if you could do it over again

98dango

Expedition Leader
If you could roll back time what would you change. Would you build the same rig. Or would it just keep evolving like some hear have done.

I would have kept my last truck swapped cabs and added efi.
 

HotrodSmurf

Observer
I'd never buy my wj. I'd fix the ignition on my f150, pass 200,000 miles happy not having a car payment and knowing I can fix it if it breaks.
 

Bushcoat

one trail at a time
Id do my travelling on a Yamaha TW200, tow it behind my car which would have a RTT and some bigger tires. Gas is of the essence.
 

rxinhed

Dirt Guy
I'd go back to Dec. 22, 1998 and dealt with the guys who stole my '77 Dodge W300.

Dodge 124.jpg

I've found a similar truck and I'm actively trying to buy it.
 

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bloodyWEST

Adventurer
i would have bought a real 4 door, crew cab. even if it meant having a gasser and not a diesel(limited budget).

2 kids, both in car seats, really is a hassle. i find myself not driving the truck as much as id like, simply for this reason. "comfort and legroom" sounds like a bogus excuse, but its reality when traveling with a family. i also should have looked into suburbans more.

as much fun as my 12V is, i feel like its a bachelor truck, and not a great family truck.
 

Garbinator

SeekTheMoneyTree
The day I and WE called in sick for a day of hunt and drunk. The previous two weeks had been a serious deep hurt, even a loss most there that particular day will take to our graves. Some have already.

The grandest of all grand "things" I ever wanted was a Jeep. A CJ-5 to be exact. Having az planted a MUTT (M151A1/A2) for many years curtesy of the Gi mobile express system I swore when it was over I'd buy borrow or steal me a get-up consisting of vehicle trailer combination including a real air mattress that NEVER deflated by 0200hrs nor would I ever sleep in a canvas shelter half tent during heavy snow and relentless ice rain etc etc again. John Wayne made it all look very appealing in my day, but as many of us soon realized, well... anyways.

Comfort being the key. In vehicle as well as in camp.

To make a long story short as they say, a bud of mine, a rather heavy set behemoth, a city boy for sure, never before exposed to the finer qualities of country/wilderness conditions ambled and plopped over to my Lil White Darlin of a White Cj-5 Laredo in search of another beer. While digging around from the passengers seat towards the back seat, his fat body knocked my manual gear shift lever out of reverse into neutral, causing my baby to begin rolling ever so slowly. My L-Tee and I sat aways off, clear view of this atop a large rock formation holding our rifles in one hand and a beer in the other watching this whole debacle from about 200yds or so. As the Cj began moving just a tad more than I cared for, suddenly city boy tried running around the rear fell down to his knees, the jeep moving away about three to four feet ahead of him, getting up, he rushed to the drivers side grabbing onto the gear shift in vain attempt at somehow getting it in gear, by now my lil Darlin was going a mite faster causing me some real concern. I yelled at him to try the emergency brake to include the manual brake peddle. Within moments, gaining speed as the slight decline become a real decline speed, weight and bad luck took over as my hapless comrade quickly realized he was stuck in the drivers seat on his big girth of a belly as we yelled for him to bail out-LET IT GO!!!

He screamed about half way down (I'm so sorry Gary) by now-headed straight into a very deep ravine I knew to be there when suddenly the Jeep lurched upward violently hitting a tall cut-off pine tree followed by the rear pumpkin striking the same remaining tree stump lifting the end of the jeep and his body well over four feet high. Those very exact moments my eyes focused in on his right thigh lining up perfectly underneath the left tire as it come down... barely missing his upper thigh brushing his skin as he and the jeep threw him like an over-sized rag doll. By this time, I last saw her gaining speed until those last few moments frozen in time her *** end the last I saw of her before sinking out of sight. Seconds passed, then a horrible smashing sound came as I ran to the city boy who lie there rocking back and fourth trying to somehow control the pain his leg suffered. He began balling like ah baby-not just over what had happened, but about his life in general, and those horrible days we all endured.

Miles away from what I new to be a nearby ranch. I explained I had to hike there for help. That pretty much describes the jest of it.

The Lil White Cj had bee-lined straight into a huge rock formation, the ONLY formation there period! The entire front end caved in, tears began whaling up in my eyes the sight of it all.

I would never wish for a repeat... so? If I were to change my rig... if I we're to somehow go back in time, I would leave the beer at home, FIX my non-working emergency brake, point it a different direction, put down chalk blocks around wheels.

I guess that cats been let out of the bag...


CJ***CJ
 
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Buliwyf

Viking with a Hammer
Whut ya talkin aboot? I AM doing it again! Slowly piece by piece as usual.
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I regret dumping tons of money on a Jeep YJ. Real offroading is boring as heck! Just like drag racing. Need more, buy more. Sadly my fullsize does everything better than my Jeep did, except trails better suited to ATV's.
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And my CRF450r, should have bought a street legal KTM with electric start. I have way more fun on a less sporty Suzuki DRz400 s. But if I can sell my CRF450r........
 

graynomad

Photographer, traveller
I would not have built such a large vehicle when I did my first proper truck (16 tons, 34 feet), I rectified the problem a few years ago by pulling it apart, cutting the chassis down and rebuilding, now at 25 feet and 12 tons it's a real Goldilocks truck, not too big, not too small, just right. Well just right for living in, still too big to take down a fire trail :)
 

Regcabguy

Oil eater.
Wish I'd bought a '03-'04 Ram HO. Zero in-cylinder EGR,one less ignition event,no cat,cast iron NV 5600 and 2-3 +mpg.
 

Larry

Bigassgas Explorer
As far as my main outdoor adventure rig, the ’78 K10 with the Phoenix camper, I wouldn’t have done anything differently but it sure would have made life easier if I had just started with a K30 in the first place instead of a 1/2 ton, but 17 years ago when I started this project I had no idea that one day it would one day be wearing a camper and traveling just about every back road in the Southwest. Back in 1996 when I was a college kid with huge dreams powered a small budget I just wanted to build short bed ¾ ton for mountain camping and fishing trips.

The exterior color is another item I sometimes wish I would have gone with my first choice of color ( a nice earth tone brownish gold GM called Autumnwood on the late 90’s GM trucks) but I was living in Detroit at the time and did not have the facility, time or money to completely tear the entire truck apart to change colors from its old blue to an entirely different color. The Quasar blue my buddy and I laid on it back then (1998) was close enough where the door jambs and interior didn’t need to be resprayed so it was a quick weekend paint job in a barn in Western Michigan. Hard to believe that quick weekend Quasar blue job is already 15 years old and still looks almost like new. Amazingly enough it hides desert pinstriping very well!

On the flip side, the late model big block fuel injected engine, overdrive manual transmission and Phoenix camper were the absolute best upgrades. Without any of that, it would just be another old truck to take fishing and camping
dunno.gif


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As far as the Polar Bear Burb, no regrets yet. It’s an easy build from lessons learned on the K10. Already familiar with the short cuts to modernizing old iron.
 
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98dango

Expedition Leader
I wish I had kept my old Chevy and built a jeep or samuri to tow. I have $8000 dollars in one truck its so far from where I want/need it. I am worried to dent it mess it up as its my only wheels. The wife has a truck but 2 of us using one trujck is geting old.
 

The Adam Blaster

Expedition Leader
Instead of using my insurance settlement to buy a house, I should have just bought a Class C and flat-towed my XJ.
If only I had a time machine!!!
 

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