1993 Splash in SC

[85_Ranger4x4]

I wanted to but never really got set up for it, if a guy could at least vacuum seal the meat so you don't have a slurry of whatever oozes out of a leaking ziplock bag of raw hamburger or chicken sloshing around the cooler that would be nice.

The cheese that it contaminated I could have/should have put into a sealed container that would have kept the water out of it. Actually the resealable cheese pouch let in less water than freezer bags.

Then something did a battering ram maneuver and popped an apple sauce cup so I had applesauce in the mix too.

Then I had all that special juice sloshing out of the cooler and into the back of my truck...

Like you, the 12v cooler needing power is a turnoff to me. Otherwise it would be awesome. I need to investigate more just how hard that nut is to crack.

It wouldn't take much to improve on the POS cooler that I had though.

For sure my platform is a young man's game, a wall tent you can actually walk around in would be great.

 

[sgtsandman]

Might have to change from Curious Hound Overland to Fat Bastard Overland.

The door sticker doesn't reflect that the rear axle is a 31 spline 8.8". So, that may help a little bit.

 

[Robertmangrum.rm]

LONG POST. SORRY.

So I just read @85_Ranger4x4 ’s analysis and review of his camping setup following this year’s Vagabond trip. And it has me thinking about my situation. I’m always churning ideas in my head and trying to think about what I could do better within the realm of my current resources.

This 8 day(for me) trip was a great test. I normally do more of a base camp operation. Let’s face it. Setting up and tearing down camp on a daily basis is a bunch of work. So, how do we get it down to acceptable levels so it doesn’t sap the fun out of the trip?

Shelter; buying the gazelle tent and gazebo were some of the greatest things I’ve done for my camping. Yes. They take up a lot more space in the truck than the cheap 2 or 3-man tents from Walmart that I used to use. But the comfort of having standing room in the tent is worth it for this old geezer. Plenty of room for me, Livvy, the air mattress and sleeping bag, my duffle bag and even Livvy’s food and water. It’s all inside and protected from the weather. If rainy, the gazebo gives me shelter for cooking meals. No regrets. The only downsides are effort required for setup/teardown and the fact that I’m still looking for a flat, non-muddy, non-rocky space on the ground. Some dispersed campsites I see along the road are not great for that. If I come into enough money, I will likely buy a RTT and build a frame to mount it on the truck. That’s heavier and changes the center of gravity in a bad direction. But it assures me of a dry, flat surface to sleep on everywhere I go. I would possibly consider a small overlanding trailer. But one group I travel with has a “no trailers” rule.

Food Storage; I have camped with ice chests for my whole life. Never really thought much about it. But, once the ice starts melting, the water starts sloshing. I haven’t found anything yet that really keeps that water from infiltrating food containers. Zip-Loc bags are not adequate. The water gets in and food gets messed up. I managed it well in this trip, using a stick pot as a container to keep some things out of the water and a plastic bin from an old ice chest as another such containeA 12volt fridge/freezer combo is on my list of “wants”. Technology has finally risen to the occasion and these units are getting more affordable. Only drawback is that they need power. So…

Power; I am still doing well by just using the trucks electrical system for charging phone, tablet, radios, etc. But this has its limits. I could use more power storage and an inverter to power a computer to transfer files from camera cards onto other storage media. If I add a refrigerator. That demand becomes bigger and continuous. So, a large secondary battery with inverter and solar charging capability becomes necessary. Hmmm. Sounds nice. But it’s not cheap.

Overall, I’m very pleased with how everything worked on this trip. A few little bugs to work out. A few things that would be nice to do differently. But my setup is proven. If I wanted to, I could do a little maintenance and set off for a trip to Alaska next week, if finances permitted.

You know I can help with the power issue. Really don't take that much. The DC to DC charger is the most difficult thing for me to aquire for free haha. But the 12v fridges only draw around 6 to 8 amps of DC. Now if your running them AC through an inverter they consume quite a bit more. But I'm getting away with a group 27 agm. Went agm to match my truck battery to assure charging rates match. But I have my fridge plugged into it with a 12v twist lock outlet. The standard 12v jack likes to pop out bouncing around offroad. I can work on gathering the stuff for another setup or 2. May take some time as we haven't done many repairs lately. But once the main season slows down they will be coming in for upgrades and repairs. Then I can restock my storage box of wonders haha

 

[Curious Hound]

You know I can help with the power issue. Really don't take that much. The DC to DC charger is the most difficult thing for me to aquire for free haha. But the 12v fridges only draw around 6 to 8 amps of DC. Now if your running them AC through an inverter they consume quite a bit more. But I'm getting away with a group 27 agm. Went agm to match my truck battery to assure charging rates match. But I have my fridge plugged into it with a 12v twist lock outlet. The standard 12v jack likes to pop out bouncing around offroad. I can work on gathering the stuff for another setup or 2. May take some time as we haven't done many repairs lately. But once the main season slows down they will be coming in for upgrades and repairs. Then I can restock my storage box of wonders haha

I’ll take you up on that deal.

 

[Uncle Gump]

My fridge in normal mode has a 4 amp draw on 12v DC. Slightly less in eco mode. I ran it directly off the starting battery using 10 AWG due to length of the wire. The fridge also has battery run down protection with high/medium/low thresholds. I was set at the high threshold (12.3 volts) and my starting battery would run that fridge for over 12 hours in eco mode before hitting rundown protection. I actually let it run until it shut down with rundown protection and the fridge displayed an E1 error code. I then tried to start the truck... and it fired right up.

I would still like to run a "house" battery at some point... but I'm just gonna run this fridge the way I have it wired until I do without worrying if the truck will start.

 

[Robertmangrum.rm]

I’ll take you up on that deal.

You know where my shop is. I'll start collecting the items needed.

 

[Curious Hound]

I replaced the melted cooling fan relay and base with a better quality 40amp rated waterproof relay and base. Tested it and it works. Also pulled the last few items out from the Kentucky trip. And looked to see where I want to mount the external speaker I got for the GMRS radio. Looks like it's going on the roof. Still need to decide whether it will go forward, mounted where the overhead console is in a BII or Explorer, or rear, just in front of the dome light. It seems to be far enough away to avoid bumping my head on it in either place.

 

[Curious Hound]

Decided to look at my front wheel bearings before taking another trip in the Ranger. The grease is black where I can see it with the hub removed. So, they should be repacked already. Then, decided to look at rear brakes. Haven't seen them in years and the parking brake barely holds unless on a level surface and I really push hard on the pedal to set it. Well, rear brakes are due for attention. Got every possible cent of value out of these shoes. I think I'll schedule a full rear brake rebuild - shoes, cylinders, and hardware. There's barely any discernable ridge on the drum. So I think they're ok. Only checked driver side. I doubt passenger side is any better.

 

[Curious Hound]

And in other news...

EricBphoto is now, officially Curious Hound on TRS.

 

[Curious Hound]

Finally installing the new u-bolts on the rear axle. I think I ordered the next size larger. Old bolts fought like hell to stay in there. Sawzall won the battle, minus a few blades. None of my impacts would move them. I then went to a 3/4" ratchet. But that was too much work.

160 ft-lbs of torque did a number on the fresh paint I put on them and few days ago. I guess Rustoleum doesn't stretch as much as steel. I'm supposed to go to 170 ft-lbs. But I think I'll let it rest at 160 until I drive on them a little bit. Then up it to 170. That paint was smooth before I torqued the bolts.

 

[Lefty]

Finally installing stalling the new u-bolts on the rear axle. I think I ordered the next size larger. Old bolts fought like hell to stay in there. Sawzall won the battle, minus a few blades. None of my impacts would move them. I then went to a 3/4" ratchet. But that was too much work.

View attachment 121814

160 ft-lbs of torque did a number on the fresh paint I put on them and few days ago. I guess Rustoleum doesn't stretch as much as steel. I'm supposed to go to 170 ft-lbs. But I think I'll let it rest at 160 until I drive on them a little bit. Then up it to 170. That paint was smooth before I torqued the bolts.
View attachment 121813
Some pretty U bolts.

 

[Curious Hound]

Finished creating a charging station for phone, camera batteries, powering a laptop computer, Milwaukee battery charger or whatever else needs it out on the trail. House battery, solar panel and inverter coming soon.

Contains 120VAC duplex receptacle, two 12VDC power ports and two USB charging stations. Fuses on left side and LED strips on the sides to make it easier to see at night.

 

[Lefty]

This has always been my favorite Ranger on this site. Then again, I'm partial to little black Rangers. The shorter wheel base of the regular cab really comes in handy for short errands in town. I have also found it helpful now that I'm going off road more.

 

[Curious Hound]

... and mounted the sliding base for my refrigerator.

 

[Curious Hound]

This has always been my favorite Ranger on this site. Then again, I'm partial to little black Rangers. The shorter wheel base of the regular cab really comes in handy for short errands in town. I have also found it helpful now that I'm going off road more.

Thanks. Hopefully, it's getting better and better.