I wanted to post some pictures and observations of my GGM tire carrier install I completed this weekend. Original thread below in the Vendors' section if you haven't seen this new product yet. This is the first step to someday installing a sub-tank...
For most of the pics you see me in, I was alone and I used my tripod. On the latter part of the trip (after the Dalton), my dad and a family friend flew up and met me for the ride home. You can see them in some of the pictures toward the end. We certainly used three drivers to our advantage...
I'll tackle these questions together.
TrickyT, you are right. I may have been a bit dramatic. Although I feel like I abused the truck, I know this is exactly what they are designed for. It was a very problem-free trip.
My radiator cracked a year ago, so I replaced it with an OEM unit. I did...
As a Mechanical HVAC Engineer, one thing that struck me on the trip was how little air conditioning the various pump stations and industrial facilities have, compared to what I am used to. And at 84 deg ambient, I'm sure some of the substation and switchgear rooms were getting quite marginal...
I crossed over Logan Pass on Saturday, June 25th around 8:30am. When were you there? It was snowing that morning and very foggy. As we say in our local club, Copper State Cruisers, the white 80 is standard equipment so it wouldn't be a stretch if it was somebody else.
I knew that going in...
No, surprisingly there was not any hassle. The first time crossing into Canada, I was alone. So, I decided if I got held up or detained, that was okay. What I did was fill out Canada's Non-Resident Firearm Declaration Form ahead of time.
Forms - Royal Canadian Mounted Police
When I got to...
In the end, I drove 8,802 miles in the month of June (corrected for tire size). I now have around 184,000 miles on the Land Cruiser. I used 575 gallons of gas, for an incredible 15.3 mpg average. With 6,300 lbs and 285/75/R16, I'll take it! Now, much of the trip was at the optimal 55 mph, so...
The Dalton Highway is 1000 miles round trip from Fairbanks. But it's not without some civilization! I cooked lunch on my tailgate at Toolik Lake, a University of Alaska at Fairbanks field station, where they study Arctic ecology. You can see some buildings in the background, across the lake...
I spent one night near the Arctic Ocean at Prudhoe Bay. This is an oil town...nobody actually lives here; rather, the workers come on rotation. The big contractors are Halliburton, BP, Chevron, and CH2M. Here's the 80 series as far as we could go at the bay. This photo was taken on June 19th...
Interesting...I admit I never checked what constituted the marine band. I wonder who uses this...I really need to reprogram my radio before using in here in Arizona.
Now for the VHF radio....I used a Yaesu FT-60R dual band, coupled with a mag-mount antenna.
You can see it's set to ARROW-1, which is 155.190 MHZ. Of course, the Yaesu can receive on this frequency, but not transmit. The day before I left Arizona, I made the decision to perform the...
What about communications?
The neat thing about the Dalton Highway is immersing yourself in the trucking culture. I did my research before I set out - I learned that in Canada and Alaska, most truckers have dual radios in their cab. CB Channel 19 is used for critical information, like asking...
From Haines, one can connect to the ALCAN. Evidently, locals prefer the term "Alaskan Highway". In the 1940s, the military built the highway with civilian cooperation, but then civilians were restricted from using it! So the military acronym of ALCAN is not used much.
The road to Fairbanks...
Next, I found myself in Bellingham, Washington. My friend had flown home from Seattle, so I was all alone. On Friday June 10th, one week after departing Arizona, the Land Cruiser and I boarded the ferry to Alaska.
This boat, the Columbia, was built in 1967 and is part of the Alaskan Marine...
Hello all - I recently returned from an 4 week, 8,800 mile trip from Arizona to the Arctic Circle and back. I want to share how my 80 series did, but as I write this I realize I've never done a proper introduction. So here goes:
My name is Scott and I am a 28- year old living in Arizona. I...
Ranchero - looking forward to seeing how your build works out.
How much does mounting it on the firewall like in the pics obstruct access to the power antenna motor?
We had two masts break in a period of three years on ours. Then we got smart and liberally applied some Lubriplate (bascially lithium grease) to the plastic cable. Still going after 7 years.
Tim - Some of us are happily running the AJIK spare tire 'leveling kit', which raises the spare tire mounting crossmember. Many others are doing the same thing with the washer mod. Would that likely interfere with the tank location as you have shown...