coheed Posted July 29, 2023 Author Share Posted July 29, 2023 50 minutes ago, TheDirtyJeep401 said: You’re really making me want to drag my topper out and put it on…. I’m just wanting to wait till i finish the lift to put it on so I can sit back and have that look. Glad I’m not the only one who likes lifted long beds with toppers. It’s like it just screams take me camping or on a road trip. Yeah, I love old long bed trucks with toppers. There's a OBS 250 crew cab with the 2-tone purple and white paint that rolls around here, and I drool every time I see it. I've got my eye on another one on FB right now. It's an aluminum one with a built-in rack on top. If I get some stuff sold and have the spare cash, I'll probably grab it. I like the idea of having a long bed with a camper top and a matching long bed trailer that also has a camper top on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDirtyJeep401 Posted July 30, 2023 Share Posted July 30, 2023 5 hours ago, coheed said: I've got my eye on another one on FB right now. It's an aluminum one with a built-in rack on top. If I get some stuff sold and have the spare cash, I'll probably grab it. I like the idea of having a long bed with a camper top and a matching long bed trailer that also has a camper top on it. I had thought about making a separate bed trailer with the camper shell for camping. Only problem is the shell I have has the missing window on the front with a boot that goes up against the cab so you can open the back window. Since then I had a Willys MBT trailer that was passed down to me that I plan on using to haul gear, and use the truck bed as a camping space. Having a matching trailer as the truck would definitely be the best set up ever. The possibilities you could do with it would be endless. And it would look awesome going down the road too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coheed Posted July 30, 2023 Author Share Posted July 30, 2023 12 hours ago, TheDirtyJeep401 said: I had thought about making a separate bed trailer with the camper shell for camping. Only problem is the shell I have has the missing window on the front with a boot that goes up against the cab so you can open the back window. Since then I had a Willys MBT trailer that was passed down to me that I plan on using to haul gear, and use the truck bed as a camping space. Having a matching trailer as the truck would definitely be the best set up ever. The possibilities you could do with it would be endless. And it would look awesome going down the road too. Personally, I think trucks with matching trailers look awesome. Even better if the wheels match. This was right before I did all the suspension work, and I won't be able to get a good, updated picture until I get a new axle for the trailer. I've thought about taking the windows out and doing the pass through thing, but I don't know if I'm thin or flexible enough for that I'd like to build the trailer out as the camper/sleeping area, so I could go places, drop the trailer if need be and have the truck to explore with. Only problem is my 2.8 is real tired and having a full camping setup and the trailer it's honestly unsafe how slow it is. I'm hoping I can get a 3.4 donor sometime this year and start that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coheed Posted August 6, 2023 Author Share Posted August 6, 2023 Took it to a buddy's house to do an alignment on their nice level concrete garage floor. Then I went on the first adventure since the axle swap. I found an aluminum topper about 110 miles away and could only get the length and width measurements out of the dude. I was worried it might be for an S10 and be too short on the truck. I figured if it was, I could just put it on the trailer and no one would notice. I also stopped off at Carolina Sandhills wildlife refuge to tool around a bit in the sand. Not a lot of pictures, but it's a fun little spot, and they also have dispersed camping so I may go back at some point. Well turns out it was a perfect fit for the Manche. It's a custom built one, so at some point someone probably went to Stoney's truck toppers and said they wanted a work cap for their long bed MJ. It's a little taller than the fiberglass one, and has much more volume inside because the "frame" of the fiberglass one protrudes in much more. It's also about 75lbs lighter. It's got panels that open on all 3 sides which is cool, I'll just have to figure out how to put up a removable bug screen. It also has struts like I haven't seen before. They're 2 slip fit pipes with a captured spring in the middle. The back and the passenger side work fine if a bit crusty, but the driver side is rusted shut. Not sure if I'll just clean up the stuff on it, or switch to gas struts. I scrubbed it decently yesterday, but the paint is flaking off of it. I'm gonna take it to a high pressure car wash to see if I can blast off the spray paint and get to the hideous neon green paint underneath Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coheed Posted September 4, 2023 Author Share Posted September 4, 2023 V2 of the camping rig is underway. I'm no carpenter, but I think it'll turn out more useful than the last. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coheed Posted September 20, 2023 Author Share Posted September 20, 2023 Progress on camping rig v2. Eventually I'd like to get a potable water tank/pump in the unused bit at the head of the sleeping area and a small 12v setup in the spot between the wheel arch and cab on the passenger side. Need another piece of 3/4 to make the removable bit to make the platform go all the way across. I also plan on putting in a long piano hinge so the whole thing can fold in half so i can use the bed easily. Got a phone mount. I also took it out on dirt for the first time since the suspension swap last Saturday. Mainly maintained fire roads, with some unmaintained ones and a little bit of smoother 2 track. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coheed Posted November 30, 2023 Author Share Posted November 30, 2023 Well camping rig v2 has been abandoned, but for good reason. I got a line on an old flip up/out Coleman slide in camper. Only problem was it was 600 miles away in Indiana. Fortunately, big road trips always motivate me to fix things I've been putting off. My valve covers had been leaking, my parking brake cables were stretched beyond use, my exhaust was in absolutely awful shape, I needed a new brake prop valve rod, I wanted to upgrade the tiny front sway bar, and my speedo had been dancing since I got the truck. I swapped the sway bar uneventfully, and I can say it made a big improvement. It was only the 26mm because I failed to measure it at the junkyard but it was only $20. I managed to score a NOS speedo cable, which unfortunately the bolt that holds it to the frame came loose about 200 miles into the trip and it immediately cooked it on the exhaust manifold . I replaced all my parking brake cables, but up in Indiana the teeth in the pedal decided to give up the ghost. I wanted a quick/cheap fix for the awful tailpipe issue, so I just clamped on a 90 to direct it out from under the truck. And when I was replacing the valve cover gaskets I was greeted with this mess. Glad I didn't spend any real money on this 2.8 . Here's the awful tailpipe in question. And the shiny new 90, parking brake cables, and prop rod. New sway bar Saw some good views on the way up. Ended up staying in a cabin at a lake in south IN that was gorgeous. Wish I had more time there as they had a decent amount of hiking trails that also connected to Jackson-Washington state forest. Met with the guy who had the camper and talked shop for a good while. Some people may recognize his Comanche as the pictures float around a good bit. It's a full pass-through setup built on the frame without the bed. It's currently up in his garage needing work, but I may try and persuade him to come do a build thread on here. Super cool truck in person. After some time and a quick price negotiation I was the proud owner of a Coleman Maverick slide in camper. Dry weight was advertised at 730#, but with camping gear, jacks, extra parts, water jugs etc. I'm guessing that I was hauling around 1100-1200#. Surprisingly the old haggard leaves handled it well. It sagged just a bit with all that weight in the back. And the 2.8 was not horribly disappointing, but that's mostly the 4.10's if I'm honest. It didn't have enough umph to get over 65, but I stayed off the interstate coming back anyway. Probably the best pic I'll ever get of the Manche Got it home and opened it up, cleaned it a bit, and assessed what all it needs. Pretty much all the wood will need replaced, but what's cool is the frame is 1" square steel tube, and all the exterior skin panels are aluminum. So the wood doesn't really give it that much structure aside from the roof. It's got a really cool ingenious cable lift system for the roof, and the sides just fold out and are held up with 3/8" steel cables. And the dry weight is low enough that when it's just the camper it sits just a little lower than it does unloaded. Will be starting a thread on the camper in the "Other Stuff" section soon. The floors are getting seriously bad, so that's next before I start throwing money at the camper. Plan on ordering the new Keyparts pans in the next little bit and I already have their brace set, so should be a fairly straightforward job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neohic Posted November 30, 2023 Share Posted November 30, 2023 21 minutes ago, coheed said: Such a rad camper setup!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coheed Posted November 30, 2023 Author Share Posted November 30, 2023 7 minutes ago, neohic said: Such a rad camper setup!! Right? It needs a good bit of work, but it was way too cool to pass up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fiatslug87 Posted November 30, 2023 Share Posted November 30, 2023 Very nice, can’t wait to see your progress on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted November 30, 2023 Share Posted November 30, 2023 nice! totally worth the drive! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coheed Posted December 22, 2023 Author Share Posted December 22, 2023 On 11/29/2023 at 8:30 PM, fiatslug87 said: Very nice, can’t wait to see your progress on it. Unfortunately, you might be waiting a while lol On 11/30/2023 at 9:20 AM, Pete M said: nice! totally worth the drive! 1000% He also had a sweet diesel 4x4 Hiace van and some other vintage stuff I got to check out as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coheed Posted December 22, 2023 Author Share Posted December 22, 2023 Last year I realized I inadvertently created a tradition of taking the truck to work on the last day of the year. I took this year as an opportunity to use the crane and swap the new affordable offroad elite brush guard bumper on. It clocks in at around 110 with the brackets, so this was much easier than trying to do it at home. I'm not crazy about the gaps and the fact the rad support hangs lower than the bumper, but I got it on sale for about what I could've bought the raw materials for. I've been stuck enough I can justify a winch at this point, and this seemed like a decently cheap route. I still plan on building a hidden winch at some point though and going back to the stock bumper. And since it was literally just me and the security guards I decided to goof off and do something I've always wanted to do I'd say decently impressive with an 800# camper and a larger sway bar still connected. Overall, a good day. I also have the new Keyparts pans and braces (not pictured) so I'm planning on refreshing my oxyfuel setup in the beginning of the year to put them in with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coheed Posted February 4 Author Share Posted February 4 With the purchase of the camper I really wanted to upgrade to metric ton springs. I contacted General Spring about 6 times asking about the lifted metric ton springs they had made for a few years, but every single person said they had no idea what I was talking about. So I just pulled the trigger on the metric ton ones they make and have listed on the site as most people report it puts them over stock anyway. Compared to the stock leaves with a full length AAL they have just a hair less free arch but each leave is about 1/16" thicker than the factory spring. With the camper in the back they ride at pretty much the same height as the lift springs that were on it. But being in and out of the camper a lot today I can say the truck moves around WAY less with the new springs. Hopefully they don't sag too much, but I could go with a bit longer of a shackle. I think at some point I'll also put a set of Timbrens on. Before After Compressed onto the overloads, but doesn't lower much more even with 250 lbs me in the back moving around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Serva Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 Well done. Just fixing it up as you use it. Brilliant as a functional restoration. Thanks for sharing it with us!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coheed Posted February 9 Author Share Posted February 9 On 2/7/2024 at 4:36 PM, Mark Serva said: Well done. Just fixing it up as you use it. Brilliant as a functional restoration. Thanks for sharing it with us!!! As much as I love this thing and as special as Comanches are to me, it's still a $1500 truck Would be a shame if I didn't do some $1500 truck things with it. Finally got an axle on the trailer, which means the Coleman can go on it while I get the supplies to rebuild it. Definitely going to swap to a bit larger of a shackle. If I'm doing my math right a XJ 2" shackle will get me another 3/4" which will even it out well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Serva Posted February 11 Share Posted February 11 Good point. I like to see truck doing something. A show truck seems like some sort of OxyMoron. However, I do appreciate folks who preserve excellent specimens almost like endangered species. And, if we ever get away for all this useless crap they hang on vehicles, sort of like the crap the put on computer upgrades, maybe somebody would put an old classic back into production. A fantasy, I know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coheed Posted February 14 Author Share Posted February 14 On 2/11/2024 at 11:10 AM, Mark Serva said: Good point. I like to see truck doing something. A show truck seems like some sort of OxyMoron. However, I do appreciate folks who preserve excellent specimens almost like endangered species. And, if we ever get away for all this useless crap they hang on vehicles, sort of like the crap the put on computer upgrades, maybe somebody would put an old classic back into production. A fantasy, I know. Well, they are finally making a single cab long bed Ranger again. The US won't see it, but it's a step in the right direction. If enough people actually buy and use a true utility truck there may be hope. That said I'd rather Stellantis not make a new Comanche. What they did with the Gladiator name really didn't inspire any confidence that a new MJ would live up to the cool factor of the old one. Got the camper moved to the trailer and took the truck to the mountains. The transmission or clutch is making a hell of a noise. I'm gonna change the fluid and see if it helps, but I'd rather not throw money at the 2.8/AX5. So unfortunately I may have to postpone my road trip out west til a later date. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Serva Posted February 15 Share Posted February 15 I've had a couple of with 4 bangers and 4 spds back when they had Twin I-Beams. I got almost 30 mpg on the highway IF I had a canoe on top. And, I carried over a ton a coupld of times yet the front end was floating. Glad to hear, somewhere, a single cab long bed still made. I thought Chevy the last a couple of years ago. I'd buy another Ranger if they went back to I beams. One of the reasons I like the 2wd Comanche as the front end is, essentially, like and I-beam sans the king-pins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coheed Posted Thursday at 03:31 PM Author Share Posted Thursday at 03:31 PM Not a massively satisfying update but have been parts gathering all year. I've got all the panels and braces to replace the floor, along with seam sealer and paint for inside and out. Need to find some time to get that done. Also, I had been searching for about a year for a 3.4 donor. I originally was trying to find a 93 as they would have a 4L60 not the 4L60e, but that proved nigh impossible. That's when I saw @dasbulliwagen post in the pub about values on his parts cars. I went up and checked the car out and we got it to run momentarily on starting fluid as the fuel pump is most certainly dead. We arranged the sell and now I've got the Camaro at the house. It was cool to meet another longtime member in person and get to see a truck I've been reading about for years now. The plan is to thin the wiring of all unnecessary stuff and make a stand-alone harness to control the 3.4 and the 4L60e. The car came with a set of Pacesetter headers that I'll see if I can use and some aftermarket radiator fans. Which is nice since I won't have to buy any. There's a little funky wiring here and there, but overall the car seems in great shape. I nabbed a ZJ NP242 with less than 100k on it for $100 and bought a Novak adapter so it'll bolt to the back of the 2wd 4l60e. I've also bought a metric ton of seals to change on the 3.4. I've got a long trip out to Oregon this year to visit family and my daily and mom's car need a good bit of work done to them, not to mention stuff on the house that needs done, but I'm aiming to get all of this accomplished by the end of the year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dasbulliwagen Posted Thursday at 03:42 PM Share Posted Thursday at 03:42 PM This is going to be an awesome project. I can't wait to see it done and ready to drive. It was great meeting you, and I'm glad we could work things out for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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