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Stacey and Scott

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Posts posted by Stacey and Scott

  8. Posted

    4 hours ago, dzJeepChic said:

    Ryan @4x4tographer has graciously volunteered to lead the trail ride Saturday morning at the gala. All you need to do is just show up at 9AM ready to roll!

     

    Here's his agenda:

    • Meet up/line-up at 9am and air down
      • Aim to depart by 9:15ish
      • Goal is to be back to camp by lunchtime
    • Trail rating is easy - any high clearance, 4x4 should find it easy
      • Short 31 mile loop on primarily gravel forest service and fire roads
      • Primary point of interest is the summit of Bill Williams Mountain where we're have endless view from over 9,000 ft
      • On our way back to camp we'll do a brief jaunt on some unmaintained dirt roads (up FR14 and FR48)

     

    We'll hit Bill Williams first, if we spend too much time up there enjoying the sites, we'll just head back to camp the way we came on the main roads.

     

    Route: https://www.gaiagps.com/public/gl1WgZTsFblqfYpjScGRWoCY

     

    zk7b9939jwk91.jpg

    • Haha 4

  12. Posted

    Hey OP JeepPeeps!

     

    Ryan, thanks for leading another great run!  This was a new trail for us and as usual, the trail was really fun to run and the location was beautiful...we may not have gotten the Perseids...but there was still excitement aplenty...you sure know how to show a group a good time :)

     

    It's awesome to see so many new folks coming out with OP... to all of you, welcome to the family and we hope to see you all again on the next lap.

     

    Here is a link to the pics we got...   https://photos.app.goo.gl/xFsYtBxVUXQ1yBce7

     

    Also, here are a couple videos from our dash cam...we had headed south from the meet up site and just a couple miles down the road we came to the first flash flood "puddle", the flow felt pretty strong as we crossed so we stopped to wait on the other side in case anyone had a problem getting across.  Then the bat signal went up from @Ladybug back to the north so we turned around and headed back north to help...you all know the story thanks to @SonoranWanderer's great write-up...a perfect example of not only jeep peeps taking care of each other, but how wonderful the people in Arizona are.  I never got their names, but they were there for @Ladybug from the begining and even after the calvary had arrived...they stayed and helped till everyone was safely on the road again.  

     

     

     

    Once everyone was rolling again we headed back south.  We did pretty well, slowing down on the dips in case of deep water or silt/mud traps, but you can see what happens when a flash flood "puddle" sneaks up on you...when we hit it at pretty much full click Scott's eyes shot to the rear view in time to see @4x4tographer's headlights dive down as he hit his brakes just before hitting the water himself...at least the front of our rig got rinsed off...

     

     

     

    All in all, plenty of excitement...even without the Perseids...

     

    Till next time...

    Stacey and Scott

    • Like 5

  19. Posted

    17 minutes ago, theksmith said:

    i'm finally doing a dual battery setup in Gadget! it's going to be a slow project as i acquire a few pieces at a time.

     

     

    motivation

     

    i've managed to get by with just the factory battery and have a 12v fridge without too much trouble so far, so why the upgrade?

     

    • be able to run the fridge for longer and colder without worrying. right now if i'm wheeling all day and only camped in the evenings, i can get by. but if i'm staying somewhere for a whole day or 2, then i need to let the rig idle several times a day to keep the OEM battery charged enough. i also constantly worry about it, so i'm always trying to be fast when opening the fridge and i run it a little warmer than i would really like.
    • run more power hungry stuff! i want to be able to run my 12v lunchbox style oven without the Jeep running. i also have a 12v blanket to put inside the sleeping bag when it's super-cold out, and i want to get a cell phone signal booster eventually. all of these use a lot of current constantly - meaning they could kill a stock battery pretty quick if the rig's not running.
    • eventually add solar panels to extend the setup for staying camped in one spot for even more than a day or 2.

     

    EWGBLXWhgzJG2iPsFFlmhri-_oJ-YKTRvEneKd8D

     

     

    the plan

     

    i want to set this up very much like an RV, with the stock H6 AGM remaining as the "starting" battery, and a second battery acting as the "house" bank to power nearly all my aftermarket accessories.

     

    key ingredients:

     

    • i decided to go with a lithium "house" battery. the power density (usable amp-hours for a given size battery) of the LiFePO4 chemistry really seems worth the extra cost and system complexity.
    • a dual battery isolator keeps one battery from discharging the other when parked, yet allows them to both charge when the engine is running.
    • having 2 different types of batteries means i need a DC-DC charger. they increase the variable alternator voltage to the consistent higher voltage necessary to properly charge a lithium or gel battery.
    • custom mounting solutions (bracketry) for all this new stuff.
    • misc supplies including large gauge wire, fuse blocks, ground bus, etc.

      AM-JKLULoV3wozcMAkXXZlEVAg6a6icDo13iLQ37

     

    additional nice-to-haves:

     

    • a dedicated 120v AC lithium charger, so i can charge the house battery by plugging into "shore power" at home or in a campground.
    • a battery monitor based on a current shunt to provide an accurate reading of how much capacity i have left in the house battery at any given time (or how much time is left till a full charge).
    • when i'm ready to add solar, i'll need panels as well as an MPPT charge controller.

     

    you might notice i did not mention an inverter. all of my major accessories are 12v, so i'm not currently planning to add a high-wattage AC inverter. the Jeep already has a small one built-in that i can use for low wattage things like a camera battery charger, etc.

     

     

    alternatives

     

    i should mention that most people would probably be better off with a "solar generator" (portable battery pack). it comes out cheaper in the end and is obviously much simpler to get an all-in-one device than piece together your own system. of course the portability is appealing too if you have more than one adventure vehicle.

     

    IMO, the Eco-Flow Delta series are the best ones right now. one big advantage is how quickly they re-charge from a standard 120v AC outlet versus the Jackery, Goal-Zero, etc.

     

    AM-JKLU5axzLRMckyBDES3JyJAaS9ZLmImo4iq-G

     

    the main reason i didn't go this route was the size. i'd need the full sized Delta 1300 instead of the Delta Mini to get the Amp-Hours i want, and that one is a pretty darn big chunk. i really don't know where i could put it that i wouldn't have to move it every time i want to use my sleep platform.

     

    they also charge slowly with the vehicle adapter, so you pretty much need solar to keep them topped off. i could work around that by feeding directly into the solar input from the Jeep, but then i'd still need to wire up an isolator, and at that point it's turning into a custom install anyway.

     

    i think (hope) the setup i have planned will be mostly out-of-site and work seamlessly with the rig, shore power, or solar power. stay tuned!

    We went with Genesis dual setup to keep from eating up any cabin space. Ran a 2 gauge cable to a distribution block in the back for the fridge and any other power needs.

    • Like 1

  20. Posted

    1 hour ago, 4x4tographer said:

     

    Hey @snoopy61! 

     

    Sorry for the long post - but there's a lot to say on the subject!

    I personally use 2 different deflator options - you only really need one:

     

    Option 1 is the popular ARB ARB600 Deflator. It's been a workhorse - I've been using it for every trip for about 6 years without fail. It works by removing your valve core on your valve stems to allow the air to defeat very quickly. You have to manually monitor the pressure until you are where you want to be. There are several different, cheaper options out on Amazon.

    • PRO: You manually control the pressure and can stop at any PSI you want for the trail conditions.
    • CON: It takes a little longer to use to deflate since you're working 1 tire at a time. You also have to crouch while using it.

     

    Option 2: I also use a set of 4 Coyote Automatic Tire Deflators. They're very similar to this popular option from Staun that many folks here use.

    • PRO: They're nice because you can deflate all 4 tires simultaneously, and automatically - meaning you can walk around, chat with friends, while the deflators do their thing. Once they stop, you just take them off and you're good to go!
    • CON #1: You have to put in the time up front to preset them to the tire pressure you prefer to run on the trail. Once you have them dialed in, it's as easy as screwing them on to your valve stems and waiting for them to stop automatically, about a 4-5 minute process.
    • CON #2: You're stuck with the pressure you set them to without the ability to easily adjust pressure to the trail conditions on when you're running (sand, rock, snow, gravel road - for example: you might want to run 20 psi for an easy dirt road, but 12 psi for sand, etc. 

     

    There are some fancier systems out there, like those from MorrFlate, but they are pretty pricey - but well-designed for airing up and down with the same gear.

     

    What I do is:

    1. Initial deflation with my Coyotes (all set to about 16 psi)
    2. If I need to deflate further, I'll make some adjustments with the ARB.

     

    My recommendation for the first time user is to get the ARB style of deflator to get you started. You can always grow into some auto-deflators in the future. 🙂

     

    Also - if you air down - you're going to want a way to put air back in to the tires for the trip home! Don't forget a compressor!

    "Don't forget the compressor"...wait for it, compressor questions on the horizon.

     *Pretty much everyone has a comp setup so if you want to check out before you buy, ask around on your next run.

    • Haha 1
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