1986 Grand Wagoneer Cummins R2.8 Swap

[BaldBeardedBastard]

Out and about with a shake down trip. Truck has been great, cruising happily at 66-68 mph for the highway and pressures and temps all stable. The steering shaft swap to the Borgensen was a huge improvement with cutting down on the wandering.

Trying to see what items we forget and slowly walk out the duration with longer and longer trips. Here are a few pictures at the campsite.

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[Yeller]

Awesome! Been doing the same with my j truck, making longer shake down runs.

I have an RTT question. Are you able to leave your bedding, sleeping bag, pillow, etc with it put away? I like how simple yours sets up but haven’t got a clear answer. Everyone I’ve talked to has the large flip open ones and I haven’t been impressed. I just want a quick set up/take down comfy place to sleep off the ground. To me camping is the method to get to the places I want to go, it’s not about the camping and showing off/tinkering with my stuff.

[BaldBeardedBastard]

Yeller, you hit the nail on the head about why I went with the clamshell style of RTT! I want a comfortable place to sleep that's quick and easy to set up so I can focus on being in nature instead of slowly building out an erector set of a rtt.

To answer your question- yes we leave all of the blankets, pillows etc up there & also store the ladder in transit. It has locking gas shocks so it's about 45 seconds to set up and 2 minutes to make ready to head out( need to stuff the sides in after you lower the fiberglass roof).

Another thing I am impressed about is the thermal delta from outside. We were only at 1200' so then nights were mid 30s but I am guestimating that it was 20-25* warmer inside the tent at least. I had to shed layers at night. I have a few small battery temp loggers somewhere that I may throw in the next trip just to get some data.

Still a bunch of fine tuning with the setup, but I am very happy with the Autohome so far.

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[Yeller]

BBB thanks for the info! Yes the Thule style tent looks cool but what a PITA and you can’t store anything in it. Yes they show it up and down in under 2 minutes but they leave out wind, rain, and setting up inside once it’s erected. I want virtually as simple as the 4500# slide in camper I haul in my dually. If the trailer is hooked up stop halfway level and your set for the night.

[BaldBeardedBastard]

BBB thanks for the info! Yes the Thule style tent looks cool but what a PITA and you can’t store anything in it. Yes they show it up and down in under 2 minutes but they leave out wind, rain, and setting up inside once it’s erected. I want virtually as simple as the 4500# slide in camper I haul in my dually. If the trailer is hooked up stop halfway level and your set for the night.

Now you got me curious about that scout(if my poor vision isn't failing me)!

But I agree on the same motivation/ethos. This whole build is around making getting out to nature and spending time there more easily. I now can pull up to a spot, check that I am level on the Garmin, and call it good to pop up the tent and settle in for the evening. Not in as much comfort as your rig( gorgeous btw), but enough to call it good.

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[Yeller]

Actually you’d be surprised, all comforts of home on the road and is super easy to live with and set up time is literally stop at a level spot and done. There are no slides so you don’t have to mess around with anything and it looks like it’s just parked, not being used. I can stop anywhere, sleep, shower and cook breakfast. We do a lot of trips to UT and CO, I leave it packed most of the time and we use it year around for long and close trips. If I need the truck when I’m home it takes about 10 minutes to unload and about 15 minutes to reload, lining it up can be tricky. I custom built the trailer to not use a long extension on the hitch, I have about 50,000 miles on this set up and like it the best out of everything I’ve done as far as a rolling house on wheels. The rolling house keeps the Mrs happy so it’s easy to say it’s required lol

You mean the Bronco? No offense taken, LOL. Built it 10 years ago and is an absolute blast, drivability is as good as the dually and off road goes like a tube buggy. It’s a blasphemous build in the bronco world with an LS and all GM drivetrain. Here’s more info if you’d like to do some reading and probably have a few laughs.
https://classicbroncos.com/forums/thre ... ld.242196/

[BaldBeardedBastard]

With glasses on and less whiskey in me, that is definitely a bronco and not a scout!

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[dodgerammit]

Out and about with a shake down trip. Truck has been great, cruising happily at 66-68 mph for the highway and pressures and temps all stable. The steering shaft swap to the Borgensen was a huge improvement with cutting down on the wandering.

Trying to see what items we forget and slowly walk out the duration with longer and longer trips. Here are a few pictures at the campsite.

Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Tapatalk

Perfect glam shot! Reaping the rewards of a job well done!

[DeveDanders]

So happy to read about your truck out on the road (and off the road)! Great work!! Looking forward to reading more about it.

My J200 R2.8 swap is coming along. I've been dreaming more and more of driving it and getting more excited reading about yours!

[rocklaurence]

That's what its all about--enjoying your Rig/Project! Have you run into any areas offroad where you were concerned that trees/rocks would get into the camper shell?

[230ohc]

I'm very impressed with your build, and excited it is working well for you. Great job.

[BaldBeardedBastard]

Double post

[BaldBeardedBastard]

Still alive and kicking- too many life events in the past 18 months to count; now East Coast based. Had the jeep out this weekend camping up in the Catskills for some relaxation and to walk up some mountains.

It was flawless the whole trip. Still need to regear the axles to keep cruising speed on grade, but everything was great for 200ish miles round trip. Got about 23 mpg. Need to get the AC sorted and charged this winter.

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[Yeller]

Great to see you’re still around, been wondering about you.

I managed to join the RTT club as well.

[BaldBeardedBastard]

Great to see you’re still around, been wondering about you.

I managed to join the RTT club as well.

Thanks man! I was just getting caught up on your build thread and saw that(in addition to drooling over the Atlas).

How has it been for you? I swear up and down by it- been out in it in cold/hot and raining monsoons and slept dry & comfortable.

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[Yeller]

Great to see you’re still around, been wondering about you.

I managed to join the RTT club as well.

Thanks man! I was just getting caught up on your build thread and saw that(in addition to drooling over the Atlas).

How has it been for you? I swear up and down by it- been out in it in cold/hot and raining monsoons and slept dry & comfortable.

Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Tapatalk

Thanks! Yeah the Atlas was a splurge but just couldn’t bring myself to spend that much money on a 241c… and still have a 241.

The tent has been awesome. Haven’t used it much this summer, not able to make any northern or mountain trips this year. Did use it a bunch over the winter and spring. Hot, cold, windy and wet has been warm and dry. Did move sites one night in AZ, was on a ridge top and the wind got ridiculous. Moved a couple of miles down the valley and it was nice and calm. But the view was spectacular