Lambo's Daily Driver --> Trail Hunter Build (dbc trd) - Now I need a new daily...

Fellow e30 lover (former owner, maybe again one day, but a 2002 really calls to me nowadays..)

Sweet ride and rig, subbed

 

Yeah I feel bad... this truck has gotten the vast majority of my attention for the past few years. I haven't given the E30 the treatment it really deserves. Currently it's stuck in the garage with a torn subframe. I really do want to get it fixed up again so I can drive it to work instead of the truck. 2002's are sweet. Really bummed I missed the glory days of 2002's (and every other old BMW) where they were legitimately cheap like 8 or so years ago...

 

Yup, we missed the boat on affordable buys for sure lol! I almost snagged one about 5 years ago, but even then it was starting to rise. In any event, like you, I’m glad I came to the 4x4 side!

 

Finally got my new camping stuff today. Can’t really complain about the shipping time since it came from Australia. But it’s sick. I can’t wait to get it out in the dirt now. Since it’s really just me camping, this is gonna be a much more versatile setup that’s way lighter than the RTT.

 

That thing is awesome!

Do you have a link for it? It would be a perfect setup for multi-night wheeling trips where I don’t want the RTT weight up there.

 

Yeah it’s from this Aussie company:

https://crashpadgear.com/collections/crashpad

It’s not the cheapest option for this style tent but in my opinion it’s the best. They only recently started shipping to the US and then covid fucked everything up so it’s kind of a pain to get one right now.

 

Thanks, Phil!

 

I also "finished" up the dual battery system and fridge install.

I mounted this Blue Sea midi fuse holder in the engine bay. Currently running a 40 amp fuse in it per Redarc's recommendation.



Lotsa cable... I ran 6 AWG welding cable from the starter battery, along the frame, and into the cab to the Redarc.



Please disregard my DISGUSTING engine bay... I really need to do something about that. I could probably use a better starter battery too...



In order to get all the wiring into the cab I found this pre-existing hole under where the rear seats were. It's right above the fuel tank and it's super thin non-structural sheet metal... so I upped it to a 1.25" hole.



The 1.25" hole was needed to house this Daystar firewall boot. It ended up working out great. I ran a 6 AWG power cable, 6 AWG ground cable, and an 8 AWG ground cable through it and it worked beautifully.



And here's the "finished" product...





Wire management is FARRR from finalized. I just wanted to get everything hooked up and working. Then I'll pull it out again, carpet the platform and fix all the ugly wiring. It's all a learning process... There's also more I want to add to that fuse panel. I want to add some charging ports and maybe hook up my air compressor to it. Also in the top left corner is a 50 amp circuit breaker that runs from the battery to the fuse panel. I thought it would be a good idea to have a master shut off for all accessories when I'm not out exploring.



Unfortunately I was a bit too ambitious about mounting the fridge in the cab... this thing is too big. This is as far out as it slides before it hits the door panel...



So now the plan is to move the fridge to the bed. I just ordered a bunch of L track to mount in the bed, then I can mount the fridge securely to that L track. The windoor offers perfect access to where I'd want to mount the fridge.

 

Went through the waterproofing procedure with the new tent today. Thought I'd get a pic to show the actual size of the swag for anyone interested.



Also the super nice thing about the Crashpad stuff is they actually give you a super rugged bag that's actually big enough. This is with the tent, mattress, and my sleeping bag all rolled up as one. It's a little tight but I think with more practice I can figure out how to roll it better and tighter. It's awesome having everything in one nice waterproof, rugged bag.



My setup is getting simpler and simpler each day. I love it. Only thing that will change is moving the fridge to the bed but I have plenty of space for that.

 

What did that kit set you back? They show out of stock on their website.

 

It wasn't cheap...

Cot was $175 shipped (could get away with one sourced here in the states with the correct dimensions)
Swag was about $400 shipped

I was looking at these: https://www.kodiakcanvas.com/swag-1-person-canvas-tent-estimated-restock-date-aug-20th-2020/

But I just didn't want to settle for something I didn't really want... so I just sucked it up and paid for what I really wanted.

 

So I moved the fridge to the bed...

To do so I installed some L track to the bottom of the bed. I have two more strips to install on the other side of the bed but I didn't have time today. I also found out that they really need 100° counter sink screws. Home Depot doesn't really stock those (no surprise) so I used 82° ones just temporarily. I'm also planning to replace the nut/washer setup with some good rivnuts when I redo it.





This is such a better spot. I'm pissed I didn't do this in the beginning...



So much more room in the cab now... This is definitely going to get me redesigning the platform.



Bit more packed in the back but still not bad at all.

 

Took a quick trip to a close spot this weekend. It was surprising how not busy it was. Maybe the fire ban dissuaded some people. Had to talk to some Texans out in the area about the ban but they were friendly about it and it helped to approach with small talk (which was easy because they drug a new X5 down the trail ) and then let them know about the ban.

It was great to test out the new setup and it's awesome. The fridge is a life changer and the swag was way better for my use... and more comfortable too...


DSC00001 by Phillip Keefe, on Flickr


DSC00006 by Phillip Keefe, on Flickr


DSC00007 by Phillip Keefe, on Flickr


DSC00009 by Phillip Keefe, on Flickr


DSC00017 by Phillip Keefe, on Flickr


DSC00033 by Phillip Keefe, on Flickr


DSC00039 by Phillip Keefe, on Flickr


DSC00048 by Phillip Keefe, on Flickr


DSC00049 by Phillip Keefe, on Flickr


DSC00052 by Phillip Keefe, on Flickr


DSC00054 by Phillip Keefe, on Flickr


DSC00055 by Phillip Keefe, on Flickr


DSC00058 by Phillip Keefe, on Flickr


DSC00059 by Phillip Keefe, on Flickr

Now off to Ouray next weekend... hope it's not too busy...

 

Looks like a great spot and a great time. Nice to hear the new sleep setup is working out!

 

Bit of a fail this weekend. Planned to be in Ouray/Telluride from Friday thru Tuesday. But, on Saturday I rolled my ankle pretty badly. Woke up on Sunday hardly being able to walk... So we called it. I wasn't too comfortable with driving down steep trails with a painful right foot. So instead we made the agonizing 6 hour drive back home. And to add a cherry on top, I forgot the SD card for my camera

In some good news, there was a bunch of rain when we were around Telluride which was awesome to see, it's much needed.









With the rain I did have a small issue with the new swag setup, although I was aware of it. If water pools near the bottom seams, it will slowly seep through the canvas. This is exacerbated by using the cot which allows water to pool in those areas. Maybe a seam sealer could fix this but I need to look into it more. After letting it dry the first night, I strung up a tarp to keep the water off the swag for now. I'm going to be ordering a roof rack soon and I plan to run an awning off that to put the swag under.



This is what I'm going for

https://www.instagram.com/p/CDirhgvjBnG/

 

Got bored on Saturday so I decided to do a little solo trip to explore a bit of Rampart. Surprisingly it wasn't terribly busy, the weather was great, and I found a pretty rad track that looks like it's hardly used but it leads to a really nice camp spot.

Still waiting for my roof rack stuff to show up so I can get working on that. Getting a little tired of throwing everything in the bed. I'm looking forward to moving some stuff to the roof, like the maxtrax and my shit bucket...


DSC00064 by Phillip Keefe, on Flickr


DSC00067 by Phillip Keefe, on Flickr


DSC00070 by Phillip Keefe, on Flickr


DSC00073 by Phillip Keefe, on Flickr


DSC00078 by Phillip Keefe, on Flickr


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DSC00097 by Phillip Keefe, on Flickr

 

Spent a bit of time out around Buena Vista this weekend.


DSC00105 by Phillip Keefe, on Flickr


DSC00108 by Phillip Keefe, on Flickr


DSC00114 by Phillip Keefe, on Flickr


DSC00117 by Phillip Keefe, on Flickr


DSC00119 by Phillip Keefe, on Flickr


DSC00123 by Phillip Keefe, on Flickr

 

guess I'm #sponsored now... check out my instagram where I tag all the companies I bought products from and make sure you subscribe to my youtube channel for a rig walkaround and leave a like and comment

 

Got the topper rack installed today. Kinda sucked that I had to install tracks to the topper but I got lucky and Rack Attack had some 42" Yakima ones in stock.

It's never fun drilling permanent holes... gives me big anxiety...





Rack itself went together fairly easily





Now I need to build up the courage to drill into the cab

 

Got the rest of the rack installed today... can't say I enjoyed drilling into my truck but it's done now...