neohic Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 ... that is all for now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AeroNautical Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 I would love one of these, if only I had the money, resources and know how to make one. How much do these usually run you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 Damn you Ben, now you have figured out how to clone these things. :fs1: Err, can you clone one more for me? Huh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NHMJXJ Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 Amphibian DNA ... at least that's how they did it in Jurassic Park. :yes: Want one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepcoMJ Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 Gotta tell ya, I'm glad you and the owner got things figured. Nice to see that project done! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xjrev10 Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 Like Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 see, I woulda thought that would have been just too much awesomeness in one location and that the universe would have imploded or something. guess the universe is tougher than I gave it credit. :bowdown: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neohic Posted August 31, 2014 Author Share Posted August 31, 2014 Err, can you clone one more for me? Huh? Might know where there's a couple more... :peek: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawn Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 ive seen these for years but ive never understood their allure. maybe in rattlesnake areas? doesn't the tent part go bad being outside in all weather? i would think a dome tent on the ground would be much more useful, and user friendly during the night :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 Err, can you clone one more for me? Huh? Might know where there's a couple more... :peek: Did Wildernest make these specifically for the LWB MJ, or were they a "universal" fit? I know nothing about them. I'd be interested in the topper by itself, but not for a trailer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neohic Posted August 31, 2014 Author Share Posted August 31, 2014 Did Wildernest make these specifically for the LWB MJ, or were they a "universal" fit?... Pretty universal: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 ive seen these for years but ive never understood their allure. maybe in rattlesnake areas? doesn't the tent part go bad being outside in all weather? i would think a dome tent on the ground would be much more useful, and user friendly during the night :) there's a lot of nasty little buggers crawlin' around on the ground in georgia. :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 Thanks Ben. So putting the #91 on a LWB MJ would probably fit like an S10 LWB topper - NQR (Not Quite Right). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shipp_m Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 i seen your post on the wildernest sight many few moons ago and you mentioned something about another "project" good to see you were able to come through with it. good job and keep up the great work ben. :cheers: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Comanche County Posted September 1, 2014 Share Posted September 1, 2014 Not fair! :fs1: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted September 1, 2014 Share Posted September 1, 2014 Thanks Ben. So putting the #91 on a LWB MJ would probably fit like an S10 LWB topper - NQR (Not Quite Right). or maybe it fits our trucks perfectly and is NQR on the S-10. :D (probably not) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted September 1, 2014 Share Posted September 1, 2014 or maybe it fits our trucks perfectly and is NQR on the S-10. :D (probably not) Good point. Universal is never a universal fit is it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Automan2164 Posted September 1, 2014 Share Posted September 1, 2014 Suppose I will finish this off eh? It's been a long weekend. Finally settled in after a shower and a nap. Ben has been on the hunt for one of these for me for a long time. We had a couple close calls, including the "one that got away". I should have spent the money at the time, but I was concerned with outgoing flow and couldn't swing it. Ben found this one on the local CL and put me in contact with the guy. He was a small used car dealer and it had came in on a Ranger. He knew it was special, so he wanted to sell it separate. I wired Ben the money, and he picked it up. Half truck is just something that has been passed around in the local MJ circle around here. Finally ended up getting it together minus the tongue. I don't have a welder strong enough to accomplish this sort of task, or the metal/fabrication equipment so Ben offered to get me set up. Using some eyeball and rough measurements he cut all the pieces to fit and had them ready. Ordering the trailer axle was cheaper up by him, so I paid for that and he collected that from his local supply place also. I serviced the XJ, gave everything a once over and picked up a borrowed trailer. Once everything was loaded down and ready to go I was working out a plan. I had planned to work all day Friday, come home, then drive from Chicago to MN. Planned. I had some running around to do, so after work turned into about 7 PM. Made 6 hours of the 7 and change drive though the rain, construction, and darkness before calling it a night and stretching out in the back of the XJ. Got about 5 hours of sleep, kinda. It wasn't as horrible as I would have expected. View from the rest area wasn't bad: Finally got up to Ben's place shortly after 9 and we got to work... After I spent some time admiring Archer, the Eliminator, the Comansion, the green truck, and generally taking it all in. Ben keeps a tight shop, and we got right into it. He had all the tongue parts precut. Everything was spot on. Crazy how good he is at metal work. I did some of the prep while he made up some aluminum supports and then he jumped over and got to welding. While he was welding, I felt sort of useless. I can weld, and did for a bit, but when you are welding with an instructor, it's a bit intimidating. He gave me some critiques, but it was just plain faster to let him run with it. I offered to mow the lawn or do any chores while he was welding... He told me to go check out the Nest and play around while it was on his truck still. I figured out how to get it up, and he could hear me clammering on in there. He wandered out and caught me in amazement. The shear height of the thing once it is up is astonishing. In order to reach the curtain wire on the middle pole I have to almost tip toe for it. Back to the welding. Ben's happy face: Now this is where we ran into a problem. In order to get it onto my trailer we had to take back off the springs/axle. The easiest thing would have been just to take it apart at this point, but now what fun would that be? So we assembled it, just for the sake of putting his and mine side by side. Total nerds. Then out came Ben's and his Eliminator. Once we got all the school girl giggles out of the way, we underwent the process of taking it all back apart and loading it up. The frame section made this super difficult, but after strapping down the frame first, we essentially built it on the trailer sans axle and springs. We ended up getting to this point about 7 PM or so. I wanted to take Ben and his wife out to dinner for all the work so we had a nice meal before I headed back out. I headed out 9 PM and wanted to make it as far as I could before shutting down. Made it until midnight. I rolled in with heavy eyes to a rest stop, hit the head, then turned it in for night 2. Woke back up at 5 AM, and assessed the load. Turns out that since leaving Ben's, it had shifted 1.5-2' on the trailer... It didn't register with me at first. It was dark, I had just woke up, and I couldn't believe it. Went to pick up on the flatbed tonque... Nothing. Pushed down, and there was my answer. It really had shifted. Shifted to the point it was pulling up on the hitch. So here I am, 5 AM in the dark, trying to figure out how I am going to move a huge heavy object quietly. I ended up loosening all the straps and finding one good one. I hooked it to the forward spring mount holes, and slowly cranked to the point where I thought the strap was going to snap a click at a time. I'm holding the flashlight, and I hear it creep forward... Alright. More of this, but it can be done. While all of this is happening, I catch a body in my peripheral. I see a guy walking about 20 feet away to his car. White guy, no shoes, plaid shorts, t shirt, maybe mid thirties, shaved head. Looks like an alright guy, nothing pegs on my danger radar. He goes over to a new (Like brand spanking) Yukon Denali and gets in the drivers side. He gets back out, and was milling around by his SUV. I'm still trying to work on getting it shifted. I see him start approaching. I am actually kind of grateful, maybe he could give me a hand so I could be on my way a bit quicker. So he walks up and says "Hey, I don't want to creep you out, but there is a great blow job for you over there..." and starts walking to the nearest pavilion in the dark. I chuckled aloud, and just gave a no thanks. A good friend of mine is ghey, and because he is open and laughs about it, I am so numb to that kind of advance or talk... I was laughing about the exchange all day. Even called my buddy up and he got a laugh out of it too. When I talked to Ben later I made mention of how friendly everyone is in Minnesota. He had a good laugh about it also. I got back on the road and made it home without a hitch. Back at home. Angela had let Bear out and he was super interested in the trailer. I had planned on moving it over to the diesel MJ so I can reassemble the trailer and get it on the wheels and didn't want to open it until then, but I couldn't help myself. I flung it open and helped Bear up and in. He danced around the inside and was super excited... He kept looking back as if to ask when we were leaving. It was a sight. Here you can see the original curtains Ben gave me... They really make the 'Nest. With that all done, I closed it back up, nudged the diesel closer, and turtle shelled it. Just got up under it, and stood up. Angela was the guide. I picked it up, twisted it, walked it to the ledge between the trucks, walked over the bed rails from one to the other, and situated it on the diesel. It looks man-tastic on top of it. Don, you can see how it fits here. It doesn't look all that bad for what it is. Most people will probably be so entertained by the tent part that the body/topper lines will be a moot point. It's not destined to be on this or any truck anyhow, but will live on here until I get the home made trailer DOT inspected and titled. I plan on taking it to a couple cruise nights with the 'Nest on it. I cannot thank Ben enough for his exemplary work and all the time he put into the project - even before I got there. I'm sure he has more pictures to add when he gets around to it. Thanks again Ben! Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted September 1, 2014 Share Posted September 1, 2014 I was just getting ready to crash when your post came in Rob. Nice odyssey to Ben's place and back. :yes: It actually fits better than the LWB S10 topper I had on for awhile. But the MJ roof profile and height is like no other truck it's size. You are right though, the tent novelty far outweighs the less than stellar fit. I love it! Great job to both of you guys. :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dadinator Posted September 1, 2014 Share Posted September 1, 2014 Nice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neohic Posted September 1, 2014 Author Share Posted September 1, 2014 I'm sure he has more pictures to add when he gets around to it. As Paul Harvey said so many times, "the rest of the story". ... I can weld, and did for a bit, but when you are welding with an instructor, it's a bit intimidating. He gave me some critiques, but it was just plain faster to let him run with it... Shorts... no sleeves... :shake: Ben's happy face... Rob's happy face... ... So we assembled it, just for the sake of putting his and mine side by side. Total nerds. Yup... total nerds. ... I wanted to take Ben and his wife out to dinner for all the work so we had a nice meal before I headed back out... Always nice to break bread with another CC member! :thumbsup: I suppose this is where my side of everything comes in. It actually started back in July when I went on a little road trip. While I can't say that I was the first to say it, this road trip was a WilderQuest. This was when my portion of this WilderQuest ended and Rob's started. I made the trip to his place a number of years ago, and it's really a dull drive at times... especially when you're by yourself. Tip of the cap to you, Rob, for being smart enough to break it up into a couple legs at a time rather than just cannon balling it each way. As for the day itself, I think it was a good day had by all! Not sure if anyone here knows, but I live a bit of a sheltered life. Not much for friends in the area and not much for options or time to make any. Not only was it nice to have a friend here, but it was an added bonus to have a fun task at hand. As he said, Rob showed up around 9:00. He gets out of his Jeep looking half asleep, walks the other half way up my driveway, sees his 'Nest still on my truck and he just lights up like Christmas morning! We got the intros out of the way, the tour of my big pile of stuff, and got right into it. I think everything else was already covered, and a bunch of my pictures are just about the same as Rob's as we were both circling around everything nerding out the whole while. In any case, everyone loves pictures. Finished up the day with some horse trading of parts, bourbon, then some dinner. Like I said, a good day had by all. Thanks again Ben! No problem at all! I'd do it all again anytime. Glad to see you got it all home safe and in one piece. :cheers: Now... how about a built thread to keep us all up to date on the rest of the story? :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89eliminator Posted September 1, 2014 Share Posted September 1, 2014 so cool. are the caps still fiberglass? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Automan2164 Posted September 1, 2014 Share Posted September 1, 2014 Cap is fiberglass. Moved the diesel out and letting it air out and I must say that is a great look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neohic Posted September 1, 2014 Author Share Posted September 1, 2014 Yup... looks way better on a white truck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87Warrior Posted September 1, 2014 Share Posted September 1, 2014 Very cool. Nice story sharing the CC family values :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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