Joey's Winter/Trail Rig: It's Dead Jim

[Joey D]

So the Volvo wasn't going to make it in the snow, even with winter tires, due to the ride height. Also I wasn't too keen on thrashing it through the salt, slush, and all the other crap we put on the roads in Michigan. After browsing Craigslist for the past couple weeks and test driving some real crap, I found a 98 Passport that a guy was selling since his family had just bought a brand new Accord. After going back and forth a bit, I offered him $3,000 and he handed me the keys.

It's in really good nick and doesn't have any major issues. It needs tires and a radio that doesn't take cassette tapes but other than that I think I think it'll be pretty solid. I do want to get a light bar on it though and wire up some good lights for the backroads we have near my house, but I think that's probably it.

Anyway, here's some photos. I took it down some dirt roads on the way home since that's always fun.

Ignore the Saab too, it's my wife's loan car.

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

As we discussed, wise decision parking the Volvo for the winter and getting a 4x4. Very smart decision and will make winter a much more enjoyable experience for you. 👍

 

[Leggy1]

Nice to see a 4x4 with some dirt on it 👍 Wise decision.

 

[Joey D]

Thanks guys!

=================

New Rubber

Since the tires were more or less shot on the Passport, I went tonight after work to get a fresh set on. I went with the Cooper Discoverer ATP's mainly because they were fairly inexpensive and had decent reviews from a couple off-road websites. The treads are also decently aggressive too which should help in the snow and the mud.

 

[Joey D]

Getting Some Mud on the Tires

I was browsing a site called Every Trail and ended up finding a seasonal road about 20 miles from my house over in Allegan, MI so I figured I'd cruise over there today and check it out. The road was pretty washed out and really muddy but the truck took it like a champ and made it through without any issue. I really had no idea the first thing about off-roading so I mostly took it slow and avoided any really big mud holes, but it was still fun and I still got the truck pretty dirty. Here's some pics right after I pulled off the trail.

 

[Slash]

Coming from someone that runs strictly Cooper tires on a big time 4x4, wise choice. I have never used ATPs; only A/Ts, ATRs and Radial LT's which are all now discontinued to my knowledge (though Coopers cheap brand Courser/Mastercraft makes tread patterns very similar) they've never let us down. Coopers can be cheap depending on the tread pattern and various other factors but they are pretty high end on most accounts and very good overall.

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

Getting Some Mud on the Tires

I was browsing a site called Every Trail and ended up finding a seasonal road about 20 miles from my house over in Allegan, MI so I figured I'd cruise over there today and check it out. The road was pretty washed out and really muddy but the truck took it like a champ and made it through without any issue. I really had no idea the first thing about off-roading so I mostly took it slow and avoided any really big mud holes, but it was still fun and I still got the truck pretty dirty. Here's some pics right after I pulled off the trail.

Spent the vast majority of my years off road. I have at least 20 years experience with mud, two tracks, sand, water, dirt, rocks, everything. Built a very wide variety of trucks. Some designated to only mud, and some daily drivers that were built for everything.

The first and VERY most important tip you will want to know is make sure you wash the mud off your truck immediately after you are done having fun. Keep in mind mud is basically glue filled with sand. That mud,sand, dirt, grit will stick to everything and work as sandpaper. After a few years you will be replacing rusted and worn out parts. Especially make sure you get the underside sprayed VERY well. Other than that have a great time and as you said, take it slow. Faster you go, faster you break parts and have a higher potential to lose control and run into something. Glad you are enjoying the off road world. It is a lot of fun.

 

[Slash]

Don't get it on too thick though, we got kicked out of a car wash for that once

 

[Joey D]

Yup, took it through the car wash a couple days after the fact. It's still dirty since I travel dirt roads but at least the mud isn't caked on.

And I'm not too worried about things getting wore out, I'm probably going to sell the truck in the spring and buy something a little more suited to off-roading, like a Jeep XJ, or something I know how to work on, like a Blazer. I figure once I sell the Volvo I can buy something a little newer with less wrong with it and use that as my vehicle to do some light off-roading with.

 

[Joey D]

Wheelin' Adventure Round 2

I went to the Yankee State Recreation Area yesterday since the local 4x4 forums said there were some decent trails that were legal to drive a vehicle on. It was only about 20 minutes from my house so I figured why not see what it's all about and plus the weather was beautiful.

The trail wasn't very difficult, mud holes that were mostly dried up but still a little squishy.

After driving for a bit I came across a clearing and felt like a picture of the truck in it's natural habitat was in order.

Going down the trail a bit further I came across a washed out "trail" through a grove of pine trees, I figured this would be a good time to try and get one of those flex picture....clearly I had no idea what I was doing.

Finally, when I thought I was getting to the end of the trail I was dumped out near a boat launch, the lake looked really nice so I figured one more pic was in order.

All-in-all the truck did well and nothing broke, so I'm going to say it was successful!

 

[Joey D]

Off Road Lights

I got a set of cheap off-road lights off Amazon last week and finally got around to wiring them up today while listening to the Lions game. They aren't super bright. but they are on par with my normal beams so it's like having a second set of lights on the truck. Seeing as that I'm pretty useless when it comes to doing anything remotely electrical I was happy that I was able to wire these up and have them work, so there's that.

 

[Leggy1]

Looks good 👍

 

[Slash]

I have 4 of those on the roll bar overhead of the cab on dads truck, except they have the "BAJA" cover on them instead of the plastic cage. They aren't wired up so I have no idea how bright they were (the old KCs were either 75W or 100W Daylighters). Thanks for that. They look good BTW.

 

[Joey D]

Wheelin' Adventure Round 3

So the weather was beautiful yesterday and I figured I'd go out and drive on some trails. It worked out pretty good since the football game was over by noon (w00t Lions won!) and my wife needed the house quiet to do her school work. After loading up a small cooler with some water and grabbing a couple cigars, I hit the road for what became a rather interesting day.

For a long time it was just me out on the trails, which I found odd since hunting season had started and I figured people would be out bow hunting. After a couple hours of driving around I came up on a guy and his son who had driven back in the woods to go hunting and ended up getting their Ford Taurus stuck (why they thought that was the right vehicle to take I don't know). I stopped and asked if they needed a hand, at first they said they didn't want to bother me, but before he could protest any more I got the Passport in position and had a chain already hooked up to my back tow point. The guy, I think his name was Dale or some other equally redneck sounding name, helped me get the chain around the small hitch on the back of his car. I jumped back in the truck, dropped in it 4-Lo and proceeded to pull their car out of the sand without issue. The guy tried to give me some money but I refused, he did end up giving me some home made venison jerk though so I figure that was fair.

After a little while longer on the trail I came upon yet another stuck vehicles, an older 3-series, with two chicks and a dude in it. They were from out of town and their GPS had taken them down the trail since it was technically a marked county road. I guess the guy, being like all guys, refused to turn around and got his car stuck. They seemed pretty thankful to see me and they guy, I think his name was Brad or Chad or something Bro-like, helped me get the chain around his tow point in the front of the car. I managed to pull them out and I said I would show them how to get back to the main road and make sure they didn't get stuck again. Of course, they did get stuck again and again since it was soft sand and the BMW had summer tires. After we got out to the main road I gave them directions and the guy tried to give me some money, once again I refused. He then popped open his truck and handed me a case of beer, which I figured was worth it.

After that nothing too much more exciting happened, but it was good to know that in a pinch my truck can pull out people who forget that low vehicles, inadequate tires, and soft sand don't mix.

Oh and the colors were awesome too:

All of These Lights!

After work today it was 74 degrees and sunny, which considering they are calling for snow later this week, meant I needed to be outside. I had picked up a set of fog lights from AutoZone for $15 since they had been opened and were missing the hardware (a couple sheet metal screws fixed that). The are Pilot something or others and they seem pretty good. Only took me about and hour to hook them up too, so I'm becoming less rubbish at wiring things up properly.

 

[Slash]

What are the smaller lights and how much are they?

 

[Joey D]

What are the smaller lights and how much are they?

I grabbed the box from the garage and searched the name for them, the are Pilot Ultra-Thin Flat Beam Fog Lights.

Here's a link to JCWhitney: http://www.jcwhitney.com/ultra-thin-flat-beam-fog-lights/p2003745.jcwx

I'm guessing you can find them cheaper than that though. They had set of new ones at AutoZone for $30.

 

[Slash]

I like how small they are. My mom was thinking about getting a snmall set of lights just for some extra lighting at night for her Focus and those were the first things that came to mind.

 

[Joey D]

I drove around this morning with them on and they are actually pretty bright. I have a set of 130w bulbs laying around I thought about putting in the housing but I'm worried they'll get too hot. I'd say they are worth it though, they have a pretty sharp cut off too.

 

[Slash]

55w would probably be plenty if I was running two of them.

For the BAJA lights, did you run a relay and change the wiring harness? I'm reading the wires they come with are too small and can cause fires from overheating if you don't use a relay since the switch is taking all the power. I'm guessing that's why mine aren't hooked up

 

[Joey D]

Nope, no relay and I used the stock harness that came with it. I did use a heavier duty switch though so in theory it shouldn't catch fire. If it looks like it's going to be an issue, I can always do some rewiring.

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

Glad you are enjoying the wonderful world of off road. Always fun adding on the goodies like lights. And yes always run a larger switch. Those smaller lights don't need relays. The switch is ALWAYS the bottle neck of the lighting system so don't get cheap switches. Or they will indeed melt. Especially the cheap plastic switches. Use the heavy duty metal switches instead. Also make sure you shrink wrap and seal any of the ends so no moisture gets into the external wires. Especially out by the lights where they are constantly exposed to moisture.

 

[Slash]

Nope, no relay and I used the stock harness that came with it. I did use a heavier duty switch though so in theory it shouldn't catch fire. If it looks like it's going to be an issue, I can always do some rewiring.

I've heard the 12 gauge wire isn't sufficient enough to run a direct power setup without a relay with those lights from Jeep users, but I don't know because I don't have mine wired up

Just a safety concern I have.

 

[Joey D]

Just to give an update and a bit of closure with this, the truck is, for all purposes, dead. The engine started to eat itself and the electrical system finally decided that it no longer felt like holding any kind of charge. So the truck will be gone tomorrow and it'll be being replaced by something brand new to help get me through the snow. Lesson learned I guess

 

[savage388]

Used cars can just suck like that, sometimes you get a gem and sometime you get more trouble than it's worth. I really liked that little passport too.

 

[Tornado]

THAT'S WHAT YOU GET FOR BUYING JAPANESE!

That sucks, though. Will you be able to get anything out of it for scrap at least?

 

[Joey D]

I actually ended up getting $750 from the dealer for it, which isn't bad I suppose.

Oh and I ended up with another Japanese vehicle too, and on Pearl Harbor Day at that...I think that makes me a terrible American.

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

Just to give an update and a bit of closure with this, the truck is, for all purposes, dead. The engine started to eat itself and the electrical system finally decided that it no longer felt like holding any kind of charge. So the truck will be gone tomorrow and it'll be being replaced by something brand new to help get me through the snow. Lesson learned I guess

Sorry to hear that. I am shocked it went so quick. Hopefully your new ride is as enjoyable as that was. you seemed to really be having fun with it offroad. What exactly went wrong with the engine? Something with the lower half or upper half of the engine?

 

[Joey D]

Sorry to hear that. I am shocked it went so quick. Hopefully your new ride is as enjoyable as that was. you seemed to really be having fun with it offroad. What exactly went wrong with the engine? Something with the lower half or upper half of the engine?

Next vehicle will be off road capable too, however since it's new I probably won't take down anything too rough. Hopefully I can pick it up tomorrow, the dealer is just finishing up some accessories I got for it.

And I'm not exactly sure what went wrong, metal flakes started appearing in the oil and I wasn't really down with tearing the whole motor apart to figure out what's going. It also refused to start from time to time and would randomly quit while driving. It was burning a quart of oil per tank of gas too which isn't a good sign either.

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

Next vehicle will be off road capable too, however since it's new I probably won't take down anything too rough. Hopefully I can pick it up tomorrow, the dealer is just finishing up some accessories I got for it.

And I'm not exactly sure what went wrong, metal flakes started appearing in the oil and I wasn't really down with tearing the whole motor apart to figure out what's going. It also refused to start from time to time and would randomly quit while driving. It was burning a quart of oil per tank of gas too which isn't a good sign either.

Oh yeah that's just all signs to get rid of it. Good call. Good luck with the new ride.