[zqv8]

You guys are impressive - both from a skills and knowledge perspective. Keep at it! Good Luck!

 

[10Canyon53]

Here is a quick teaser pic on what was accomplished this week:

I will upload progress pics when I get time later.

 

[10Canyon53]

Another teaser pic.....

 

[10Canyon53]

Had enough of the teasing yet?

 

[10Canyon53]

Ok, lets see if I can pick this story up where I left off. I cut some light gauge square tubing...

did some more welding...

and fabricated a spot to carry a pair of 4ft. plastic folding tables right under the rooftop tent.

Next I mounted 3 pieces of Uni-Strut for the crossbars to support the tent. As seen in this pic, I used u-bolts to secure the the Uni-Strut and the mounting brackets for the 270 degree awning.........more on that later.

Time to unload the tent from the trailer and start prepping it for installation...

All the poles and hardware are shipped inside the folded up tent so I sent my wife in after them. 😁

Meanwhile, I decided that I wasn't happy with the way the Uni-Strut was attached to the rack so I ditched the u-bolts, drilled the rack and attached the Uni-Strut with more grade 8 bolts. It was a lot more work, but I was much happier with the end result.

Back to the tent. How does that ladder attach again?

Decided to mount the Overland Vehicle Systems 270 degree awning first since the tent would cover the brackets.

 

[10Canyon53]

Quick test of the awning...

Time to place the rooftop tent.

Got it bolted down put the cover on it last night. Took it for a test drive today.

Yes, the tent and awning sit up high.....just a hair over 6'4"
Why so high? Because I am 6'4" and I don't like concussions.
I got up to 75mph and the truck handled fine. Yes, you can feel the additional weight up high but as long as you understand that the vehicle is now more top-heavy it doesn't really degrade the drive-ability.
Its starting to look like an overland rig now, but I still have a lot left to do.

Next will likely be solar panels and associated electrical.

 

[WV NATIVE]

Because I am 6'4"

I’m surprised you fit in a Colorado. 😳

 

[10Canyon53]

I’m surprised you fit in a Colorado. 😳

I will admit I do fit better in my Suburban. I think the reason I am able to fit in the Canyon is the split bench seat. If I had the bucket seats with the center console I would not fit. When the 2nd Gen first came out I sat in one and said "Nope".

 

[Unfettered]

Nice Build so far. I agree, at 6'3" I felt restricted in the 2nd gen Collies as well.

 

[10Canyon53]

Ok, lots to update. The solar panels went on.... two 100 watt solar panels from Harbor Freight.

I installed a solar charge controller and a 750 watt inverter from Harbor Freight and a fuse block/distribution panel from Amazon. The charge controller works well but is annoying because the alarm goes off randomly for no apparent reason. The inverter works well and I am very impressed with the performance of the solar panels. The fuse block/distribution panel? Nope, not impressed....at all. The Anderson plugs will not hold a connection unless you are physically holding them in just the right position. I am going to take the fuse block apart and see if I can convert to a different style of connection. If I can't I will have to find something else.

A little more fab work. I welded two square tubing crossbars on the rack between the solar panels and the tent.

Then I installed an Apache rifle case from Harbor Freight.

The case is a perfect fit for the tent walls for the OVS 270 degree awning.

The awning tent walls are something that I don't expect to need often, but when you need them, you really need them....and it is difficult to predict when you are going to need them. So I wanted a place to store them where I would always have them with me but they would be out of the way when I didn't need them.

On the back of the passenger side bedside box (electrical station and kitchen) I installed a rechargeable water pump from Amazon under the radio antenna mount.

Ran the tubing through the box and to the blue water barrel at the front of the bed. It holds 15 gallons and should be sufficient to last my wife and I three to four days off the grid. For longer trips I can add a second barrel and I have enough slack in the tubing to transfer it to the other barrel when needed.

The truck now has running water.

Next was a mounting system for the electric chainsaw under the driver side bedside box.

And now I have reached my limit of pictures for this post.....more pics to come in another post.

 

[10Canyon53]

Here is what the back of the truck currently looks like with the refrigerator and plastic folding tables in place. I plan to install a slide mount for the fridge but have not purchased it yet.

Got an ax and fire extinguisher mounted...

Got a shovel and three more Apache cases mounted on the other side....

The driver side bedside box is for recovery gear, leveling ramps, wheel chocks, spare belts/parts and fluids (oil, coolant, etc.) and a few hand tools that were not included in the 200+ piece tool set I picked up from Harbor Freight to keep in the truck (in the cab in the back seat). In the Apache cases I have....
Cordless impact gun, breaker bar and jack...

Air compressor, air-down kit and a plug kit...

And a pair of hip wading boots in case I need to test the depth of a water covered mud hole or other water crossing before diving in.

Still lots to do, but decided to take the truck on a day long shake down cruise in the Ocala National Forest yesterday.

So far I am impressed on how the truck is handling the extra weight both on and off-road. Hit some deep sugar sand and light mud holes, but nothing real challenging yet.

Stopped for lunch in the middle of nowhere. That OVS 270 degree awning wasn't cheap, but under yesterday's conditions (sunny and about 105 heat index) it was worth every penny we paid for it.

On the way out of the forest we were flagged down by a group of teens who attempted a mud hole in a two wheel drive Explorer. After they didn't make it through, they discovered that they didn't have cell service to call for help. They had been trying to get out for over an hour before we happened along. So I got to play with my recovery gear.

 

[FarmerNic]

Wow, the progress is amazing! You got such an awesome setup. For the extra weight up high on the back, have you thought about installing a rear sway bar like an OEM ZQ8, a Hellwig, or an Antirock setup? I'm not sure how hard the ZQ8/Hellwig setups would be to mount on a lifted Z71 vehicle, but the Antirock is a universal kit that can go anywhere and work with any axle setup.

 

[10Canyon53]

Wow, the progress is amazing! You got such an awesome setup. For the extra weight up high on the back, have you thought about installing a rear sway bar like an OEM ZQ8, a Hellwig, or an Antirock setup? I'm not sure how hard the ZQ8/Hellwig setups would be to mount on a lifted Z71 vehicle, but the Antirock is a universal kit that can go anywhere and work with any axle setup.

What I am actually considering is air shocks with independent air lines. That way I can level the truck and it should help keep the body roll under control. It's not bad now though because I have a Timbren helper spring kit installed.

 

[FarmerNic]

What I am actually considering is air shocks with independent air lines. That way I can level the truck and it should help keep the body roll under control. It's not bad now though because I have a Timbren helper spring kit installed.

oh that would be awesome! Nate from dirt lifestyle has a killer airbag setup on his land rover discovery, you can find it on youtube. He uses it to level the vehicle on-the-fly. its pretty cool.

 

[10Canyon53]

Set it up for a Labor Day backyard BBQ...

 

[FarmerNic]

Sorry to revive an old topic that you finish/closed out over a year ago, but I'm committing to getting a snorkel now after getting muddy water into my airbox and air filter this summer 🤣 luckily it stayed juuust below the inlet hose to the engine. But that was way too close for my comfort. I'm ready to pull the trigger on it from Ebay, but wanna make sure I got everything I need before ordering. Do you pics of the whole snorkel setup, like inside the fender and attaching to the airbox? I hear the fitment takes a little work. Were there any parts you needed that weren't included in the kit, like rubber pipes, adapters, clamps, etc?

 

[WV NATIVE]

Sorry to revive an old topic that you finish/closed out over a year ago, but I'm committing to getting a snorkel now after getting muddy water into my airbox and air filter this summer 🤣 luckily it stayed juuust below the inlet hose to the engine. But that was way too close for my comfort. I'm ready to pull the trigger on it from Ebay, but wanna make sure I got everything I need before ordering. Do you pics of the whole snorkel setup, like inside the fender and attaching to the airbox? I hear the fitment takes a little work. Were there any parts you needed that weren't included in the kit, like rubber pipes, adapters, clamps, etc?

Mine bolted right up. The template provided with the kit worked perfectly for me.
The hardest part is notching the fender flare. I ended up just removing mine and using flexy flares instead.

 

[10Canyon53]

Mine bolted right up. The template provided with the kit worked perfectly for me.
The hardest part is notching the fender flare. I ended up just removing mine and using flexy flares instead.

Agreed! The hardest part is notching the fender flare. I had a little more work to do in matching up to the air box inlet but that was due to a customization I had done to the air box a few years ago. If your air box inlet is still stock it should match right up.

 

[10Canyon53]

Agreed! The hardest part is notching the fender flare. I had a little more work to do in matching up to the air box inlet but that was due to a customization I had done to the air box a few years ago. If your air box inlet is still stock it should match right up.

Correction! There is one particular bolt that getting the nut started is harder than notching the fender flare. @WV NATIVE you know which one I am talking about. What turned out to be the answer for that one was having my daughter get it started (small hands are an advantage there).

 

[10Canyon53]

Getting ready to take the rig on its first test camp this coming Saturday night. They say to stay close to home at first due to the inevitable things you forgot possibly making you abort the mission......so the inaugural camp out with this rig will be in the back pasture of our 10 acres.....within sight of the house. I told my wife we would load everything up in the truck just like we were actually going somewhere before driving back to the pasture. Then we would deduct points every time we had to go the house, garage or barn for something we forgot.