Exxon Valdez Jeep Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 all our snow has melted off except up top the mountains :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89Comanche4x4 Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 I just read the entire thread you have done an amazing job! I'm new here and just got my comanchebut i plan on making it similar to yours! i noticed i did the same thing to my bumper too! I'm going to make one very similar to yours! thanks for all the pics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reson46 Posted December 5, 2011 Author Share Posted December 5, 2011 Picked up some Prothane 4.5" bump stops for the rear. I was hoping that these would give a little more progressive limit before completely bottoming out, but these things are harder than the stock bump stops. I'll leave them for now while I continue to look for something with a softer durometer. Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reson46 Posted December 5, 2011 Author Share Posted December 5, 2011 Yesterday was our annual Christmas tree run - and nobody came to get a tree. Since we were not limited to Christmas tree cutting areas we started the day with some exploring. We found a forest service road with some great views. We kept going until the tracks stopped. I was able to keep breaking trail, but forward progress was incredibly slow. The views on the way up. Forward progress stopped shortly after this. It was cold enough in the shadows that the snow was really dry and would not pack. Once the tracks stopped we turned back and checked out another road. I'm glad we didn't go straight to the designated Christmas tree cutting areas as this is what we found. This year the forest service decided not to plow any of the roads to the Christmas tree cutting areas. In years past you could drive a minivan several miles into the forest on plowed roads. Now those minivans were stuck on the side of the road as those going in were attempting to go around those coming out. We turned back while we were still at the end of this mess and explored some side roads. It would have been a long, cold, dark evening if we got stuck in the middle of that mess. More pics here and here. Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exxon Valdez Jeep Posted December 5, 2011 Share Posted December 5, 2011 ever tried any of those Timbren bump stops? I've heard they are pretty soft and progressive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reson46 Posted December 5, 2011 Author Share Posted December 5, 2011 ever tried any of those Timbren bump stops? I've heard they are pretty soft and progressive. Interesting....I always thought of Timbrens as supplemental springs for applications like air bags. :hmm: I'll have to research this. Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exxon Valdez Jeep Posted December 5, 2011 Share Posted December 5, 2011 yeah search over on pirate for them. Lots of guys who can't afford airbumps are using them for bumpstops :D I've got the bumpstops out of a Chevy Blazer (the newer small one) but they arent installed yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reson46 Posted December 5, 2011 Author Share Posted December 5, 2011 I've got the bumpstops out of a Chevy Blazer (the newer small one) but they arent installed yet. Pics? Are those like a bigger version of the front bumpstops? How hard are they? Are you referring to the Equinox? Thanks, Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exxon Valdez Jeep Posted December 6, 2011 Share Posted December 6, 2011 They are pretty big but a guy in Socal chapter of NAXJA seemed to like them. They feel pretty hard to me but they have a hollow center so maybe they give. :dunno: I pulled mine off a late 90's early 2000 style blazer, not the equinox. It seemed I remember the new Trailblazer and Envoys having the same thing in the rear but I might be mistaken on that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reson46 Posted December 6, 2011 Author Share Posted December 6, 2011 That looks interesting. Is the mounting cup welded on or can it be unbolted? I'll have to watch for those in the junkyard. :peek: Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exxon Valdez Jeep Posted December 6, 2011 Share Posted December 6, 2011 They unbolt. you pull the foam/rubber piece out and there is one bolt holding them on. i went outside and snagged some pics of the ones I picked up. I got them for inside the coils in the rear of my XJ but they are too big to fit inside them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reson46 Posted December 6, 2011 Author Share Posted December 6, 2011 Very cool. Thanks for taking the pics. :bowdown: Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reson46 Posted December 9, 2011 Author Share Posted December 9, 2011 Lesson learned. Not all valve stems work well with these beadlocks. The stem sits below the lip of the beadlock ring and requires moving it to the side to attach deflators, air chucks, etc. Not fun to air up or down when playing in the snow. I picked up some new stems with a 45* bend. This should work much better. Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reson46 Posted December 12, 2011 Author Share Posted December 12, 2011 A buddy called for an impromptu Sunday wheeling trip. Who am I to turn down a chance to play in the snow? We explored a few of the forest service roads around Wilkeson, found an abandoned 4 Runner, checked out the old coke ovens, drove up to Coplay Lake, and I stumbled across what appeared to be the remnants of an old loading bin for coal train cars. I found some snow that was about 35" deep. :D Came across several waterfalls. The coke ovens in Wilkeson. Coplay Lake. This looked like some type of coal loading bin for the train cars. I ran across the remnants of the bridge abutments that crossed the creek to these mine shafts and several other interesting artifacts in the area. More pics here. Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reson46 Posted January 23, 2012 Author Share Posted January 23, 2012 Last week storms knocked out our power, so may as well go wheeling. Saturday we attended County Line Offroaders annual Snow Jam fun run. The past couple years the snow had actually been absent from Snow Jam. Not this year. All the storms brought plenty of snow. We had a little time before the prize drawings, so we did a little wheeling at Elbe Hills. It didn't take long to break a driveshaft. Luckily we made it back in time for the prizes where I won a $100 gift certificate to a transmission shop. More pics here. Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reson46 Posted January 30, 2012 Author Share Posted January 30, 2012 Went on a snow run Saturday to a new place for me, Copper Creek Road. Even though there was a high overcast I really enjoyed the scenery. I'm looking forward to a return trip on a clear day. More pics here. Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exxon Valdez Jeep Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 you liking the MTZs in the snow? what PSI do you run with the beadlocks? I know in the xj I was down at 8, but thats without beadlocks... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reson46 Posted January 31, 2012 Author Share Posted January 31, 2012 you liking the MTZs in the snow? what PSI do you run with the beadlocks? I know in the xj I was down at 8, but thats without beadlocks... I like them, but I don't really have any experience wheeling in the snow with anything else. I was at 8 PSI. Could have probably been lower but really didn't have any problems until we started breaking completely fresh snow. Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reson46 Posted May 7, 2012 Author Share Posted May 7, 2012 Replaced the Prothane bumpstops with Daystars that are not hard as a rock. Only one trip on them but they seemed to work much better. Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reson46 Posted May 7, 2012 Author Share Posted May 7, 2012 Teflon fairleads don't care much for hard pulls at any type of angle. Replaced it with a nice black RE fairlead. Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reson46 Posted May 7, 2012 Author Share Posted May 7, 2012 Spent yesterday at Evan's Creek. There is still a lot of snow and ice at the higher elevations. We ran into a group from Venezuela and everybody proceeded to get stuck. We spent the entire afternoon freeing everybody from the snow. On the way back down after the snow started turning to ice. The downhill side did not look like fun if we slid off. This guy had a nice diesel FJ70. Where we spent hours digging, winching, and strapping. More pics here. Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reson46 Posted May 21, 2012 Author Share Posted May 21, 2012 Spent a beautiful weekend on the Olympic Peninsula wheeling Sadie Creek. We had a few casualties - starter, wheel, wheel studs, leaf spring - but everybody made it home safely. The gatekeeper. This used to be somewhat of a challenge, but now it can be driven in two wheel drive. It gets tight in places. The Strait of Juan de Fuca and Canada. Bill's day didn't end so well. Apparently the lug nuts worked there way loose, broke a couple of studs, and wallowed out the lug nut seats in the wheel. Then, after we got back to camp, while we are all standing around talking about how lucky he was it didn't come off on the highway, I noticed that his main leaf was broken. :doh: More pics and a few videos here. Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
COFFMAN Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 been following your build for sometime now, great to see a awsome build beging used the way do, and what about the pics :D When i get a spare coupla hours i,ll be reading your build from start to finish. i need some idears Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reson46 Posted June 13, 2012 Author Share Posted June 13, 2012 Finally got around to installing my Christmas present. I wanted a sturdy mount that wasn't just screwed in to a bunch of brittle, 25 year old plastic. I built a bracket that mounts through the center dash vent (not like the AC works anyway :D) and attaches to the metal dash support. Due to the size of the GPS unit it took some thinking to figure out where to mount it without rendering the HVAC controls unusable but high enough to still access the shifter. I ended up mounting it on bearings that allow the entire thing to pivot down and out of the way. I've got a spring loaded plunger on the way that will eventually be installed that will hold it in place when upright and allow it to quickly drop down when needed. Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reson46 Posted June 18, 2012 Author Share Posted June 18, 2012 Spent the weekend wheeling the trails around Liberty. After setting up camp Friday evening we checked out what's left of the mining town of Blewett. We found the remnants of the stamp mill. And a short mine shaft. Just before lunch Saturday we had a rig separate the clutch linkage on this climb. We were able to repair it well enough to get him back to camp, then we finished the trail. We hit some snow at the higher elevations. We finished up Sunday with a short trail in the morning. Before we packed up we did a little gold panning and came home with some souvenirs. More pics here. Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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