Safari Pacific MX2 Build

[MasherAZ]

Yeah, it kinda sucks. I'm taking this truck back to simple and light, then start using it more. It spends far more time in the shop than on the road. Once I've gotten most of it done I'm going to get rolling on one of my other projects. I have the urge to build something crazy. I've been wanting to build my own race truck or build something like the hilux in district 9, but thats one of those up in the air things.

Is that gonna be with or without the machine gun? Either way sign me up! Or you could build the Hilux from Top Gear with the crapper on the hitch and the gun rack in the bed...

 

[daniel3507]

Any updates on the Ranger or any other projects you got going on? Your website is what created my dream of being able to overland haha.

 

[jhammel85]

Just read your story in the trs winter magazine!

 

[kditchley]

Awesome build man!!! Keep up the good work.

 

[schanusa]

Its been quite a while since I've done anything to my truck or taken any sort of trip. These past few years have given me a good beat down with having my truck and trip backing self destruct, loosing my grandfather to cancer then a year later loosing my father to a heart attack. Throughout my life I've had my fair share of challenges, setbacks and generally stuff blowing up in my face. All of which I've managed to trudge through and arrive at the end a wiser and better person. The recent events in my life are no exception. I've learned some hard lessons and it's time to move on. Being the type of person I am, I'll be writing about some of the lessons I've learned and why I changed things. So now it's time to get back working on the truck.

With my hiatus of travel since October 2011, I decided to take a day drive near my home this past weekend. I headed out to the hills behind my house and popped out near Vail Lake. Though this wasn't a huge trip, it was nice to get back on dirt and just go.

 

[daniel3507]

Sorry to hear of the downfalls. Sounds like you have a great attitude though which is the most important thing. I feel like Ford should have loved the idea of sponsoring you.

Sent from my LS670 using Tapatalk 2

 

[schanusa]

Sorry to hear of the downfalls. Sounds like you have a great attitude though which is the most important thing. I feel like Ford should have loved the idea of sponsoring you.

Thanks.

Ford did love the idea. I sat down at the SEMA Show with one of their marketing people, who wasn't the original person I was talking to. She wasn't aware of what I had discussed with the other marketing guy or what I was doing. So I don't think the message was conveyed afterwards and faded away after that. Honestly, I don't have anything against Ford. In all reality for them to sponsor me really didn't make business sense. The Ranger line is no more and my Ranger was highly modified beyond what they manufacture. As a marketing person myself I knew it was a long shot.

 

[schanusa]

The day after my little trip I decided to clean the truck as I hadn't touched anything since November. I parked the truck on a small concrete pad that use to be a dog run or something. This concrete pad might also be a little project for myself. Hopefully I'll be building myself a small garage out of it. For now its a nice clean flat surface to work on.

Anyhow, once I pulled all my gear out of the truck and Action Packers, I laid it all out. Figured I'd do another one of those here what I use photos. I've slimmed down what I carry big time. Lots of the tools and gear was really not necessary. Now I'm down to two bags. The first bag (black, lower row) contains tools. The second bag (grey, top row) contains tire repair tools.

In the tool bag are smaller pouches that contain like items. One pouch is for wrenches, one is for metric sockets, another is for standard sockets, specialty items and extensions are in one and the final pouch is an electrical repair kit. Of the tools I only carry the exact sizes the truck actually has. I also only carry 3/8 ratchet sized sockets. This allows me to limit carrying items that are really not needed. I have a breaker bar, mainly for change tires, though I carry the 1/2 to 3/8 adapter if I need some extra leverage on a stubborn bolt.

Tool Bag

Wrench Pouch
- Slim 3/4in-1/4in Wrenches
- Slim 18mm-6mm Wrenches

Metric Socket Pouch
- 18mm-9mm Deep Sockets
- 15mm-10mm Sockets (12 Point)

Standard Socket Pouch
- 3/4in-3/8in Deep Sockets

Specialty and Extension Pouch
- 3in x 3/8 Extension
- 6in x 3/8 Extension
- 1/2 to 3/8 Adapter
- 1/2 stubby extension
- Spark Plug Socket
- Spark Plug Gap Tool

Electrical Repair Kit Pouch
- Digital Multimeter
- 20 Feet Extra Wire
- Electrical Tape
- Heat Shrink Tube
- Cable Ties (Zip Ties)

Loose items in the Tool Bag
- Pick Hammer
- Pliers
- Needle Nose Pliers (with cutters)
- Phillips Screwdriver
- Flat Screwdriver
- Hex Key Wrenches
- 1/2 Inch Chisel
- 1/4 Inch Chisel
- Adjustable Wrench (8in)
- Ratchet (I carry two, so if one breaks)
- Stainless Steel Wire


Tire Repair Bag

- Coil Air Line with Quick Release Fittings
- ARB Air Chuck with Gauge
- Tire Plugs
- Tire Plug Reamer & Install Tool
- Extra No-Loss Valve Caps
- Extra Valve Stems
- Valve Stem Tool
- 3/4 Lug Nut Socket (use with breaker bar)
- Extra Pressure Gauge

Other Items

- Air Compressor
- Breaker Bar
- 1 inch Steel Strap (comes in handy removing pulleys and other uses)
- Bottle Jack (Taped to keep from leaking)
- Long Cable Ties
- Folding Shovel

Other Items not picture

- Recovery Strap
- Gorilla Tape

 

[schanusa]

Onto the spare parts and fluids. I haven't slimmed down in this area, though I've never carried too much to begin with.

Spare Parts

- Alternator
- Serpentine Belt
- Upper & Lower Radiator Hose (these are hard to find for my motor)
- Front Brake Pads (In grey pouch)
- Head Light Bulbs (In plastic case with electrical tape holding it closed)
- Fuses and Small Bulbs (small pelican case)

Fluids & Extra

- One Quart Oil
- One Quart ATF (Ford manuals use ATF)
- Hand pump for ATF
- 0.5 Liter Brake Fluid (Fiji Water Bottle doesn't like like the original brake fluid bottle)
- 0.5 Liter Power Steering Fluid (In another Fiji bottle for same reason)
- RainX
- Gasket Maker (I usually have coolant system problems)
- Extra Hose Clamps
- JB Weld
- Scotch Bright
- Rope (Bull Line)
- Terry Cloths (I like these as they suck up fluids/grime better)
- Jumper Cables (was easier to fit in this case rather than tools)

 

[schanusa]

One of the big area's I've axed unnecessary junk is in the cooking department. For a larger rig that can handle weight I'd still prefer a larger kitchen setup. Though with the Ranger needing to be light I had to cut back to the necessities. One item I do continue to carry is my Jet Boil. That is the best for quick meals, and I use it the most. Especially when the weather rolls in, you can cook inside. My more elaborate cooking setup has slimmed down to fit all in my GSI Bugaboo kit. I've learned to pack everything in this thing, minus the stove fuel. And on that note, I've ditched propane all together and gone with an alcohol stove and a 50 pesos Colombian coin. This alone frees up a larger stove, propane bottle and the extra items along with it. The stove, stand and lighters fit in a small pouch. The actual fuel I use is denatured alcohol.

All the small items floating around in the last photo all fit into the cook set. Spices, utensils, can opener and all.

Nice and simple.

Items

- Jet Boil (with one fuel can attached, which last a long time)
- MSR Fuel Can with Denatured Alcohol
- GSI Bugaboo Cook Set for 2


Inside the Cook Set

- Two Sea to Summit forks/spoons/knives
- Can Opener
- Alcohol Stove (aka penny stove made from aluminum soda cans)
- Stainless Steel Wire Stand (thin wire on one side connects the 2 pieces and allows for folding flat)
- Two Lighters (have matches too)
- Spices
- Two Aluminum Plates (not in picture, though can be used as a flat surface for penny stove or eating)

 

[schanusa]

Time to pack it all back in the truck. I've gone back to using the MDF box I originally built for the Ranger. It weighs in at 63 lbs, so it has some mass though not too terrible. I covered the box with tan carpet, close to the same color as the existing interior. This keeps everything hidden at first glance. I think the coolest part of the box are the hinges I used. I just happen to come across them when someone I knew had the contract to get rid of all the items in a few retail stores that closed. The hinges allow for a near seamless lid. On the driver side I also will continue to carry the tan/green Action Packer. That will contain all of the spare fluids and parts to prevent any leaks from going all over the interior of the truck.

In the left compartment I have my sleeping bag, pillow, cold weather jacket, beanie, clothes, maps and my backpack. My backpack usually has my clothing. I carry enough clothing for 3 days, so that's 2 sets packed in the bag and what I'm wearing. On some trips I carry my netbook which also fits in the Maxpedition bag. Over to the right is the center compartment where I have all my tools, tire stuff and all the items in the tool photo. Other items in the center compartment are; Orange filters for Lightforce Lights, couple Rest Stop bags for #2, Nalgene 1 liter bottle for #1, recovery strap and gloves.

The far right compartment has all the cooking stuff and a Fiji bottle with dish soap. Yes, another Fiji bottle. I like them because the plastic is thicker than most bottles and the lids don't leak even with brake fluid. I'll also use the extra space in the compartment to toss in a few days worth of food. Longer trips I'll just keep food that doesn't fit behind the seats or utilize the unused space in the tool compartment. Even if I'm home I still keep a couple cans of chili and some granola bars. Better to have it and not use it than not have it and need it.

There's some extra space behind the Action Packer. Perfect size for a second battery, which I'll be adding at some point. I'll be using a regular size battery since I don't have the fridge on the truck anymore.

All packed up and lids closed. Looks nice and clean.

 

[Shran]

Good to see that you still have your project and are still interested in working on it. I know all about being burnt out and having the budget shot... couple years ago I started a V8 swap about 3 months before a big event, stuff happened, and the only thing that pulled it together was a free Grand Cherokee that I flipped and made $1200 profit on.

It is easy to go overboard with gear...looks like you have it down to what you need. I did the opposite of you, went out with nothing a few times and learned exactly what I need. My goal is to have enough stuff packed in a small truck toolbox and two coolers that I can leave town, wheel for a couple days, camp in a tent and drive home happy.

 

[schanusa]

Good to see that you still have your project and are still interested in working on it. I know all about being burnt out and having the budget shot... couple years ago I started a V8 swap about 3 months before a big event, stuff happened, and the only thing that pulled it together was a free Grand Cherokee that I flipped and made $1200 profit on.

It is easy to go overboard with gear...looks like you have it down to what you need. I did the opposite of you, went out with nothing a few times and learned exactly what I need. My goal is to have enough stuff packed in a small truck toolbox and two coolers that I can leave town, wheel for a couple days, camp in a tent and drive home happy.

Thanks! Yeah, plans don't always go like they should. I try not to set any hard plans because of that anymore. I set out too what I'd like to do and whatever I can get done I'm happy with and accept the changes that I didn't expect.

Really, I've always been a minimalist. I did go overboard in some areas though my the biggest problem for me was having certain sponsors. I'm not going to name names. Don't get me wrong, I still have other great sponsors and we are both in agreement on what each of our obligations are. I just had a couple bad sponsors that, well I'll admit it, I let push me into things I didn't want and things happened. I should of stood my ground, though when you start in the sponsorship game is easy to give in. Lesson learned; always have a written contract between both parties and include what your obligations are and consequences for not upholding them. Have reviewed by an attorney as well before signing. Handshakes unfortunately only work with certain people and you never know who they are until its too late.

 

[06RangerXLT]

impressive! i'll be stealing the tools list to carry, as i dont know every size to carry.

usually out of everybody im the one with the parts, tools and supplies.. its sad cus i dont carry alot...

 

[Shran]

One thing that I see missing from your tool list, that I recently started carrying is a couple of files. A small round one for a chainsaw and a flat or triangle one are my personal choices. They are indispensable for fixing threads on bolts, filing out burrs on u-joint yokes, sharpening knives, etc. Just a thought.