Build wiseinvestor's budget build of "Big Slick"

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I used the claim and purchased a new set of K03 and put them on my son's Nissan Titan Pro x4 which just happens to have 275/70R18 as well.
I decided to try a different tire and purchased 5 Toyo Open Country ATIII.
Toyed with going bigger as my bp51s and lift would easily allow it. But ultimately decided it wasn't necessary.

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I thru the tires on the factory wheels for a minute while I refreshed my 5 year old poor man heritage wheels.
First on road impression of the tires are that they are loud as hell and feel lighter. They spec taller but they don't give off that impression.

I replace all 5 tpms with oem while I had the rubber off. My tire shop (belle) told me they couldn't program them. I went by Discount Tire and they came out and did it for free in about 10 min. Looks like discount tire will be getting my next tire order.
 
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Wheels. After 5 years they had accumulated some battle scars.

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So I just decided to repeat what I did originally. Sandblast and respray with prismatic powder.

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My diy caps lasted 5 years before I lost one, so I'm just going to do them again.

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We'll talk about it again in 2030.

Cruisers on the Rocks 5 is later this month... so Ill be scratching stuff up again in no time.
Cheers
 
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wiseinvestor said:
Wheels. After 5 years they had accumulated some battle scars.

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So I just decided to repeat what I did originally. Sandblast and respray with prismatic powder.

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Did you DIY the powder coat? I messed up one of my new bronze wheels on my Taco. I just bought a new one because getting it blasted and PC’d was going to take too much time and cost about the same as buying a new wheel.
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I had a shop do it. Per wheel it was $50 bucks for the sandblasting. $100 for the powder coating. Unless you can get the factory powder codes you could have a hard time getting it to match. I bet the new wheel wasn't cheap.
 
wiseinvestor said:
I had a shop do it. Per wheel it was $50 bucks for the sandblasting. $100 for the powder coating. Unless you can get the factory powder codes you could have a hard time getting it to match. I bet the new wheel wasn't cheap.
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It was $240 so not stupid expensive but not cheap either. I figured repowder coating would be $200 and I’d have trouble matching the color.
 
kcjaz said:
It was $240 so not stupid expensive but not cheap either. I figured repowder coating would be $200 and I’d have trouble matching the color.
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Sounds like you made the right choice.
 
5 months on the Toyo Open Country ATIII and I don't hate them. They are loud and have been from day one. But the ride is better than the K03 and they perform well in the wet and in the dirt.
 
I upgraded the rear springs to Old Man Emu 2724 and added about .75 inches in the back. The overall rake is a bit better and it allows me some room for tongue weight. Additionally I installed an arb trailer brake and picked up a geny torsion hitch. I didn't really notice a difference in the ride.
 
wiseinvestor said:
I actually just slid it above the sunroof shade. It still seems to work fine. I did buy the mount so time will tell.
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That’s a great idea. I hav a load bar over part of my sunroof so not sure that would work for me but maybe in the Taco.
 
kcjaz said:
That’s a great idea. I hav a load bar over part of my sunroof so not sure that would work for me but maybe in the Taco.
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I don't have any obstruction above my sunroof. I can pull it out and chuck it on the roof at camp if I want it to be better aligned.
 
I couldn't make it to cruise Moab this year because I had prior engagements with my son hunting sailfish in the the Florida keys.

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So when my good friend @tincan45 invited me to explore Canyonlands Needles district in late April I was in.
Dipping south off of I70 near Colby Kansas was a new level of rural for me.
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I rented an Airstream basecamp from a guy off outdoorsy located in Durango Co.
I was more worried about the clearance with the trailer's stubby tongue than he was so off I went easy on the hard rights.
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We spent the first night in Mesa Verde. The Airstream Basecamp is an amazing design/layout and a good match for the 200. I would own one if wasn't for the poor build quality.
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We explored Mesa Verde National park on a rainy morning. We visited the cliff dwellings which are the largest in North America and were built around the year 1200. The rain cleared by the time we arrived at Cliff Palace and we were the only 2 people in the area. Very cool.
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I talked my travel partner into a 24 hour detour to visit Valley of the God's and Monument Valley. We rolled thru Forest Gump point without the need to run around in the road.

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Moki Dugway was on my list, so we dropped the trailers at camp and ran Route 261 (paved road below) out to the switchbacks. It's not Shafer Trail, but it is worth the effort in my opinion if you happen to be in the area. The dirt trail heading across to the left of the photo is the north end of the Valley of the Gods west entrance.
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The following photo of the iconic Monument Valley was not taken during an epic drive, but rather was from a parking lot of a hotel that charged $10 to enter. I was glad I was able to see it and happy to donate to the cause, it looks like an adventure but felt like a tourist attraction. Prioritize the Moki Dugway imho.
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Thanks to my friend Jim for letting me add a detour to his Canyonlands Agenda. I was glad to visit the area. Spectacular.
 
We headed north thru Mexican Hat, Bluff, White Mesa and filled up the tanks in Monticello. North on 191 and then we headed west into Canyonlands National Park. We spent 3 days camping and exploring. We had an amazing campsite in the A loop of The Needles Campground.
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These are not drone shots. The campsite was backed up to rocks that you could just walk up.
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We ran Lavender Canyon until you had to walk it. We ran Salt and Horse Canyon. And we did Colorado River overlook. It was cool to see White Rim Trail from the opposite side of the river.
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