Third try - now a Bison!

[TheBison]

Here's some night pics. Sorry for the crappy cell phone camera quality. The backup lights are bright!
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[TheBison]

So, we added a piece of equipment that is going to change how the truck is set up for overlanding. Here's our Hiker Trailer 5x8 Midrange Off Road trailer!
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We bought the trailer as basically a "shell" to be upgraded the way we wanted: robust solar power for a fridge, more aggressive tires and more clearance, water storage, etc. Another project! What does this mean for the Bison? Well, for starters everything doesn't have to be crammed into the truck anymore, though we plan on keeping our current storage options so if we ever need or want to boondock away from the trailer on a more advanced trail or something we can. We've already removed the 13 GAL water tank from the roof of the truck and it's going on the roof of the camper (it will just barely slide under the load bars). I'll no longer be focusing on a battery pack or dual battery on the truck, as that will now be addressed by the power system I'm designing for the trailer. The fridge will eventually go on the trailer, so there's no reason to find room for it in the truck. And we're going to add two storage boxes to the roof load bars (probably Roam boxes) so the truck isn't packed to the gills all of the time.

 

[TheBison]

With our change of focus to have camping-type stuff on our trailer, the roof rack had become very... bare. There was just a pair of traction boards on the rails held down with ratchet straps, and the whole roofline was now lower than the toolbox that is on the bed rack so it looked uneven and particularly empty. The fix was to add another Plano box on the roof rack, and add a second pair of traction boards to make a complete set of four. The toolbox is along the passenger side where it is easily accessible, and the boards are along the driver's side mounted permanently with some 1/4-20 rod and some knobs and other assorted hardware. We have removed the 23Zero 180R awning (which is for sale!) since we don't need so much awning on the truck anymore, but we may replace it with a 4 or 5 foot simple pull-out awning in the future so room has been left for that just in case.
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Sorry for the crappy pictures, but the sun was getting awfully low!

 

[TheBison]

I've always wanted limb risers. Do I need them? Probably not. But I like the look and ultimately it's cheap insurance since I spent maybe $25 on this whole project. I found a 100 foot spool of black plastic-coated stainless steel wire on Amazon (wire OD 1/16", coated OD about 1/8") that even included the right size crimps for the end loops for around $18. Coupled with some Ace Hardware rubber coated metal P-clamps and a pair of small turnbuckles, plus a few small bolts, and voila: easy 30 minute project. I used open ended turnbuckles with the theory that if I ever hit something beyond the breaking strength of any of the components, a bit of stretch and the assembly will come apart before it rips any metal. A dent from a branch is easier to repair than a ripped bolt hole in the sheet metal. The only downside is that in order to open the hood the turnbuckles have to be loosened, but that doesn't even require tools.
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[TheBison]

Things slowed down a bit over the holidays, but now we're back at it! Today we did a simple addition: a large medical kit and fire extinguisher, mounted where easily accessible (but not stealable!) in the cab. We have more projects in the works; we're just waiting for everything to ship!
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[TheBison]

Just a teaser for the current project. It's off to a good start but it isn't done yet!

 

[TheBison]

Another teaser...

 

[TheBison]

So, I posted up the teasers thinking I would have a few more lights (A-pillar, side, rear, rock) and a controller all mounted up and ready to go - but alas, plans have changed. I got a smoking deal on a Weboost that now gets installed on the truck, plus a good trade for awning walls on the 270 awning on the trailer so those got moved up in financial priority this month. Look for a Weboost install, and eventually I'll get these lights working.

 

[SS308]

Although I'm a Ford man, I'm digging your build.
Nice work!

 

[Advtres]

Is the tire carrier custom ( eg made by you?) or was it a buy and bolt? If the later who is the supplier?

 

[TheBison]

Is the tire carrier custom ( eg made by you?) or was it a buy and bolt? If the later who is the supplier?

Armordillo bed rack, with the tire carrier option: CR1 Chase Rack – Armordillo USA by I3 Enterprise Inc.

 

[TheBison]

As I've been hinting, I put on the first lights for some nighttime exploration capability enhancements. I finally got around to wiring in the bumper, A-pillar, and roof rack lights with an Auxbeam 8-position switch pod. Though we're only using three of the circuits now, there are plans for all of the others with eventual side and rear facing lights and chase lights. An engine bay mounting plate and sunglass holder replacement panel (both from Colorado & Canyon Enthusiasts) made the job stupid easy.



I previously posted pictures of the lights mounted to the roof rack and bumper; I really like the multiple-pod look a la the KC PRO 6 lightbars that are so popular, but that is way out of my budget. Solution? Take Hella 500FF lights (I had them on my FJ Cruiser previously and had a good experience with them) and I replaced the legacy 55W halogen bulbs with LED units since they're just standard H3 bulbs. I'm looking for higher-wattage bulbs but for now the equivalent of high beams will do. I chose Auxbeam floods for the A-pillar lights, on mounts from Rago Fabrication.

 

[TheBison]

Although I'm a Ford man, I'm digging your build.
Nice work!

Nothing wrong with Fords (my other truck is an F250 Powerstroke) but I liked the Colorados WAYYY more than the new Rangers. Just personal preference.

 

[GLOCKer]

Nothing wrong with Fords (my other truck is an F250 Powerstroke) but I liked the Colorados WAYYY more than the new Rangers. Just personal preference.

Ouch!
My Ranger is insulted!


Just kidding! While I'm Ford Blue, through and through, I dig the Bison! I am also jealous that GM people get the option of a diesel in a mid size truck and us Ford people have to go to Australia/Asia/Europe to get that!

 

[trail_runn4r]

Great build Brian!! Can't wait to see the latest updates.

 

[TheBison]

Ouch!
My Ranger is insulted!
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Just kidding! While I'm Ford Blue, through and through, I dig the Bison! I am also jealous that GM people get the option of a diesel in a mid size truck and us Ford people have to go to Australia/Asia/Europe to get that!

I do like your Ranger... And don't get too hurt, GM is discontinuing the diesel option in Colorados/Canyons - at least in the US.

 

[GLOCKer]

I do like your Ranger... And don't get too hurt, GM is discontinuing the diesel option in Colorados/Canyons - at least in the US.

Well that sucks!

 

[Hogan]

I do like your Ranger... And don't get too hurt, GM is discontinuing the diesel option in Colorados/Canyons - at least in the US.

That is a rumor started by "GM Authority", there has never been any official announcement from GM stating this and, in fact, after "GM Authority" started the rumor GM actually released a statement saying that they've secured availability of the 2.8 for the "foreseeable future." Not sure if it's correct or a typo, but recent window stickers are showing the 2.8 is now coming from Brazil instead of Thailand. For example - https://cws.gm.com/vs-cws/vehshop/v2/vehicle/windowsticker?vin=1GCPTEE15N1128059&bac=285493

Until there's an official announcement from GM that the 2.8 is being discontinued it's just a rumor started by one often-incorrect media outlet. For all we know, GM is trying to take advantage of this rumor by hoping it will drive sales up from people wanting to buy the diesel before it's gone and then end up being like "here's the 2023 with an available 2.8 diesel. We never said it was discontinued..." :D That would also teach GM Authority a lesson about stating rumor as fact.

 

[TheBison]

So, I've been busy on the electronics side of things.

First off, I've never been happy with where my ham antenna was on the roof rack so I moved it to the rear of the truck opposite the Weboost antenna using Rago antenna mounts. I drilled out the 3/8" hole that the Rago comes with (designed for CB or Weboost) and used an SO239 chassis mount for the base.


I finally got around to installing a Midland GMRS mobile radio since I got a GMRS license a while ago. I needed a remote mount option so I went with the MXT275 even though it's only 15W. I went with their small 3dB gain antenna on the hood to provide as much separation as possible from my dual-band ham antenna. Not ideal for power and I could have gone with a higher-gain antenna in a different location, but I only use GMRS for relatively short-range stuff since if I really want to talk to someone I use ham radio. It's getting a bit crowded under the back seat with ham, GMRS, and Weboost all mounted there powered off of an ignition-switched power bus, but this should be about it in this space.




Not shown here, but I also added a bypass power switch so I can turn the relay on without the ignition key if I want to run radios or lights without turning the truck accessories on. We'll see how ofter I use this, but it sounded like a good idea.

 

[TheBison]

To eliminate glare off of the hood (from sunlight as well as the roof-mounted lights) we got the hood wrapped with a matte black vinyl that has a topographic map design on it. Really pleased with how it turned out! And it's not just any topo map - I had the graphics shop use the map of a trail my wife and I hiked on one of our first dates as the basis for the design. Let me tell you about the mad props I got for that! I haven't put up any whole-vehicle photos to show the status of the build in a while, so here's a few from today while I was out scouting the area for June Jam 4. A bigger change is coming next week - getting new and bigger shoes on!