The Cactus Red mod thread.

crawler#976

Expedition Leader
1. Started with a bed box for tool/recovery gear storage.

2. Silverstars in headlights and fogs.

3. Mounted a RED Inc. light bar and 4 Hella 700 driving lights - upgraded wiring and bulbs to 100W from the 55W.

4. Sold the stock tires and put on 315/70-17 GoodYear MT/R Kevlars. Check clearances in my ditch - it's all good!

That's it for phase one!
 

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crawler#976

Expedition Leader
I've used Silverstars on all my vehicles - they work well!

It's too soon to make a judgement on the new MT/R's. They are very quite compared to the previous 35's I had on the trial rig, but I won't get to test trail performance until next week in NM and CO.

Mark
 

Outback

Explorer
You will love the new Goodyears! I was a bit skeptical but soon realized how good they are on and off road! Let us know how they work for you:smiley_drive:
 

crawler#976

Expedition Leader
I thought for sure I would see HIDs on the front of the PW. What made you change your mind?

REX

They won't fit on the RED bar...the hood won't clear when opening. The HID's are real deep with the ballast. Four 100W 7" lights don't even come close to the 2 HID's.
 

crawler#976

Expedition Leader
Phase Two and MT/R Kevlar update:

Phase Two:

Removed 32Lbs of 7/16 steel winch cable and replaced it with 5Lbs of 7/16" Synthetic thanks to Viking Offroad.

Removed the stock muffler and replaced it with a FlowMaster 50 Series SUV. The tone is greatly improved without any drone on the hwy.

Purchased a Purple Cranium 1/2 Diff guard for the front AAM 9.25" axle. It should arrive next week. After several trails I realize I need to protect the front cover. Even w/ 35" tires the axle clearance is limited, and I don't want to peel off a diff cover or dent the cover back into the ring gear.

MT/R K Total mileage to date - 2000+

After a 1600+ mile trip to NM and CO that included two trail rides, the Rat Creek Loop near Creede and Engineer Pass from Lake City to Silverton, I can say I'm very pleased with the new MT/R.

They are surprisingly quiet on the highway, cleaned well in mud, provided good traction on loose dry surfaces, and show no signs at all of the sharp rocks encountered along the way. They road comfortably at 18 PSI, showed a decent sidewall bulge at that pressure, and handled well at higher speed on dirt roads (from Eureka to Silverton).

Mark
 

crawler#976

Expedition Leader
Phase II addendum...

Photos of the FlowMaster and Amsteel Blue...

Found a set of Rock Rails - took a day to install'm. Added a 4" wide nerf/step made from 3/16 x 2 x 2 square stock and used 1/8" tread plate for the top. It took two days to fab the nerfs, install and plate them. I will be having them shot with bedliner even tho I know it won't hold up on the bottom surface, but it will cover my piss poor welds The bar will be shot with bed liner - hopefully this week. Time consuming, but well worth it. The truck really needs a step to get in comfortably. I'll get photos when the bars are complete. Between fab'n, we took a half day trip to Campwood and saw a few Mule Deer. All work and no play makes Mark a dull boy...

Finally, I ordered a Purple Cranium Front Diff guard- it should arrive this week. Again, photos will be posted after it's installed.

This will pretty much be the final mods to the rig for this year. I will be adding rear diff protection, and perhaps a Yaesu FT-7800 - but it's not a priority since I have the 2m HT available.

Thanks for looking!

Mark
 

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crawler#976

Expedition Leader
Well, the bed liner on the nerf step is out - low quote was $250.00!

So, it's time for some bondo and a rattle can.
 

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