Project Polar Bear: '89 V2500 Suburban

[Larry]

Looks good Larry. I have a grip of those to install in various places in my truck as well, but time has not allowed me to get to it yet--nor does it look like it will be in the near future either with Lance's truck coming in next weekend and all.

I find it kind of funny how things change. I loaded the truck tonight for an overnight tomorrow and I looked at the pile on the living room floor and had to laugh at the amount of stuff "needed" for an overnight anymore with just me and the boy. Ten years ago my wife an I would have thrown a sleeping bag in the truck, implements of self protection, maybe an air mattress and a cooler and been down the road. Now, granted, the comfort level has increased dramatically (I actually get some real good sleep in the truck now), but it sure seems to take a lot of "stuff" to do it.

I like those junction blocks as well. I tried ordering some awhile back from my guy at GM and found they were disco'd, so every time I go to the U-Steal-It yards I grab as many as I can find. Way cheaper there anyways.

What kind of fridge is Bill running??

Yeah, no kidding, we all become needier the older we get. Have fun on your overnighter. Wish I was going with you guys as I haven’t gone or done anything since we got back from the Expo in May. Not even a day fishing trip. It’s been crazy with the new baby and my mom being sick. The summer went by so quickly. Hell, the K10 hasn't even moved since you were here last.

Bill has the same fridge that I have except his has a little freezer that takes up a little refrigerator space.

Don’t scratch Lance’s fresh paint! What is it getting, a transmission or engina….or both? A little lift would do that Burb some good too. The new paint job in his rig looks great

 

[pma4x4]

Looking good Larry. Those junction blocks could come in handy, Maybe I should go the local pick n pull and grab a pile of them.

 

[Larry]

Thanks! For sure, even on dry runs to the junkyard I always come home with a toolbox full of light bulbs, fuses and junction blocks to make trips worthwhile. It’s handy to have that stuff in stock

 

[cyclic]

I've gotten away from those junction blocks, I now use ANL fuse holders in the same way. You can fuse them with high amps and it works like a straight block until you get a direct short. Protecting the wires and truck from death. Also the blocks generally support up to 0 ga wires or multiple wires. Lots of styles and even some multi-ANL blocks out there.

 

[Larry]

I've gotten away from those junction blocks, I now use ANL fuse holders in the same way. You can fuse them with high amps and it works like a straight block until you get a direct short. Protecting the wires and truck from death. Also the blocks generally support up to 0 ga wires or multiple wires. Lots of styles and even some multi-ANL blocks out there.

Yeah, those ANL fuse holders are cool and look robust for heavy duty loads but my motto is to use as many factory parts and pieces to maintain a factory appearance as often as possible. Like the ole saying, “Keep your GM Truck all GM”. Ever notice aftermarket pieces are the first thing to give you fits on the trail? That’s been my experience anyway. The GM factory junction blocks are perfect for just running power to the cargo area as I am not pulling big Amps. The refrigerator only pulls 2.5 running Amps and has a built in fuse at 7.5 Amps plus the install of the power supply looks factory

 

[y5mgisi]

Not to mention, the GM ones are usually free

 

[mosesburb]

Yeah, no kidding, we all become needier the older we get. Have fun on your overnighter. Wish I was going with you guys as I haven’t gone or done anything since we got back from the Expo in May. Not even a day fishing trip. It’s been crazy with the new baby and my mom being sick. The summer went by so quickly. Hell, the K10 hasn't even moved since you were here last.

I have found once you have kids time moves at an exponential rate compared to before.

It was a great trip. The heater got used and we were nice and comfy. Did some hiking this morning with Mark after Lance and a few others cut out. Real nice day. It was needed.

Bill has the same fridge that I have except his has a little freezer that takes up a little refrigerator space.

Ah. I still remember when we got to the end of the trail by Young and he whips out ice cream bars!! I couldn't figure out how he had those because I knew he transported chicken that wasn't frozen. That is a sweet deal there. Not sure I could do with the diminished volume, but I would be tempted for ice cream at the end of a hot day....

Don’t scratch Lance’s fresh paint! What is it getting, a transmission or engina….or both? A little lift would do that Burb some good too. The new paint job in his rig looks great

His wife beat us to the scratching . Next weekend it comes in for a 700R4/208 fixed yoke and my old 3/4T axles. He bought my 3/4T axles from the guy I sold them to and had ARB's installed in them. D44HD with disc brakes and a 14FF with 13x2-1/2 drums. It will stop fantastic compared to the small four wheel drums he's running now. It is going in for custom leaf packs on Tuesday. 2-3" lift. Soft and flexible. Should be a completely different truck in a couple weeks.

 

[Larry]

Cool, major upgrades have been long time coming for Lance’s Burb. He will appreciate having overdrive and the deeper 4lo with the 208 mated to the 700R4. Can’t wait to see it when you are all done. BTW…Bill and I are starting on plans for the week after OX14. Try to keep that week after OX open….More coming later. We’ll see if he actually sticks to a plan for a change. The last two big trips were made to accommodate his schedule then he Petered out on both at the last minute

 

[mosesburb]

We're out for the week after OX. Everybody is still in school. We had to do some sweet-talking to get the boy out of school early on the Friday we came up this year. We are loosely working on a trip right after school gets out though, but will probably miss your deal by a couple weeks.

 

[Larry]

Bummer….that might be for the best though as where we are going might be a bit much for the family. We’ll probably be off the grid and living out of the trucks (no hotels, no restaurants, etc.) for 3 to 5 days straight after we've already camped for 3 nights at Expo. The nearest town will be Moab and that is over 150 miles away. It would be like Hole in the Rock but 20 times longer and 50 times more isolated. Check out my Desert Trip 2010 pictures, that is where we are going again. The Maze District. You know me, I would rather go out there in July though. May will be too cold for my blood

 

[mosesburb]

I really want to go there, but yeah, not in July. There is some amazing scenery there. I think the boy is coming around to extended trail and camping. He was bummed we only camped one night up at WFA. That's a good sign. Start your girl early. You'll have her grandma on your side :-).

 

[Larry]

We made our little fall color day trip attempt to the Sand Dunes today via Medano Pass. No dice, gate was closed due to the government going out of business. We still made a fun trip of it by taking several back trails to work our way back home. The fall views were beautiful.

Loaded up Saturday night

Yep, closed. Sorry kids, Wally World is closed

So we hit some side attractions and went over Greenhorn to get home

And one GoPro of the only spot all day where 4low was required

 

[Big Ray]

Sooo beautiful out there...

 

[noJeepshere]

Pretty country for sure.

I'm about to take some bolt cutters to all the gates and burn the signs.

 

[Smokinthehippies]

should be a sign that says, government not needed to enjoy dirt and trees.

park open to all until retards handle their business

 

[pma4x4]

Larry Keep me posted on your OX14 plans We are still open to dates and times on going there. Its only 4hrs north for us. We were thinking of going north to Utah after OX14.

 

[muddysub]

What are the dates for ox14? If my sub is running by them I'd love to go.

 

[Larry]

Larry Keep me posted on your OX14 plans We are still open to dates and times on going there. Its only 4hrs north for us. We were thinking of going north to Utah after OX14.

Will do. Once the Government reopens I need to call to see how many vehicles in a group can go into the Maze at once to make our reservations. I thought it was 4 vehicles in each party. If that is the case, we are already over by 1 vehicle in our party (2 from CO, 2 from CA and 1 from AZ). I’ll let you know. There are only a handful of campsites in the Maze District and they only allow a handful of vehicles into each campsite at once. Have you ever been in the Maze? It is awesome and remote as hell! You must also pack your own human waste out and everthing (Can't even bury it). There are no facilities at all unlike the White Rim Trail where there are restrooms throughout the trail. Here are some pictures of the Maze District from our 2010 trip. The first pictures are of the Hole in the Rock trail then the Maze pictures start at the Hite Marina pictures about halfway down the Flickr set. We didn't see a sole in the Maze for 3 days . We took 2 days to get in there then the last day we drove straight out from Ekker Butte to the Hite marina, which was over 8 straight hours of off-roading. Once at Hite (which is still in the middle of nowhere) it was another 150 miles to Moab. The place is remote! Even more remote than Death Valley. You don't want to break down there or break an ankle that is for sure. No cell service either but we carry a SPOT GPS just in case we ever needed to send a help message. I imagine the week after OX there will be others out there though.

What are the dates for ox14? If my sub is running by them I'd love to go.

The Overland Expo is May 16-18, 2014 at Mormon Lake just south of Flagstaff. http://www.overlandexpo.com/

 

[pma4x4]

I will check into it more and we are used to "remote as hell"

 

[Larry]

I will check into it more and we are used to "remote as hell"

Really? I must have missed a bunch of your trip reports from remote as hell