The Tar Heel Outdoorsman

When you're doing outdoors stuff, you get dirty.  Maybe you're camping and have a few days of grime on you.  Or you've been out hiking and sweating in the sticky summertime.  Or you've been swimming at the beach, you're covered in sand.  You don't want to stink up the truck, all muddy and sandy, grit everywhere... all in the seats and stuck on the steering wheel.  Or maybe you're out deer hunting and need some pressurized water to wash off your fresh venison.  Or maybe your four legged friend decided to take a mud bath.   There's a simple DIY solution, a camp shower---a few pieces of PVC, some fittings, some basic tools, and a bike pump or air compressor are all you need.  Spray paint it black if you want some solar heat on a cool fall day in the field.  Of course, there are companies that build these things, for a few more dollars, but where's the fun in that? This REI write up was helpful, as was this, and other YouTube videos . ...

If you're a bit too much into gear, like me, let me show you a relatively cheap and easy way to organize and store all your stuff.  And maybe it'll even allow you a nice platform to sleep on during your outdoor pursuits, when even the dirtiest "roach motel" with a haze of perpetual cigarette smoke is miles away, or if the Holiday Inn isn't in your budget at the moment.   There are companies that make these type of truck bed storage systems, such as Decked, etc.  However, this is a cheaper, and simpler alternative, though maybe not perfectly waterproof or perfectly thief proof.  Still though, it's better than an open truck bed, with gear and tools and spent shotgun shells and Hardee's biscuit wax paper from an early morning wood duck hunt and who-knows-what-else strewn about in a homogenous mix and you can't find whatever it is you need that's somewhere in there.   If you're into gear, there's also a further chance, like me, you enjoy testin...

Who wants to build some big ol' sawhorses?  This is the first of a few DIY projects for those of you, like me, who are always starting another project, another project to better do something---to more efficiently store gear, to make outdoor pursuits a bit more pleasant, or in this case, make your truck a truck again for whatever "truck" activities life sometimes requires. If you've got a camper shell, you probably got it for the practicality.  Your truck is now essentially a "SUV," with all the extra storage, double the storage than those flat "toppers" that sit level with the bed rails, storage protected from the rain, wind, and a bit safer from the opportunistic thief who eyes those tools or hunting gear in your open truck bed.   However, sometimes you want to use your truck for "truck stuff."  That's really why you have a truck after all, isn't it?  Hauling some trash to the dump, moving a couch across town, the list goes on.  ...

I'm a strong believer in learning how to do things yourself.  And I'm a strong believer in understanding, at least a little bit better, how your stuff works, especially something you rely on, like a vehicle or an outboard motor.  It's cheaper (as long as you don't mess anything up . . . ) and you gain confidence.  The suspension on my 2012 Tacoma was starting to sag.  Years of boat hauling (including multiple trips from North Carolina to Maine), as well as my putting on a camper shell and carrying around too much gear, was taking its toll on the original suspension after 180,000 miles or so.  After bottoming-out a few too many times driving over dips in the road, I made my decision.     So after probably too much research, I pulled the trigger on a full Old Man Emu suspension , made by ARB in Australia.  (Get it HERE ).  It's not a "lift kit," per se, but instead a whole new suspension---new front coil springs, new shocks in front and re...