deepmud Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 I pop in here now and again, and I noticed I haven't actually posted for a years........ The Samurai continues to evolve. I've been pleased with it's performance with the boggers (not yet cut) and the coil suspension. The TDI VW is still pretty much un-tuned - but the idle torque is so great it will spin all 4 tires(tyres ) at idle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deepmud Posted March 24, 2012 Author Share Posted March 24, 2012 I use the Sammy as a beach-rig, and take it camping near Homer, Alaska. Very beautiful there. Recently, I spent some time building a "camper top" for it. Working outside at 0 to -20 (F) is no fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deepmud Posted March 24, 2012 Author Share Posted March 24, 2012 the hunk o' glass by the front wheel in the pic above is to inserted in the over-cab area, sort of a sun-roof. It's the back-glass from a 97 F150 Pickup that I had lying around....but it will have to wait. The plan for the camper was to have a warm-up place to watch the Iditarod racers go by - I have access to a "remote" area, mostly access by snowmobilers. It would have been cool - but the hybrid line from my ZF VW pump to my International Scout steering box failed again, blowing pink oil all over. No go. The next weekend I hauled it to a trailhead with a new custom line, much heavier built than my old one - but then I developed an airleak in the fuel lines Too much sitting around with no maintenance - I had it fixed later that afternoon, and the NEXT weekend there was another trail ride - and I made it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deepmud Posted March 24, 2012 Author Share Posted March 24, 2012 The Zuk is a trailer queen - I still haven't even put lights on it I added some spots so if I got stuck out at night I could see, but they are wired directly to the battery - they have switches built in so turning them on means getting out lol. The group was a mix of the stock and the heavily modified. The trail to the glacier is well-packed by snowmobiles in most areas. The occasional drift can catch the unwary ........... but last weekend there was even a Rover along, with no mods other than a set of chains. My co-worker brought his stock Xterra, and had a blast Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deepmud Posted March 24, 2012 Author Share Posted March 24, 2012 A few miles in, we stopped to decide whether to take the summer-route, through the trees, or take advantage of the front river some more - we chose the summer route - more fun, although I discovered it was much different with a huge, wide, tall camper on the back . I wacked a few trees...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deepmud Posted March 24, 2012 Author Share Posted March 24, 2012 the woods we came to some "overflow" - areas where underground, unfrozen water reaches the surface, and flows out, making REALLY slick, mounded sections of trail... Perfect terrain for chains - none of us had chains. The Xterra had studded, winter tires - and just rolled across......for me it was a careful crawl - and I got thru without drama, mostly due to luck We came out of the trees, and crossed a couple miles of flats, with the glacier getting closer ever so slowly........... stopping finally at a last series of river crossings... The Jeep ZJ ran down to play - and the different typed and depth of snow showed itself...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deepmud Posted March 24, 2012 Author Share Posted March 24, 2012 The group decided to stay there at the "last mile" - the Samurai could easily have made it to the glacier, and the Rubicon - but the other rigs risked punching through the crust. Once you break it, it can be really tough to get up on top again. A half mile that took just a couple minutes to cross can take hours and hours to winch back through. Once the Zj was winched out of it's hole, we played a bit. The V8 ZJ made about 20 attempts to climb up the embankment, but it's really a nearly vertical gravel cliff, filled in with windblown snow. 33" tires were just too small. You'll notice, the Samurai made it looks silly-easy..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deepmud Posted March 24, 2012 Author Share Posted March 24, 2012 Next the guys wanted to turn and head towards a nearby mountain, to find a good area to shoot a few rounds of pistol ammo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deepmud Posted March 24, 2012 Author Share Posted March 24, 2012 Stuck Jeep ... Hard crusted, windblown snow... but the Samurai stayed on top I drove around him taking pics - he took it well.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deepmud Posted March 24, 2012 Author Share Posted March 24, 2012 Started back.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deepmud Posted March 24, 2012 Author Share Posted March 24, 2012 Many more pictures here, if you have time and bandwidth... http://s85.photobucket.com/albums/k50/deepmud/Knik%20Glacier%20Run%203%202012/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve b Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 Great pics Erik , good to see more of your exploits cheers Steveb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverik Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 some great pictures, I like your camper conversion!!! - classic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disco2hse Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 Great machines, those Zukes. Of course, this is a Land Rover forum. Any Land Rovers there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deepmud Posted March 24, 2012 Author Share Posted March 24, 2012 Great machines, those Zukes. Of course, this is a Land Rover forum. Any Land Rovers there? I have a one end of a high pressure power steering line from BullBarCowboy - does that count? ...man, where is a Pirate4x4 flipoff when you need one....lol I missed out on the Land Rover run .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 ...man, where is a Pirate4x4 flipoff when you need one.... Here, you can borrow mine I was gonna give it you anyways for making everyone here insanely jealous! Loving the SJ work, having been to Alaska last year I can now see that owning an SJ is the local equivalent of owning a Prius Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elbekko Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 Very much awesome! Didn't I see a post from you in a thread about tracks on Pirate? At least it was a Zuk with a very similar camper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigP Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 Great photographs, stunning scenery, good luck with the camper development. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happyoldgit Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 I've heard of squeezing every bit of horsepower out but dog power? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deepmud Posted March 28, 2012 Author Share Posted March 28, 2012 Thanks FridgeFreezer! http://www.juracid.co.uk/gallery/forum/thefinger.gif baxter is in training for the Iditarod, don' cha' know? I just put 'er in neutral and we roll along! I did post on Pirate - I lurk there a lot too Tracks same tracks, on a Jeep Wagoneer - pretty interesting video, especially when they "run over" the cameraman: Rover Content! Love for the Cuthbertson, because they thought of it first: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elbekko Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 I did post on Pirate - I lurk there a lot too I think my list of subscriptions is now around 280 topics? It'll hurt when I go check again, I haven't had time in a week or so... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deepmud Posted October 22, 2012 Author Share Posted October 22, 2012 you guys ready for winter? We've had our first snow. Land Rover Content - but oh, the horror.... http://anchorage.craigslist.org/rvs/3339040056.html I've modded the "camper". Ready for a real adventure this winter. All the way to the glacier for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deepmud Posted October 22, 2012 Author Share Posted October 22, 2012 whoops sorry about the massive pic. fixed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtydiesel Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 Insanity of the highest order, well done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deepmud Posted October 23, 2012 Author Share Posted October 23, 2012 thanks. It's a critter built for a specific task in a specific environment - it would do well in most of the Taiga, here in Alaska or Russia or Canada. Waay down on power - I'm going to have to learn the insides of the Bosch pump No comments on the rover moose-buggy thingy?.....I thought you (the lot of you )would be horrified But then maybe it's like cutting up the suburban that donated the chassis - no big deal since there are lots of them over there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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