malibubts's 2022 Ram Power Wagon Build/Adventure Thread

[malibubts]

I headed over to Allegheny National Forest for a quick hunting/camping trip. I wanted to get out another weekend for a bit more hunting this season, but here in my neck of the woods it's been a very warm Fall. Great for me camping, but really tires the dogs out fast.

This was my first time hunting here so I just picked a spot from some hunting maps that I found close to a dispersed spot on Friday. Due to timing I was only going to get one hunt in before dark. So I parked and headed off down a gated forest road and into the woods.


DSC00185 by ebeiersdorfer, on Flickr

Nowadays PA isn't as known for it's grouse population, depending on who you ask the theories vary, but between this and having new cover to find I was expecting maybe a couple of wild flushes that were too far out. But sure enough about halfway through the hunt up pops a grouse between my dog and myself.


IMG_5097 by ebeiersdorfer, on Flickr

I finished up heading back to the truck fairly quickly though as it was getting close to dark, and did not see anything else. I quickly ran down the forest road and setup in a dispersed spot for the night. I did pick up a diesel heater and it made it's first appearance, but I need to do some tweaking with this as far as positioning and ensuring I have enough fuel. Luckily I had my down comforter but I definitely did not bring enough fuel to last the night.

I woke up bright and early to get out on the hunt again, there were definitely a lot of other hunters out, but mostly deer I think. Spots were a little difficult to come by, but it wasn't terrible.


IMG_5115 by ebeiersdorfer, on Flickr

Interesting little blade / dragger machine outside one of the forest road trail heads.


DSC00208 by ebeiersdorfer, on Flickr


DSC00221 by ebeiersdorfer, on Flick

I put my boots down 3 different times throughout the day, but only saw one wild flush the whole day. A little disappointing, but given I picked up a grouse yesterday and wasn't expecting a ton of action I'm still pretty happy overall. I also did a bunch of scouting between hunts and even found some new cover that had campsites right off of them. Not sure if it will be this year, but I think I need to make my way out here again.

 

[malibubts]

A couple of small mod updates, but nothing crazy.

I saw some people here using the Mopar mud flaps here and they looked like a pretty robust but also flexible option. I figured I'd give them a shot and see if they keep the truck and cleaner and keep some of the rocks away. These were pretty easy to install with some of the OEM bolts being reused and then using some of the plastic rivets, those things do have a bit of a learning curve but once you figure it out they go right in.


DSC00224 by ebeiersdorfer, on Flickr


DSC00229 by ebeiersdorfer, on Flickr

Then I also got some onboard air going with an ARB Twin Compressor and an engine bay mount from NH Overland. I had a Viair 88P which still worked but really is undersized for 35s. Not to mention to get my spare in I had to pretty much deflate it, so if I ever need to pull that out I'm looking to fill up that whole tire. I figured I'd be quite a bit safer with a new compressor that can better handle the tire size. Also obviously this is a much faster system and is always hooked up and doesn't take any storage space. Finally I don't have a compressor at home either so this will also serve to fill up the wife's car, the lawn mower, etc.


DSC00240 by ebeiersdorfer, on Flickr


DSC00265 by ebeiersdorfer, on Flickr

The install was a bit trickier than I expected, but it's a solid mount and I'm happy with the compressor location in the engine bay. It just fills up some dead space and gets me more space elsewhere in the truck. I've only used it a couple of times for small full ups, but so far I'm pretty impressed with the compressor as well.

 

[rs2433]

I got the radio and antenna installed over the weekend.

As I mentioned in one of the earlier posts, I actually decided to mix things up a bit here. In my last truck I had an Icom 2730a and I have too many HTs. My programming would always drift between different radios, programming the radio in the truck was always a challenge, and in general I was annoyed with all of the juggling between my radios. Not to mention all the differences between power, charging, batteries, antennas, etc.

Looking into things a bit I found that the older Motorola XTS5000 radios (as well as newer APX, but they are way to expensive) had vehicular adapters for the HTs. These are known as Convertacoms or XTVAs and basically are a dock for the HT, they provide power, an antenna output, and a remote mic. The Motorola XTS5000 is only single band, but I plan on running one in UHF and one in VHF. Putting a dock in my truck and at my desk will allow me to use just the two HTs with the same accessories and software and just move the radio around to where I need it. I will lose some power, 5/6W instead of full mobile power, but I don't think that will be too big of an issue. I've got a little bit of cleanup to do since I had to order some more split loom, but have it mostly finished up.

Docked:

DSC00153 by ebeiersdorfer, on Flickr

Outside the Dock:

DSC00164 by ebeiersdorfer, on Flickr

Handheld Control Head:

DSC00158 by ebeiersdorfer, on Flickr

For the antenna I just went with the Comet fender NMO mount, with a coax cable, and a Signal Stuff Signal Stalk antenna.


DSC00130 by ebeiersdorfer, on Flickr


DSC00143 by ebeiersdorfer, on Flickr

When you did your install did you wire it to the battery or did you tap an ignition power source?

 

[SolidAxleorBust]

So the first picture was with the Mopar sliders? Not just silly side steps? Maybe I will transfer my White Knuckles to a 2026 or whenever I am able to order a new PW when the order books open again. ( other then white)