My 2011 Tahoe LT. build, a work in progress.

[Charles M]

Sneak peak at my rear table build it will be mounted to the swing out tire carrier. This will be mounted to a sub-frame that mounts to the swing out. So I will be able to install it on another truck if I want to. The table top is made out of aero space aluminum composite.



This slide out track will have a wooden board for an extended table and a chopping board too. It will extend the 32 inch table another 24 inches for a total of 56 inches long.



I decided to use a piano hinge because it is more rigid than standard hinges are.



The aluminum sandwich composites inner core is an aluminum honeycomb bonded with two outer sheets of aluminum. This stuff is so strong it is 32 inches long and 15 inches wide and I can stand on it with minimum flex. It is only a 1/4 inch thick and weighs less than a pound.

 

[Charles M]

This thing comes in handy working in the parking lot at home too.

 

[Rubiconcruiser]

Looking very good and capable

 

[BigDogYJ]

View attachment 113168

With the Awning deployed, how is the interference between it and opening the back hatch?
I’ve been contemplating putting on on my yukon xl rack but concerned about how that hatch would contact the awning. Thx.

 

[Charles M]

With the Awning deployed, how is the interference between it and opening the back hatch?
I’ve been contemplating putting on on my yukon xl rack but concerned about how that hatch would contact the awning. Thx.

This unit it does limit the opening of the back hatch because the spoiler on top of the window hits the diagonal arm. I might need to adjust the mounting or I may remove the spoiler to get a little more opening. I will post up more information as I figure it out.

There are other awnings were the rear arm does not cross over where the the rear hatch lifts up. They may have more room for the back to open up. You might want to check out the Peregrine 270. One arm runs parallel with the back and one is inline with the side so the rear hatch should be able to lift up better.

 

[BigDogYJ]

This unit it does limit the opening of the back hatch because the spoiler on top of the window hits the diagonal arm. I might need to adjust the mounting or I may remove the spoiler to get a little more opening. I will post up more information as I figure it out.

There are other awnings were the rear arm does not cross over where the the rear hatch lifts up. They may have more room for the back to open up. You might want to check out the Peregrine 270. One arm runs parallel with the back and one is inline with the side so the rear hatch should be able to lift up better.

Awesome. I’ll take a look. Pricing still looks reasonable. Thanks!

 

[Charles M]

Awesome. I’ll take a look. Pricing still looks reasonable. Thanks!

I figured how to make this one work much better. I needed to pull the front tight first this brings the rear arm just far enough to clear the wing on the window.


The gap is about a 1/4 inch it does hit the rear window so, I padded it with carpet for now. It's still pretty low but, livable for me. It will open far enough to be able to get things out of the back. I still like this awning because it has more coverage in the rear corner where my stove and cooking counter are.




This shows the carpet I used on the rafter.

 

[Charles M]

I installed a 37 qt refrigerator / freezer. It took about 2 hours to come down to 31 degrees.. I am looking forward to using this on our Labor day run. Everything was cold this morning. Fits where my ice chest was so, my mattress and everything else fits the same.




This shows how much room I have under the shelf. The shelf has hinges so I can lift it up for easier access under the seat.

 

[Charles M]

I found a good place to put my 10 pound cylinder I used a 4 inch pvc pipe with a cap on it to support it. I keep the hose under the tray to the right.



This is my rear table with a wood extension that slides out it will be mounted to the tire swing out. It should be done in a few more days just in time for our next trip.



I mounted my new Ham radio in the headliner and I will be making or modifying the old cover to fill in the gaps. You can see where I also put insulation above the radio that covers the the entire roof area over the driver / passenger area.

 

[Charles M]

Getting closer to being ready for this weekend.
This is my rear table with a wood extension slide out it will be mounted to the spare tire swing out. It should be done in a few more days just in time for our next trip. I think I will use a bed liner or something like it for the main area where the stove is. Inside the frame in the back will be a sheet of diamond plate to help stiffen things up and will also work as a wind block too. Hopefully I will have it mounted up and ready
tomorrow. OK for you old car nuts... Yes that is a 1946 Lincoln Continental Cabriolet in the background.

 

[Charles M]

Completed just in time for the Reno Labor day Overland run to Bodie.
It folds up behind the swing out spare tire rack behind the tire. The complete unit weighs about 8 pounds. I still want to add a second shelf mounted above the stove.



The cooking section is 32 x 15 inches and the chopping board / table is 24 x 14 inches I will also be adding a small propane tank back here too.

 

[RoarinRow]

Sweet build! How are the brakes as far as brake dust?

 

[Charles M]

Sweet build! How are the brakes as far as brake dust?

I have black rims but, I don't see a lot of build up. I made sure to properly break them in and once fully seated I could feel the difference. I do tend to be pretty hard on brakes. Being an ex (EBC sponcered) road racer I like to drive into corners pretty deep, spend time in the mountains and my rig weighs 6980 pounds loaded. My driving is very demanding on brakes and these don't last as long as factory.

The EBC rotors have worn a lot in 25,000 miles and I replaced the rear pads. I am not sure why rear pads wore out first.. it is odd the front are still good. I checked to make sure the pistons were not sticking or if the brakes were dragging. But the wheel spins free...

 

[Charles M]

Labor day trip was great I got to test out the Nomadic 270 degree awning from Overland vehicle systems it is easy to open up and give a lot of useful shade.




On the second day we installed the wall #1 The first section was staked out for extra shade and the door was rolled up for easier entrance.



For under $1000 delivered for the Awning and the wall 1 this is a great addition to my rig.

The arms are very strong with clean welds and stainless hardware throughout it is a very well designed unit. Canvas is heavy and blocks all of the sun so you don't feel any heat coming through it. This canvas is heavy duty so, I expect it to last a long time. The stakes are heavy duty they look like very large nails with a plastic bar on top to hold the rope. Poles are strong screw adjustable but still very light weight. The canvas is held in
place on the rafters with large canvas straps you can see them in the photo below
those straps also hold three of the support poles in place when they are not in use. .


Opening it up is fast and easy it takes about 15 minutes to open it set three poles in place and stake it out. When you are finished it takes a little more time and effort to get it stored away. I would like to see them extend the length of the retaining straps so tightening them would be easier and making the outer cover slightly looser in the front so it might be easier to zip it up. I suggested they make another inner wall for this to section off part of it for more privacy.

I highly recommenced the Nomadic 270 degree awning from Overland vehicle systems it is a very good and usable product.

 

[Charles M]

My table did suffer from collecting a lot of sand in the slider and hinge so, I will need to make a cover to help keep the dirt out of it. Otherwise it worked very well lots of room for the stove on the main fold down and the slide out gives you plenty of room for preparing food for cooking or serving food on plates. I made a small aluminum plate to hold the tire swing out in place but, will be replacing it with a small table to fit between the bumper and the flip down table to hold the water.



How did I get it all dirty... The following photos were taken before we got to the camp site...





Our trip destination was Bodie Ca.





It was a great Reno Overland Bound trip and of course I have a new list of things to do... lol

 

[radiator-fan]

awesome looking rig!

 

[Danny Boy]

What brand front bumper is that?

 

[Charles M]

What brand front bumper is that?

Front and rear bumpers are Fab Fours..

 

[BigDogYJ]

Is that a full size chevy van following your group? wow. I thought a suburban on the trail was alot. Props to him.

 

[Charles M]

Is that a full size chevy van following your group? wow. I thought a suburban on the trail was alot. Props to him.

Yes it was, we had several full size rigs with us and one with a trailer too. The Chevy van was AWD not 4x4.
The longest rig was this Ford with a camper on top..