CrazyCooter

One other failure on the trip was the Gearmaster....... It had been intermittently been not turning on, but touching one of the buttons on top would turn it on so I figured it was a software glitch or something. Well it must have a cold solder joint of a cracked board cause it's temperature sensitive, now shuts off when touching a button, and requires a minor beating to turn on now. Hoping that will be easy to get handled since it's only a couple months old!

Just made it home from the first long trip in the Pete, a 2500 mile round trip to Cody, Wy and back! I must say overall we are pretty happy with the migration to the heavier truck. The trip was almost trouble free other than an unscheduled compressor governor failure at almost the worst possible time and a slight water leak due to a loose hose clamp discovered at the same time as the governor during a morning pretrip. No phone/internet service, at least 50 miles from the nearest town, and no way to disconnect/unload our street legal UTV to run for parts. I took the governor off the compressor and performed minor roadside surgery in the sub freezing temps that got us moving long enough to travel to our destination and get a new unit from NAPA. The other thing that was really annoying was the trucks ride on the bigger bumps on the rough highways. The small stuff on the concrete slabs the truck's suspension ate up with that little bit left for the air seats to take care of, so no issue there. The problem came in the big holes or transitions to/from bridges and the like....You know it's bad when there are skid marks on the ground from the lifted drop axle's G-out! There were times I left the seat like you see on Ice Road Truckers! I need to put a GoPro back at the hitch to see what is happening there as I'm pretty sure the TrailAir Flex hitch I just installed is causing more chucking than it is preventing....... Could be a wheelbase/overhang issue too. What are you guys experiencing? I feel pretty good today considering driving over 1,200 miles in less than 27 hours and 850 miles yesterday alone! Last time I did this trip in my pickup we stopped short at 700 miles, I was looking for pain killers and was ready for bed! Few pics: SW side of South Pass on our return trip.... This is where the governor failed on the way to Cody. This was also the gnarliest climb/decent I have ever driven. The Pete did pretty well considering it's smallish powerplant! Took the truck off road a bit for some fly fishing on the Shoshone River. Another off road trip checking out the Metropolis ghost town just outside of Wells, NV. Ditched the 5er and went Baja style with my long travel Airleaf suspension! Glad to have installed that Detroit Locker........

That is my goal......Stop or slow working and go camping! Only 4 trips this year.....Usually have at least 10 in by now!

Thanks guys! I'm not used to projects that take this long......I can see it's faster that some but there were some faster builds! I'll be loading up the UTV and trailer on it tomorrow to support another local homeless camp cleanup, so it won't be nice and shiny for long! Nice not having to tow a trailer around when you want to move vehicles around...... I'll have some traveling pics up in the next couple of weeks.

It was thick enough that sanding the top rails with 180 on the DA knocked the high spots off and made for a fairly smooth topcoat. I'll get the rest of it when I finally get around to building the rear boxes and bumper. The main thing is that nothing was rusted!

Joe, the original owner had rolled or brushed Rustoleum Industrial Enamel just to temporarily protect the bare metal and it sanded like it was super tough, so I just stayed with it. Here in CA, it's hard to get a good industrial paint anymore......

Nothing show quality, but protected for now.... Probably do a spray on bedliner when I'm confident the bed is finished.

Thanks again for catching that! May need it next time I stay in a park.....probably next year's rally. Glad the A/C is working well. Easy fix for now..... Wondering when the EPA will index the cost of 134A to the price of gold like they do with R12. Painting went pretty smooth. With the shop's parking lot empty this morning, I was able to spray outside and not get over spray inside the building. Just waiting for it to cure now.....

For the most part we're almost totally solar on the RV and plan a little solar on the truck. When I get the Magnum installed we won't have to start a generator unless it's been a few days without sun. Then I could just run it at convenience. They do have remote start kits for the Honda, but hardly worth the expense.....

No work pics today cause I forgot! Made you look anyway...... Used the truck for hauling the UTV and camping two nights this weekend at a spot that is quite the trek in for most. Glad I had the locker, but probably would have made it anyway with a little more tire chunking the and weight on the deck. If I did this steeper off road driving a lot I would most definitely want an 18 speed trans. It was nice to have a bed, but the sleeper is a bit confined and climbing in the back was less than ideal. Used a generator to charge the batteries and to run micro/coffee pot which was a PITA in itself without remote starting....another trip out/in/out in the morning for breakfast and coffee. Might have sparked up my ambition again to get the inverter, battery, and solar system installed. Got home yesterday morning and decided to clean, prep, and mask the bed so I could paint it this morning. Nothing special as more modifications are a given, but heading out on a trip where we might get some weather so better get it sealed up! Hope it cures hard in 7-10 days...... Also had a visit from Chad so he could deliver the Progressive surge protector I left in Sparks when we left the rally. While he was there did a little work on his A/C and swapped more ideas for the ideal truck build and mods to current equipment. I had a feeling my Jake Brake wasn't working on all 6 cyls because the sound or boost did not change between med/high settings. Had a feeling it was just the switch since it worked fine on low/med settings which pretty well confirmed it wasn't a solenoid, wiring, or computer. Few mins with a test light confirmed the switch was indeed not powering up the center two cylinders on the high settings, but was on low. Little electronic parts cleaner and were golden! Glad that was easy and that there is more compression available.....My Dodge held back better than the med setting.....

You guys are killin me! I'm over at RV.net reading a post where everyone says you have to use at least a MDT, but preferably an HDT to safely pull a loaded 17k 5er....... I'm thinking I don't have enough truck now?

I'm on the fence right now..... If I like the HDT thing, I may start looking for a moving trailer to build at a later date. Boonhauler is itching for another project as his is nearing completion!

The thought has crossed my mind to switch back, but it seems like finding a nice TT is just about impossible. I'm figuring on having to purchase one more POS consumer grade RV before we retire and step up to something with any quality built in......assuming there are any manufacturers left that Thor didn't acquire and destroy!

Selling off most of the toys these days....it's been almost 2 years since I rode my dualsport and was 2 years for the atv too. Over 3 years for the wife's atv. Time to downsize the depreciating fleet and reduce funding to the hungry social programs this state supports!

Interesting suggestion! Maybe just a roadtest to create the proper clearance, then come back to the shop for the final prep, cleanup, and paint! If I was planning on keeping the trailer, I probably would consider this...... Thinking we can do without the garage now, so considering a regular shorter 5er.

Just pulling out of my back yard is worse that anything I'll encounter on the pavement. My suspension shackles have been known to flip if I pull out unloaded. The truck's hitch height, wheelbase, and overhang add a strange dynamic when compared to my pickup.

Thanks for the tips Dave! I don't think ramps or driving on forward is going the help anything as the winch isn't really a consideration since it's well below the cap of the 5er. The only thing removable from the front of the Jeep is the tow bar mounts or about 2" worth. No way I'm willing to build a steep ramp like the one pictured as it's just to prohibitive for the other majority of uses I have for the bed. The Jeep hauling while towing this 5er is just a distant 7th, 8th, or farther consideration. I plan to tie to tie down the tires with baskets, but also to the front of the frame possibly so the bouncing while traveling will be minimized while netting 2-3" there. My next plan is to lower the air pressure since I have 10" total of sidewall on the bottom...maybe 5" would do it? I would then make "jackstands" that the axle would ride on when the pressure is dropped so I would still have a solid tie down. The next option would be pockets in the bed......Could get 4-7" there. Cant raise the hitch on the trailer or the truck. Everything is narrowly optimized/compromised for use on both the Pete and the Dodge. I just need to bend/twist with the 5er hooked up and see how that funky cap design is going to react.......

I was only joking......no way the trailer is up for 4k hitch weight. I'm already over length as it is right now and tail swing with the hitch 7' behind the axle is where I'm comfortable. If it makes it happen, I could probably slide my hitch platform back 3-4" and just re-drill I'll the holes in it.....not much point if it doesn't fix it though. I'll put the Jeep back up there one of the days and try some stuff like dropping air pressure, strapping the front end down, rear axle up on ramps, dumping bags on the truck, etc.... to see how much it affects the situation. Maybe a couple of small changes will do the trick.

Just a tad over 40' and 36' kingpin to rear.

I have "THE" solution! I built a little swivel wheel trailer a couple years back......I should mount the 5th wheel hitch to it and install a couple more receivers on the Pete

Had you been tying to axles or frame? I figure on tying to tires or axles when running without the trailer. Then also frame on the front of the Jeep....This will keep the body from bobbing and hitting the trailer assuming I can find the clearance.

Being 10' over legal length in my home state is not something I want to do....I think the company that built those dollies is not in business anymore either? Traveling through over length once a year I'd be willing to chance. Plus the cost, extra maintenance, and extra work are things I just won't deal with. Hauling the Jeep was just a possible secondary benefit to the HDT,.

That is the extended pinbox and I'm not all that comfortable with it's length. I was running the shorter 0719 but swapped back to the 1621 for the extra 9". I could move the hitch on the truck 2-4" back without serious work. I'm just over 66' right now though.....

I didn't notice any flex in the ramps at all. The seller rated these at 5,000lb per pair and claimed half knife ends were stronger for when you used then at a steeper than ideal angle. Time will tell I guess. I do know I didn't pucker one bit loading or unloading. The width and length are about right.

My problem isn't turning as much as it being close. The nose will pivot away. It just too close especially since the Flexair hitch anti-chucks too. Gonna take some more tuning before I give up.