Borneo Safari 2013 Prep

[ChihuahuaRide]

Greetings All,

As promise during the fresh meat intro I did earlier, I am posting photos of my ride prior upgrade prep on a road trip early this year, all in wonderful reliable stock setup except for the tires using 32" Simex Extreme Treckker II on 16" stock rims, this setup survived the Borneo Safari 2012 trip without much damaged:

View attachment 12652View attachment 12651

The ride being reworked at a friend shop with Thor Parts bumper being installed on the shop lift jack:



As last year Borneo Safari 2012 was my 1st year and introduction trip to some very hardcore off-road adventure on the expedition group trip and during the journey the wish list for this year vehicle prep was in the making and by the time when the trip was finish it was decided that this year prep will be focusing on upgrade of all stock area components with reliable proven after-market upgraded parts that can withstand the torture of wet & dry hardcore off-road driving without changing much of the H3 factory design and geometry in mind, I have made the following upgrade:

1. Super Flow electric fans for radiator and AC condenser to have better cooling on the 3.7L L5 motor and also bringing the AC efficiency up.
2. Long Ranger 81L fuel tank add on to extend vehicle range without refill requirements for 500KM above.
3. Super-Pro steering rack bushing upgrade to reduce steering arm play and wear during hard off-road driving.
4. Skylone Pre-Filter head to improved air flow and also reduce debris for intake air.
5. Front & Rear Thor Parts bumpers to improved off-road driving approach angle and vehicle clearance.
6. Bigger Timbrim Bum Stops replacing worn out stock ones for front and rear.
7. Bilstrein 5100 Series Shocks upgrade with 2" Front lift (23 1/2" Height) and 3' Rear lift setup (Did not measure the center to wheel barrel line yet).
8. Extended Rear Spring Pack Shackles installation.
9. Tuff County Add A Spring for rear spring pack to improved load carrying capabilities and also assist on lift setup.
10. Old Man Emu Torsion Bar upgrade with re-index Tuff County torsion bar key installation for front lift setup.
11. Disc Brake Australia (DBA) Rotor front and rear upgrade with 4000 series slotted and grooved rotor to increase stopping power couple with Bendix ceramic high performance brake pads.
12. Self fabrication of under carrier skid plate for front bumper joining to axle cross-member area and also long ranger tank bottom protection.
13. JAGS performance large heat shink double pass type transmission oil cooler installation.
14. Run Cool 1 piece, Front hood louvers installation.
15. 35" Simex Extreme Treckker II tires replacing previous 32" tires.
16. Re-wiring the winch eletrical system to have control on interior dash and also plug in remote control on the front grill area.
17. Extended after-market adjustable front and rear sway bar linkage upgrade to ensure limits on angular movement of front and rear setup to reliable reported limits possible.
18. OEM Rock Slider Bar Installation.

Photo's of my ride nearly finish sitting at the friend shop awaiting installation of some final touch items by this weekend (The hood louver, adjustable sway bar link, heat shink trans-oil cooler and under carrier skid plate front and long ranger tank under protection)



The final outcome of this H3 prep for this year with lots of uphill off-road trail will be off-road tested next week prior the starting of the trip this month end and I will post more photo's of the details of the build by then. Anyone like to know more on this coming 24 year running off-road event in Borneo can visit:

http://www.borneosafari.com.my/public/default.asp

I was expecting another H3 to participate in this year trip but looks like the owner properly is not prepare to wheel his drive to the extreme that I was in a shock to experience and go thru as a 1st timer joining it. What I can say for the H3 after having it for more then a year now is it's all worthy of the advert HUMMER " LIKE NOTING ELSE " slogan. Again I will along with all the heavy mod Toyota's LandCruiser & Other Japanese make for the fun of it. It's an adventure driving the H3 itself daily.

 

[06 H3]

Looks great! My #1 recommendation is to leave the super pro bushings in on the driver side but ditch the oem clamp and get an upgraded clamp. It will make a huge difference.

I can't wait to see how you do and how the truck does.

High speed? Mud? Rocks? What kind of terrain?

 

[bebe]

I dunno Chris - looks like a blast to me!

https://www.facebook.com/borneosafari/photos_stream

Is this your H3?

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...146256.-2207520000.1381515898.&type=3&theater

 

[4speedfunk]

High speed? Mud? Rocks? What kind of terrain?

More like a bunch of guys cutting logs down to build a make-shift bridge...in knee-deep mud...90+ degrees...mosquitoes...shovels...trail swapping tires onto rims...winch-fest...etc. Amazon basin type stuff. Crazy and yet somehow...fascinating! Check out "Borneo Safari" on Youtube.

 

[06 H3]

Ship the bebemonster out? I'll be pit crew...

 

[Hunner]

Just another hohum day in the White River bottoms. You left out water moccasins.

 

[3Hummers]

Looks like a great time. Looking forward to the videos.

 

[ChihuahuaRide]

I am thinking of adding a second bracket for the steering rack similar to the original build clamp bracket and using the original rubber bushing to secure the second clamp point, at least the still good rubber bushing can be put to go used rather going into the trash.

The photo bebe found on facebook is my ride during the last year trip which is all stock setup so it was a bit of struggle going thru some of the hardcore part, but I was with a group of beer happy gang that run 36" tires and 18" ground clearance lifted Toyota LandCruiser, so they gave me a lot of towing and assistance and winching lesson's when I am stuck on the hardcore part and afterwards it was happy hours for their story and idea how to improved my ride at the camp site which was enjoying. This year I am again put together with this group of participants for the trip.

This year the terrain is low land mud, uphill mud, high attitude, 3 river crossing and some ridge crossing as I was inform but it is still been finalize this week by the organizer. As I am awaiting GPS route plot download info.

 

[Hunner]

Something like this that I did in 06??

 

[ChihuahuaRide]

Hunner, Thanks for the photo on the second bracket mount you have done earlier and proven to be reliable solution for the steering racks, it should be fairly straight forward to have it done with the metal workshop buddy I have to get it made up of carbon steel material. Any special advise that you can provide will be much appreciated also like measurements or things to look out not to damaged anything when installing this 2nd holding bracket.

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

Neat upgrades

Have you considered installing a wireless remote control on your winch? I have them for both of my 4x4s and honestly can say it's one of the best mods I've done.

 

[ChihuahuaRide]

Wireless winch control is already in the progress being rigged this weekend as I just pull apart my old T-Max winch control box and the RC control module is working fine so it will be adapted to work with the new 200A after market contactor type relay controlling the T-Max 12,500lb winch functioning that I have just installed 2 weeks ago. Thanks for the tips as I agree totally having a remote is better then a wire, but by saying so after rigging up the RC system for the winch control, I will have inside vehicle dash control, wire control and RC control which will be the dream for all off-road vehicle owners wish.

 

[Hunner]

Measurements? lol I just eyeballed it. Getting the holes drilled in both sides of that cross member level and going thru the seam is tough.
It's a farmer fix.

Just make sure the center bracket does not push or pull the rack away from it's normal position.
I never welded that back piece of channel behind it to the cross member but that might be a good idea.
I was just going to see how it worked before making a permanent change but it worked for my type of wheeling as is.
Notice it is up against the welded fitting for the hydraulic line. I figured it would keep it from moving.
I guess in an extreme case that could put pressure on that stub but it seems strong to me.
Don't know if you saw it but putting flex lines on could prevent a problem if a rigid line broke. You could at least carry one or the other as a spare and don't forget power steering fluid.