Ground up DIY Build by OVX 2012

[Uglyduck]

We took it out on a little overnight shakedown trip to a small lake about 30 miles away and made it fun by taking Old Rt.66 as much as possible. We stopped along the way at various little landmarks and the road itself is dirt most of the way. In some locations you can see the 3 different tracks that 66 has had over the years. There's something about reuniting with your county's past thats invigorating. At the lake we enjoyed lounging, fishing, hiking and a little off roading. The trailer made it really convenient for me to take the dogs in the truck and do some exploring without leaving the girls standed. It also allowed us to head into town to a 50's diner for chow and ice cream without having to pack up camp. My favorite part was unpacking when we got home...next to nothing had to come off.

It was a good shakedown trip and here are some things I need to address:
1) getting it level in camp. I used a Wayne's RV stabilizer which is great for limiting movement but does nothing to level the sleeping platform. I'm going to try and level it with the Hi-Lift first then put on stabilizer next time.
2) Organizing gear, food, equipment, etc. I hate digging around for 10 minutes to find something simple.
3) Mount propane and Jerry cans. Having them stored inside means I have to move them around to get to other things. This was already in my plan but I want to get it done sooner now.
4) Leaf springs - there isn't much bow left in them once loaded which is slightly concerning. It didn't bottom out but I may stop by American Spring and get their opinion on it.

I also have an idea to attach the awning to the Rhino Rack cross-members. I don't think I'll have time to make them work before we leave for Zion but we'll see.

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[Mark Harley]

Very nice and my favorite........RED!

[Uglyduck]

I took care of the leaf springs today. Ran them over to American Spring yesterday afternoon to get them re-bowed and add a leaf. They turned out great, brought the height up 2.5 inches and took the squish out of them. The trailer was bouncy before and now it rides as I expected it should. I estimate the trailer to be around 1500lbs unload but still dont really know, I still need to make a trip to the dump...to get it weighed, thanks LPV

I took it to the DMV this afternoon and walked right in, no one was even in the waiting room. That never happens! I thought it was a good sign but no such luck, since the fenders are over 14" off the ground I need to have mud flaps. So, I get to go back in Friday morning after they're installed and wait with 50 other people, of course. I sent a PM to Martyn at AT to ask about their trailers, I noticed in a lot of photos that they don't have mud flaps and they're built 90 miles away.

No word on the awning yet but wednesday is the earliest I'd know anything, guess its coming strait from Ironman's Australia warehouse.

For organization I'm looking at something inexpensive yet effective. i'm not too concerned with dust as the trailer does a pretty good job of keeping it out but I would still like too keep gear protected. I saw a thread on Coleman Stackers, coolers made for backyard party's. They have a pretty square shape, stack (obviously), come in several colors which is nice for organizing, and are air tight. They're around $25-$30 online, I haven't had any luck finding them locally though. Funny thing is, I recall seeing them at Target a year ago and thinking they would work well but blowing it off and forgetting about them only to go back today and wish I'd bought them. Figures. The alternative (prettier option) would be to build some out of wood. I can get exactly what I'm looking for with a little elbow grease.

Stackers thread - http://www.expeditionportal.com/foru...light=stackers
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[Mark Harley]

Found some on Amazon with free shipping
ebay at Wayfair "Call them and see if they can do better on the price without buying on ebay."
1-866-513-5799

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Coleman-24-C...item19d0d4d9da

[Uglyduck]

We've taken this out on a few more small local trips and I added the Ironman awning last week. I attached it to the Rhino Rack bars with some brackets I made, its a pretty simple design. When I get a moment I'll add some close ups of it.

Going down Schnebly Hill Road
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Set up in camp
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I've thought more about my organization issue and think drawers will be the way to go. If I do them right I'll be able to move them to my truck bed if needed.

[Uglyduck]

The Eezi-Awn cover has been slowly dying so I stitched up a new one today. Its the same material and I used the old one as a pattern, it took about 5 hours. Here are some closeups of the Awning mounts attached to the Rhino Rack too.

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[Mark Harley]

Nice job on the red cover,
If you are ever searching for any tarps or box style covers try mytarps.com
tell them Mark Harley sent you. Search machine cover.

[MossLager]

Nicely done!