Tiny House On A Steel Soldier…………….Expedition Notes.

[mccustomize]

Excellent write-ups, I've wanted to build something like your steel soldier/tiny house for quite some time to haul my crawler around and extend my range for getting off grid, I look forward to reading more about your vehicle,gear, trip, and family.

 

[BrandonBellrose]

Eugene, Oregon supply stop.

Heading the Tiny House on a Steel Soldier further west we stopped briefly in Eugene, Oregon. Eugene seemed to be a gateway city with volcano mountainous terrain to the east, dunes and beaches to the west. The thought of camping on sand dunes next to the ocean just seemed the better choice since being in Montana we see quite a lot of mountains.

While in Eugene we enjoyed cooking/grilling out at the big city park near the Autzen Stadium called Alton Baker Park. The park has a outdoor amphitheater “The Cuthbert” which had a Pink Floyd tribute band playing in the back ground while we enjoyed our food. Not finding a suitable boondocking spot we ended up sleeping between a bunch of over the road semi trucks at the local truck stop.

The following morning we did our Costco shopping and made a big stop at Eugene's Cabela's outdoor store. We love stopping at Cabela's picking up a Mr. Heater Shower to go along with our already purchased small Mr. Heater propane heater. We also picked up some hand multi channel CB radios to talk better with the kids in the m109a3 ShopVan.

On the way out of town with the family urging a stop was made at the local farm and ranch store for a horse stock tank. The fun of having a tub in our Tiny House On a Steel Soldier was a no brainer, family smells being kept at bay was the only way to keep this adventure on track.

Loaded up we felt ready for Oregon sand dunes.

 

[BrandonBellrose]

Stagging at Siltcoos Beach, Oregon

Packed tight with groceries and new gear we set off for the Oregon Coast. Traveling oregon hwy 126 from Eugene to Florence the truck made decent time through the narrow winding coastal mountain terrain. Our destination was Siltcoos Beach park near Dune City, Oregon where we had read that we might have access to sleeping on or near the beach.

Upon arriving to Siltcoos Beach we decided to camp at there State beach camping area and spend a couple of days scouting the dunes and testing the limits of the Tiny House On A Steel Soldier. We were warned by a local military truck owner that our trailer with the water tank full would act as a anchor in the deep sand and a tow out could be extremely expensive. He urged maximum caution before just heading out onto the beach adding a few horror stories to backup his statements.

I was not at all interested in the drama of being stuck right of the batt, so I thought jumping into the dunes with baby steps might be the right approach.

In the back of my head I kept feeling that this is what this truck is built for, plus I have seen hundreds of pictures of expedition vehicles in deep sand all around the world. I couldn’t for the life of me think why Oregon sand would be any different then any other. But the thought of a several thousand dollar tow bill put that feeling in check real quick.

 

[BrandonBellrose]

If feels like a Expedition Vehicle!!

Well it was time to see what the Tiny House On A Steel Soldier was capable of in the sand. Having limited sand experience I was excited to get off-road and deflate my tires. I thought it would be best to keep the truck in high lock keeping speed up so if the sand became to deep speed would save me.

In the beginning I was fallowing a sand covered beach trail heading for a break in the dunes sea wall to get access to the ocean beach. To my surprise the truck started bogging down with the feeling that I was sinking in the sand to unavoidably be buried. I looked at the dash and CTIS lights to make sure I had deflated the tires. I was really starting to have wheel hop with the two drive axles. The kids were getting upset with things falling around them in the M109a3 shop van.

Looking down I noticed that I had forgotten to engage my front axle. So here I was a very experienced off-roader way out in the sand being stupid. With a sliding of a switch on the dash, my front axle engaged and the truck came alive in its element. To say this is where this truck wants to live is a understatement. In less then a breath of air the truck gave me confidence that led me to believe that it would go places I was not yet comfortable in experimenting.

We crossed the Dune sea wall and was for the first time on the ocean side of the beach, life became truly enjoyable realizing that now I had miles of beach I could explore. The surf was breath taking leaving the whole family tickled with a true off-road adventure.
Finally it felt that we were experiencing why we built the Tiny House on a Steel Soldier with words like “Overlander””Expedition Vehicle” having true meaning.

 

[BrandonBellrose]

After miles of beach with the ocean surf occasionally sweeping into the Michelins, we pulled up onto a dune to enjoying dinner. The truck had shown its true colors, giving us a million dollar view while we ate our supper like kings. The air was cool and crisp hinting of the show we were about to see.

A remote ocean sunset!!.................... Wow!!

 

[Cummins_expo]

The telling of your whitewater experience was intense! WOW

 

[BrandonBellrose]

The telling of your whitewater experience was intense! WOW

Sadly I haven't gotten into my kayak since. I'm near the McKenzie river outside Eugene Oregon, hoping to get my mojo back. We are broken down with alternator issues, what a great time to take a break and get in the water. Parts are a week away so I have no excuse.

 

[Cummins_expo]

Well if you have some time to kill

https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/willamette/recarea/?recid=4391

just saw it might be closed- Bummer

 

[BrandonBellrose]

Well if you have some time to kill

https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/willamette/recarea/?recid=4391

just saw it might be closed- Bummer

I think they are starting to open things up in the area. Maybe I'll have a chance to checkout the hot springs. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[BrandonBellrose]

Alternator Failure Monday September 25, 2017

The day after camping at Picaflores (I will talk about this place in a future post)on the McKenzie river near the small community of Holiday, Oregon. I noticed a snapping sound coming from the Fan Clutch area, upon closer inspection I noticed my fan belt was jumping which was what creating the noise. I turned off the engine to look at the belt finding a eighth inch had been shaved off. Not having a extra belt I started the engine to drive about 40 miles to Eugene Oregon only to realize that the alternator wasn't charging any more. The truck had started a little sluggish that morning but I figured that was due to the kids keeping the inverter on all night while watching tv.

I had heard that many military 939 truck owners have had trouble with their alternators, so I wasn't to surprised that it was my turn to have malfunction.

We bee lined the Tiny House On A Steel Soldier to Cummins Northwest in Coburg, Oregon in hopes of replacing the fan belt and to figure out the alternator. Cummins Northwest went all out to come to our aid to help while we sourced a generator by allowing us to stay safe in their gated lot hooked into 50amp service with water. Cummins had a fan belt in stock at a great price and were willing to loan me the correct tools to for a belt replacement. Since I was going to be stuck on Cummins property for a week I scheduled them do a service on the truck.

Wolverine Techologies LLC. (Woltech) has a 24v upgrade replacement kit with the option of adding a second 12v alternator so I called up Woltech and ordered the 24v upgrade. Woltech seemed knowledgeable and gave me a estimation of a Thursday/Friday delivery. Woltech also gave me a brief breakdown on installation offering more help when the unit arrives.

Today I changed out the belt finding a crack in the alternator housing and bent internal blades. The old fan belt had stretched to the point where the tensioner was maxed out. I also came across the fact that two out of four of my Hawker batteries were very low so I took them off line leaving the two hundred percent batteries to start the truck. I can still run around town doing errands as long as I recharge my batteries at night. I'm recharging using a Optima digital 12v charger and a Deltran 12v battery tender. Every time I pull over I fire up my Champion generator to top off batteriers.

Sure would be nice to find a small 24v charger so I could get away from have to charge batteries one at a time.

 

[BrandonBellrose]

Oregon

Traveling throughout Oregon is a story of interesting paradoxes for us people not aquatinted with how the local Oregon population lives with their truly unique outdoor environment. Within short distances you can go from a high desert to wet lush forest breaking out into dunes that finish onto pounding surf. Every time you turn a corner you don’t quite know what your going to get. So I thought I would share a picture I took while shopping at a Florence, Oregon Fred Myer grocery store. Now keep in mind that this is taken from a busy parking lot in America not Saudi Arabia.

 

[BrandonBellrose]

Sunsets, Sunsets, Sunsets

Living in Colorado, Wyoming, Nevada, and Montana where I have spent the last twenty five years of my life I have viewing many mountainous sunsets. After awhile the sunsets start to come and go until you don’t even stop to think about them as they pass.
Oregon ocean beach sunsets brought back what it meant to stop look up and enjoy the end of the day. The family became hardwired into the daily planning of where we would be as the sun started falling towards western horizon.
Florence, Oregon was no different then the many other spots that we watched the earth do its daily show once every 24 hours. The only thing that had changed was where and how we watched the sunset. Having dinner and a glass of wine with a epic view, it took a military 6x6 5ton expedition vehicle to earn that perfect parking spot.

 

[BrandonBellrose]

Base Camp

Leaving Siltcoos, Florence, and Dunes City we headed south with the end destination being North Bend and Coosbay, Oregon. We planned to use these sister cities as our summer base camp while we explore up and down the Oregon Coast.
Every time you drive into a town in the Tiny House On A Steel Soldier you never know quite how you will be received. A war machine driving around town conjures up many different feelings from many different people. Topics such as the environment, veterans, government spending, prepping, homelessness, camping, dune/beach off-roading come up in daily conversation as we visited coast towns.
I would say without a doubt that this Oregon Bay community with deep mariner heritage reach out to our journey making us feel this was our second home. Tiny House On A Steel Soldier will always remember all the people that took the time to stop and talk with us. We plan on sharing the stories that effected us the most, by no means forgetting all the rest. Thumbs up to Coosbay, North Bend, and Charleston.

 

[gtbensley]

Thank you for sharing your trip with us, looks amazing but also full of some frustrations!!

Whats your cruising speed in that beast? I always thought it would be cool to build one.

 

[BrandonBellrose]

Thank you for sharing your trip with us, looks amazing but also full of some frustrations!!

Whats your cruising speed in that beast? I always thought it would be cool to build one.

Thanks for the comment!
I agree with you that having issues is not fun. The way we wrap our minds around our many challenges is we look at it as part of earning our right to be on the trip. Sometimes you appreciate the events your involved in if they don't come so easy. But I have to admit when things start snowballing out of control, I wish some experiences could be avoided.

As far as the speed of the M931a2 truck, I can get up to 70 on the hwy but I rarely drive above 54 to keep my fuel use in check. When pulling a grade depending how steep it is the truck sometimes slow down into the lower 30's.