A big offroad(ish) benroy (B.O.B.)

[clear_star82]

Awesome job!

I found your build on here awhile ago, and recently had your YouTube video pop up on my feed. Enjoyed watching it, and just read through your build for the second time

I too, will be "borrowing" some of your designs/ideas posting.php?mode=smilies&f=50#

I'll be uploading my build to here soon, I'm prob 50% done at this point and also have some YouTube videos documenting it... check it out if you have some time...

 

[SCwood]

Awesome job!

I found your build on here awhile ago, and recently had your YouTube video pop up on my feed. Enjoyed watching it, and just read through your build for the second time

I too, will be "borrowing" some of your designs/ideas posting.php?mode=smilies&f=50#

I'll be uploading my build to here soon, I'm prob 50% done at this point and also have some YouTube videos documenting it... check it out if you have some time...

Thanks and good luck with your build!

 

[SCwood]

BOB had some work done recently because after a couple years of camping I noticed a few flaws with the design.

#1- need more speakers! The sound behind or in BOB was great, but if you found yourself hanging out beside BOB at a camp site he was kind of hard to hear. So we cut some holes in him and spliced into the existing speakers. They’re marine speakers that came with colored LEDs in them so I wired the LEDs into the same controller that powers the galley and undercarriage so they match:

#2- need more lights! We realized that when using the side tables at night not much light makes it their way. So a couple small cube LEDs did the trick:

#3- too much baby! BOB has bunk beds, but apparently infants need more of a cage to contain them. So we made the top bunk into a crib:

And of course, we had to test all these new features out so we went to Lake Whitney State Park to go camping. Unfortunately it rained, but we did get to test out how waterproof those speakers were!

Another trip a few weeks later at Possum Kingdom State Park (it rained a little there too. What’s up with all the rain??)

And here’s a video of all the modifications. Enjoy!
https://youtu.be/TSS91iFrTFo

 

[E-Crow]

Awesome up grades! Can't wait until l get time to watch the video

Sent from my SM-G960U1 using Tapatalk

 

[E-Crow]

Ok. It was a really good video! Funny and informative! Thank you!

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[SCwood]

Ok. It was a really good video! Funny and informative! Thank you!

Sent from my SM-G960U1 using Tapatalk

Thanks!

 

[KTM_Guy]

How bad was it to change out to the 3500# rubber? I think I’m going to need to do the same. I’m at 1,800# but still need to add 20-25 gallons water storage. I think I’ll need the heavier rubber.

Looks great by the way. I still need to figure out shade and sun canopies

Todd

 

[Tony Latham]

How bad was it to change out to the 3500# rubber?

Brad 'xplained it:

http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=65537&p=1180844&hilit=+timbren#p1180844



Tony

 

[SCwood]

How bad was it to change out to the 3500# rubber?

Brad 'xplained it:

http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=65537&p=1180844&hilit=+timbren#p1180844



Tony

Yep, I read that before replacing mine too. The hardest part in reverse is getting the 3500 rubber in since it’s larger. Clamps helped pull it into place for me.

 

[KTM_Guy]

How bad was it to change out to the 3500# rubber?

Brad 'xplained it:

http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=65537&p=1180844&hilit=+timbren#p1180844



Tony

Thanks I just saw this. I called Timbren and they asked me to send some info and they will have their engineering dept look at it and come up with a plan for my setup. Can't beat that.

Todd

 

[ieatfish]

A big thanks for posting such a great build log! The update video is also good to see. It really turned out well. I plan to make one similar, though more of just an O. B., and I had a few questions if you get the chance to answer:

1) Any big regrets on the overall construction and features you put in or anything you'd do differently?

2) How do you like having the 'walkway' go fully under the doors? Any issues with getting dirty in and out? I like the idea of a place to put my shoes...

3) Do you have any pictures of the edge trim at the bottom of the walls at the frame? I'm still unsure how this trim works when the aluminum butts against the frame or overlaps it.

4) How is the AC working out? Glad you installed it?

Thanks again!

 

[SCwood]

A big thanks for posting such a great build log! The update video is also good to see. It really turned out well. I plan to make one similar, though more of just an O. B., and I had a few questions if you get the chance to answer:

1) Any big regrets on the overall construction and features you put in or anything you'd do differently?

2) How do you like having the 'walkway' go fully under the doors? Any issues with getting dirty in and out? I like the idea of a place to put my shoes...

3) Do you have any pictures of the edge trim at the bottom of the walls at the frame? I'm still unsure how this trim works when the aluminum butts against the frame or overlaps it.

4) How is the AC working out? Glad you installed it?

Thanks again!

Thanks! There’s two things I’d do differently: 1- don’t use that black gravel guard. I’ve had trouble with it shrinking and coming off. I’m going to replace it with raptor liner soon. 2- design storage so it’s accessible without getting in the camper. We’re always reaching in for clothes or this or that and we wind up throwing everything on the front bunks so we can get to it. It’d be nice if the shelves were accessible from the door or a hatch.

The walkways are awesome. I’d 100% do them again. We usually sit on the bed to take our shoes off and then you can leave them on the walkway.

I don’t have any close ups of the trim on me. I’ll try and get some later, but the aluminum and trim just butt up to the steel frame. Nothing overlaps. There’s sealant under the trim so water doesn’t pool and get up under it.

And yes, super happy with the a/c. We went camping in port Aransas about a month ago and it would’ve been miserable without it.

Good luck with your build!

 

[ieatfish]

Thanks! There’s two things I’d do differently: 1- don’t use that black gravel guard. I’ve had trouble with it shrinking and coming off. I’m going to replace it with raptor liner soon. 2- design storage so it’s accessible without getting in the camper. We’re always reaching in for clothes or this or that and we wind up throwing everything on the front bunks so we can get to it. It’d be nice if the shelves were accessible from the door or a hatch.

The walkways are awesome. I’d 100% do them again. We usually sit on the bed to take our shoes off and then you can leave them on the walkway.

I don’t have any close ups of the trim on me. I’ll try and get some later, but the aluminum and trim just butt up to the steel frame. Nothing overlaps. There’s sealant under the trim so water doesn’t pool and get up under it.

And yes, super happy with the a/c. We went camping in port Aransas about a month ago and it would’ve been miserable without it.

Good luck with your build!

Awesome, that's all great to know. I appreciate the quick response.

I've been to Port Aransas and know exactly why it would be nice. I have to remember that while I'm in Arizona now, we plan to use this in lot of climates so that's a good reminder.

 

[SCwood]

B.O.B. Update!

It’s been hot in Texas so there hasn’t been much camping recently, but we did make one trip down to port Aransas in June. It was hot and after two days I got a “check filter” from the A/C unit and it stopped cooling. The filter was clean though. I think all the heat and humidity was just giving it a workout. After letting it rest for a few minutes it fired right back up. I hope it’s not going bad already.

Here’s a some port Aransas pics:

After getting back from that trip I noticed the black gravel guard on the sides of bob were peeling off again. I’ve glued them back on a few times and decided I was done doing that and it was time to switch the gravel guard out for bedliner. I went with raptor liner because it’s cheap and can be thinned to get a finer texture, which is what I wound up doing.

This is the gravel guard peeling off:

There was a ton of adhesive left after peeling it off and it took forever to get rid of it. Goo gone and a metal scraper worked best. It scratched the aluminum pretty good but it didn’t matter because it was about to be permanently covered in bedliner.

Naked bob:

All sanded and taped up:

Two coats of self etching primer:

I used a harbor freight hvlp gun and 10% urethane reducer to thin the raptor liner

The first pass at 20psi resulted in too fine of a texture. Almost like a bad paint job:

I cranked it down to 12psi and the second coat came out great:

There’s a video of the whole process here:

[youtube]b0c7UPyiD5E[/youtube]

And now bob is ready for fall camping! Well, we have to mix that in with my next camper/rv build which I just started a thread on (viewtopic.php?f=50&t=72146). But it will be fun doing both!

 

[Tony Latham]

That came out great. Glad to see Bob's evolution.



Tony

 

[SCwood]

If anyone is interested in a whole bunch of BOB pics without having to wade through pages of this thread, check out the video below. I keep getting requests to put pictures together like this and finally got around to it. Enjoy!

[youtube]J4e4i_1Lbsk[/youtube]

 

[retep-TNT]

I really enjoy your posts about B.O.B. I always pickup some tip or idea. Thanks for sharing.

Peter

 

[DWT77]

I ordered 3,500 springs and went about installing them. The 2,000 lb springs were easy to remove since they were so compressed, but the 3,500 springs were a beast to install. I wound up getting them close, then using a clamp to get them almost all the way in, and finally prying them into place with a screwdriver:

3,500 spring on the left (part # A00101-5500D - sold individually by timbren retailers) and the 2,000 spring on the right

Where did you find the 3,500 springs? I googled that part number and didn't find much. Looked at etrailer ect... but only could find axles not individual springs.

I called timbren and told them I wanted to upgrade from my 1 tonne HD to the 3,500 springs. Timbren wanted me to send them an email explaining what I was wanting to do, show pictures of how I mounted the axles ect... before they would sell me upgraded springs.

 

[SCwood]

Where did you find the 3,500 springs? I googled that part number and didn't find much. Looked at etrailer ect... but only could find axles not individual springs.

I called timbren and told them I wanted to upgrade from my 1 tonne HD to the 3,500 springs. Timbren wanted me to send them an email explaining what I was wanting to do, show pictures of how I mounted the axles ect... before they would sell me upgraded springs.

I had the same problem. No one lists them. I called the same place I ordered my axle from (suspension connection) and they were able to special order them for me.

 

[DWT77]

[/quote]I had the same problem. No one lists them. I called the same place I ordered my axle from (suspension connection) and they were able to special order them for me.[/quote]

Awesome thanks for the help