Vecman's Build - Boyhood Dreams Realized!

[AZsurveyor]

NEW SHOES!

Had a very small leak in one of the tires. Took it in to Discount Tire for a repair. Of course it ended up being in the sidewall. Hate that. Tires still had good amount of tread on them. And since my OCD can’t let me have mismatched tires, and the Falkens I had aren’t available, went with some 37x12.5R18 BFG KM3 Mud Terrains. Discount tire certificate for the win. They gave me the BFG one for free (they’d isn’t have to, the new tire was more expensive then the one being replaced) and gave me some money on the older tires. I was happy.
I was gonna swap to an MT tire next time anyway, but just ended up being earlier than expected. I considered the Yokohama Geolanders as well, but they were out of stock everywhere and I have to go on a cross country road trip tomorrow. My good friend (who I’ve grown up with since we were babies - like family) his 21 yr old daughter passed away yesterday. Gonna head up for a funeral and spend some time with them. Had to get the tires that were readily available. I’m not upset with the BFGs. Hoping they live up to their reputation. The drive home felt great. So we will see

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Definitely love the look of the MTs!

Looks like a beast!

You weren't kidding when discount gave you no gripe when going bigger with aftermarket rubber.

I'll be interested in knowing how they wear. I've never ran a BFG Mud Terrain (never heard good things about them on HD trucks) but I sure did use the AT2 for 10 years and drove well over 300K miles on them until they switched rubber compound and was no longer able to get 50K out of them (last set they wore down before even reaching 30K).

I do miss Discount's great service and customer perks, plus they're everywhere nationwide.

These tires aren't cheap and it looks like the cert's will cover them based on tire wear (down to 3/32") versus mileage, as to be expected with an MT.

Make sure you stay on top of rotation, MTs are a little more demaning than any AT tire for the most part.

 

[Vecman]

Looks like a best!

You weren't kidding when discount gave you no gripe when going bigger with aftermarket rubber.

I'll be interested in knowing how they wear. I've never ran a BFG Mud Terrain (never heard good things about them on HD trucks) but I sure did use the AT2 for 10 years and drove well over 300K miles on them until they switched rubber compound and was no longer able to get 50K out of them (last set they wore down before even reaching 30K).

I do miss Discount's great service and customer perks, plus they're everywhere nationwide.

These tires aren't cheap and it looks like the cert's will cover them based on tire wear (down to 3/32") versus mileage, as to be expected with an MT.

Make sure you stay on top of rotation, MTs are a little more demaning than any AT tire for the most part.

My son helps me rotate every 5k miles, so I’m on it. Was due for a rotation right now as well. Saved me some back ache! Haha

 

[Tucson Tremor]

Tires look great man! Have a safe trip. Sorry to hear about your buddies daughter.

 

[Optimus🤖]

NEW SHOES!

Had a very small leak in one of the tires. Took it in to Discount Tire for a repair. Of course it ended up being in the sidewall. Hate that. Tires still had good amount of tread on them. And since my OCD can’t let me have mismatched tires, and the Falkens I had aren’t available, went with some 37x12.5R18 BFG KM3 Mud Terrains. Discount tire certificate for the win. They gave me the BFG one for free (they’d isn’t have to, the new tire was more expensive then the one being replaced) and gave me some money on the older tires. I was happy.
I was gonna swap to an MT tire next time anyway, but just ended up being earlier than expected. I considered the Yokohama Geolanders as well, but they were out of stock everywhere and I have to go on a cross country road trip tomorrow. My good friend (who I’ve grown up with since we were babies - like family) his 21 yr old daughter passed away yesterday. Gonna head up for a funeral and spend some time with them. Had to get the tires that were readily available. I’m not upset with the BFGs. Hoping they live up to their reputation. The drive home felt great. So we will see

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Definitely love the look of the MTs!

Looks great, brother! Enjoy them, they're a great tire! Keep us posted on your build. I totally get the "boyhood dreams realized"!

I'm sorry to hear about your buddy's daughter; that's horrible. I'm sure he has great support.

 

[Vecman]

Looks great, brother! Enjoy them, they're a great tire! Keep us posted on your build. I totally get the "boyhood dreams realized"!

I'm sorry to hear about your buddy's daughter; that's horrible. I'm sure he has great support.

It's very sad. Thanks man! I have loved building up this truck. The mods are slowing down, but I still have a few ideas under my sleeve. We will see

 

[Canyon Trekker]

NEW SHOES!

Had a very small leak in one of the tires. Took it in to Discount Tire for a repair. Of course it ended up being in the sidewall. Hate that. Tires still had good amount of tread on them. And since my OCD can’t let me have mismatched tires, and the Falkens I had aren’t available, went with some 37x12.5R18 BFG KM3 Mud Terrains. Discount tire certificate for the win. They gave me the BFG one for free (they’d isn’t have to, the new tire was more expensive then the one being replaced) and gave me some money on the older tires. I was happy.
I was gonna swap to an MT tire next time anyway, but just ended up being earlier than expected. I considered the Yokohama Geolanders as well, but they were out of stock everywhere and I have to go on a cross country road trip tomorrow. My good friend (who I’ve grown up with since we were babies - like family) his 21 yr old daughter passed away yesterday. Gonna head up for a funeral and spend some time with them. Had to get the tires that were readily available. I’m not upset with the BFGs. Hoping they live up to their reputation. The drive home felt great. So we will see

View attachment 216627
Definitely love the look of the MTs!

So sorry to hear about your friends daughter, so young.

 

[4wheels and a hitch]

I had multiple sets of the BFG MT on my square. They look good and give great performance off road. They are not the best highway tire made.

 

[Vecman]

I’m 400 miles into the Utah drive on the new tires. They feel great. They do have a bit more “squish” to them when I pass people, but not terrible. Still feel solid and they ride great. Very happy. I’ll just see how they hold up

 

[Optimus🤖]

I’m 400 miles into the Utah drive on the new tires. They feel great. They do have a bit more “squish” to them when I pass people, but not terrible. Still feel solid and they ride great. Very happy. I’ll just see how they hold up

Nothing wrong with some squish!

 

[Vecman]

Took my son on a 2 week trip to fish and play golf. Drove up to Salt Lake area to see my older kids, did some fishing up in the mountains there, then drove over to Casper for a few days. Had our inaugural Casper WY Tremor Meet-up, fished and played golf there, then drove over to Star Valley for the rest of the trip. Had a great time, and sure love this truck. I went back up in the mountains where I had gotten stuck a few years ago. Recognized the spot immediately! Haha! Caught some small creek cutthroats that we were targeting, and just had a great time.

Lots of great memories for sure

 

[Vecman]

The last couple weeks since I've been home, I've been hearing this weird sound from the front end. Like a "rusty joint" sound, maybe squeaky. Not consistent and hard to reproduce. I dropped my buddy off the other day, and it made the sound as I backed out of his driveway. So he narrowed down the area. I saw this in the front coils

Looks like whatever this rubber isolator/bushing is, is trying to work its way out on both sides. So, stopped by SDHQ here in Gilbert. Setup an appointment for some TLC. I'm pushing 70,000 miles now, with 67,000 of those on the new suspension. So I'm gonna have them once over everything, rebuild the shocks, upgrade my steering components, and replace these rubber things and then see if anything else is going on.

The one thing that bothered me, is he asked if I had been lubing up my front torsion sway bar. I told him I didn't know it needed that. Their shop didn't mention anything to me about needing to lube anything up. I lube my u-joints every 10,000 miles, when I do my oil, so it would have been easy to do this also. I was a bit frustrated with that.

The other thing that has been happening, which I knew this would be a potential issue when I chose this setup, was the e-clik dial in my a-pillar has been glitching a lot lately. 90% of the time, when I try to select something, it immediately reverts back to the Home Screen. No time to select anything. Now, I leave mine on Baja mode pretty much all the time, and I notice zero issue in the ride quality. It just is annoying. 5% of the time, it reads an error code (1014), and will sometimes indicate low battery voltage (which I know isn't true). I messaged @BLACKCHERRY to see if there has been any recalls or known issues with the dial. I'll have SDHQ address it also, just wanted to get a head start on that.

The steering and rebuild were on my list anyway, I'm just hoping these rubber things are no big deal and cheap/easy to replace, and that nothing else has been damaged above them where I can't see. Not sure what causes these to push out like that either.

Overall, not upset at all, just things you gotta do to keep these babies at their best. Sure do love this truck!

 

[Rodd187]

Took my son on a 2 week trip to fish and play golf. Drove up to Salt Lake area to see my older kids, did some fishing up in the mountains there, then drove over to Casper for a few days. Had our inaugural Casper WY Tremor Meet-up, fished and played golf there, then drove over to Star Valley for the rest of the trip. Had a great time, and sure love this truck. I went back up in the mountains where I had gotten stuck a few years ago. Recognized the spot immediately! Haha! Caught some small creek cutthroats that we were targeting, and just had a great time.

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Lots of great memories for sure

I am so glad you and your son got to do this my friend! I am insanely jealous, great job making memories and fantastic pics!

 

[mrmag00]

Looks like some great fishing spots.

 

[Modman]

Took my son on a 2 week trip to fish and play golf. Drove up to Salt Lake area to see my older kids, did some fishing up in the mountains there, then drove over to Casper for a few days. Had our inaugural Casper WY Tremor Meet-up, fished and played golf there, then drove over to Star Valley for the rest of the trip. Had a great time, and sure love this truck. I went back up in the mountains where I had gotten stuck a few years ago. Recognized the spot immediately! Haha! Caught some small creek cutthroats that we were targeting, and just had a great time.

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Lots of great memories for sure

What a great trip into some absolutely beautiful country!

 

[AZsurveyor]

Gorgeous backcountry and some sexy photos of her getting all nasty. How are those mudders holding up? They sure look mean.

Anything with zerks needs grease, and if you haven’t greased those ball joints in 67K miles, I wonder if that’s causing the noise you mentioned.

They don’t need much, and they shouldn’t lose any, but they might be running a little dry at this point.

I can’t stand greasing zerks; nothing they’ve made so far makes it easy.

I was considering getting a cordless grease gun to see if it’s any more enjoyable that way.

 

[Vecman]

Gorgeous backcountry and some sexy photos of her getting all nasty. How are those mudders holding up? They sure look mean.

Anything with zerks needs grease, and if you haven’t greased those ball joints in 67K miles, I wonder if that’s causing the noise you mentioned.

They don’t need much, and they shouldn’t lose any, but they might be running a little dry at this point.

I can’t stand greasing zerks; nothing they’ve made so far makes it easy.

I was considering getting a cordless grease gun to see if it’s any more enjoyable that way.

I don’t mind greasing them, just wish someone would have let me know at install. I have a dewalt grease gun, and it makes for easy work. I’ll hit the front bar with some and see what’s up

 

[AZsurveyor]

I don’t mind greasing them, just wish someone would have let me know at install. I have a dewalt grease gun, and it makes for easy work. I’ll hit the front bar with some and see what’s up

Also, retorque and ensure that the end caps/links are fully threaded in.

Some variants (V1) of the end caps have set screws, mine have fallen off over time even with loc tite. I ensure the set screw is tight everytime I do an oil change, I also just keep some in stock just in case. I may add a pump or two at most, of grease and it's usually squirting out the threads by then.

If your variant (V2) does not have set screws, I think they use a locking o-ring, or something of that nature if I recall correctly to keep them secure in place.

 

[Vecman]

A little grease in the front sway bar solved my squeaky noise issue. That makes me very happy. I’ll take the truck in to SDHQ and go ahead with the steering upgrade and shock rebuild just due to my mileage. It will be nice to have them look everything over as well. But I’m very glad the noise is gone, and glad it was a simple fix.

 

[AZsurveyor]

Where can I send the invoice?

Our services come at no cost.

 

[Vecman]

Dropped her off at SDHQ last Friday. Doing new EBC brakes/rotors, shock rebuilds, track bar rebuild, and few little maintenance things, and they are going to order the new Carli steering setup as soon as it's available. I was going to upgrade to synergy until I heard about the Carli product. I will wait for that for sure. ran about 67,000 miles on this before needing to replace/upgrade stuff. Not bad at all.