A few pre-Sierra-expedition mods

[the roadie]

To beat Teebes to the punch, who's probably in the process of trying to out-mod me at this very moment, here's a quick list of stuff done in preparation for the Sierra trip.

1) ScanGauge II - not installed but arrived today and is lying on the seat.



2) Wilson 1000 bottom-loaded through-the roof fixed CB antenna: (next to the ham antenna)



3) Figuring out how to do a quick-mount for the bridging/sand ladders so I can use them as a cooking table like this:



4) Some 4" HIDs (wide beam for trails) from Kragen, on sale this week. Yes, I know it comes close to the winch solenoid box. I can work on that. And if it wasn't for the winch, I'd have the 7" HIDs since they're the same price. Even the 4" aren't bad, because they're equal to the 7" at 35W. Yes, I also got some black ty-wraps today also.





5) Sick of taking a risk with wussy set-screw mounting of the Surco rack, I had an AHA! moment, removed the entire assembly from the roof, drilled UP through the metal tracks and installed hardened bolts from BELOW. No way to slide. No way to come off the roof even in a collision without massive tearing of the track. No worries now.

[teebes]

Nice stuff! Could you imagine if I had dedicated parking or a driveway to work on my truck We'd be in a constant mod war

Originally Posted by the roadie

Holy ty-wraps, batman Someone was eager to get some lights on. Maybe just wrap some christmas lights like so

[JamesDowning]

Well I declare....

You realize each of these are worthy of having their own thread right? How about some details as to that antenna mounting? You actually took the plunge and drilled the roof eh?

I can't wait to see your report from this expedition... are you planning to do reports at certain checkpoints along your route?

So jealous...

[bartonmd]

[borat voice] es nice, yes [/borat voice]

Mike

[the roadie]

Yeah, I suppose I should break them out into individual threads. Maybe if there's some downtime around the campfire along the trails.

I started drilling the roof for my 2M ham antenna a couple of months ago. Didn't complete putting in the remote speaker the way I wanted, so I was deferring the entire thread until I removed the kludgy parts. But yes - I took pics of the actual drilling process because I knew it would make Spong nauseous.

The HID wiring was eventful, and I need to post an important lesson I learned about using electrical snakes near the through-the-firewall wiring bundle.

Last year, there actually was some EVDO coverage and I managed to post a few pics during the trip. But it was more difficult using my phone as a tethered modem for the tablet PC. This year I managed to borrow a Verizon Aircard from a co-worker who's in Singapore and couldn't use it, so from some high mountains, there should be very good data coverage.

[oregtrailblaz]

TWO MORE DAYS!!!!!

Really wish I had the time to come join you gents!

[DZP]

Usually I escape the city to get away from technology to get some enjoyment but now we bring more technology with us to our escapes. This is strange times that we like in. I am not complaining at all, I never take a trail ride on my bike that I don't have my Blackberry, a phone/internet/navigation/camera for photo and video.

[the roadie]

If you came with us I'd only steal your Taco coilovers and snorkel and leave the rest for the vultures.

[oregtrailblaz]

Originally Posted by the roadie

If you came with us I'd only steal your Taco coilovers and snorkel and leave the rest for the vultures.

WOW!!! What?!!? I'm in the store for five minutes and my TB is on blocks.........

[the roadie]

Sayyyyyy. Doesn't your wife enjoy offroading a LOT more than Mrs. Roadie? Hmmmmm. What's SHE doing next week?