New Build - 6*12 Offroad Toy Hauler

[flboy]

Bill,

That is just some leftover from what I used on the sidewalls. I just cut it and use it as a pad. The surface I have on my countertop is not that durable, so this helps.. also keeps things from sliding around.



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[flboy]

Pulled this back from Indiana to Dealer in Florida this week. 39ft is almost impractical for any gas station or standard parking lot (especially for a hitch pull) . I found myself filling up the diesel on the commercial truck side at Pilot or Loves. Just could not navigate very easily on the regular side with the tail swing and etc. especially with all the other cars and etc. buzzing around.


Much prefer my 6x12 or 7x18. Bigger is not always better from my perspective.. unless you just need the space for a very large family.



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[hankaye]

flboy, Howdy;

Notice your nose is a bit higher then 'normal' . You must beginning to be feeling
truly familiar with I-75 ,eh? chucklin'.

hank

[flboy]

Haha yes. If it was my rig, I'd have airbags to level up and a WD hitch. It's a 1 ton truck, but trailer was very heavy. Usually pulling lighter rigs.

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[NVCowboy]

I feel like such a stalker, always coming back to flboy’s two builds. Sumo Springs? Regrets? Do you wish you went with shock absorbers instead? How do they do off road? Waysoutback on YouTube loves his shocks. Sumo’s look stupid easy to install, and I like the idea of evening out load imbalance due to water and fuel tanks.

[flboy]

I am taking the SumoSprings off the 6x12.it has 5,000lb springs so probably not needed. I think they make it bounce too much due to stiffness. Probably be better off with shocks on this one.

The SumoSprings are great on my 7x18 tandem axle with 3,500 lbs axles. Probably a better application.



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[flboy]

Will not be taking the 6x12 CTC on this adventure, but taking the toy it hauls.

Prepping the KTM-690R for the Transamerica Trail. I leave for that North Carolina to Oregon off-road/moto camping trip in 3.5 weeks. Decided I will ride pavement back instead of shipping the bike and flying home.

New tires and extra heavy duty tubes to put on. Pannier and luggage racks installed. Still need to Check valve clearances, change oil and filters, replace spark plugs, replace fuel screens, and check everything out all over. Don't know what else I can do to prepare the bike. Chain, sprockets, brakes, and wheel bearings all look good. Bike only has 7,072 miles on it where are about 70% pavement.. so very good shape.





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[BigDave_185]

How is your headlight ? Do ya need some aux forward light assistance?

If you get caught on the highway at night, just spit balling for the trip.


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[hankaye]

flboy, Howdy;

Neat adventure that, got a Kidney Belt? A weight lifters belt will do.
Back in the hard tail days that's what was used to keep from bruising
kidneys do to rapid and repeated bouncing. For awhile they were built
into some leather jackets, even.

Lookin' forward to your ride debrief.

hank

[jaws_1972]

flboy,

Very nice! TAT is high on my list, but I don't think it will be a reality until I'm able to retire. I've got a 2013 690 that has become my preferred adventure bike if I'm able to trailer to the event. My trusty R1200GS is best for longer stints with highway segments, but one hard rainfall could change things real quick on that bike off road.

Looking forward to hearing about your trip. Hopefully you will post some updates on this forum for us. If you're ever up for something shorter and easier, I'm looking to ride the KAT (Kentucky Adv Trail) sometime. Might be great opportunity to use the toy haulers.

Jeff

[flboy]

Hank, never thought about a kidney belt much. Hopefully I don't get that beat up..The bike's suspension should see the most action.


Jeff, Will do. I plan on taking alot of video footage and then boiling them down to a few short episodes. I won't have the means to process any videos until I get back in August, but I'll certainly post some pics and updates as I go.

My KTM-690R is a 2016 which I bought used in 2018 with 3,000 street only miles. I've since put 4,000 on it. I have done the Smokey Mountain 500 on it twice and the MABDR (about 1,100 miles) . I really like it for the Dual Sport aspects. I have a 2005 KTM-450EXC with a tag which I bought new in 2006. That is my go to woods bike. Much better offroad than the KTM-690R, but is is no good for a long haul dual sport. Service interval is 500 miles and just doesn't have the correct gearing when on pavement, not to mention the notoriously uncomfortable seat which I don't use much in the woods.




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[flboy]

How is your headlight ? Do ya need some aux forward light assistance?

If you get caught on the highway at night, just spit balling for the trip.


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Dave, I built some mounts and installed driving lights on the forks adjacent to the headlights a few years ago. See the pic. It is way too easy to outrun the usefulness of the stock headlights.

I also have a portable beam I put on a GoPro helmet mount for off-road at night. It allows me to see where I look as opposed to where the bike is pointing. That's real useful when cornering in particular.



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[BigDave_185]

Perfect!!


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[flboy]

Bike is coming together for the TAT. Have all the maintenance and bike prep done, now just figuring out how I will load it for cross country dual sport. Will be going about 5,500 to 6,000 miles round trip and living off the bike for 4 weeks and maybe more.

I will make a TAT thread in the General Discussion area to post updates when I leave on June 29 if anyone is interested. Not going to use this thread.







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[featherliteCT1]

My butt hurts just thinking about it!