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Squirrelly Dan: Coheed's 86 Custom


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That's much better. Ended up with a set of 235/85r16 Sumitomo encounter at's. They're essentially a 32x9.5x16. I wanted to get some 215/85r16s, but I ended up getting these on closeout cheaper than the cheapest 215/85s discount or tire rack had. Even with an E load rating they ride way better than the stock size KO2s on the wheels when I got them and the 31x10.5x15 KO2s that were on the gamblers. 

 

They're mostly road biased but had good rain and snow reviews, so we'll see. 80% of my driving is on road and the other 20 is mostly fsr or decently maintained 2 track, so I didn't feel like I needed to go with as aggressive of a tread as the KO2s. They're much quieter than the KO2s, so that's nice. They don't rub the control arms while turning since they're skinnier. We'll see if they rub anywhere else down the road. 

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Out of curiosity, what rear axle do you have in that 86? For some reason, it’s looking a little narrower in the rear than I’m used to seeing but maybe it’s just the picture angle. 

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30 minutes ago, ghetdjc320 said:

Out of curiosity, what rear axle do you have in that 86? For some reason, it’s looking a little narrower in the rear than I’m used to seeing but maybe it’s just the picture angle. 

It's a stock D35. It may be the icon wheels too. They're only 16x7. The wheels look super sunken in especially coming from the 8 inch wide gamblers and inch wider tires. 

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Brand new windshield with the rubber gasket. It's like having glasses for the first time. 

 

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OEM slider. Having more airflow without a/c is great. 

 

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Mostly complete interior. This is the most interior I've ever had in this truck lol. I want to get some carpet and make a back panel out of plywood or something so I can mount stuff on it. The headliner from @a1500ram fits great and matches the honey perfectly. Gonna slap some spare industrial carpet squares a buddy has on the dog platform tomorrow before we head out for a weekend camping trip. 

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 4/16/2025 at 7:56 PM, coheed said:

Used a compact needle scaler I bought from harbor freight

I see that there are a few different models of needle scalers at Harbor freight which one did you get? It looks like it worked very well.

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On 6/3/2025 at 10:24 PM, Eagle_SX4 said:

I see that there are a few different models of needle scalers at Harbor freight which one did you get? It looks like it worked very well.

It was the McGraw compact one here. I got that because I was worried about the longer one not fitting or working as well in the trans tunnel

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So, the main reason I have this Comanche aside from sentimental reasons is so that I have a decently capable camping/ getting way out to get away vehicle. And two weeks ago, I did exactly that. I packed all my stuff up and headed out on a road trip, destination: The Grand Canyon. I stayed in two state parks, four national forests, and visited two national parks.

 

The first two nights I stayed in Alabama and Texas.

 

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Crossing the Mississippi

 

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Halfway through Texas the smokers window bonding gave up the ghost, so I stopped and fixed it with RTV.

 

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These picnic areas in TX are life savers sometimes.

 

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Third and fourth night I stayed just outside Roswell.

 

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You don't really realize how much light pollution you deal with until you're somewhere without any. Not the best example of astrophotography, but not bad for a phone.

 

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And of course, had to hit up the Official UFO Musem to see what they had going on.

 

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The fifth day I made my way to Flagstaff but went through Petrified Forest National Park, where I got to see this Willy's pickup that was originally used as a fire fighter truck. Unfortunately, it's been parked there for about 8 years, but the attendant said they have plans to fix it, and the rest of the small fleet they have, up.

 

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Original Rt 66 poles.

 

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Got a surprise treat coming back from a short walking detour. A mated pair of ravens deemed my truck the proper place to do some grooming with each other.

 

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It's crazy seeing remnants of trees that predate a lot of dinosaurs.

 

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I wanted a real shower at least a few days on the trip so the fifth and sixth nights I found a decently cheap 70's themed motor inn in Flagstaff.

 

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Had some good pizza.

 

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But one of the main reasons I stayed in Flagstaff instead of going straight to the Grand Canyon was to pick up my Ovrlnd camper I had built. For years I've gone a few different routes on camping setups in this truck, and I didn't like them for one reason or another. Camper tops are hard to come by and don't really give me as much room as I wanted. I bought the Coleman pop up for the extra room, but admittedly I bit off more than I wanted to chew with that project. This is useable as is, and I retain full use of the bed while it's installed on the truck. It came in at only 340 pounds, so much lighter than 99% of campers of comparable space. And they custom build it to the truck's dimensions, so it fits perfectly. I've measured the 86 trailers bed, and it should also be able to be swapped onto any other longbed if something happens to this one.

 

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First addition to the camper.

 

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I decided to do the North Rim instead of the south. Two reasons, people and weather. Never been a huge fan of crowds and the Grand Canyons south rim is one of the most visited places on earth. Also, can't stand the heat and the North Rim was about 15 degrees colder on average the few days I was there. But the North Rim is much further drive than the south. On the way up the truck started to overheat a bit. I think the altitude, the prolonged driving at high speed, and the outside temps were to blame. This thing is used to just puttering up a mountain, not doing 75 in a desert at 7000ft. So, my solution was to get more air flowing through the engine bay. I pulled over, loosened the hood, and stacked quarters between the hinge and the hood. I didn't have any washers, which is what I wanted to do, but I had these left over from going to the laundry mat the day before. For a total of $3.50 this dropped the coolant temps by 10-15 degrees and the truck never really got over 210 for the rest of the trip as long as I kept adjusting ignition timing and paying attention.

 

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The Colorado

 

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First time popping the camper at camp.

 

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No matter how many times I drive across this country I'm still amazed at how beautiful some of it can be.

 

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Not a bad spot to cook and eat dinner.

 

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The sixth and seventh nights I stayed in Kaibab national forest but spent all my waking time in the Grand Canyon. Hiking, taking in sights and seeing wildlife and nature.

 

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Accidentally interrupted a pair of grouse mating in the middle of the road.

 

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These Kaibab squirrels are the cutest things I've seen in my life.

 

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Size comparison of a lifted Comanche with a sizable camper vs what's considered a medium sized sprinter van.

 

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Watching the sunset in the Grand Canyon was simply amazing. I stayed so long after the sun had gone down to star gaze, I realized I had been the only person on that side of the park for over an hour. And it was still another hour and fifteen drive back to camp from there.

 

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Then, unfortunately, I had to start heading home. Stayed in Northern NM for a day and a half and my only fellow campers were the birds and chipmunks.

 

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Same story in Oklahoma. Only had a family of geese with 2 goslings for company.

 

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Oh, and this guy.

 

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Stayed at a gorgeous state park in TN that I'd like to revisit.

 

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When I got back, I installed the door extensions. They no longer install them at the shop, but I was fine doing it myself. Losing the tailgate offset some the weight of the camper I'm sure.

 

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Collapsed I have 50" from bed floor to ceiling making it easy to crash in the bed if I don't want to or can't pop the top. The main door opening is 30"x40" making it super easy to get in and out.

 

 

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Popped I have a full 6'7" of standing height. With the bed platform put up I have the full length of the bed, and with it pulled out I have a full queen-sized sleeping area and 47" of standing space at the end of the bed. The side hatch I got added makes it easier to get to cargo stored at the front of the bed, and the sliding windows make it so I can reach outside and latch the camper like I would from the outside. There're locks built into the doors to use from the inside, but's it's nice piece of mind. Plus, the pup will be able to see out the windows.

 

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I have plans for a build out in the future, but for the time being I'm just gonna wire up the fan and the 3rd brake light and use it as is. My main focus in the short term will be getting the 3.4 swapped in.

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4 minutes ago, fiatslug87 said:

Awesome :jammin:

You hit just the right time to avoid the crowds. How many miles did you rack up?

Total was 4556 door to door. And aside from that little bit of overheating the truck made no fuss about it.

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59 minutes ago, fiatslug87 said:

Time for an oil change :laugh:

 

Did your dog make the trek?

Unfortunately not on this trip. He gets very car sick because I didn't get him used to it when he was younger. I had been conditioning him to ride in the car for months, but I think the switch to how differently the truck handles and rides was too much and the couple weeks before the trip wasn't enough time. He'll be on the next trip though for sure. 

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14 hours ago, 89 MJ said:

That looks like it was a great trip!

It was a blast. I'm genuinely surprised this little 2.8 has been as reliable as it has. I'll almost be a little sad to swap it out lol

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