ECGreen's Trappin'-Huntin'-Fishin'-Class VI Road Wheelin'-Live Free or Die Tryin Build

I live a bit west of concord. Love it here! Would take a lot to get me to leave. Lots of hunting, fishing, trapping, 4-wheeling and guns. Whats not to love!?

 

Those STT Pro's look so brutal. How are they treating you so far?

 

I love em so far! They are pricey, but the 235 option makes it more affordable. They are very stiff, but that is fine with me. The most surprising thing is the low road noise - almost non-existent except for slow speeds. As far as off-road I have zero complaints. I am curious to see how they perform when the snow starts.

 

This last Saturday I went on my first “real” trail ride with a large group of folks. I say my first “real” trail ride, because this was the first time I never turned around on a trail. There are tons of trails where I live, and being an avid outdoorsman, hunter and trapper, I have been on many of them. Usually I am alone, so at some point I usually turn around if the trails get too crazy. This time, however, I was with a group of well-versed off roaders. I really liked the comradery and the safety net of having so many experienced drivers there. It gave me the desire to keep going and attempt obstacles I would never have dreamed of before.




One of the coolest things I learned about on this trip was the importance of a spotter! I had some great spotters on this run. I quickly learned that if the spotter was really good at their job, then I could focus almost solely on them and slowly move through the obstacle. Another thing I learned was to stay humble and ask for a spotter whenever I felt I was getting in over my head. Poor Paul and nick put up with me all day asking for spotters over relatively easy obstacles…God bless ‘em.





At one point, after the sun went down, I was at a particularly hairy little boulder field (at least it seemed it to me) and Nick literally spotted me through the obstacle in the dark! I might as well of had my eyes closed. Talk about a trust exercise!

Also, driving behind various people throughout the day was very instructive. I thought I was a good driver before, but I have tons to learn! Some of my favorite parts of the run where the sections that required the most technical driving. Running behind Tundra was a pleasure, watching him ease over rocks with a detailed precision.

Here are some other things I learned:

· I live in NH – THE Granite State -> I need sliders and skids….too much stress worrying about the rockers and the undercarriage.

· Airing down is friggin’ great.

· A lift is in order.

· My 235/85 Cooper STT Pros rock!

· Back mudflaps must go.

· I love trail pinstripping!

A couple more shots:

 

How have the tires been on gas?

 

I lost around 2-4 mpg I think. Not 100% sure because the speedo is off

 

Gosh that seems like a lot

 

Yeah, I am really not sure, thats a guess. Also, the guy who put them on put 80psi on them. I am now running around 40. I'll figure it out and get back to you.

 

hey man ,nice truck! i have the same truck,blk,5spd,4x4,base. i like those wheels, any issues with rub or clearance? those wheels look like they came with the truck!

 

Thanks! No better combo out there IMHO! Gotta love the black too- shows scratches better...lol

The wheels are FJ crusier TRD wheels wrapped in 235/85 STT Pros. The wheels have a 4.75 backspacing, so no rubbing with the 235s at all. I could fit chains on and still clear the UCA. The 235/85 is basically a 32 inch tire and it fits without a lift just fine.

 

thanks man,gotta say again sweet ride, oh yea , if you wake up and your tires and wheels are gone, it was me. lol

 

Well, I finally got my CB installed properly! Here is a pic of the mount inside the cab:



Trying to get the SWR down gave me fits for a week! I thought it was the ground, but it turned out to be the mount location. I had lag screwed it on to the plastic bed liner and ran a ground from the mount to a known ground. I couldn't get the SWR below 3 on any channel. After trying all sorts of stuff (more grounds, different grounds, testing cables, buying anew antennae), I eventually started moving the antennae around and saw that it indeed was the location. I mounted it on the bed rail slidey thingy and yee haw! I was able to tune the antennae to a little over 1 on channels 1 and 40. Happiness. Now I have a Firestick II and a Wilson Flex. Have to see which one I like better. Now all I have to do is run the coax a little more discreetly. Kind of redneck to have it hanging out the back window.

Pic of the mount and the carnage from the initial mount attempt:



Yes, that is a huge bolder in front of my house !

 

I just pulled the trigger yesterday on some LT215/85-16 STT pros and I was looking for some pics, and stumbled across your build. They look awesome! I am very excited to get these tires. I totally agree with your reasons for going with the 235/85's like the overland rigs wih tall skinnies. 215's are very skinny but are tough load range E, 31" tall and were only $133 a piece on discounttiredirect.com with the current $40 off a set. Also, they will fit under the Jeep project I have with minimal lift.

 

Those will look awesome under a jeep IMHO! It will look old school military. I know a lot of guys using jeeps on 31s around here, and our trails are no joke. They can run at least 75% of the trails no problem. They use skids, sliders and skills - and take their time. Post some pics when you get them on.

BTW, I am grew up in the southern tier of NY about an hour south Orchard Park.

 

That's cool, what town? The southern tier is my go to area for exploring, like Allegheny state park and I'd like to get down into PA soon to explore further. I will try to post some pics

 

I grew up in a little town called Nunda NY, by letchworth state park. KNow it?

 

I've heard of it, and Im familiar with the park.
Anyway, nice clean looking truck you have there!

 

CBI Sliders are a comin'. Hopefully picking them up tonight! F U rocks!

 

I'm liking mine so far! Going to fab up some inserts though, Mrs tends to miss judge and her foot goes in between the tubes. Mine saved my but last weekend