My trucks build up thread/trip reports

[Jimmeh]

So since I am going to be using my truck now as more of a camping/get the hell out of town rig rather than my DD, I am going to start pumping some more time/money/effort into getting it ready for some trips. I'm not a hardcore wheeling junky, and if I were I wouldn't use this platform for that (no offense to guys who do wheel their trucks, but I'm sure you know of the limitations). Since I'm not an economist for wall street, owner of a resort or a tax evader, a lot of the big stuff will come later on when my career situation is really set in stone (working for a fuel and lube company tends to throw you all around). Anyway, lets get started with where I left off in my last picture thread.

If you guys that aren't lazy go and check out my last started thread with pictures, you'll see this:

http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr305/Dodge_the_Ranger_Jim/Picture431.jpg

Since then I have added some stuff.

Did the headlight mod, which is awesome, BTW:
http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr305/Dodge_the_Ranger_Jim/Chev/069.jpg

Then, got myself a deer catcher/brush guard:
http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr305/Dodge_the_Ranger_Jim/Picture0225120951_1.jpg

Topper bars:
http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr305/Dodge_the_Ranger_Jim/Chev/003.jpg

Removed the rest of the chrome crap along the bottom, and have my summer wheels and tires on (Cooper Discoverer AT3's in the 285/70/17 variety):
http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr305/Dodge_the_Ranger_Jim/006.jpg

New shocks all around (Bilstein HD's in the rear, 5100's up front):
http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr305/Dodge_the_Ranger_Jim/Picture0417121605_1.jpg

Took the topper off so that I could do the next mod easier, and installed my CB (I'll post new location pics later):
http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr305/Dodge_the_Ranger_Jim/024-1.jpg
http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr305/Dodge_the_Ranger_Jim/002-4.jpg

And, the topper back on:
http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr305/Dodge_the_Ranger_Jim/017.jpg

Body lift came next (1.5" Zone kit)
http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr305/Dodge_the_Ranger_Jim/Picture0428121938_3.jpg
http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr305/Dodge_the_Ranger_Jim/Picture0428121938_4.jpg

Anybody else feel this way about the factory spare?
http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr305/Dodge_the_Ranger_Jim/Picture0428121938_5.jpg

Finished and next to dads truck:
http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr305/Dodge_the_Ranger_Jim/002-7.jpg
http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr305/Dodge_the_Ranger_Jim/003-6.jpg

Sold my stock spare for $50! Anyway, next was to do a little wheeling by myself (didn't get extremely awesome pics since I was...by myself):
http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr305/Dodge_the_Ranger_Jim/001-8.jpg

Another side shot, I just love these, lol:
http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr305/Dodge_the_Ranger_Jim/011-1.jpg

More wheeling:
http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr305/Dodge_the_Ranger_Jim/Picture0519122035_1.jpg
http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr305/Dodge_the_Ranger_Jim/Picture0519122035_2.jpg

OHC installed and wired:
http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr305/Dodge_the_Ranger_Jim/001-10.jpg

Road trippin':
http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr305/Dodge_the_Ranger_Jim/003-10.jpg

[Jimmeh]

Continued (blasted 20 pic limit!):

http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr305/Dodge_the_Ranger_Jim/010-1.jpg

4 days with a baby on board, this is how the back looked:
http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr305/Dodge_the_Ranger_Jim/059.jpg

And home:
http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr305/Dodge_the_Ranger_Jim/063.jpg

More wheelin' and a stuck:
http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr305/Dodge_the_Ranger_Jim/001-13.jpg
http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr305/Dodge_the_Ranger_Jim/004-9.jpg
http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr305/Dodge_the_Ranger_Jim/005-10.jpg
http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr305/Dodge_the_Ranger_Jim/012-3.jpg
http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr305/Dodge_the_Ranger_Jim/013-4.jpg

And most recent until I can get my dads truck out of the way to get my topper back:
http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr305/Dodge_the_Ranger_Jim/004-10.jpg

My new DD to replace the truck (just waiting for my insurance card, lol):
http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr305/Dodge_the_Ranger_Jim/002-13.jpg
http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr305/Dodge_the_Ranger_Jim/004-11.jpg

That's it for now. Next up, ordering a basket for the topper (a cheap Rage brand from eBay). Then going to get just a hitch receiver tire mount thing for now until I build a bumper (just got a welder, thinking swing out tire carrior with some kind of ladder deal). Still going to build a bed in back, just haven't decided how I want to do it yet. Also need to tint my windows, make them powered (since the last girl I had in it apparently has never seen crank windows before and I am bored of them), change up my CB antenna location (moved the CB to under the dash by the 4WD shifter), finish my center console build, sub and amp, rear selectable locker, finish wiring up my fog lamps on the brush guard for now, and then eventually build a front bumper, hell there is a ton of stuff I want to do still not listed!

Anyway, going to take a girl kayaking this weekend, so we'll get some pics then. Any input is welcomed, good or bad. I continually wear a flame suit (not because I'm flaming gay) so if you have something mean to say not only will I accept it, I will also tell you I think you're number one ;)

[Chriscon7]

Awesome!! Truck looks great, the wheeling pictures are awesome! Keep em coming, and I like what you've done with it

[BurbanAZ]

great looking truck, love the pics too definitely post up all of ur trip pics. I love the full size trucks for BOVs / get the hell out of town trucks, and just all around camping and exploring. What are you going to do for a bed. If i were you i would do a drawer setup with a bed on top so that way you dont lose as much storage and get to still secure some stuff back there without having to move the bed or put stuff on top of it. Id recommend a winch too depending on how far into the back country u plan on going but ive had to use mine quite a bit when unexpected stuff came up.

[Jimmeh]

great looking truck, love the pics too definitely post up all of ur trip pics. I love the full size trucks for BOVs / get the hell out of town trucks, and just all around camping and exploring. What are you going to do for a bed. If i were you i would do a drawer setup with a bed on top so that way you dont lose as much storage and get to still secure some stuff back there without having to move the bed or put stuff on top of it. Id recommend a winch too depending on how far into the back country u plan on going but ive had to use mine quite a bit when unexpected stuff came up.

I'm still kind of undecided on the bed. I am definitely going to make some storage underneath, but I haven't decided if I want to do just a half bed or a full bed. Half bed would be nice because I like to bring my dogs with me and would rather not sleep right next to them (they are hella bad shedders ;D). However, it's hard to fit two people on a half bed, and even a twin size air mattress won't fit it according to my measurements.

As far as a winch goes, I am definitely planning on getting one put together, but I want to finish a couple of other things first. This truck won't see a ton of hard stuff, but as you mentioned, unexpected stuff seems to get thrown at me a lot lately, lol.

So I am wanting to get a roof basket next for my topper, but can't decide how I want to go about this. I want to mount my spare up there for now (plan on building a rear bumper with swing away tire carrier later), but I don't want to just strap it up there since it might be easy to nab. I was thinking of getting a Rage basket since they are only ~$150 on eBay rather than the Yakima Mega Warrior I had looked at earlier for $200 more. The thing is though that Yakima has a spare tire mount, but that is $80 in itself! Again, I haven't quite decided what I want to do. I may just have to sleep on it, lol.

[highrider44]

You ever consider one of those pop up campers you can throw on the top of your topper. When there down they don look like they add to much in hieght. Then you wouldnt have to worry about taking up all your storage room.

[blazer_kid]

Nice truck I like where you're going with it.

[Chriscon7]

Why do you hate the spare so much? Haha

[BurbanAZ]

I'm still kind of undecided on the bed. I am definitely going to make some storage underneath, but I haven't decided if I want to do just a half bed or a full bed. Half bed would be nice because I like to bring my dogs with me and would rather not sleep right next to them (they are hella bad shedders ;D). However, it's hard to fit two people on a half bed, and even a twin size air mattress won't fit it according to my measurements.

As far as a winch goes, I am definitely planning on getting one put together, but I want to finish a couple of other things first. This truck won't see a ton of hard stuff, but as you mentioned, unexpected stuff seems to get thrown at me a lot lately, lol.

So I am wanting to get a roof basket next for my topper, but can't decide how I want to go about this. I want to mount my spare up there for now (plan on building a rear bumper with swing away tire carrier later), but I don't want to just strap it up there since it might be easy to nab. I was thinking of getting a Rage basket since they are only ~$150 on eBay rather than the Yakima Mega Warrior I had looked at earlier for $200 more. The thing is though that Yakima has a spare tire mount, but that is $80 in itself! Again, I haven't quite decided what I want to do. I may just have to sleep on it, lol.

i dont know what kind of fab skills u have but i found building my own rack was way easier and cheaper, plus u can make it exactly how u want it. To bad ur not closer or i could make something for u for way cheaper and better quality. Plus it wouldnt be hard to make a locking mount for a tire. I thought about putting my tire up top to get it out of the suburban but i heard it had some pretty big effects on MPG for some people so i decided against it, especially since its not in the way or anything in the suburban.

[Jimmeh]

Why do you hate the spare so much? Haha

That's just the factory spare (seriously, it was the same Goodyear tire that came with the truck when it was ordered from the factory). It had never been dropped in 7 years with Mag Chloride hitting it for well over 60,000 miles since I took ownership. Bitch didn't want to move, lol. Ended up cutting the wire that lowers the thing down to no avail, then unbolting the whole assembly and kicking the **** out of it. Took almost two hours to remove a stupid tire to put the rear bumper brackets for the lift on (which only two about 10 minutes) and install the last two lift blocks.


i dont know what kind of fab skills u have but i found building my own rack was way easier and cheaper, plus u can make it exactly how u want it. To bad ur not closer or i could make something for u for way cheaper and better quality. Plus it wouldnt be hard to make a locking mount for a tire. I thought about putting my tire up top to get it out of the suburban but i heard it had some pretty big effects on MPG for some people so i decided against it, especially since its not in the way or anything in the suburban.

If I were making them out of wood, it would be pretty masterful, but metal is not my forte, lol. My dad just got a new wire feed welder, so I may have to get some metal and give it a go myself. I still think I will get that Rage basket just for carrying some extra stuff (honestly, $150 for a ton of storage space sounds pretty reasonable to me rather than taking the time to make something).

E-mailed CBI off road about their fold down tire carriers. Almost considering getting one of their premium models so that I can still tow stuff, but like everything, I am doing my research before pulling the trigger.

Anyway, this weekend I am stuck on call for work, and only after being sent up to BFE and finding a perfect spot to camp/fish for the weekend (went 80 miles one way in the fuel wagon to deliver about 800 gallons of fuel to a forest service camp and found some really cool stuff!). Thinking next weekend will be the weekend for that, so this weekend I will dedicate some time to designing the bed. Also going to go get the front end checked out on the truck tomorrow and get the tires rotated.

[Jimmeh]

Well, I put on my mag mount CB antenna and got the coax ran. Figured I would like this setup a little better since the way I had the firestick mounted on the rack, I would have to severely bend it or remove it to haul two kayaks (and I usually haul three). This way, it's centered on the roof and easily moveable rather than a 5 minute job removing it. Also, I got a picture of the new location of the CB:

http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr305/Dodge_the_Ranger_Jim/003-15.jpg
http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr305/Dodge_the_Ranger_Jim/002-14.jpg
http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr305/Dodge_the_Ranger_Jim/001-14.jpg

For those without the full length center console, there is two bolts underneath that "tray" where you can see some keys in the picture. I just bolted my CB bracket to that, so no holes! Anyway, I am off to play with some bed ideas, so I may post up again today.

[Jimmeh]

Welp, I went ahead and instead of just played with an idea, built it. Kinda went as I goed (haha) and will be adding some stuff to it, but for now it will function! Here's some pics:

http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr305/Dodge_the_Ranger_Jim/007-9.jpg
http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr305/Dodge_the_Ranger_Jim/008-6.jpg
http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr305/Dodge_the_Ranger_Jim/009-3.jpg
http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr305/Dodge_the_Ranger_Jim/010-3.jpg
http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr305/Dodge_the_Ranger_Jim/011-4.jpg
http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr305/Dodge_the_Ranger_Jim/013-5.jpg

And one of the truck with dads boat hooked up and topper on:
http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr305/Dodge_the_Ranger_Jim/012-4.jpg

I'll be taking it out next weekend hopefully to test it out. I've got an air mattress so it shouldn't be too bad!

[BurbanAZ]

i like how u started that platform and were able to keep store under it. Is the open space where ur dog is going to sleep, is that why u left it open?

[Jimmeh]

I actually left it open so that I can still put taller stuff in the bed if I have to. The dogs will either sleep there or the cab. Haven't tested to see if my bike will still roll right there, and if not I plan on getting a receiver bike carrier anyway.

This weekend is just a clean up weekend. There is some wiring that needs to be finished and cleaned up, and I want to cover that platform with some kind of carpeting to keep my air mattress from popping on the plywood (those little slivers can be a killer!). Also going to hopefully go Kayaking on Sunday, so really it's more of a relaxing weekend.

[Jimmeh]

Thanks a lot for enjoying this beauty topic with me. I am apreciating it very much! Looking forward to another great post. Good luck to the author! All the best!

Uh....spammer alert?

At any rate, I'm glad I got a bump in this thread to remind me to update it! Had a little leak in my water pump that I wasn't aware of until it was almost too late (came out of the office to find a large puddle under the truck!). I got off of work really early today, so I went ahead and swapped out the old one for a new one. What a pain in the ass! Haynes says there is a drain for the radiator on the drivers side, but in the fine print says "not all models". Describes mine to a T. Pulled the bottom rad hose at the pump because I didn't have the room to get to the radiator side without removing the passenger side tire and inner fender (which I wasn't going to do AGAIN!). Then I couldn't get all the fluid out because the hose was kinked, and disconnecting the other hoses only made a huge mess huge-r. Then I had to fight my serpentine belt back on after the process was over (literally took an hour, and I have no idea why it was so damn difficult since I've done belts 100 times before!).

Last weekend, I decided to take the topper off. Kinda like the look for now and will leave it until I figure out my spare tire carrier (which I will update with pics when we get started on it, have the parts and a builder!) and a new sleeping platform setup (yeah, I already tore that bad boy apart, lol). Anyway, here's a quick pic or two:
http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr305/Dodge_the_Ranger_Jim/004-13.jpg
http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr305/Dodge_the_Ranger_Jim/007_zps64db9e1f.jpg
http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr305/Dodge_the_Ranger_Jim/010_zps67b63e00.jpg
Threw all my gear into the tool box for now. Amazingly, all but one tool box fits! Put that one under the seat though since it's packed well enough that the tools don't rattle.

Next up other than the bumper and sleeping platform builds is power windows/door locks and window tint. I will be outsourcing that project purely because I hate wiring, LOL! That and I don't think I could tint my windows very well.

[Jimmeh]

Last Wednesday, I found a deal I could not pass up on a Pioneer touch screen double din head unit. I actually really like my old head unit and will be installing it in my Suby, but really like this one. It is nav ready, but the part was $400 from Best Buy and my GPS works great, so I will stick with that. Since everybody likes pics, I got one for ya:

http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr305/Dodge_the_Ranger_Jim/002-18.jpg

Just so you're aware, this will not be the only rick rolling that will take place in this thread while we continue on with the build.

Anyway, I also put my topper back on. Heading down to the shop this week to get some measurements taken on the rear bumper build project. There's probably something I am forgetting about, but I'll remember when I get pics, lol. Anyway, that's it.

[Chriscon7]

Love your thread/truck man. Keep them updates coming! Everything looks great.

[BurbanAZ]

Trucks looking great. Glad ur till doing work to it and getting slot of ur plans done. What don't plan on doing with the bumper are u going to try and build one yourself of buy one from somewhere?

[Jimmeh]

Trucks looking great. Glad ur till doing work to it and getting slot of ur plans done. What don't plan on doing with the bumper are u going to try and build one yourself of buy one from somewhere?

A guy from work and I are going to build one. Here's a short story with some pics on that:

The ultimate goal for this project is to end up with a swing out tire carrier on a custom rear bumper that has a couple of tow points aside from my stock receiver just in case it is inaccessible for whatever reason. I plan on doing the same with a front bumper, but that will come later.

My fabricator assigned me with the task of finding a swing out off of a Bronco or a Blazer to start with. He said that even if we end up not using it for whatever reason, it will at least give us an idea of what to work with. So, I started by heading to my local junk yard that I new had a plethora of at least Bronco's. Turns out there was one right near the office of the JY, so after striking a bargain on the swing out ($75, think I could have done better, but we will use it for that price), I went to work removing it.

Brought it home and mocked it up to where I kinda plan on it going (obviously it will not be on the inside of the tailgate, I used it as a rest since it is all steel and heavy, lol):

http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr305/Dodge_the_Ranger_Jim/005-13.jpg

Next was to see what exactly needs to be done for the spare wheel to mount to the mount already attached to the swing out. Decided to just unbolt it rather than lug around the entire assembly, and throw it on the back of the wheel:

http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr305/Dodge_the_Ranger_Jim/008-7.jpg

Almost looked like it would work, and if I weren't somebody that worried a whole lot about safety, I would say to hell with it and not worry about it. The next picture shows where the bottom two bolts from the mount hit:

http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr305/Dodge_the_Ranger_Jim/002-16.jpg

Where the top bolt is:

http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr305/Dodge_the_Ranger_Jim/003-16.jpg

Considering the whole set of wheels and tires cost me about $2000, I am not willing to trust one bolt to hold my spare. So we will be adding a plate with the correct bolt pattern added to it. I think I will leave those bottom two as they are because it will make mounting the spare a lot easier.

Next was to clean up the rust. As of now, I still have yet to finish as the guy helping me with this said I could use his sand blaster. I was using a dremel and an orbital sander and was wasting too much time:

http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr305/Dodge_the_Ranger_Jim/005-14.jpg

I still haven't made it to the shop yet. I worked a 10 hour day yesterday, and while I got off fairly early today, I still had to go to the DMV to transfer a title. Sure, it's Montana and the line wasn't crowded, but I was still there for 45 minutes.

I can't promise a ton of progress pics for the next month or so. Hunting season starts on the 20th, so I won't be around much. This week I have two trips to make and a side job this weekend, so not many things will happen. Stay tuned though, I don't plan on putting the whole project on the back burner.

[Jimmeh]

Trip Report:

A friend of mine went and did some scouting in the Yaak river area the weekend before last. It is archery season until the 14th, and while I own a bow, I can't hunt with it until I take the class, or until general rifle season starts. However, bird season is upon us, and I just bought myself a Mossberg 802 Plinkster (.22LR, bolt action for those not familiar). Justin (the friend that went with me) is the type that likes to start super early in the morning on hunting days while I am the type that likes to sleep in (considering we have always gotten our animals about mid day, I stand by my practice). So, we planned to start early since we had a lot of miles to cover before getting to our destination. Justin neglected to inform me that he had a double header in Softball on Friday Night, but luckily I texted him hoping to get a response before heading to his house. Around 9 AM we started out. I tooted around town for about 2 hours before picking him up:

http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr305/Dodge_the_Ranger_Jim/001-18.jpg

We then stopped at a local sporting goods store to get ammo, running into another friend of ours which meant another half hour of BSing to be had. Then we stopped at the store to pick up some BBQ stuff for our lunch break. Then we stopped at McDonalds for Breakfast, and finally were on the open road at about 10ish.

About 110 miles later we arrived at the Yaak River falls, which is the beginning of our round trip. We went up highway 2 west, just past Libby and turned towards the North onto NF-508.

http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr305/Dodge_the_Ranger_Jim/010-4.jpg

We stopped at the falls for a small break to pee and stretch our legs, while also checking out the falls.

http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr305/Dodge_the_Ranger_Jim/003-17.jpg
http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr305/Dodge_the_Ranger_Jim/004-14.jpg
http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr305/Dodge_the_Ranger_Jim/006-10.jpg
http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr305/Dodge_the_Ranger_Jim/008-8.jpg

Justin dressed as if he were a hunter or something:

http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr305/Dodge_the_Ranger_Jim/005-15.jpg

We then decided to get on our way. I can't remember how far we went up the road, but we turned off to head on the road towards Spread Creek, which for the first mile or so is quite the steep climb. We then turned right to head towards Mushroom Mountain I believe, which ended up being a 12 mile loop that climbed to just under 5000 feet (3400 feet from the Spread Creek road). I spotted some grouse and shot a few times, missing both, and we spotted a Mule deer Doe, which is not legal. We also spotted this:

http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr305/Dodge_the_Ranger_Jim/013-6.jpg

The view (pretty smokey):

http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr305/Dodge_the_Ranger_Jim/012-5.jpg

Next, we took another couple of side roads, shot at a couple more grouse (I consider myself quite the marksman, but man was I having a terrible day of shooting!), and eventually ended up back at the "highway" (NF-508 for those keeping track at home).

We took a small break, and decided to have last nights pizza rather than the cooler full of burger fixings (didn't feel like pulling out my BBQ), and then we hit the road again. We passed through the town of Yaak (hard to believe, but there is a school, post office, and a police force), but continued on rather than stopping. After a time, and Justin's magnificent navigation skills almost leading us off in the wrong direction (apparently my DeLorme map had NF508 listed as the same road as NF-6092 or something like that, which was not the case). After turning around, we really started to climb. The bottom of the pass was at about 3600 feet, and by the time we reached the top where the road was (could have probably gone another 4-600 feet more), we were at 5996 according to my Garmin GPS. I really wish it wasn't as smokey as it was, because the view would have been awesome:

http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr305/Dodge_the_Ranger_Jim/014-2.jpg
http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/rr305/Dodge_the_Ranger_Jim/015-3.jpg

We then drove back down the other side, into the Koocanusa lake area, crossing the lake, and back into Eureka, stopping for gas after 230 some miles (30 or so of that being off road, where the truck did quite nice!). We even averaged 17.21 MPG! We stopped near Eureka to try some salmon fishing, but the big run has ended and we had little to no luck (I did break my pole being an ass hole, though!). After some terrible fishing, we sat on the tail gate and enjoyed a beer from my cooler, BSed with some locals for awhile, and hit the road again. After about half an hour, near the pull out that FWP usually sets up a game check, the largest black bear I have ever seen in the wild steam trained across the highway onto some state land. Thank God for ABS, as I swung the truck towards the ditch, yelling at Justin to get out and get it (he has a bear tag). The dumbass was too scared, and after a short screaming match, we continued the rest of the 70 mile trek back to Justins, then going to a restaurant and having some delicious food before calling it a night.

Really wish Justin would have gotten that bear. His argument was that it was going to be a PITA to get in the truck off of the highway, but I was willing to complain about it the entire time. As I said, it was state land that we have hunted before, so there was nothing illegal about it, he just was being a wuss. Other than that, it was a great trip and I can't wait to be in that area again here in a couple of weeks!