So up top is a 270 awning but we’ve found esp when the base camp lasts a day, that the sun coverage is minimal at times without walls. So now I have two walls that can make a massive room next to the truck when needed.
Downside? They’re bulky. And heavy. A put both in a large duffle and cinched it down. In the last pic I posted they are in the tan duffle on rhs. The idea is that they’re there when needed but will sit in situ when not, and not take up prime real estate.
This 270 is freestanding, but has two drop down poles. I also keep two more in ceiling storage, since the walls need all 4 poles. Haven’t tried it in the wild yet but soon…
I think the awning/room combo is my ideal setup. Two years later, I’m still enamored with Josh’s setup on the Montero back when we did the North Rim trip. He had mini futon couches, a heater, electric panini press, and xmas lights. It was like a little treehouse/fort and it was perfect.
But yeah, that’s a huge pack over there for just in case. Have you considered a basic Thule/Yakima roof box for the less frequently needed things like this?
And just like that–I can’t make it to Moab this year.
My brother’s sister is getting married in Chicago and they’ll be passing through Iowa on their way to the wedding. We’ll be hosting them for most of the week currently planned for the trip. I’m excited, but also sad.
Looks like I’m going to end up doing some Great Lakes exploring with the girls. Not sure what that’s gonna look like, either. All the trails I’m finding are just dirt, farm road, mud bogs. There’s literally nothing of interest within 3 hours of me here in Iowa, so any overlanding efforts are likely going to be Wisconsin, Michigan, Ontario, New York, and perhaps further up toward the North Woods of Maine.
Remind me, do you still have the trailer, too? Man, you’re setup for adventures.
I’m still quite interested. However, we are in the midst of a massive change in our world… again. A good change, mind you. But… the next few months have us doing the final bits of remodel in our California place, and getting it on the market, and moving the whole party full-time to upstate New York. Add in that my wife is taking an early retirement from her job at Cal State University (she’s been there for almost 29 years), and it all adds up to schedules meaning very little in my world right now.
So… We are leaving Calgary on the 10th of May. First night is projected to be Helena, Montana. The next day should see us south of SLC, maybe Provo? Then we move into the wild… North again the following weekend to arrive back in Calgary on the following Monday (20th I think?).
Wolfpacks will be going in here along with Frosty’s wire kennel for when we need it. I also want to leave some space for what-ifs. 60L water tank now resides in rear foot well instead of behind rear seats. It actually sits in there really nicely and will still reach the water pump and ultimately the faucet on the back door.
As an aside, I’ve had a few very cold starts lately. Last week there were several -20 something Celsius days, parked all day outside at work, not plugged in…
No drama. No smoke. No grumbling. A single glow and she started on the first half turn like usual. A little noisier until warmup but otherwise unaffected. 24 volt diesels are so winter ready!
So the forum is happy to remind me that it’s been 6 months since my last confession. Sorry about that. Forgive me forum for I have sinned.
However I believe I’ve found some balance in the force. I’ve mostly shed anti social media except a few pics on insta which auto post to that other platform. Ih8mud is the landcruiser place. And that’s about it…
But I missed this spot. Missed you guys more like. So here I am and I hope to become a regular again if you’ll have me.
And there are a lot of things to update in this build thread. Indont even know where to start but let’s get a spoiler out of the way or I fear i will burst from the pressure. That was a hint by the way.
So I’ve just put the finishing touches, at 299,200kms on my turbo! Yes this beast lived it’s life atmospheric for the last 33 years so I thought it only fitting to finally give it the air it has been craving.
Okay. I’ll start there and then fill in some blanks later.
Let’s talk. Turbos. This engine was naturally aspirated from the factory and is a fully mechanical diesel with indirect injection. It usually lives in mines all over the world as well as the worst conditions in Africa, the Middle East, etc. it will use whatever fuel you throw at it. There are plenty of examples with over a million km on them. But what it does have a hard time with however is North American highway speeds. Add altitude to that and you’ve got one slow coal roller.
I did everything I could in the last 4 years to make it run clean. Start perfectly and basically be smoke free. This has come at the cost of leaning out the fuel, since I live at 1100 m and regularly travel to much higher. So I thought it was finally time to give it some forced induction?
Enter the One HDT, Toyota’s direct injection mechanical diesel that was factory turbocharged use the same block and has many parts that can swap over. So that’s the route I chose.
I found a used 1hdt turbo (ct26) and some piping used on marketplace, bought a manifold adapter and some oil feed lines from Australia, and a couple of factory parts like some hoses and an air cleaner lid. Then I sat on the parts for the better part of 2 years.
At 299,200kms And after our high altitude Utah trip, it was time for action.
First step? Cut the exhaust off and then there’s no easy turning back…
This also involved getting the old studs out of the turbo, the manifold and putting new ones in.
Oh but there’s more. And this is a bit of a step sideways. Turbos need an oil feed. And of course that means a drain. I decided to pull the sump, drill a hole in the side of it, and weld a bung in for the oil return.
But while I was in there… Yeah. I know it.
This engine has 299000 kms on it. And the big end bearings would be right there… So, after ordering some standard bearings (and hoping), some plastigage (to back up the hope), and some new bolts, I proceeded to check/replace the bearing shells in situ.
Most showed a small amount of wear but number 5’s pair were delaminated and badly scored. Thankfully I caught them in time and the crank still looked perfect. The ones I checked after installing measured out dead smack in the middle of spec so standard bearings for all!
Some FIPG around the rim (done by my wife’s steady cake decorating hand) and back it went in place along with all 28 bolts/nuts.
About as fun as it sounds but necessary for next steps, and it turned out to be necessary for engine life in the long run too!
Then I busted out my fancy new manifold adapter. This clever kit from aus uses titanium bolts to fasten an adapter plate to my existing manifold, still in place, and allows me to bolt a CT26 to it. It also came with a T to plumb an oil feed into the oil sender, and the hoses for drain as well.
Once I turned my new air filter cover counterclockwise, (brand new off the shelf from Toyota) bolted on the new crossover with downturn, and figured out some silicone hoses to connect it all, it was time to fit that snail in place.
But of course a turbo in some ways is nothing more than an interruption to your exhaust. And the exhaust system was 2 inch old bendy pipe that followed a circuitous route out through the wheelwell, over the frame, across underneath, and out through the opposite back corner. From the factory!
I hatched a plan to instead increase the diameter, reduce the bends, and improve the flow (and thus exhaust gas temps).
Also, I wanted to do it all myself.
I decided upon an exhaust that would exit the wheelwell and then simply run down the same side, between rocker and frame. Really wanted 3 inch but omg the space was tight. So I settled on 2.5 inch as long as I could do fully mandrel bent, and the chase was on.
Over the next month I would order a piece at a time, measuring, sometimes cutting, and always eyeing how the next part would fit.
Stared with a v-band clamped turbo flange to dump pipe…
This has a flex pipe built in. Then I used a large radius 90° pipe to exit the wheelwell. From there it was simply a matter of finding the right angle and cutting my long piece of ss pipe to the right length and putting a 90° bend at the end for exhaust exit behind the back door.
This happened over a few weeks. Everything was held by vbands, lap joints and butt joint clamps. I also had to fashion some hangers since this was not a factory position. Finished it off with a Flowmaster “muffler” that was a 4 inch can with 2.5" in/outs.
Haha. Right? So much of life is just dealing with the results of prior decisions. It’s like, you don’t need the confidence to complete the project–just to take the next step. Because that will change the situation and present new things to do.
Of course, it’s not always so easy. Welcome back, Phil. I’m glad to see you!
I got your post cards and I so appreciated them brother…
The truck is 100% better than it was in the previous 4 years I’ve had it. And because I haven’t added any fuel (yet), I think I’ve actually added life instead of taking it away, since my EGTs are literally half of what they were. Less heat = longer life. Plus I don’t feel like I’m bagging the shit out of it at every single light/hill/headwind. Its by no means any faster, but at least it can now get to speed slowly without also building heat…
Taking this out in the woods again tomorrow after work for some camping with the fellas.
There’s something I’ve been wanting to do with this truck for a long time. Actually it’s so major that I figured it’d be on “the next one”. But my wife asked me the other day if the next one would be any better? And it got me thinking… Perhaps this IS the one. Because what I’m thinking of doing is so major that there is no real going back from it.
I’m going to mull it over some more. But here’s a hint.
