303 makes a good UV protectant too. Use it on my hot tub.
CK5
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The Story Of A Cummins Suburban (Lots Of Pics)
- Thread starter mosesburb
- Start date
303 makes a good UV protectant too. Use it on my hot tub.
Nicely done! The stowing of the structure is most of the headache that us tent campers have. I love seeing folks designing for setup/teardown, I wish more folks did this.
Good to know as this product also claims to have UV protectant in it as well. The transit bag was already faded before I applied the product, but the awning was fresh, so we'll see how well it works. Although, at the rate it is getting used, it might last forever with nothing on it too....
Nicely done! The stowing of the structure is most of the headache that us tent campers have. I love seeing folks designing for setup/teardown, I wish more folks did this.
Stowage and storage can be giant pains in the ass. This, through some trial and error as well as previous experience possessed by a friend of mine, has some fantastic manners when it comes to deploying it as well as stowing it. One person, with a little training, can have the awning set up in a minute or two. Literally. Packing up is obviously going to be more tedious, but in good conditions, less than five minutes is a fair estimate I would say.
Just finished reading this front to back. What an amazing thread!! Love your burb, and I'm super jealous of the amazing road trips you've been on!
I also just reading through this thread from front to back, i think this is time 5 or 6
Thanks!! We try to get it out as much as possible, but it seems like it drives around town more than it hits the road lately.
I also just reading through this thread from front to back, i think this is time 5 or 6
Man, you need a hobby or something, lol. It's funny, I was actually reading back a few pages myself recently. I was looking for something (don't recall what or even if I found it or not) and found myself reading through some of the stuff as though I didn't know how it ended. I actually kind of enjoyed reliving some of the travels myself. I keep a vehicle maintenance log book, but I have to refer back to this thread occasionally to check or verify if /when something was done.
Not having a place to work on things inside during winter pretty well kills my vehicular projects over winter unless it's critical. During summer I'm busy from work till well after dark, I need a shop lol
So here are some more truck stuff photos before we get back to traveling photos. Up until this point I had still been using the sleep platform that I threw together for our first camp trip years ago. It worked. It was already built. It took up more space than it needed to. It had been modified many times and was better than when I built it, but over the years I had learned a lot about what I liked and didn't like about it. I had rebuilt it many times in my head and every time it worked out great. Yeah, well, it's cheaper than building materials.... Anyway, I thought I had figured out the best plan that balanced stout with functionality, weight, and ease of installation/removal.
I started out by making a new driver side rear side panel. I had done the right side as well as the left front piece, but somehow was still using the vinyl covered cardboard left rear piece. That one made a nice template on some sheet steel that I zipped out with the plasma and it got covering from the same piece that supplied material for the other panels.
Next came the platform and first on that list was the framework. The original used 2x4's. While durable, plenty stout and easy to assemble, they take up way too much space. Each side had two 2x4's screwed together. One horizontal on the bottom, one horizontal on the top, and one vertical here and there for support of the two horizontals. Now, if you add the thickness of the 2x4's together you get 3". Now each side has one of these structures, so 3" x 2 = 6" total. That is 6" of total width lost to wood. Overkill?? Yes, but it did work. Anyway, that is very valuable basement real estate, so for the redo I opted for some 1" square tube framework with some 1x2" tubing in the center. With only two 1" vertical pieces of tubing I effectively gained 4" of total width under the platform.
The 1x2" tubing allows the base to be disassembled for installation/removal. At this point it really isn't needed, but as soon as I add anything off of the sides, it won't go into or out of the rear door opening. The two pieces of tubing that run parallel in the middle are bolted together. Take the bolts out and the center falls in and can be removed. Also, if you look closely at the 1" square tubing used everywhere else, you sill see that it is riddled with E-track holes. Yep, good ol' free E-track holes. One thing that I wanted in the new setup was some form of tie down ability as well as some sort of bulkhead provisions. The E-track solved both issues. I can tie stuff down under the platform as well as use D-rings and straps to make bulkheads where needed. Why so much attention to load securement UNDER the platform?? When traveling down less than smooth roads/trails, things under the platform move at will and often end up being inaccessible. Some things always need to be accessible, other things are rarely if ever used and can be stored deeper in the middle. Without some method of securing the items, they all become jumbled up and their whereabouts are unknown.
Some E-track debris:
So after determining what the tallest item is that needs to ride under the platform I dropped the height to a fuzz (scientific measurement) over that. That is a very critical as the lower the deck gets, the better the headroom up top is. I took a couple specific measurements of me and my wife to determine how much room was needed and I was able to make enough to allow her to sit upright on the deck. I am close, but not quite enough. When camping, her comfort is more important. I went with slightly thinner plywood on the deck this time as every fraction counts. I also gained 1/2" in basement depth by getting rid of the 2x4's and using the steel tubing. What I was able to do is make the platform deck the same height as the wheel wells. I cut the deck above the wheel wells so the wheel wells actually stick through the deck. Those are the symmetrical notches on opposing sides of the deck:
Here it is outfitted with more tie downs and some hinged panels for access to the basement from the top.
The two pieces of square tubing standing vertically at the front corners are for E-track D-rings and straps to create a bulkhead to hopefully prevent everything on the deck from sliding off the front when descending long, rough trails. I also added tie down points on both sides (some are not visible from the top). All of this works together to hold everything in place and keeps it on top of the deck instead of mixing it all up and barfing it off the front when going down a trail on the brakes.
I prepped everything and got it ready to go. I sent the boy in to finish up a couple things, but I think he found a squirrel on the headliner or something:
So there it is. A whole lot of engineering/scheming on a seemingly simple item. So was it worth it?? It all turned out great and with several trips on the setup I can say that all of the planning and time spent getting it all right was very worth it. I use the center of the basement for the things rarely used and I use the ends for items that are needed more often/everytime. Everything stays put up on top very nicely now. Not shown in the pics is the carpet that rides on top of the platform for both noise abatement and aiding in equipment retention. Add everything up and it is a very nice unit now. I'm glad I finally took the time to redo it.
I started out by making a new driver side rear side panel. I had done the right side as well as the left front piece, but somehow was still using the vinyl covered cardboard left rear piece. That one made a nice template on some sheet steel that I zipped out with the plasma and it got covering from the same piece that supplied material for the other panels.
Next came the platform and first on that list was the framework. The original used 2x4's. While durable, plenty stout and easy to assemble, they take up way too much space. Each side had two 2x4's screwed together. One horizontal on the bottom, one horizontal on the top, and one vertical here and there for support of the two horizontals. Now, if you add the thickness of the 2x4's together you get 3". Now each side has one of these structures, so 3" x 2 = 6" total. That is 6" of total width lost to wood. Overkill?? Yes, but it did work. Anyway, that is very valuable basement real estate, so for the redo I opted for some 1" square tube framework with some 1x2" tubing in the center. With only two 1" vertical pieces of tubing I effectively gained 4" of total width under the platform.
The 1x2" tubing allows the base to be disassembled for installation/removal. At this point it really isn't needed, but as soon as I add anything off of the sides, it won't go into or out of the rear door opening. The two pieces of tubing that run parallel in the middle are bolted together. Take the bolts out and the center falls in and can be removed. Also, if you look closely at the 1" square tubing used everywhere else, you sill see that it is riddled with E-track holes. Yep, good ol' free E-track holes. One thing that I wanted in the new setup was some form of tie down ability as well as some sort of bulkhead provisions. The E-track solved both issues. I can tie stuff down under the platform as well as use D-rings and straps to make bulkheads where needed. Why so much attention to load securement UNDER the platform?? When traveling down less than smooth roads/trails, things under the platform move at will and often end up being inaccessible. Some things always need to be accessible, other things are rarely if ever used and can be stored deeper in the middle. Without some method of securing the items, they all become jumbled up and their whereabouts are unknown.
Some E-track debris:
So after determining what the tallest item is that needs to ride under the platform I dropped the height to a fuzz (scientific measurement) over that. That is a very critical as the lower the deck gets, the better the headroom up top is. I took a couple specific measurements of me and my wife to determine how much room was needed and I was able to make enough to allow her to sit upright on the deck. I am close, but not quite enough. When camping, her comfort is more important. I went with slightly thinner plywood on the deck this time as every fraction counts. I also gained 1/2" in basement depth by getting rid of the 2x4's and using the steel tubing. What I was able to do is make the platform deck the same height as the wheel wells. I cut the deck above the wheel wells so the wheel wells actually stick through the deck. Those are the symmetrical notches on opposing sides of the deck:
Here it is outfitted with more tie downs and some hinged panels for access to the basement from the top.
The two pieces of square tubing standing vertically at the front corners are for E-track D-rings and straps to create a bulkhead to hopefully prevent everything on the deck from sliding off the front when descending long, rough trails. I also added tie down points on both sides (some are not visible from the top). All of this works together to hold everything in place and keeps it on top of the deck instead of mixing it all up and barfing it off the front when going down a trail on the brakes.
I prepped everything and got it ready to go. I sent the boy in to finish up a couple things, but I think he found a squirrel on the headliner or something:
So there it is. A whole lot of engineering/scheming on a seemingly simple item. So was it worth it?? It all turned out great and with several trips on the setup I can say that all of the planning and time spent getting it all right was very worth it. I use the center of the basement for the things rarely used and I use the ends for items that are needed more often/everytime. Everything stays put up on top very nicely now. Not shown in the pics is the carpet that rides on top of the platform for both noise abatement and aiding in equipment retention. Add everything up and it is a very nice unit now. I'm glad I finally took the time to redo it.
So here are some more truck stuff photos before we get back to traveling photos. Up until this point I had still been using the sleep platform that I threw together for our first camp trip years ago. It worked. It was already built. It took up more space than it needed to. It had been modified many times and was better than when I built it, but over the years I had learned a lot about what I liked and didn't like about it. I had rebuilt it many times in my head and every time it worked out great. Yeah, well, it's cheaper than building materials.... Anyway, I thought I had figured out the best plan that balanced stout with functionality, weight, and ease of installation/removal.
I started out by making a new driver side rear side panel. I had done the right side as well as the left front piece, but somehow was still using the vinyl covered cardboard left rear piece. That one made a nice template on some sheet steel that I zipped out with the plasma and it got covering from the same piece that supplied material for the other panels.
Next came the platform and first on that list was the framework. The original used 2x4's. While durable, plenty stout and easy to assemble, they take up way too much space. Each side had two 2x4's screwed together. One horizontal on the bottom, one horizontal on the top, and one vertical here and there for support of the two horizontals. Now, if you add the thickness of the 2x4's together you get 3". Now each side has one of these structures, so 3" x 2 = 6" total. That is 6" of total width lost to wood. Overkill?? Yes, but it did work. Anyway, that is very valuable basement real estate, so for the redo I opted for some 1" square tube framework with some 1x2" tubing in the center. With only two 1" vertical pieces of tubing I effectively gained 4" of total width under the platform.
The 1x2" tubing allows the base to be disassembled for installation/removal. At this point it really isn't needed, but as soon as I add anything off of the sides, it won't go into or out of the rear door opening. The two pieces of tubing that run parallel in the middle are bolted together. Take the bolts out and the center falls in and can be removed. Also, if you look closely at the 1" square tubing used everywhere else, you sill see that it is riddled with E-track holes. Yep, good ol' free E-track holes. One thing that I wanted in the new setup was some form of tie down ability as well as some sort of bulkhead provisions. The E-track solved both issues. I can tie stuff down under the platform as well as use D-rings and straps to make bulkheads where needed. Why so much attention to load securement UNDER the platform?? When traveling down less than smooth roads/trails, things under the platform move at will and often end up being inaccessible. Some things always need to be accessible, other things are rarely if ever used and can be stored deeper in the middle. Without some method of securing the items, they all become jumbled up and their whereabouts are unknown.
Some E-track debris:
So after determining what the tallest item is that needs to ride under the platform I dropped the height to a fuzz (scientific measurement) over that. That is a very critical as the lower the deck gets, the better the headroom up top is. I took a couple specific measurements of me and my wife to determine how much room was needed and I was able to make enough to allow her to sit upright on the deck. I am close, but not quite enough. When camping, her comfort is more important. I went with slightly thinner plywood on the deck this time as every fraction counts. I also gained 1/2" in basement depth by getting rid of the 2x4's and using the steel tubing. What I was able to do is make the platform deck the same height as the wheel wells. I cut the deck above the wheel wells so the wheel wells actually stick through the deck. Those are the symmetrical notches on opposing sides of the deck:
Here it is outfitted with more tie downs and some hinged panels for access to the basement from the top.
The two pieces of square tubing standing vertically at the front corners are for E-track D-rings and straps to create a bulkhead to hopefully prevent everything on the deck from sliding off the front when descending long, rough trails. I also added tie down points on both sides (some are not visible from the top). All of this works together to hold everything in place and keeps it on top of the deck instead of mixing it all up and barfing it off the front when going down a trail on the brakes.
I prepped everything and got it ready to go. I sent the boy in to finish up a couple things, but I think he found a squirrel on the headliner or something:
So there it is. A whole lot of engineering/scheming on a seemingly simple item. So was it worth it?? It all turned out great and with several trips on the setup I can say that all of the planning and time spent getting it all right was very worth it. I use the center of the basement for the things rarely used and I use the ends for items that are needed more often/everytime. Everything stays put up on top very nicely now. Not shown in the pics is the carpet that rides on top of the platform for both noise abatement and aiding in equipment retention. Add everything up and it is a very nice unit now. I'm glad I finally took the time to redo it.
Nice work. Do you have a picture of the final, installed product?
Seriously, way to leave us hanging here.
I don't think so. I'll have to check though.
I left it like this so maybe next time we roll through your area you won't be busy washing your hair and can check it out in person. LOL!! Seriously though, I've shown the best parts. Picture it with a piece of tan carpet on top and a bunch of stuff under it and Bob's your uncle.
Did you end up ditching your back seat for this?
No, but I used this project as an opportunity to do a few undocumented mods to that seat as well. When I originally mounted the seat, I had the seat slid all the way forward on its track (not sure why??) and then mounted it to the floor. The problem with that is it can not be moved forward at all to make more room on the platform to sleep. One other modification I did was create mounting provisions for a fourth bucket seat. It is not the same style as the other three, but it folds flat so there is still access to the rear area with it installed. So all of this prompted a re-mounting of the third seat. I determined where the seat needed to be so as to allow a fourth seat installation as well as allow the refrigerator to be rotated from side-to-side to a front-to-back configuration. This way it can still be accessed on the road from the seating area. I pulled the third seat and moved it all the way rearward on its track and moved it a bit closer to the "4th door" for better center clearance before mounting it. That allows room for the fridge even with the fourth bucket seat installed and gives a whole bunch more headroom on the platform. For those of you who have been following along for the long haul, this will bring up an issue with my boy's sleeping platform. Unfortunately, my boy is now too tall to sleep on his platform so I got him a nice one man tent recently and he sleeps in it and I get some more headroom.
I still have the bench seat that I installed when I first built the truck and I actually installed it recently for a run up north when a friend of my wife came along. It works, but it is very labor intensive as well as very heavy to wrestle. I had to get creative to get it out of the shed and to the truck. I used a set of skateboard trucks to act as temporary friction reducers:
That was the inspiration I needed to develop a mounting system for a fourth bucket seat. I got it installed with a seatbelt and all. We have used it a few times and it works very well and is very easy to install/remove.
So after all of these miles, one thing I was not liking so much were the Rancho RS9000 shocks. I did some research and finally settled on a set of Fox 2.0 Performance Series IFP Smooth Body Shocks. I went with the non-reservoir units on the recommendation of a Fox representative. He said if I was going to Baja, I needed reservoir units. If I wasn't going to Baja, the non-reservoir units will easily handle any other roads in North America. So, I got my measurements and started shopping. It's always a challenge shopping for shocks by dimensions as the shock specs don't always match up with the specs you have to fill. I found the ones that were as close as possible and ordered them up.
Fronts:
On the rears I opted for the Roost Shields. They protect the shock shafts from flying rocks and debris.
It was an expensive upgrade, replacing seemingly "good" parts with other good parts, but the result was a ride that seems much more controlled on the rebound side. The oscillations seem more controlled. Less "bucking", if you will.
Somewhere along the way and another 30k service came up. Along with other things, I serviced the trans with another load of liquid gold from the GM store in the form of the specific NV4500 lube. I also serviced the trans filter:
For such a simple device, this thing works amazingly well. The lube I drained out still looks fantastic. Good enough I have saved the lube from both services so far (thought about reinstalling it both times too). One I carry in the truck as emergency refill and the other I keep in the shop as backup lube. Since both services have yielded such good looking lube, I'm considering running the interval out a little bit--especially if I install a cooler on the box.
Another issue I had to address was replacing some more junk-ass reproduction chinese parts with some good old domestic NOS GM parts. I installed the reproduction tail light lenses when I built the truck and they are already looking pink at best. I couldn't bring myself to install another set of the junk-ass chinese crap, so I scoured a set of NOS GM lenses:
Junk-ass chinese crap vs real domestic high grade NOS greatness:
Keep your GM vehicle all GM......Good words to live by.
Fronts:
On the rears I opted for the Roost Shields. They protect the shock shafts from flying rocks and debris.
It was an expensive upgrade, replacing seemingly "good" parts with other good parts, but the result was a ride that seems much more controlled on the rebound side. The oscillations seem more controlled. Less "bucking", if you will.
Somewhere along the way and another 30k service came up. Along with other things, I serviced the trans with another load of liquid gold from the GM store in the form of the specific NV4500 lube. I also serviced the trans filter:
For such a simple device, this thing works amazingly well. The lube I drained out still looks fantastic. Good enough I have saved the lube from both services so far (thought about reinstalling it both times too). One I carry in the truck as emergency refill and the other I keep in the shop as backup lube. Since both services have yielded such good looking lube, I'm considering running the interval out a little bit--especially if I install a cooler on the box.
Another issue I had to address was replacing some more junk-ass reproduction chinese parts with some good old domestic NOS GM parts. I installed the reproduction tail light lenses when I built the truck and they are already looking pink at best. I couldn't bring myself to install another set of the junk-ass chinese crap, so I scoured a set of NOS GM lenses:
Junk-ass chinese crap vs real domestic high grade NOS greatness:
Keep your GM vehicle all GM......Good words to live by.
What's this NV4500 filter you speak of?
I used the one Quad 4x4 sells,
http://www.quad4x4.com/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=acton&key=441000
but there are others available. I believe it is either a re-boxed Fuller K1444 or a copy of it. It appears that the price has increased a fair bit since I bought mine, but even at the current price it is a good investment considering the cost of the GM spec lube. You remove the PTO cover and install a plate with the little "scoop" pointing inward at the top and that catches the oil off the gear sets and fills up the housing that covers the filter and gravity along with more sling, pushes the oil through the filter media. Simple and very effective. Like I said, I have been tempted to reinstall the lube both times I serviced it at 30k intervals.
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That's pretty slick. I'm going to put one on mine.
30k miles isn't much for a manual trans anyway, with or without a filter. But clean fluid is never a bad thing.
I do recommend them. So simple, yet so effective.
Yeah, I could probably run them out a bit, but I have always been more of a service schedule A as opposed to other options seeing as how the truck lives in dirty, hot, dusty environments (even when on the road around here). I guess I could call it a 30K filter change and reinstall the lube and see how it goes from there.
Oil is cheaper than steel...
