Another post adventure update. After two more extended trips this year, the Al's liner is still holding up great. Dingo passed 250,000 and except for some minor parts (window switches, PS reservoir hose, weather seals) and some new tires, we have not had any issues.
Replaced my Hella worklights with some LEDs, and added a small table to the drawer set up which helped our kitchen space nicely.
The Cooper S/T Maxx in 255/85 replaced the BFG KM2s and they are fantastic. Quiet on the highway, great traction offroad (I aired down to 20 psi this trip).
Sorry. Attached are some pix of the table. Cut it the length of the tailgate. Mounted a piece of 1" angle aluminum on the box drawer with two holes for pins to secure the table when mounted.
Cheers.
The one issue I was still facing was trying to re-inflate tires in a more rapid fashion in between trails. I could have purchased the VIAIR kit, but instead pieced together my own, which fits great in the space where my spare used to live.
I used the Viair 400C compressor and initially a Firestone 1 gal tank someone gave me. Realized quickly that I needed more compressed air storage and found the Firestone 3 gallon tank on Amazon. So now I have 4 gallons of air and tested the system. Went from 20 lbs to 44 lbs in under a minute per tire. Also picked up a Viair kit that has a flexible air line and I can reach all the way around Dingo and trailer from one air chuck in the rear bumper. Cheers
Decided to round out the Dingo with some bush wires. Maybe not always practical, but they saved the windshield on Sherman a couple times from heavy branches. Didn't cost but about $20 in parts. View attachment 497146
It's been awhile, so thought I'd update some of Dingo's adventures on a rainy Sunday here.
The end of August we traveled approximately 450 miles in 4 1/2 days across the original Pony Express Trail (PEX) in Nevada. With two other vehicles, a Land Cruiser, Casper, and a 4Runner, Darby, we jumped on the PEX in Ibapah, UT and came off the trail in Carson City, NV. Attached are some pix from the trip.
Technical:
Dingo is now Super Dingo. The supercharger provided excellent power across a range of conditions, from the highway to crawling up and down rocky creek beds. I think it was a good value compared to replacing the engine for a V8 or Turbo Diesel. It is running hotter than before, so I am in the process of working through those issues, courtesy of other ih8mud champions. So far I have vented the hood, replaced the Cats and retarded the timing...next may be an auxilliary fan as the biggest heating issues seemed to be at low speeds.
We all ran Cooper ST/Maxx tires. I ran my 255/85 16s at about 18-20 psi for most of the trip. We had excellent traction on rocks, mud, salt flats, sand, and a quiet ride on the pavement (at 45 psi). We suffered one flat due to a piece of metal in the trail, but it was quickly patched with one of the ARB plugs. I highly recommend that kit as well as the ST/Maxx tires.
Navigation-I initially plotted the route using Google Earth and USGS and other Topo maps. I transferred that to my Samsung Tablet using Backcountry Navigator Pro software. Despite many times the PEX was not to be found physically, we tracked along on our nav systems and eventually hit another marker.
Extra Fuel-We could not have made the trip on main fuel tanks alone. On Dingo I have modified the ARB single can rear bumper holder to hold 3 cans, and had one can on the roof. So I carried a total of 45 gallons of fuel. At 12 mpg off road, that was critical.
On board air-Not only was the compressor useful for reinflating tires, we used it to regularly clean out air filters. Despite the snorkels, a lot of the dust in Nevada is very fine and still finds its way in to everything.
Brush Wires-We found ourselves on a trail that had not been driven for years. The plants and creek had reclaimed it. Dingo's brushwires and Al's Liner again prevented any damage to Dingo.
CB radios-We as usual had mixed results talking to each other on the radio. We are contemplating either GMRS radios (Midland MXT100) or HAM. We did have cell coverage on the high ground most of the time.
Following our adventure on the "dry lake" (see photo below), my left front disc began to make a grinding noise. Something caused the pads to disintegrate and I rode metal on metal until we could get somewhere to replace them. I will now carry a spare set of brake pads...not sure why they failed.
I will provide the route in the near future in a kmz file.
I decided on the touring rack from ARB. On a rainy day some friends came over and now it's on. Very happy with it's design. Oh and a vintage 40 emblem for the back. View attachment 491182View attachment 491203
Hi new to this forum, I like the black wheels and roof rack in the Dingo, I would I to add that to my little truck. Was the rack custom install? How much cost & type of paint for wheels. Your custom built box for rear storage being removable is gr8.
Best way to remove purple tint plastic from all windows? Googone was too strong, smells up car for too long. How much it cost & time to paint vehicle yourself?
Used 5/8 ply for top and sides of box and drawers; 1/2 ply for bottoms. Fashioned catches with Fastex buckles and pulls out of Nylon webbing. Secured to the floor with turnbuckles. Slide in and out on furniture glides. View attachment 491178View attachment 491179View attachment 491180
That is inovative design & set up, are you making any more I can buy?
Also why have the front & rear bumper been removed, was that temporay for painting the body?
That is inovative design & set up, are you making any more I can buy?
Also why have the front & rear bumper been removed, was that temporay for painting the body?
Hi Maria
Happy to help with your rig.maybe we can build you some drawers. Wheels are just spray painted with rustoleum, about 20 bucks. Roof rack is designed for land cruiser, there may be a model for your vehicle too.
Bumpers were new after I painted.
