October 4th, 2013     LeClaire, Iowa to Atlanta, Illinois

We started off today by watching rain drops hitting the windows of the hotel.  A storm was going through eastern Iowa and we got some early morning showers from it.

While we waited for the showers to subside we  played a little bit with the software and tablets.  It seems we are having problems getting the photos to load into blogger running on iPad or android.  I'll continue to try to get it worked out, but it may be beyond my capibilities to do.  If that is the case, I'll have to add the pics after I get home.  :(

At about 10 a.m. we dried off the cars and headed off to Antique Archeology (home of the "American Pickers" show on History Channel") in St Claire.  I have watched the show for a few years now and I really enjoy the mysteries of what items are worth.  Since we were in St Claire to pick up the cars at mikE's farm, it was just a few miles out of our way to visit the Antique Archeology store.

When we arrived at the store, my first impressions were:  1) Wow... that place is Tineeeee!  And, 2)  They sure do have a lot of people jamed into the parking lot!  We went in and toured the shop, it was interesting to see all the items in the shop that have been featured on the American Pickers show.  I guess they don't sell most of the stuff they feature on the show, because almost every piece was still there.  They had a lot of NFS tags on items, and just a few price tags on the rest.  After the parking lot had cleared a bit, I drove Lola up next to the front of the shop and David took a pic.

Notice that Lola is almost as long as the tiny shop is wide!

After a couple more pics of the store, we headed out for Joliet, Illinois.  Joliet is where we planned to get on Route 66, The Mother Road.  Cruising on the freeway in Lola is very nice.  David updated the sound system with a current cd/tuner/ipod player and speakers.  Everything looks pretty stock, including the am radio in the dash, but the sounds are definately newer.  With the top down at 70 mph the wind is not bad, and it is definately quiet enough to enjoy the tunes.

For a big car on smaller tires, Lola handles pretty well.  The engine has plenty of power and the car is wide enough to corner quite flat.

Enjoying some tunes and cruising to Joliet

After we arrived at Joliet, we turned onto 66, got some fuel, and headed south. The first stop was the Route 66 raceway.  There are two tracks there, a drag strip and a circle track.  There were no races going on, so the security guards letus drive down and have a look at the empty stands and track at the dragstrip.  

Souveniers truck for the Route 66 Drag Strip

We noticed the the Chicago Land NASCAR track was across from route 66 Raceway, so we drove over there and watched some of the Rusty Wallace Racing Experience  folks learning to drive a nascar race car at moderately high speeds.  

Top - Steve and Renie checking out the cars while in the background a car whizzes by

Bottom- A racer's car sitting on the grid

It was time to go to lunch, so we drove south to tThe Polka Sot Drive Inn and had great burgers and shakes.  The Polka Dot is famous for it's life sized statues of some famous stars.  

Can you guess who they are?

From the Polka Dot we headed down to Pontiac, Illinois to visit the Pontiac Museum.  For a small building, they had a lot of nice cars inside.  One of the nicest ones was a 1963 Bonneville, one of the largest hardtops ever built.

Sorry Folks

I'm getting very erratuc results for entering blog posts from my tablet.  Iwill not be entering any posts here until I am home and have access to my laptop.

Sorry,
Gil

Day 2 on Route 66

Well, I am making progress on the blog postings.  Small baby steps, but at least I see a little hope.  I found that the major problems I have experienced are because I have been trying to use my tablet to do the editing. 

At first, I thought it was not going to work at all.  Now I have downloaded a blogger app and it appears I can make it work.  There will be a little delay in catching up, because I haven't been able to post for several days, and frankly, it will take me some time to get used to the tablet app.  

While we are on the topic of speakingly, I wanted to show you the first roadside curiosity we encountered this morning.  A local guy at the restuarant last night told us we had to go to the old downtown district of Atlanta, Illinois and see the "weiner man".  So, of course we drove right over there this morning.  

I think in order to continue the description, I'd prefer to call him "frank man".  You may notice the he has what may well be the largest "frank" in the world.  So large, in fact, that he has to use both hands to hold it!  In fact, he has even developed a method of supporting his "frank" using the special "one hand up, one hand down forearm support method".  This allows him to hold his huge "frank" and still keep one hand available for other jobs, like shaking hands with any other goliaths that may drop by on their travels up route 66.  There are a lot more of these roadside curiosities ahead.

The Atlanta "Weiner Man"

After leaving the Weiner Man we enjoyed learning about the steam powered grain elevators just around the corner.  The elevators had been in use until the 1950's and are now another roadside curiosity.

Atlanta Illinois Grain Elevator

From the elevator, we drove to another roadside curiosity, the worlds largest covered wagon.

The wagon is the world's largest, but which is longer?

Next, we drove to an aerospace museum at Logan airport.  There was an A7 fighter plane that saw combat in Iraq parked in the parking lot, awaiting restoration.  Steve (being an aerospace engineer,) spent quite a while talking shop with the airplane mechanics.  They were picking his brain about this aircraft.

  

Swooping in on Lola for a buzz

From here, we continued on to Springfield, Illinois to check out Abe Lincoln's home and the historic Illinois Statehouse.

Top:  Abraham Lincolns home in Springfield, Illinois

Bottom:  Illinois State Supreme Court in the Illinois Statehouse (used before, during , and after the Civil War

Technical difficulties

I've experienced problems using my tablet to update or post new info to my blog while on this trip.  I'll continue to try and get them found and fixed, but intil then, please follow along on our trip by going to
Davidhsoh.wordpress.org where David is posting updates daily.  I hope to be able to get my blog up soon.  Until then, enjoy David's updates and photos.

:(   Gil

We Rendezvous

Today we united.  I literally did, as I flew United from Vegas to Detroit to Moline, Illinois.  Dave and Lola (his beautiful '66 Cadillac) picked me up at the Moline airport.  Steve and Renie dropped off their rental car at the airport, and we all jumped into Lola and headed up to mikE's farm (Officially known as Shardo Farms) to pick up the Cobra.

mikE invited us to a steak barbeque with his family.  Before dinner, I had the opportunity to go out in the fields and ride along in the combine.  mikE's dad (Doug) was operating the combine, and it was fascinating to see how far technology has entered into farm equipment.  The combine has GPS controls and a video display to track where it has been.   The display showed layers with all the crop and overlays of the harvested portion.  It is driven with a joy stick with several controls on the head of the stick, similar to a Jet fighter.

After hauling the harvested corn back to the elevators and dryers, mikE and Steve took the Cobra out for a ride.  Then, mikE showed us part of his car collection, including Doug's '57 T Bird, mikE's '55 Ford pickup, and his barn fresh '36 Chevrolet coupe.  David took the coupe out for a test drive, and was impressed at how this 77 year old car drove.

Dinner was wonderful.  The food was excellent, and the chance to catch up with mikE , his wife Lisa, and their 3 daughters was great.  After the meal, we were introduced to Whitey's ice cream.  it is deeeelicious!

After fond farewells, we headed to Davenport to check into the motel. Driving through the farmlands in Lola and the Cobra, we were treated to nature's light show.  There was an electrical storm just to the northwest of us, and riding in convertibles we were able to see all the action.  No rain, just lots of crackling and light.  Awesome!

It was a great rendezvous, and the trip begins!

Renie takes a ride in the tractor with Doug while Steve tries a hand at the combine operation.

An Oldy But Goody!

First Recording of Bobby Troup's song

Just a crazy coincidence, but Bobby Troup wrote the famous jazz song "(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66" in 1946.  It was recorded by the Nat King Cole Trio later that year.  That means the song is and original recording is now 67 years old!  This goes to prove that there was actually music before I was born.

The song was an immediate world wide hit.  It was later covered by many artists, including Chuck Berry (1961), the Rolling Stones (1964), Depeche Mode (1987), Pappos Blues (1995) John Mayer (2006), and Glenn Frey (2012).

Recordings and Videos of Route 66:

Nat King Cole Trio

Chuck Berry

Rolling Stones

Hear John Mayer's cover of Route 66

Depeche Mode

They're not fuzzy... but they are Purrfect!

OK, when Willa came home from work today she presented me with the essential "non-fuzzy authentic route 66 dice" to take along on the trip.  So, just in case we need some extra route 66 memorabilia, I'm prepared.  David says we can hang them on Lola's mirror.  I'm thinking it is a nice touch to set off the matching vanity plates that say "RTE6T6"

Last night about 10 pm Steve got the Cobra mounted on the trailer.  Now, both Lola and the Cobra are on the trailer making their way to Iowa.  mikE said to make sure the Cobra is full of fuel.  It sounds like he is in for a helluva joy ride in a few days when they arrive.

Only 11 more daze until my flight to begin the trip.  I can't wait!

The Journey Begins

"Lola" begins the journey

Today the journey has begun.  At least for one of the participants.  Her name is "Lola" and she is a seductive looking thing.  She is now on her way to Iowa, stopping at Saint George to be joined by her Cobra escort vehicle.  Once they arrive at mikE's farm in Iowa, we will be rendezvousing with her there.  

Lola is a '66 Caddy convertible.  White, with black top and red interior.  What a beauty!  

 I can't wait to meet her!  Meanwhile, between getting ready for the trip, I'm going out for a few days of camping with Willa and the dogs.  More, later.

Gil

Details, Details, Details

We have finalized most of the details for the "66 on 66 in a 66" road trip.  Here are the highlights:

The car transporter is going to pick up David's Caddy any day, then come to Saint George and pick up Steve's Cobra.  They will be dropped off at another Jeep friend's farm in Iowa.  Steve and Renie are flying to Chicago on the 1st of October.  David will join them in Chicago on the second.  They will get a rental car in Chicago and drive to Moline, where I will arrive the afternoon of the 3rd.  We will hang out at mikE's farm on the 3rd, then head for Joliet, Illinois on the 4th, where the route 66 trip will begin for the four of us.  

We aren't going to start in South Chicago, the original start of route 66.  We've all been there before, and it is an unnecessary risk to drive into South Chicago in such desirable cars.  Joliet is the famous location of the Illinois State Penitentiary, and that should offer enough adrenaline rush for the start of our trip.  So, we will start our adventure at the famous location of Jake and Elmo's start of the Blues Brothers adventure.   It must be a "mission from God".

Stay tuned for more preparation details and pics.

29 Days 'till Take-off

OK, the Cobra in the picture on the last post belongs to Jeeping friend  Steve's.  He is going along on the trip.  This sweet Caddie belongs to David (another Jeeping guy).

Once I decided to go ahead with the "66 on 66 in a 66" project, the challenge was to find a '66 car that would meet some specific requirements:  1)  It had to be capable of over 2,000 miles without major breakdown.  2)  It had to be comfortable for travel,  3) Decent fuel mileage and range.  And... 4) Something I could afford to acquire.

There are plenty of cars out there that meet the criteria above, but after a long search, I couldn't find a car that I could afford.  It was especially hard when I thought of buying the car and then turning around and driving it over 2,000 miles.  I came up with an idea that if I could find the right car, I could "flip" it to help pay for the expenses.  Collectors in the mid-west are always on the lookout for classic cars that don't have rust issues, so I reasoned I could buy a nice rust-free car from the areas south of my home in Utah, then drive it to Chicago via Route 66.  I hoped to be able to sell the car there for a profit that would also help defray the cost of driving and pay for the return flight from Chicago.

After several days of research, I determined that the prices of classic cars in Chicago were not going to make it affordable for me to pick up a car and flip it after driving it there.  It's hard to gauge the value of a non-rusty car in the mid-west, because all the ads there say the car is "rust free".  Most of them have had rust repair during the restoration.  The prices for those cars were very close to the cost of an original car with no rust here in the dry climates.

No sooner had I decided I would have to scrap the project than my Jeeping friend Steve told me another of our Jeeping friends, David, was looking for a co-driver to drive his '66 Cadillac convertible on a route 66 trip.  Eureka!!!  I called David, and we started putting together a plan.  David is going to ship the Caddie to Iowa where another Jeeping friend (Mike) has a farm.  Steve is going to ship his Cobra on the same carrier.  David, Steve, and Renie (Steve's wife) are going to fly to Chicago and then drive a rental car to Iowa to pick up their cars at Mike's farm.  I'm going to fly to Moline, Illinois and join the fun.

So, the "66 on 66 in a 66" is underway.  In 29 days we will be ready for the launch.  Since we have all been to Chicago multiple times, we are going to jump on 66 in Joliet, just south of Chicago.  Joliet is a lovely town, famous for it's prison.  It was immortalized in the "Blues Brothers" movie where Jim Balushi was set free and picked up by Dan Akroyd.  That sounds like a great place to begin the excellent adventure.

Stay tuned!

Kick Start This Blog For A New Adventure!

Escort Vehicle Ready to Launch

OK, it has been a long time since I posted any adventures.  (3 years almost!)  There have been several adventures that didn't get documented.   

The last series of posts during the winter of 2010 documented the building of my off-road trailer.  Just a couple of weeks ago, I sold that trailer to a lucky buyer in New Mexico that plans to use it  for camping and hunting.  He'll be towing it behind his Nissan Frontier.  It will be a great trailer for his purpose.

My motivation for starting up the ol' blog again was a vision I had earlier this year. April 6th, to be exact.  While celebrating my 66th birthday, I had this thought come into my feeble brain "Why not take a trip down route 66 this year?"  Taking a trip down "66" while I was "66" sounded like a fun thing to do, but what would I do for a vehicle?  Traveling in any of my existing vehicles sounded either mundane or torturous.  Willa's 2010 Ford Focus is a very good car for travelling the freeways in comfort economically, but really seems out of place on the "Mother Road" alongside classics and exotics.  My Jeep Wrangler  is an awesome rock crawler and fun to drive off-road or on trips, but not for a trip involving thousands of miles of pavement.  My little '95 Tracker would be more economical than the Jeep and is a lot of fun driving on two track roads or around town, but it would be an enduro test for my back driving it to Chicago and back.  

To really enjoy the ambiance of the Mother Road, I feel you need to travel it in a vehicle that was built during the times when US Highway system was a maze of two and three lane roads that wove the fabric of America together by going through as many small towns as you could.  In other words, my transportation needed to be classic or vintage.  Then it struck me, the best vehicle would have to be a 1966 year model.  1966 was about the last year that the interstate highway system was incomplete, so you still got to experience the wonderful ambiance of the Mother Road without being forced onto the mindless mega highways we called "freeways".  

So, Project "A 66 Driving 66 In a 66" Begins"

It Works!

I finally got the trailer completed enough to go on a journey, do some camping, drive on dirt, and check out the rest of the new things, like generator, battery charger, lighting, insulation, propane heater, and bed. Like it says in the title for this post, "It Works!"

Since it is the middle of winter, I decided to head south. I haven't been to Death Valley before now, so it seemed like a good place for this season. It is a four hour highway drive from my home, so it was a good test of towing the trailer with a moderate load in it. I was carrying enough gear to comfortably camp for 5 days. Since Willa is working and doesn't get weekends, it was just me and Monty.

I stopped along the way to visit relatives in the Las Vegas area. After the visit, I headed west to Pahrump. From Pahrump, I headed into Death Valley National Park via Hell's Gate. It was late when I arrived, so I decided to pull over at the information kiosk and stay there for the rest of the night. It was cold and clear outside, with an incredible star show this far from the city lights.

The bed was extremely comfortable. The 6 inches of foam were more than adequate. When I awoke, I decided to cook up some oatmeal on the little 1 burner backpack stove sitting on the front counter. After cleaning up, I stepped outside and took a picture of the surrounding hills and the trailer.

Since I just pulled over in a turnout, I didn't unload any of the gear inside. I snapped another picture of the inside of the trailer, showing the cooler, large roughneck tote, and generator all loaded up.

I was really enjoying the views of the multi-colored hills and mountains as I drove down into the valley. I came to a loop road for 20 Mule Team canyon and decided to drive up it and get some photos with the trailer on dirt road. The trailer and Jeep handled driving on the dirt road fine.

After finishing the loop, I headed for Furnace Creek Ranch. Since I was new to the area, I elected to camp in the Park Campground there. I found a nice little site for my camp between two big RV's pulling Jeeps. It had a mound of sand with a large mesquite bush growing in it, creating a small little campsite among all the pull-through sites around it.



After setting up the trailer, one of the curious neighbors came over to get acquainted. He asked if I was going to sleep in a tent, and when I answered that I was going to sleep inside my trailer he asked for a tour. It ended up being a guided tour for four of the neighbors. They were pretty impressed how everything was finished and how much "stuff" I carried along on the trip.

By staying in the park campground at Furnace Creek Ranch I was able to go out and tour some of the back country roads around the valley. I visited the Ghost town of Ryolite first. It was interesting. Like most ghost towns in the west, It had a very colorful past, with wild men and fast women playing a role in its history. One of the most interesting buildings was the bottle house, with walls made up of adult beverage bottles set in concrete.

The Ryolite Jail was a very sturdy one, built of adobe with metal bars and doors that have held up over the ages.



It was a short drive from Ryolite to the road down Titus canyon. This is considered a 2 wheel drive high clearance road. It is "corrugated" for the first 1/2 of the road, with heavy washboard until you reach the pass going down into the canyon. It is very scenic, and goes through the ghost town of Leadfield. According to the park service literature, the town of Leadfield boomed from nothing to a good sized town in 1926 after finding large lead deposits in the area. Within a year, the mines played out, and Leadfield became a ghost town. There are only a few shacks and several mines. After leaving leaving Leadfield, you come across Indian petroglyphs on the canyon walls. A bit further, the canyon narrows and the walls become very interesting.

The next morning, I drove to an area called "Racetrack". Racetrack is down a 27 mile road that is heavily corrugated. Just before you come to the end of the bumpy road, you come to Teapot Junction, which is a place where tourists leave their teapots attached to the signpost

,

Most of the teapots have messages scribbled on them with markers, including the owners names and the dates they were hung from the sign.

After 27 bone-jittering miles, you finally arrive at a very ordinary looking dry lake with a couple of parking pullout. I was told to go to the furthest pullout, where I would find many rocks that mysteriously slide across the dry lake bed. After walking a 50 yards from the Jeep, I noticed the first rock, with a well defined skid mark behind it. As I walked the mile or so across the lake bed, there were many more. My neighbor in the campground suggested a reasonable explanation. He said there are two facts at play: 1) The lake bed is clay, which is incredibly slick when the rains wet it. In fact the road is impassable after a rain. And, 2) The area is famous for major windstorms.

So, his theory is that the lake gets wet, the winds blow hard, and the rocks slide across the surface. It seems incredible to see rocks that some weigh close to 50 lbs. being blown along the lake bed. Lacking a more plausible explanation, I'll have to accept his explanation.

On the way home, I made a quick stop at Scotty's castle. Since I plan to return to Death Valley with Willa, I didn't do a tour this time. I just snapped a few pictures, and then headed for camp.

The next day was pack up and travel day. I enjoyed a fine breakfast, said goodbye's to the neighbors, and then packed up for the journey home. It was nice to be able to toss all the gear into the totes and just slide them under the bed of the trailer. Plenty of room for all this gear, and more.

Towing the loaded trailer with the Jeep at highway speeds averages just below 14 mpg. Without the trailer, I typically get just under 16 mpg at the same speeds. The Jeep tows the trailer easily, holding speeds above 50 on all the passes, and averaging 65 on the freeways. I'm happy about the choice of this small little trailer with a nice bed and not much else built-in. It will be a fun time doing further testing.

Happy Trails!

Gil

I woke fairly early, and cooked some oatmeal on my small backpacking stove set on the front counter. After a quick breakfast and cleanup, I stepped outside the trailer and took a picture of the surrounding area.

We've got it covered...

Finally, the upholstery is in, and the "pink" (insulation) is all covered up. I took some pics today after installing the rest of the interior upholstery. I am pretty happy how it came out. My sister, Tess, did a great job, and was very patient with me as I added a lot of accents after the initial layout was done.

Here is a closeup of the upholstery fabric Tess and I picked out. The basic color is a light tan, but it has other colors woven in that move the color towards a reddish color that really matched up to the flooring and the Luan.

Tess got all the cushion covers made and the foam installed. She cut and sewed all of the material to cover the area between the top of the walls and the ceiling. All that was left to finish the upholstery was to mount the fabric on the Luan boards and fasten them to the walls and ceiling.

I started out by stretching the fabric and two layers of batting around the luan boards. I stapled the fabric with about a thousand staples for all the upper trim that covers the area between the walls and the ceiling. Then, I did a few experiments trying to find the best way to attach the boards after they were upholstered.

I had hoped to use wood screws with little hinged caps. I found the screws would twist up the fabric and batting into a wad, and eventually tear the fabric and make it unusable. Then, I tried adding a drop of hot glue on the fabric and that was barely better than without the glue. I tried glueing the hinged screw cover to the fabric, and it worked no better than with the hot glue. Finally, I tried using 1 1/4 inch brads in my little air nailer, and it worked well. It also made it quick and easy to install the boards without an assistant.

Now that I had a workable method of attaching the upholstery to the walls and ceiling, I tackled the "headache board" I planned to install above the back door. With the low ceiling of the trailer, and even lower door openings, about every 3rd time I get out I bang my head on the top of the door. I need a padded board above the door to make it less painful when I forget to duck on the way out.

To build the headache board, I started by cutting a piece of Luan to fit the space between the back door frame and the ceiling. I glued a 1 1/2 inch piece of memory foam to the Luan with 3M 77 adhesive spray. Then, after stretching the fabric over the foam and stapling it to the board, I faced another mounting problem. Again, I couldn't use the screws I had planned on, because they would twist and ruin the fabric. I couldn't use the brad nailer, because I was going into a piece of stainless steel. I decided to use self adhesive industrial strength velcro. After putting about 2 feet of 2" wide velcro cut into 5 strips on the back of the board, I peeled the other side's backing off, and stuck the piece on. It is solid enough that I don't think I'll be removing it unless I plan to replace it, because the Luan may crack before the velcro or the adhesive lets go.

So, here is a picture of the upholstery on the bed/sofa, trim boards with accents, and the foam padded "Headache" board.

We stayed with the same theme for the trim boards in the front.

The walls along the side are a little higher than the ones in the V Front, so I had to deal with the transition of the rear trim boards to the ones in the nose cone. I cut a wedge shaped piece and covered it with the cushion fabric, and I nailed it to the back piece, front piece, wall, and ceiling.

And this picture shows the LED Dome Light and the two LED reading lights turned on.

Here is a picture of the v front counter with the original incandescent dome light above it turned on.

In the sofa position, the seat is the front cushion, with the back being the second cushion, and the third cushion stows neatly behind the seat back. Here is a picture taken from behind the trailer with the doors open to show where the third cushion stows when in the sofa position, and also the storage under the sofa.

Here is a pic of the bed in the bed position from the front area.

The cushions are a composite of 3 inches of poly foam with 3 inches of memory foam on top. We elected to not use piping, because it just makes more bumpy things under you. After sitting and laying on it for a bit, it feels pretty comfy. I'll be anxious to see how good it is for a night of sleeping. Here is a pic of the bed taken from behind the trailer with the doors open.

While I was at my sister's home in Salt Lake, her son, my nephew Tim, looked at the trailer and asked me if I wanted to put bigger tires on the trailer. I told him it was in the plan, but I hadn't got there yet. He made me a great deal on a couple of slightly used BFG All Terrains that were 31x10.50x15. That works out great for me, because they are about 5 inches taller than the original 205/75/15 tires and they fit under the stock fenders with the 4 inches of lift I already had installed. Also, they work on the stock wheels, so I didn't have to get a new set of wheels. He even mounted them up for me. Here is a pic of them on the trailer.

This just about completes phase one of the build.

Here is the list of changes since I bought the trailer:

1) Remove vinyl wrap

2) Install vinyl flooring

3) Add rear stabilizer jacks

4) Add 4" lift blocks

5) Insulate sides and top

6) Add 30 amp service

7) Add 100 amp/hr AGM battery

8) Install combination converter/charger/distribution panel

9) Install vent with Fantastic fan

10) Install 2 slider windows

11) Install LED Dome and reading lamps

12) Install porch lamp

13) Move original dome lamp to front V section for desk/counter lighting

14) Build and install convertible bed/sofa

15) Install front counter top

17) Paint all exposed wood with satin Urethane

16) Upholster bed cushions with composite of 3" urethane foam and 3" memory foam

17) Build, upholster, and install trim panels between walls and ceiling

18) Build, upholster, and install "headache board" above back door

19) Convert vehicle/trailer hookup from 4 wire to 7 wire and add battery charge circuit

20) Install 31" All Terrain tires

21) Install porthole window in side door

22) Install Max Air vent cover

23) Install roof rack

With only the last 3 items on the list left to do, the trailer is now camp ready. I have a vent cover, roof rack, and a porthole to install, and then we go into the testing to see how it holds up on the "corrugated" dirt roads around here. Phase 2 is next year's project, and it is pretty open now, depending on how the trailer works for my intended goals:

- Camping on back country roads

- Minimum setup

- Minimum weight

- Durable

- Able to use for cargo when needed

I'll let you know when I get it loaded up and take it out for the test camp.

Stay tuned!

Gil

Ready to head out... kinda!

I got the interior finished to the point of needing upholstery, so tomorrow I am headed out for Salt Lake City (night time lows in the low teens, daytime in the low 20's, and snow! It will be a nice Jeep adventure, I'm sure.

I finished all the wiring, and hooked up the outlets and distribution panels.

Here are a few pictures of the project as it is now:

First, this picture shows why I have the angle on the front of the bed. It is to allow entry through the front door.

Once you step inside, the front of the bed is a little over 2 feet from the counter top in the front V.

The bed is now painted, and this is how it looks from the front door

And this is looking forward to the front cabinet and counter from the bed.

When the bed is folded back to make a sofa, it looks like this.

And when you are on the sofa, there is about 5 feet open to the front counter.

And here is looking at the back of the sofa position with the back doors open.

Now, I pack up the tools and materials, and head on up to Salt Lake to get the cushions and trim panels upholstered. Wish me luck in the snow!

Gil