@walkaboutAUSA 48 state road trip build (lots of pics)

N

nicholassballs

New member
Hey everyone!

My Aussie girlfriend (soon to be fiancé, shhh) and I are road tripping the lower 48 states beginning 1st week of June, and after that we are moving to Australia for a year! I always see cool build threads and figured I'd start one. I'll post updates on projects I'm working on, ask for opinions and help on some things, and just posting stuffs that pertain to our trip.

Cheers and enjoy!


Nick


First project, remove rear seats and much of the stock fixtures in order to build a bed/storage box.


Deconstruction, begin!



Took this opportunity to do a lot of cleaning too.



One of many hardware store trips



Measuring and test fitting



Coming together









Break time!










My babies <3



Test fitting the pull out table!



Measuring/Stapling the carpet padding






DONE! With this part of the project anyway :)

 
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NewguyNY said:
I like it! Looks like a fun project and I've often considered something similar myself.
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Thanks man! It's really starting to come together! After Posted this I hard wired a power inverter in the front section where the rear seats usually are, I'll post pics once I get a proper mount.

Tomorrow I will sand down the "table" or maybe wrap it with something. I wish I would have had the foresight to cut a notch in that 2x10 before so I had more room to work with.
 
4-Ripcord said:
Sub'd for this epic road trip!

Sweet S4 too, always liked the B8s.
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I can't wait to get started! I went and picked up an electric cooler, cast iron frying pan and a bunch of thrift store dishes today!

Thank you :D It's going to be in storage for almost a year and a half :( I'll miss it.
 
Sweet start to a build thread, and definitely jealous of your trip. My questions are now with the full top side of the platform it does deny access to the sides in and around the wheel wells and the compartments with them?
Also how much is all of that going to way down your truck with the heavy lumber and such?

Still looking forward to see how his progresses!
 
wadle5 said:
Sweet start to a build thread, and definitely jealous of your trip. My questions are now with the full top side of the platform it does deny access to the sides in and around the wheel wells and the compartments with them?
Also how much is all of that going to way down your truck with the heavy lumber and such?

Still looking forward to see how his progresses!
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Thank you :) I'll definitely post pics in here, and we have an instagram/flickr and soon to be blog as well!

The wheel well areas are still somewhat accessible, I'm fitting a platform around the structure today that will make it a lot cleaner. The timber is a fair bit of weight, but I also removed the seats so I don't think it' smore than 100lbs over stock. Wheel gap is still about the same. MPGs are going to be garbage either way haha.
 
Got my interior LEDs in the mail today, so got those installed. HUGE difference!



Figured I'd check the cabin air filter since I was in there... :faint2:




I then started pulling the dash apart to replace one of the bulbs behind the clock that had burnt out, I looked at doing the LED conversion but I'm already running out of time with getting ready for this trip :( Neither Autozone, nore Oreilly had those bulbs, so I'll check NAPA tomorrow, or order them from the dealer on Monday.

I'll also be doing the "always on" relay bypass 12v mod while I have everything apart.

Once I starting pulling stuff apart I started finding the 10 years of crumbs and gunk under everything, so cleaning commenced. It got dark and kind of chilly while I was out searching for bulbs, so I'll finish tomorrow. Here are some pics of the destruction!



 
Radioshack usually stocks the tiny little bulbs that go in the switches and behind the clock, 2 for $1.99 if I remember correctly. Sorry I can't find the exact part number right now but they call them micro bulbs.
 
blackoutt said:
Radioshack usually stocks the tiny little bulbs that go in the switches and behind the clock, 2 for $1.99 if I remember correctly. Sorry I can't find the exact part number right now but they call them micro bulbs.
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Thanks! Pretty sure all the radioshacks in my area are shut down tho :( I'm about to try NAPA
 
Model: 272-1092
Catalog #: 2721092

12V Microlamps (2-Pack)
2-pack of replacement flashlight and incandescent microlamps. Rated 12V with a current of 60mA. 2-pack of replacement flashlight and incandescent microlamps. Rated 12V with a current of 60mA.

The internet says the store in Caldwell has them in stock.

CALDWELL-CENTURY SQUARE

2922 E CLEVELAND BLVD
CALDWELL, ID 83605
208-454-8717
 
blackoutt said:
Model: 272-1092
Catalog #: 2721092

12V Microlamps (2-Pack)
2-pack of replacement flashlight and incandescent microlamps. Rated 12V with a current of 60mA. 2-pack of replacement flashlight and incandescent microlamps. Rated 12V with a current of 60mA.

The internet says the store in Caldwell has them in stock.

CALDWELL-CENTURY SQUARE

2922 E CLEVELAND BLVD
CALDWELL, ID 83605
208-454-8717
Click to expand...

Awesome! Thank you so much, I'll go snag them tomorrow!
 
Hayden_ said:
So when you're sleeping will the car be running so that the A/C will be going? Or what's the solution for that?
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No, we'll keep windows cracked and have battery operated fans. In the hotter states we'll....book accomodations lol. I'm a huge fan of AirBnB, so I'm sure there will be parts of the trip once we hit the Bible belt where it'll be a necessity.
 
nicholassballs said:
No, we'll keep windows cracked and have battery operated fans. In the hotter states we'll....book accomodations lol. I'm a huge fan of AirBnB, so I'm sure there will be parts of the trip once we hit the Bible belt where it'll be a necessity.
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Yeah I was about to say it gets near 100 degrees here in Bama and that's on a good day some days it's north of that might want to pack a little sun block lol
 
Man i can tell you that plywood bed of yours is gonna reck your ass, back and hips at night its essentially the same as sleeping on the bed of the truck. Trust me I have done far more truck sleeping then I would like and with 6 inches of memory foam in the back sleeping is not very peaceful back there tho I'm sure the dogs will disagree with me. ill give the GF of yours a week before the complaint hammer start banging away LOL


from experience you can in fact get a twin sized air mattress in there a queen is you get creative near the fenders :frisky:

And for those long days in my truck working when i didn't feel like getting a hotel after i got off i stayed in the truck and let me tell you go to the art store grab some black art board cut them to fit each window so you can black them out at night while sleeping helps take the edge off not worrying about prying eyes
 
Hayden_ said:
Yeah I was about to say it gets near 100 degrees here in Bama and that's on a good day some days it's north of that might want to pack a little sun block lol
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Ugh, not looking forward to that! Will do :) We'll barely clip Alabama on our way from New Orleans to Tampa, my brother is getting married in Portland in July and so we have to be to Jacksonville to leave the car with one of my aunt's houses in a timely fashion. I'll wave north as we go pass Mobile!
 
Code2 said:
Man i can tell you that plywood bed of yours is gonna reck your ass, back and hips at night its essentially the same as sleeping on the bed of the truck. Trust me I have done far more truck sleeping then I would like and with 6 inches of memory foam in the back sleeping is not very peaceful back there tho I'm sure the dogs will disagree with me. ill give the GF of yours a week before the complaint hammer start banging away LOL


from experience you can in fact get a twin sized air mattress in there a queen is you get creative near the fenders :frisky:

And for those long days in my truck working when i didn't feel like getting a hotel after i got off i stayed in the truck and let me tell you go to the art store grab some black art board cut them to fit each window so you can black them out at night while sleeping helps take the edge off not worrying about prying eyes
Click to expand...

****. lol. Although, her Aussie demeanor is pretty even keel, she's not really a complainer. There's an inch of carpet padding, then there will be 6" of memory foam on top, I personally can't do air mattress for more than a night. We do have a self inflating queen one that is too big for the back but we'll use in the tent when conditions allow.

I did get some foam insulating panels with a metallic film on one side that I'll be cutting into window blocks. I think you can see the sheet in the pic of one of my Lowes runs!

Thanks for the insights :)
 
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