Build DMC South America Expedition and ROTW write-up

[dmc]

DMC- I cant wait to read about your trip in the upcoming issues of Overland. Your photos are breath taking. Fantastic job on the build up and thanks for the inspiration!

you're going to need to be patient. probably won't see anything until after I get home. i'll need all that time to get the writing chops up to the likes of tom sheppard and tom collins. and thanks,
dmc

 

[Romer]

Dave, looks like a blast of a trip. Can you describe the overal strategy for your trip with the different countries, shipping and what modifications you had to make to your truck.

 

[dmc]

Alpine W205 double din DVD with ipod control


unfortunately i don't have too many pics of this upgrade with me. I'll take some more pics when I pic up the truck. you can see the pic of the stereo in this post. i love the deck. video quality is better than my old pioneer and the double din is far better for off-road. it has some control options i don't like (for example to switch from continuous to random play only takes the touch of a button but to go back to continuous requires 3 buttons) but for the most part the ipod control is exceptional. with 9k + songs it is nice to have a large screen display to scroll through them. one of the last things i did before leaving was to create a faux face for the deck using the factory face plate. it looks like i'm trying to hide something if you look close but it hides the tv screen from any one just glancing in. i'll take a pic tomorrow (or weds) when i get the truck to add to it.

a pic of the Hertz component speakers I installed prior to the trip. good sound quality. good price. okay they were free as a gift from my friend for the trip but yeah good price for him too. they 'barely' fit. as in after one or two hard slams the grills now don't rub against the side of the dash.

something I forgot to mention in my second post is the

HIR high and low beam upgrade with accompanying slee harness

again this is nothing new in the 80 world but something I would recommend all newbies take advantage of. the stock lights suck, to be frank, and this upgrade is not only realitively inexpensive but also makes the truck safter. when you add a lot of weight to the truck you can anger the locals in 9 different countries by blinding them. i tried to lower the lights but my DS lens is stripped out and won't point any lower. good thing my motto is to not drive at night.

 

[dmc]

Dave, looks like a blast of a trip. Can you describe the overal strategy for your trip with the different countries, shipping and what modifications you had to make to your truck.

yes sir. i was going to post up my 'build strategy' after my brief (or sometimes longwinded) blurb about each mod.
dmc

 

[dmc]

Both rows of rear seat removed for storage
ARB 60liter freezer/fridge oh and a book shelf

So to make a long story short to pay for my trip I capitalized on the home market in utah and am spending the equity I made by selling my house. Essentially Ruby Claire is now my home. That mindset has permeated most of the last six months of building the truck as well as during my trip so far. part of that consideration was security. when it came to building my boxes for my truck I basically just thought a lot, for a few weeks of the 'best' approach for my needs. i ditched a perfectly good set of drawers in lieu of starting over. My design concept was to essentially build a secure shell for all of my stuff, then utilize lighter weight materials (than wood and screws) to organized it inside the shell.

you can pretty much see the whole build in this thread. you can even catch a glimpse of Althea, my FJ40, I sold to also help pay for the trip.

So my feedback on the setup so far? very positive. i think i took the right approach to the storage. there have been one or two issues. you can read about a very painful one on my blog. the other is the 'door' for the spare parts and tools action packers. i used a piece of laminate instead of plywood and it cracked in half somewhere along the bumpy stretch of Costa Rican washboard. I've worked my way around that by wedging my sleeping back between it and the tailgate so the items still say secure. the benefits comes down to flexibility. there have been far more nights in $10 hotels than on the beach and with the Mountainsmith bags I am able to load up one bag with all i need for the night including hauling in my laptop and cameras then lock everything else back inside the boxes.

When i built the bookshelf I figured it was a great idea but sort of an afterthought that would be disintegrated before I left Baja. however that damn thing is a rock. it's held my 35 or so books securely the entire trip without even a squeak. the convenience factor of it is far greater than I thought it would be. I was just trying to fill what I deemed empty unused space. the quick access to my guide books alone was worth the few hours spent building it. as mentioned in the other thread I saved a ton of weight and so far they have held up to the stress and humidity. Sometimes you just get lucky.
dmc

 

[Fiveo]

DMC sounds like you are on a dream trip. Do you have a blog or do I ned to join Overland to read al about it?

 

[ginericLC]

Welcome to Expedition Americas

Dave,

How is the rear swingout doing?

I'm insanely jealous of your trip.

 

[alaskacruiser]

one of the last things i did before leaving was to create a faux face for the deck using the factory face plate. it looks like i'm trying to hide something if you look close but it hides the tv screen from any one just glancing in.

dmc- awesome buildup, expedition, and great website, too! I have a similar Alpine display, and would be very interested in seeing the faceplate you refer to here. Great idea!

Your photography on the website is unreal- I take it you are a professional?

BTW I lived in Fairbanks for 23 years (born and raised) but am now in LA. PM to discuss further.

 

[dmc]

Welcome to Expedition Americas

Dave,

How is the rear swingout doing?

I'm insanely jealous of your trip.

That is a perfect segue mr. vogt. perhaps I shall talk about my bumper.

Home brew/wildyoats rear bumper and tire swing out

As my main bumper section I bought a kit from Johnny simlar to his here

The bumper required lots of welding and grinding but still was very inexpesive and is pretty damn strong. I've beat on the bumper pretty hard and it has held up just fine. I've even used it for some very hard pulls getting a truck out of the snow 2 winters ago. It was weld designed. my welds have managed to hold up okay so far. you can see a good shot of it in the very first post.

the swing out was my own concoction and i've been happy with it so far. here are a few pics...

the struts is off the hood of a rolled 80. or lift gate. i forget which one. but they are 80 OEM

I managed to use the stock light off the tailgate for the license plate...

a profile shot...

and one with a little mud on it...

For the trip I added my 'pullpal' minus the shovel portion. with the Toyo, hi-lift, and pullpal it is very heavy and as such Eric asks the question. 'how is the swing out holding up?' I think the bearings in the spindle are getting worn and that is where the slop is coming from. I stopped by a trailer shop in El Cajon, CA and the owner donated some bearings and welding rod to my trip. Really cool guy and I just stumbled across him randomly. worked out very well for me. The bearing are sitting nicely packed with grease in a zip-lock bag waiting for the time and second set of hands to swap the bearing outs. in the mean time I have been running with a ratchet strap from the top of the hi-lift to a loop on the roof rack to stablize the swingout on the rough roads.
dmc

 

[dmc]

dmc- awesome buildup, expedition, and great website, too! I have a similar Alpine display, and would be very interested in seeing the faceplate you refer to here. Great idea!

Your photography on the website is unreal- I take it you are a professional?

BTW I lived in Fairbanks for 23 years (born and raised) but am now in LA. PM to discuss further.

AK,

i'll be sure to take a pic of my face plate. essentially i pried off the face of the factory deck and hot glued it to the trim piece included in the Apline deck. after a bit of cutting of the trim piece it just slides right over the screen.

thanks for the compliments on the photos. if professional means i've taken a boat load of pics over the years than yes, otherwise nope. i've never even read a book or taken a class on photography. but I also think landscape is fairly easy to do with enough practice. oh and it helps to have plenty of time for photos.
dmc

 

[OGBeno]

Epic as always DMC--continue to raise the bar my friend.

Happy and safe travels to you.

-o-

 

[ERG80]

Wow! amazing rig and pics.

 

[CruiserLegolas]

So, is this mainly an expedition rig as opposed to a rock crawler?

Seeing your photos and reading about your adventures makes me want to quit my job, sell the house, and go on my own adventure. Very cool.

Maybe by the time I'm ready, you can sell me your rig

 

[Romer]

So how is the gasoline along your travels? Have to do anything special?

 

[dmc]

So, is this mainly an expedition rig as opposed to a rock crawler?

Seeing your photos and reading about your adventures makes me want to quit my job, sell the house, and go on my own adventure. Very cool.

Maybe by the time I'm ready, you can sell me your rig

It depends on what you mean by 'rockcrawler.' In Utah rockcrawling generally means Moab, not something like the Hammers or Black Hills. without the roofrack I have done essentially every trail in Moab except Pritchett or the BFE trails. The 80 is the ideal platform for slickrock. I would have no issues tackling the rubicon either. If I can drive it in a pretty much stock xtra cab taco the 80 would be a cake walk. But you're right it was bought and built with this trip in mind. While the 80 can run the Spike or the Rim I think it is best suited for overland travel. it handles the washboard well, has the power to carry all my crap and tons of room as well. if you're bored there are some pics throughout my gallery page with all sort of rockcrawling pics....

as far as selling goes. I have not plans anytime soon. give me a few more months in the truck and my mind may change however.

dmc

 

[dmc]

Epic as always DMC--continue to raise the bar my friend.

Happy and safe travels to you.

-o-

This from the guy who is pretty much building a brand new motor with his own two hands. the happy part is easy. hard not to be in my current situation. i'm doing my best to be safe. get that truck back on the road. Winter is the best time to explore the southwest. if you're not hooked by now a few long weekends in the snow and sandstone will get you for sure. actually i'm sending you an email.
dmc

 

[dmc]

Wow! amazing rig and pics.

thank you sir.

 

[dmc]

So how is the gasoline along your travels? Have to do anything special?

so far I have had no issues finding gas or the quality of it. as far as I can tell. the truck has been running great and my fuel economy (after i convert liters to gallons, the miles per gallon, then US dollars to pesos, bolivars, balboas, quetzals etc) has hovered around 12/13 miles per gallon and about $3.25 per gallon. exceeding my expectations on both fronts. here is the plan and i've only used it once so far.

I have 2 spare fuel filters with me and the long ass extentions to make the swap easier. i'm also carry coffee filters with me to preclean any iffy gas I might pick up along the way. I used the coffee filter once in a remote town in baja (even though it was still pemex) and it was totally clean after the fill up. I have been running premium/super whenever possible which as added to my costs but once I get the truck here in Colombia I think i'm going to run mid-grade in that the difference is almost a $1 between the two. last check it was 1800 pesos. Accoding to a fellow Mudder the midgrade is fine and he runs it in his Prado. So i'll give it a shot. Once I hit 20k miles i'll swap out a filter and let you know if there are any issues.
dmc

 

[Vitesse_6]

Great work Dave!
This is what I would expect of you when it comes to writing and pic's
Good luck on your travels

 

[dmc]

Mule Expedition Equipment prototype aluminum roof rack

In a word this rack is AWESOME. I know Mule is trying to get the fabrication online. I have a prototype and now have permission to take some more detailed photos of the rack. The tent had to come off to fit in the container so I'll take some pics tomorrow when I pick it up. The design is very simple and to me simple is best. it works, it is lightweight and so far has been bulletproof. His fabricator has done work on Walker Evans' race trucks and the quality of the work shines through. the deck is aluminum and the feet are steel and are designed with security in mind. the whole thing is powder coated and yet in a pinch i could put in on the truck myself if I had to. With a second person it is a piece of cake. pics tomorrow will say a lot more than my words. most importantly I have been providing feedback to Mule on way I think the rack can be 'perfected.' IE I wish we had made it about 4 inches longer. real world feedback to meet the needs of future buyers. I've had experience with ARB, Con-ferr and a JMoose rack and this exceeds all of them.

Eezi Awn 1400 Rooftop Tent

I'll be very honest. This was a challenge. I have camped hundreds of nights in my life and I never owned/used a tent until March of this year in Baja due to the hundreds of spiders on the beach. that was a borrowed backpacking tent. to go from a blue tarp and a sleeping bag to the luxury of the Eezi-Awn was quite the transition. Honestly it is one I'm still getting used to. The comfort, (i roll with sheets, 2 pillows and a down comforter) the security of not being away from the vehicle and the nice dry place to escape the element during the week long rain in Costa Rica is something I could easily grow to love. I have not camped as much as I would have liked but the deserts of Chile, Arg and Bolivia await and the tent will get far more use. one of the largest benefits has been protection from the bugs. to be frank there are some nights it's been so damn hot I've basically slept stripped to the skivvies on top of all my bedding and still managed to sweat all night long. I added a second layer of permethrin treated netting to the tent and so far the bugs have been a non-issue at night. a pic...

so rooftop tents may be a fetish for the expedition crowd but I have become a believer. I just wish I was about 4 inches taller. It would be far easier to open and close if I wasn't 5'7' with a 8'6" tall truck. But I'll blame that on my genetics not the tent.

Scepter Fuel/Water cans

Now this one may seem like an interesting choice to include in my write up however there is a reason for it. one of the needs for true overland travel is fluid storage. water and fuel. Tom Sheppard, the God of expeditions (wow I just had a very bad Pirate4x4 flash back) Okay Tom Sheppard who literally and figuratively wrote the book on expedition travel advises against and almost mocks the (mis)use of roof racks for water/fuel storage. So I debated for most of the summer about a long range aux tank and trying to build some onboard water storage. what it came down to was I have a tiny little personal bank account and Tom Sheppard has the British Royal Geographic Society funding his travels. So $1k for a tank set up or cans donated from a friend. A no-brainer. $1k is almost enough to pay for my fuel for Chile. When I get home. or if i figure out a way to keep going a long range tank may be an option but for now the two spares were more important than a tank. It also speaks to the mindset I've taken with this trip. I'm alone in the middle of a country (go ahead and pick one) that is not my own and is completely new to me. The situation alone mandates I take the more conservative approach in my choices. I will not be venturing far enough off the beaten path during the trip to necessitate more than 35gallons of fuel. when I return home and get back to 1k miles dirt treks through Utah and Nevada I'll worry about it. for now the roof rack will suffice. And the Scepter cans are well worth the money. they don't leak a drop and funnel alone is worth the investment. wow that was a long paragraph about gas cans. tomorrow I'll get my truck. take some more pics and type up the strategy behind the build.
dmc