locker got stuck locked. Thankfully we were able to open the fill plug and push the locker (basically a huge washer) and it unlocked.

 

Bug Netting Mod

While on the trip last weekend, I was reminded that it would be a GREAT idea to add some bug netting so I can leave the windows cracked and not get eaten alive if I'm in the truck. At Echo Park, there were a good amount of mosquitoes, thankfully the breeze picked up as it got closer to bed time and they went away. But if not, sleeping in the truck with all the windows closed would mean waking up to fogged up windows. The netting I used is rated for no see ums, since mosquito netting lets them through, and they are just as annoying as mosquitoes.

I used:
Fine Bug Netting
Gorilla Tape

The first door I tried to make it contour to the door more, the second one I just made it mostly squared off, the squared off one seems to work better when closing the door. I draped it over the open door cut the sides a few inches past the door, then taped the edges with gorilla tape. I was going to secure a magnet to the netting, but I'll just get a strip of magnet and keep it in the truck. When I want the screens on I can just put the magnet along the bottom and it'll keep it tight and bug proof. They fold up easily, and store in the next project I accomplished tonight.