January 22, 2017

January 22, 2017May 16, 2023

Overlanding Kit on the Way (Post #569) 1/22/2017

I bought a second aluminum medical transport chest. I read an article on Overland Bound about having a three trunk system. Pack 3 Cases describes a system where you have three cases ready to go at all times. Adjusting your kit to have the optimal amount of gear for getting out and getting on the trail.

If you have the cases pre-packed you can get home, get your kit on you rig, and get on the road more quickly and efficiently. It’s a solid idea, so I went to some effort to find and purchase 2 additional GI Aluminum Medical Transport Cases. They come in basically three sizes I prefer the Medium size.
Medium – 11½. H x 19½ in. W x 31½ in. L
Large – 17 in. H x 19½ in. W x .31½ in. L
X-Large Chest – 22 in. H x 19½ in. W x 31½ in. L

A quick search of eBay may find you some used ones. I found some at Coleman’s for a reasonable price 79.99$(US). I’ve seen the for as much as 130$(US) and weren’t as nice. Coleman’s often runs out of stock so be prepared for that eventuality. I bought on from a gentleman on eBay. It came with a lot of additional stuff which I thought was awesome. In addition to the case, I got a sleeping bag bivy cover, a very large ditty bag, and a large ammo can. So shop around you don’t know what you’ll get.

If you read my Organizing the Boot post you will see my first medical case there in the pictures. In that case I pack all my tools, spare parts, and straps both recovery and packing. I recommend you read that post as well as it outlines how I pack all the gear needed to keep me on the road and prepared for most issues.

I have packed the camp kitchen in one of my other cases. I still have a little room left for more items if necessary. The third case I think will be my sleeping gear like sleeping bag and sleeping pad. My cot will still need to go in the back along with camp chairs. My friend Erik recently purchased a set of the upgraded heavy duty plastic storage cases.

The thing with either of these solutions is that the cases are water tight and very sturdy. I don’t expect that I’ll have to replace them any time soon. After Erik posted this picture on the Oklahoma Land Rover Owner’s Facebook page I thought of doing a similar picture. However that was the first week my shoulder was really acting up and I couldn’t lift anything over my head. The thought of emptying the cases to make them lighter didn’t appeal to me either as I had just got them loaded with gear.

Thanks for reading and Happy Rovering.

January 22, 2017May 16, 2023

Dash Mounts (Post #568) 1/22/2017

I added a mount for some tablet based navigation. I also added a mount for my phone due to the Oklahoma summers melting the suction cup windshield mounts.

Installing it was a bit of a challenge. Under the plastic dash cover which the Evil German Dude gave me quite a lashing over poking holes in it lies a metal framework. In my defense, that dash is faded, falling apart from years of Oklahoma sun, and generally not worth preserving. So the mounts are mounted through the plastic and through the metal and I assure you are quite sturdy.

I’ve had a few questions about what software I’m running on my Android tablet for offline navigation. Let me first say I’m not sure the software I’m running is the right application for me. We had some issues using it when we were in New Mexico and it turned out that using our phones connected to the interwebs was more convenient. Mostly because I wasn’t familiar enough with the software to tell Mr. Fisher how to use it and my impatience with my A-driver/navigator response time being too long when I need to know the next turn. Thankfully Mr. Fisher was very understanding and forgiving of me.

The software is MapFactor: GPS Navigation (Play Store link) its available free from the Google Play Store. You can also download areas from Google Maps for “offline use”.

Thanks for reading and Happy Rovering.

January 22, 2017May 16, 2023

New Tires (Post #567) 1/22/2017

After 4 years on my Firestone AT’s they finally quit me. They just don’t make tires like they used too. /sarcasm.

With 2/32ds on the worst one it was time get new shoes for the BWB. I took her by my son-in-law’s Firestone shop on 33rd in Edmond to get a new set of Bridgestone Dueler AT Revo 2’s. I love these tires.

I noticed he had a set of 5 BF Goodrich MTs on sale for 180$(US). If they were the right size and I had an extra set of rims I would have totally bought these for trail driving. But alas I am only able to afford a single set today.

They got me all setup and I’m back on the road. I could go on for hours about tires. But like opinions there are many brands and sizes of tires to choose from. I am a big fan of Bridgestone. I know Bill Burke is a big fan of BF Goodrich tires. All I recommend is that you do your research. Tires need to function on dry and wet roads, snow and ice, gravel and dirt. And for me most of all they have to be quiet on the highway.

Thanks for reading and Happy Rovering

January 22, 2017May 16, 2023

Goodbye Lucas Ignition (Post #566) 1/22/2017

This week was the last week I will use Lucas Ignition parts. If you are a regular reader of my blog you will remember that I recently updated all my ignition parts to correct some poor performance and rough running. I’ve had a few run-ins with Lucas the Prince of Darkness…

Ignition Coil Strikes Again
Bad Fuel? Nope…

I’d forgotten how many times my ignition either through a bad coil or ignition module or both had left me stranded. Last week it did it again. The symptoms are all to obvious now.

The engine seems to misfire at speed.
The idle is rough. Frequent misfires.
Engine cranks but does not fire.

As I was lamenting this with JagGuy he said, “Why don’t you swap it for a basic General Motors (GM) EMI ignition. That’s what’s in all the Jaguars. It would be simple.” Simple for him for sure. And in the end not terrible at all.

JagGuy said it would be easy and it was. I called him on Wednesday night when Mr. Fisher and I were swapping ignition bits to try and find the issue. On Thursday afternoon he told me to come by after work and there it was a new module.

The fun part was how he sourced the parts. The ignition module is from a 1978 Chevy Silverado, the coil comes from a 1988 Chevy, and the bracket comes from a 1998 Chevy Caprice.

The actual part numbers from O’Reilly’s

BWD – CBE4P – 26.99$(US)
MPI – 2-5198 – 22.99$(US)

For that price…a lifetime warranty. Where is Lucas’s lifetime warranty? LIFETIME WARRANTY. And even better they are available at any O’Reilly’s or AutoZone in America. Probably in-stock, in the store.

The wiring is pretty simple.

You can find a diagram pretty much anywhere on line. The only tricky part was getting the two wires that go to the distributor correct. Initially we had them switched. If you happen to do this you may notice the idle RPM to be somewhere around 1200.

I need to zip tie the leads down a bit more. I don’t like them wiggling around. We shortened the pink wire that goes to the wire coming off the clear-ish octopus like plug just below the air filter.
When we had it installed initially the idle was terrible and it caused several Code 44’s. I got those cleared by disconnecting the battery for a minute or so. They say you can disconnect the serial cable to the display, but I’ve never had any luck with that.

After I drove her to Edmond for the new tires and up to JagGuy’s shoppe for him to go over her to find the issue with the idling. When I pulled up she was running like a top. Apparently the computer starts learning after you clear the codes and run a fun cycle without any codes. By the time I drove her home she was running like a top.

On the Difficulty Scale this is a two. The assembly is easy, getting the wires hooked up is a bit of fun but not ridiculous.

Thanks goes out to JagGuy. I really appreciate your expertise and your amazing abilities.

Thanks for reading and Happy Rovering.

January 22, 2017May 16, 2023

Missing Posts: The Details (Post #565) 1/22/2017

‘ve noticed lately that I am getting 404 reports from Google. I looked and noticed a couple of obvious posts were missing. The Capulin Volcano posts were missing. I’ve been putting them back up as I have time. But today I wanted to share an ignition module issue with another RRC owner and it turned out it was missing too. Overall it seems I’ve lost 7 posts.

250,000
A Little Maintenance
Overlanding Kit on the Way
Dash Mounts
Goodbye Lucas Ignition
New Tires
Ignition Module Failure

I am sure this all happened when I had the issues with my WordPress setup. I post to Tumbler as well and most of the time the post is over there. So I’ll be restoring them in the coming days.
Sorry for the inconvenience.

Thanks for reading and Happy Rovering