Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Winches
When I first had my Land Cruiser I did a bunch of research into how I wanted to build it up. One of the items I wanted was a winch. If I’m going to go out alone, I want to be able to free myself. My conclusion at the time was to go with a Warn M12000. It’s a 12k lbs winch, for a 6000-7000 lbs truck that should be plenty. Prices however on this winch, seem to have increased 30% in the past two years. At that price, I’m no longer sure the Warn is worth it.
So, I started looking around for others. I also started thinking about how big a winch I really need. The theory with the 12k lbs winch is that it is largely overkill. For most scenarios you will not need that power, but in the rare case it will be there without a snatch block. For a rig out on it’s own, this is important. On the other hand, out on my own, doing more expedition driving, I’m unlikely to get myself stuck in the same way that many off-roaders do. I think there is a different attitude between those who are out to push the limits of their truck for the day, and those that are traveling out of their vehicles for long periods of time. As someone living out of my vehicle, I’m less likely to go into situations where my truck is very likely to get stuck. With that in mine, perhaps I don’t need 12k lbs of pull. With a smaller winch there is still extra power available through the use of a snatch block. But that requires winching anchors within a shorter distance of the stuck vehicle.
When I started looking around, I came across the Superwinch Husky. It comes in a 10k lbs version and an 8k lbs version. The 8k lbs is too small. The 10k would be perfect, however it is not a bolt on addition. With an ARB front bumper, it would require significant cutting and welding to make it fit. It is also the same price as the Warn M12000. But my reading indicates it is a superior winch in many ways. I started looking at the other Superwinches and came across the EP9. This is a little smaller than I’d like, I was hoping to have at least 9.5k lbs available. However, it has received very good reviews, is recommended by Expedition Exchange, and seems like a generally good winch. It is also about half the price of the Warn and Superwinch Husky.
I still haven’t made up my mind on which one to get, and Whitney and I have other uses for cash in that amount, so it’s not a pressing decision. I am starting to watch the local adds though. If a good condition Warn comes up, I may get it. If I have to buy new, I think I’d go with the Superwich EP9.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Cargo Area Fits the Dogs!
A while back (a year or so now), I built a cargo setup for the Land Cruiser. I made a drawer to slide my ARB fridge in and out. I also sized it to hold a water tank and associated pumping equipment for showers and drinking water. I also put in two other sections, one to add drawers later to store stuff (probably my camping gear/clothing) and an area to create a kitchen box to store all the kitchen cooking gear as well as food. The drawers, kitchen box, and water setup have yet to be built.
This is the cargo setup showing the fridge, but before I finished carpeting the top. I have since carpeted the top and added wings to make it one solid surface all the way to the edge of the vehicle. The water tank area is in front of the fridge and adjoining drawer area. This is accessed from the front, by lowering the seat. The sleeping bag (brown bag) is in the kitchen box pullout area. This area is the full length of the cargo area.
When I designed this setup we had one dog, who was still a young puppy. I sized it such that it was just the height of the fridge, which happened to leave just enough room for a dog cage above. Unfortunately, Arthur grew larger than expected. We also acquired another dog, so some other solution would be needed. Since the Land Cruiser is now down here, and spring is around the corner, I started to think about what to do to fit two dogs in there. I want to be able to fit them in without using the middle row of seats. I’m hoping that we will often go camping with others, so those seats may be occupied. Without too much trouble I convinced Arthur and Mishka to climb up on top of the cargo unit.
There was more room for them than I expected. Arthur could actually walk around without being hunched over. I know he looks awfully sullen and uncomfortable, but he’s actually got plenty of room, and he should be laying down most of the time we are moving. I was concerned that he wouldn’t be able to walk around except hunched over, but he just barely fits. He hunches slightly but I think that’s because he doesn’t like rubbing on the headliner. So my current cargo arrangement will work, as long as all, or most of the gear can be stored below. When camping, there isn’t much needed, clothing wise, so I think if I made drawers and then provided a drawer to any guests that should be enough room for most stuff. When not camping, the kitchen box can come out and there should be plenty of room, as long as people pack in duffles.
So, two things are needed to make this workable, one is a grate or bar system so that the dogs don’t come out of the cargo area (either by choice, or in a sudden braking situation). I need to find a very short set of bars for this though. The other is some sort of screen or bar across the window. I would like to be able to leave them open for the dogs without Mishka deciding she can jump out. I’ve had both dogs decide to jump out or into a vehicle through an open window when it sits in the garage. I don’t want that to happen when we are moving.
Eventually I need to also build the kitchen box, or possible buy and modify a pre-made version. Haven’t found one at the right price point and right shape though. I can rearrange the partitions of the cargo area relatively easily if I do find one slightly the wrong size. The other thing I want to do is find some bags to store my tool bag, recovery gear, spare parts, straps and other stuff in the two side compartments. Right now, I have wings that tilt open to allow access to those, but stuff that is put in there is just loose. I want to put it into bags, so if I need recovery gear for example, I can slide out the whole recovery bag and be able to access stuff readily rather than digging around for what I need in that whole area.
Another of my ongoing projects…
Monday, March 2, 2009
The Land Cruiser has returned
My Toyota Land Cruiser (1994 FZJ80) has been living in Seattle since I moved down to Corvallis. This weekend, Whitney and I drove up to bring it down. I also had to replace the battery. I had long thought that the yellow and blue top Optimas were good batteries to have, especially for deep cycle and winch use. However much reading this Friday on IH8Mud convinced me that I should instead look at the Odyssey batteries. These are significantly more expensive, but Sears sells a rebadged Odyssey for significantly less. I wanted the largest battery I could fit in there, and there were conflicting reports of whether the group 31M would fit or not. Enough people said it would that I was willing to risk buying it and trying it out. It fit just, close, but it slid right in and the wires reached well. I do need to figure out what to do about strapping it down. The j-hooks already in the engine are not long enough to hold it down.
Once I got it down, and emptied all the junk that had been living inside it, I pulled the interior. It being the northwest in winter, there had been some moisture and it looks like one of the rain hoses leaks a little as one seatbelt was wet and a little moldy. So I pulled out all the seatbelts, the seats, the carpet, and the center console. We cleaned everything, and after the carpets dry, I should be able to reassemble the inside. I’m going to be taking prospective grad students to the coast this weekend and I’d like me vehicle not to look like the construction site mud pit it was. I thought about adding sound/heat proof material to the vehicle while I have the interior stripped, but the only great reports I’ve had about it are some stuff on McMaster Carr, and I don’t want to wait for that to come.
Next up… Solving the EGR problem. I’ve been getting a code 71 check engine light for a while now. It is indicative of build-up or failure somewhere in the exhaust gas recovery equipment. It’s intermittent and the vehicle passes emissions when it is off, so I’ve not been terribly concerned about it, but I want to get that light to go away permanently. Unfortunately, it’s a problem a lot of people have ended up through quite a bit of money at before resorting to the electrical tape over the light trick to deal with it. It sounds like most of those with successful resolution of this issue have just cleaned all the valves and hoses in the EGR system and replaced any cracked vacuum hoses. So that will be my first step, once I reassemble the vehicle.