# My new truck



## kogneto

So I just got a new vehicle. Well "new" being a relative term. It's a 1991 Chevy S10. After 6 months of scouring Craigslist and checking the local paper I had finally come across something that might work. My mechanic came into possession of the S10 with a bad 5-speed transmission, and a Blazer with a good auto tranny but bad everything else. So he frankensteined them into 1 truck, using the best parts of the Blazer to fix up the S10.

New catalytic converter, new exhaust, new starter, new radiator, rebuilt alternator, new plugs wires caps. He even switched out the dashboards because it's now an automatic. I'm not entirely thrilled about the change but he sold it to me for a steal and a warranty you can't beat. If it breaks he'll fix it, I just buy the parts.

Now I know this isn't diesel, and it isn't a jeep, and it isn't a super old school japanese truck, but it has 4x4 and a good motor.

What kind of modifications would be best suited for a vehicle like this to make it more of a BOV and less of a POS 

Or is it even worth it with a vehicle like this, or should I just try to save up for something more rugged?

Some basic additions I've looked into would be rhino lining (whats the real value this provides? Is the cheaper stuff still effective?). Maybe putting a heavier duty bumper on her (it'll kill gas mileage) and then maybe a winch. 

Would it be better to put a topper on it or are they effective at preventing theft? What about just a toolbox in the bed that is stocked with emergency supplies? I think if someone is determined enough they can get into just about anything, but what I learned from owning a 1987 Acura Integra is that if you vehicle looks shitty it's a lot less likely to get broken into. Oddly enough I lived in one of the seedier parts of town when I owned the Acura, and I never got broken into, but I go up to my fiance's parents house on the rich side of town and it gets broken into twice!


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## ZoomZoom

Congrats!

For this vehicle, any kind of Rhino Lining may be better than nothing. Another option is a rubber mat. The mat would allow you the option of pulling it out and using under a sleeping bag or tent should the need arise (or shelter over your head).

I would propose a cap or "topper". You have immediate shelter available for yourself and your gear. You can also toss a lot more "stuff" in there without having to tie it down or allowing it to be visible to others. 

I may be looking for something similar.


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## NaeKid

I had an '85 S-10 ExtendedCab short Box 4x4 w/ 5-speed. I did a "slice-n-dice" of the body-work and slapped on a set of 31" BFG All-Terrains. Combined with the factory posi (in great shape) it went everywhere I pointed the steering wheel.

I had tow-hooks on the front / rear as well as a heavy-duty custom back bumper for towing and it was custom skid-plated with 3/16" AR-200 plate from front bumper to t-case. I pulled the interior out and had the truck sprayed from the fire-wall to the tail-gate with a spray-in box-liner. The windows were tinted "double-limo-black"... 

I loved that truck - some day, I might get another one.


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## sailaway

Kogneto, the best BOV for you is the one that works for your plan, will it get you, yours and your preps to your BOL? What should you do to it to make it do that any season of the year? or in any type of weather conditions? Those are questions you need to ask yourself and carry out.


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## HozayBuck

Everything they said !! sounds like a good one and a even better deal..!! now find a wrecked S 10 and get the box and running gear and build you a great trailer.. topper on each and your really fixed!!!


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## NaeKid

HozayBuck said:


> Everything they said !! sounds like a good one and a even better deal..!! now find a wrecked S 10 and get the box and running gear and build you a great trailer.. topper on each and your really fixed!!!


I would stay away from the "truck-box-trailer" as they are very heavy to pull. A better choice on a trailer would be to take a trailing axle from the wrecker (I love the Pontiac 6000 rear axle for this) and build your trailer around that. If you can weld it together, it can be a fairly light build and still carry ~1500lbs of gear.

Another thing that is easy to do is to build a "coffin-hauler" where it is a basic frame that you can mount a couple of Thule roof-top cargo-carriers to it ...


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## HozayBuck

I forget some of you use them puny jeep thangs to try to pull stuff... 

All joking aside, I some times forget that my ideas of pulling power don't fit with most folks... 

But also I don't figure to be pulling up over the rocks like you rock climbers do..

Mostly I just want a BOT for hauling my get me home stuff if the shtf while I'm on the road...rest of the time it will be parked wherever I am..

One thing I read in the SHTF story's in here is the idea of using the pick up box fuel tanks to haul the extra fuel...I really like that idea with an elect fuel pump to transfer it while driving.. and with a topper on it that would really be cool...beans, bullets and beer!! ...

now go find me a picture of something like that...!! :beercheer:


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## kogneto

well since this rig has been parted together from a Blazer, the gas gauge reads always full. In response to this my mechanic has said he'll just throw the gas tank from the blazer in there and I can keep the other gas tank. I'm wondering though if it would be legal to keep that tank for storing gas, or if I would be better off with a couple jerry cans.

I think the truck bed trailer would be a bit much yeah, as I only have 1800lb towing capacity (though do you guys think that's a best guess or is it like at 1801lb's everything snaps?).

One thing I like about this rig is that it has a pretty great turning radius, not japanese car turning radius but still it's not a boat, so if I do get stuck at a road block it's not too much to turn around. Found this out great after dropping my buddy off in the boonies of Anchorage. The city got a foot of snow and this side of town got almost 3. The "road" I was on was about 1 lane, with massive snow berms on either side. I was surprisingly able to turn her around without getting stuck, though I wish I had an E-Brake handle like my Acura, I could have just whipped it around


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## NaeKid

kogneto,

When I had my '85 S-10 (actually, it was the T-10, 4x4 model, but, most people don't realize that there was a difference) I considered pulling apart a dash out of a Blazer for all the wiring (switches) to put a defrost-system on my back window, snagging the rear-mount fuel-tank and dropping it in, wire in a secondary fuel guage (so I have readings on both tanks at all times) and then plumb-in a Ford-style fuel-tank-switch so that I could choose the rear-tank or the saddle-tank.

Now, to carry that extra fuel would lower the amount of weight that the truck would be able to load into the bed and the amount of weight that the truck would be able to tow, but, on the plus-side, you would basically double your distance-traveled before fill.

As for your problem with the fuel-tank always reading full, sounds like the float in the tank is stuck at the top giving a false reading. Drop the tank and check the float to make sure that it has full motion on the scale. If it does move, you might have the wires "backwards" - ground to + and + to ground to give it a false-reading.


Hozay,

Ya, us Jeepers have learned that we can finesse our way through and over anything and pulling a load must be within our towing capacity (3500lbs for my LJ and 2000lbs for a regular TJ or YJ), but, we have come up with great ways to make sure that the trailer we pull does not hamper our back-country travels. Your "big-bull" of a truck doesn't think twice about loads or roads, but, if your get your bull stuck, there isn't too much out there that would be able to "un-stuck" it, unless there is another bull nearby :gaah:


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## HozayBuck

NaeKid, my idea of 4 wheel drive is that I go as far as I can get with 2 WD and then put it in 4WD and turn around and get out of there!!

You right about getting my rig stuck but it would be stuck on some form of a road, I'd never ever try going where you guys go even in a much smaller truck.. my idea of rough roads is what you rockers drive over to get to where you start off roading... 

I have never been bitten by the rock climbers bug..costs me enough to stay on dirt roads without trying to destroy my rig.. 

I'm very picky about where I take the beast!! I know it limitations.. now if I could reasonably get into a diesel Jeep...different story maybe...


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## HozayBuck

NaeKid said:


> I had an '85 S-10 ExtendedCab short Box 4x4 w/ 5-speed. I did a "slice-n-dice" of the body-work and slapped on a set of 31" BFG All-Terrains. Combined with the factory posi (in great shape) it went everywhere I pointed the steering wheel.
> 
> I had tow-hooks on the front / rear as well as a heavy-duty custom back bumper for towing and it was custom skid-plated with 3/16" AR-200 plate from front bumper to t-case. I pulled the interior out and had the truck sprayed from the fire-wall to the tail-gate with a spray-in box-liner. The windows were tinted "double-limo-black"...
> 
> I loved that truck - some day, I might get another one.


Do you have any pictures of this rig?


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## NaeKid

Hozay ... 

It looked like just about every other S-10 pickup out there, white body, stock steelie-rims (silver), very basic looking front-bumper, very basic looking rear-bumper ..

I sold it off and found a picture on the 'net of my truck with the guy that bought it off of me .. can't see much, but, it hadn't changed much (if at all) by the time this picture was taken ...


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## mosquitomountainman

NaeKid said:


> Hozay ...
> 
> It looked like just about every other S-10 pickup out there, white body, stock steelie-rims (silver), very basic looking front-bumper, very basic looking rear-bumper ..
> 
> I sold it off and found a picture on the 'net of my truck with the guy that bought it off of me .. can't see much, but, it hadn't changed much (if at all) by the time this picture was taken ...


Now that looks like the kind of thing my oldest son is into. He got his 64 Jeep PU stuck in the mud once so deep he couldn't open the door to get out. Took him and his friends a couple of days to get it out and when he did he had to pull out two other trucks that got stuck trying to get him out.

On the fuel gauge...you might check to see if the wire to the sender is hooked up. I don't remember if an open circuit makes them go to full or a grounded circuit but it sounds as one of the two has occurred.

Most of them make lousy tow vehicles due to under powered engines and gearing that's too high.

I always liked the S-10's. I've got a 2wd one even now. Like Hozay, I tend to rely on my 1 ton Dodge 4wd as my real work truck. Also like Hozay I go as far as I can in 2wd then I'm pretty sure I can get out in 4wd if I need to. I've had too many times extracting truck in my younger years. It isn't fun anymore.


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## Tribal Warlord Thug

heres our little GMC Jimmy.....will pull a fairly good load with the 4.3L V6









and this lil' mule dont pull sheeit...... 











and heres the ol' lady's bike.......


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## HozayBuck

NaeKid said:


> Hozay ...
> 
> It looked like just about every other S-10 pickup out there, white body, stock steelie-rims (silver), very basic looking front-bumper, very basic looking rear-bumper ..
> 
> I sold it off and found a picture on the 'net of my truck with the guy that bought it off of me .. can't see much, but, it hadn't changed much (if at all) by the time this picture was taken ...


Looks like he didn't get the go anywhere package when he bought it from you!!!.

BUT, he looks like he's having fun!!


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