Sitting in flood water for a little while, had a few inches in the house but we're ok, many others in Houston much worse off. The worst hit us Saturday night but non-stop rain since Friday. Finally drying out, catching up on Mud...
What have you done to your 200 Series this week? (19 Viewers)
- Thread starter MScruiser
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- 200 series
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Glad to hear you guys are ok!!!
Preying for you and your family
Took the 80 out instead to load up donations and dropped off to evacuation shelters.
Atwalz
Civil Engineer
Glad to hear you guys are OK.
Gonna test out the towing abilities.
Finally got Moby Dick (big, white whale) up to Slee for some modest mods (relative to what many of you do!)
First, Bubba's coils live on! @Markuson's rear 2721s that were discards off Bubba during his recent upgrade have completed the transplant to Moby Dick. Along with the 2721s I did 700's on the front and Nitrocharger Sport shocks and new UCAs. ~2" lift on the back. ~1" lift on the front. This is by design. The idea, along with the progressive 2721 springs, is to accommodate the occasional 800# of tongue weight when we tow our trailer. Having a bit of rake when not towing will bring it closer to level when towing. BTW, I hardly notice a change to the ride even though the spring rates for both front and back are significantly higher than the stock springs. Very pleased with that! Slee alignment as well of course. Well done, Slee!
What else?
First, Bubba's coils live on! @Markuson's rear 2721s that were discards off Bubba during his recent upgrade have completed the transplant to Moby Dick. Along with the 2721s I did 700's on the front and Nitrocharger Sport shocks and new UCAs. ~2" lift on the back. ~1" lift on the front. This is by design. The idea, along with the progressive 2721 springs, is to accommodate the occasional 800# of tongue weight when we tow our trailer. Having a bit of rake when not towing will bring it closer to level when towing. BTW, I hardly notice a change to the ride even though the spring rates for both front and back are significantly higher than the stock springs. Very pleased with that! Slee alignment as well of course. Well done, Slee!
What else?
- ARB compressor (double) with switch button mounted in the left side button cluster. (Sorry about the out of focus iPhone pic.). I am often topping off my trailer tires and tweaking my LC tires not to mention a quick air down when going a long way on washboard roads. This will make it easier and faster.
- 2nd ARB drawer. This now provides a sleeping platform for my wife and I. And some good storage space.
- Curt's tailgate latch release button. Had Slee do the install. They enhanced the install by securing the handle to a metal plate rather than the plastic and the metal plate was in turn secured to existing bolt holes. Thank you, Slee! Now I need to see if I can replace the tailgate lifter pistons with something stronger. With the Gobi ladder on the tailgate, it does not go up easy - especially from the inside. With this latch release and the 2nd ARB drawer we are that much closer to being camping-ready. Just need to finish out the "bed" platform with a second piece of fiber board and a memory foam mattress cut to fit.
Upped my first aid kit game with the Weekend Warrior from Outer Limit Supply (Outer Limit Supply: Dust, Crush, & Waterproof First Aid Kits For Outdoor Adventures). Not only are the contents high quality and extensive, the actual container is awesome and feels like a nice Pelican type case complete with pressure equilization valve. Travis the owner of OLS told me you can easily drive over the case without it breaking too! Of course first aid kits are like fire extinguishers where you never hope to use them, but you want the best if the need arises.
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I have been thinking about a much better first aid kit but each time I realize that I first need to get some training on how to use it! Maybe this off season I can take some courses along with getting my basic HAM license.
I need to get more training as well. Rising Sun just did a 16 hour 2 day wilderness first aid course put on by these guys (Remote Emergency Services and Training), but I was out of town the weekend they did it. I will definitely sign up for the next one, or I've even thought about doing the WFA course that REI puts on a few times a year.
RET2
SILVER Star
I used to load my recovery gear, first aid and extra jack first to insure they were mot forgotten but invariably they were on the bottom when i needed quick access so now I load them last. Some of us need to learn the hard way. I once had to virtually unload almost everything to get to a bottle jack in100 degree weather on the way to Death Valley because my traveling buddy got a flat and forgot his jack.
Awesome! Need some new pics of Moby's stance now! Love those white rigs, the more pictures, the better.
All great upgrades, anxious to hear about the struts on the rear hatch if you go that route. I'd notice a slight 'delay' with my Gobi ladder but hadn't considered the impact from opening from the inside.
Matt, thanks for sharing this! Just a quick FYI - if you have an HSA account through your employer, you should be able to buy these first aid kits with your tax free dollars. I bought about 6 or so kits that way (honestly to use year end dollars that I would have forfeited) but this uber kit should also qualify. Might be able to get reimbursed for purchases already made or buy outright if shopping around. Ymmv but will be putting this on my wish list now!
Travis is a great guy and a fireman so he knows his stuff. he is the guy in front of the Romer clan. Said he always wanted to be part of the Romer family. I can understand that
Excellent idea - thank you for sharing!
I'm mostly through a very thorough exterior cleaning and detail. Saturday afternoon it got a foam bath, then debug, then a hand wash, then the clay bar came out. Geez you think it's clean, until you start the clay process, wow it's crazy how much dirt the clay pulls out of the paint. Did some touch up on a few stone chips before quitting for the night, so they'd have overnight to dry.
Yesterday I wet sanded and polished the headlights and taillights, then started the Zaino process. Anything that was white got hand polished/prepped with Zaino All-in-One. More dirt off the paint! Now that it's really clean, I know why it's called Super White. Stuff like the door jambs and door edges and especially around the rear gates took the longest, I don't think they have been properly cleaned since the truck was new. I had to pull the taillights out, they were packed with dirt underneath. My arms were aching by the time I got the last of it off.
Today it gets the rest of the Zaino treatment, 2 passes of Z-5 polish with the P-C RO and a red pad with Z-6 sealant between, then a final coat of Clear Seal.
Yesterday I wet sanded and polished the headlights and taillights, then started the Zaino process. Anything that was white got hand polished/prepped with Zaino All-in-One. More dirt off the paint! Now that it's really clean, I know why it's called Super White. Stuff like the door jambs and door edges and especially around the rear gates took the longest, I don't think they have been properly cleaned since the truck was new. I had to pull the taillights out, they were packed with dirt underneath. My arms were aching by the time I got the last of it off.
Today it gets the rest of the Zaino treatment, 2 passes of Z-5 polish with the P-C RO and a red pad with Z-6 sealant between, then a final coat of Clear Seal.
I'm pretty impressed with the paint on this truck, it really polished up well. Not bad for 110K of neglect.
fireball
SILVER Star
Dan - 800# of tongue weight is a lot. What else are you using besides the 2721s? Airbags? Timbrens?
My 200 will see a constant load of a few hundred pounds (rear bumper + spare, drawer system w/ fridge, 100#husky) plus the occasional ~400# of tongue weight from our trailer. Trying to figure out the best suspension setup.
Thanks!
