T-45 Days and Counting

We are at the 45 day mark before we depart on our trip out west.  The mods and repairs are all but completed.  We still a few things left to do but nothing major.  The truck will get a new carrier bearing in hopes that this little annoying vibration will disappear We will also get new brakes on the front end of the truck.

Here's a list of the items that we've done over the past year in preparation for this trip.

For the Truck and Jeep

1. Set the truck to tow the jeep
2. Prep Jeep with wiring and replaced front bumper with one that has tow mounts (plus it looks cool!)
3. Fabricate tow bar and hitch extension
4. Installed gas (Jerry) can carrier on spare tire mount
5. Straightend pin on right side tail gate.
6. Tadi Brothers Rear View Camera installed.

For the Truck Camper
Repairs -
Rear Bumper - replaced the two end bolts on both ends of the bumper with through-bolts to reduce flex on the bumper mount.
Repaired the lower bump-out where I ripped the sheet metal and bent the pin on the tail gate of the truck.
Shower Mixing chamber replaced - these are all kind of cheezy so I bought a spare just in case.
Replaced the end on the 30Amp on the shore power cord.
Sealed all the windows and openings
PM on all four Electric Jacks.
Modifications -
Set of Steps for the rear making a more stable platform for entry and exit.  Pictures to follow - Tammy let me have some artistic flair on this project....turned out pretty good!
Shelving in both closets in the TC.  One for the Pantry with 5 shelves and containers to separate food stuffs. - the other for bathroom stuff.
Installed storage items for the pantry such as hooks, over the door hangers, and etc...

Items purchased
Camp Chef Stove/oven combo - works pretty dang good too!
Small Table with the legs modified to create a suitable work surface for the Stove/oven.
LL Bean Screened enclosure.
Honda Generator

Finally, about two weeks ago I had the truck weighed at the local CAT Scales.  With the tailgate removed and a full tank of fuel (35 gallons) and yours truly - the weight came in at ,7360 pounds.  I then went and load the truck camper and stopped by the house to empty the camper of EVERYTHING - that didn't come with it.  The weight then was 11,480 pounds.  The GVWR of the truck is 12,300 pounds.  For our trip out west we plan to remove the back seat and I have estimated that to be right at 125 pounds.  That leaves us with 820 pounds for stuff and Tammy.  The next task was to meticulously weight everything as it went back into the camper and I did.....the weight of all the other stuff came to be (including Tammy) 827 pounds.  To remedy this overage - since we are towing the jeep, we will let some of the big ticket weight items ride in the jeep such as the generator, the stove/oven combo and the screened in room and a few others.  Shifting of those items to the jeep now brings us to being under by 250 pounds!

Mission Accomplished!