Nice response CV :xsmokin1:. Couldn't agree more. You'd probably appreciate my posts on the other thread.
Here's my "junk". All my old trip pics are on a different computer, post-TS-gallery-wipe...most of my pics are in SE Utah, places like the Maze, Dark Canyon, etc...
Starting with the drivetrain, suspension and tire stuff everybody's used to...
Long arms by Camburg.
Rear axle to match, by Front Range Offroad...Hi9/60 35sp/ff air-locked hybrid, 3/8" wall tube, 1/4" plate diff guard by BTF.
A nice 3/4 shot...
Wide. Not necessarily a bad thing.
37" tires, if I want to use them...they're fun, taken them out a few times, but a few had leaks, so I kept the one good spare & going to TrXus MTs for winter and easy overland stuff.
A little more on the "overland" side here. Unfortunately these were all from a short-duration wheeling trip with a basecamp. We did take the recovery ladders (1.5'x5'x2" fiberglass, used many times now), but only one Scepter H2O jug and two or three fuel cans, and left a lot of stuff at camp for this trail. On long trips, there are six NATO fuel cans and two Scepter water jugs at the front of the bed, lashed to a pair of medium sized D-rings mounted to the bed. The spare tire is lashed to four massive D-rings bolted under the bed. On long trips, the exhaust jack and four lengths of rope (emergency traction assist) sit inside the dish of the spare tire, with a tarp around all of it, then the straps. The cooler is strapped and wedged between the liquids and the spare tire. Shovel is QuickFisted to the left inner bedside, HiLift on the right. The CO2 bottle ends up at the back of the bed, when we're carrying all the fluids. There's still room for firewood, a small charcoal grille, large charcoal bag, spare tarps, trash bag, poo bag, and some tools. Everything that goes in the bed is lashed down. When we're on a long trip, I pull the tailgate...it's 50# of dead weight, like the 20# of dead weight from the carpet, the dead weight of the sheetmetal bedsides and fenders (now fiberglass), the heavy stock rear bumper and receiver, and now the several hundred pounds of dead weight that's the stock bed. Everything back there can be carried perfectly well without using the bed.
Tent and other soft goods all go in the cab for now. Eventually most soft goods will be lashed to the top of the rear cage (not full cage, just where the bed used to be), double-bagged so the outer bag can be left in the vestibule of a nice tent & only clean stuff comes inside. Right now we just use trash bags over the drybags.
Rhino liner on the roof, because I was sick of kayaks scraping the paint. Now I can sit up there, throw stuff up there, don't care. Rhino on the front bumper because it's a great place to stand while you're looking at stuff through the binoculars.
Incidentally, with the rear seat removed it's possible to put the captain's chairs horizontal, so driver & passenger could sleep in the cab if necessary.
Note nothing on the roof, no topper, not even a Can-Back. I decided it was too much dead weight and limited visibility too much, and was a damage risk in the trees...the Can-Back is 80#.
Last time I hit a weigh scale loaded, the truck had a 53/47 weight distro and 6500# GVW (before I ditched the bed). My plan is it doesn't
look like an "overland" rig, but it is...so no shit on the roof, glass pulled in, every bit of volume used efficiently, ditch every piece of non-functional or unnecessary steel for glass, aluminum, or tube to do the same job, redistribute more weight to the rear, etc...
It starts here...good view of the low-profile rear bumper and receiver, and the basic tube layout. Rear suspension is getting completely rebuilt, don't know exactly where shocks & bumps need to sit yet, so the sides of the cage aren't finished. 37" spare fits at the rear of the cage, cooler just in front (top opens against the top rear rail), jerrycans and space for a pair of deep Pelican cases under the top bracing, and plenty of space on top to lash soft goods. Massive 20# compressor and air tank, and dual batteries between the frame rails & behind the rear axle to the right to offset the engine, bumper, eventual winch, and front diff weight. MTB mounts will end up on the side rails, with a brace to the center so they can't flop. Cover the entire thing in sailcloth and use a couple metal-reinforced tiedown straps, and it'll be a helluva lot more visually and functionally secure than the bed or my two toppers (CanBack, Snugtop) ever were. IMHO part of a good overland rig is performance in all areas without visually making a big deal about it.
The things you can't see or aren't obvious...front air locker, 4.88 gears, multiband HAM radio, water storage in the cab, drybags for soft goods, GPS, compass, topo maps, binoculars, cab and front bumper trimmed to fit 35x12.5 tires, no lift necessary but running maybe 2" over stock (even with the 37s, my roof line is lower than the same year truck with 2.5" spacer+3" body+35" tires), headers, chip, pulley, bone stock stereo except for one of those PIE things, 1/4" belly skid to the front third of the fuel tank, inverter, fuzzbuster, ARB mini compressor, JetBoil stove, Super Siphons for fuel and water, tools, spare parts and factory service manual. Proven comfortable, strong, and long-range years before the rear axle and LT front were installed...I've had this truck nearly eight years now.
Our worst-case water range is two people active in 105* heat for about five days...budgeting 2gal/person/day. Realistically we've never used that much, maybe half that much tops and that's when we're
very active, plus rolling with the windows down/core open/fan on high to bleed heat off the engine...a/c is a luxury unless we're moving fast, that may change once the electric fans go in &/or I install the larger alt & the aux fan from a Sequoia.
Worst-case range is a little over 500 miles, best is a little under 1000. It's certainly enough to enter the Maze, run every route, and exit with enough fuel to safely make the next town if Hite is closed, even if the road were completely washed out at the southern exit and we had to backtrack to Green River via Hans Flat. Basically, we can load up for the Maze, not hit a fuel/food/water station for a solid week if we like, roll in comfort and at high speed if we feel like it.
-Sean