The Adventures of Shamu (1 Viewer)

[Idaho Savage]

Well I figured I'd start a thread chronicling both the work and mods but also the adventures that surround Shamu, my 2021 200 Series.

I am fortunate that I'm not working much for the time being after a successful business and thus, I have a lot of time on my hands to hang with the kids and also get after it. I'm hoping I can dispell the notion that 200's are all soccer busses and mall crawlers. Hell, Shamu only has 20k and already smells like my waders!

So....Meet Shamu and his lil' buddy, Remora, a 2017 Turtleback I just purchased.

Shamu's current build specs:

285/75 R17 Toyo MTs
Fifteen52 17" wheels
Slee KDSS relocation kit
OME BP51 shocks
2722 Springs
OME SPCs
ARB skid plates
TJM bull bar with ARB Solis Lights
Warn Zeon 12s Platinum Winch
Slee sliders and rear bumper
Prinsu roof rack w Rigid light bar
Garmin Power Switch
ARB twin compressor
ARB rear locker
RedArc Trailer Brake
RedArc Dual Battery system

Interior:
Desert Does It Seat Jackers
ARB drawers
Equipt Seat Covers
Kaon Gear loft and Cargo Divider
Homemade fly rod rack
WeatherTech Floor Mats

 

[Idaho Savage]

Spring Fishing and Leg Stretch

We had a spectacular winter and are just now thawing out, with plenty of snow in the mountains.

This peak is looming behind me at the fishing hole.

Spring up here means most of our rivers are closed for fishing but there are a handful still open. You gotta want it as they get muddy and are hard to access. That's ok, that's why I have Remora. He makes quick overnights very easy as I don't have to find and pack all my s***. It's always ready to go.

A wee bit buggy this time of year.

More to come tomorrow after some angling.

 

[TomEf]

Looks like you like to get out there and party. Is your trailer on 4Runner wheels? Any thoughts to convert it to 5x150 to match lug patterns?

 

[04UZJ100]

What kind of business?

 

[Idaho Savage]

Looks like you like to get out there and party. Is your trailer on 4Runner wheels? Any thoughts to convert it to 5x150 to match lug patterns?

Yeah, it's on FJ Cruiser wheels courtesy of the prior owner. So yeah, it's definitely on the list. Good eye.

 

[Idaho Savage]

Enjoyed a beautiful night of solo camping in Remora, under a very bright moon.

Slept in until 8, as the trout don't tend to reward early risers this time of year. Made a cip of coffee, locked Remora down and drove up to the river. I was please to find I was the only person there. Not surprising but still nice.

Find the Land Cruiser.

Upon assembling my kit, I found my trusty 5wt had separated from its butt section, making for a loose reel. Fortunately I had some orange electrical tape in the Oh Sh#t section of my drawers. Problem solved.

The morning started slow. I hit hole after hole with nothing to show for it. I walked up river a few miles wondering if I was too late in the Spring or what. I sat down, had lunch, then started fishing my way back down the river. Oddly--starting with the very last hole I had fished--it seemed as though the trout had not only waken up, but woke up very hungry. I probably landed around 20 on the walk back down the river, all above 14", with the biggest hen coming in at 20".

Trout Porn!

Satiated, I walked back to the rig, drove back to where I had left Remora and hit the road back home.

 

[Possie Bugger]

very nice! and good taste in reels - i love the Hatch reels.

how about some more info on the custom flyrod holder. presumably in the vehicle?

 

[Idaho Savage]

very nice! and good taste in reels - i love the Hatch reels.

how about some more info on the custom flyrod holder. presumably in the vehicle?

Heh, yeah. I't's nothing too revolutionary. A friend of mine is a guide and drives a 100. He "engineered" a solution that I borrowed.

The highly organized cargo area as of this morning.

A close up of the rod holders...basically PVC pipes cut to the length of the Kaon Gear loft. I then put insulation inside of them for a cushion and secured the tubes to a rubber mat with zip ties. The combo of the tubes and mat are tied to the loft with bungees. I can then simply slide the rod through and the rod tips on a standard, 9' fly rod ends up just shy of the windshield.

Another small bungee from the passenger sun visor, over the tips, to the area near the sunglass holder keeps them from rattling. And believe it or not, they're not in the way of anything and I often keep two rods in there for weeks at a time.

 

[Possie Bugger]

thx. clever solution with the pipe insulation inside the PVC. i dont have a gear loft but this give me some ideas

 

[Idaho Savage]

Drove down to the big city of Boise to knock out some errands, then headed up into the hills for a solitary evening of camping, with the hope of maybe locating some turkeys or some morels. I "e-scouted" a new area and located a minig road that seemed to go pretty deep into the area I wanted to explore.

The road was fine--narrow, pitted and washed out in several places but nothing Shamu and Remora couldn't handle in 4 Low with some finesse.

Found a decent spot by a creek that evening and set camp. I swapped RTT's with the CVT Mt. Hood that I used on Shamu last summer. The James Baroud that came on Remora will serve as Shamu's RTT on family camps.

The CVT is heavier but bigger, so it's quite a bit more comfortable. I'm around 6'0 and find the Baroud to be a bit tight. They are light and very well made, however.

I climbed a ridge in the AM and didn't cut any turkey sign nor did I hear a single bird. That's ok, the flowers were starting to pop. I had a hunch it was too early (maybe by a few days) for morels, but I did find quite a few others.

Discina montana (false morels--dont eat these).

Blood Bonnets (not edible, "bleed" when snapped).

Saffron Webcaps = fairly certain kidney damage/failure

After that, I explored a road system and saw a few homesteads and the like.

 

[Idaho Savage]

Then headed in the direction of home. Idaho is glutinous in its beauty and I try to make it a point to enjoy it as much as I can. As you can see, Idaho doesn't care that it's mid May.

Coming this weekend: Maintenance time!

 

[mdh384]

How are the seat risers treating you?

Also you're not supposed to put pics of Idaho on the web. It makes it hard to maintain the idea that it's just potato fields...

 

[Idaho Savage]

How are the seat risers treating you?

Also you're not supposed to put pics of Idaho on the web. It makes it hard to maintain the idea that it's just potato fields...

So true, so true.

I am loving the seat jackers. I did ~5 hours in the 200 today and feel great. I'm debating putting them in my Ford as well, though those seats are pretty nice to begin with.

 

[Idaho Savage]

Maintenance Time!

Starring: A new Jowett Performance Oil Filter Housing; Fumoto Drain Plug, Amsoil 0W-20 Synthetic oil, and Toyota OEM Oil and Air Filters.

Guest Staring: Bluetooth Voltage Meter

I hadn't done an oil change in this truck, as the first two were done by the dealer. I had read plenty of horror stories, and if I'm being honest, I really didn't find it that bad. I ordered a Jowett kit and Fumoto a few weeks ago to be ready.

I got the filters.

And the Fumoto

And the exotic fake dino lube.

Removing the access panel from the Slee armor was easy and a good reminder of just how stout those things are. They also collect quite a bit of mud!

Thar she blows. Drain time. After draining the pan, I went on to the dreaded filter which I employed the zip lock trick from my days in a 100 series. Definitely not perfect, but caught around 75% of the oil.

Time for the goods. Assembling the Jowett was easy after I figured out the tabs in the tube. Placed the filter in it and had it ready to go. After screwing the Fumoto in to hand tight, then using a 17mm wrench to tighten it another quarter, I hand tightened in the new filter and housing, then used the filter "socket" from Jowett to 18 foot lbs.

Added 7.5 quarts, let her run for a bit, then added another 1/2 quart. Turned it on again for five minutes and no leaks. Reassembled the skid plate access panels and reset the info oil reminder. Done, yo. Will check it again tomorrow after driving.

 

[Idaho Savage]

Bonus Content

Swapped the air filter as 80% of the driving I do in Shamu is on dusty roads. It was better than I anticipated but still pretty dirty.

I also need to be able to watch my auxiliary battery voltage, so I bought a cheap Bluetooth Voltage Meter from Amazon and hooked it up. My Garmin Power Switch watches my cranking battery but I might add another one of these since the app can manage multiple and I don't always have my Garmin app open.

All in all, everything went pretty smoothly.

Coming next: Cabin air filter, Gamiviti Dashboard Accessory Mount, Timbren front bumpstops, rerouting swaybar links to exterior, post KDSS relocation.

 

[04UZJ100]

You should swap to 5W30 next time. All the cool kids are doing it.

 

[Idaho Savage]

You should swap to 5W30 next time. All the cool kids are doing it.

Yeah, I read that. Not enough compelling evidence for me...yet.

 

[Tex68w]

Nice choice in reels. I ran the first gen Hatch reels until they were stolen along with the rest of my fly fishing gear. Now I have Hatch and Abel reels and possibly a Ross in there somewhere. I go in and out of fly fishing, but I always keep the gear around for when I get the itch again.

 

[OEMGUY0720]

Good looking 200. How are you liking the ARB AR36 Solis?

 

[Idaho Savage]

Good looking 200. How are you liking the ARB AR36 Solis?

At first I wasn't sure, with the dimming and and all that. I like simplicity. But I have grown to really like them.