RockRangerII Refresh

[FROADER]

I love it!! High and tight!

Is that other set of Goodyears on Tracy's Jeep?

 

[RockRanger]

Yes 33" mtrs.

 

[RockRanger]

Old Bumper next to new one.

20170303_111544 by Matthew Dresselhaus, on Flickr

20170303_111551 by Matthew Dresselhaus, on Flickr

Got the new one installed.

20170303_153719 by Matthew Dresselhaus, on Flickr

20170303_153730 by Matthew Dresselhaus, on Flickr

Took a little cutting to get the winch to fit.

20170303_151655 by Matthew Dresselhaus, on Flickr

Takes all of my 60 inch hillift to barely get a front tire off the ground. Normally I would chain the suspension but wanted to see what it would do.

20170307_111310 by Matthew Dresselhaus, on Flickr

 

[BKennedy]

Nice bumper. My bumper has cut-outs to accept a high-lift as well. My 48" jack doesn't come close to raising a tire off the ground.

 

[mounty71]

I may have missed it but can you give some details about your plasma table? Some friends and I always talk about getting one/putting one together but nothing ever comes of it. I love all the cool stuff you've been building!

 

[DUDER 1]

Nice bumper, I think I am going to drop my ex off at your house.

 

[RockRanger]

I may have missed it but can you give some details about your plasma table? Some friends and I always talk about getting one/putting one together but nothing ever comes of it. I love all the cool stuff you've been building!

I have an older 4x8 Torchmate3 table I picked up used. It was built probably around 2004 or 2005. I use a hypertherm 1000 plasma cutter. It has been a solid first table for learning on. I have cut up to 1/2" plate with it. I can't really compare it to new tables as the tech seems to have changed a lot between when mine was new and today.

Nice bumper, I think I am going to drop my ex off at your house.

Thanks. Wish I had a first gen around to get measurements off of to build one. That and time. I am just about done with this truck for a while. Few more small things then it is on to a rebuild of my wife's Jeep.

 

[RockRanger]

Last week I went up to the snow to mess around for the day. Was by myself so I took it easy. I made up to around 6000ft elevation. Here is a quick video I put together. I just got a knock off gopro camera so I was playing around with it and seeing what it could do.

 

[DUDER 1]

Nice video man.

 

[willindsay]

What camera are you using?

 

[RockRanger]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LMVITSA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

While it will take 4k video I so far have been using the 1080p setting. My laptop isn't really designed for video editing so the bigger files tend to bog it down. Also for $16 I ordered 3 extra batteries and a charger. That gives me 5 batteries and I can plug the charger into my phone car charger to charge batteries as I use them. So far I am happy with it for the $100ish I am into it for. I can see where having 3-4 cameras on the truck and a few people to the side filming could allow for some sweet edited videos to be made.

 

[RockRanger]

I have watched other people on the trail pull hot food off there engine at lunch time. I could never figure out a good spot on the 4.0 that would be easy to place and then pull off a hot engine some food. After looking under the hood I found a large open area due to not having A/C on my truck. I figured I could do something there. On the passenger side exhaust manifold there are two threaded bolts facing up. The rear one holds the coil pack bracket and the forward one is empty.

20170317_134441 by Matthew Dresselhaus, on Flickr

A bit of time measuring, drawing on the computer and then plasma cutting I had all the parts cut. A few key welds and some bending the parts were ready.
20170317_134407 by Matthew Dresselhaus, on Flickr

Then the bracket is bolted to the two holes in the manifold.

20170317_145630 by Matthew Dresselhaus, on Flickr

Next the inner tray is dropped in. I made it removable so that it could be easily cleaned and to make installation easier.

20170317_141856 by Matthew Dresselhaus, on Flickr

Then drop the lid on and latch it shut.

20170317_141846 by Matthew Dresselhaus, on Flickr

Now I need to go on a wheeling trip and try it out. In total it sits about 2.5 inches above the exhaust manifold. Hopefully that is close enough for it to get warm enough.

 

[RangerX]

Yeah, guess that food box is a little better than a burrito on the dashboard.
Nice video, I like the shot of the front axle working.

 

[BKennedy]

Okay, now that's awesome. You should be able to cook food in the box that close to the exhaust manifold. You should hit a dollar store and find a coated pan that fits inside the box.

 

[RockRanger]

A coated pan was my original idea. I thought meatloaf pan. Everything I found was to big. If a few test show that it works well I plan to find some stainless steel and build the box out of it.

 

[BKennedy]

Peach cobbler ala exhaust manifold anyone???

 

[RockRanger]

I would hbe scared it would end up like the peach cobbler Brother of Jefe was making the one year we forgot it was in the fire pit and we threw all the Christmas trees on the fire.

 

[BKennedy]

I would hbe scared it would end up like the peach cobbler Brother of Jefe was making the one year we forgot it was in the fire pit and we threw all the Christmas trees on the fire.

Yeah, but it still tasted good

 

[RockRanger]

Picked up a new to me rear axle. Disk brake explorer 8.8. Has 4.88 gears, an ARB, and a cclip eliminator kit. Will be replacing my drum brake explorer axle with welded spider gears.

 

[Kirby N.]

Sweet! That will be a nice upgrade. Help the road worthy factor too. With your soft suspension I am sure you feel that welded rear end on the street.