Off-Road Ranger I
- 3,916
- First Name
- Dave
- Last Name
- Zimmer
- Member #
-
30139
- Ham/GMRS Callsign
- WRXV870
- Service Branch
- USN Retired
1949 International/Jeep Wrangler Off-Road & Camping Build
- Thread starter Goldies
- Start date
Been thinking for awhile on where I want the spare tire to go. I know I don't want it in the bed of the truck anymore. With limited options I decided to mount it on the tailgate. With a little metal bending I was able to turn 2.5 inch square tubing, some 1/4 think flat stock and the old burnt hub into a tailgate mount spare tire carrier ended up becoming reality. I bolted the mount through the tail gate. To add a second form of safety, I welded some angle iron and use 8 grade bolts from the side.
Attachments
Off-Road Ranger I
- 3,916
- First Name
- Dave
- Last Name
- Zimmer
- Member #
-
30139
- Ham/GMRS Callsign
- WRXV870
- Service Branch
- USN Retired
You may not be a fan of Harbor Fright, but their porta band saw is MONEY! LOL. I've built a entire camper, a bumper, a headache rack and several other things. I am on my second blade so it's very durable.
It would have made that hub into a pile of pieces in a few minutes.
Nice work again Sir. This build is EPIC.
Zim
I like Harbor Freight, I just didn't have one on hand but I was thinking about getting one of those 8" disc or whatever for the angle grinder. I love having tools, can't have enough. I will have to look into the porta bandsaw. Thank you, I appreciate your comment.
Off-Road Ranger I
- 3,916
- First Name
- Dave
- Last Name
- Zimmer
- Member #
-
30139
- Ham/GMRS Callsign
- WRXV870
- Service Branch
- USN Retired
I think the biggest reason I stand clear of the "disk of death" is 3 trips to the emergency room with metal in my eye. Even with safety glasses and a shield, it's a dice throw. LMAO.
And, it's really accurate too. LOL
Zim
Oh, I hear you with the death wheel. I use mine without a guard too. Too many times blades have blew up on me but I still use it
. We have a small horizontal bandsaw and it is fantastic.
Went camping at Goffs California because of an Olaf Event. The main reason for this event was to raise money for Mojave Desert Heritage and Cultural Association (@TheMojaveRoad on Instagram) they manage the property and monitor most the Mojave Desert.
Shaine joined me on this trip we had a blast. So much cool history to check out. Mining equipment, functioning rock crushers, blacksmithing hands on demos, vintage vehicles and a museum with WWII artifacts and other vintage items.
Camping wise we tried some new gear we thought could make life a little easier. We also tried our hand at cooking a brisket in a dutch oven on a propane fire pit. it did not turn out well. The brisket was burnt and the fat didn't melt like we thought it would, lesson learned. We tried to eat as much as we could, It wasn't really edible.
The Event offered two Trail Runs on Saturday. Run 1 was to Fort Piute and Run 2 was a section of the Eastern Mojave Heritage Trail. I chose the EMHT. 70ish miles, chill-worry-free mile just driving through some scenic desert.
1st trail run ever
Saturday evening, Tacos and a raffle was held in the main area, Superwinch donated a lot of stuff. Sadly, I did not win anything but the taco were good and better than our brisket from the night before.
I was given this patch from the gentlemen who scouted out the Mojave Heritage Trail. First patch for this truck, Thank you.
Shaine joined me on this trip we had a blast. So much cool history to check out. Mining equipment, functioning rock crushers, blacksmithing hands on demos, vintage vehicles and a museum with WWII artifacts and other vintage items.
Camping wise we tried some new gear we thought could make life a little easier. We also tried our hand at cooking a brisket in a dutch oven on a propane fire pit. it did not turn out well. The brisket was burnt and the fat didn't melt like we thought it would, lesson learned. We tried to eat as much as we could, It wasn't really edible.
The Event offered two Trail Runs on Saturday. Run 1 was to Fort Piute and Run 2 was a section of the Eastern Mojave Heritage Trail. I chose the EMHT. 70ish miles, chill-worry-free mile just driving through some scenic desert.
1st trail run ever
Saturday evening, Tacos and a raffle was held in the main area, Superwinch donated a lot of stuff. Sadly, I did not win anything but the taco were good and better than our brisket from the night before.
I was given this patch from the gentlemen who scouted out the Mojave Heritage Trail. First patch for this truck, Thank you.
Went on a little trip to volunteer at Overland Expo West. I left my house Tuesday morning about 3:30 in the morning to make it to flagstaff around 7:30. I choose to volunteer because you can trade 12 hours of work for a camping pass in the volunteer camping section. In the 4.5 days I was there, I donated about 30 hours of my time. I was moving rocks, marking out vendor booths, finding camp spots for people and was the VIP/Overland Experience Camp host.
One of the biggest reasons I come to these events is for networking. There are so many amazing people you can meet, and everyone has a different rig and story. Plus, you get to see touch the products in person. So many new ideas in overland Expo. If you didn’t know, most companies have discounted their products around 10-15%. Other companies offer different benefits for ordering there as well.
Saturday morning my buddies came to check out the Expo. So, we walked around. It’s crazy how much Australia stuff has come to the American market. Saturday is the busiest day and almost every vendor has a line. After everyone was done checking the Expo, I packed up and headed for Sedona. The 89A is a must drive if you never have.
For Sedona I planned to hit Schnebly Hill. (It is a Jeep Badge of Honor Trail) This overlook has fantastic views of Sedona and the trail to get there is super easy. Just watch your tire placement and you can make it up no problem. It took us about 1 ½ hours to make it to the top. You can camp all along the top which provides all the fantastic views or go further into the forest.
For the Sunday I planned to hit Broken Arrow Trail. The others decided they didn’t want to drive back down Schnebly hill, so I went down by myself. I’ve been on Broken Arrow twice, but I was always a passenger, well not today. I finally have a vehicle that can tackle the trail. Even though the trail isn’t hard, it is just fun idling around all the big rocks in the driver seat.
Drove home with no problems but I did notice my driver side front axle seal is now leaking.
One of the biggest reasons I come to these events is for networking. There are so many amazing people you can meet, and everyone has a different rig and story. Plus, you get to see touch the products in person. So many new ideas in overland Expo. If you didn’t know, most companies have discounted their products around 10-15%. Other companies offer different benefits for ordering there as well.
Saturday morning my buddies came to check out the Expo. So, we walked around. It’s crazy how much Australia stuff has come to the American market. Saturday is the busiest day and almost every vendor has a line. After everyone was done checking the Expo, I packed up and headed for Sedona. The 89A is a must drive if you never have.
For Sedona I planned to hit Schnebly Hill. (It is a Jeep Badge of Honor Trail) This overlook has fantastic views of Sedona and the trail to get there is super easy. Just watch your tire placement and you can make it up no problem. It took us about 1 ½ hours to make it to the top. You can camp all along the top which provides all the fantastic views or go further into the forest.
For the Sunday I planned to hit Broken Arrow Trail. The others decided they didn’t want to drive back down Schnebly hill, so I went down by myself. I’ve been on Broken Arrow twice, but I was always a passenger, well not today. I finally have a vehicle that can tackle the trail. Even though the trail isn’t hard, it is just fun idling around all the big rocks in the driver seat.
Drove home with no problems but I did notice my driver side front axle seal is now leaking.
It's has been some time...
I Just came off a trip from Utah Zion area. It was a weekend trip. My buddy Shaine was with me as well as a 1st time camper Chinelle. We were in the area, so we stopped by Sand Hollow State Park. Once you go through the tunnel Nasty Half (Rated 9) greets you. You have three choices left, right, and straight. I was thinking of finding an easier trail, but you would have to drive a bit and I didn't feel like driving. I know Shaine loves to do the harder technical stuff, so we straight to attempt Nasty Half. It's very mild starting off but the ledges get taller and taller. Shaine is on 33-inch tires with a mixed 2.5 inch. I am rolling on 37 at 10psi with a 6 inch lift up front and a 4 in the back. Going through the trail was a blast one obstacle after the other. Chinelle drove my truck 90% of the time. Its fun being outside of the truck watching what it can do. But we met and obstacle we couldn't get over it was a wall taller than my truck. I could only get my tire up 4 feet before sliding down. We turned around and found a way out. There was a nice ledge on the exit and knowing I don’t have a rear bumper, yet I didn’t go straight down. I turned the wheels to hopefully avoid dragging my spare tire tailgate thing. Well, that was the wrong choice. As I went down some how my passenger rear fender caught the ledge and got damaged. Once we navigated our way off the trail we went to the lake and made lunch. All and all Sand Hollow is always fun and I can’t wait to comeback in October for Trail Hero. Off to the next spot...Torquerville
I Just came off a trip from Utah Zion area. It was a weekend trip. My buddy Shaine was with me as well as a 1st time camper Chinelle. We were in the area, so we stopped by Sand Hollow State Park. Once you go through the tunnel Nasty Half (Rated 9) greets you. You have three choices left, right, and straight. I was thinking of finding an easier trail, but you would have to drive a bit and I didn't feel like driving. I know Shaine loves to do the harder technical stuff, so we straight to attempt Nasty Half. It's very mild starting off but the ledges get taller and taller. Shaine is on 33-inch tires with a mixed 2.5 inch. I am rolling on 37 at 10psi with a 6 inch lift up front and a 4 in the back. Going through the trail was a blast one obstacle after the other. Chinelle drove my truck 90% of the time. Its fun being outside of the truck watching what it can do. But we met and obstacle we couldn't get over it was a wall taller than my truck. I could only get my tire up 4 feet before sliding down. We turned around and found a way out. There was a nice ledge on the exit and knowing I don’t have a rear bumper, yet I didn’t go straight down. I turned the wheels to hopefully avoid dragging my spare tire tailgate thing. Well, that was the wrong choice. As I went down some how my passenger rear fender caught the ledge and got damaged. Once we navigated our way off the trail we went to the lake and made lunch. All and all Sand Hollow is always fun and I can’t wait to comeback in October for Trail Hero. Off to the next spot...Torquerville
Did a Weekend trip to Southern Utah. Played around at Sand Hollow and Explored Torquerville and attempted the Zion Subway Hike.
I split the video into two parts. Part 1 is a short fast paced video while Part 2 is slower. Let me know what you think. Just having fun playing with editing styles.
Part 1
Part 2
I split the video into two parts. Part 1 is a short fast paced video while Part 2 is slower. Let me know what you think. Just having fun playing with editing styles.
Part 1
Part 2
Hey hey
Looking for some assistance. I entered into CoPart's Rebuild Challenge. Out of thousands of entries, I just made top 24. Now, the top 3 spots are up for grabs. It is based on who gets the most votes. If you can vote for me, that would be awesome. You can vote once per day here or https://www.copart.com/content/us/en/landing-page/rebuild-challenge?cid=vn_rebuild_contest. Voting ends October 20.
Thank you.
Looking for some assistance. I entered into CoPart's Rebuild Challenge. Out of thousands of entries, I just made top 24. Now, the top 3 spots are up for grabs. It is based on who gets the most votes. If you can vote for me, that would be awesome. You can vote once per day here or https://www.copart.com/content/us/en/landing-page/rebuild-challenge?cid=vn_rebuild_contest. Voting ends October 20.
Thank you.
So, I finally got around to installing the 6 inch lift for the rear I have had for a while. I bought some Kings 2.5 remote reservoirs from Filthy Motorsports since they were in stock. I'm working at our new space and didn't have much tools but I was able to figure a way to full droop the suspension. I slid my bed floor back and attached a ratchet strap to the frame. I did have to remove my Rough Country Muffler guard so the kings would clear but now the rear will be lighter and I can try and sell it.
My current rear suspension consists of
TeraFlex long arm kit
TeraFlex 6 inch Coils
King Shock for 6 inch lift JK
Limiting Straps 15 inch (not installed yet)
Sway bar ends links are aftermarket and seem long enough (I am currently using them to limit suspension travel)
TeraFlex bump stops. One is currently dead so I will need to replace that in the future.
My current rear suspension consists of
TeraFlex long arm kit
TeraFlex 6 inch Coils
King Shock for 6 inch lift JK
Limiting Straps 15 inch (not installed yet)
Sway bar ends links are aftermarket and seem long enough (I am currently using them to limit suspension travel)
TeraFlex bump stops. One is currently dead so I will need to replace that in the future.
Went to my first Trail Hero Friday and Saturday. I signed up for the trail Plan-B on Saturday sponsored by BFGoodrich Tires . Trail Hero stated the trail was rate 6.
Friday - I arrived to the Sand Hollow area around 2 pm. I went looking for registration and no one was there. I talked to the guy at the front desk he
told me registration was from 7am-10am and they will be gone at 10 am on the dot. This odd for being a big event like this. When you pay for a trail, you
get a pass to enter Sand Hollow State Park for free. Which makes sense, but if you come after 10 am you must pay to go to the event which doesn't make
sense. Anyways I got frustrated and paid to get into the event. I walked around a little bit but I didn't see anything exciting. I then went back to
the free camping area about 5 minutes away and called it a night. Also, Dave joined me (we met at a Car meet up in Las Vegas and this will be our first
outing together.) He drives a 1962 GMC truck on 38's
Saturday - Woke up at 6ish, packed up and made sure to be at registration at 7 am. Super easy process and was done in about 5 minutes. Dave and I went
straight to staging. "Staging at 8:30 am and leaving at 9 am" We left at 9:30. The staging lane was full. Staging is pretty cool cause you can meet
new people. Throughout the trail I was in different positions from the front to the very back and they have different pros and cons. We went through the
dune section which was a thrill speeding and praying not to be the one who gets stuck. We get the 1st Plan-B sign and it says Plan-B 7" and I'm like Oh
no I hope I can do this. Right off the bat it gets crazy off camber, narrow twisting sections, hill climbs and steep drop offs. I've never done a trail
like this before. It defiantly took me out of my comfort zone. I would say is a great thing if I wasn't in this trail ride, I would have said NOPE NOT
TODAY and turned around. Finding the limits of the truck was interesting and seeing if all my hours of planning and building would pay off by not
breaking. The truck is way more capable than the operator but I'll work on that. This trail pointed out I need to get my rear locker working. I could
do one of the last obstacles and I had to take the bypass. Overall, the Plan-B was SUPER fun. It had my heart racing and my hands shaking. I would
say it is a great intermediate trail that will test the driver and the rig. 35 front and rear lockers and a small lift is what I would recommend. In the
group, there was a XJ with 33s, Front & rear lockers, and a small lift, which made it through most of it. No one took body damage that I know of,
but Dave hit his drive shaft on a rock and blew his driver front hub. The overall pace of the run was easy going nobody was rushing anyone it was a
relaxed atmosphere but I did self-induce a rush on myself.
My thoughts of being in different positions of the convoy.
Being in the front is cool because you get to the obstacle, and you get to hit it quickly and then you can watch the others tackle it.
Being in the rear you are in the vehicle longer waiting to get the obstacle and if felt like a slower pace but if you want to put on a show, most of the group is watching.
Definitely would do this again.
Friday - I arrived to the Sand Hollow area around 2 pm. I went looking for registration and no one was there. I talked to the guy at the front desk he
told me registration was from 7am-10am and they will be gone at 10 am on the dot. This odd for being a big event like this. When you pay for a trail, you
get a pass to enter Sand Hollow State Park for free. Which makes sense, but if you come after 10 am you must pay to go to the event which doesn't make
sense. Anyways I got frustrated and paid to get into the event. I walked around a little bit but I didn't see anything exciting. I then went back to
the free camping area about 5 minutes away and called it a night. Also, Dave joined me (we met at a Car meet up in Las Vegas and this will be our first
outing together.) He drives a 1962 GMC truck on 38's
Saturday - Woke up at 6ish, packed up and made sure to be at registration at 7 am. Super easy process and was done in about 5 minutes. Dave and I went
straight to staging. "Staging at 8:30 am and leaving at 9 am" We left at 9:30. The staging lane was full. Staging is pretty cool cause you can meet
new people. Throughout the trail I was in different positions from the front to the very back and they have different pros and cons. We went through the
dune section which was a thrill speeding and praying not to be the one who gets stuck. We get the 1st Plan-B sign and it says Plan-B 7" and I'm like Oh
no I hope I can do this. Right off the bat it gets crazy off camber, narrow twisting sections, hill climbs and steep drop offs. I've never done a trail
like this before. It defiantly took me out of my comfort zone. I would say is a great thing if I wasn't in this trail ride, I would have said NOPE NOT
TODAY and turned around. Finding the limits of the truck was interesting and seeing if all my hours of planning and building would pay off by not
breaking. The truck is way more capable than the operator but I'll work on that. This trail pointed out I need to get my rear locker working. I could
do one of the last obstacles and I had to take the bypass. Overall, the Plan-B was SUPER fun. It had my heart racing and my hands shaking. I would
say it is a great intermediate trail that will test the driver and the rig. 35 front and rear lockers and a small lift is what I would recommend. In the
group, there was a XJ with 33s, Front & rear lockers, and a small lift, which made it through most of it. No one took body damage that I know of,
but Dave hit his drive shaft on a rock and blew his driver front hub. The overall pace of the run was easy going nobody was rushing anyone it was a
relaxed atmosphere but I did self-induce a rush on myself.
My thoughts of being in different positions of the convoy.
Being in the front is cool because you get to the obstacle, and you get to hit it quickly and then you can watch the others tackle it.
Being in the rear you are in the vehicle longer waiting to get the obstacle and if felt like a slower pace but if you want to put on a show, most of the group is watching.
Definitely would do this again.
After 10,000 miles and a lot of flexing. I needed to fix some stuff. I don't have a rear bumper and I don't like my the end of my bed getting dragged on rocks and what nots. I need to extend the frame. I bought some square tubing pushed it in the rear of the frame and welded it in. I plan on adding a tow hitch and re doing all the wiring back there while it is all accessible. I really want a rear winch, so If I can figure out a compact way to install one I will. My Brother is hanging out with me and helping me at the same time learning. His first welds are on my truck . I also have to reinforce the bed since it will take more weight then factory specs. With all the flexing I had two of my temporary bed mounts break, so I will need to figure out another way to mount the bed.
I need to re-enforce the bed sides to hold the weight of the camper shell & westfalia roof I plan to add. So I cut open the stake pocket to add some square tubing. Another reason I had to cut was, inside the stake pocket there was a piece of metal stopping the tubing from going all the way through. The square tubing will be dual purpose. The top portion will be used to connect the camper shell to the bedsides and the bottom will be used to mount the bedsides to the frame. I am still thinking about how I want mounts to be. I know I have to think of it flexing. Which is why it is taking me a while to figure it out.
I need to re-enforce the bed sides to hold the weight of the camper shell & westfalia roof I plan to add. So I cut open the stake pocket to add some square tubing. Another reason I had to cut was, inside the stake pocket there was a piece of metal stopping the tubing from going all the way through. The square tubing will be dual purpose. The top portion will be used to connect the camper shell to the bedsides and the bottom will be used to mount the bedsides to the frame. I am still thinking about how I want mounts to be. I know I have to think of it flexing. Which is why it is taking me a while to figure it out.
Love your build. Old KBs look awesome. I have a 2016 Jeep JK but your JK packaging looks way better than mine. Would mounting your bed using long bolts with springs help in the flex department? I drug home a 1949 KB6S from an old farmer in Eastern WA this fall but it's going on a bit bigger chassis than a JK.
@shortbus4x4 Thank you. I bought the parts to mount it like I did the engine. I cut off my Brother's spare tire carrier and cut it in to small tubes because I forgot to buy some tubing. I added some poly bushing. I plan on welding it in today. hopefully it works like I hope.
That truck looks sweet. Full size chassis are easier to find and cheaper. What are your plans? 4wd or 2wd.
That truck looks sweet. Full size chassis are easier to find and cheaper. What are your plans? 4wd or 2wd.
Definitely 4x4, with 40" tires as anything smaller looks lost in those big fenders. I'll find your channel on YouTube and start watching.
