Builds Big Red Toy

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cruiserpilot said:
Hey, back in town so thought I'd see what you were up to. Marlin Crawler has front axle gusset kit
they sell. I think I remember mentioning to you to put one on. Glad you got something on there before
the tube ends got bent.
Click to expand...

Hey that's great that you're back in town, and yeeah I remember you were the first to point out the weak point on the axle housing., Let's grab a burger later this week. I'm out of town until Thursday. I looked at the Marlin Crawler gussets, they were 90 dollars and looked like they might be in the way of the brake line bracket. The gussets I got from Ruff Stuff was 20 dollars and they fit perfectly. It was much easier to justify the lower priced gussets.
 
It's a good mod, at a better price. I was visiting Marlin last year and grabbed a set. I'm doing up a LHD BJ74 so
it is the likely recipient for my gusset kit.
I should be here over weekend. Will get ahold of you then. J
 
So I impulsively bought two 36x14.50R16.5 Super Swamper TSL off ebay for $200. I thought it was a good deal so I didn't give it much thought. Now that i won the bid, the thinking is starting.

The tires are an inch shorter and two inches wider. I'm thinking of putting them in the rear of big red and moving the 37x12.5R16.5 to the front. All tires will be load range E. I think other than it looking wider in the rear, can anyone think of any set backs that I'm missing?
 
The swampers are a pretty 'soft' tire. Road manners are kinda ugly. They will react/handle differently than the others.
I've never been a fan of mixing tire brands.
 
cruiserpilot said:
The swampers are a pretty 'soft' tire. Road manners are kinda ugly. They will react/handle differently than the others.
I've never been a fan of mixing tire brands.
Click to expand...
My current set up is BFG in the rear E load rating, and Goodyear in the front with D load rating. Not much difference in ride that I can tell.
 
the weather was nice and I had an hour to kill, so I figured I'll replace the worn out and bent all thread sway bar extensions i put in about two years ago. I was expecting this DIY quick fix to only last thru the summer, so I'm happy with the service it gave me.


The replacement parts cost me less than $35. I decided to reinforce it with steel pipes as well.
20161015_110830.jpg


To save money, I reused the old nuts.

Here are the before pics.

Driver side
20161015_112406.jpg


Passenger side
20161015_112417.jpg


and here are the after pics.

driver side.
20161015_115620.jpg


passenger side

20161015_115635.jpg


I will still need to tighten them properly and adjust them. I'm going to drive it to see much adjusting it needs. But so far this is way more stout than the previous set up.

Next mod, new motor mounts.
 
Last edited:
Decided to take Big Red out and see how it handles. Happy to say it steers with minimal body roll, feels really tight. Then decided to take the family on a bike trail around town.

Started off on the lake
20161015_133150.jpg


Saw one of these guys nearly sink their sail boat

20161015_133436.jpg


Made it to an area near called the Blue Hole
20161015_143545.jpg



Discovered this nice place
20161015_151842.jpg


After 3 hours of this, decided to grab a fattening burger. All in all what a great day.
20161015_162617.jpg
 
time to get the tent on. going on a mini vacation in New Mexico



20161024_172059.jpg


Decided to take the trasharoo so the BBQ pit had to be relocated.

20161025_082807.jpg


Went and picked up these bad boys. Got them for around 100 a tire. Can't complain since they go upwards of 400 each.
20161025_113241.jpg


Even though they say 36 in on them, they seem a bit taller than the 37 in BFG. They are going in the rear and the BFG to the front.

20161025_113618.jpg


And a side view of the expedition ready rig.
20161025_131221.jpg


I topped off all fluids and filled up. Just need to switch out the tires and load the fridge.
 
In my zeal to use the new tires, I broke off two bolts with my BEAR ARMS. I'm apparently much stronger and way dumber than I give myself credit for. So the rims wouldn't seal completely and kept leaking. Figured it's not a big deal I'll just add that famous slime and limp it to a tire shop.

20161025_201438.jpg



No one wants to touch HUMVEE wheels and so I limped a lot. Then I found this old place I used once before and went in unannounced, told them how I'm on my honeymoon and we're supposed to be in New Mexico by this evening. The guys were sympathetic but I think they took on the job and moved me up the line because Aurora was with me.
20161027_100618.jpg



I forgot to mention the slime I had just put in, so the guy was not too impressed with me. He felt better when I handed him a $20 and reminded him I'm on a time crunch. He replaced my O ring and the bolts.
20161027_102329.jpg


These look like Slimer from ghostbusters went thru them. Anyway, the tire is good now, packing the last of the stuff and we're off camping for the next few days.
20161027_102824.jpg
 
Last edited:
Please don't use slime. That stuff
A:won't help you and
B:can do real harm to the tire guy who has to deal with taking the afflicted tire off.

Either way, glad you got fixed.
 
GLTHFJ60 said:
Please don't use slime. That stuff
A:won't help you and
B:can do real harm to the tire guy who has to deal with taking the afflicted tire off.

Either way, glad you got fixed.
Click to expand...
First time using it, more out of desperation than anything.


So we drove for 4 hours hours to the middle of nowhere and I have better wifi in the boondocks than I usually do at home. Let's see if the pictures upload.

20161027_231057.jpg
20161028_091717.jpg


Next stop New Mexico.
 
Mike, let me know if you guys pass through Lubbock. Enjoy the trip, Big Red looks mean!
 
So we're back from our 5 day excursion into West Texas and New Mexico. Big Red performed superbly for a 4 cylinder engine going uphill carrying what must be at least 7000 lbs. Lots of lessons were learned along the way but overall it was fun and can't wait for the next long trip. We have taken over 1000 pictures so it will take a bit to sort thru and post the Land Cruiser related ones, so please be patient.

As far as meeting people went, I can say America is full of all sorts of walks of life who are kind and helpful. We met a French couple who offered to share their camping space when the park was full, a Swiss national who had been living in Berlin most of his life and moved to the Gila Mountains to open up his own convenient store and gas station ( the only diesel stop for hundreds of miles). We met a Mexican fellow who stopped and helped me fill out diesel from his own truck when he saw I was about to use my spare diesel cans. A Navy Vet who hooked us up with a great camp site and told us where all the great nearby BLM lands are.

Everywhere we went people wanted to stop and either take pictures of Big Red or look at it up close. Some RV owners walked up to see what kind of mileage we were getting- 16 mpg uphill and 18 down hill. They were impressed since the best they were getting was 7mpg.

Technical notes/ advice:

Some areas of Texas and New Mexico go for about 200 miles without a single diesel pump, so double check your route to make sure a gas station actually carries the fuel you need. Two 5 gallon tanks may not be enough, plan to carry at least 4.

This rig is slow, especially if the wind is blowing and you're going uphill, 4th gear is your best friend. If the wind is going your way and the surface is flat you might hit 75 mph, but the average was 67 mph. Not bad for the age and weight of the car, but plan of sticking to the right side of the road so that semis can pass you.

Use diesel fuel additives that help the diesel not congeal when cold. You'll thank yourself in the mornings, especially if in the mountains.

Bring your own wood, just in case there's not any there for a fire, things can get cold real fast.

I'm sure there's more, but here's a quick sample of pictures for now.


The first stop:

20161028_091717 by meanmarine10452, on Flickr

20161028_092153 by meanmarine10452, on Flickr

20161028_110801 by meanmarine10452, on Flickr

Wild Bison
20161028_113620 by meanmarine10452, on Flickr

On our way to the Guadalupe Mountains.

20161028_172842 by meanmarine10452, on Flickr

Ran out of fuel, pulled over to refill with the gas cans when this gentleman stopped to help

20161028_173010 by meanmarine10452, on Flickr

Made it to the Guadalupe Mountains

20161028_175146 by meanmarine10452, on Flickr
 
Our second stop

All the campsites were taken, so we stopped to use the bathroom. When ic ame out, a French Couple who had toured all of the US to include Alaska in their van offered to share their spot with us.

20161028_180540 by meanmarine10452, on Flickr

We set up right as it got dark
20161028_190131 by meanmarine10452, on Flickr

Aurora making breakfast
20161029_090707 by meanmarine10452, on Flickr

To Carlsbad Cavern
20161029_115054 by meanmarine10452, on Flickr


20161029_115113 by meanmarine10452, on Flickr

20161029_120839 by meanmarine10452, on Flickr

20161029_125731 by meanmarine10452, on Flickr


20161029_134535 by meanmarine10452, on Flickr

It wouldn't be America if they didn't try to sell you merchandise 700 ft below the cavern's entryway
20161029_135648 by meanmarine10452, on Flickr

20161029_141426 by meanmarine10452, on Flickr

20161029_152546 by meanmarine10452, on Flickr
 
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