Jlemmonds 06' GX470 "The Adventure Wagon" build, bs and trip report thread.

You know i had to try it out ...

 

Isn’t that a little big for your kid

 

Shes almost 5ft tall and the " kids " bags are a joke. Just stuff some blankets in the foot box of that sum bitch.

 

Yep. Gives em room to grow into it

 

Dang, she’s tall!

My wife stopped growing at 5’3”

 

Yea. She will be 8 in April and is 55 inches tall. Most of the "kids" bags stopped at 50 inches and the "short" adult bags were 60 inches. I realized quickly that i didnt need to be shopping for a "kids" bag, but instead buy something she could grow into over the years and more than likely rather quickly.

Its a damn nice bag for $100 and warm AF. As soon as i got it zipped up, i had to come out of it. Hotter than two rats humpin in a wool sock.

 

Got in one last trip before the end of the year. We did a quick overnite at URE. With overnight lows in the high 20's it was a good test for the new 5° bags. The weather was gorgeous cold and clear and no wind and we pretty much had the area to ourselves.

I generally carry our firewood up with us but have been struggling with keeping the cargo area clean from dust and wood debris. I found a cheap no name 2p tent foorprint on Amazon during a lightning sale. Ripstop nylon and less than $10 bucks i think we have a winner.



Heres a pic dump of the weekend.

 

With the urge to see our country from me feet and survive with whats on my back, backpacking has taken a big importance with me as of late.

So i picked up a used MSR Hubba Hubba NX2 off of Market Place.

 

Solid choice.

 

Not bad for 150.

 

Greetings from the NC ZOO

 

The first real outing got done this weekend. We did a "simple" hike in/hike out overnight on The Dutchmans Creek tr. She wasnt happy but she didnt quit. It was Candaces first trip out with her new Osprey Atmos AG 50 and her biggest mileage total at just 10.9 miles. Weather was perfect friday, low 60's, overcast and breezy. Saturday morning we woke up to rain and temps in the low 50's.

 

Turned 270k today.

 

Another quick overnight trip in the books. Ill let the pics tell the story.

 

All dressed up for the 2nd grade daddy/daughter dance. They grow up way to fast.

 

Tire Rotation today by the boys @Discount Tire .

Current mileage is @ 270,626.
Mileage since last rotation was 6,353.
These damn duratracs just wont die. Still measuring 11/32nds. Current mileage est. Should be close to 40k. Prob get 60k outta them.

 

Got the 2nd Backpacking trip in the books for 2024. An almost 7 mile round trip with an overnight at 2.5 miles. Weather was warm during the hike at around 88 degrees, overnight temps fell to a very comfortable 60 degrees. No rain and clear skies made for a very bright full moon.

 

Finally got an update for the build thread. Been wanting a drawer system for a while but refused to pay the ridiculous price that company’s like ARB or Dobinsons want so I drew out a plan. Made a cut list and went to work. 1/2 pine ply and 2x4’s. I wanted to do it right but do it cheap. Everything is glued and screwed using GRK screws and Titebond. Dimensions are 41.75 wide and 36 deep. Total volume is around 48 cubic feet of storage.

Total Cost is between $325.00and $340.00
Total weight I would estimate at around 160lbs. I’ll dump some pics and if anyone has any questions I’ll be more than happy to answer them

Verifying fitment using the factory cargo tie down threaded inserts (M6 x 1mm)


Building the frame to best utilize strength and make the most of the weight I was adding.





Instead of ball bearing slides I chose to go with UHMW. These were purchased off of Amazon and are practical bomb proof



Next was building the drawers. Pretty self explanatory. Glued and screwed. Got those built and next came carpet and hardware. Paddle latches are ridiculously overpriced so instead I went with lockable gate latches and the handles are kayak handles. Total cost was around 18 bucks, again off of amazon.





I used cardboard to make the templates for the wings. Used 16inch piano hinges to allow me to access the area to the side of the box.



With all that done it was time to get it mounted and get the fridge slide and fridge installed.



I added some nylon webbing to the wings to make it easier to flip them up.



The last step was adding a small “ table top “ on the inside of the drivers side drawer. It got a polyurethane finish.





All in all I’m happy with the outcome but already have ideas to do it better next time.

 

Got here yearly Fluid Film application today.

 

Very nice! Looking forward to the revised plans so I can start building mine