Traveler III
Hello fellow Overlanders!
Due to a confluence of unforseen circumstances, I was forced to give up my cherished 1999 Honda CR-V adventure rig and purchase a new vehicle. As we recently moved to an acreage in the country, I had a need for a pickup for the first time in my life for hauling hay, fence materials, etc. etc. that are inevitably needed around a homestead. I wanted to avoid the monstrously huge trucks such as F-250's, Dodge Rams, GMC Sierras, etc in favour of a more mid size truck that fits into narrow trails more easily, but the wife was adamant that it had to have a proper sized back seat, no jump seats or half doors, which ruled out the old Ford Ranger, which probably would have been my first choice otherwise.
If I was rich, my first choice would have been a Toyota Tacoma, perhaps a 2015 or similar vintage. Sadly, I am not rich, and my mortgage is pretty huge nowadays since I had to lock in the rate, and so I was left with a budget of $5000 with which to meet all these criteria. The end result was a 2006 Dodge Dakota, purchased for $4250 with 308k kms on the clock. It's been debaged by some previous owner, however some research indicates it's the SLT trim level with the optional 4.7L V8 engine which puts out about 235HP and 290LB-FT of torque.
It came with snow tires on, so my first move was to fit a set of brand new all terrain tires on it:
Ideally, it would have been nice to fit 33's, which is possible with a bit of a lift and a little trimming, however there was a need to get proper tires on and with time and money limited, I decided to go with 265/75/16's, which was one of the factory sizes available on this truck originally. This one was fitted with 245/70/16's from the factory, so even this modest increase in size is an improvement. They give me 1 full inch more clearance, so that's nice, and they don't rub without needing a lift or any other suspension changes.
Next mod was the most critical:
My next planned mod is to bolt up the pair of 10k lb rated recovery hooks to the front frame rails, fix a burnt out turn signal bulb, and then to extend the diff breathers. There is some minor rust on the lower rockers and doors as well as the wheel wells of the box that I plan to blast with a wire brush on the angle grinder and then spray the lower section of the doors, box and bumper with the tried and true Tremclad Rust in Semi-gloss black, which should result in a pretty sweet looking two tone paint job that will hopefully stave off the truck being eaten by rust. I don't know what they use on the roads here around Edmonton, but there are some nasty rust-eaten vehicles cruising around here and I don't want to let my truck get that bad.
After that, I have plans to buy a bed rack and modify it by combining it with the custom aluminum roof rack off of Ganbaru, including a holder for the CRV table which I salvaged from my old rig, as well as adding a spare tire holder to the front of the truck bed (against the bed rail under the rear window on the passenger side) as currently the factory spare location won't work.
As for a name, I'm undecided and open to suggestions, although I am considering the name "Old Chief Smoke" after one of the famous Dakota indian chiefs of olden times, and in keeping with the smoky grey paint and interior, as well as the fact that like most of my cars it's...old.
Stay tuned for more updates as things progress, although progress may be somewhat slow due to financial constraints in these trying times. Cheers all and keep adventuring!
Due to a confluence of unforseen circumstances, I was forced to give up my cherished 1999 Honda CR-V adventure rig and purchase a new vehicle. As we recently moved to an acreage in the country, I had a need for a pickup for the first time in my life for hauling hay, fence materials, etc. etc. that are inevitably needed around a homestead. I wanted to avoid the monstrously huge trucks such as F-250's, Dodge Rams, GMC Sierras, etc in favour of a more mid size truck that fits into narrow trails more easily, but the wife was adamant that it had to have a proper sized back seat, no jump seats or half doors, which ruled out the old Ford Ranger, which probably would have been my first choice otherwise.
If I was rich, my first choice would have been a Toyota Tacoma, perhaps a 2015 or similar vintage. Sadly, I am not rich, and my mortgage is pretty huge nowadays since I had to lock in the rate, and so I was left with a budget of $5000 with which to meet all these criteria. The end result was a 2006 Dodge Dakota, purchased for $4250 with 308k kms on the clock. It's been debaged by some previous owner, however some research indicates it's the SLT trim level with the optional 4.7L V8 engine which puts out about 235HP and 290LB-FT of torque.
It came with snow tires on, so my first move was to fit a set of brand new all terrain tires on it:
Ideally, it would have been nice to fit 33's, which is possible with a bit of a lift and a little trimming, however there was a need to get proper tires on and with time and money limited, I decided to go with 265/75/16's, which was one of the factory sizes available on this truck originally. This one was fitted with 245/70/16's from the factory, so even this modest increase in size is an improvement. They give me 1 full inch more clearance, so that's nice, and they don't rub without needing a lift or any other suspension changes.
Next mod was the most critical:
My next planned mod is to bolt up the pair of 10k lb rated recovery hooks to the front frame rails, fix a burnt out turn signal bulb, and then to extend the diff breathers. There is some minor rust on the lower rockers and doors as well as the wheel wells of the box that I plan to blast with a wire brush on the angle grinder and then spray the lower section of the doors, box and bumper with the tried and true Tremclad Rust in Semi-gloss black, which should result in a pretty sweet looking two tone paint job that will hopefully stave off the truck being eaten by rust. I don't know what they use on the roads here around Edmonton, but there are some nasty rust-eaten vehicles cruising around here and I don't want to let my truck get that bad.
After that, I have plans to buy a bed rack and modify it by combining it with the custom aluminum roof rack off of Ganbaru, including a holder for the CRV table which I salvaged from my old rig, as well as adding a spare tire holder to the front of the truck bed (against the bed rail under the rear window on the passenger side) as currently the factory spare location won't work.
As for a name, I'm undecided and open to suggestions, although I am considering the name "Old Chief Smoke" after one of the famous Dakota indian chiefs of olden times, and in keeping with the smoky grey paint and interior, as well as the fact that like most of my cars it's...old.
Stay tuned for more updates as things progress, although progress may be somewhat slow due to financial constraints in these trying times. Cheers all and keep adventuring!
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