Ok guys.

There ain't no real rocks to crawl here, and I don't really get rock crawling anyway, so that's not something I would be interested in.

Terrain:


Mud
These Coopers I have seem to clean rather well.
Boggers are another option
Tractor tires are big up north due to terrain as well.
Water
Fording Issues
Snorkel is relatively easy, take stock air box, run flexible tubing from current position out side of fender to black 6" ABS tubing, elbow it up to the passenger side, put stock air box up top facing to the rear.
Exhaust isn't a big deal, the truck has enough pressure outgoing that it won't suck in unless it shuts down
Removing stock fan and installing electric fan with cutoff switch and thermostat for actuation
Cab sealing: Rear vents... what to do about them
Door seals: will they hold water?
What other holes through the cab area do you know about?
Gear
Reconfiguring stock shortbed into stock appearing service body?
Equipment to build into/onto truck
OBA built into bed for protection of pump and parts
Swap stock alternator out for high output model
Mount hydraulic pump where 2nd alternator would go
Hydraulic Resevoir in service body
Front and rear RM-401D Ramsey 10,000LB Hydraulic winches
Custom or Warn Heavy Duty front bumper
Custom rear bumper w/ roller fairlead
Level winders for both winches
rear winch mounted where spare tire is located stockTruck itself will be lifted 6", with 38" tires. Stage 5 transmission from local tranny shop who does Allisons, and is known for great work. Programming will be the moonshine program, when I can get it. :)

Feel free to help figure out what else I need. I might end up just going with a contractor swing rear door topper from bes-top because I can use the roof rack for light mounting, antenna mounting, etc etc etc.

Personaly, If it was me, I'd be using http://www.lightracing.com/lightracingRokArmor2500.html Skid plates
and http://www.rockkrawler.com/ Race ready suspension, Oh and some bumpers http://www.roadarmor.com/ra3/chevy_trucks.html

Expensive but it would be an off road monster:ro)

Also getting you exhaust above water is easy "STACKS!"

How much of an increase in cab noise would I have with stacks?

How much of an increase in cab noise would I have with stacks?

I can't say for sure, because I don't have them, but you can get muffler inserts for them to quite them down.

Isnt it just too big?

Not to mention too expensive!!!

I wanna see pics though....:)

Better add a good saw to your list,a 6 'lift will never clear 38"tires.

Isnt it just too big?

Not to mention too expensive!!!

I wanna see pics though....:)That just sounds wrong Manny.:lol:

You're going to have to worry about all the electronics in the engine bay. Most of that stuff, (ECM,TCM, FICM, NBSU, etc), was not made for submergence. It could get real ugly if you short out something, not counting the fact you're going to have a dead elephant to get out of where ever it died.

Also I don't know how watertight an LCT 1000 is. You'll have to talk to Mike L. for that one. Don't forget the firwall's holes. Those grommets are not watertight either.

You know, with the kind of money you're going to have to sink into a big honking pickup like the Dmax, you'd be better off if you and the Misses just go buy a house, start a family, and get real jobs, like FBI, SWAT team, you know, put your skills to use. You already got one the best off-roaders ever made. Buy another one of those. I'd put money on a crappy old jeep CJ against any well dressed pickup for off-roading any day. It's all about wheelbase and HP/weight ratio. You just can't beat a Jeep for that.

You know, with the kind of money you're going to have to sink into a big honking pickup like the Dmax, you'd be better off if you and the Misses just go buy a house, start a family, and get real jobs, like FBI, SWAT team, you know, put your skills to use. You already got one the best off-roaders ever made. Buy another one of those. I'd put money on a crappy old jeep CJ against any well dressed pickup for off-roading any day. It's all about wheelbase and HP/weight ratio. You just can't beat a Jeep for that.


My jeep is fun, my jeep is great. My jeep is an anchor that won't start. My jeep is carubreted in a state with emissions regs that don't allow modifications to the engine so I can't put in a 350 or anything else or anything else..

Any jeep that is truly trail worthy has so many parts put in it from other vehicles, Dana 60 axles, etc etc etc that you're spending entirely too much time and money.

My truck as it sits now has more ground clearance and power and RELIABILITY than my jeep.

The only thing my jeep has on my truck, is a winch and wheelbase. You'd be suprised what I can go thru with my crew cab though.

I regularily go out with the Jeep on trails wih fullsize suburbans that get up and thru things the jeep has to winch at.

Well, it's not like it can't be done but I think you are in for a surprise when it comes to how much money you are going to spend. I think that the reliability will go way down after you get her wet a few times. If you go through with it, I would be curious as to what the grand total was to make your D/A submergence proof and an off roader.

I didn't know that Alaska wouldn't allow you to modify an off-road vehicle to make it more efficient by putting fuel injection on. If they don't, they don't. I would think that someone will pull their heads out soon though. That thought process is not only embarrassing but stupid and ignorant too.
I'll bet there are some legal loop holes that are waiting to be exploited.

I suppose if you don't go on any small tight trails, you'll be fine. But man, 7000 lbs with a turning radius of a carrier. And if you use it for a hunting rig, you certainly will give the moose and elk a warning that you're coming. ):h

This is what I see as the total price YMMV:

D/A truck - $40,000.00
Reworked Tranny - $5000.00
Waterproofing the Truck and misc toys - $7000.00

That's $52,000.00 for an off-roader. I know I may have went conservative but 52k would buy a lot of jeeps or even old gas short bed Jimmy's to fix up. Maybe a used Hummer.

And one more thing. The length of the frame may be prone to bending as I believe that the big 3 make the frames collapse to protect the passenger section. You might want to ask Eric or some of the guys that have had accidents with frame damage what was done to effect repairs. It may be a non issue but with 4400lbs on the front axles you don't want to find out after the fact.

I didn't know that Alaska wouldn't allow you to modify an off-road vehicle to make it more efficient by putting fuel injection on. If they don't, they don't. I would think that someone will pull their heads out soon though. That thought process is not only embarrassing but stupid and ignorant too.
I'll bet there are some legal loop holes that are waiting to be exploited.

I suppose if you don't go on any small tight trails, you'll be fine. But man, 7000 lbs with a turning radius of a carrier. And if you use it for a hunting rig, you certainly will give the moose and elk a warning that you're coming. ):h

This is what I see as the total price YMMV:

D/A truck - $40,000.00
Reworked Tranny - $5000.00
Waterproofing the Truck and misc toys - $7000.00

That's $52,000.00 for an off-roader. I know I may have went conservative but 52k would buy a lot of jeeps or even old gas short bed Jimmy's to fix up. Maybe a used Hummer.

And one more thing. The length of the frame may be prone to bending as I believe that the big 3 make the frames collapse to protect the passenger section. You might want to ask Eric or some of the guys that have had accidents with frame damage what was done to effect repairs. It may be a non issue but with 4400lbs on the front axles you don't want to find out after the fact.

Ok, let me give you a class on what works good on trails and hunting up here, since you obviously don't know :)

http://media.diywelder.com/images3/122405-post-2-51768-6x6.jpg
http://trailtoyz.com/images/zoom/YCLMTX/normal_burb2.jpg

Pretty much what it boils down to, is that I have a truck, that is comfortable, that I want to wheel in. If you are scared of fully utilizing your 4 wheel drive, just say it, and move on.

I paid 32 grand for this truck and I am going to use it to its utmost potential simply because I can, I enjoy it, and it's got what it takes. If I can coax a freakin FMTV around on "jeep" trails on post I think I can navigate my longboat. Plus, if it comes down to it, I simply ditch the rear and front axles and go dual steer. Turning Radius?

Besides, I am more concerned about a snorkel/waterproofing for the "oh shiznit" that will probably end up happening. I don't intend on crossing anything above 37" worth of water anyway. That makes it easy, because if it's over the tires then I probably aughta think a little bit about it.

Well, in that case, the D/A will be perfect! :D I stand corrected.. I forgot about the Alaska story and Texas. You know, cut Alaska in half and still be more than 2X the size of Texas. Texans just love that one. ):h

I think the used Hummer idea might be good one, even better now.

I would still check with the tech's on the frame strength.

But otherwise, go for it man!

Is a short bed big enough for a moose? ):h

you'd be better off if you and the Misses just go buy a house, start a family, and get real jobs, like FBI, SWAT team, you know, put your skills to use.

I just noticed this.

WTF?

So Me kicking in doors and sending terrorists to Gitmo, and going in harms way so you don't have some hadji with a simtex vest walk into walmart next to you, isn't a REAL JOB!?!!


I just noticed your mileage as well. This rig already has 4 times the mileage you have. 1/4 of it towing. 3 trips on the ALCAN. One of which was from georgia to alaska. We've been around the block and I've literally 4 wheeled on a decent majority of terrain types across the globe, both occupationally and recreationally. Where are you coming from, other than the "scared to get a scratch" corner?

So Me kicking in doors and sending terrorists to Gitmo, and going in harms way so you don't have some hadji with a simtex vest walk into walmart next to you, isn't a REAL JOB!?!!


Don't bother. Most of these guys don't have a clue. They'd be some of the ones *****in about how you're using the wrong foot on the door and wonder why you didn't knock and say please come out.

lol.. I knock with det cord and flashbangs.

Make no mistake Junior, I was in the Nav during the Cold War for 11 very long years.

That I knock you in jest is only that, in jest. The most I would ever say in any derogatory manner about the job you do would be that you choose to be a ground pounder vice a squid. Sorry, I'm partial.

I was given the opportunity to be in the Air Cav as a Corbra pilot. That's was just after Nam, and Cobra pilots didn't last long. I chose something with a little more longivity to it like, Submarines.

I'm sorry you took it the wrong way.

I just noticed your mileage as well. This rig already has 4 times the mileage you have. 1/4 of it towing. 3 trips on the ALCAN. One of which was from georgia to alaska. We've been around the block and I've literally 4 wheeled on a decent majority of terrain types across the globe, both occupationally and recreationally. Where are you coming from, other than the "scared to get a scratch" corner?



Sorry you had a bad day. .

You dont run Supercross on a Fat-boy Harley. Why would you want to do this to a expensive and really heavy truck?
Buy a old 3/4 ton beater from the '70's-early 80"s and build that. tow it w/ your d-max.

Bleh. Intonation is lost on the net. Either way, I plan on building up and wheeling my diesel.

Doing offroad in this won't be nearly as hard on it as anything else. Building it up for the purpose, after I have another daily driver for the wife to use, plus building up my jeep, will provide more fun for both the wife and I both. The technical challenge of getting this through obsticals that people don't think I can, is reason enough. Not to mention the fun of doing it, plus the gear I can pack on the way in versus what I could haul with the jeep.

Plus it makes a damn good anchor point for winching off of. LOL

You dont run Supercross on a Fat-boy Harley. Why would you want to do this to a expensive and really heavy truck?
Buy a old 3/4 ton beater from the '70's-early 80"s and build that. tow it w/ your d-max.


This coming from a guy whose truck is sitting on 38s and drives his truck over cars? I didn't figure your truck for a poser grocery getter must be scared to scratch all that yellow paint.:lol:



More power to ya Spoolin get some good pic for us.:ro)

Dozer boy, It's a work truck, It goes offroad pretty regular, mostly on construction sites nothing hardcore.

Spoolin' turbo I understand where your going now. Dont forget to raise the breather tubes from the tranny, t-case, front and rear diffs.water can get into those and cause real damage.

:) By no means is this going to be the redneck baja express. Slow and steady gets there without breaking anything.

Bleh. Intonation is lost on the net. Either way, I plan on building up and wheeling my diesel.

Doing offroad in this won't be nearly as hard on it as anything else. Building it up for the purpose, after I have another daily driver for the wife to use, plus building up my jeep, will provide more fun for both the wife and I both. The technical challenge of getting this through obsticals that people don't think I can, is reason enough. Not to mention the fun of doing it, plus the gear I can pack on the way in versus what I could haul with the jeep.

Plus it makes a damn good anchor point for winching off of. LOL

Accepted.

Rock on Brother! That will be one bad 4x4 :ro)

Do check with Mike L. and Eric. You are going to have to do something with the breather tube and I think you could run it up along the snorkel. I hate to see you dump it into the exhaust.

I am going to look at the truck this weekend, and just get an idea and start making a list of what I need to silicone, etc to make sure stuff is nice and waterproof in terms of electrical connections etc that are framerail and below. I like the 8.5" lift with the coilovers, and running 37's is about as big as I want to go personally. 13" of suspension travel should be plenty, it won't be stupid big, and with an E-locker up front I figure things should go fine in terms of traction. Like i said before, i don't intend on going over the tires which will keep the water level below the door sills theoreticaly with a almost 9" lift, and the increase with both 37's and the lift will be 12"+ above stock ride height. Most if not all electronics I have seen are carried relatively high in the engine compartment anyway, and I don't go hauling butt when fording anyay.

Breather tube is easy, I can just run the tubing up to the top of the firewall up front and to the top of the bedrail in the back.

Hmmwv's are silicone'd bigtime on all the connections, so i figure that I can get away with that considering I don't intend on playing scuba truck, just kiddy pool truck ;)

I still do not know wether I like the road armors or not. If they built a full-width tire carrier , or 2 way swingout tire carrier/fuel can carrier I would be interested. I will probably end up just building my own bumper up here, since I have friends with shops, fabricating skills, plasma torches and plenty of spare time to build up a sick strong bumper that will let me play bumper cars with semi's and win. Plus, I would be able to get all the options I want along with it... to include a beefed up skid plate for the front of the truck.

Make no mistake Junior, I was in the Nav during the Cold War for 11 very long years.

I was given the opportunity to be in the Air Cav as a Corbra pilot. That's was just after Nam, and Cobra pilots didn't last long. I chose something with a little more longivity to it like, Submarines.

I'm sorry you took it the wrong way.

Boy, I don't know. Air cav vs. "the duty sock" :confused: Are you sure you picked right ? :D

Mind you, this comes from an ex fly-boy. So, either choice is bad from my seat.

You guys that choose the no amenities, no porcelain lifestyles might be better than me. ):h

Spoolin, Im gonna cut my 05 up next spring with an SFA and 40 inch boggers. It will pretty much be a dedicated woods truck that will be legal to cruise around if i want too. HP60 front 11.5 rear with 4.56s and a locker. Don't feel alone, theres a few of us crazy buggers out there who use stuff to its full potential and then some :thumb:

I think 37's will be plenty big for my purposes. Anything that requires me to have bigger, I will find a way around, or winch thru. I am going to call up Road Armor and see if they can build a rear winch bumper for me. I really want to go hydraulic just because I want the line speed. I wonder if ATS sells transmissions with the PTO gear in them?

Check this truck out I saw in Mexico. Their website is up but the portion on how the truck was built is only in French.

lol.. I knock with det cord and flashbangs.

yeah? well, I knock with a CLAYMORE!!):h

I like your idea Spoolin. Maybe we should start a club for Real modifyed trucks. Mine may be next if I can get something else to drive while it's down. How's the huntin up there anyway? I'd like to do a caribo hunt sometime :D are you a guide?

:exactly: Im thinking about doing some of the water proofing mods for my truck. It will be my duck truck- hell if it gets as tall as yours it might become my duck boat!

I didn't know that Alaska wouldn't allow you to modify an off-road vehicle to make it more efficient by putting fuel injection on. If they don't, they don't. I would think that someone will pull their heads out soon though. That thought process is not only embarrassing but stupid and ignorant too.




thats because no aftermarket efi company has payed off, errrrrrrrrr bribed, errrrrrrrrrrrr LOBBIED........a politician in alaska yet):h

JMO but I would also go with older rig and mod it. I would think K5 blazer but thats just me. Cheaper to be more capable and less worries.

Problem your going to run into I fear is big tires, articulation and turning and the IFS going boom. Adding power and a locker will only make matters worse. Definatly plan on beefing up the front end and hoping you dont kerspload a CV.

You also have a heavy boat anchor of a truck. Lotsa weight on the nose.

I also would at least run a switchable program. Screw moonshine. You dont need that much HP and if you need that much balls to turn the tires through a bog you dont need to be there.

Unless you in just mud I wouldnt run boggers. Super swamper TSL's is what I would look at. They even have radial version so you dont have to run baised ply. And they have versions with sipping built in. Dont know what % of a trail rig this will be? TSl's are a good all around off road tire and do great in the mud. Plus you wont have to worry about how loud your exhaust is becasue you wont hear it over the hum of the tires anyway :lol:

Your transfercase vent is on the top bellhousing bolt on the motor trans. The vent for the Trans is on top of the trans, it isnt extended. Cant remember were the rear and front end vents stop.

The steering colom and wiring harness and all that stuff(plow prep hole made?) I would say is probably water resistant. I would say the door seals are pretty good but your door itself will take on water. The whole fear of water is one reason I would be leary of running your truck. Easier to make a truck were you dont care if it gets wet becasue you arnt going to get your cab water tight. You can get it were you can splash through real quick but to hold back water? You have wheeled before so you know 90% of the time you get stuck its in freaking water. And it seemed for me 90% of that the water was always 40* or had ice chunks floating by but thats another rant :lol: Lose traction, you cant see a hole or a log or a rut and next thing you know you are saying Censored

With oldschool chevy SFA With fender triming you could fit 38's on a flexy 6" lift(that will cost you hafe). You can water proof the motor easy. Make the cab were it dont realy matter if you take on water, and have a deccent 350 or something with deccent power that will still pass emmision. And get something with a shorter wheel base if you want. Its realy a better base to start from, but if you dont care and want to wheel your truck then power to ya. :grd:

wellllllll

after deliberation, snapping of a tie rod end among other carnage, the 2500HD is becomin a pavement princess.

New toy.

http://www.skynet-mk2.com/photos/cucv/100_0389.jpg

What other carnage I got to see this.
:nopics:

Shocks shot, frames bent, tie rod busted and the knuckle end of the tie rod put a hole in the cv boot, plus the front valance and fog lights got taken out.

like i said, once its straight it's a pavement queen. The K5 aka CSAR is going to be the wheeling rig... and I am actually getting into Search and Rescue up here in alaska. they like fullsize rigs because we can go just as far as a quad if not further, and carry more people and equipment plus usually have better comms.

CSAR currently has a Garmin 276C, and Kenwood TM-D700A dualband ham radio that is tweaked for operation on commercial VHF (the 4x4'ers up here have their own channel w/ pl tone) and GMRS/FRS. Crossband repeat is also a nice thing to have.

Shackle flip in the back with some new 2" springs. Some 6" springs up front. Some fender triming. some 0 rates or a small body lift. Some fender triming. YEAH! for big tires and lotsa flexy suspention!

colaradok5 used to be a great site on wheeling and k5s in general.

6" all spring right now, sticking that way, goin 2 over in the back for more travel.

What other carnage I got to see this.
:nopics:

These were a few that I took.

Well,after wheeling mine in the rocks this past weekend I see that these trucks need cosiderable work to be good offroad. I bent my tranny crossmember,my exhaust,rear diff cover {now it leaks :( },tore both running boards off,and destroyed the tires. I mean they have big chunks of tread missing and lost probably 1/4-1/2 of their tread. Makes me want a SFA and a front locker but for now I will just wheel' my rig that I built to wheel'. Sure was a lot more comfy than my wheelin' rig.

Heh...

My toy. 85 M1009 Military Blazer

Converted to 12V, 2x12v batteries for vehicle, 1x battery for accessories (isolated system)

In process of installing:

TM-D700A Dual Band radio for VHF/UHF
8 position switch box
CB Radio
GPS wiring
Dual Federal Signal 100w speakers w/ amp hooked to multi-switch panel for exterior broadcast of radio traffic/PA
2 Dualhead amber strobes w/ federal signal power supply for rear warning during winter on-road recoveries


Soon to come:


12k Mile marker hydro front winch
12k Mile Marker electric rear winch
Custom front winch bumper w/ flipdown hmmwv "style" grill guard to double as step-stool to get to engine compartment, 2x 20mm ammo cans for sealed recovery equip storage
custom rear bumper with dual swingouts, 4x 5 gallon can holder on left, spare on right
2x 2m ammo cans inside, bolting one on each wheelwell inside
Dually Dana 60/14B axles, Detroit front and rear, 4.56 gears
HMMWV rims w/ rubber runflats, 38" cooper mud tires
spare set of other rims w/ firestone tractor tires for more severe offroad

Nice choice and some nice additions. You almost can't kill them old Blazers. I guess that's why the Military bought them.

You'll have a boat load of fun with that rig. Sorry that K2500 experiment didn't work out. These new trucks just got too much hi dollar stuff on them.

Videos:

16 meg video of toys of the truck so far (http://www.skynet-mk2.com/photos/cucv/100_0473.MOV)

Small version of the same (http://www.skynet-mk2.com/photos/cucv/CSAR.MOV)