Well these finally arrived a mere 2 weeks late:
Hope to get em mounted up early next week if not sooner...
Hope to get em mounted up early next week if not sooner...
The Adventure Wagon: A 2004 Volvo XC70 Overland Build
- Thread starter Young Satchel
- Start date
Pathfinder III
awesome tires! good choice! There's a great air compressor thread around here when you're ready too!
Did some IRL-Photoshoppin'. Was a hasty job since boys were demanding dinner so couldn't arrange perfectly. But....
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Freeked me out at first!. Thought they were mounted until I looked closer. That is going to be one mean looking wagon.
Are the tires on yet ive been waiting for 3 days to see the Volvo with all its bfg glory.
Thanks man! Definitely indebted to a few that have come before me. Our numbers are small, but they seem to be growing!
Sorry man. Got a couple other issues I can't handle myself plus a post lift alignment still needed and that's the soonest the new shop im trying could get me in. It also could be a bit of a trick to fit so not really a job for the guys at "shitty discount tire" or whatever .
Not gonna have an opportunity to get the new meats on until next week, so in lieu of big tire porn, I make you the humble offer of the weekend's adventure pics.
The weather has been super hot and dry here for the past couple of weeks, and much of the mud on the forest roads has dried up. So I tried to think of the place with the best mud holes for today's outing. We chose a repeat trip to Lutheranville State Forest which has proved pretty fun both times we went in the past
Last time we were here was in very early May, and believe it or not, it was snowing [emoji15] this time the forest proved much more full and lush, and in some places we were up to our eyes in greenery!
There was a brief side trail down to a pond's edge so we dipped that way to check it out. Seemed like a really chill--tho likely buggy--spot to camp. Stored for future reference.
Despite some uneven wear issues basically of my own doing, these tires have been a solid set and are now at about 25k with a decent amount of tread still left. I'm looking forward to getting some new teeth on the wheels for sure tho...
We moved on through the forest in search of some nice mud holes we played in the last time...
Bingo...
Even dried up, These guys are about a foot deep and pretty mucky. I actually got mud on my face splashing through this one. Nothing like the smell of stagnant water on a hot afternoon [emoji16]. Unfortunately my phone didn't have enough storage available to shoot video so no splash action this time. I'm workin on it....
Getting a nice Mud on-toppa-mud patina from the last few outings. Needs a bath soon
After that we headed out of the forest down some steep, rocky inclines back towards civilization...
I don't really flex much, because, well, the volvo ain't really much for flexing, but why the hell not. Long-Travel yotas and jeeps laugh away!
The state forest is smack between the tiny towns of richmondville and Summit, NY. As we pulled into the former, my eye was immediately drawn to a striking silver wagon on the roadside. We pulled up and hopped out
To find a MINT 1987 Toyota Tercel 4WD SR5 Wagon! [emoji15]
It had 114k on it, but the price was highway robbery and I just bought a second wagon anyway so no room in the stable. Before we split I pulled up in front of the bank on Main Street for a quick parting shot. Such Classic vibes in this town:
Well, that's all for this episode of "Naptime Overland". Next time you see flicks of The Adventure Wagon it will (hopefully) have some big-ass BFGeez on it.
Until then, ride on....
The weather has been super hot and dry here for the past couple of weeks, and much of the mud on the forest roads has dried up. So I tried to think of the place with the best mud holes for today's outing. We chose a repeat trip to Lutheranville State Forest which has proved pretty fun both times we went in the past
Last time we were here was in very early May, and believe it or not, it was snowing [emoji15] this time the forest proved much more full and lush, and in some places we were up to our eyes in greenery!
There was a brief side trail down to a pond's edge so we dipped that way to check it out. Seemed like a really chill--tho likely buggy--spot to camp. Stored for future reference.
Despite some uneven wear issues basically of my own doing, these tires have been a solid set and are now at about 25k with a decent amount of tread still left. I'm looking forward to getting some new teeth on the wheels for sure tho...
We moved on through the forest in search of some nice mud holes we played in the last time...
Bingo...
Even dried up, These guys are about a foot deep and pretty mucky. I actually got mud on my face splashing through this one. Nothing like the smell of stagnant water on a hot afternoon [emoji16]. Unfortunately my phone didn't have enough storage available to shoot video so no splash action this time. I'm workin on it....
Getting a nice Mud on-toppa-mud patina from the last few outings. Needs a bath soon
After that we headed out of the forest down some steep, rocky inclines back towards civilization...
I don't really flex much, because, well, the volvo ain't really much for flexing, but why the hell not. Long-Travel yotas and jeeps laugh away!
The state forest is smack between the tiny towns of richmondville and Summit, NY. As we pulled into the former, my eye was immediately drawn to a striking silver wagon on the roadside. We pulled up and hopped out
To find a MINT 1987 Toyota Tercel 4WD SR5 Wagon! [emoji15]
It had 114k on it, but the price was highway robbery and I just bought a second wagon anyway so no room in the stable. Before we split I pulled up in front of the bank on Main Street for a quick parting shot. Such Classic vibes in this town:
Well, that's all for this episode of "Naptime Overland". Next time you see flicks of The Adventure Wagon it will (hopefully) have some big-ass BFGeez on it.
Until then, ride on....
Well, things took a wee bit longer than expected, but at last the wagon is back in my hands!
I have a new steering rack (a somewhat unexpected ouch), the A/C and rad fan are fixed, passed NYS inspection. and.....................The tires are on!
Some teaser shots are below. Full body shots to come this weekend when we--hopefully--get out to adventure.
Clearance is minimal, but better than expected. I hoped to be able to fit 5 sheets of printer paper between tire and fender liner, and look, I can nearly fit a pinky [emoji16][emoji108]
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I have a new steering rack (a somewhat unexpected ouch), the A/C and rad fan are fixed, passed NYS inspection. and.....................The tires are on!
Some teaser shots are below. Full body shots to come this weekend when we--hopefully--get out to adventure.
Clearance is minimal, but better than expected. I hoped to be able to fit 5 sheets of printer paper between tire and fender liner, and look, I can nearly fit a pinky [emoji16][emoji108]
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Finally! That looks awesome.Well, things took a wee bit longer than expected, but at last the wagon is back in my hands!
I have a new steering rack (a somewhat unexpected ouch), the A/C and rad fan are fixed, passed NYS inspection. and.....................The tires are on!
Some teaser shots are below. Full body shots to come this weekend when we--hopefully--get out to adventure.
Clearance is minimal, but better than expected. I hoped to be able to fit 5 sheets of printer paper between tire and fender liner, and look, I can nearly fit a pinky [emoji16][emoji108]
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Influencer III
- 5,079
- First Name
- Drew
- Last Name
- Hawley
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1537
- Ham/GMRS Callsign
- WRBZ674
- Service Branch
- USN veteran
Well, at last the stars aligned and I was able to set aside time free of wife, kids, And work to tackle the obnoxious passenger side front wheel bearing that's been a thorn in my side for a good couple of months.
And tackle it I did. By the time I finished a good 4.5 hours later, I looked like a mad man possessed who'd dived into a tub of PB Blaster. when I told my wife there would be no time for me to shower before taking her to her appointment, a look of pity and horror spread across her face. [emoji15][emoji24]
In principle the job is quite simple and im sure any of you who have done one can attest to that. But I am a man of little experience when it comes to working on cars at all, let alone volvos, so I knew I was in for some ****. Rather than offer a tutorial I'll simply show you the few shots I remembered to take between cursing and sputtering to prove that I did it [emoji16]
Everything went relatively smoothly until it came time to reseat the axel in the new hub. Though I had managed to get it out by removing the upper strut bolt and only loosening the lower one, I could not for the life of me get it back in the same way. Soooooooooooo....what did I do? I removed the lower bolt all the way only to have the control arm spring up violently towards my face, dumping the axle end from its resting place, breaking the zip tie that had the caliper hanging, and sending the caliper flying while ejecting its pads into the ground. WTF. Hahaha
It was super ****ing tough to get the things back where they needed to be, but I was able to accomplish it by pulling some sort of full-body wrestling hold with a wrench and a bolt between my teeth.
After that it was just taking care not to forget any steps as I replaced rotor and caliper, reinserted ABS sensor, and got the wheel back on. Literally as I was lowering the wagon to the ground Wifey comes out and says "u ready to go???" And yes, yes I was.
The End.
Postscript: none of this would have been possible or bearable without the individual and collective remote support of Antherzoll, ProlixArgon, and Freedomfries from the Swedespeed Forum. Thanks ****ers!!! [emoji3]
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
And tackle it I did. By the time I finished a good 4.5 hours later, I looked like a mad man possessed who'd dived into a tub of PB Blaster. when I told my wife there would be no time for me to shower before taking her to her appointment, a look of pity and horror spread across her face. [emoji15][emoji24]
In principle the job is quite simple and im sure any of you who have done one can attest to that. But I am a man of little experience when it comes to working on cars at all, let alone volvos, so I knew I was in for some ****. Rather than offer a tutorial I'll simply show you the few shots I remembered to take between cursing and sputtering to prove that I did it [emoji16]
Everything went relatively smoothly until it came time to reseat the axel in the new hub. Though I had managed to get it out by removing the upper strut bolt and only loosening the lower one, I could not for the life of me get it back in the same way. Soooooooooooo....what did I do? I removed the lower bolt all the way only to have the control arm spring up violently towards my face, dumping the axle end from its resting place, breaking the zip tie that had the caliper hanging, and sending the caliper flying while ejecting its pads into the ground. WTF. Hahaha
It was super ****ing tough to get the things back where they needed to be, but I was able to accomplish it by pulling some sort of full-body wrestling hold with a wrench and a bolt between my teeth.
After that it was just taking care not to forget any steps as I replaced rotor and caliper, reinserted ABS sensor, and got the wheel back on. Literally as I was lowering the wagon to the ground Wifey comes out and says "u ready to go???" And yes, yes I was.
The End.
Postscript: none of this would have been possible or bearable without the individual and collective remote support of Antherzoll, ProlixArgon, and Freedomfries from the Swedespeed Forum. Thanks ****ers!!! [emoji3]
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Had the day off yesterday and the weather and lighting conditions--intermittent showers; overcast skies--seemed perfect for a nice adventure drive in the Catskill Mountains.
Boys go to daycare during the week so I had the rare luxury of a SOLO adventure . . . Had to find a new way to generate some content for ya'll.
2nd time out with the new tires and first time out since fixing my wheel bearing. The ride is much smoother with a good bearing (ya think? ;-), though id be lying if I told you the BFGs didn't compromise the on-road handling, acceleration, and MPGs of the XC pretty significantly. The Adventure Wagon has definitely entered "trukwagon" territory [emoji16].
On to the pictures....
On our way up 23 above the Durham Valley:
Up and over South Mountain:
Onwards to Huntersfield State Forest...
Putting the new Sven Saw to work (sadly we got beat on this one, about 2" to big [emoji53]) saw works great tho!
A nice detail of the new meats with dressing [emoji97]
And finally, a drive through the dense, quiet woods of Renselaerville state forest:
This ^^^ took a couple of approaches and I wish I had someone shooting as I was doing it.
And finally, I'll just leave this little "prototype" here for now. The first of what I imagine will be many--and far better--to come. All shot with phone balanced on rocks and trees or handheld, and edited on the same...enjoy!
EDIT: holy **** Tapatalk video uploads absolutely destroy quality. That's all I have time for now though so forgive me. Will try and reup properly to Vimeo and replace link as time permits...
EDIT II: replaced link with high(er) res version. Still best viewed on mobile as it was 100% cellphone created.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Boys go to daycare during the week so I had the rare luxury of a SOLO adventure . . . Had to find a new way to generate some content for ya'll.
2nd time out with the new tires and first time out since fixing my wheel bearing. The ride is much smoother with a good bearing (ya think? ;-), though id be lying if I told you the BFGs didn't compromise the on-road handling, acceleration, and MPGs of the XC pretty significantly. The Adventure Wagon has definitely entered "trukwagon" territory [emoji16].
On to the pictures....
On our way up 23 above the Durham Valley:
Up and over South Mountain:
Onwards to Huntersfield State Forest...
Putting the new Sven Saw to work (sadly we got beat on this one, about 2" to big [emoji53]) saw works great tho!
A nice detail of the new meats with dressing [emoji97]
And finally, a drive through the dense, quiet woods of Renselaerville state forest:
This ^^^ took a couple of approaches and I wish I had someone shooting as I was doing it.
And finally, I'll just leave this little "prototype" here for now. The first of what I imagine will be many--and far better--to come. All shot with phone balanced on rocks and trees or handheld, and edited on the same...enjoy!
EDIT: holy **** Tapatalk video uploads absolutely destroy quality. That's all I have time for now though so forgive me. Will try and reup properly to Vimeo and replace link as time permits...
EDIT II: replaced link with high(er) res version. Still best viewed on mobile as it was 100% cellphone created.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Last edited:
i love this build! I love wagons and am planning on a xc70 as my next replacement for my 1st gen forester (R.I.P.)
Just a quick jaunt today through Pittstown State Forest in Rensselaer County...
We've spent surprisingly little time in Rensselaer and will have to come back and explore more.
Traipsed down a nice, long access road followed by an accidental excursion into ATV/snowmobile trail territory which concluded with the XC traversing a 40' long mud puddle. It wasn't much deeper than 18" but the bottom musta been rutted something bad because we bounced thru there and I heard a "slap" and a "pop" which I guess was the driver side bumper taking a hit and popping a rivet. NBD.
BFGs are performing pretty nicely off-road so far. Tough to say if they are better than the coopers, but the added sidewall and width helps make for a slightly more comfy ride on the trail.
The major downside is that they are heavy as shit and you can really feel it in everything the car does. Accelerating and turning are probably where you notice it most. All that extra rotational mass takes way more time and effort to get up to speed, and I feel like it's gotta be taxing the drivetrain and suspension somewhat. Driving more than 85mph doesn't really feel good, and they are noisier than my last set as well. All that said, the MPG-hit has actually been much less than expected!
Here are the last two tanks as per the fill-up and divide method (with A friend providing my mathematically-inept ass with the equation to calculate accurately taking into account the larger tires.):
The first is probably 70% highway/25% town&country roads/5% trail
The second is about 70% town&country/25% highway/5% trail
Will report more on the tires as I use them in new and different situations!
We've spent surprisingly little time in Rensselaer and will have to come back and explore more.
Traipsed down a nice, long access road followed by an accidental excursion into ATV/snowmobile trail territory which concluded with the XC traversing a 40' long mud puddle. It wasn't much deeper than 18" but the bottom musta been rutted something bad because we bounced thru there and I heard a "slap" and a "pop" which I guess was the driver side bumper taking a hit and popping a rivet. NBD.
BFGs are performing pretty nicely off-road so far. Tough to say if they are better than the coopers, but the added sidewall and width helps make for a slightly more comfy ride on the trail.
The major downside is that they are heavy as shit and you can really feel it in everything the car does. Accelerating and turning are probably where you notice it most. All that extra rotational mass takes way more time and effort to get up to speed, and I feel like it's gotta be taxing the drivetrain and suspension somewhat. Driving more than 85mph doesn't really feel good, and they are noisier than my last set as well. All that said, the MPG-hit has actually been much less than expected!
Here are the last two tanks as per the fill-up and divide method (with A friend providing my mathematically-inept ass with the equation to calculate accurately taking into account the larger tires.):
The first is probably 70% highway/25% town&country roads/5% trail
The second is about 70% town&country/25% highway/5% trail
Will report more on the tires as I use them in new and different situations!
Thanks man! Feel free to Hit me up if you have any questions regarding the particulars of these cars. They are great, but like most vehicles they have their quirks and known issues.
Are you looking at older or more recent models?
