Building the SS(V) TrailHoe

[Bill 1960]

Yesterday we drove up what is reputed to be the toughest 4x4 trail in the area (Silverton CO). Lots of ruts, boulders, and steep climbing off camber with loose shale. Nasty. It took everything the old girl had, but she did it.

I was somewhat nervous about axle shafts, CVs, and the G80, but no carnage. I don’t like spinning big tires on rock, that’s how stuff gets destroyed.

We were crossed up enough times and tippy that I can say the weight distribution front to rear is about a perfect 50/50.

 

[RooTBeeRthe1st]

Yeah, with the amount of junk I usually have in the back of mine it actually handles pretty darn good on the road and seems very predictable off-road.
The weight distribution on these actually seems pretty good.

 

[Bill 1960]

I told myself I was going to simplify my load that I carry around, however more days than not I’m airing down for the rocks and then airing up again at the end of the trail.

So, I made myself another spider. This way I can inflate or deflate all four at once. Time to air up with the compressor is about 10 minutes. If I use the CO2 bottle I can air up all 4 in 50 seconds flat. After connecting the hoses of course; I’m NOT a NASCAR pit crew.

 

[Sparksalot]

Which compressor are you using? I’ve got a Viair 88P and do them individually.

 

[Bill 1960]

Which compressor are you using? I’ve got a Viair 88P and do them individually.

I have a Viair 400 series. After 15+ years I think it’s slowing down, I may see if they sell a refresh kit for it this winter.

 

[PatDTN]

Somebody must make a central inflation setup that can be adapted to our trucks.

 

[Bill 1960]

Navigated some long shelf road sections in CO today.



Stopped for lunch at this spot with nothing but high peaks in all directions, and came to a kind of bittersweet decision. This will be the Tahoe’s last trip with us out to places like this.

One of my goals this summer was to assess the build and decide whether to proceed with more mods, or move on. The Hoe may stay in the fleet and stay closer to home, but the potential consequences of mechanical failure in an area like this are just too severe. So I’ll be getting something new or newer for future exploring.

For the kind of places we like to go, it just makes sense to stay in the sweet spot of a machine’s reliability, which is neither the first 90 days nor 13 years+ of age.

 

[PatDTN]

Or do what my friends do and travel with several other similar minded rigs.

 

[RooTBeeRthe1st]

That's unfortunate to hear, but I definitely understand the reasoning. I daily mine, so anytime I go out and play I do typically drive it fairly gingerly.

I do have a secondary vehicle, but it needs a lot more work and the Tahoe LOL but it's still pretty reliable surprisingly even though it's been sitting, pretty sure less than 500 miles in the last 3 years. Haha

 

[Bill 1960]

Or do what my friends do and travel with several other similar minded rigs.

I wish we could do that more often, but it’s a tough thing to arrange. We do this for about 6 months a year and few people have the vehicle, budget, and free time for this. Then there’s the lifestyle issues, we did one short trip with a couple who didn’t get out of bed until after noon.