Hello everybody

[Rollin_thunder]

Well I was recomended to this site by my friend RJ, so I thought I would check it out and see what's up. I have a slight background in off roading, usually involving a HMMWV and some time to kill. My best was taking my squad leader on a little time killer road test in a 2 1/2 ton 6x6 where he firmly planted his feet on the dash and rode the hill out. Currently my off roader is an 86 Chevrolet K30 single rear wheel with a 454, TH400, NP205, and Dana 60's front and rear. It's all stock for now but that will end up changing. My plans are to find a pickup bed to replace that utility bed on it, Iron Bull bumpers, front and rear winches, sliders, roll bars, rollcage armor around the tail gate and rear quarters, 6" lift and 35" tires, crossover steering, and strengthening of the axles with either limited slip or lockers. I do intend to fix up the body somewhat as I like what I have to look nice and I tend to take care of my vehicles to the point of being anal about it. Can't decide if I want to swap the big block for a 12 valve cummins yet or not. The overall end state of the truck will be an expeditionary vehicle that I can take into the back country for about a week at a time, maybe longer. Currently I'm a student at UVU getting my bachelors in History and waiting for my commission as a 2LT.

 

[Kevin B.]

Cool truck, looks like a fun project.

 

[mombobuggy]

Welcome to rme ! And thank you for your service and sacrifice for our great country I never got to serve my country the way you do but I have nothing but admiration and respect for those who do or have. Patriotism is a big deal to me surely being raised by a veteran and being an army brat would be the reason. anyway thank you man. The other scoutmaster I work with is an old navy man and since it got to cold to do out door stuff as much the last couple weeks we have been working on getting our flag ceremony and folding skills better not great but pretty good for webelos. 10yr olds. I think your truck is cool I guess I must be a bit of a redneck but flatbeds are cool you can scrub them on rocks without any serious damage the headache rack is a good start on a roll cage tool boxes are good for camping and hauling parts and tools out of the weather I saw a guy who turned his into a camper with enough space for him his wife and there 5 kids to travel and sleep in it for extended periods they have a blog about five kids 20 countries and doing it all on free vegetable oil in there power stroke. they went from Alaska to Argentina and back to Guatamala where they are staying with my old neighbors. maybe a 4 inch lift and 36 in tires with some trimming would work its amazing how much rubber you can fit on a truck if you dont mind cutting the fenders I could help you if you like we should be able to go as big as 38 s with no lift without much trouble for off road performance a couple of lockers and some aggressive tires will get you more bang for your buck than a big lift and keep it more driveable on the street. bigger tires will help that 454 not turn so many rpms on the freeway and may help your mileage unless they are super heavy. Just my opinion of course another one is that this is hands down the most beautiful place in the world with more public land than you can ever hope to explore but what a worthy goal to try. Sorry about the novel time for some sleep.

 

[TJDukit]

Welcome.

 

[Silly Willy]

Welcome.
There are several of us that are happy to lend a hand of you need. There also quite a few very experienced individuals that at one time or another tried out what you are doing.
Don't hesitate to ask. We're all happy to at least offer some words of encouragement.

 

[sixstringsteve]

Welcome. Thank you for protecting the freedoms that we all enjoy. Very cool rig, sounds like you have some.great plans for it. I'll put another vote in for lower center of gravity with less lift and big tires.

 

[Rollin_thunder]

Thanks for the welcome guys, and for the support. Honestly it's the only line of work I can see myself doing, for love of country and because they pay me to shoot big guns I appreciate the offers of help, I'll have to take your offers up as my workspace is a driveway and its getting a tad bit cold and white now. I do like the idea of a lower center of gravity though, so I will take you up on that offer when trimming comes into play. I will probably want to stay in the 35" range though. I have always loved how these trucks look so it never really crossed my mind to trim the fenders, I guess I like how things look stock.

 

[AX10TOY]

Welcome to RME

 

[UVRUGBY]

Robert!!! Hi
lol, see told you this place was a great information center. :busted: