Carlovers Desert Beater Build

[carlover]

...If you are not going to use BTF for the LT, Whose LT kit are you getting???

I am going to use the BTF LT kit. The setup i have now is kinda like a mid travel kit with a 2.5" shock. It works damn good for what it is, but its just not enough.

 

[mounty71]

Nice!!!

 

[mounty71]

Updates Sean? Is the BTF kit under construction yet?

 

[carlover]

Yes and no. Still deciding on some minor things, such as fabbed apindle as such. My sons bday is in 2 weeks and then xmas is another month after that. Money will be non existant till after the holidays.

On a better note i preran one of the Barstow courses and was amazed how my 9" of travel worked with my shocks dialed in. The terrain on these courses in more brutal than anything ive seen yet. I managed to keep a steady 30-35 mph pace which is slow compared to race trucks.

Next step before anything is the cage, i cant really push it hard without thinking safety first. That will begin in december.

 

[Dannyboy]

Isn't it fun to be running at a pretty good clip through some nasty stuff. My truck will do about 40 through just about anything. I usually tell people it drives better at highway speeds in the dirt than on the highway.


Any pics or video? Are you working with a team or just managed to get on the course?

 

[carlover]

Isn't it fun to be running at a pretty good clip through some nasty stuff. My truck will do about 40 through just about anything. I usually tell people it drives better at highway speeds in the dirt than on the highway.


Any pics or video? Are you working with a team or just managed to get on the course?

No pics or video, i need to get a good camera call phone pics suck. We were at the big Barstow cleanup and after everyone left on sunday we hit the course. Its marked 24/7 with permanent markers. If you ever get the chance to play on it i would for sure recommend it.

And yeah its a total blast getting up a good speed and just plowing into stuff. My rear setup still blows so it kicks up really bad. But we will do the rear hoop setup at the same time as the cage so they can be all tied together. I cant wait for this thing to be done, as soon as it is it will be one a race course mixing it up with the other 1450 trucks.

 

[Dannyboy]

I hear ya, I'm a fuel cell away from being race ready. Not sure if I'd like to be one of the coolest recreational trucks or one of the weakest race trucks.

Plus racing is like a good drug, it will take every dollar out of your pocket in a flash and leave you wanting more even when you're broke and naked laying in the gutter.

 

[carlover]

Very true, but i did road racing for years and have been itching to get back into some form of racing. Im not worried about winning or even placing as much as just finishing. 250-400 miles of desert racing is brutal.

Im way more than a fuel cell away lol. I got a chance to ride in a linked equal lenght explorer this last weekend. I got out and my pants were wet LOL. All i can say is wow what a ride.

 

[Dannyboy]

ahh yes that would be a trip to ride in a truck like that. I'm by no means saying I'm race ready, I'd need thousands of dollars in GPS, Helmets, suits, restraints, etc. I couldn't even imagine having the opportunity to jump into a 800hp trophy truck but I am confident that I could carry enough spare gear to run my truck 200 miles in a whiplash race.

It would be great to see somebody from this site run a race, there's nobody on here that I know of that does anything like that.

 

[carlover]

Barstow is the worst course in any of the circuits. Its known to be a truck eater, and i see why. Im tempted to cage it, do the rear and run it with my 9" of travel front end. Camburg did it with an edge a few years ago and it worked pretty damn good.

When brandon is done with his truck again ill get to ride in a pretty powerful race truck. 87 single cab ranger equal length, linked, with a 383 and turbo 400 trans. That truck will be badass when its done

 

[carlover]

Well rear shock hoops are being built as we speak. Leaf packs was cycled last night and 15.5" of usable travel with very little leaf seperation. There is alot more there but the rear shackle hanger needs to be moved forward and longer shackles built. Ordered shocks last week so they should be here early next week. 18" FOA's cant beat the price at $390 shipped to my door for 2.5" shocks. Ill have some pics tonite of everything.

Also installed Radflo bumps up front which act kind of like a second shock so help for the big hits.

 

[mounty71]

Nice, i've been wondering when the work was gonna begin.

 

[carlover]

He's pretty busy now that the fabwork is his only work lol. Other than a cage and a few minor things its just about ready for 1450. Wont be a podium truck by nay means, but it will be a blast..

 

[Dannyboy]

that's awesome Sean. Does tech inspection require the cage to be tied to the the frame and 5 points to be cage mounted?

Also what organization are you going to run? I've read the rulebooks for certain ones. I don't agree with this, but according to BITD the Explorer technically weighs enough in stock form that you are supposed to use 2" tubework on the main parts of the cage. That's beef, a little too beef and I'm not sure if anyone uses that. You know anything of the such?

 

[carlover]

Im looking at racing MDR, MORE, and the new series Drive. BITD goes off of Score rules which for our explorers is 2" which is way to much for me lol. All of my cage points will tie into the frame, and after looking at it last night we found a super super simple way to cage our explorers. More details and pics on that later when we actually do it though.

 

[carlover]

Shock hoops.

 

[mounty71]

Oh snap, i like how much useable space the trunk still has, that's a major requirement for me. Are you getting smooth body shocks or bypasses?

 

[carlover]

Oh snap, i like how much useable space the trunk still has, that's a major requirement for me. Are you getting smooth body shocks or bypasses?

smooth bodies. bypasses are nice but a well valved shock will do perfect for me.

Also i love the setup because the cage will easily tie into it. still have my cargo area, and the shocks will be at a 1:1 ratio.

 

[mounty71]

I'm curious how those rear springs are working out now that they've been on the truck for a while. How do they handle? Did they require any modifications to the spring hanger or shackle? And did they move the axle forward or backward at all? Also, could you post some pics of your new bumps in front? Man, i'm so jealous of you and this project, i want to build up my mounty sooo bad.

 

[carlover]

springs are ok so far. im waiting on shocks to be able to use them with the new setup. the moved the axle forward 1/2 inch which isnt to bad. just using good ol auto zone shackles that have held up perfect even with all the hard miles on them.