Truck Shopping - Update: now with build, bikes, and colorado

[I_squared_r]

I’ve done slickrock twice. It’s not my absolute favorite ride there but it is one of a kind and it’s so unique and crazy looking that I feel like it’s one you have to do when you go there. It’s cool to see the Jeeps and dirt bikes getting crazy on the same trail too.

It’s quite a bit of very steep but short ups & downs. The rock is so rough that you have enough traction to ride up anything but I’m not that strong of a climber so I end up pushing up some of the hills.

I would consider renting some bigger suspension bikes for whole enchilada. I have a carbon stumpjumper & I rented something a little more heavy duty last time & it was pretty nice. It can be a rough trail and it’s loooong.

Did you rent a downhill bike? I have a 170mm travel enduro bike.

 

[AZMark]

Did you rent a downhill bike? I have a 170mm travel enduro bike.

No, enduro. It’s not that extreme and there’s still some climbs. We did see people on downhill bikes.

 

[I_squared_r]

New grill, bed lights, and mudguards.. Lift kit coming 2021

 

[jocolo21]

Wow what a bummer to make a large purchase like that and find its a waste of time. Yeah you should consider Tepui, iKamper, and FSR (freespirit recreation). I don't have experience with iKamper and FSR, but they seem very popular in all the youtube videos. Thule wanted to get into the RTT business and saw that Tepui was a very good brand, so they bought out Tepui recently.

I've been planning my trip out west. So I met this pretty brazilian girl back in January when I was on vacation. She would fly in with her bike a few days before departure and stay with me the entire trip. Her and her dad have a bike shop in brazil so she was able to find some mountain bike suggestions from some people. Please let me know if anyone has suggestions. Here's what I have so far:

• Day 1: Drive from Long Island, NY to Davenport, IA (approximately 16 hours)
• Day 2: Drive from Davenport, IA to Crested Butte, CO (approximately 16 hours)

Crested Butte, CO:

• Day 3: Bike ‘401 Trail’
• Day 4: Bike ‘Doctor Park’

Black Canyon, CO:

• Day 5: Drive ‘North Rim’ at Black Canyon for a great view

Telluride, CO:

• Day 6: 4x4 ‘Imogene Pass’ and stay in primitive camp spot
• Day 7: Bike ‘Telluride Bike Park’ or 4x4 ‘Alpine Loop’

Montrose, CO to Moab, UT

• Day 8: 4x4 Rimrocker trail and stay in primitive camp spot
• Day 9: 4x4 Rimrocker trail and stay in primitive camp spot
• Day 10: 4x4 finish Rimrocker Trail and set up camp in moab

Moab, UT:

• Day 11: Bike ‘Whole enchilada’ (shuttle)
• Day 12: Rent a side-by-side (Optional)
• Day 13: Bike ‘Slick rock’ and 4x4 ‘White Rim’ clockwise starting at Schafer switchbacks. Camp overnight at Murphy’s. Campsite has a giant rock for shade and great views.
• Day 14: (Optional)

Leave Saturday, June 19th:

• Day 15: Drive to Columbia, MO (approximately 16 hours)
• Day 16: Drive to Long Island, NY (approximately 16 hours)

And some pictures from the weekend:
It sags a lot with the boat and tent so I will do bilstein 5100's all around and firestone air bags in the rear. The air bags raise the rear 3/4" so I will adjust the front strut to raise like 1-1/2".

View attachment 136060View attachment 136061
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Nice, ive taki my YT Capra to Breck and Vail Co,,,,one more thing get some air bags for the Taco to straighten the ride when towing

 

[I_squared_r]

Nice, ive taki my YT Capra to Breck and Vail Co,,,,one more thing get some air bags for the Taco to straighten the ride when towing

I just googled those places. They look like some quality rides to look into.
Yeah it's on the to-do list, but i'm going to wait until I come back from vacation in January. I've been doing research to see if a full leaf spring pack could work for me, but I don't think it will. It seems that i'd have to get the firestone bags with daystar cradles that will raise the rear 3/4". Then I can do Bilstein shocks to raise the front 1".

 

[2kwik4u]

I just googled those places. They look like some quality rides to look into.
Yeah it's on the to-do list, but i'm going to wait until I come back from vacation in January. I've been doing research to see if a full leaf spring pack could work for me, but I don't think it will. It seems that i'd have to get the firestone bags with daystar cradles that will raise the rear 3/4". Then I can do Bilstein shocks to raise the front 1".

You don't want a full spring pack like that all the time anyway IMO. The ride will be horrid with that much spring rate without a load on it. The airbags let you get a variable spring rate. Stiff when you need it for the load, and soft when you don't. I think they're the right solution here, honestly

 

[I_squared_r]

Patience always helps. I found my suspension kit for cheaper than i'd ever thought.

$348 Bilstein 5100's Front+Rear (early black friday sale)
$138 Firestone Ride-rite Air Bags (open box on ebay)
$64 Daystar Cradles (to allow full extension with air bags - important for off roading)
Total $550

The plan is to take the tent off, install the bags, and then level it with the new front struts. I'm expecting 3/4" in the rear and 1.5" in the front.
The next thing is to decide how I will store my things for the road trip.. I'm thinking about getting the Decked storage system and install an onboard air compressor there. I've seen people hide the compressor by the wheel well and put a air fitting on the back.

 

[2kwik4u]

@I_squared_r

One of the hardest parts for me in finding a good bed rack is dealing with my bed cover. It rolls up, and already occupies the bed rail edge because it's a super low profile unit. So I need a set of mounts that gets the rack bars ABOVE the rolled up cover so I can still access the bed, and they can't hang over the edge to the inside.

I'm about |..| that far from designing my own mounts for Yakima bars.

That Deck'd system looks amazing. Especially if it can keep the cargo dry while on the road.

I knew quite a few guys that had lowred S10's back in the day. Most of them used airbags so they could "lay frame" when parked. All of those guys ran compressors, some ran multiples, as well as tanks and solenoid valves for air management. I suspect you could look into that "scene" and find a good number of ideas on where to mount, what quality compressors are, and clever places to hide the compressor and tank.

 

[I_squared_r]

@I_squared_r

One of the hardest parts for me in finding a good bed rack is dealing with my bed cover. It rolls up, and already occupies the bed rail edge because it's a super low profile unit. So I need a set of mounts that gets the rack bars ABOVE the rolled up cover so I can still access the bed, and they can't hang over the edge to the inside.

I'm about |..| that far from designing my own mounts for Yakima bars.

That Deck'd system looks amazing. Especially if it can keep the cargo dry while on the road.

I knew quite a few guys that had lowred S10's back in the day. Most of them used airbags so they could "lay frame" when parked. All of those guys ran compressors, some ran multiples, as well as tanks and solenoid valves for air management. I suspect you could look into that "scene" and find a good number of ideas on where to mount, what quality compressors are, and clever places to hide the compressor and tank.

UNIVERSAL TRUCK CROSSBARS FOR TONNEAU COVERS, FITS ALL TRUCKS — KB Voodoo Fabrications

Our KB VOODOO UNIVERSAL TRUCK CROSSBARS are TONNEAU COVER COMPATIBLE and constructed of powder coated ALUMINUM, while the uprights are made of 7 GA steel. Their telescopic design allows the bars to be adjustable FOR USE WITH ALL TRUCKS. These crossbars are perfect for Roof Top Tents, ski and bikes

www.kbvoodoo.com

I was looking at this in the beginning, but then I found my tent and rack that changed the direction that i'm going. Maybe it will work for you.
As for the compressor, i'm planning to go with something simple. Like an ARB compressor and put a switch and quick disconnect fitting at the back. I'll relocate the factory outlet there too.

Plug in the air hose and flip a switch:

 

[I_squared_r]

I preassembled the air bags to save time and check that all the hardware is there. Its good to go! The air bags aren't fixed at the bottom and the Daystar cradles provide a cushion for the bags to come down on. So it will still have full extension for off roading. I will be installing it tomorrow.

 

[I_squared_r]

And I decided against the Decked storage system because there is only 24" height in my bed with the tent. The decked system would reduce it to 12" essentially making my bed useless. So I thought about how I can better use my budget..

I ordered a Iceco JP40 fridge with a slide and a Rockpals 520WH Power Station that should power this fridge for 40 hours. I still need to decide on a solar panel.

 

[2kwik4u]

And I decided against the Decked storage system because there is only 24" height in my bed with the tent. The decked system would reduce it to 12" essentially making my bed useless. So I thought about how I can better use my budget..

I ordered a Iceco JP40 fridge with a slide and a Rockpals 520WH Power Station that should power this fridge for 40 hours. I still need to decide on a solar panel.

That makes sense. I wouldn't want to lose that much space either.

I watched these two videos yesterday. I love the idea of overlanding, and offroading to epic campsites, but the damage these guys took on is too much for me. I'm not wanting to go quite that hardcore. I'm thinking about slightly milder trails, then using MtBikes to access to more remote locations. I can crash a mountain bike and still make the drive home a lot easier than crashing a truck! On top of that my fullsize pickup couldn't even begin to make it through some of these spots; it's just too dang big.

The campsite on the creek bank in the second episode is amazing.

I looked at the cross bars you have linked above, and even those won't work with my bed cover. The rails for me cover already occupy that space, and can't handle decreasing the distance between them to accommodate the rack mounts. In hindsight, I would have possibly chosen another cover to handle an over bed rack setup. I'll grab a picture of the bed cover mounting this afternoon to illustrate what I've got going on there.

Secondary question for you......Any idea where I can RENT a roof top tent once I get my rack setup figured out? Would like to take a weekend and have the wife experience it before committing big cash numbers to the effort. She's hesitant about the idea because of the ladder, and having to get up to use the restroom in the middle of the night. I think if that wasn't an issue, then a RTT would be an excellent fit for us. Any thoughts? I've googled until my eyes hurt.

 

[I_squared_r]

Yeah i'm on the same page as you. I picked trails on my itinerary that I know are going to be gentle on my truck. If I decide on more advanced trails then I prefer to rent a side-by-side that I can beat on. However some of the intermediate travels require sliders so it's important to research before. When I drive to colorado, i'll probably place an order with 1 of the many fabricators there and install them when I arrive.

What if you go without the cover? My roof top tent leaves an 8" gap so larger items can't be stolen.

I dont think there are roof top tent rentals. Maybe you should look for a used 1 and sell it if it doesn't work out.

 

[I_squared_r]

Air bags and rear bilstein 5100's are installed. Everything is waxy because I sprayed the truck with a rust inhibitor in anticipation of winter.. The bags are really nice and allow a ton of adjustability. I pumped it up to 60psi and the truck must've lifted 3+ inches. I will bring the truck to the shop during the week to have the fronts installed .. looking at doing 1.5" in the front

 

[2kwik4u]

Yeah i'm on the same page as you. I picked trails on my itinerary that I know are going to be gentle on my truck. If I decide on more advanced trails then I prefer to rent a side-by-side that I can beat on. However some of the intermediate travels require sliders so it's important to research before. When I drive to colorado, i'll probably place an order with 1 of the many fabricators there and install them when I arrive.

What if you go without the cover? My roof top tent leaves an 8" gap so larger items can't be stolen.

I dont think there are roof top tent rentals. Maybe you should look for a used 1 and sell it if it doesn't work out.

With 4 people in the truck I still want the cover for water-tight storage. Can't use my back seats for that since there are a couple kids back there. Not really worried about the security.

I've found some rentals, but they're all out west (except one in Charlotte, NC). Nothing anywhere near me

New airbags look great. Way better setup than the ones I've seen for the Sierra's. Not sure why, but the Sierra bag mounts tend to be on the spring only and forward of the axle. Not a design I particularly care for. Yours, centered over the axle, are a much better solution IMO.

 

[I_squared_r]

I would like to remove the ribbed plastic on the tailgate so it's a better table. I designed this and will use a 1/2" thick black HDPE sheet. My brother built a CNC so we will try this out. His CNC is smaller than the 55" length so we need to get creative with it. I think after it cuts the holes, we can screw the HDPE into the CNC's mdf base and then unscrew and rotate the entire MDF base. This should keep our coordinates. We will test this with a scrap piece of plywood instead of messing up a $100 sheet of HDPE..

 

[I_squared_r]

With 4 people in the truck I still want the cover for water-tight storage. Can't use my back seats for that since there are a couple kids back there. Not really worried about the security.

I've found some rentals, but they're all out west (except one in Charlotte, NC). Nothing anywhere near me

New airbags look great. Way better setup than the ones I've seen for the Sierra's. Not sure why, but the Sierra bag mounts tend to be on the spring only and forward of the axle. Not a design I particularly care for. Yours, centered over the axle, are a much better solution IMO.

Ah, yeah you will be carrying a lot of things. You can check out roam adventure for waterproof cases..

Rugged Cases

Explore Rugged Cases, heavy-duty storage cases and boxes built for camp gear and tools. Dust/weatherproof gaskets, interlocking design for stacking, lockable latches.

www.roamadventureco.com

They have a black friday sale and if you put the item in the cart, start check out and then leave, they will email another $20 coupon. I didn't order because I already spent a few thousand dollars in this build.. so I need to find a more economical solution

 

[2kwik4u]

HDPE looks great. FYI, you'll want to round those corners before you cut. HDPE like that is SHARP!

I've already got a "dry bag" that I used before I got the bed cover. It works remarkably well. We bought this to go on one of those hitch carriers for a vacation a few years back on the wifes Traverse. used it in the truck for a year or so before I got the bed cover.



I'm pretty set on making the cover work with a rack. I don't want JUST the RTT on there, but also some bicycle trays for transport of the bicycles when not camping. Suspect the RTT will only live on the truck in the summer time (and even then I have the thought of putting a suspending system in the garage so I can "hoist" it off when not needed.

 

[I_squared_r]

HDPE looks great. FYI, you'll want to round those corners before you cut. HDPE like that is SHARP!

I've already got a "dry bag" that I used before I got the bed cover. It works remarkably well. We bought this to go on one of those hitch carriers for a vacation a few years back on the wifes Traverse. used it in the truck for a year or so before I got the bed cover.

View attachment 137869

I'm pretty set on making the cover work with a rack. I don't want JUST the RTT on there, but also some bicycle trays for transport of the bicycles when not camping. Suspect the RTT will only live on the truck in the summer time (and even then I have the thought of putting a suspending system in the garage so I can "hoist" it off when not needed.

This dry bag may actually be the solution that i'm looking for lol where'd you get that 1? It looks like it would fit perfect next to the fridge.

 

[2kwik4u]

This dry bag may actually be the solution that i'm looking for lol where'd you get that 1? It looks like it would fit perfect next to the fridge.

Bought it off Amazon. Works well for not much money. I have it strapped in there just to keep it from flapping around. There are 2 carry on size bags, 2 child suitcases, a "pack-and-play", and a few other things in it as shown.

It's a heavy canvas with a "rubberized" coating on the outside. The zippers aren't super strong, but they are well covered with the "weather flap"

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002M3P828/

Mine is the 59x24x24 size.