Junkers88

I thought this might be an "off topic" post but considering it deals with the vehicle I'm driving (86 pickup and 89 4runner) I figure it might fit well here.

What do you folks do to prep your vehicle and person for a wheeling trip?

With regard to the vehicles, since both of them ar 20+ years old, I usually crawl underneath to check all the nuts and bolts, grease everything, check the fluids in the tranny/t-case/diffs/motor etc. and do a general look-see and what has been beat on in the past. I also make sure the cell phone is charged, check the recovery gear and make sure the CB is tuned and operational.

I feel that checking out a 20+ year old vehicle runs along the same lines as checking out this almost 40 year old body of mine.

Back when I started this hobby I was in my 20's and running Scouts and 3/4 ton Fords. I never got sore or worn out during/after a run. Now?? Yeah it wears on me a bit.

So I've started a work out program that should help me avoid the pain in my shoulders from steering (did I mention that I've broken both of them at least once?), the pain in my knees from shifting and trying to run the brake and fuel pedals (yup broke both of those at least once as well), keeping my wrists from heating up while going from steering wheel to shifters (again, both busted) and trying to keep my neck from getting stiff while trying to look everywhere at once (broke that thing just below my skull several years ago).

I guess what I'm trying to ask is what do you do before the run to help ensure that you and your rig get home in one piece? Eat a large breakfast? Bring along power bars or protein drinks..... beer? I know for a fact that off-roading is both a stress enducer and relaxing event but it still wears on both you and your Yota no matter how light the wheeling is.

Let me know your thoughts.

algranger

I usually just try to get a really good night's sleep and eat well. I'm a youngin so i dont get too sore

As for the truck i check everything over, if i havent driven it for a while i go for a about a 2 hour drive to make sure its doing good.

I know you didnt ask but here are some important supplies. Lots of recovery equipment you can never bring too much (shovels, winch if ya can, hilift, straps, shackles) also bring way more food and water than you need in case you need to camp out, i bring a change of clothes for after the mud boggin and a warm blanket if it's winter.
Also, bring enough fluids to refill everything in your truck, power steering, motor oil, diff oil, brake fluid, tranny fluid, coolant everything. We had a flop yesterday and had to replace quite a few fluids before he drove home

flashkl

Hmmm...Ive never actually thought about any prep, since Im on an island where if I get stuck anywhere I can walk for five minutes to a 7-eleven and buy a slurpee. Just jump in and hope for the best. I do carry a full set of tools, an air pump, recovery strap, CB (no antenna at the moment though so useless), shovel, plastic oil change ramps, and a big fat hammer just in case...

Junkers88

I carry a survival bag since most of the time I'm up in the mountains and plenty fire starting stuff but never even thought of extra fluids..... I'll fix that. I do carry extra clothes and my camping box on every trip so staying the night if I have to isn't a problem.

pic of camping box.

inside.

bag.


I'll have to grab my other bomb box and load it with fluids so I can just pull it out of the rig during the week. Folks around here will take anything not bolted down. Thanks for the tip!!

Junkers88

What is this? Is it something small that will fit in the back of a rig? Pictures or a link?

algranger

Ah you got the idea! I never thought of fluids either til Dean's flop yesterday, luckily sexasomaniac brought some motor oil, i had the coolant.

Why would you need oil change ramps? I dont even use them at home cause the 4wd's are so high off the ground even stock

yoder519

hey junkers88 im diggin that machetty(sp) you never know when you need one lol. x2 on the oil changing ramps..

Just Learning

spare tire and tools duct tape always check hoses , you seem to have it down pretty good, i also bring jb weld, one other thing for fire starting i bring along what the military uses, im having a brain fart cant remember??? its trioxygen ??? its a blue bar thing got mine from sportmans guide, oh ya i remember compressed fuel trioxane, really good stuff

ee-pitboss

I always end up bringing anything I would need as far as camping gear. IE Sleeping bag, blankets, 1 gal of water per person, clothing, sunglasses, safety glasses, fire starters, non perishable foods, rain gear.

Aswell as enough tools (i define enough as thing's I've had to do, for example I've pulled the tranny to change out the clutch, so I bring everything I needed to pull the trans on top of the usual wrenches and ratchets.) also always make sense to bring a BFH. Fluids, I always bring enough to fill each resevoir up once. Spares tires, spare parts, extra hoses and clamps, few extra nuts and bolts, duct tape. Electrical tape, shrink wrap, fuses and wires(theres nothing worse then losing a day in the boonies to a blown fuse, or even more annoying, trading the fuses around, picking what things you really dont need to drive the truck..."blower motor on a 12 degree day, or headlights?...hmmm")

Recovery gear, hi lift, ratch straps, come along. kitty litter, "Winchers hub"(its a tool i made, bolts onto the hub just like a rim would, and around it is a trough that I can run recovery straps to, so when i put her in 4whl and turn the hub, the tool turns, rolling the strap around the hub, and pulling me out.), air compressor.

Being out here in the woods, I also end up bringing one of my rifles along, safe on ofcourse with the ammo seperate, but we've had run ins with Coyotes and pissed off deer, bear and moose,(moose are actually considered the most dangerous animal in north america) and while I do hunt, we only fire in the air to scare em off if we're wheeling, but it's better to have it and not need it, then need it and not have it.

Oh yea, first aid kit(good one, medical or military) and fire extinquisher, are often overlooked but very useful. Army/Navy surplus stores or ebay are a good place to look on the cheap. Fire Axe helps too, along with a shovel and a pry bar.

Just Learning

oh oh never fire a rifle in the air, shoot away from you in the ground, what goes up must come down

904_runner

I will go up front and check re torque all the bolts on teh SFA setup. U-bolts, steering arms, wheel spacers, etc....
As far as what i carry..

I have two recovery straps, shackles, extra clothes, cb, highlift, someone will always bring a shovel. i carry some small portions of food, drinks, sleeping bag, a first aid kit, i think i have a bottle of gear oil, and some brake fluid in the truck along with a quart or two of motor oil.

I also bring my tools with me, and some spare parts if i have any or remember.

It depends on the trip, its not too far from home so i could always drive home with someone else and get spare parts if i happend to not have something.
Also a fire extinguisher.

I usually have most of this in my truck anyways, minus the tools, sleeping bag.

ee-pitboss

Thats as far as I know a myth. Firing in the ground leads to ricochets, a bullets terminal velocity is never enough(unless it was a .50cal) to pierce or cause trauma from it's own weight in gravity. In other words, a bullet simply falling after it's reached it's highest point will never travel as fast as it did after being propelled from the barrel of a firearm. Think about someone standing 20 feet above you and dropping a stone on you, it will hurt...now the same guy is 20 feet in front of you and THROWS the stone at you, your likely to lose an eye or crack a bone. Terminal velocity is the maximum speed something can reach within it's own weight and wind resistance en masse. A ricochets velocity is alot more. atleast half of its force is still present after the ricochet.

Taught us that one in the Marines. Think I saw it on myth busters too.

ee-pitboss

I agree, most of my stuff is in the truck all the time anyway, cept the rifle. Makes sense, as I live a little ways out and more then once I've been the first one to notice a car that slid off the road or someone broken down or stuck. Rule is, call for authortities and then go assess the situation and the dangers at hand. Act from there only if you KNOW what to do.

Pretty sure it's the same after a (God forbid) trail accident.

91Toyota

I make sure to bring my gun, strap, chains, and flash light. I tend not to carry any tools because it makes things much more fun and interesting

1989toy4wd

I was reading one of my old 4wheeler magazines (I have a magazine rack of every one I have ever bought!! 10+years of pertersons, 4wd toyota owner, 4wd and sport utility, etc), and they had something like this for sale!! I thought it was a pretty good Idea, but I looked up the company and couldnt find it anywhere...





I bring a trailer and a tow vehicle....pretty much all you need

I do have a winch, winch kit, hi-lift, spare, and a couple of tools, but thats about it. I have a reg, cab and no place to put all that stuff.

I didnt think about the spare fluids...I mean I always have engine oil, but thats cause my yoter loves to drink that stuff!!!

algranger

good point.
terminal velocity simply put is when the force of gravity and resistance of air meet and the object reaches a max speed. without wind resistance, rain would be deadly.

Matt16

Check engine oil, coolant, belt tension. Look for any fresh oil on the underside of the truck or on the IFS- my truck doesn't have any leaks and I rigorously clean the undercarriage, so finding oil means a recent leak.

I carry 1qt. of engine oil, a radiator/ gas tank patch (Permatex), a set of spare belts and a tire repair kit. Often I have a bottle of propane, a pot and a propane stove and a little food. I also carry TP, a little first aid stuff, some garbage bags and lots of paper towel.

I carry a HiLift just about everywhere- just the other day, i drained the battery and had to roll start it- but I was facing down hill butting up against on of those parking stall barriers- I lifted the truck up, place a rock and a board under the wheel and rolled it over the barrier, then roll started it. Just an everyday example just how useful the HiLift has been.

I also carry 2 recovery straps, and one tow strap (though, I never really 4 wheel with other people- if I were to, i'd be prepared), three chains for using the HiLift as a winch, flat board (2x12x24) which has been used as a base for a jack, a kneeling surface while installing chains or airing up/down and even as a mini table on which to tie fish flies while fly fishing. There's some duct tape, tie down straps, 1/4" rope, pliars, a BBQ grill, bottled water, tire chains, a tarp, garbage bags...the list continues. In order to store all this stuff, I built a cargo box for the back of my 4Runner. it works also as a sleeping platform and will fit two adult women and a man if need be.

Probably the most useful thing i carry is a shovel, for recovery gear in mud, dirt and snow, i don't think it can be beat for expediency.

flashkl

Oil change ramps:

I actually donno why I started carrying them (I think I just stuck them in the bed one day and they ended up staying there) but they fit perfect behind the rear window, and upside down can hold stuff like ice scrapers, wheel chocks and shovels for easy access. Theyve also gotten me out of trouble at the beach on more than one occasion.

ee-pitboss

Best advice I can give you is to go find two of those aluminum or steel (steel is best) wheel stud sizers. They tell you if a vehicle is running 5x100 or 4x125 and such, that fit your Yota. Weld them together with the holes matching up and a piece of rounded stock steel or aluminum (about an inch thick) between them.

Match up the holes on your rig with them, mark which holes fit with some rattle can paint or a sharpie, so that you never have to do it by any means other than at a glance again. And your all set. Get stuck, dig out one wheel, unbolt it, bolt up the tool and run the recovery strap around it and throw her in gear and inch your way out.

It's always best to have someone along with you to keep an eye on it as it's only as good as your welding, and this means you find out real quick if your good or not. I weld an awful lot and had to reweld the dang thing 2 times before i got it as good and strong as I want.

Under hood welder, best mod I ever made to my Jeep.

874runnersr5

pitboss you got pics??
sounds interesting