Tundy, house and beetle build thread...and exploring.

Cool, subbed for the build!

 

Thanks. Lots going on, sometime I'll try to organize the thread a little better.

Also need to get a planned route of stuff to see. With a departure in the summer, I'm thinking NW first week be better and seeing back through the SW after that.

 

Not sure when you are planning on leaving but the general rule in the PNW is that "summer" doesn't really start until after July 1st for the really nice, mostly rain free days.



I know it's still April, but as you can see the forecast for upcoming week is rain almost every day. This will often continue into May and at least part of June.

 

I probably won't be able to leave until late June or July and could take me a month to get out to that area. But at this point, everything changes by the day, so we'll see as it gets closer!

 

Will probably be bugging you for build advice in a year or so. I have the exact plan to quit the job and travel the country. Just need to pay down the truck and save up some cash.
Love what you've done to make the truck liveable.

 

Thanks.

It's come a long way but it's always had to be dual purpose to accommodate play AND work.

I drove out to Colorado in a Tahoe that I lightly modded for camping out of but had no idea what i was doing as far as camping. I'm no super survivalist but I've come a long way in a short time and looking forward to the adventure.

I still need the truck for work.. for now, but i can focus on building it out more for the road. The issue now is time as I'm trying to juggle a bunch of stuff, including trying to get rid of a bunch of things I no longer need.

I've got some good ideas I'll post up when i have time to sketch them out. Trying to go through all of the needs that I'll have... Kitchen, gear, sleeping, and storage.

 

Just ordered a matte black wrap for the hood (center section) pretty sure i want to put a flexible solar panel up there to free up the roof space... And would rather stick it to a wrap.

And a Scrubba camp wash bag. It's like a reverse dry bag with a flexible washboard on the inside.

And a cup holder for my Helinox style chair since they don't have one built in.

Let the fun begin!

 

What the eff is going on in here? Are you going full nomad at some point or still keeping a house?

 

Full nomad for a while! The taco will be my house.

When work gets in the way of play...

 

Is it done yet?

 

*cough*popupcamper*cough*

 

Going to put in bed stiffeners shortly...

Ecgs bushing tomorrow

AT Habitat on Sunday...



Jk, they never emailed me back.

 

Got around to installing the Total Chaos bed stiffeners I got from Toytec. I started to install them the other night only to realize that the air line quick connect was in the way of the drivers side, and the passenger side bracket I made for my light/water switch was using the top bolts.

http://toyteclifts.3dcartstores.com...acoma-Rear-Channel-Bed-Stiffeners_p_1665.html

Why'd I put this silly thing right where the stiffener goes!



There's room to put it to the rear..


The good news is they are on. Bad news is they didn't help the already bent bed. I ratcheted the bed together while i tightened them and still have the gap. But at least there are the tabs on there that i can ratchet them together, maybe if i keep it on there for a while it'll flex back.

So, learn from my mistake. Put them on before there is a gap!



But... they look like they'll be a GREAT spot to either weld or bolt another idea to...

 

Updated the first post with my current build for full time camping broken down into categories. If you have product suggestions or ideas, I am all ears!

I'll keep the first post updated better as I get to building.

 

Looking forward to some trip reports soon, Brandon!

 

Looking forward to exploring!

If anyone has some must see stuff along a route from Denver to Yellowstone to glacier, then maybe Banff before heading to the Pacific and explore south, post it up. I need to start working on a rough route to follow and research.

Also need to start downloading a lot more maps!

I'd love to drive up to Alaska, but may just fly up there from Seattle.

 

I have loved the Duratracs for the 20'ish thousand miles I have put on them.. maybe 15. Not sure. But I'm thinking it'd be a good idea to start with a fresh set of rubber for the road.

and 235/85/16 looks like a good "standard" size. I realized that 265/75/16 is not a standard size after I blew one out in Utah and wanted to just get a matching size for a spare. Settled for the stock size of 265/70/16. The skinnier might even help me get one more mpg!

Duratracs make the list for a replacement, but I'm wondering what else is out there for a good tire that'll see a lot of mileage but also needs to be durable on the trail. General Grabber, St Maxx, St Pro, K02...

 

I will laugh so hard if you end up with ko2s after all the shit you give Asher.

 

Its all fun and games. But they dont really intrigue me enough to swap from the Duratracs to them due to most reviews of actual owners. If they were a lot cheaper I might, but I dont think they will be.

 

First time popping into your build.

I'm pretty happy with the St Maxx. They perform great in all conditions. Since I finally replaced my exhaust I can hear them a bit now but they are not that noticeable. I have some weird wear on them though. Likely due to a sloppy steering rack. They will probably last me another year.