In reply to wae :
Never go full Retard. 
In reply to wae :
Never go full Retard.
Had another fun weekend, but ran into a crappy situation..... I broke the black tank..... Too many rough roads and stiff suspension......
[url=https://flic.kr/p/26ffgcb]
Was very glad to be in the truck when it poured rain ALL night.
Avert your eyes if you dont enjoy nasty.....
mmmm nasty.
Supplies.
After dumping and cleaning..... See the crack? Looks like it flexed too much and that was the thin spot. Go back 30 pages or something and there is discussion about this blowing up in the middle of no where in the middle of the night.....
Took a piece of alu tube, and a half a tube of 3M 5200, hopefully that not only glues the crack closed, but reinforces the edge of the tank there..... Metal tape is just keeping gravity to a minimum while the 5200 dries.
While I was waiting for the tank area to dry after cleaning.... I added a POL tee to the propane line. That gives me a high pressure connection for anything, I can run an outdoor stove, BBQ or the firepit off the main tank now.
Works dandy! However I am not sure I trust the sending unit on the propane tank.... It still says 3/4 full. We only use it for cooking and hot water, but I have not filled it since I installed it.
In reply to java230 :
I have been constantly amazed at how little propane I consume even when using the furnace, water heater, fridge, and stove for a week.
In reply to wae :
Good to know. This is a big tank, but I figured we would burn some. I have a gauge for the water tank and propane tank to hook up now too. Always something to do!
Wife is out of town, which means I can stay up late working on the truck after the kid is in bed.
So I finally added a desperately needed latch to the kitchen drawer. Blue tape has been sort of working to hold it closed.
Pulled the metal tape off as it was really slowing the cure, and the 5200 has set up enough to not sag out of the joint. Not pretty, but hopefully it holds together.
Then started to install my tank gauge. I got sick of trying top figure out how much water was left. Its a SeeLevel gauge, sticks on the outside of the tank, can also read the sedning unit on the propane which will be nice, and I could add a sensor to the black tank if I feel like it too.
Sensor cut to length for the tank.
Made a little shelf to hold the gauge unit. In stalling it under the bench seat at the moment. Not sure I want it up next to the Tsat and battery monitor. Debating.
Realized ti was late at this point and I was out of 18/2 to wire it, so I put the plumbing back together and went to bed.
In reply to java230 :
I don't know if the 5200 will fix the leak, but I know you aren't getting it off the tank :)
In reply to monknomo :
I REALLY hope it seals the tank up.... The tank does not come out without destruction 
And if a new one needs to go in its going to be a royal pain as well.
New goodies :D 1.5" solid rear sway bar, and a Bluetooth dongle for my battery and solar meters.
Very nice weekend relaxing in the truck. Just in a CG, but it was nice none the less.
Set up our glamp site. Grabbed an aluminum "screen/shade" thing, works pretty slick for keeping the temps down.
Did lots of cooking in the Dutch Oven. Biscuits, pizza's, Cake.
Spotted this fire flare up, headed over in the boat and got to watch the helicopter dip the bucket over and over, it looked like they saved all the houses though! Probably started at the road, luckily there was not much fuel.
Cozy little cabin.
Now the bad news. My front tires are feathering, pretty sure this is new (we have put 10k miles on the truck, have not seen it yet). I did hit a couple pot holes HARD last week. Nothing obvious, but I may have knocked the alignment out.
Or the radius arm bushings have given up the ghost.
And my solar panel took a crap, one cell seems to have shorted out.
Another fun weekend spent climbing!
Pretty spot, but zero shade at all. Truck stays cool for awhile, good insulation is nice!
Snuck some routes in after dinner Friday. Its nice to climb in the early morning and evening, mid day is WAY to hot for me. Im a PNW boy, over 75 and I melt.
Nice evening walk (on the edge of a cliff :D )
Peaceful at night
Up at 5:30am for some climbing before the sun bakes us!
This was a fun route to lead, 10 clips, not as tall as the other one, but its a 5.9 with a couple tough spots, and the crack to the left can be climbed once the ancor is set, its a 5.10a. That was fun too, but a good workout. They are however right next to "Air Guitar" the route which Goran Kropp died on in 2002. A bit of a sobering reminder.
Wife tired to pull a superman. (yes she held on :) )
From the top of the next tower over. Pretty easy 5.8 with one tough spot.
Back to the truck for a mid day nap, being able to open the back door onto the bed is awesome, so much air movement that way.
My bed was the popular spot....
Then off to the other side of the canyon once the sun was setting. This is "The Feathers" much shorter walls, but also only a couple minute walk from the truck.
A couple nice guys let me top rope this one, I fell trying to lead it last time, and didn't really want to try again at the moment. Its a 5.10c and overhangs the whole way. OK for top ropeing, not wanting to lead that yet....
Then we moved over to the other side and my lovely wife lead this one. Ran it a few times and just barely cleaned up the anchor before it got really dark.
Crashed out early, and got up at 5:30 again. This was the target for the morning. Agatha rock.
Not a terrible way to start the day.
"My hand are sore"
Across the river and high tail it home.
And a friendly reminder that Mohoo folding 100w solar panels suck.
Actual truck work now!
My Kelderman air bag front coil replacements came in. Nice pieces of work.
Jack truck up. I had to dig level spots for my plywood jack stand bases.... Truck is so heavy they wanted to tip if it was not dead flat. I was surprised by the lack of frame movement though. The dirvers side is completely on the ground here.
Ready for work, was not bad with two jacks to be able to raise and lower the axle as needed.
Before:
Old stuff out
Had to drill two holes in each of the upper springs mounts to hold the new mount in place.
Everything bolted in! Air line runs up into the engine bay on both sides.
Discard pile.
Rusty lugs got a coat of paint while they were off. Not sure I like it, did black (thats primer) and they kind of stand out now.
Sitting on its own weight! ~90psi in the bags, they are a little tall (8.5" between mounts, spec is 7.5-8.5) but it may settle a bit, need to drive it and adjust.
It was late.... No good pics....
Now in the tire wear/alignment issue. It looks like my axle is offset to the drivers side almost 1". That is jsut quick and dirty tape measure work, but measuring from the frame to the tire ribs both sides gives me that. And the air bag is only a finger or so from the frame on the passenger side, and has at least an inch on the drivers side..... odd.
Cant wait to test drive it this evening!!
I would strap that black tank like a gas tank. The weight on those edges will break that seam again and again. My inlaws had the same issue, he got some gas tank strap off amazon, cut to length, fixed his issues.
FunkyCricket said:I would strap that black tank like a gas tank. The weight on those edges will break that seam again and again. My inlaws had the same issue, he got some gas tank strap off amazon, cut to length, fixed his issues.
Its weird, because thats how the mfg said to mount it. But I have thought of strapping it as well.
Test drive done, bag height set to 8" per the mfg instructions. That results in 73psi on both sides! Alignment is scheduled.
Another fun weekend out in the rocks!
This is a 5.9 route, lots of blots, but a couple tricky spots. The crack to the left is a 5.10a, tough one for me, cant quite get hand jambs in it.
Made an awesome dutch oven apple rhubarb pie too :D
Update on the Kelderman, I have ~400 miles on it now. And they are aired up to 8" bag height per the instructions. Range is 7.5-8.5, so I could drop a little pressure and try that. Its not a mind blowing change. A bit less harsh on sharp bumps, but it still rides like a heavy ass truck. I think that may be partly due to my heavy front axle weight, the OE springs may have been softened (or rode softer due to the weight). I did get some much needed front lift, and up travel was increased by nearly double, which should be much better on the big bumps. But at the moment its hard to tell with the stiff rear end. Sway bar did well bringing the truck back to feeling like it did originally cornering wise. The back end seemed to "flop" side to side less as well on the off road sections. Need an adjustable track bar to get the passenger side bag away from the frame. It does not appear to have touched at all, but there is only 1/2" or so of clearance, I'd like a bit more. Any suggestions are welcome.
Drives great on the highway still! Gets 10mpg no matter what it seems, cruise gets set to 68mph as that is 2250rpms, much more just seems like it would eat gas badly. Climbs grades at 66mph, 30psi of boost and right around 1000 degree EGT's
I just want the pie... mmm camp fire dutch oven pie...
In reply to FunkyCricket :
It was gone so fast it wasn't even funny :D
Washington has some pretty great areas.
A bit of climbing on Saturday morning. A quick multi pitch is a great way to start the day! Got on the wall at 6:30am. Its get hot when the sun comes out....
Stopped by the NW Overland Rally for a night. Its getting big.... My good friends with Three amigos Offroad let me sneak in behind their camp area. Great to see friends we dont see often, but its a bit crazy.
Headed out of the rally Sunday am and drove up to Mazama, did a few routes and headed off a little early to make sure we could find a camp site, it was busy!
Nice spot near a creek, road getting there was interesting, I think I dragged belly a couple times.... No issues though.
It was my lovely wife's birthday, so we BBQ'ed some lobsters. They were good!
Not bad if I do say so myself :D
Monday was a bit rainy, but we hiked out across the Ross Lake damn, kind of a neat hike
Kid wanted them to open the spillways
Then we jetted back home! Having to work sucks!
Lots of trips have been packed in! Kids of to summer camp so the adults get to do things she would not appreciate being dragged on. So first up was Pinto rock, 400ft of climbing, base of the rock is at 5123ft, pretty damn fun. Easy climbing, but out first long ish multi pitch.
Water bars for MILES. Ugh, but good lights really help.
Camp for the night.
Not a terrible spot to wake up.
The goal.
Almost to the top, truck looks tiny :)
At the top!
This neighboring one looks fun too. Half way down the rap off the back side.
Then back to the truck and drive home in time for the family 4th party.
And my new plates came :D
Oh yes..... Made in the US springs, matched to my axle weight, custom made by Atlas Spring!
In reply to java230 :
Nice! That should help the ride for sure. Did you get the same ride height as before?
In reply to thatsnowinnebago :
I sure hope so! 1" over stock height. They are HEAVY lol
In reply to java230 :
Haha, I bet. The little guys on my '87 Toyota 4x4 were a pain to move around.
In reply to thatsnowinnebago :
158lbs each according to the shipping label.... But that may include the pallet also
Beefy suspension!
I love seeing the travel pictures of you getting to use and enjoy the project.
In reply to crankwalk :
Thanks! It's great use it, but seriously feels like cheating at times!
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