Squishmitten's 02 Sport Edition Build

[squishmitten]

Wow it’s been a while since I’ve been on here! I’m just now getting settled at work and letting reality sink in. The trip was mostly successful, I had a few hiccups but overall it was great! The truck did really well, no issues and I broke 200k on this 4900 mile trip.

First stop was Telluride. I can’t stress enough how awesome that little town is. There was a bluegrass festival of some sort in town while I was there so it was hectic. I ended up checking out Bridal Veil Falls and camping overnight.

The next morning, I packed up to head out for Denver. Coming down the trail about 50 feet from where I camped, I hit a switchback and came face to face with what I’m nearly certain was a brown bear. This guy was about 5 feet in front of my truck just staring me dead in the eyes. On all fours, his head was sitting higher than my hood was. He was HUGE! After a few seconds he bailed into the tree line and I didn’t see him again. It was a crazy experience, and funny that the only bear I saw on the trip was in Colorado (considering the time spent in Montana and Wyoming).

 

[squishmitten]

Glacier National Park was probably the most beautiful experience of my life. That park is so big and I wish that I would have stayed longer (especially considering what happened when I got to Zion, more to come on that). The first day I hiked up to Iceberg Lake. Well worth the 14 mile hike and the elevation change, but my dumbass rolled my ankle on the way back and ended up needing to rest for a day after. Going to the Sun Road and Avalanche Lake were amazing as well! I can’t stress enough that if you’ve never been to Glacier, drop everything you’re doing and go now!

 

[squishmitten]

More Glacier

 

[squishmitten]

And more Glacier

 

[squishmitten]

After a few random skatepark stops in Montana, I headed south to hit Yellowstone. I had originally intended on camping here a few days but after arriving and seeing the amount of people that were there, I ended up driving through the whole western half of the park in about 4 hours and kept going to Salt Lake City.

 

[squishmitten]

So when I started the trip I set aside about $1500 for gas, figuring that I would be getting about 15 mpg, that should have got me through the whole trip. Well it turns out I was a bit optimistic as far as fuel economy, so I ended up having to decide if I wanted to hit Moab and Arches, or if I wanted to hit Zion. I chose Zion because there was a lot of awesome stuff I wanted to see there, and I’ll hit up Arches and Moab with some of my buddies probably early next year (once they get their shit together). Drove all the way to Zion to find out it had just been hit by a big storm and most of the park was closed. I pulled in to take this pic and left. My tent cover had about 6 gaping holes in it at this point as well so I decided to just head home.

I did end up doing a quick run to Fossil Creek with a friend who flew in from Iowa. This will always be one of my favorite spots in AZ. High recommended if you’re ever here.

 

[Road Bull]

Woe!! Great pictures man! That looks like quite the adventure you had there. Good for you for getting out there and seeing some of the great things there are to see around the country. :cheers:

 

[squishmitten]

Woe!! Great pictures man! That looks like quite the adventure you had there. Good for you for getting out there and seeing some of the great things there are to see around the country. :cheers:

I was actually surprised at how well the old iPhone 8+ photos turned out! I'm disappointed in myself because I just found out there's a way to do long exposure photos, could have been cool with all the water falls.

I'm really glad I got out there too man, this country is full of amazing places. I think next I might suck it up and deal with the shitty gun laws and go see the California parks next.

 

[Road Bull]

I was actually surprised at how well the old iPhone 8+ photos turned out! I'm disappointed in myself because I just found out there's a way to do long exposure photos, could have been cool with all the water falls.

I'm really glad I got out there too man, this country is full of amazing places. I think next I might suck it up and deal with the shitty gun laws and go see the California parks next.

Hahaha...? Those were phone pics?!?! That should be a part of a phone ad then. Lol.

 

[squishmitten]

Hahaha...? Those were phone pics?!?! That should be a part of a phone ad then. Lol.

Thanks man! All taken with an iPhone 8+, I wish I could get a DSLR but the amount of money I would spend on one is better put towards stuff like King rears, retro fits, and a few other things.

 

[squishmitten]

Lately we've been getting bombarded with dust storms and heavy rains. The humidity and the air quality have sucked. Took a trip up north this past weekend to get out of all this nonsense. For those in the AZ area I would highly suggest camping Haigler Creek. It's a really fun trail through heavy forest that has some decently technical sections.

It rained pretty hard when we first pulled into our camp spot, so I finally got to put the annex room to use! I didn't take any pictures because I suck at remembering to, but it was so nice to be able to have full shelter from the rain with flooring! That room is huge! I think I'll be going camping again Labor Day weekend and I'm definitely going to be sheltering some people down there.

 

[squishmitten]

Man I haven't been on here in far too long.

Not much has changed with the truck, been camping as much as possible and doing little maintenance here and there.

Here's an Instagram video of the last time I went out to Haigler Creek.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bn2GSVXFufG/

After that trip I replaced my inner and outer tie rods. I still have a slight vibration in the front end, so I'm looking to do LCA bushings next.

I'm also picking up a few things this Black Friday season. Since I have zero time to build anything myself, I'm going to pick up some Dobinsons rear drawers with the universal side wing kit.

I"m also upgrading my rear shocks finally! I'm definitely getting Kings with resis and adjuster, but I'm torn on doing 2.5's in the stock location or 2.0's outboard mounted. Decisions :hurt:

 

[squishmitten]

Wow it's been awhile since I've been on here, work and school have had me way too busy.

I'm sad to say that my engine has taken a dump on me. Cylinder 4 has zero compression so I am now struggling with what to do. I have no desire to put another 5VZ in there, if I'm gonna take the time to do an engine swap I want a V8.

I'm trying to find resources on the 5.3 LS swap or the 4.7 2UZ. Does anyone have experience with either of these swaps? I assume the 2UZ will be easier but those motors aren't as easy to come by as the LS. Help, haha.

 

[Dezert4Runner]

Wow it's been awhile since I've been on here, work and school have had me way too busy.

I'm sad to say that my engine has taken a dump on me. Cylinder 4 has zero compression so I am now struggling with what to do. I have no desire to put another 5VZ in there, if I'm gonna take the time to do an engine swap I want a V8.

I'm trying to find resources on the 5.3 LS swap or the 4.7 2UZ. Does anyone have experience with either of these swaps? I assume the 2UZ will be easier but those motors aren't as easy to come by as the LS. Help, haha.

Don’t know much about the subject myself, but there’s some good info here to get you started if you’re considering an LS swap.

Let’s talk LS swaps | IFS OFFROAD