Time to ditch front leafs
But my front axle would fall off....
Yeah, coils should be considered at some point. When will the DIY4x 4-link kit be available?
CK5
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Setting up for Expeditions
- Thread starter Blue85
- Start date
But my front axle would fall off....
Yeah, coils should be considered at some point. When will the DIY4x 4-link kit be available?
Look, I'm resurrecting my own old thread. I found it while searching for something else.
After this trip, I swapped out the front EZ-rides and Gabriel shocks for ORD custom front leaves and Bilstein 5150 shocks. The stock rear springs remain. On the 2012 trip, there was no problem keeping up with the little rigs. Since then, I've wheeled with some little cruisers and such and they ask me to slow down on the trails. Also, the highway portion was much more pleasant. Other than bump stops, I haven't worked on any suspension changes since then. It works well for everything I do.
I've kept the same basic camping setup the whole time, but added a roof rack at some point to throw lawn chairs and such. It also holds a bow saw, high lift and other stuff I don't want inside. My rig is so big on the trails that I always end up with tons of brush up there every night. Everything on top gets beat but I haven't had any problems yet. I plan to get rid of the fiberglass pole style privacy tent for a "quick up", because that thing is one of the biggest hassles. I built a canopy that attaches to the rear of the roof rack. It rolls up and travels up there all the time. Then at camp it unrolls, unfolds and goes up on tent poles. It's a great concept to keep the tailgate and bed dry when it's open, but it doesn't stay up in high winds unless I can back up near some trees and tie everything to trees and the truck. Not super convenient, but still nice to have if it rains.
The electrical system has only changed slightly. Now I have 1 alternator for each battery. The isolator is still there because it would let me quickly jumper up a solution if one alternator goes out. Sadly it's a 90A rated unit and the alts are 105A. I figure I just have to keep the winch as a direct connect (not through the isolator) and things would be fine.
In theory the H1 OZ radials would have been a good choice, but they were never smooth enough for long highway travel (they aren't round). I did a couple long highway trips on 38" TSLs, which were worse, although they looked 10x cooler and wheeled better than anything. I've got a couple trips on Swamper SSRs now and while not perfect running, I can cruise at 70MPH with only slight vibration. For most of the wheeling I do, they work well. A TSL is a great tire like 10 hours a year for me and since the SSR works almost as well I'll stick with them for a while. The ultimate expedition tire is probably a 37 BFG or something.
If anybody is interested in details, my trip threads are in the Midwest section.
After this trip, I swapped out the front EZ-rides and Gabriel shocks for ORD custom front leaves and Bilstein 5150 shocks. The stock rear springs remain. On the 2012 trip, there was no problem keeping up with the little rigs. Since then, I've wheeled with some little cruisers and such and they ask me to slow down on the trails. Also, the highway portion was much more pleasant. Other than bump stops, I haven't worked on any suspension changes since then. It works well for everything I do.
I've kept the same basic camping setup the whole time, but added a roof rack at some point to throw lawn chairs and such. It also holds a bow saw, high lift and other stuff I don't want inside. My rig is so big on the trails that I always end up with tons of brush up there every night. Everything on top gets beat but I haven't had any problems yet. I plan to get rid of the fiberglass pole style privacy tent for a "quick up", because that thing is one of the biggest hassles. I built a canopy that attaches to the rear of the roof rack. It rolls up and travels up there all the time. Then at camp it unrolls, unfolds and goes up on tent poles. It's a great concept to keep the tailgate and bed dry when it's open, but it doesn't stay up in high winds unless I can back up near some trees and tie everything to trees and the truck. Not super convenient, but still nice to have if it rains.
The electrical system has only changed slightly. Now I have 1 alternator for each battery. The isolator is still there because it would let me quickly jumper up a solution if one alternator goes out. Sadly it's a 90A rated unit and the alts are 105A. I figure I just have to keep the winch as a direct connect (not through the isolator) and things would be fine.
In theory the H1 OZ radials would have been a good choice, but they were never smooth enough for long highway travel (they aren't round). I did a couple long highway trips on 38" TSLs, which were worse, although they looked 10x cooler and wheeled better than anything. I've got a couple trips on Swamper SSRs now and while not perfect running, I can cruise at 70MPH with only slight vibration. For most of the wheeling I do, they work well. A TSL is a great tire like 10 hours a year for me and since the SSR works almost as well I'll stick with them for a while. The ultimate expedition tire is probably a 37 BFG or something.
If anybody is interested in details, my trip threads are in the Midwest section.
Stomis
Professional Amateur
You know a plow solenoid works perfect as an isolator and will handle way more amps right?
I may not have described it very well, but that diode isolator is currently not being used. My previous setup was dual 80A alts, one direct to the main battery and the other split through the isolator to both batteries. When I went serpentine, the SI alts were replaced by CS alts - one wire directly to each battery. I left the isolator there "along for the ride". It makes a nice terminal block where I could change the setup if needed out on the trail. If one battery or one alt is toast, I could combine down to one.
A solenoid is not the "perfect" solution when you have two different battery types because it would put a starting battery and deep cycle together in parallel. Also, it's a wear item and wastes power all the time it's on (generally all the time the engine is running). The diode isolator basically only wastes much power under high alternator load.
I have considered adding a solenoid with strictly manual control, so I could flip a switch and now have 2 batteries and 2 alts working together for winching. Most motorhomes have a setup like this with a push-button switch to bridge the house and chassis batteries together temporarily. This is to start the engine if your chassis battery is dead. (EDIT: come to think of it, this solenoid COULD be wired to the winch remote....will have to think more on that...)
A solenoid is not the "perfect" solution when you have two different battery types because it would put a starting battery and deep cycle together in parallel. Also, it's a wear item and wastes power all the time it's on (generally all the time the engine is running). The diode isolator basically only wastes much power under high alternator load.
I have considered adding a solenoid with strictly manual control, so I could flip a switch and now have 2 batteries and 2 alts working together for winching. Most motorhomes have a setup like this with a push-button switch to bridge the house and chassis batteries together temporarily. This is to start the engine if your chassis battery is dead. (EDIT: come to think of it, this solenoid COULD be wired to the winch remote....will have to think more on that...)
Stomis
Professional Amateur
When I do my truck I was basically going to use a solenoid to disconnect the starting battery from the truck when running things overnight with the engine off so I could avoid having to wire to separate 12v systems.
Love the U.P. trips you describe. Maybe we'll meet up on one of your trips someday. 
If you use a solenoid as a dual battery switch,make sure it is a metal cased one rated for "continuous duty",otherwise it'll melt after being left on more than several minutes and could start a fire...
A guy I sold an ordinary Ford solenoid too at a parts store never told me he planned to use it for a rotary plow beacon--he was plowing about half an hour when the solenoid fried and started the truck on fire--burnt it to a crisp...he tried suing the parts store for "negligence" ,but he lost,because he stated "I need a Ford starter solenoid"...not "I need a relay that can be left on for long periods"....
A guy I sold an ordinary Ford solenoid too at a parts store never told me he planned to use it for a rotary plow beacon--he was plowing about half an hour when the solenoid fried and started the truck on fire--burnt it to a crisp...he tried suing the parts store for "negligence" ,but he lost,because he stated "I need a Ford starter solenoid"...not "I need a relay that can be left on for long periods"....
