Builds building a landcruiser for overland expedition (2 Viewers)

[rideglobally]

Great vid...thanks for sharing!! I'm not sure if you covered this, but do you think the aluminum rear is lighter/stronger vs steel? I'm curious cause I'd be interested in doing something like this someday down the line. Thanks!

-Daniel Kent

the frame of my rear camper box is steel 1 1/2 inch square tube the skin is aluminum. yes aluminum is absolutely lighter and steel heavier but stronger. if i had to do it over again i would have probably gone with aluminum frame also make sure there is an insulation where aluminum and steel meets. the steel frame are painted thick and i placed a rubber where the shell seat on the chassi. hope this is helpful

 

[The Jade Bean]

the frame of my rear camper box is steel 1 1/2 inch square tube the skin is aluminum. yes aluminum is absolutely lighter and steel heavier but stronger. if i had to do it over again i would have probably gone with aluminum frame also make sure there is an insulation where aluminum and steel meets. the steel frame are painted thick and i placed a rubber where the shell seat on the chassi. hope this is helpful

Yes, thank you! Gives me some to think on for sure. I'd love a rig like this, but I doubt I would come close to her awesomeness!!

-Daniel Kent

 

[western flyer]

Cool travels. I like the single rein for throttle control. I did something like that one night when the cable broke on my old 67 VW bus...had her going again with some speaker cable in 20 minutes.

Man, I need a trip....

 

[NTTD]

Amazing Cruiser, amazing thread. Kudos to your craftsmanship!

I've been slowly reading through this thread the last few days. So very entertaining!

Not sure if you've painted yet, but I vote don't as well. It really does look good that way. Treat the metal, clearcoat and call it good.

 

[rideglobally]

Amazing Cruiser, amazing thread. Kudos to your craftsmanship!

I've been slowly reading through this thread the last few days. So very entertaining!

Not sure if you've painted yet, but I vote don't as well. It really does look good that way. Treat the metal, clearcoat and call it good.

Thank, no we have not painted it mainly because majority of people advises us not to paint it. we are still undecided on painting it. if we do paint it we are thinking of this color. we would just paint the cab not the "aluminum camper". http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/coolfj40_2248_228354341 or this one http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/coolfj40_2248_227481809

 

[concretejungle]

If i ever get a 40 to paint, i'll paint it this color:

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl...hQxUcb7KZDw0QHytIGoBQ&ved=0CEgQ9QEwAg&dur=994

 

[mickeyt]

All of those are awesome.

 

[rideglobally]

Nulla's new shoes Toyo M55 255/85R16

in addition to the new shoes we also installed 1" spacers. we found that the after market wheels do not sit on the hub like the OEM. this spacers from http://wheeladapter.com fixed that. they make them to fit your vehicles while you wait. this guys are great.
i like the way Nulla drives on thinner tires and e rated. can not wait to try them out on wash boards

the first picture compares my old tires to the M55.

 

[The Jade Bean]

Wow that is a big difference in width. I hear people talking about tall and skinnys being great, but why did you go that route? Looks good!

-Daniel Kent

 

[DrivingMissRosey]

in addition to the new shoes we also installed 1" spacers. we found that the after market wheels do not sit on the hub like the OEM. this spacers from http://wheeladapter.com fixed that. they make them to fit your vehicles while you wait. this guys are great.
i like the way Nulla drives on thinner tires and e rated. can not wait to try them out on wash boards

the first picture compares my old tires to the M55.

Did this help with the pitching in the corners? I bet these tires give you better wheel travel too.

 

[rideglobally]

Did this help with the pitching in the corners? I bet these tires give you better wheel travel too.

yes no more pitching on corners but also drive better/differently all the way around. with the smaller diameter and narrower it also want to drive on higher gears like 5th gear at 45mph. i am now shifting to higher gears sooner. i wonder if this helps on gas. also made it very easy for my power steering. can not wait to take it for a long ride

 

[DrivingMissRosey]

All of that makes sense to me but I'm thinking it might make fuel consumption go up not down if I understand you correctly. 3.73s might be in your future if you are concerned with mpgs. There is a gearing calculator somewhere listed here on mud in the 60 series sub-forum to help you figure all that out.

Here are a couple of pics from my trip to Palomar Mt. this past weekend. Before anyone screams thread jacking, this was the High Point Truck trail aka FS0907 and we did backcountry camping. We could see civilization down in the valleys. I post these pics here because my rig is pretty stock except the SBC, Tuffy console, non-USA splits, Confer roof rack, and wait.... I was going to argue that you don't need anything except a stock TLC to have an expedition rig but I guess I can't argue what I don't follow myself.

 

[rideglobally]

Nulla to Burning man!!

we got our tickets!! on our travels many have told us, "you have to take Nulla to Burning Man" and many good friends have given the same advice. so finally after many years we are going to Burning Man. we are very excited about it and plan to post for all. Nulla needs some prep for this next trip and beyond. preparation for Burning Man will center around protection from the heat, wind and the desert sand.
1. we will be enclosing the awning that is now mounted in the rear and securing it from the wind.
2. installing interior led lights and other interior stuff
3. adjusting suspendsion. trying to get the almost 9000 pd (fully loaded) monster to ride smoother.
we will post some pictures. meanwhile here are pictures from our recent trip north along the coast of california. this one is at the Oceanna Sand dunes.

 

[spressomon]

nice upper deck!

 

[rideglobally]

lift spring modification

prior to this modification the rear of Nulla was riding on air bags. the air bags were inflated to 75psi. if the airbags were to be deflated the rear sagged. in short the lift spring played almost no role in keeping the rear lifted to proper height. therefore the ride was hard and bouncy.

here is what this modification did, the rear of the Nulla now rides on the lift spring with very little help from the airbags. when the airbags are depleted the Nulla is now level, when the air bags are inflated to 15 psi the rear is now raised to about one 1". with the little test drive that we did this seems to work.

we had the option of taking Nulla to a high-tech shop which would have cost over a thousand dollars and six week wait. in keeping with the Nulla spirit we opted for the old school approach. Rudy's Tire Shop here in Los Angeles (323 264 2593) has been doing this for 30 years. i told him what i wanted, smoother ride etc. he went to work. total cost $480. added bonus at noon Rudy's family, including grandchildren, arrived with a grill and fish. best fish tacos i ever had.

i enjoyed watching this master craftsman at work. hope you enjoy the pictures as much

 

[gregnash]

So what did he do? Do he re-arch and add extra leaves? BM will be a fun trip for you guys, take lots of photos and enjoy the "crowd."

 

[rideglobally]

So what did he do? Do he re-arch and add extra leaves? BM will be a fun trip for you guys, take lots of photos and enjoy the "crowd."

that is exactly what he did, he added one leave. yes looking forward to BM

 

[rideglobally]

Zion National Park

addition to Nulla, enclosed awning, shower hut and Helio pressure shower. this was in Zion about 2 weeks ago it was 100 degree F in the shade.

 

[scrapdaddy]

Looks like a good time, but I could do without the 100 degrees.

Tell us some more about the enclosed awning. Did you have it made?

 

[rideglobally]

Looks like a good time, but I could do without the 100 degrees.

Tell us some more about the enclosed awning. Did you have it made?

not easy to explain, here are some pictures, i used webbing to reinforce stress point and added tie downs. i am told burning man can be very windy. i am preparing for that but of course all this modification helps for the future. i also made 2 foot long rebars to use as stakes. hope this helps enjoy