Beginner Overlanding
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Joined: Feb 2021
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Beginner Overlanding
Hey everyone! I'm going into my last year of high school and of course, I'm already thinking of a senior trip and one of my favorite ideas so far is going Overlanding. As this would possibly be my first time doing this I'm definitely not looking to do anything super off-road, as my 01 4dr Blazer is pretty much stock besides cosmetic additions such as a roof rack and some lights. I do have almost new Cooper Discoverer A/Ts on it and the 4wd works fine, but from people that have done this before, what would be the best things I could do to prepare my car for it so it won't leave me stranded out in the middle of nowhere? The Engine has a little over 200k miles on it, it has a misfire, an exhaust leak somewhere and the parking brake doesn't work, but besides that, it runs great. Also what are the most common things to break on blazers during this? Thanks! -David
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Joined: Dec 2016
Posts: 5,606
From: Moscow, ID
Hi David,
Congrats on getting close to the end of HS! Way to go!
I've done lots of conservative mods to my Blazer so that I could have greater confidence in it when I'm back in the mountains of North Idaho fishing or when I'm deer/elk hunting or when towing my boat. I have a build thread that that might give you some ideas.
As for durability, I'd suggest looking at replacing the lower intake manifold (LIM) gaskets. My 99 was definitely in the age range for which the gaskets were known to sometimes catastrophically fail dumping coolant into the lifter valley and ruining the crank bearing in only a couple minutes. As soon as I heard about this I replaced them with the upgraded Felpro gaskets. There are lot of good threads on this.
The upper ball joints, idler arm, and even hubs are common parts to have wear out just from regular usage. I'd at least check all these and perhaps even consider replacing them preemptively.
A suspension lift is the next thing to consider. I used the upper control arms from the Rough Country 2.5" lift kit but did not use the torsion bar keys (I might add those) and I did not relocate the IFS using their bracket. The IFS axle relocation is necessary for the 2.5" lift but for a 1.5" or 2.0" lift the conventional wisdom is that you can get away with the stock arrangement. However, what can happen is that with the greater angles for the CV joints, the boots can come off. I had this happen and because I was able to catch it right when it happened (read no contamination) I cleaned up the joint and installed a NAPA neoprene boot that is much more flexible. I've been watching my other boots and will replace them the next time I have to remove an axle.
In
As for off-pavement tools, I've added a Yakima Rocket-Box to my cargo rack to carry most of my recovery gear. Included is a snow-shovel, recovery tracks (mostly for snow), and a Bush Winch and ground anchors. (https://www.bushwinch.com/) I had considered installing a winch that I could move from the front to the back so that I could pull myself backwards but I decided that the Bush Winch would likely be better and it had the advantage of not adding extra weight to the front of my truck and that there is no need for a charging system upgrade.
The other thing to add that I'm currently shopping around to get is a personal locator beacon such as those from SPOT. What can be a not very long drive in can, if you truck craps out on you, can become a very long walk out. You might also consider getting a handheld ham radio. Most communities have local Ham clubs that have classes to help people pass the FCC exam. I friend and hunting partner got me to do it.
And the parking brake. Ugh. It can be adjusted but it is not on the cable. There are adjusters on the shoes for the parking brake. Look for threads by me and others that describe how to adjust them.
Good luck and have fun planning your trip!
And I forgot ask, where do you think you'd be heading??
Congrats on getting close to the end of HS! Way to go!
I've done lots of conservative mods to my Blazer so that I could have greater confidence in it when I'm back in the mountains of North Idaho fishing or when I'm deer/elk hunting or when towing my boat. I have a build thread that that might give you some ideas.
As for durability, I'd suggest looking at replacing the lower intake manifold (LIM) gaskets. My 99 was definitely in the age range for which the gaskets were known to sometimes catastrophically fail dumping coolant into the lifter valley and ruining the crank bearing in only a couple minutes. As soon as I heard about this I replaced them with the upgraded Felpro gaskets. There are lot of good threads on this.
The upper ball joints, idler arm, and even hubs are common parts to have wear out just from regular usage. I'd at least check all these and perhaps even consider replacing them preemptively.
A suspension lift is the next thing to consider. I used the upper control arms from the Rough Country 2.5" lift kit but did not use the torsion bar keys (I might add those) and I did not relocate the IFS using their bracket. The IFS axle relocation is necessary for the 2.5" lift but for a 1.5" or 2.0" lift the conventional wisdom is that you can get away with the stock arrangement. However, what can happen is that with the greater angles for the CV joints, the boots can come off. I had this happen and because I was able to catch it right when it happened (read no contamination) I cleaned up the joint and installed a NAPA neoprene boot that is much more flexible. I've been watching my other boots and will replace them the next time I have to remove an axle.
In
As for off-pavement tools, I've added a Yakima Rocket-Box to my cargo rack to carry most of my recovery gear. Included is a snow-shovel, recovery tracks (mostly for snow), and a Bush Winch and ground anchors. (https://www.bushwinch.com/) I had considered installing a winch that I could move from the front to the back so that I could pull myself backwards but I decided that the Bush Winch would likely be better and it had the advantage of not adding extra weight to the front of my truck and that there is no need for a charging system upgrade.
The other thing to add that I'm currently shopping around to get is a personal locator beacon such as those from SPOT. What can be a not very long drive in can, if you truck craps out on you, can become a very long walk out. You might also consider getting a handheld ham radio. Most communities have local Ham clubs that have classes to help people pass the FCC exam. I friend and hunting partner got me to do it.
And the parking brake. Ugh. It can be adjusted but it is not on the cable. There are adjusters on the shoes for the parking brake. Look for threads by me and others that describe how to adjust them.
Good luck and have fun planning your trip!
And I forgot ask, where do you think you'd be heading??
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Joined: Feb 2021
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Thank you so much for the pointers! That will definitely help me out alot. At the moment, I'm thinking about going on the Mid Atlantic Backcountry Discovery Route, since I'm fairly close to the start and it all seems to be made of forest roads, but I'm still looking around to see what's all available.
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