hoverlover’s “there are many like it, but this one is mine” extra long title bs thread and build too

Land cruiser or 80s pickup

 

Time will tell

 

Expo is short for Deaver's expeditionary (Xpo/Expo) leaf pack. Lots of people have good things to say about them but I have no experience with them.

The absolute best thing you can do for your shocks is get them custom valved. It's not terribly difficult or expensive to do and it'll match the shocks to YOUR driving habits. That's why mine rode so nice, I had them custom valved.

 

Let's talk about tires for a sec...

The current tires are Mickey Thompson Deegan 38's in 35x12.50R20 -

https://www.discounttire.com/buy-tires/mickey-thompson-deegan-38-all-terrain/p/34427


And it's got 20" rims. The chrome 20's gotta go. Big chrome rims aren't really my thing and they would get eaten up the first time I hit a real trail. The rims look similar to these



If you like them, they are for sale! And so are the tires!
(The tires are basically new, they have driven one-way from Greensboro to San Antonio and that's it. Pics of actual rims/tires on request.)

I BELIEVE I currently have very nearly enough room to run 37's on the street with the current lift. The suspension (radius arms and a triangulated four-link in the rear) I'm going to put on it should help me clear all that extra tire meat. So, because tires are soo damnd spensive and they're one of those items you can't exactly try before you buy, I'm exploring what is available. I've shortened this list to the final contenders - if anyone reading this has any experience with a certain tread, please do chime in!

I have had BFG KM2 and KM3's on pretty much all of my 4x4's over for years.

https://www.discounttire.com/buy-tires/bfgoodrich-mud-terrain-t-a-km3/p/44360?exactmatch=true


I feel like I know the tire and what to expect from the tread as far as traction goes. Granted, a 37' tire has a shit ton bigger tread void than a 255/85r16 so there's still plenty of wiggle room for surprise. They are currently my first pick but not by any measurable margin. I want to explore all the options before I drop like 2 grand on rubbers.

Here is my second pick, the Pro-Comp MT2

https://www.discounttire.com/buy-tires/pro-comp-xtreme-mt2/p/17456


They're one of the higher priced tires I've been considering and a set of 5 would be $5.00 more than 5 of the BFG's... so I may have to finance that... I know I'm not ok and I'm ok with that.

The Pro-Comps have a great reputation on the trail but I have heard next to nothing about their road manners. Since this is a daily driver, when I'm not on the bike, road manners are important to me. Even at 12MPG and 200 miles to the tank, I've been known to road trip. Ain't nobody got time for lop-sided, unbalance-able meats that are going to ruin the ride. That said, they are a very serious contender. I've always liked the tread, they have a 40k mile manufacturers warranty, which, for an MT, is nothing to snub your nose at, and there's something reassuring about seeing the same tread 40" tall on KOH rigs. Same can be said about the KM3's. The research continues...

Here's the tie for third:

Nitto's Trail Grappler - https://www.discounttire.com/buy-tires/nitto-trail-grappler-m-t/p/40598


Toyo's Open Country - https://www.discounttire.com/buy-tires/toyo-tire-open-country-m-t/p/39826


Again, the Nitto's have a good trail reputation but their street manners are difficult to track. The Toyo's on the other hand, have been known to ride very well on the street, wear evenly, and have good trail manners as well. I can't help but remember what my dad taught me, though: if it sounds too good to be true... it's a duck. Or something. Both tires are reminiscent of BFG's old T/A KM -



All that said and reread tells me I'm obviously getting the Pro-Comps...


Pics soon
Probably

 

I lied.



The tires are Toyos -
https://www.discounttire.com/buy-tires/toyo-tire-open-country-a-t-iii



...and the rims are kinda different.

 

I have the Open Country in AT version. They are quieter than my old ones were. I'm sure they will go down a trail just fine, when I get to do that again!

 

After driving on them from NC to SA I think they're a nice tire! They handled hard rain very well and didn't howl, what more could a guy ask for? I'm hoping discount tire will make a decent offer on them

 

Hadn't shared much about the new bus either, I'm just realizing.

Well here ya go





It has massive storage underneath. That's where I'll store the fresh water, all my tools, the battery bank, and a few other things. It's not going to be much use as storage but the easy access and gigantic doors to both sides of that space is invaluable




The guy that had it before me was a diesel mechanic and he spent a lot of time and money making sure the Caterpillar engine and Allison trans are solid. It drives well, much stronger than my other bus. It also does not have a governor! I realized that when I looked down and was doing 85mph



Here's the interior as it is right now. Don't judge me too much, life has been pretty messed up lately and I just haven't had the time, motivation, or energy all at the same time to get in and make real progress.



I recently removed the factory AC, which was quite the ordeal, and I've removed all the tattletale, nanny, babysitter crap the school district installed. Well almost all of it, I've still got one mystery circuit I'm trying to track down.

I've pulled out the rear interior and I'm starting to wire it up for lights and plugs and everything.



I love the big ass windows flat front buses have. Can't wait to point them at some mountains and watch the sun go down behind them.

 

Super sleuths might be able to see my new rig somewhere in one of those pictures...

 

Might be red......

 

It might be red!





It is indeed red.

 

I hate to throw this out but if it's more than 10 years old it's worthless

 

Dayum

 

Burns slow



https://youtu.be/xIWw-sNaRLg

 

WAIT! Seven years for evidence.....and such. Still good!

 

Why you burning it

 

Yeah @hoverlover ?

 

Because they're all series 2008 and older: worthless.
And it made for some fun pictures.










Long story short, I can't use it.
And I've had it for too long.

 

Good Morning Alex