I liked the mobile radiation shields, essentially wheeled concrete and lead panels.
Build Owyhee J.A. BJ75 Troopy Journal
- Thread starter Owyhee Jackass
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- Thread starter
- #642
First freeze of the fall happened a few days ago...truck turned over very slow. passenger side battery was ~10v. Tried putting it on the charger and even did the repair function, alas it wouldn't hold a charge. I could swear that I just replaced them, dug through this thread and found that I replaced them in October of 2020...so 5 years out of a battery with a 3-year warranty, that's not too bad.
Ended up finding a battery on FB Marketplace. Couple of Serbian kids met me in a Mormon church parking lot and sold me a 'new' Interstate Group 27F with a date code of 6/25 for $140 ($225 MSRP), along with a slightly used Group 27 Les Scwaab Xtreme for $80.
At the rate battery prices are increasing, I suspect in 5 years I'll be paying $500 retail for one of these batteries...
I put the Group 27 in the 80s second battery slot as it was dead as well. I suspect the other battery in the Troopy will die in the next month or so...but hopefully it lasts the winter.
Ended up finding a battery on FB Marketplace. Couple of Serbian kids met me in a Mormon church parking lot and sold me a 'new' Interstate Group 27F with a date code of 6/25 for $140 ($225 MSRP), along with a slightly used Group 27 Les Scwaab Xtreme for $80.
At the rate battery prices are increasing, I suspect in 5 years I'll be paying $500 retail for one of these batteries...
I put the Group 27 in the 80s second battery slot as it was dead as well. I suspect the other battery in the Troopy will die in the next month or so...but hopefully it lasts the winter.
Good deal!
You may already know this (you noted the other one may not last much longer), but when replacing one battery and not the other, it is best to replace both as batteries that are connected to run together have a natural tendency to equalize. Unfortunately this does not mean that the old one will "heal" and become better. The new one will quickly run down to the level of the older one.
Not sure if you have a truck dealership near you, but I have been picking up HD commercial truck batteries at a local semi dealership for around $100 each cheaper than what I can from an auto parts store. Semi's typically utilize Group 31's but they fit fairly well in a Land Cruiser. Just tossing my 2 cents worth of experience from my trucking days in the communal knowledge pot.
I hope these batteries run and last you a long, long time!
- Thread starter
- #644
Just because it seems to be of interest to some of you: Idaho Public Television Specials | Preview of "America's Sagebrush Navy" - https://video.idahoptv.org/video/preview-of-americas-sagebrush-navy-ihjtjq/
I was at S5G in the 80s... Navy buddies of mine were at S1W, weird that they're interviewing guys that were stationed there in the 80s and say '...they're not going to be around much longer' and I'm that age. It's not like we're WW2 vets...
I was at S5G in the 80s... Navy buddies of mine were at S1W, weird that they're interviewing guys that were stationed there in the 80s and say '...they're not going to be around much longer' and I'm that age. It's not like we're WW2 vets...
- Thread starter
- #645
I spent the week making curtains.
Bought a sewing machine on Marketplace for $35.
We bought 3 meters (a bit more that 3 yards, it was cheaper to get it in meters than yards
) of Linen Cotton Canvas from Spoonflower
12 K&J Magnetics magnets were just enough as they're paired, +/- you get 24 magnets, heat shrunk for sewing into the seams. I used 4 per curtain.
Vinyl coated steel cable and 10-12 ga. ring terminals, 1/4" stud (used Toyota M6 bolts) for the curtain rods. I added more M6 rivnuts to attach the cables above the windows.
Button-hole instead of grommets for the cable to pass through.
I initially had the white out and pattern in...wife thought it should go the other way, pattern out so that's how it is. It looks good from the outside. We might add an iron-on liner to the backside for more insulation and to cover up the s***ty backside stitching, but I want it to still slide and fold like it does now, so whatever we add needs to be light-weight.
I was going to add tie-backs, but as they are, with the magnets sewn in, they stay put just fine.
I didn't get enough material for a divider curtain behind the seats. I have a bunch of fabric leftover from the rear bench covering and will try to use it. That material is much heavier, so not sure it will slide and fold-away easily though.
Bought a sewing machine on Marketplace for $35.
We bought 3 meters (a bit more that 3 yards, it was cheaper to get it in meters than yards
) of Linen Cotton Canvas from Spoonflower 12 K&J Magnetics magnets were just enough as they're paired, +/- you get 24 magnets, heat shrunk for sewing into the seams. I used 4 per curtain.
Vinyl coated steel cable and 10-12 ga. ring terminals, 1/4" stud (used Toyota M6 bolts) for the curtain rods. I added more M6 rivnuts to attach the cables above the windows.
Button-hole instead of grommets for the cable to pass through.
I initially had the white out and pattern in...wife thought it should go the other way, pattern out so that's how it is. It looks good from the outside. We might add an iron-on liner to the backside for more insulation and to cover up the s***ty backside stitching, but I want it to still slide and fold like it does now, so whatever we add needs to be light-weight.
I was going to add tie-backs, but as they are, with the magnets sewn in, they stay put just fine.
I didn't get enough material for a divider curtain behind the seats. I have a bunch of fabric leftover from the rear bench covering and will try to use it. That material is much heavier, so not sure it will slide and fold-away easily though.
- Thread starter
- #648
'Fingerprint of the Land' is the pattern my wife picked.
And she's giving me s*** for not ironing them before installation...
And she's giving me s*** for not ironing them before installation...
- Thread starter
- #651
Finished up the divider curtains. Used the leftover material from the bench cushions. It sewed way easier.
The support cable is bolted on one side, magnet hook on the other, that way I can move it out of the way if necessary.
When the bed is up, you can see inside the truck from the front of the hood, but you have to really be nosey to see anything.
The support cable is bolted on one side, magnet hook on the other, that way I can move it out of the way if necessary.
When the bed is up, you can see inside the truck from the front of the hood, but you have to really be nosey to see anything.
oh shoot i didnt even notice that,,,, i was viewing on my phone and i thought they were plain,, i need to pay more attention or get a bigger screen, or maybe more power on the readers, its rough getting older.
- Thread starter
- #654
First link I posted was the raw material specification page, which just shows the base material in white. Second link is the chosen print. We got three different sample swatches, a green, tan and blue. I liked the green and tan, wife liked the blue, so we got blue.
whats that saying about a happy wife??First link I posted was the raw material specification page, which just shows the base material in white. Second link is the chosen print. We got three different sample swatches, a green, tan and blue. I liked the green and tan, wife liked the blue, so we got blue.
- Thread starter
- #656
Took it out to the desert for Thanksgiving. Ended up pulling our camper out as well as our daughter and son-in-law were going to join us on Thursday. My daughter said, don't worry about us, we'll bring a tent. Then after they got there 'who's sleeping in the truck?'...think we could?
10-day forecast was not looking good...we half expected snow (another reason to bring the trailer), the closer we got to Thanksgiving, the better the weather.
Boise was socked in with fog/ice and a bit of an inversion. We were about an hour south of Boise and couldn't have asked for better November weather.
10-day forecast was not looking good...we half expected snow (another reason to bring the trailer), the closer we got to Thanksgiving, the better the weather.
Boise was socked in with fog/ice and a bit of an inversion. We were about an hour south of Boise and couldn't have asked for better November weather.
- Thread starter
- #658
I did. I love it. So nice to have two cup holders and the center spot holds a phone/junk plus the brake-formed 'shelf'...and easy installation. Well worth it.
- Thread starter
- #659
Not a lot going on with the Troopy lately. I did get my folding panel I got for xmas to integrate with my fixed panel on the truck. The panel is a Jackery and came with an 8mm round connector (like an co-ax) and plugs directly into our Jackery Solar Generator we use with our camper. I had to buy an adapter cable to go from the round to SAE plus an SAE wye.
I am due for tires and was going to put the 35's on it from my 45 as they're too small for the 45's gearing (4.88s) and go back to 37's on it.
It will look good with 35's but will suffer worse power and fuel economy and I know I'll probably regret it later.
I'm actually debating going down from 255/85/16s to 235/85/16s as they're significantly cheaper and tire selection in the 235s is much better.
Considering the Patagonia A/T Pro ($205 ea) or the Goodyear Wrangler Duratracs ($263 ea). Current tire is a Cooper Discoverer ST Maxx 255/85/16, installed in September 2021 ~30,000 miles
I am due for tires and was going to put the 35's on it from my 45 as they're too small for the 45's gearing (4.88s) and go back to 37's on it.
It will look good with 35's but will suffer worse power and fuel economy and I know I'll probably regret it later.
I'm actually debating going down from 255/85/16s to 235/85/16s as they're significantly cheaper and tire selection in the 235s is much better.
Considering the Patagonia A/T Pro ($205 ea) or the Goodyear Wrangler Duratracs ($263 ea). Current tire is a Cooper Discoverer ST Maxx 255/85/16, installed in September 2021 ~30,000 miles