Expedition cucv

[motorstormer]

Been thinking of doing something like this to my M1028, thoughts, opinions, downsides, or ideas. More pictures of this truck or other trucks like this would be great.

 

[Skyclad]

Looks Fun

 

[Landbarger]

Are you planning on doing some overlanding? Or just looking for a sweet truck setup?

 

[motorstormer]

Are you planning on doing some overlanding? Or just looking for a sweet truck setup?

A sweet truck set up/ off road camping for my daily driver maybe some over land in the future.

 

[honda]

Motorstormer, where would your spare be sitting? How many?
What are you using to tie down your Hi-Lift.....any locks on it?

Rock sliders can be really helpful in the bush, and rocks.
Will save your rocker panels while providing a bit easier way out of trouble.
2am moonless night stuck in a grass obscured ditch 4 feet deep x 4 feet wide - two miles from the Mexican border.
Not a good place to get stuck,,,especially at night.

Multiple Hi-lifts are essential.
One to lift and one to push back into the opposing wall.
A "Pull-Pal" or some other type of land anchor is a life saver when there are no grab points for your
winch and the Hi-lifts won't do the trick.

Killer bumpers, front and back, help buffer against rocks and larger than life bushes. Lots of steel in those bumpers with well constructed and installed mounts
save your radiator and coolers to die a natural death from over use. You can always re-position the bumper after a hard hit. It's very difficult to recover from
a cooler or radiator fluid leak in the field because a less than stout bumper kissed or worse yet, punctured a fluid unit. If ya never leave the blacktop this will likely never be an issue.

Make sure the roof rack is well mounted with consideration to the weight load up top.
Don't wind up like some of the guys with a cracked/crushed topper.

My MPG and EGT readings tell me the weight load has gone up since this unit was scratch from the factory.
Time for a CAT scale visit.



Cheers

 

[motorstormer]

Motorstormer, where would your spare be sitting? How many?
What are you using to tie down your Hi-Lift.....any locks on it?

Rock sliders can be really helpful in the bush, and rocks.
Will save your rocker panels while providing a bit easier way out of trouble.
2am moonless night stuck in a grass obscured ditch 4 feet deep x 4 feet wide - two miles from the Mexican border.
Not a good place to get stuck,,,especially at night.

Multiple Hi-lifts are essential.
One to lift and one to push back into the opposing wall.
A "Pull-Pal" or some other type of land anchor is a life saver when there are no grab points for your
winch and the Hi-lifts won't do the trick.

Killer bumpers, front and back, help buffer against rocks and larger than life bushes. Lots of steel in those bumpers with well constructed and installed mounts
save your radiator and coolers to die a natural death from over use. You can always re-position the bumper after a hard hit. It's very difficult to recover from
a cooler or radiator fluid leak in the field because a less than stout bumper kissed or worse yet, punctured a fluid unit. If ya never leave the blacktop this will likely never be an issue.

Make sure the roof rack is well mounted with consideration to the weight load up top.
Don't wind up like some of the guys with a cracked/crushed topper.

My MPG and EGT readings tell me the weight load has gone up since this unit was scratch from the factory.
Time for a CAT scale visit.


View attachment 612658View attachment 612660
Cheers

All of my gear including the one spare will be in the bed until the space is needed then tire, jack and whatever else I have can be throne on the roof, this way it'll all be locked up and out of the elements most of the time. I also plan on doing rock sliders, can they be bought for these trucks or will they have to be made? I really like the stock bumpers and don't want to change them. I hope to find a metal toper I think these utility ones are, so hopefully the weight of the roof rack woln't be a issue. Thanks for the pictures looks good but I don't want to use military antenna mounts cause I'm afraid I'll get them hung up on a tree.

 

[honda]

My rock sliders were purchased in 2012 from "Shankem-Deep", a SS member.
Don't know if he's still making these.
Bolted right up to the frame. Rocker panels are very appreciative of Shankem-Deep's good work.
Sliders came with bolt on steps which I have not used. I think the steps would be a problem in the rocks or rough terrain.
Antenna mount brush guards have, so far, kept mesquite trees at bay.

 

[Recovry4x4]

Steel utility toppers are heavy but super stout and so very useful. I even use them on my M101 trailers. All of mine are of the tailgate design but I really prefer the panel door design. The roof would be plenty strong to sensibly mount a rack.

 

[honda]

Recovery, have you had any experience with insulated steel toppers?
Sound abatement - heat control ?
Steel would solve the antenna ground problem.

 

[cyberpigue]

I had a 1 1/2 height aluminum shell for mine. It allowed covered storage from the top of the bed to the floor with pull out drawers. The three walls were doors and could be opened up to allow covered, yet open space for base camp items and then my roof-top tent on top of all of that. It made the truck a little tall, but also made it much more useful. This was a shot before I put the RTT on.

 

[jpg]

...It made the truck a little tall, but also made it much more useful...

Or you could go with a slightly taller box, with heat, A/C & lights that seats 9 or sleeps 4.


I park in places where a roof rack would not be secure, so I lock my gear inside.

 

[srodocker]

Im setting up my suburban cucv clone as a expedition rig for overlanding. Just got it running so thats a start for me. Hopefully having a custom roof rack built to use most of the roof real estate.

I have a cucv brush guard that was modifyed at some point to hold a spare off the front. Since im going to go to hmmwv tires it may not work but we will see. I will be carrying two spare with the truck as my experience is always one goes and shortly after another one just happens to go.

Cant wait to see more pics!

 

[jpg]

I will be carrying two spare with the truck as my experience is always one goes and shortly after another one just happens to go.

Tire repair tools are also worth considering. You want to be able to patch a hole, replace a valve stem or a valve, break & set a bead, inflate a tire, etc. Tools & parts for this take up much less space & weight than a tire.

http://www.amazon.com/Safety-Seal-String-Repair-Storage/dp/B001DIECCK
http://www.amazon.com/Allstar-Performance-ALL44028-Breaker-Adjustable/dp/B00JQW6B9C

 

[cyberpigue]

I considered looking for an ambulance or service truck, but there were times when I wanted the top off. Plus, with what I had, I could just open the doors and slide them out (by removing one retaining screw on the hinge) and have cover from sun for a day of riding, but still be able to see for backing.

 

[srodocker]

Good call on the tire repair tools as well. As I will also want the ability for it to assist other family members and SS people if need be. Between the m928 and suburban will have most tools one would need for a road side assistance.

 

[zone zero]

 

[srodocker]

Pictures seem to be broken?

 

[zone zero]

I'm not sure why most of the time it won't let me post pics then when it does it dumps 3-6 of the same image.

i have some good pictures of some expedition builds that might help not to mention im building my 1009 for the same thing.

but back to the expo build. Go onto expedition portal .com great people from all over the world can help you out a lot.

also my advice with building an expo rig no matter what your base is.
Keep it simple and close to stock the less after market parts the better, you can go to any XYZ auto place in the US and get most parts for these trucks . If you start adding all kinds of mods you might find out the hard way your good expo truck just got a lot worse.

with this in mind stick to a tire size that's reasonable to get from your typical tire shop. When you start going big you limit yourself and in reality don't really gain anything in road manners and offroad uses. Remember expedition vehicals are not about rock crawling or mud racing but about going on the road less traveled and coming back.

 

[zone zero]

 

[Tinstar]

My rock sliders were purchased in 2012 from "Shankem-Deep", a SS member.
Don't know if he's still making these.
Bolted right up to the frame. Rocker panels are very appreciative of Shankem-Deep's good work.
Sliders came with bolt on steps which I have not used. I think the steps would be a problem in the rocks or rough terrain.
Antenna mount brush guards have, so far, kept mesquite trees at bay.

Are you trying to make your post impossible to read?!