rattle_snake's random shop projects v0.1

[rattle_snake]

Beautiful scenery there!

Some of those cliff pictures give me the heebie jeebies

Don't look down.


we parked on the edge then realized it was a big overhang...

Looks like an amazing trip Justin. Several of my favorite places through Moab area and Monument Valley.

Lockhart Basin has been on my to-do list for a while but it's quite a lengthy day trip and I've been unable to find people to go with us while we've been in Moab and it's a trail I'd rather not do alone. Although the wife and I may not have a choice as our last trip to the Swell was all driven alone as the others backed out last minute.

Yes it is a long ride. I think 50 miles pavement to pavement. We camped about 6 miles in, started 9am and go into Moab around 7pm, medium pace with breaks. Not a place to go alone, not many other rigs on trail past the river, which is most of it.

The bronco safari was last week, lots of Fords on the trail which I'm sure you would apprechaite

 

[rattle_snake]

Paid attention at Moab to what I could to to improve on my truck. Probably don't need to do anything with 40s and the clearance I have. Any Armor I add adds weight, and that is bad. Departure angle is a limiter but now way to improve other than a bob-job on the bed. Not to be confused with the other 'bob-job on the bed'. Anyhow...

Rear bed corner protection was on the original plan, and I had to modify the sheet metal below tail lights to get bumper to fit. So I finished the roll on the lower edge to tuck it all up and have the bottom parallel to the trim. Had to cut the side support and shorten it.

Before, sheet metal below trim is similar to what is in front of rear wheel.


After. Next is a skid on the bottom connected to bumper and a support pipe to frame.


Designing full length sliders, fuel skid and a belly skid in my mind. Probably a waste but I like the mind puzzles

 

[Mr.zippy]

Nice! Once again, that is a damn fine looking truck! You may have caught a sickness at Moab though….remedy is pensive

 

[rattle_snake]

Uh, ya. Moab, Glamis, ect. Can't go just once.... Too much fun.

Sand hollow and Rubicon are on the bucket list too. Finally feel like I have a truck I can drive 500+ miles to/from wheeling areas. Not perfect or like a modern truck, but doable.

 

[Boosted1]

If you are going to keep off-roading it in challenging conditions, the fuel skid is probably worthwhile.

 

[ntsqd]

There are/were reasons for the tank landing where it is that I don't recall, but what about moving it up to between the axles and under the bed somewhere? Much easier to protect there, and isn't a departure angle concern. With a LB I'd think that it could be big enough for a decent range and still not be a break-over angle concern.
Brennan's in the middle of a SS fuel tank build for a flattie that is quite exotic in shape and his series of shorts on it are filled with cool tricks and tips. I'm badly wanting that magnetic brake and having absolutely no luck in justifying it's expense.
Might spark a thought on how it could be done.

 

[PhantomEB]

I so can’t wait to hit up Moab or the Rubicon next year…..it’s been a long 15 years of ******* and career in the way of abusing my junk!

 

[rattle_snake]

If you are going to keep off-roading it in challenging conditions, the fuel skid is probably worthwhile.

yes I agree there. beyond coming down on a rock/ledge with rear of bedside, the rest inward is next.

Trying to keep weight down, may build cage-ish thing with a few bars. Maybe tie into shackle hangers.

There are/were reasons for the tank landing where it is that I don't recall, but what about moving it up to between the axles and under the bed somewhere? Much easier to protect there, and isn't a departure angle concern. With a LB I'd think that it could be big enough for a decent range and still not be a break-over angle concern.
Brennan's in the middle of a SS fuel tank build for a flattie that is quite exotic in shape and his series of shorts on it are filled with cool tricks and tips. I'm badly wanting that magnetic brake and having absolutely no luck in justifying it's expense.
Might spark a thought on how it could be done.

The axle will hit the tank at bump if it is moved forward much at all. Would have done 40g version if it didn't.
The exhaust and traction bar occupy that space now. Tank has 26" of clearance, which isn't bad.

Still pondering aux tanks. Maybe make one from scratch. or buy this, maybe mod it. 15 g. would bring total to 43 g, 300-350 m range.

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I so can’t wait to hit up Moab or the Rubicon next year…..it’s been a long 15 years of ******* and career in the way of abusing my junk!

Your Bronco is awesome. Some good progress on it of late. Yes you deserve to get it out! Give a shout when you plan to go.

 

[ntsqd]

...... Tank has 26" of clearance, which isn't bad. .....

More than my FSB has by quite a bit. I've been looking at going fwds around the diff cover and laterally out under the frame rails to gain some capacity without going down. I'd love to hit 40 gals, but I doubt there's that much volume available.
I've had good and bad luck with EFI tank switching valves. A friend keeps pointing me to this valve, but I just can't justify the $400 price even if it has been flawless for him.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

I'm a big fan of rigging up a transfer pump to the main tank vs a switching valve. Less expensive and just as effective.

 

[ntsqd]

At one time in the US that was illegal in most States. Came about during the first fuel crunch in the early 70's. Lot of people burnt their cars and occasionally themselves up doing that. Either the laws have relaxed since then, or possibly what I was told was wrong because a couple years ago on a different forum we had cause to dig into it a bit. I'm too "SQUIRREL!!!" to risk it. I'd need something that would shut off the transfer pump when the main was full.
At one time TransferFlow had just such a system that was supposedly "intrinsically safe", but it got pulled after a very short life. I guess maybe it wasn't.

 

[rattle_snake]

Planning to camp up in flagstaff this weekend, likely in the rain, so back to working on the camper shell. Before installing on the truck I addresses many issues. Removed the rest of the dried out trim cover, as I have new to install.


The structure around the door was broken on both sides and made fitment poor. Welded up all the cracks, ground and put another overlay plate over the top. Existing aluminum is really thin, had to go easy with spool gun. Not pretty but improved.


Did some paint touch up, but ran short on paint. Installed new trim cover all around. Then did cap gasket and bumped the whole thing off the lift Dooh! Didn't break any glass but the door didn't shut right anymore. Put it on the truck and started reworking door fitment, latches, strut mounts and so on. It's ok but a wrinkle on the side. Fixable, but the whole thing is a turd. To get it to my standard, it needs a complete rebuild or start with something else. For now, get it working. Going to keep it simple and light weight.

Truck frame flexes enough to hit cab if pushed hard enough. Front wall of camper is wrong angle, fixable, but...

 

[Boosted1]

May not be pretty, but it is definitely better than before.

 

[Bob Heine]

Then did cap gasket and bumped the whole thing off the lift Dooh!

Justin, I never do that. My process involves a light coat of base, heavy coat of base, light coat of clear and three more coats of clear -- only then do I bump it off the stand and face plant the still soft freshly painted side!

 

[rattle_snake]

Bob, why does it always land jelly side down?

 

[rattle_snake]

Ran out of paint on first attempt, but finished and it came out OK. Good match to the cab in Ford Wimbledon white. The right side looks like it had something caustic splatter on it, down to bare metal. So rattle can is an improvement.


Rear had no paint left at all so hit that too. Trying to leave ghetto tint alone. To replace the seals, the entire door/window has to come apart. At that point might as well use tinted glass. But that is the snowball I'm trying to avoid.


This gap is too tight and contacts cab. temp fix is a piece of soft gasket before paint it messed up.


I have a low profile 14" vent to install at another time, needs blocking welded in to mount. Then a light weight aluminum roof rack to hide it a bit and allow carry something up there if needed.

The bed rails are flimsy and the clamps really distort with thick gasket. I used some scraps to distribute force, but really need 16' of thick wall aluminum to do it right. Probably cost more than I paid for the camper itself.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Then a light weight aluminum roof rack to hide it a bit and allow carry something up there if needed.

Will you be adding a place to store a ladder, so you can put stuff on top

The paint is a pretty good match from this vantage point, just need a full sideshot in the sun to be sure!

 

[ntsqd]

The jellied side is heavier than the other side?

The camper looks period on the truck! I like it.

It wouldn't be worth it for just having a camper/bed-shell, but for what it might teach I can see building a period looking replacement from scratch. Current could donate some of the hard to find or expensive pieces. Could well be that the first lesson would be to not listen to me.

 

[burger]

Camper shell looks awesome but the lack of clearance to the back of the cab would have me worried. Lots of flex means lots of rubbing. Any way to use leverage to persuade it into shape?

Again want to state that the camper shell looks awesome as heck. Period perfect!

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

Justin, are you going to the Overland Expo?

 

[zanyad]

Bob, why does it always land jelly side down?

Well, if you wouldn't insist on putting jelly on both sides...

 

[rattle_snake]

Will you be adding a place to store a ladder, so you can put stuff on top

The paint is a pretty good match from this vantage point, just need a full sideshot in the sun to be sure!

No ladder, won't get used much. But rack could be handy for 16' 2-byes or 20' sticks of steel.

The jellied side is heavier than the other side?

The camper looks period on the truck! I like it.

It wouldn't be worth it for just having a camper/bed-shell, but for what it might teach I can see building a period looking replacement from scratch. Current could donate some of the hard to find or expensive pieces. Could well be that the first lesson would be to not listen to me.

Oh no, I have already thought about going down that path. Over engineer everything. too heavy. expensive. excessive time spent. Par for the course.

Camper shell looks awesome but the lack of clearance to the back of the cab would have me worried. Lots of flex means lots of rubbing. Any way to use leverage to persuade it into shape?

Again want to state that the camper shell looks awesome as heck. Period perfect!

No, to get door to seal on tail gate it has to stay where it is. Fix is to blow it apart and modify the frame.
Thanks!

Justin, are you going to the Overland Expo?

That is the plan, but looks like it is going to rain. I'm more in it for the camping and wheelin' than the expo itself. There are some cool vehicles, products and poeple there though. And food and beer.

Overlanding (aka car camping) has exploded in popularity. So many gadgets and accessories. Although I built my truck to off road and camp out of, my goal is different than most. Super simple. Minimal stuff, weight, complexity. Quick to pack/unpack. Quick to remove camper and bed platform.

I sometimes chuckle when I see built-to-the-hilt overlander rigs with every accessory you can possibly bolt on driving to work. Usually a pristine Tacoma or 4-runner, that hasn't really been used for the purpose. Roof top tents on all kinds of vehicles, in case you need to nap in a traffic jam. Same as jeep crowd, it supports the off road industry which is good. If it gets people and their kids to experience the outdoors it's a win. I try not to judge we all have a similar hobby (says the guy rolling on 40s to work, haha).

You going up to Expo?

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

That is the plan, but looks like it is going to rain. I'm more in it for the camping and wheelin' than the expo itself. There are some cool vehicles, products and poeple there though. And food and beer.

Overlanding (aka car camping) has exploded in popularity. So many gadgets and accessories. Although I built my truck to off road and camp out of, my goal is different than most. Super simple. Minimal stuff, weight, complexity. Quick to pack/unpack. Quick to remove camper and bed platform.

I sometimes chuckle when I see built-to-the-hilt overlander rigs with every accessory you can possibly bolt on driving to work. Usually a pristine Tacoma or 4-runner, that hasn't really been used for the purpose. Roof top tents on all kinds of vehicles, in case you need to nap in a traffic jam. Same as jeep crowd, it supports the off road industry which is good. If it gets people and their kids to experience the outdoors it's a win. I try not to judge we all have a similar hobby (says the guy rolling on 40s to work, haha).

You going up to Expo?

I agree 100%!

No, I think we will be up in that area next weekend; my wife is in Cottonwood this weekend with her friends, so I'm taking the kids to Monster Trucks in Queentucky on Saturday. I thought maybe you'd be going with your neighbor with the Yota.

 

[ntsqd]

"If that was my lake, I'd mow it!"
--Will Rodgers, talking about Mormon Lake, AZ.


My Expi custom user title is "Heretic Car Camper"

 

[FullRaceMerc]

built-to-the-hilt overlander rigs with every accessory you can possibly bolt on driving to work. Usually a pristine Tacoma...
...that hasn't really been used for the purpose. Roof top tents on all kinds of vehicles, in case you need to nap in a traffic jam.

That guy works where I do. Can't use his truck for work anymore out of fear he'll scratch it. Can't take it off road for the same reason.

 

[rattle_snake]

I agree 100%!

No, I think we will be up in that area next weekend; my wife is in Cottonwood this weekend with her friends, so I'm taking the kids to Monster Trucks in Queentucky on Saturday. I thought maybe you'd be going with your neighbor with the Yota.

Yes going with my neighbor and the whole Moab crew plus another.
Enjoy the monster truck show

 

[rattle_snake]

The paint is a pretty good match from this vantage point, just need a full sideshot in the sun to be sure!

 

[ntsqd]

As compared to where it started:

 

[Mr.zippy]

Wow! That comparison shot is amazing! Nice truck indeed!

 

[LXCam]

Its really easy to lose sight of how far a project has come when the transition happens gradually. Thanks for posting that pic NT, what a difference aaaaaaaaaaa 2500 posts make

 

[ntsqd]

I just remembered that pic from early on and went looking for it.

The contrast is more than I thought it would be, and I expected that it would be significant!

 

[PhantomEB]

I love my RTT but once I get a slide in, then it will fk off. I prefer to have All my camping gear in one place. I going back to dedicated units for camping and Just haul my toy out there.

 

[Bears Fan]

Justin, that's an amazing trip! I would love to make it to Moab someday

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Absolutely stunning!

 

[zmotorsports]

Absolutely stunning!

^^Agreed.

 

[rattle_snake]

Thanks for the complement guys. Yes a long road of a build with many issues and re-do's. I learned a lot.

I've received a lot of complements, a few recently that were memorable.

I picked up 2 new batteries from Ford for my 2014 F250. While parked in service lane, a group had formed around it of techs and writers. Usual chat, questions. What I thought to be the service foreman said 'I'd take it over anything on the lot'

Yesterday in Sedona I had a lot of people come as ask about it or take pics. One of the pink jeep drivers came up and said 'I've seen a lot of impressive vehicles out here, but this one makes my list'.

There are also people (women included) that ask the year and tell me about their memories in similar trucks, with family that have passed.

Although it has it issues, It's worth it to me to drive old iron. Or at least some of the time.

 

[rattle_snake]

Did the trip up to flagstaff last weekend, for the Overland Expo and related activities. Extreme headwind and rain on way up. With sway bar can drive 80 in high winds no problem. Wipers have no intermittent feature, but it rained hard enough for an hour and a half to just leave them on. Defrost to keep view clear. Without all those system working, can't see.
No leaks other than a few drops in center of windshield, at an air speed of 120 mph, oh well. Camper was dry, miracle.

We camped near but not in the event and walked in. Free admission, haha. Road was slick and sloppy.


leveled truck. Forgot foam roll to sleep on, hard first night.


Everyone else in the group had a RTT, and me in my $100 camper, freshly spray painted.


Added some hooks in various places for gear and speaker system. At full tilt, it fills the space with plenty of punch.


Then to Sedona, but Schnebly road was closed, so took highway and did broken arrow.


Not much for obstacles on this trail. Narrow. Did the crack and slid down the staircase.


Nice views


Found a crack to test flex (aka poser shot)

 

[SilverJimmy]

My buddy lives in Pine Dell by the fairgrounds, so we hike in from his house and the trail dumps us right into the Expo. Really couldn’t find where we were supposed to pay admission! Lol! We did spend a ton with all the food and drink vendors though!

 

[Boosted1]

Truck looks fantastic! It really flexes well too. There is a fair amount of frame flex I see based on bed vs cab alignment in those last few shots. Love seeing it put to use. Your work is impressive.

 

[zmotorsports]

Looks like a fun trip Justin. The Sedona area is on our list of places to visit and wheel. We were going to head there this spring but with the anticipation of our grandson's birth we opted to push it off a year or so. Really looking forward to wheeling in the area and sightseeing.