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89 Suburban - The Canyonero: Rear Suspension Time!

Budget friendly build for General off-roading with an emphasis on camping and self reliability featuring a host of self-built, DIY mods.
If you follow any overlanding stuff on Instagram it seems like all the California overlanders seem to congregate at Alabama Hills. Like they go there either one time and keep posting pics from it all the time or the actually just go there. I figured they just went out to pose and fake it for the 'gram. It's funny you actually hit the trails and didn't see anybody out there.

Going out for a month had to be a blast for sure. I'll be heading out next month for a week with some friends and we will be following somewhat in your footsteps some. Main targets for our run will be the Mojave Rd and Death Valley. Should be fun.

I really liked Goler wash and mengel pass. It’s cool to be way out there and see all the ruins. Also, I know what you mean about the overlanders. I know there is a lot more to Cali than Alabama Hills, but it truly is where they all seem to go.
 
No shower you would survive, not sure the wife would next to you though.
and the 13 days without a shower :)

It wasn’t 13 in a row, lol. Max of 5. We brought a shower and it worked great! But it takes about 4 gallons for the both of us to get clean so we had to pack extra water. The dogs consume a ton of water too. We have two 5 gallon jugs and when we planned for a shower, I’d fill up a homer bucket with a gamma lid. No leaks for two days of straight off roading in Lockhart Basin.
 
So I bought a winch and bumper for $250. It’s a Ramsey re12000 with a Ramsey bumper. It’s made for obs vehicles, so I don’t think it’ll fit the Canyonero without mods...we will see...the frame mounts are too wide. The bumper was mostly just a bonus. I’ve never owned a winch, and I’m excited to freshen it up. I don’t know why, but I really like buying things that need work!
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Getting it torn down.
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I’d say it’s been sitting a minute, lol.
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Is this considered kinked? Also, is it normal to not have thimble on that loop?
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A decent amount of corrosion to clean up...
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The seller said the solenoids were bad, but they tested good. I imagine the corrosion played a factor.
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I also replaced my driver side rear glass. It’s been cracked since I bought it and the moisture is seeping between the panes. It wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be.

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Just pry the corner piece and pull out the rubber support strip. I used soapy water the whole time to help.
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I anchored some para cord inside and pulled to get the window out of the channel.
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All gone! If I have any issues again, I might make this a utility door like some camper shells.
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Reverse of removal, but installation was slow! I used a plastic ruler to manipulate the stripping over the glass. It took two people, but 3 would have been nice.
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Otherwise The Canyonero has been running well as my daily, and we have just been on a few camping trips since the big trip.

Gifford-Pinchot featuring Mt Adams. The flies destroyed us and we left after one night, lol. I was going insane!!
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I love how The Canyonero can swallow a kayak. I don’t love how it smelled after pulling it out of the sound.
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Camping in the Olympic NF
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Great thread! Love the pics of your trips! I am a few hours north of you in WA.
 
So it’s been awhile since I’ve updated so I’ll tell you about what I recently acquired and my next set of plans. I have done a little bit of parts collecting and this winter will be catching up on projects. I’m building a water can holder for the bumper, retrofitting town and country seats for the front, building a center console with sub box, fixing my cracked fenders, rebuilding the winch and modifying the bumper to fit...and maybe a few other little things.

In order to do these projects, I have needed and been wanting a welder forever. Finally got one! I hunted for a long time to find a good deal on what I wanted. For $800, I got a Miller 211, a big bottle of c25, consumables, wire, gloves, jacket, cheap hood, an oxy-acetylene set-up, and a few other odds and ends. I’m pretty stoked about it. The welder works great! Haven’t messed with the OA yet but it was a bonus. I plan to build an extension cord for the 230v outlet, but the 120v plug works well for the thinner stuff. The Canyonero itself is still running like a champ!
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There is some calendar worthy shocks from your last trip.. my god that is beautiful!

And congrats on the new welding rig!!
 
The coleman cable extension cords are pretty good for the money. Been using one on the 252 with no problem. I think it was $60-65
 
You’re build is pretty awesome. Love the multipurpose expedition-type focus. And I’m probably going to borrow some ideas from you on that spare tire/ bumper carrier. It’s exactly what I need for mine. Keep up the good work!

Andy
 

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