DoubleMint: A Ranger Story

I took DoubleMint to Potts with the CTB club this weekend. Had a great time, but did manage to break a few things. At the first good obstacle on the trail, I sliced the sidewall of the passenger rear tire.

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While attempting to get off the obstacle so I could get the tire replaced, @CasterTroy noticed that my right front wasn’t spinning. @Jason W. used his X-ray vision to diagnose the situation as a broken axle shaft :p. Seemed plausible so we set the hub free (and I rode around in 3wd the rest of the day).

**I took it apart tonight and it actually was a hub problem. Somehow the circle clip deformed enough to come out of the groove and jam up the hub gear. The hub gear was only partly engaged and the tips of the teeth got stripped off.

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3wd wasn’t going to get me free since I was sitting on the rear diff, so Keith got the winch hooked up and it dragged me up to flat ground. That’s when I noticed that the bumper looked a little cock-eyed. Yep, those flippin slotted mounting holes. I’ll have to get it repositioned and weld it in for good.

The spare is a 35”, so we did a little switch-a-roo and put it on the axle end with the engagement problem so the different size wouldn’t be so hard on the remaining good parts. Not to self: get a full size spare.

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Just as we had finished packing up the tools, @ncsutj noticed that the track bar nut had come loose. He tightened it up and we rolled on.

Not even 5 minutes later (or so it felt), the truck just died and wouldn’t restart. My first guess was that it was a fuel-related issue. I topped off the tank from my gas cans and tried again. Still no start. I thought the fuel pump sounded funny and @ncsutj recognized the sound as air suckage. He helped me pull the fuel cell apart, and sure enough, the fuel line to the pump had ruptured. We replaced it with with some line from the overflow tube and we were back in business!

I took the bypass around The Stacks section of the trail and one of the branches on the bypass broke off my radio antenna. It’s a good thing I never listen to the radio.

I also noticed that at some point, one of the steering ram fittings got crushed against the engine crossmember and was leaking. Nothing I could do about that, but the steering still felt good, so I just left it and rode on. (When I replace it, I’ll change the exit angle of the fitting to prevent this in the future.)

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Back at camp, @77GreenMachine graciously let me cook my steak on his grill while I admired his new slide in camper. After some dinner and drinks, I was ready for bed!

*I know I’ve left a few folks out of this report because every single person in our group helped me to diagnose and fix DoubleMint on the trail. Nearly everyone else back at camp tried to feed me. I could have taken no food at all and still eaten like a King! This is a great group of folks!

I’ll write a gear-related post tomorrow. I tried a few new things; some worked and some didn’t.
 
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I took DoubleMint to Potts with the CTB club this weekend. Had a great time, but did manage to break a few things. At the first good obstacle on the trail, I sliced the sidewall of the passenger rear tire.

View attachment 298906

While attempting to get off the obstacle so I could get the tire replaced, @CasterTroy noticed that my right front wasn’t spinning. @Jason W. used his X-ray vision to diagnose the situation as a broken axle shaft :p. Seemed plausible so we set the hub free (and I rode around in 3wd the rest of the day).

**I took it apart tonight and it actually was a hub problem. Somehow the circle clip deformed enough to come out of the groove and jam up the hub gear. The hub gear was only partly engaged and the tips of the teeth got stripped off.

View attachment 298907

3wd wasn’t going to get me free since I was sitting on the rear diff, so Keith got the winch hooked up and it dragged me up to flat ground. That’s when I noticed that the bumper looked a little cock-eyed. Yep, those flippin slotted mounting holes. I’ll have to get it repositioned and weld it in for good.

The spare is a 35”, so we did a little switch-a-too and put it on the axle end with the engagement problem so the different size wouldn’t be so hard on the remaining good parts. Not to self: get a full size spare.

View attachment 298908

Just as we had finished packing up the tools, @ncsutj noticed that the track bar nut had come loose. He tightened it up and we rolled on.

Not even 5 minutes later (or so it felt), the truck just died and wouldn’t restart. My first guess was that it was a fuel-related issue. I topped off the tank from my gas cans and tried again. Still no start. I thought the fuel pump sounded funny and @ncsutj recognized the sound as air suckage. He helped me pull the fuel cell apart, and sure enough, the fuel line to the pump had ruptured. We replaced it with with some line from the overflow tube and we were back in business!

I took the bypass around The Stacks section of the trail and one of the branches on the bypass broke off my radio antenna. It’s a good thing I never listen to the radio.

I also noticed that at some point, one of the steering ram fittings got crushed against the engine crossmember and was leaking. Nothing I could do about that, but the steering still felt good, so I just left it and rode on. (When I replace it, I’ll change the exit angle of the fitting to prevent this in the future.)

View attachment 298909

Back at camp, @77GreenMachine graciously let me cook my steak on his grill while I admired his new slide in camper. After some dinner and drinks, I was ready for bed!

*I know I’ve left a few folks out of this report because every single person in our group helped me to diagnose and fix DoubleMint on the trail. Nearly everyone else back at camp tried to feed me. I could have taken no food at all and still eaten like a King! This is a great group of folks!

I’ll write a gear-related post tomorrow. I tried a few new things; some worked and some didn’t.
You forgot the part where I dropped the screwdriver into the fuel cell and we had to fish it out. [emoji852]

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I have an almost new Goodyear MT in my shed (unmounted) and 3 BFG Bajas mounted in there as well. If you need a replacement and a spare, let me know. I'll let them go CHEAP since I want the space back

Let me know what you gotta have for that MT. I have a aunt in Mcleansvile that I need to go visit anyway...
 
I tried a couple new things this trip.

Sleeping in the Excursion was a huge success. With a twin-size air mattress, I still had plenty of room in the back for storage and room to maneuver around. The Ex has 12v outlets build in every where, so it was easy to charge up the phone and accessories. I made mosquito nets for the windows so I could have some airflow at night while barring entry for the bugs. These were held on with magnets. They worked great.

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I was in need of a CB. Being short on time, I decided to try a handheld before committing to a permanent radio. The Midland handheld was slightly cheaper than a full permanent setup, but the performance was lackluster. It received quite well, but output was very limited. I wasn’t even able to talk to the first couple vehicles in our convoy. Estimated range: 150ft. I guess I’ll keep it for the Ex or as a loaner, but I’ll need a perm CB with a real antenna at some point.

The RAM mount for my iPhone worked very well. It wasn’t quite stable enough for in-cab video, but it was perfect for holding the phone while using the GPS. I think I’ll get a couple more for my other vehicles.

I decided to upgrade my cooler (finally). A new cooler has been on my wish list for a while now, but I’ve been resisting because I think pricing on these new high-insulation coolers is out of control. This Ozark Trail cooler preformed better than my 20 yr old playmate, but $80 just seems like a bit much for a small cooler.

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Overall, I liked the new cooler, but don’t see myself paying $200+ for a larger version.

I definitely need to get more organized with my tool storage and actually bring more tools. I’d love to have a dedicated set to live in the truck.
 
I tried a couple new things this trip.

Sleeping in the Excursion was a huge success. With a twin-size air mattress, I still had plenty of room in the back for storage and room to maneuver around. The Ex has 12v outlets build in every where, so it was easy to charge up the phone and accessories. I made mosquito nets for the windows so I could have some airflow at night while barring entry for the bugs. These were held on with magnets. They worked great.

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That is a great idea with the nets. My son and I just spent 4 days camping in my wife's Excursion at Harlan. I towed with it up there specifically because it was supposed to rain. A queen sized mattress fits perfectly back there with room for storage at the rear. I need to figure out how to make a handle for the rear doors on the inside....
 
That is a great idea with the nets. My son and I just spent 4 days camping in my wife's Excursion at Harlan. I towed with it up there specifically because it was supposed to rain. A queen sized mattress fits perfectly back there with room for storage at the rear. I need to figure out how to make a handle for the rear doors on the inside....

Yeah, that's a tough one. The doors themselves aren't so bad, but you have to figure out how to get the glass up. I guess you could rig up a lever from the inside to open the latch, but it would be a lot of work.

301 Pc Mechanic's Tool Set

This set can be had for 150 bucks and is surprisingly good for trail tools....

This might be the right solution. I love that the tools are secure and each has a home. I'm sure I have a 20% off coupon around here somewhere...
 
I was in need of a CB. Being short on time, I decided to try a handheld before committing to a permanent radio. The Midland handheld was slightly cheaper than a full permanent setup, but the performance was lackluster. It received quite well, but output was very limited. I wasn’t even able to talk to the first couple vehicles in our convoy. Estimated range: 150ft. I guess I’ll keep it for the Ex or as a loaner, but I’ll need a perm CB with a real antenna at some point.

Some of your transmitting issues could be because the antenna on the handheld is inside the cab of your truck. Trying to send a signal through a steel cage is quite difficult. I know some of the handhelds have the ability to be connected to a remote mounted antenna. Maybe try that before completely giving up on it?
 
Some of your transmitting issues could be because the antenna on the handheld is inside the cab of your truck. Trying to send a signal through a steel cage is quite difficult. I know some of the handhelds have the ability to be connected to a remote mounted antenna. Maybe try that before completely giving up on it?

You are correct. Mine does have the ability to hook up to a power source and an external antenna. They sell a small magnetic antenna specifically for this model handheld or it can be hooked into a traditional antenna. In retrospect, if I needed all that anyway, it would have been cheaper to buy the more powerful standard CB. Oh well, I fell down this rabbit hole already so might as well see where it goes :)
 
The Brown Santa dropped off some new parts and @adamk hooked me up on that new MT earlier this week.

New hub installed and now I have a spare for the tool box:

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I got the new hydro line installed as well but didn’t take any pics.

I wrestled the new tire onto the rim, but have a leak somewhere that I need to figure out. Getting that PVC insert out of the old tire kicked my butt and probably would have made an entertaining video. :popcorn:

I also ordered a ‘new’ 8 bolt wheel and another 90% MT from TWF for a legit spare. Should be here in a few weeks.
 
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The Brown Santa dropped off some new parts and @adamk hooked me up on that new MT earlier this week.

New hub installed and now I have a spare for the tool box:

View attachment 299392
View attachment 299393

I got the new hydro line installed as well but didn’t take any pics. I’m thinking about changing the reservoir setup because the feed tube to the pump is partially collapsed and I’m concerned that one day the pump is going to fail and it will most certainly happen at the worst possible moment.

I wrestled the new tire onto the rim, but have a leak somewhere that I need to figure out. Getting that PVC insert out of the old tire kicked my butt and probably would have made an entertaining video. :popcorn:

I also ordered a ‘new’ 8 bolt wheel and another 90% MT from TWF for a legit spare. Should be here in a few weeks.
A cherry picker is the trick for getting the inserts out. Put the legs on the tire and wrap a strap around the insert.
 
Today I managed to get a real CB installed and wired up. I originally was going to mount this where the factory ash tray is, but I would need to make a bracket and I don’t have any material handy. In the spirit of actually getting something done, I just screwed into the side of the transmission tunnel and called it ‘good enough’.

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Will the 3.5mm stereo output work through a aftermarket head unit or do I have to use one of the Uniden external speakers?

Also started painting my new spare wheel. These wheels are freaking heavy.

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Nothing to see here because I forgot to take any pictures, but the patch cable I ordered for the SWR meter came in so my 5yr old and I tuned the CB antenna. Then we talked about his day at school over the CB - him in the house with the hand held and me in the truck.
 
Just got back from running the Daniel Boone Back-country Byway. The weather was perfect. We got to camp Thursday night, ran some trails/roads Friday and Saturday, then came home Sunday. DoubleMint wouldn't run Friday morning. Turned out to be a dead fuel pump. Luckily, the local auto parts store had a replacement in stock and we were up and running within an hour. Otherwise, everything worked like it was meant to. My only 'complaint' is that by the end of the day on Saturday, it felt like the extended cab was closing in on the four of us. I headed home dreaming of a 4 door rig.

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