The Great Smaug

[campfire]

In the short term, I've finished up one week of subzero weather and we have at least another week to go. TinyCar burst a brake line, so I'm back in the boring maintenance phase of life. 'MogTruck' will continue hibernating for now.

Yay salt!

 

[campfire]

Wintertime daydreaming. There are 100 ways to lay out a Suburban's floor plan. I'm thinking about a hinged platform (blue), and whether it's possible to keep the small seat folded down (yellow).




Neither of us wants to sleep all the kids under the same roof, but the truck has enough cubic footage to pull it off (they're still small). I'll have either 5 or 6 people riding this year, so I think the front cab is going to be chaotic enough. The gear should stay in the rear.

Hey...that rhymed!

Not much going on here, I just wanted to archive that grainy picture so I can find it in the future.

Speaking of which...whatever happened to @dremu and his Sloshfulness? There have got to be better floor pan illustrations, but his brochure site seems to be down.

 

[imiceman44]

Wintertime daydreaming. There are 100 ways to lay out a Suburban's floor plan. I'm thinking about a hinged platform (blue), and whether it's possible to keep the small seat folded down (yellow).


View attachment 293789

Neither of us wants to sleep all the kids under the same roof, but the truck has enough cubic footage to pull it off (they're still small). I'll have either 5 or 6 people riding this year, so I think the front cab is going to be chaotic enough. The gear should stay in the rear.

Hey...that rhymed!

Not much going on here, I just wanted to archive that grainy picture so I can find it in the future.

Speaking of which...whatever happened to @dremu and his Sloshfulness? There have got to be better floor pan illustrations, but his brochure site seems to be down.

I heard all that stuff is on this site now. Ask Steve

 

[AugustDiesel]

Wintertime daydreaming. There are 100 ways to lay out a Suburban's floor plan. I'm thinking about a hinged platform (blue), and whether it's possible to keep the small seat folded down (yellow).


View attachment 293789

Neither of us wants to sleep all the kids under the same roof, but the truck has enough cubic footage to pull it off (they're still small). I'll have either 5 or 6 people riding this year, so I think the front cab is going to be chaotic enough. The gear should stay in the rear.

Hey...that rhymed!

Not much going on here, I just wanted to archive that grainy picture so I can find it in the future.

Speaking of which...whatever happened to @dremu and his Sloshfulness? There have got to be better floor pan illustrations, but his brochure site seems to be down.

I spent a lot of time last year thinking over this same thing. Don’t know how many kids you have, I only have 2, so I had planned on swapping the front captain chairs for a front bench seat for one to sleep in, the other sleeps in the middle, and my wife and I sleep in the back on an air mattress. Even had that same exact cargo door tent in my amazon wish list. Then I realized my kids are a bit TOO small still and decided to shelf the idea for a couple years. Lol.

 

[campfire]

I spent a lot of time last year thinking over this same thing. Don’t know how many kids you have, I only have 2, so I had planned on swapping the front captain chairs for a front bench seat for one to sleep in, the other sleeps in the middle, and my wife and I sleep in the back on an air mattress. Even had that same exact cargo door tent in my amazon wish list. Then I realized my kids are a bit TOO small still and decided to shelf the idea for a couple years. Lol.

Too small? Bah. You must be new to this thread.

How old are your kids? Both of my kids started traveling at about 3 days old. Seriously, infant traveling was easier than toddler traveling (they sleep their way through all kinds of distractions). This year I'll be camping with a 4 year old, a 2 year old, and a 0 year old. And my brother might tag along for one of the trips. Which would mean the 6th seat can't be permanently folded down (though it would still be vacant at night).

I already have the front bench seat. I was going to switch to 3 bucket seats in front (because the foam on the bench seat is trashed), but right now there's not much incentive to take seats out of this thing. I need all of them this year, and I haven't tracked down a middle bucket seat yet.

 

[AugustDiesel]

Too small? Bah. You must be new to this thread.

How old are your kids? Both of my kids started traveling at about 3 days old. Seriously, infant traveling was easier than toddler traveling (they sleep their way through all kinds of distractions). This year I'll be camping with a 4 year old, a 2 year old, and a 0 year old. And my brother might tag along for one of the trips. Which would mean the 6th seat can't be permanently folded down (though it would still be vacant at night).

I already have the front bench seat. I was going to switch to 3 bucket seats in front (because the foam on the bench seat is trashed), but right now there's not much incentive to take seats out of this thing. I need all of them this year, and I haven't tracked down a middle bucket seat yet.

Lol. Apparently I am new. My boys are 3YO and 5YO. In actuality, they probably can handle it. Just realizing we have to introduce new adventures into their lives slowly. Lol.

 

[TREA18]

That front bench isn't all bad. I slept on one for over a week when I was 12, in Douglas, WY. I was happy as could be. We even had a pop up camper as my first option and I lasted about 2 hours. It was way too hot in there, so to the truck I went for the week. .....Obviously before the wheelchair came along.:-)

 

[GWeakland620]

The more a read this thread, the more I want a suburban for camping adventures.

Maybe it's time a revaluate what I am doing with my crew cab...

 

[campfire]

Lol. Apparently I am new. My boys are 3YO and 5YO. In actuality, they probably can handle it. Just realizing we have to introduce new adventures into their lives slowly. Lol.

You don't have to. Speed is a choice, and we chose to introduce things quickly. My kids have never known anything else, and logged about 20,000 trip miles in 2018. This year will be much more laid back. The 3yo is in a whiny phase right now. So I think we'll stay at home this winter. But all bets are off once the ground thaws...

 

[campfire]

What works for my family won't work for all families. You gotta get out and try things to find the right combination. Just remember that all of you can handle more than you think.

Adventure is out there!

 

[campfire]

The more a read this thread, the more I want a suburban for camping adventures.

Maybe it's time a revaluate what I am doing with my crew cab...

Funny thing...there have been times that I would have swapped you. But each time we really think about it we decide that a suburban is the way we want to go. Your truck is capable but clumsy. The burb is already bulky enough, you wouldn't have enjoyed our trail riding this summer. You wouldn't have made it through a few spots and you would have been constantly scraping branches.

If I camped in campgrounds hauling a 6,000 pound toy on a tandem trailer...I'd want your setup. It's great for setting up a base camp that you come back to each night. But we keep moving, we're almost never in the same spot twice. So I camp in the wheeling rig and wheel in the camping rig.

For camping near pavement I'd keep what you have. It's a good setup, even with your wireless driveshaft.

 

[campfire]

Lol. Apparently I am new. My boys are 3YO and 5YO. In actuality, they probably can handle it. Just realizing we have to introduce new adventures into their lives slowly. Lol.

I forgot to mention it, but one reason I'm doing as much as possible with the kids is because life is short. Kids don't stay children for very long. Next year you'll have finished 1/3rd of your son's childhood, and I'm not far behind. So when an opportunity arises to travel or read books or make homemade pastys, I try to fit in as many of them as practical. Soon I won't have these moments anymore.

Ok, that's enough sappy stuff. Back to regularly scheduled programming.

 

[GWeakland620]

Funny thing...there have been times that I would have swapped you. But each time we really think about it we decide that a suburban is the way we want to go. Your truck is capable but clumsy. The burb is already bulky enough, you wouldn't have enjoyed our trail riding this summer. You wouldn't have made it through a few spots and you would have been constantly scraping branches.

If I camped in campgrounds hauling a 6,000 pound toy on a tandem trailer...I'd want your setup. It's great for setting up a base camp that you come back to each night. But we keep moving, we're almost never in the same spot twice. So I camp in the wheeling rig and wheel in the camping rig.

For camping near pavement I'd keep what you have. It's a good setup, even with your wireless driveshaft.

Well said sir, all of it

 

[AugustDiesel]

I forgot to mention it, but one reason I'm doing as much as possible with the kids is because life is short. Kids don't stay children for very long. Next year you'll have finished 1/3rd of your son's childhood, and I'm not far behind. So when an opportunity arises to travel or read books or make homemade pastys, I try to fit in as many of them as practical. Soon I won't have these moments anymore.

Ok, that's enough sappy stuff. Back to regularly scheduled programming.

That’s actually the primary reason why progress on Rusty has slowed: is because I don’t want it to take away from time with the family anymore than absolutely necessary.

 

[campfire]

This summer's list:

Rebuild front axle. Just because. I'm waffling on whether to add a traction device. Leaning toward open gears.

Add G80 to the rear. The Detroit was just touchy enough on ice that I wasn't comfortable letting anyone else drive it. Which is a pain for a street rig.

Set up bump stops and then install proper front shocks.

Dashboard modifications.

Camping mods - TBA.

Front receiver for winch (and wiring).

Spare tire - still leaning toward a receiver mount that could go on either end of the truck. But departure angle was a limitation this year, so I might need to rethink this one.

Front seats - maybe just some new foam and a cover. I like the bench.

These are all things that didn't get done last summer. There's actually nothing new on the list except the headlight upgrade. The truck exceeded expectations. A happy payback after 4 years of headaches.

 

[campfire]

That’s actually the primary reason why progress on Rusty has slowed: is because I don’t want it to take away from time with the family anymore than absolutely necessary.

Excellent.

 

[78K30]

Ethan after having ridden in and drive my friends ZJ with a spartan in the front an auto locker might be a good addition. It's not nearly as annoying as the Detroit in the back of my 92.

The more a read this thread, the more I want a suburban for camping adventures.

Maybe it's time a revaluate what I am doing with my crew cab...

I'll trade a barely running suburban for your sorta running crew cab

 

[campfire]

Ethan after having ridden in and drive my friends ZJ with a spartan in the front an auto locker might be a good addition. It's not nearly as annoying as the Detroit in the back of my 92.

Isn't a Spartan almost exactly the same thing as a Detroit?

I'm not going to run a normally-locked carrier in the front. This truck needs to be comfortable and safe on the road. I'll drive 65MPH with my hubs locked, and sometimes use 4WD at highway speeds when the snow/ice conditions are just right. I'm not willing to compromise on that (ride quality is one reason I stuck with a smaller lift and tires). Locker steer is manageable in the back, but not something I want to mess with on the front. I'm also not interested in the broken axle shafts and steering upgrades that often come with a locked front. This truck is about dependability, not rock crawling.

So, given those parameters, I'm looking for traction that doesn't interfere with drivability (plays nice with ice) and also doesn't break parts. The safest answer is to keep it open. If money were no object, I'd use a selectable (sparingly). In real life I'd lean toward a normally-open carrier like a Truetrac. Rob already showed how easy it is to break shafts with one of those.

So far my trail choices have been more limited by size than traction. The last time I got actually stuck for lack of traction is when I had the driver's seat submerged in that water crossing. That's not the norm, so I'm not overly worried about that. That's what winches are for. Almost 100% of this truck's miles use 2WD.

 

[campfire]

I'll trade a barely running suburban for your sorta running crew cab

 

[78K30]

A dana 30 is always locked in too due to it being unit bearing. If you haven't gotten a front locker by this fall I'll let you cruise the Cherokee around. I've got a spartan for it thatll go in when I regaear it with tax money.