Fafhrd the Tundra...Haggis' Work/Exploration Truck

So if you read this thread...http://americanadventurist.com/forum/threads/o-m-g-say-it-aint-so.2744/...you know my truck got caught up in the Toyota frame recall. I got stuck with a new Ford Super Duty for 3 months wishing for my 10 year old truck back the whole time Fafhrd was in Mother Toyota's care. What a sad sight to see him in the surgical waiting room...

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But Toyota said "Gentleman, we can rebuild him. We have the technology. We have the capability to build the first bionic Tundra. Fafhrd will be that Tundra. Better than he was before. Better, stronger, faster..."


After being tore down to the basic components and than reassembled on a shiny new frame, we got Fafhrd back...

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..wiith a shiny new frame underneath.

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While I was at it I replaced the crusty front factory skid with a beefier Skid Row version. Not only does it protect better, allows me to access the oil filter without dropping the pan, it also has a bit more clearance than the factory unit.

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Next will be the full suite of Skid Row skids for the engine and transfer case and I'm eye-balling up a set of sliders. Its all time and money now...
 
You might know from this thread...http://americanadventurist.com/forum/threads/your-thoughts-on-fafhrd-3-0.3622/...that I'm in the process of upgrading/updating my 10 year old truck. There just isn't any new vehicle offering that can replicate the ingredients of the 1st generation Tundra recipe, so until something comes along that catches my fancy Fafhrd is the ride for me.

Lately I've been cleaning up, replacing worn components and laying out a plan for Fafhrd 3.0. Its been mostly component focused (new Bilstien shocks, new exhaust, brakes and what not) and catching up on vehicle entropy by taking care of paints and coatings. But this weekend it was all about one of the bigger ticket items...new tires.

Original plans called for another set of Cooper ST Maxxes, but the cheapest I could find a set was going to run me nearly $1100 bucks. Ouch! But as luck would have it my buddy and tire guy Fran had a set of brand spanking new Dick Cepek Fun Country IIs sitting in his warehouse that somebody else had special ordered in and over the last month had never picked up. And they were even the right size, 285/75/16s. All I had to do was pay abit over cost and for the mounting and I could be rolling on new meats...$836 and some odd cents and new tires were shod to Fafhrd's wheels.

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Back in the day these DC FCs (manufactured by Cooper) were my tire of choice and ran under my old Dodge Ram. I loved them, great all around tire, not so much for deep mud, but they were the absolute best snow tire I ever run. And with getting nearly 60,000 miles from two sets they were worth the money.

Old tread design...
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Now there is a new, more aggressive tread design and they are built on the same carcass as the Cooper ST Maxx.

New updated design...
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The Maxxes and the DC FCs are sorta similar in design but the new tread pattern on the DCs has more void in it with a noticeably higher noise level than the Maxxes.

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So we'll see how these new Fun Country's do up here in the snowbelt of the Appalachians in the months to come.

On a side note...Who doesn't love getting new tires on their ride?
 
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