The Some Day Build... And Trip Log

Nice. Did you solder those or crimp? For light duty use I was looking at the el-cheapo chinesium ones on aliexpress. For the number of times I need to crimp something that large it would do just fine and make life much easier.

 

crimped..

I have a big 6 ton hand crimper, Burndy MD6-8 and used a w-162 die for the #4 terminals



same style we use to make our crimps on our jumpers at work

 

Well that's certainly the right tool for the job!

 

and because The pictures of the PDC being built never made it here...

Getting my crimp on....

 

A quick little upgrade, the DDI Front Seat Multi-Mount Panels from @EasyDoesIt


Attach the brackets to the panel loosely with the provide allen screw (15/64)


The new bracket for the multi panel will fit here using the new provided bolt (16mm), remove the front factory bolts (13mm)





View from the front


Once everything is in place go ahead and tighten everything back up
looking down from the top


Still have room to reach the bar to slide the seat back and forth.



it took longer to write this up then it did to install it...

 

Those are nice, but I have no idea what I would mount there. I still want them.

 

Looking good! Standing by to see what you mount on it.

 

bringing this over here just to keep things complete..


This is one of the little items that forked off from the Bed Rack design I was working.

I wanted to make use of the extra space and with the bed cover, it should help with security and weather

It is a ONE piece Molle and Shock cord grid system for the front of the bed on a 3rd gen with the header rail. using a standard Molle spacing grid on the rows







Couple minor tweaks are needed. I am going to change the mounting holes at top to slots. And the bottom corners need to get a radius. This will help the panel fit a little better.

 

printed this up a few months back, but never had a chance to try it out until today. THIS is the reason I started playing around with 3d printed tooling. I always wanted a set of dimple dies, but for the very few times I have needed to use them, I could never justify the expense.

So I once I got my 3d printer, I picked up a spool of Carbon Fiber Nylon, just for this project.




I am pretty pleased overall with the results and how well the printed die held up. and with the way it was designed I can get two different profiles out of it by changing the hole size.

These two test holes where done in 16g Mild steel. first hole was created with a 2" greenlee slug buster



this second one, the initial hole was created with an 1 1/4" greenlee slugbuster. which left the hole just slightly undersized for the pilot on the die. and because of the die profile, creates a different shape.



because the pilot on the printed male die was a slightly undersized, it took some minor damage on the second hole as it was forced through.

 

Made the brackets for the Maxtrax's that I recently picked up as part of the group buy.





Not 100% satisfied, but it will work. I am planning on powder coating the brackets later. and I may end up remaking them, with some fine tuning to the design.

 

Finally got around to installing the hidden light bar bracket and one of the light bars I got from @KENNY earlier in the year.

 

Davy... Davy Crockett, king of the wild...
Covid19 roadtrip
​

Boredom has gotten the best of us an it was decided that a day trip out to the Davy Crockett National Forest was needed. The idea was mainly to get out of the house while maintaining the newest trend of 2020 social distancing. Second goal was to scout out some forest service roads and see if we could find some nice dispersed camping spots for the future.

As we drove through Rockdale, A little park with a couple of old bridges, and stange looking building caught my eye. So we made a quick stop and took a look. and this is what we found.









An interesting bit of history, of the old Jail.

There is something about old metal work, and equipment I find fascinating. and the bridges here where no exception.




After spending a bit of time wandering around, admiring the ingenuity an engineering that went into the bridges. we again hit the road.

It was not long before, Something else caught my eye.. the old Union Pacific rail depot in Hearne, the museum was closed, but that did not stop me from taking some pictures.



Onward..



but next up was a quick stop



Being A Sunday, I knew the office would be closed for sure, but I figured they might have some maps available of the service roads. so we stop by and found they did have the MVUM available in a box outside of there office. So grab a copy and headed out.

We ended up down one, road at the edge of the forest that looked promising. While stopped and checking the map, I noticed this sign in the tree line.



after spending some time looking around that area, we headed across the forest to an area that looked like it would be a good spot to check out for dispersed camping.


Not finding what we was looking for, and it was getting about time to eat, so we pulled over on a pull off that led to a closed area and had a quick bite to eat.



trail gating in the national forest.



Grilled up some cheese burgers.


By this time it was getting close to time that I needed to find fuel. and reinforced the little voice that told me to "do not forget to fill a gas can and bring with you"

even though it was a day trip, it turned out to be a lot of fun, and gave the new puppy a chance to go on a long trip.

wait. where are the puppy pictures you ask?


Freya Dog Trip Report...


Human said Ride, not sure where we go. but ride is good.


Checking out the bridge in Rockdale..


Let's go Shopping


What is this magical thing? and NO I will not share, go away.. mine all Mine..



AC good.... Freya Hot.. Feels Good

 

Found an interesting video...



So Now I am working on a building one for the truck...

Stay tuned...

 

Picked up an outerlimits supply quick release bracket awhile back.


I used an Apache 3800 case from harbor freight. And it took a minor modification in order to work.




As you can see, I had to remove two of the little ribs on the bottom. I used a small pair of flush cut sidecutters and just nibbled the ridges off, then hit it some sandpaper to smooth it out.


Pull red handle to release .

Now to find a spot to mount it, not sure if it will go on the roof rack (least not full time) or in the bed on the front mollie gear panel I did last year.

Have not seen much posted about the bracket or using it on other case than what outerlimits sell.

 

Finished up the diy awning and the cover...






The mule tape was a temporary way to hold everything while test fitting.. it has since been replaced with 1"webbing and quick release buckles



Now to test it out for durability and longevity.

 

With the long weekend it was decided that we would once again head to the Ouachita National Forest for a weekend camping trip.

Starting our trip in the early afternoon, plus traveling with Freya, caused us to arrive at camp a bit later than originally planned for. However it was a great time to really put the the lights to use, the Ditch lights and the Hidden light bar, proved there value on the short drive to camp



woke up to the sun beaming through the tree cover.





The recent rain has the little stream near our campsite flowing...





We did a repeat run of LF6023, the last water crossing in our direction of travel was a bit higher as expected.

last year was much lower...









The Homemade awning proved itself during a a little early evening rain.






A little campfire therapy to wind the evening down.






Over on the Arkansas side of the Talimena drive, we came across this restored Steam Engine,





Freya's trip report:

Human Said we go camping. Not sure what that is yet, but they seem excited so Freya excited too.



Long drive, never been out of state before.. was good to get out and stretch..



who knew camping was full of toys. so many sticks...



Even found some that was cooked.. yummy...



why are the humans laughing at me, the bed is perfect...



Freya needs some cool air, please start the truck...



Waterpark! fun to drink and to play in.

 

Look what arrived, another @MESO mod... The Drop in Hitch Reverse Light in collaboration with @memario1214




Simple and quick to put together. but as you can See not real good at following directions.. I left the sticker on, to use as a marking surface for
the Black marker, since I was able to find a Silver Sharpie



Drill slow... The drill press was a bit fast, and it created a bit more of a burr on the inside than I would have liked to see. however, it only took a short time to clean up the and deburr the inside of the hole






Now to build the Delete in Reverse Harness with the Tap for this so it all remains pLug'n play

 

North Padre Island National Sea Shore
​

2021 is here, and it is time for the first trip of the new year. I have been missing the beach and the sound of crashing waves, and I wanted to see how Freya would like the sand. So we set off to the North Padre Island National Seashore for a quick last minute trip.



Pulled off at the visitor center to grab a few souvenirs, since they would be closed when leaving out Sunday, It also made the prefect time to Air down before hitting the Beach.



Freya, decided to come help with the process.. Little Homebrew Deflator/Inflator worked out well even it was a bit slow. But hey we are that the beach and time is relative at this point.



End of the paved road, time to turn right and head south.



Hmm.... Not even close to far enough... Lets Keep going



Park ranger advised that past mile 10, the sand gets soft and getting a tow is expensive. So... lets KEEP going




Wait a minute... that's not a high clearance 4x4. Someone not get the memo? Got be careful if you come in at low tide if you can not get into the softer sand once high tide comes in.

Somewhere around 18 to 19 miles down the beach, I found a spot where no one was in sight, and found a nice spot to setup camp.



Since it was now lunch time, the camp kitchen was set up under the Awning, and lunch was cooked.



Grilled Black forest ham and swiss, with some spicy beer mustard.



Freya, having fun in the sand. we tried telling her it was not tasty, but she ate it anyway.







After Lunch, the rest of camp was set up, and a fire started. and it was time to relax and enjoy the view.











Freya Also enjoyed the view and the sound of the waves.

Once the sun had set, we all where getting hungry and a nice bed of coals was in the fire pit.



Open fire, windy night, and sandy beach... Who wants sand on there burger? EVERYONE! regardless if you asked for it or wanted all got a bit of a "crunchy" burger.



Smores, and hot cocoa to wind the night down before turning in for a cold windy night.



Morning Coffee, to watch the sun rise over the Gulf.







The day was spent watching the birds fly overhead and walking on the Beach..





There was a lot of Portuguese man o' war that washed ashore.



along with Sea whip Corral.

and we found why Freya went a bit crazy in the middle of the night barking and growling.




Sadly our time on the beach was running out, and we had to start heading back north to the main road..





Crossing the causeway back to the mainland, marked the start of the drive home and the end of the Beach trip.