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Unique upgrades/mods huh? I have a number of mods. Some are fairly typical of what folks do with these vehicles, but I think these ones are pretty unique: The first one that folks are likely to notice is the armor with the custom tail lights. I don't think anyone else has put together this...

C/L, from a Boy Scout troop. I expect it was donated to them by the Marines. (Keep in mind, I am local to Camp Pendleton and MCRD.) It appeared to have never been used. It didn't fit their system. You can find them on ebay. $600 seemed to be the going rate when I bought ours. I see one...

It seals up quite well. It is not drafty at all. We open up a vent or two just a bit as needed. There is an air gap between the inner and outer walls that provides a bit of an insulating effect. Not exactly what most folks think of when thinking of insulation, but it is effective.

I have tried a tent heater in a lousy tent, and I have tried no heater in a good tent. No heater in a good tent wins. I have one of the little Buddy heaters. I have small children (Varmints). For safety purposes I have made a pair of brackets which allow me to attach the heater to the metal...

MY experience is that most all plastic containers come with a funky plastic smell. Even my Nalgene bottles have it. Clean them with some soapy water. Rinse them a bunch of times, as many as it takes to no longer have soap bubbles in the rinse water, and then once or twice more. Then fill...

I have to ask, why not a rattle can? If there is anything for which a rattle can is appropriate I have to think it is sliders. I would advise against powder coating. My experience with it is that any little scratch will allow moisture to wick in, but it doesn't wick back out nearly as...

Well, the last two trips I have missed have been on account of work being done on the XJ, and it looks like I am going to miss at least one more on that account in a couple of weeks. All my projects take too long. That is a time issue. If I were rolling in money that could be solved, but I am...

Not quite 50 state legal. From Cummins' own page: That is in the fine print, most of the way down this page: https://cumminsengines.com/repower.aspx Additionally, I have yet to see a CARB EO number for this package. Until they release a CARB EO number the only vehicles for which this is...

Nice ride Jason. My first Suburban was a '73 3/4 ton 4x4. Somebody had swapped in a 454. Great rig. Just with a healthy dose of extra rust. First time I tore into the front brakes I had to get all the seaweed out of the way before I could even find the calipers.

Why did I go with my current vehicle? Umm, which one? I guess I will have to explain both of them. First was the '02 Suburban. We bought that in the summer of '08. We found we were expecting a third Varmint and that was going to mean three car seats across the back of The Bride's '96 Impala...

I am trying to help out a friend whose wife has never been tidepooling. They are planning a trip to Washington and he would like to try to work this in if possible. My experience in my own neck of the woods says that there are not many good spots. Just anywhere along the coast is not going to...

Yep. That's me.

I have the space problem, also in SoCal. I really need two shops, one for metal working (where sparks are acceptable) and another for woodworking (where no sparks are allowed). Plus I could use a nice clean area where I could do finishing and leather work. I am mostly self-taught. It used to...

Good job Michael. Hopefully this will motivate some more folks to get out there and make a difference. The San Bernardino National Forest has a healthy Adopt-A-Trail program. I have been participating in that for the the past several years. I have done about 150 hours and The Varmints have...

I am thinking that in a flood it would make more sense to pack a gallon or two of water per person and then a filtration system or two instead of trying to pack 15 gallons of water per person. For a family of 5 that would make a huge difference in packed weight and space. Like 600 lbs...

I am actually working with a unibody vehicle ('96 XJ), taking it from unreliable to daily driver/overlanding rig. A week ago I got back from a 2,700+ mile trip without any breakdowns. My plan to overcome the unibody Achilles heel is frame plating and a hybrid cage. I don't think there is...

Me and The Varmints with our cheap sunglassess: Our sophisticated camera setup: On the way to totality: Totality: Coming back from totality: And hold that camera still! It was worth the trip.

Spotted a member on I-15N in Temecula on the morning of the 17th. Black 4Runner IIRC, license plate is something like "Made for Dirt". Nice looking rig.

One simple thing I do is keep a couple of old towels in the vehicle. Those are then thrown over anything that might look to be valuable. This comes with the side benefit of always having a towel available for unpredictable situations, such as when a Varmint has been pushed into a lake by his...

I suspect Cummins is playing the "lets get this thing approved" game. After that is done I suspect there will be magical improvements. Keep in mind. politicians do not like it if anyone is having fun. That makes them hungry for more regulation. IF it sounds like this motor has the potential...