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82 stepside. Thoughts and crazy ideas

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Having done a road trip with an old truck recently.... get what it needs done, done and then drive it, a lot. Take some highway trips, get stuck in traffic, go over everything and then when it works don't change anything before the trip.
I swapped engines a couple days before driving to wyoming, pulling all our belongings with a uhaul trailer. It over heated a bunch, broke a belt before leaving our home town, and got deathwobble a bunch.
Doing a halfa$$ fix before leaving bit us moving back a couple months later when I forgot about it.
 
Chickntrk said:
Being from PA and having made the trip for BB 22 I can tell you that as Wade put it "the trip west of Kansas is worth it alone".

A few things I learned:
The traction is insane, youll climb things in Moab that would be impossible in our part of the country
Take what you have and enjoy, like everyone said you don't need as much truck as you think
Did I mention the traction.....

Having had a Jeep Rubicon I can tell you that the limited slip/locker combo in it wasn't that nice, it had a hard time locking if you couldn't move a wheel and the limited slip grenanded inside the locker unit making it almost impossible to repair one without the other and a replacement is $1500. I took out the whole thing and now have a lock right.
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I was hoping you’d chime in with your experience. You had a similar drive to what he’s got in front of him.

The drive into the Rockies is fun so try to plan on hitting it in the daylight. You miss some great views if you cross it in the dark.

But there are some good pulls in the mountains to go up and down so make sure you got the power to pull the trailer and the way to stop it on the downhill. Trailer brake controller would be a must.
 
ZooMad75 said:
I was hoping you’d chime in with your experience. You had a similar drive to what he’s got in front of him.

The drive into the Rockies is fun so try to plan on hitting it in the daylight. You miss some great views if you cross it in the dark.

But there are some good pulls in the mountains to go up and down so make sure you got the power to pull the trailer and the way to stop it on the downhill. Trailer brake controller would be a must.
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I agree, hit Colorado in the daylight if you can, my gf and I stayed in Colorado and visited ORD while we were there then made the trek into Moab the following morning. I know everyone is different but I did the drive out in 3 days doing 10 hours a day because I didn’t want to be a zombie for BB….some people prefer straight thru driving.

As the date gets closer and if your interested hit me up, maybe we can travel out together.
 
Like I said before, I tend to over think things. My truck works good in the loose sand here in Jersey. So it should be just fine out from you guys are telling me.

Maintenance and basic repairs on a few items. The truck has been my daily for the last year. So summer heat in stop and go traffic has been tested.

I have a brake controller so all good with that. As for power. Well it's a 6.2td with intercooler. So, no speed records will be set. But it'll do just fine.

As for the drive out and back. I have an Uncle in Omaha that we may try to stop and visit. I'd like to stop by ORD basically just because why not.

I'm planning for the 10 hours of actual driving. It's a long ride and with a trailer, it can beat you up.
Getting the trailer empty and ready will be the bigger task. At the moment.
 
I think the plan for a 4500 would be a welcome choice for the drive out on the highway and on the trails. You'll be able to keep the oil burner and turbski where you want it on the highway climbs without the 700 picking the wrong gear or trying to hold one too long. On the trail, you'll have a little more control in gearing with the 4500 too.

I love my 4500 for all those reasons and more.
 
The 700 is my biggest concern. Yes it's had a fresh rebuild, I have around 9k miles on it. It works just fine. It is setup to only lockup in 4th. Which will probably suck in the mountains, with no 3rd gear lockup.
I'm not worried about rpms in the engine. The injection pump I have is a marine one set for 4500rpms. So sitting at say 3000 for a hill climb will do nothing but kill fuel mileage.


I've toyed with the idea of a 6L80 swap. But between the trans, a decent rebuild, stand-alone harness, and tuning. It's just way too much.
A 4L80 would be an easier swap vs the 4500. Cost I'm thinking would be a wash either way.
Biggest downside to the 4500, my girlfriend can't drive it. She's never driven my stepside. Let alone with a trailer. And she hasn't learn to drive stick, yet.

I like driving but doing all 4400 miles in 10 days solo would be interesting to say the least. I don't expect her to drive much. But on the highway, in the plains. Would be nice if she did for a little while.

Now a 4L80 would require fewer secondary changes since it's an auto to auto swap.

But I've always wanted a stick.

decisions.
 
This is what I mean by secondary items.20221005_065055.jpg

The switch panel maybe to stay in the same spot. But I'm 99% sure that the gauges will have to move. If going with a 5spd.
And yes, I carry too much crap in the cab. The regular cab life for ya :haha:.
 
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When I did my gauge swap in the factory dash a while back, I installed a switch for the temp gauge. So while it is normally engine coolant temp, when I flip the SPDT switch (shown in the bottom left next to the wiper switch, it changes the sending unit to a 2nd sending unit I bought from autometer I installed in the trans pan. Thus my temp gauge is also a trans temp gauge when I want to check trans temp. I could of installed a SPTT switch and also put a oil temp sending unit it.

The reason I am saying this is because is I have 7 gauges in 6 spots, could easily be 8. If you were to buy some of those multi gauge setups like they have now(like Wade put in the Fugly Duckling), you could fit 10 - 12 gauges in the 6 spots. This would eliminate your gauges on the floor.

Or one of those programmable digital dashes like Holley or Autometer sells are even more versatile, but way more expensive.

Here is how I did it..



gauges.jpg
 
KirsL said:
This is what I mean by secondary items.View attachment 427603

The switch panel maybe to stay in the same spot. But I'm 99% sure that the gauges will have to move. If going with a 5spd.
And yes, I carry too much crap in the cab. The regular can life for ya :haha:.
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LOL I get those Wypall towels at work and have a box or two in every vehicle.
 
folkenheath said:
When I did my gauge swap in the factory dash a while back, I installed a switch for the temp gauge. So while it is normally engine coolant temp, when I flip the SPDT switch (shown in the bottom left next to the wiper switch, it changes the sending unit to a 2nd sending unit I bought from autometer I installed in the trans pan. Thus my temp gauge is also a trans temp gauge when I want to check trans temp. I could of installed a SPTT switch and also put a oil temp sending unit it.

The reason I am saying this is because is I have 7 gauges in 6 spots, could easily be 8. If you were to buy some of those multi gauge setups like they have now(like Wade put in the Fugly Duckling), you could fit 10 - 12 gauges in the 6 spots. This would eliminate your gauges on the floor.

Or one of those programmable digital dashes like Holley or Autometer sells are even more versatile, but way more expensive.

Here is how I did it..



gauges.jpg
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So many options with gauges. I should definitely do something as the stock cluster is the original and it works as well as 40 year electronics do. The values are more of a suggestion then accurate, lol.

Whatever I do I want to keep the look stockish. So the full digital stuff is out.

I like the Dakota digital stuff and it can be set for a diesel which is nice.

I'll have to look through your thread to see what you did.
 
Oh and I'm sure some where wondering and others weren't. This is the nest inside said box.20220924_094308.jpg

Cleaning up all this, not even before this trip, would be nice. But not a small task.
Unless I go with a different controller. I want to added plugs where all this mess passes through the box and the firewall. Just to be cleaner looking.
 
Booked a deluxe cabin this evening.
Even though I'm on medication for my Ulcerative colitis. Having a private bathroom is a huge plus.


Plus we're debating the trailer part. 50/50 if we do or not.
 
Given the time of year you’ll be traveling I’d bring a tent over a converted cargo trailer where ventilation would be less than ideal. At least with a tent you’ll have ventilation.

Or look for KOA campgrounds and get a cabin at them along the way.

I love my camper but even with every window open and the back door open when it was still 80degrees at night it was hard to sleep.
 
That's pretty much what I'm thinking too.

Plenty of options for sleeping on the trip there and back.

Plus the time and effort to make it comfortable can be better spent going over the truck itself.
 
Oh the truck will be way happier without it lol.

Yep. Main reason for considering bringing it is my girlfriend. She's not used to tent camping. And it has to do with security. But she did grow up in Philly, so she's used to locking everything up tight.

She's used to four solid walls when sleeping.
 
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