Hey folks,
What ought one think to include in an expo build? I read a lot of builds and of course they're personalized to taste but there's also a large range of budget and skill and its less clear what people are most focused on.
I'm curious what the common denominators are; what are the essentials?
There's stuff storage, sleeping accommodation, comm and nav supplies, electrical, water and fuel storage, navigation and recovery stuff.
If we start with some average skills, no welding equipment and roughly $3000, what do you make sure a truck is equipped with for, say, a 1 month excursion through an average terrain (assuming no crazy rocks or mud) with reasonable access (within 1 day's hike) to civilization in the case of catastrophic failure (broken axle for some reason)?
Let's say the truck has steel front bumper with winch, double swingout rear bumper and sliders. A mild lift and good tires. Otherwise, its completely stock.
Disclaimer: I will not build your ideal truck and blame you when i dont like it. I'm just interested to see what people prioritize. Also, I realize $3000 is a tight budget; again, looking for the essential priorities.
Here's mine:
Stuff storage: $475
Drawer system; immediately throw out rear seats and put in two drawers. One drawer is recovery items and trail spares.
Sleeping: $300
Drawer system doubles as sleep platform; put some mat down, sleep sack, truck end tent fits over the tail gate
Comm and nav: $700
Truck mounted HAM and antenna. Handheld HAM. Integrated GPS head unit with offline maps. Garmin gps as backup and route tracker. (maybe rent a Sat phone)
Electrical: $650
Lights in front bumper, 1 rear spot light, switches for lights, dual battery system
Water and Fuel storage: $75
Jerry cans on rear swingouts; 1 water 2 fuel
Food storage: $500
Fridge and drawer space.
Recovery: $300
Hilift; 30 ft chain, 30 ft strap, shackles, tree saver, snatch block, ax, saw and shovel
There. $3000 spent. Looks like I have overlooked actually purchasing trail spares but maybe nothing bad will happen
What ought one think to include in an expo build? I read a lot of builds and of course they're personalized to taste but there's also a large range of budget and skill and its less clear what people are most focused on.
I'm curious what the common denominators are; what are the essentials?
There's stuff storage, sleeping accommodation, comm and nav supplies, electrical, water and fuel storage, navigation and recovery stuff.
If we start with some average skills, no welding equipment and roughly $3000, what do you make sure a truck is equipped with for, say, a 1 month excursion through an average terrain (assuming no crazy rocks or mud) with reasonable access (within 1 day's hike) to civilization in the case of catastrophic failure (broken axle for some reason)?
Let's say the truck has steel front bumper with winch, double swingout rear bumper and sliders. A mild lift and good tires. Otherwise, its completely stock.
Disclaimer: I will not build your ideal truck and blame you when i dont like it. I'm just interested to see what people prioritize. Also, I realize $3000 is a tight budget; again, looking for the essential priorities.
Here's mine:
Stuff storage: $475
Drawer system; immediately throw out rear seats and put in two drawers. One drawer is recovery items and trail spares.
Sleeping: $300
Drawer system doubles as sleep platform; put some mat down, sleep sack, truck end tent fits over the tail gate
Comm and nav: $700
Truck mounted HAM and antenna. Handheld HAM. Integrated GPS head unit with offline maps. Garmin gps as backup and route tracker. (maybe rent a Sat phone)
Electrical: $650
Lights in front bumper, 1 rear spot light, switches for lights, dual battery system
Water and Fuel storage: $75
Jerry cans on rear swingouts; 1 water 2 fuel
Food storage: $500
Fridge and drawer space.
Recovery: $300
Hilift; 30 ft chain, 30 ft strap, shackles, tree saver, snatch block, ax, saw and shovel
There. $3000 spent. Looks like I have overlooked actually purchasing trail spares but maybe nothing bad will happen