Maiden voyage Texas to the Grand Canyon

[onecross]

After 3 years of rebuilding a 1960 Series II 109 SW a few of my friends and i decided that a proper road trip to the Grand Canyon would be a great way to make sure everything works. First of all i was hoping for some tips on what to bring in case of problems with the vehicle and maybe a few willing people along the way that might be able to help in case of problems. any advice would be great!

Thanks!

[4flattires]

First thing to bring....

..is a heaping pile of having fun.

You might join this group: http://www.birmabrightbrotherhood.org/

You might search some threads on tool boxes, tool rolls, etc:

http://www.roversnorth.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7591&highlight=tool

Oh...and bring a credit card, go slow, listen for noises, inspect, inspect, inspect.

Jeff

[Wander]

What a great trip!

In addition to a heaping pile of fun, include an equal size pile of patience and enjoy the journey.

What came to mind first is fluids and filters, maybe a fuel pump kit and a carb kit.

Terriann has done some extensive traveling with her Rover and has a great site covering this and many other issues, http://www.expeditionlandrover.info/

What is your route-be sure to post up pictures and trip reports for those of us stuck at work!

[Bertha]

Nice looking truck. How about some more pics? Where did you get those wide sill rock sliders from? Do a search, I believe this was covered not too long ago on this board and Teri-Anne's sight is also an excellent reference.

[meatblanket]

My longest trip was from New Jersey to Denver in a Series 1. My four essentials would be the following, in no particular order:

1) cell phone
2) iPod with earbuds, plus some way to keep both it and #1 charged
3) beer
4) wallet full of cash and credit cards

That's assuming you're sticking to relatively well traveled routes, and your maintenance is up to date. Otherwise, you might think about taking some tools, fluids, duct tape, some electrical wire, extra bolts, etc.

Sounds like a whole bunch of fun though!

[Wander]

I'd also liketo hear/see more about your resto. Do you have the 2.25 or did you swap something else in?

[cscutt]

nice job, it looks quite smart...nice sliders, where did you get them?

[Nium]

AZ

FYI if you are going the I-10 route to AZ then on I-17 north, from Phoenix to the Grand Canyon, the hill on I-17 between Phoenix and Flagstaff is steep and long. It will really test the meddle of your 109. If you wanted to avoid it get on I-40 and take that west to AZ to avoid that ridiculously steep hill on 17.

If you're running a dizzy with points taking along a spare set of points and a condenser wouldn't be a bad idea.

Cheers and Happy Travels!

[onecross]

Sorry for the slow replay i was working on the truck for 15 hours straight getting things done and will be back up there bright and early!

We plan to take the I 40 route on the way there any possible the I-17 route on the way home. I have compiled a small amount of parts to bring along as well as fluids, filters and tools and the stuff i took off to put the rover drive in last night(just in case problems occur) so far the truck has about 500 miles since most things have been completed...

One of the reasons i purchased this beast is because i always liked them when i was younger and saw Series Land Rovers in documentaries taking photographers and archaeologists way out to places i would love to go... so after i was on he hunt for one at age 18 i found this beautiful truck sitting waiting someone to take it in. It was sitting due to the rear diff was blown out the back so after 3.5 years of work it is now (maybe ready for this trip)

The list of things we have done to the truck so far:

Powder coated Frame &axles
Parabolic
Series III motor
IIA Trans
Rochester Carburetor
Pertronix ignition
Series III and II heaters in series
roof rack (built by us)
sliders (built by us)
high back seats
tuffy box
door panels

here are some pictures as requested:
























Series III heater modification

Thanks for the Advice!

[brucejohn]

Very cool, beautiful truck. Grand Canyon is awesome though not many off road opportunities (if that's what you're hoping for).

Leave plenty of time to hike once you get there, the best stuff can't be seen from the rim. Have a great trip.

[LaneRover]

You probably already have a plan for this but - a ladder to get on the roof rack. I have taken my 109 camping a number of times and I have always enjoyed sleeping up on the roof of it out in the desert.

The roof rack looks great and it looks like you could pick up the truck using those sliders! Bring a digital camera as it is invaluable to be able to take pictures of stuff as you take it apart if you have a trailside repair.

No need for a bottle opener, the bottom lip of the dash in front of the driver and passenger works great as one!

The Rover looks great! Best of luck with your travels - and maybe buy a Delorme map of Arizona there may not be off-roading at the Grand canyon but I would bet that there is a whole lot on the way!

Brent

[onecross]

sleeping on the roof rack

You probably already have a plan for this but - a ladder to get on the roof rack. I have taken my 109 camping a number of times and I have always enjoyed sleeping up on the roof of it out in the desert....
Brent

We built the ladder the next day and put it on. You are right sleeping on the roof is great. you could see the stars and enjoy a nice breeze. it also made for a nice retreat when one of my friends was snoring in the tent!

[greenmeanie]

I would like to see piccies of that rack. Specifically the gutter mounting feet. I am building a clone (well the exterior anyway) of your truck and would like to build my own roof rack.

[onecross]

Here are a couple pictures of the trip. I will post a trip report when i get a chance.

[onecross]

Spring Break 2010 Trip Report:

We made it back from the trip on the 21st and everything went well with just a few small problems....On day one we drove from Arlington Texa to Amarillo TX where we stopped and drooled over the 72 oz steak challenge at The Big Texan. After having dinner, we drove on in order to get to Albuquerque, NM, so the rover could have its first oil change--but on the way we got stuck waiting for the truckers that couldn't get over the hill. So, I kicked it in four-wheel drive and started pulling trucks over the hill NOT (but that would have been cool)! We experienced a problem with the windshield wipers when the wiper arm came loose because I didn't tighten the set screw tight enough. May have been the scariest part of the trip going down almost blind....After reaching Albuquerque we were going to just camp, but decided we had some money burning a hole in our pockets and stayed in a hotel. (It was nice to be in a bed after all that driving.)
The next morning we went and got the oil changed and went to NAPA and ace hardware so I could fix the wipers in case we ran into some more winter weather. Later we were filling up just before leaving Albuquerque and in the attempt to put the fuel cap back on the rubber gasket had expanded and would no longer fit, so i cut a chunk out of it and RTV'ed it on to the cap hoping it would stay (next fill up and it fell right out). We made it to Flagstaff that night due to a late start and as we pulled into a parking spot and found out the Rover no longer had reverse the guys enjoyed pushing us out of the spot so we could go to a place down town to enjoy a beer and some great food at the local brew house. After dinner we got back on the road and made it to The Grand Canyon that night by following the GPS which took us into the resident housing and on to a dirt road that was really muddy and there was no place to pull a u turn (since we didn't have reverse). My buddy Robert woke up Zandt so they could put us backwards in order to turn around (I found this pretty fun). So once we got back on the road to find a camp site we found out they were all taken so we resorted to sleep in the parking lot on the rovers roof rack--but just before we were about to go to sleep Zandt realized he couldn’t find his iphone… turns out it fell into the snow when he was pushing and was recovered after he ran like a mad man trying to find it.
After enjoying the Grand Canyon for a few days we went to Utah to Arches National Park and did a little more hiking and camping. Since I do not have any off roading experience I decided it would be wise to wait till SCARR this month to do anything I was not comfortable doing on my own. We decided to drive through Colorado on the way back and stay with some of my family’s friends in West Cliff, Colorado. The next morning, we loaded up to go home to Texas after an awesome adventure and I opened the hood to hook the small heater up (I didn’t have a switch for it yet so it was hard wired to the battery) I noticed the brake reservoir was pretty much empty….So I filled it up and inspected the wheels, lines and fittings for leaks, as well as praying and being ready to pull the e-brake the whole time. When we stopped for gas at one point I noticed the fan was making a racket, so I had to investigate and tighten a few bolts on the fan hoping that the water pump would hold up till we got home since I did not have a spare to put on. We ended up making that leg of the journey without incident and arrived home. Well I better go replace the water pump. Have a good night yall!

Thanks to Scott for being willing to help in Albuquerque!