Man, way to kick ass!! Keep it going. Positive thoughts to you and your family and wishing you continued success. KB
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Quick outing with the kids. My wife was supposed to come but she messed up her back and bouncing around off-road wasn’t something that was going to help her get better so I left her with a selection of pharmaceuticals from my previous surgeries and packed up the kids to give her a quiet weekend to rest.
The playa is massive but you can cruise at a pretty good pace in the flats.
After checking out the hot springs and exploring a section of one of the migrant trails I hadn’t spent any time on before, we headed back out to the playa to set up camp. I like to set up camp on the edge of the playa where the surface isn’t ideal for hauling ass.
The white off in the distance is the smoother fast section where land speed records are attempted.
While I was cooking dinner and the kids were wandering around and checking out the Mars like features around camp, the sun dipped behind the mountains to the west and the moon popped up in the east.
We took advantage of the moon light and wandered around the playa after dinner.
In the morning the kids kept themselves busy while I made oatmeal and espresso to get the day going. I don’t always us the nespresso but the caffeine bump was perfect to help me keep up with the kids.
After I packed up and everyone was fed we headed back out to the flat section of playa to launch model rockets. My son flew the drone while I got the rockets set up and managed to snap a pic of us…pretty good for his first time flying it.
The flats are also a great place to let the kids have a turn at the wheel…after each kid had a half hour of seat time we were back on pavement. 127 miles of dirt and a lot of smiles.
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Put the Thule cargo box (motion XT alpine) on the GFC a few weeks back to keep the skis in and installed a pair of chalk bags to use to hold beverages and other small items like ski wax, scrapers, or other small tools.
I also added a reflective tint to the rear window to discourage window shopping.
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Wow what a beautiful post! Photos are just gorgeous. Your kids are so lucky to have you as their parent. The playa is amazing
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Thanks! I do love the playa.
As for the kids, I’m just as lucky to have them in my life. They are awesome outdoor adventures buddies and pretty tolerant of sitting in the truck for 6 hours on road trips which is nice.
We found out my wife was pregnant with our oldest the day after I had a 14 hour surgery to treat my first cancer recurrence. Definitely gives you something to fight for. That was over 7 years ago and prior to that surgery I was told I had 18-24 months to live.
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Dude! Talk about an amazing setup. Great time for the kiddos! Now this is the life 
What a journey you have had as well. Happy to see they are still adventuring with their pops!
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Congratulations on 7 years! I was diagnosed with colon cancer last summer, had surgery and chemo. I made it through everything and yesterday my 6 month CT scan shows cancer free! I just bought two Superlite’s for myself and my boys to go camping this summer. Going to take full advantage of my good health!
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I cleaned up the 50a Anderson plug I had on the rear bumper a couple weeks ago. The shop we picked up our trailer from installed the plug on top of the bumper and routed the wires through the access to drop the spare, making it so I had to crawl under the truck to drop the spare…not a huge deal as it is my 2nd spare under there but still not ideal. The new trailer vision plug is much easier to use and more secure than the previous setup.
This would make for a clean setup if someone was looking to add a plug to connect a solar blanket or mobile solar panel too.
Out with the old
In with the new
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Dropped the tank today to install a Deatschwerks 255Lph pump in preparation for the supercharger install next week.
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Skit plates came off today to give access for installation of some URD LT headers and a full fluid change. I should probably make time to prime and paint the skids before they go back on the truck.
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Headers and blower installed. Should be ready for a test drive tomorrow. It’s gonna be a spicy taco!
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The truck bed spent a decent amount of time loaded up for trips the past 6 months. A spring project is going to be to work on a small cabinet build to hold the water, recovery gear, tools, and electrical bits.
This is how it looks packed for a week long trip we recently took.
A week after the supercharger was installed we took off on a 3 week trip up to Orcas Island, with a bunch of stops on the way out and back.
On that trip we started a routine where we leave breakfast on the fridge for the kids when they climb down from the GFC in the morning. They loved the pastries and we loved the extra 30 minutes of quiet time before they made it to the trailer to wake us up 
One week after we got back from that trip our fridge in the truck died. I replaced it with an Iceco that opens from the right or left so it can be accessed easily from inside the truck bed, at the tailgate, or from outside the truck with the side panel on the GFC open.
The most recent trip I was able to dial in a hammock setup for locations we don’t have trees.
In October I picked my old car up from my parents…it’s been parked most of the past 10 years and only had 500 miles on the tires that were installed in 2012. This was the first vehicle I purchased so it has some sentimental value and I’ve decided to restore it with an OEM+ style build.
Hauling the seats to get recovered was a reminder that it’s nice to have the bed not built out with permanent cabinets so I can still fit large items back there still. The old Z3 has taken most of my attention off the truck build while I get it prepped for the spring. I’m working on installing a new top while the seats and door cards are with the upholstery shop. Once the interior goes back together I’ll focus on refreshing the nearly 30 year old rubber bits on the suspension.
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The Z3 is back together…don’t mind the dirty interior, I’ve been driving it while waiting for the last few trim pieces. The top is done but it hasn’t been back up since March.
The upholstery shop did a nice job on the seats and door cards.
It took some liquid courage to install the new top but I’m happy with how it turned out. I broke the install up over two evenings.
Once the top was done I got to cutting up some NLA parts which is always fun
Fortunately I didn’t screw up and the roll bar fit, with some encouragement…
I also replaced the wood steering wheel with a recovered wheel from a euro early e36 M3…the build date on the wheel was 1 month before my Z3 but it’s from a later model year car.
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On the GFC, I’ve been working on a diesel heater and proper dual battery setup instead of the isolator and old AGM that I have been using.
I put the diesel heater in a Plano box that is large enough for a fuel tank and all the ductwork. I’m using a 5KW heater and will heat the GFC and put trailer with it.
I should be set to test the solar this weekend. I’m working on layout and building the wiring harness currently. The 100ah lithium will be fed through a Renogy 50A MPPT controller by a pair of 100W panels and get an extra boost from the alternator using a dc-dc charger when the truck is running.
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Brackets for the first panel cut last night. Working on cutting the second set while the adhesive for the carpet dries.
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Wrapped up the solar installation and took off on a trip and forgot to post the update but here’s where it stands now…I have some more work to do when I build the cabinet but I intend to run it like this through the winter at least.
I fabricated mounts out of some angle aluminum and riveted the two 100w solar panels to the mounts so I don’t have to worry about bolts rattling loose off road. The panels are about 1/2" below the top of the beef racks and spaced to allow for the installation of my ski box in the winter.
This was the point of no return…with the amount of times my truck has seen a cutoff wheel I still have anxiety leading up to the point of no return on projects.
I spent most of my time on the wiring but I’m happy with how it’s coming together. I need to finish installing the exterior camp lighting and wrap up the fridge wiring (I want to use an Anderson plug instead of the lighter socket)
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Had back to back mechanicals on the last two trips and was wondering what the third issue was going to be…tonight I found it.
Inner fender is failing on the driver side…right under the battery
On my last trip I snapped 3 lugs…only thing I can think of is that they got stressed when I slid the loaded up truck into a ditch with the trailer in tow in the Bear River Range and again a few days later in the Wasatch Ramge. There is a dirt mark on the sidewall of the tire and new rim rash opposite where the lugs snapped and the nuts had been torqued as part of my pre departure check. They had enough after 120k miles of stress and that shot did them in or stretched them enough to loosen them, leading to the failure.
I ended up swapping a lug over from the driver side in the campground at craters of the moon and then limped into twin falls to pick up parts. I was going to find a parking lot and swap in the new lugs but decided against doing the work in 95° heat with limited tools. Fortunately this held for the trip home.
On my previous trip I knocked my alignment out and had to remove and reinstall the upper ball joint on the driver side SPC UCA.
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