Help for equiping a vehicle that will be left on a beach

[SaltH2OHokie]

Howdy,

After searching the internet with various questions and repeatedly finding threads on this forum that had great answers, figured I'd join and try to get some advice about my setup.

We're going to have a truck (Trooper II) permanently in a saltwater beach, where it will live out its days serving as a beach driving, surf fishing and all around exploring rig. My obstacles as I see them, are:

-Keeping it from rusting away to nothing.
-Keeping it running with a minimal of major mechanical intervention (ie I want to do all of the preventive maintenance I can, as well as any mechanical simplifications or "bulletproofing" that I can, while I'm able to use a garage and air tools...and electricity...)
-Avoiding theft/joyriding/vandalization during long periods of unattended time parked on location. "Theft" isn't really the right word, as I doubt anyone would steal it, per say, but if they thought they could use it to get ten miles down the beach, they would. And I doubt they'd fill it back up with gas and bring it back unharmed. In this vein, I was picturing a way of running it strictly on portable tanks (boat gas tank(s)?) and at a minimum a battery disconnect, or more likely taking the battery with me every time (keeps it charged). Also a removable steering wheel?
-Enhancements for driving 100% of the time on sand. I was thinking of fitting wide, A/T tires, welding my rear spiders, and potentially welding the front diff as well. This truck will never, ever see anything but sand...and it was $100, so I'm not putting high-dollar lockers or suspension lifts...I'll crank the torsion bars a bit, put shackles or blocks in the rear, and fire up the plasma cutter to clear the way for maybe 33" or so tires. I was also thinking a winch, on a receiver mount, with 2" receivers front and rear, and a sand anchor would be good moves.

Any other thoughts, or tips...I'd love to hear them.

Thanks!

 

[JHa6av8r]

Not commenting on the anti-theft features, but we have friends the live on the Cape east of Cabo de San Jose and they have always had Troopers as well as a 4x4 van and run them without mods even stock tires. As far recovery gear, all I'd get is a kinetic rope or strap, some sand boards like Maxtrax or TREDS, and a shovel or two. Whenever the surf up they're on the beach all over Baja.

 

[1stDeuce]

Yeah, I'll second that it's not likely to require huge tires and all that to get around. Just put a set of 30x9.50's on it, or something that fits easily, and leave them at 10-12psi all the time. Pull the swabar(s) and toss them too, since you won't need them, and it'll ride better without. You can weld the rear if it makes you feel better, but it likely won't make much difference unless you plan to "four wheel" it instead of just driving down the semi-smooth beach.
With just that easy stuff done, it'll go anywhere on the beach that you point it, and it'll be pretty tough to get it stuck unless you go looking to.

As for other mods, how much you need to do depends on how ambitious the locals are at their game. Taking the battery would be your best bet, as it's easy to steal, and likely to go dead while the truck sits anyway, unless you put a solar panel on it, which would also be easy to steal...

Personally, I'd go with leaving it all unlocked, and leave nothing they can take. That way there's no broken windows when you return, but also nothing missing, even if they go snooping. Remove the radio. Remove the battery. Don't leave stuff in it. If siphoning is a concern, you can weld an armor shield over the rubber fill hose, and put a locking gas cap on it. If they do damage with that stuff installed, there's nothing you can do that would stop them. Leaving it empty probably won't help much, as they likely won't know it's empty until after they do the damage to siphon anyway.

I find that taking a critical fuse or relay makes me feel better about leaving my vehicle in a shady place, and most thieves here in the states wouldn't know to look at the fuse block and figure out what's missing... I doubt they would in Baja either.

As for rust, park it as FAR from the water as absolutely possible. DON'T drive fast on wet sand, or splash through salt water. Rinse it off after you use it if possible. It'll still rot away, but that'll slow it down some. Unless it's really rust free now, rustproofing is fairly worthless in my experience. Once rust starts, it just goes, especially if it's exposed to more salt and moisture.

 

[SaltH2OHokie]

Thanks for the responses thus far. My dad had a trooper ('86) and we used to take it on the beach a few times a year, stock tires, street air pressure, etc. and never had a lick of trouble, but that was also somewhere with other vehicles driving up and down the beach. This will be in an area with likely no one for miles, even during peak fishing runs. Outside of peak times, there will likely be no other humans around. So getting stuck is an "every man for himself" sort of proposition.

Theft, unlocked is certainly the right move...and nothing inside...I like it, and hadn't actually thought through the notion of locking it vs unlocking.

As for welding the rear, I had a locker on my last Tacoma, and that seemed to help in deeper sand beach driving. Maybe it was in my head (placebo effect of pressing a button).

I'm picking the truck up from my buddy Saturday, and will start with checking compression, changing the fluids and assessing where to go from there in terms of mechanical condition.

If anyone has any other thoughts, love to hear them.

Thanks

 

[BigSwede]

First gen Troopers rust pretty easily, to put it mildly. The quickest and easiest rust prevention I know of is to coat the frame and inside the body panels with Fluid Film a couple times a year.

 

[SaltH2OHokie]

First gen Troopers rust pretty easily, to put it mildly. The quickest and easiest rust prevention I know of is to coat the frame and inside the body panels with Fluid Film a couple times a year.

I sort of assumed that to be true based my dad's Trooper that he had for so long. He loved his '86 so much that he replaced it with a '98 Trooper, in 1998. Doesn't seem to be rusting like his old one, but it burns oil quicker than a 2 stroke, and has since nearly new. Also, at $100...if it's eventually a barely held together pair of frame rails with a few five gallon bait buckets as seats with no body...that's not the absolute end of the world. Next time I'm out there I'll snap some pictures of the few other vehicles. You'd think they were salvaged from a shipwreck...but they run and drive (on occasion).

I tried talking my dad into making me a sweet deal ($100) on his '98 now that it's mostly a driveway ornament, but he's emotionally attached. "One day" was his answer.

 

[lugueto]

I wouldnt worry about rusting, just get a vehicle that is mechanically sound but don't mind the body.

Permanently on the coast, I assure you it will rust, no matter what you do, sooner rather than later. So why bother?

 

[BigSwede]

I sort of assumed that to be true based my dad's Trooper that he had for so long. He loved his '86 so much that he replaced it with a '98 Trooper, in 1998. Doesn't seem to be rusting like his old one, but it burns oil quicker than a 2 stroke, and has since nearly new.

Yeah, 2nd gens (92+) are MUCH more rust resistant, especially in the body.

 

[M35A2]

I wouldn't worry about it rusting because some drunken yahoos will be rolling it into the surf, regardless as to whether they can start and drive it.

Depending on which beach, maybe you'll even get a nice visit from the Coast Guard or EPA on how it has become a hazard to navigation or for the oil slick it left behind.

(Sorry, apologize for the wet blanket.)

 

[pappawheely]

Make sure it's obvious that it isn't abandoned. Bored yutes may still vandalize it.

 

[LR Max]

Rover guys use this stuff called, "Waxoyl". Look google around for "home" remedies.

The only problem is that it just prolongs the inevitable. I'd say go get a shot to crap toyota, run it, then sell it for what you paid for it.

 

[XJLI]

I live practically live on the beach all summer with my truck. Where is this thing living? You don't need lockers at all. Rust is going to happen, so just let it happen.

Stock size or one size up (Would be 31s I'm thinking for a Trooper, I'm not 100% sure) with a mild all terrain or street-ish terrain AIRED WAY DOWN. That's all. Hi-Lift, jack board, shovel, and kinetic strap in the back.

 

[SaltH2OHokie]

I live practically live on the beach all summer with my truck. Where is this thing living? You don't need lockers at all. Rust is going to happen, so just let it happen.

Stock size or one size up (Would be 31s I'm thinking for a Trooper, I'm not 100% sure) with a mild all terrain or street-ish terrain AIRED WAY DOWN. That's all. Hi-Lift, jack board, shovel, and kinetic strap in the back.

On an uninhabited barrier island. Kinetic strap (unless I'm missing something) would only be useful with another vehicle, correct? 99.9% of the time, we'd be the only vehicle out there. It's a 10+mile boat ride to the island, and you can only reach the natural landing points on certain wind and tide combo's...so if it gets stuck...its stuck unless we can extricate it ourselves, without the use of a second vehicle. There are trees, but not necessarily nearby, which is why I'd figured on a winch and a sand-anchor of some description. I have a Chinese 9k lb winch left over from a previous wheeling truck, figured that on a simple hitch mount would be useful.

As to the rust...seems the consensus is somewhere along the lines of "it's going to happen". I can live with that.

As for the prospect of it getting rolled into the surf and a subsequent knock on the door from USCG/DEQ/FBI/CIA: Lets hope not...not a highly trafficked area. That could go either way, I realize, but I'm hoping it works in my favor and the truck just rusts in peace.

 

[XJLI]

Oh, ok then. Then yea, a winch and some good kit to go with it... land anchor, extension cable, tree saver, etc. Throw some max tracks or whatever knockoff traction boards on there too then. A recovery strap is useless for you. Honestly, you can almost always just dig yourself out with a shovel when you get stuck in sand... Just know to actually stop when you got stuck and don't keep digging down forever. Strip all the carpet out and paint the inside with bedliner and add some drain plugs. Because the truck will leak or start too eventually, and why keep moisture-trapping carpet in there?

Sounds like a sweet setup. Be sure to post pictures somewhere.

 

[SaltH2OHokie]

Oh, ok then. Then yea, a winch and some good kit to go with it... land anchor, extension cable, tree saver, etc. Throw some max tracks or whatever knockoff traction boards on there too then. A recovery strap is useless for you. Honestly, you can almost always just dig yourself out with a shovel when you get stuck in sand... Just know to actually stop when you got stuck and don't keep digging down forever. Strip all the carpet out and paint the inside with bedliner and add some drain plugs. Because the truck will leak or start too eventually, and why keep moisture-trapping carpet in there?

Sounds like a sweet setup. Be sure to post pictures somewhere.

It's a beautiful place, and we're lucky enough to be friends with one of 2 people that owns a building out there, which gives him the right to legally have transportation. We'll be his guests. It'll likely not be anytime soon (gotta get the truck right, get a barge lined up for a lunar high tide that occurs on a day without a ton of wind, etc...) but eventually I'll post some pictures.



Thanks.