CK5
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'91 K5 Four Wheel Camper
This is the build for my 1991 V1500 Blazer, AKA the K5.3. It started out life being sold to the U.S. Government with a 350 TBI/700r4/241 combo. 4 years with a 5.3/700r4 Combo and now moving to an 8.1L Vortec and NV4500 5-speed.
So what you guys are saying is I should clean the part prior to painting?
Yep my cleanup was sub par. I'll check with my body guys at work for some prep wipes or what they use back there.
Day 4 of the 2018 trip on the tubes
I needed to get something finished. I peeled the chrome off of the headlight bezels over a year ago. The grille was less than cooperative in removing the chrome. So I stalled out on it. After failing on my first attempt at painting the bezels I sought help. I only asked my lead body shop dude at work for some pointers as to what I did wrong. He told me and said, just bring them in. He'd squirt them in the booth after cleaning them up.
I jumped at it. I just lack the ability to lay Paint smooth on body parts. Chassis, axle or suspension bits I'm fine with but just suck when it needs to be smooth.
So the body shop comes to the rescue.
Satin black. One more coat to go. He even fixed a couple of issues before priming. He did mask off the bowtie for the contrast, but he said that there is a surprise to that one. Hmmm...
I jumped at it. I just lack the ability to lay Paint smooth on body parts. Chassis, axle or suspension bits I'm fine with but just suck when it needs to be smooth.
So the body shop comes to the rescue.
Satin black. One more coat to go. He even fixed a couple of issues before priming. He did mask off the bowtie for the contrast, but he said that there is a surprise to that one. Hmmm...
The boys got the grille and bezels finished and brought them home. Figured I'd get them on and see how it looks.
Looks decent to me. It's a lot better with them matching. When we finally paint the truck, I might go body color on the surround and grille bar with argent for the rest of the grille in the center. But for now it's ok to me.
Looks decent to me. It's a lot better with them matching. When we finally paint the truck, I might go body color on the surround and grille bar with argent for the rest of the grille in the center. But for now it's ok to me.
Or find a nice stock one.
Martin
Martin
I will confess, it looks a lot better than I thought it would. I wasn't sure the all black would look good, but I like it on there.
We'll see how long the paint lasts. We will be putting 2500 miles on it in a month. If it survives the highway, bugs and stone chips I'll be surprised.
If not, I'll do something else.
The old pig needed new lipstick anyway.
If not, I'll do something else.
The old pig needed new lipstick anyway.
I like the all black grille.
We ran our pre-desert trip validation run today. The original plan was to do an overnighter. With the recent weather in the high country and other changes in others plans the overnight idea got scrapped. We decided to do a day run up to our normal new years day snow run stomping grounds. It would give a good mix of highway, dirt/washboard and with the weather mud and snow too.
The group was our buddy Bill in his Taco, John in the TJ and Ian with is almost finished CUCV Blazer running the standard Larry issue 8.1/nv4500 and me with my K5. Ian's ride has been a work in process for 3 years at least now. Today was the first major shakedown. He's ridden shotgun with me the last two years but is now ready to pilot his own ride. It's pretty close but still needing some wiring gremlins eliminated as he's got one headlight working and only the voltgauge on the cluster working. But the drivetrain was on point today. Outrunning me up a large hill in 5th gear on the interstate on the way down proved that.
Once the gravel turned to dirt we realized we were in for a mess today. The road was wet and gooey as brownie batter. Ian and I both are running Wrangler Duratracs and we both found they balled up heavy. We never seemed to stop moving, but we did slide around a bit.
It was into this muck Ian felt the brake pedal get soft on him. He quickly found one of the hardlines on the rear axle got tweaked when he was adjusting the backlash the other day. Tightening the line didn't change anything so we pressed on with him using his trans to help slow down, but the front brakes were unaffected.
We got into snow above 9500 ft of elevation. Some spots were still pretty deep on the edges. Everybody but John in the Jeep got stuck enough to require help to get out. But we gained another 1000 ft up and found some deep snow everywhere. Bill was leading the way and went right at a fork and made it 50 ft and buried it to the rockers. We got him unstuck and he took another try to only get stuck again. Ian lined up for the extraction.
Did I mention it was muddy? John's yellow jeep was turning brown fast on this run.
During Bill's rescue Ian noticed the voltmeter was riding low. He shut the engine off and upon restarting it wouldn't crank. After some inspection I found the terminal for the field wire at the alternator plug had backed out of the connector. This kind of stuff is the reason we do this. So we don't have to do it in the middle of a 2500 mile road trip. We got it fixed up and the gauge came back up where it needed to be. We all ate lunch and tried to get further up the trail which didn't work out too well.
I got out ahead to break trail and got a good 1/2 mile in where I hit a wall of hard packed snow. High centered the whole rig on the frame. It was a solid 2 1/2 feet deep there and packed hard enough I could stand on it without breaking through. We tried to get Ian up to help me since he had more mass/hp to yank me out but he managed to get stuck too. Bill rescued him.
John was able to get to me and tried the snatch strap and it wouldn't budge my stuck ride from the snow. So we broke out his winch and even with his brakes locked up, just pulled his jeep to me. We needed more weight. Bill made his way up and we strapped the Taco to the Jeep. Some slow action with the winch finally popped me out.
It's deeper than it looks.
We wisely backtracked and made our way down the mountain and headed home before it got dark. It was a good run. Ian found a couple issues that could have been bigger on the road. He's got a week off before the trip to get the kinks worked out. Mine did fine, but I have to bolt the bench down. The rough road had it moving around back there. Plus the lid needs some kind of latch to lock it down and keep it from rattling. Otherwise it's in need of a good cleaning and it's ready to go.
The group was our buddy Bill in his Taco, John in the TJ and Ian with is almost finished CUCV Blazer running the standard Larry issue 8.1/nv4500 and me with my K5. Ian's ride has been a work in process for 3 years at least now. Today was the first major shakedown. He's ridden shotgun with me the last two years but is now ready to pilot his own ride. It's pretty close but still needing some wiring gremlins eliminated as he's got one headlight working and only the voltgauge on the cluster working. But the drivetrain was on point today. Outrunning me up a large hill in 5th gear on the interstate on the way down proved that.
Once the gravel turned to dirt we realized we were in for a mess today. The road was wet and gooey as brownie batter. Ian and I both are running Wrangler Duratracs and we both found they balled up heavy. We never seemed to stop moving, but we did slide around a bit.
It was into this muck Ian felt the brake pedal get soft on him. He quickly found one of the hardlines on the rear axle got tweaked when he was adjusting the backlash the other day. Tightening the line didn't change anything so we pressed on with him using his trans to help slow down, but the front brakes were unaffected.
We got into snow above 9500 ft of elevation. Some spots were still pretty deep on the edges. Everybody but John in the Jeep got stuck enough to require help to get out. But we gained another 1000 ft up and found some deep snow everywhere. Bill was leading the way and went right at a fork and made it 50 ft and buried it to the rockers. We got him unstuck and he took another try to only get stuck again. Ian lined up for the extraction.
Did I mention it was muddy? John's yellow jeep was turning brown fast on this run.
During Bill's rescue Ian noticed the voltmeter was riding low. He shut the engine off and upon restarting it wouldn't crank. After some inspection I found the terminal for the field wire at the alternator plug had backed out of the connector. This kind of stuff is the reason we do this. So we don't have to do it in the middle of a 2500 mile road trip. We got it fixed up and the gauge came back up where it needed to be. We all ate lunch and tried to get further up the trail which didn't work out too well.
I got out ahead to break trail and got a good 1/2 mile in where I hit a wall of hard packed snow. High centered the whole rig on the frame. It was a solid 2 1/2 feet deep there and packed hard enough I could stand on it without breaking through. We tried to get Ian up to help me since he had more mass/hp to yank me out but he managed to get stuck too. Bill rescued him.
John was able to get to me and tried the snatch strap and it wouldn't budge my stuck ride from the snow. So we broke out his winch and even with his brakes locked up, just pulled his jeep to me. We needed more weight. Bill made his way up and we strapped the Taco to the Jeep. Some slow action with the winch finally popped me out.
It's deeper than it looks.
We wisely backtracked and made our way down the mountain and headed home before it got dark. It was a good run. Ian found a couple issues that could have been bigger on the road. He's got a week off before the trip to get the kinks worked out. Mine did fine, but I have to bolt the bench down. The rough road had it moving around back there. Plus the lid needs some kind of latch to lock it down and keep it from rattling. Otherwise it's in need of a good cleaning and it's ready to go.
I missed putting in the pic showing me really stuck. This was not fluffy powder or I would have busted right through. It felt like I hit a wall when it stopped.
Great pictures and write up. I think you ran into wet heavy Midwest snow.
Great pictures and write up. I think you ran into wet heavy Midwest snow.
Thanks! I've been through the heavy midwest snow. This stuff was high elevation almost glacial in hardness. Kind of a byproduct of minimal melt off in the sun but still high enough to still freeze at night. Turns it to a solid mass hard enough to park a truck on. We encountered a drift of the same hard snow on the validation run 2 years ago. It was solid enough to hold the weight of one corner of Larry's 8,000 pound K10. It would not crush.
The stoppage in progress was natures way of telling us to go back if there ever was one. Since we had scrapped the plans to stay overnight up there none of us were ready for the prospect of staying up there.
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@Fastereddie we need to plan something like this. Maybe do the old rally course around the state?
Do it!
Mud is the big problem with spring trail running.
It was fun but I hate the clean up. Spent $15 at the car wash and still didn't get it all. What I did get splashed back on me from head to toe. So I had to take a shower when I got back. I've got some chunks to still knock off in spots.
Bill and I got some stuff done yesterday to get ready for the Desert trip. One thing need was getting the plate mounted. I picked up a bright ass LED light for it off of Amazon too. Drilled and tapped the holes for 1/4" fasteners and repurposed the wire off of the stock plate light to wire it in.
Yes, I have to renew my tags this month too.
But the light is bright as hell in the dark. I need to add some LED's for the backup lights to keep up. That's not the flash reflecting off of the plate, it's the brightness washing out the image.
The last major addition is the jerry can rack. Since we were not going to make another swingout for now, we went with a bolt-on approach. The goal was being able to carry 3 cans. Without swinging, one can would be in front of the door if we stacked them in pointing front to back. So we turned the cans 90 degrees to find the space between the door and the taillight was a couple inch wider that the width of the cans. We could stack them in this way and put three in there and have them only hang slightly pass the spare tire.
Bill added a gusset under the center to help with the weight at the edge. The main attachment to the bumper you can see here is a C-channel Bill built to the exact inside dimension to fit snugly over the main bumper. We drilled a couple of holes to match on the bumper and locked it down with some grade 8 hardware.
We added a couple of weld on D-rings to allow the use of a ratchet strap to tie the cans down. Pretty simple and strong.
I also put some of the video together from last weekend's validation run.
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" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Yes, I have to renew my tags this month too.
But the light is bright as hell in the dark. I need to add some LED's for the backup lights to keep up. That's not the flash reflecting off of the plate, it's the brightness washing out the image.
The last major addition is the jerry can rack. Since we were not going to make another swingout for now, we went with a bolt-on approach. The goal was being able to carry 3 cans. Without swinging, one can would be in front of the door if we stacked them in pointing front to back. So we turned the cans 90 degrees to find the space between the door and the taillight was a couple inch wider that the width of the cans. We could stack them in this way and put three in there and have them only hang slightly pass the spare tire.
Bill added a gusset under the center to help with the weight at the edge. The main attachment to the bumper you can see here is a C-channel Bill built to the exact inside dimension to fit snugly over the main bumper. We drilled a couple of holes to match on the bumper and locked it down with some grade 8 hardware.
We added a couple of weld on D-rings to allow the use of a ratchet strap to tie the cans down. Pretty simple and strong.
I also put some of the video together from last weekend's validation run.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="
Today I rectified the issues with the new bench. It rattled from all the supports for the added fold out as well as the fold-out section and the main lid too. It had rattled on the street, but the time off pavement really illustrated the need to put a stop to it. Plus not securing the box down allowed it to shift on the floor.
So here's what I did. I added some rubber "T" latches, similar to what's found on some coolers now. TI also wo to the main lid and two to the fold-out section.
I also reconfigured the supports for the fold-out section. Sitting on top like they were added to the noise. I pulled them off and moved them to the side of the bench to fold out. I also added one of the T latches to the main two cabinet doors as they could flop open on rough stuff.
The fold-out section supports still work, but now fold out from the side and tuck in tight under the lid when closed. I've still got room for the cooler with the section out too. So I don't have to pull the cooler to fold it out.
I also added felt pads where the lid closes to so that it adds to quieting the rattle down.
So here's what I did. I added some rubber "T" latches, similar to what's found on some coolers now. TI also wo to the main lid and two to the fold-out section.
I also reconfigured the supports for the fold-out section. Sitting on top like they were added to the noise. I pulled them off and moved them to the side of the bench to fold out. I also added one of the T latches to the main two cabinet doors as they could flop open on rough stuff.
The fold-out section supports still work, but now fold out from the side and tuck in tight under the lid when closed. I've still got room for the cooler with the section out too. So I don't have to pull the cooler to fold it out.
I also added felt pads where the lid closes to so that it adds to quieting the rattle down.
Prep is pretty well done for the trip. I re-organized the camper storage with the new bench. Goal for packing is not having to completely unpack at camp. Things I need to carry but don't need daily access to go in the bench. Tools, spare fluids, camping gear, extra case of water go in that category. Stove got relocated from inside the bench to being stowed on the top of the cabinet. It's locked down with bungee cords and quickly accessible without unpacking or lifting the top up. I was planning on bringing two 55 quart Lifetime (USA built yeti knock-offs) for the food and drinks. One of which would be coming out at camp. However, the plan got changed with one of the other dudes on the trip coming from California selling me his 50L ARB fridge. One Lifetime cooler will still come to carry the food, frozen water and keep some beer cold. I'll load the fridge on Sunday when we meet up with him. Total gamechanger.
I've already got power and tie-down points from using Ian's snomaster fridge last year so I'm ready to fly with this one once we load it. Not having to worry about ice is great.
The cooking gear has been consolidated into one pelican case. Griddle/grille fits, all cooking utensils, one pot and an 8" cast iron skillet fit with spices, dish soap, 2 stainless steel plates, collapsible bowls, paper plates and bowls, collapsible bucket for cleaning dishes, dish towels and paper towels. Dubbed the chuck box, it will be the last thing loaded and the first thing out at camp. The pelican case is sealed fully to dust and water so sitting out at camp is fine. Last year I had stuff in two totes in two different spots and a good chunk of stuff had to be moved to access it. Not this time.
Oh and the big news is the target has changed. Late last week we had poor condition reports of the entire Black Rock Desert area. Ranger district out of Winnemucca was very negative on thoughts of driving on the playa surface due to recent rains and also due to the rains the creeks running in the canyons were running pretty high and eroded at trail crossings. One of our group checked in with a local wheeling group from northern CA and NW Nevada and they mirrored the Ranger's description. They told him it's not wise to travel and not to be "those guys" that tear it up badly. The forecast looks ugly with cooler temps and higher chances of rain up there too. Seems like it's were our wet spring has come from here in Colorado. Since one of the goals of the desert trip is escaping winter by getting into hot desert climate we don't want to deal with rain, mud and cold. In this case we looked at Central Utah and the San Rafael Swell, but the forecast was bleak there too. So our final move is to Death Valley.
110* daytime temps on the valley floor are forecasted, no rain since it is one of the driest places on earth. Plus it shaves a full day of travel to get there. The new plan is roll out at 6:00 Sat, west on HWY 50 to Grand Junction, then I-70 to I-15 and stop in Mesquite NV for the night and be in DV by lunch Sunday.
Truck is 80% loaded at the moment. Just need the cooler, Duffel bag and food thrown in to be ready. That will be done Friday night.
New Trasharoo installed (old one broke a strap and fell off), larger tire installed for the spare and test fitting the water cans in the rack.
So ready to go.
I've already got power and tie-down points from using Ian's snomaster fridge last year so I'm ready to fly with this one once we load it. Not having to worry about ice is great.
The cooking gear has been consolidated into one pelican case. Griddle/grille fits, all cooking utensils, one pot and an 8" cast iron skillet fit with spices, dish soap, 2 stainless steel plates, collapsible bowls, paper plates and bowls, collapsible bucket for cleaning dishes, dish towels and paper towels. Dubbed the chuck box, it will be the last thing loaded and the first thing out at camp. The pelican case is sealed fully to dust and water so sitting out at camp is fine. Last year I had stuff in two totes in two different spots and a good chunk of stuff had to be moved to access it. Not this time.
Oh and the big news is the target has changed. Late last week we had poor condition reports of the entire Black Rock Desert area. Ranger district out of Winnemucca was very negative on thoughts of driving on the playa surface due to recent rains and also due to the rains the creeks running in the canyons were running pretty high and eroded at trail crossings. One of our group checked in with a local wheeling group from northern CA and NW Nevada and they mirrored the Ranger's description. They told him it's not wise to travel and not to be "those guys" that tear it up badly. The forecast looks ugly with cooler temps and higher chances of rain up there too. Seems like it's were our wet spring has come from here in Colorado. Since one of the goals of the desert trip is escaping winter by getting into hot desert climate we don't want to deal with rain, mud and cold. In this case we looked at Central Utah and the San Rafael Swell, but the forecast was bleak there too. So our final move is to Death Valley.
110* daytime temps on the valley floor are forecasted, no rain since it is one of the driest places on earth. Plus it shaves a full day of travel to get there. The new plan is roll out at 6:00 Sat, west on HWY 50 to Grand Junction, then I-70 to I-15 and stop in Mesquite NV for the night and be in DV by lunch Sunday.
Truck is 80% loaded at the moment. Just need the cooler, Duffel bag and food thrown in to be ready. That will be done Friday night.
New Trasharoo installed (old one broke a strap and fell off), larger tire installed for the spare and test fitting the water cans in the rack.
So ready to go.
