Pearl, the 93' Explorer

[TTBDORA]

I’ve got a limited front bumper and grille if you wanna trade!?!

Hmmmm is the new vehicle rain gutter then…?! Haha..

 

[marcytech]

Hmmmm is the new vehicle rain gutter then…?! Haha..

Technically it doesn’t have rain gutters haha

 

[troysladeck]

Recap of the past couple months Expo has been getting tons of use and holding up great

Mid October Sunday morning rip. Tried keeping up with @BATTEN in his ranger. Was unsuccessful but still a fun time. Co-dawgs had a blast also.

 

[troysladeck]

Late October made a weekend trip up to Strawberry, AZ. Was the maiden voyage for the newly acquired truck, camper, and wife’s quad and everything went perfect. No bad lines, but still good times

 

[troysladeck]

Halloween weekend was another weekend camping a little closer to home. Ran some trails with Cody and his family out near Sonoita, AZ

 

[gascapkevin]

Explorer be explorin' !

 

[troysladeck]

Early November gave the Expo some love after not touching it for a while. Full bolt check, new fuel pump, new sparkies, re-packed wheel bearings, repainted inside of grille with some Alloy Armor, and buffed and waxed the body. Then out for a sunset cruise behind my house

 

[troysladeck]

Mid November camping trip up near Black Canyon City, AZ with some Phoenix friends. Ran up to Crown King and grabbed a beer at the historic saloon


The girls staying warm around the smudge pot

 

[troysladeck]

Last weekend Sunday funday following @BATTEN through some rocks in the Reddington area

tucking those 32’s lol

ttb doing solid axle things

 

[gascapkevin]

Time for 35s?

 

[troysladeck]

This weeks project is a trunk rack. Wanted something to hold a spare tire, cooler, subwoofer, second battery, and tools and was tired of using dozens of ratchet straps to hold everything in place

1 1/4” .120 wall dom steel


Utilized the factory tie down mounts that are bolted to the body and just welded tabs onto them



Tapped the tubing for M8 bolts for easy install / removal of the main frame


Mocked up the diagonal part of the tire rack. Mounting the rack “backwards” to allow for a larger diameter tire to fit without having clearance issues. Spare is currently the stock 31” tire but will eventually be a 33”, possibly go to 35’s at some point in the future

 

[Baconcreekmetal]

I've been wanting to do something like this in mine for many years now, but have never committed the time or brain power to a working design. I'm anxious to see how yours turns out.

 

[troysladeck]

Hand notching tubes with a flap disk is a blast


Heres everything mocked up on the ground. Battery will go where the apache case is, then plan is to build a mount above the battery to securely hold the apache case full of tools. Room underneath the tire for random shit. Jack mount on the side of the spare tire above the wheel well

 

[marcytech]

I love it!

 

[troysladeck]

long overdue deaver upgrade Replaced the frame side shackle bushing while I had everything taken apart; was a PITA. Also tossed the old u-bolt plates and threw on some ruffstuff high clearance plates. Muuuch cleaner and over 2” more ground clearance




Throwing on some longer springs in the front tomorrow to level everything out and it’ll be ready to rip!

 

[troysladeck]

Also figured out a layout for the trunk rack that I really like that doesn’t waste too much space. Ended up getting a 36” rifle case and turning it into rattle-free tool storage

 

[4xFoorOffroad]

Before RS started adding the cross piece on the bottom of the u bolt plates I modded mine and added a little ramp to help protect the centering pin.

It was a fun short project. IDK if it's super important however.

 

[Baconcreekmetal]

It's looking great!

 

[marcytech]

Bad ass! I love the rifle case idea. That layout was very easy on the ocd

 

[troysladeck]

4” lift skyjacker springs cut one coil off gave about 3” of lift and matches the rear perfectly (g50e’s and 6.5” shackle). Being on stock beams, 3” lift is the max that is possible without a cut n turn

Sprayed the rack with some clear coat, bolted it down, and strapped everything in. Perfect fit . Still have to buy a spare battery that will go in the open spot but I haven’t decided on which size/type to go with yet