OlympiaFJ60

We recently had a chance to get one last weekend of camping in.  We were heading east to the Naches River Valley to participate in a Backroad Drivers Northwest tour.  This tour was of the Clemen Mountain (ridge) area just east of the Naches River and the town of Nile.  The weather called for rain and I didn’t want to sleep on the ground and chance getting flooded out of our tent.  Since I have been wanting to try one out I decided to pickup the Simpson Series II Roof Top Tent.

Then tent comes mostly assembled.  All that is required is to decide whether you want to orient it to open to the side or to the rear.  If you have it open to the rear you can create a nice sheltered area at the tailgate.  This way is best suited for full sized SUVs and Trucks.  I chose to have it open to the side (passengers for me) as I will be adding the Annex when it comes in off of back order.  Once you have decided the orientation, you can bolt on the “mounting extrusions”.  All of the parts are tucked way inside the folded up tent so you will need to get them out to continue.  These are the parts that will connect the tent to your roof rack.  You can use any type of roof rack as long as it meets the load capacity you will be placing on it (tent and occupants).  I already had the ARB Touring Rack installed.  The tent can also be mounted on factory bars or Yakima and Thule bars.  After the mounting extrusion is attached, the ladder is attached using the supplied stainless steel brackets.  The ladder has a dual purpose.  It is of course the way you get into the tent.  The ladder is also the lever you use to open up the tent.

The annex is a nice little addition that creates an indoor changing/storage area under the tent.  That is one of the features that drew me to the ARB tent instead of others.  The tent has a “vestibule” section that provides a sheltered  for the ladder and entrance to the tent.  The annex slides into a rail attached to the floor of the tent then zips to the bottom of the tent. (more…)

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Rear Drawer

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Now that the trailer has been completed and test I thought I would finish up the trailer build with some finished pictures, a recap of features and parts used as well as a summary of the trailers performance.

We recently completed a 1625 mile trip (about 100 miles on dirt/gravel roads) to Idaho.  The full write-up is HERE.

The only changes I need to do to the trailer is to change the axle from spring under to spring over.  Once fully loaded with water, camping gear, extra fuel and bikes (or tent in the future) I have very little travel left between the bump stops and in the fenders.  It will also allow for slightly larger tires.  Here it is with 31″ tires.  I would like to fit 34″ tires to match the Land Cruisers. (more…)

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A few posts back I introduced my “old” camping trailer and stated I was going to start to rebuild it. Here is the first installment of the rebuild process. It took some time to figure out how exactly I wanted to approach this. The old camp box was built on my M416A1 military trailer. While this would work again, I find I have use frequently for this little trailer as is. I decided a new, dedicated trailer was needed. The next step was to figure out whether it would be better to find a built trailer and make the box fit or build a new trailer to fit the box. I decided on the latter. After a few trips to Centralia Supply and Fabrication I had enough parts together to start the build. I decided on a simple ladder frame build from 2″x3″ tube steel. I chose to use a combination A frame draw bar that extends to the spring mounts. I had some old Land Cruiser springs and hangers so I used them.

For the axle I went to ABC Trailer Parts as recommended on the forum Ih8mud.com. Since it is going to be a little heavy fully loaded and for off-road use I opted for a 3500# axle with electric brakes. I think this will greatly improve the safety and drive ability of the trailer on the Highway and off-road.

I had the old fenders so I went ahead and used them. They are a little small for 31-33″ tires but I think they will work out fine. (more…)

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All pictures posted here are courtesy of Steve Bisig at PNW Backroad Adventures. Special thanks to Jerry at Backroads Drivers Northwest for leading this outing. For a detail trip report, visit Steve’s writeup.

It was the hottest day yet this spring and we were headed from Yakima to Kittitas, WA to meet up with the caravan of vehicles heading to the “trail head”. It was suppose to reach 90 deg so I stopped and filled up with cold drinks as well as fuel before heading off the black top. Just as we approached the Old Vantage Highway, I saw a long line of 4wheel drives heading east. We fell quickly in line as the 10th vehicle. Jerry, our intrepid leader turned off onto the Corral Whiskey Dick Road. This is the southern entry point into the Whiskey Dick Road Managment Area, managed by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. (more…)

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When driving the back roads of Washington you are likely to encounter all sorts of roads and vehicles. I would like to address “logging roads” through the forests of the Northwest.

Having worked in the woods for a number of years, I have become accustomed to driving logging roads and “dealing with” other logging road users. Weekends are a little easier but during the week logging roads can be down right dangerous to the unaware driver. There can be a wide range of vehicle traffic such as foresters in pickups to fuel and lube trucks servicing the heavy equipment at logging sites to loaded log and dump trucks. While drivers can seem rude at times, remember this is THEIR place of work. Their livelyhood relies on traveling these roads.

A few basic rules to follow while driving these roads are common sense. First of all SLOW DOWN and turn your headlights on. It may seem like you are the only one out there at times but 35 mph on a gravel corner can be really fast when that loaded logger lumbers into view, and according to the “law of gross tonnage” you will not be the winner. Many of the roads are not posted with speed limits, unless it is part of the county road system. 10-15 mph is a good speed for most locations with a narrow 1 or 1 1/2 lane road. Wider roads with long lines of sight and well maintained can be safe at 35 mph. Remember there are spur roads (short dead end roads) all along the way and they are often difficult to see from a distance. Headlights make it a lot easier to been seen as you pass from clearing to timber. If the oncoming car is in the sun and you are in the shadows you will be very difficult to see. (more…)

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