1986 GMC S-15

Andrew_S

Observer
I'm curious, the pics that look like they are through a scope... Does your spotting scope have the ability to take pictures or, are you holding up a camera to the scope?
Yes just holding the camera up to the scope or the binos. You can get phone mounts for scopes but I don't have one.
I so enjoy watching this thread record y'alls hunts and the progress of the truck. I know what you mean about taking the deer God presents you with! I was only able to sit one evening at a WMA a couple hours south and was able to shoot a small spike to refill the freezer with. We were down to just a few pounds of ground meat so I'll take the 45 pounds I was able to put in the freezer off this little guy.

I am dreaming about hunting out west sometime for a big animal like an Elk or a Moose and thanks again for continuing to post!
View attachment 691173

Nice whitey! Congrats.
Thanks for the good words.


Decided to lay low this weekend after going out for almost 6 weeks straight.
Meat cutting day.
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All I did was bag/tag
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Big upgrade for the camper today. Previously we used a combination of one small rechargeable flashlight, headlamps or our cellphones for lighting.
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These little dome lights are super nice. One that I can reach from bed
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One for cooking on the tailgate
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Holy smokes this is luxury...
f
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Planning on another multi day trip mid-next week. Until then.
 

Andrew_S

Observer
Before our next trip I had some maintenance issues to resolve.

Another Cv bit the dust...
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New unit in. Every time I repair this front it's a kick in the ass to get going on the solid axle swap.
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Slip yoke is still bypassing fluid.

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I either need to find an oe offset seal, or a new slip yoke. The latter is proving impossible to find...
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These bed side brace broke off on both sides over the last 2 years. Just an inherently weak design. Welded in new steel on both sides and beefed it all up.
You can see in this photo the front bed mount is broken as well. They failed from all the flexing through drainage ditches a few years ago. I'll be pulling the bed off next spring and rebuilding them as well.
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and were back out for our last hunting trip of the season
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First sunrise, -5
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Morning views
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Fog settled in and made it really tough to spot anything
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Couple cows
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A lynx passed 30 yards by our truck while we were sleeping the 1st night
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Prefacing many upcoming posts!!!
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Sitting and calling for that big whitey
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Love these old growth forests. The sightlines are just about perfect.
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Back to our mid trip camp spot
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Grouse for dinner
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Andrew_S

Observer
2nd morning,
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Spotted this nice bull chasing two cows
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Brunch spot, figure the truck will sit around this height on 33's with leafs all around
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Found this bull bed while hiking. Fresh that morning
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We see scrapes all the time. It's super cool to see them fresh within a few hours. Would love to spot one scraping a tree next year.
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Another big bull hanging out looking for his cows.
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3rd night was a snowy one. I'll never get tired of this set up on nights like this.
Everything was soaked and the heater dried it all out. We were warm and cozy all night.
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1st light on the 3rd morning. Had to put on all 4 tire chains to make it up to the mountain the night before.
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Amazingly we found our unicorn on this morning. A legal bull is an immature bull with 2 points or less on one side - not common.
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Not only did the stars align and we found a legal bull, but it was also a downhill drag to the truck.
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The absolute hat trick to the morning was we were able to load it with zero effort!
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One of my most memorable hunting seasons thus far. We are so lucky and grateful to be able to put all of this wild game in our freezer.
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ricoisme26

Active member
Congrats on the bull! What does that thing weigh???? How'd the truck do hauling it out with all that snow? You guys really are a different breed north of the boarder and I'm jealous...
 

Todd n Natalie

OverCamper
Congrats on the successful trip! How are things in your area? I know a lot of BC is getting slammed right now. Luckily my family in BC has been out of harms way.
 

ericvs

Active member
Awesome build and awesome thread.
Ottawa raised, living near Seattle now. Can't believe it took me as long as it did to move out west. Looking forward to following along!
 

pigsammy

Active member
Checked in to see if y'all were ok. Looks like you're much better than ok!

Congrats on the bull, and especially the drag out.
They taste just as good when they are shot close to truck!
 

N.Penley

Member
WOW. I have looked around this site for years and reading this has finally prompted me to register. Andrew, your adventures are inspiring. thank you for documenting some of your experiences. Enjoy making memories with your wife.

My dad bought a 1984 4x4 RCLB S-10 brand new just before I was born. The 2.8 4 speed manual gray color truck is similar to yours. Some of my earliest memories are riding in that truck listening to the radio and watching dad change gears. When I was around 7 years old Dad was ready to upgrade and sold the s10 to his father-in-law (my papaw). Papaw used the truck hard on the farm. We hauled firewood, tobacco & hay bales, livestock (calves, sheep, & goats), feed, and anything else in that truck. It was overloaded many times but never seemed to quit. The truck was replaced in 98 with a new Silverado and soon after the starter quit and it has sat next to the shop since then. He just never got around to replacing the starter. Papaw passed away a couple years ago and my grandma also passed last month. She wanted me to have the truck and cant wait to get it back on the road. 20 years is a long time to sit and an old long bed s10 is never going to be a good investment but its not about the money. I hope to make a few memories in mine with my wife and daughters.

Sorry for the long post. I look forward to the SAS and seeing if/how you finish out the interior of the camper. Have you considered adding a hitch in the front for your winch?
 

Andrew_S

Observer
Congrats on the bull! What does that thing weigh???? How'd the truck do hauling it out with all that snow? You guys really are a different breed north of the boarder and I'm jealous...

Thanks! No idea on weight, definitely 500+. Truck handled the load like a champ.
The heavy duty leaf pack (2 extra leafs) takes 1000lbs on the back without issue.

Congrats on the successful trip! How are things in your area? I know a lot of BC is getting slammed right now. Luckily my family in BC has been out of harms way.
We are very fortunate here, no issues at all related to flooding. Merrit and princeton are really having a tough go of it.
The hwys towards the west are just completed washed away in sections its unreal. Check out these photos,

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You two are my kind of people. Great pictures, great country and awesome adventures.

Thanks, really appreciate that.

Awesome build and awesome thread.
Ottawa raised, living near Seattle now. Can't believe it took me as long as it did to move out west. Looking forward to following along!

Awesome, grew up in Kingston and spent a lot of time skateboarding in Ottawa as a youth.
Same here, so happy we took the leap and moved out here.

Checked in to see if y'all were ok. Looks like you're much better than ok!

Congrats on the bull, and especially the drag out.
They taste just as good when they are shot close to truck!

No kidding, couldn't have got luckier with that location. Downhill and 100 yards from the truck.
My luck will have run out next year and it'll be 2k from anything.
Thanks for the good words.

WOW. I have looked around this site for years and reading this has finally prompted me to register. Andrew, your adventures are inspiring. thank you for documenting some of your experiences. Enjoy making memories with your wife.

My dad bought a 1984 4x4 RCLB S-10 brand new just before I was born. The 2.8 4 speed manual gray color truck is similar to yours. Some of my earliest memories are riding in that truck listening to the radio and watching dad change gears. When I was around 7 years old Dad was ready to upgrade and sold the s10 to his father-in-law (my papaw). Papaw used the truck hard on the farm. We hauled firewood, tobacco & hay bales, livestock (calves, sheep, & goats), feed, and anything else in that truck. It was overloaded many times but never seemed to quit. The truck was replaced in 98 with a new Silverado and soon after the starter quit and it has sat next to the shop since then. He just never got around to replacing the starter. Papaw passed away a couple years ago and my grandma also passed last month. She wanted me to have the truck and cant wait to get it back on the road. 20 years is a long time to sit and an old long bed s10 is never going to be a good investment but its not about the money. I hope to make a few memories in mine with my wife and daughters.

Sorry for the long post. I look forward to the SAS and seeing if/how you finish out the interior of the camper. Have you considered adding a hitch in the front for your winch?

Awesome story about your '84. That thing is definitely an investment in my eyes (I can hear the wife groaning while I type this). You've got to get it turning the tires again, there will never be another one with the same memories.
Thanks I really appreciate that. Definitely considered a front hitch mount a few times, even have the harness wired up for it. I've been flip flopping on making a bumper or just fabbing a hidden winch mount. I'll likely end up with the latter and retain the factory tow hooks.




One of the biggest hang ups with the solid axle swap is I know I will not get it done in a weekend and we had no substitute bush vehicle.
Our old civic although dead nuts reliable, just couldn't take us in the bush. So the wifey got a big upgrade on the weekend, and she's stoked.


This 97 4runner limited is absolutely minty. The previous owner took unbelievable care of it, and now it's ours to carry that on.
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A good vehicle to buy is one that comes with a binder. This guy had the original bill of sale & every single receipt for any work done to it, including oil changes for the last 20+ years.
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Small upgrade for the camper that made a huge difference. Changed out the inner door struts for longer ones and increased the opening angle by about 10%.
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The inner door used to open to a flat position or "level". I did this with the original idea I would stand inside the camper and use the door to cook on. Well 30+ trips later and I never cooked on it once. However, I have smashed my head on the door so many times and cursed the idea every time.
6 rivets later and it's so friggin nice now. It's funny how such a small change can make a world of difference.
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Sunday was moose cutting day.
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My folks are visiting and my step father was super keen to get in on the action at the ripe age of 80.
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Everything was used, bones for soup stock. The wife is going to tan the hide for leather.
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Some of the finest meat we'll ever put in our freezer.
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All 3 freezers are full and that's a wrap on the 2021 hunting season for us.
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Todd n Natalie

OverCamper
Wow, that's a lot of meat! Nicely done. I'm curious how long it's been since you've had to buy meat at a grocery store / butcher, haha

Congrats on the 4Runner. Looks like a great find. Any plans for it or just drive and enjoy?

Yes, the pics of the damage I've been seeing are unreal. I also heard there is a 2nd 'atmospheric river' in the forecast. Hopefully that forecast changes.
 

ricoisme26

Active member
WOW. I have looked around this site for years and reading this has finally prompted me to register. Andrew, your adventures are inspiring. thank you for documenting some of your experiences. Enjoy making memories with your wife.

My dad bought a 1984 4x4 RCLB S-10 brand new just before I was born. The 2.8 4 speed manual gray color truck is similar to yours. Some of my earliest memories are riding in that truck listening to the radio and watching dad change gears.

Similar story here, my dad had a regular cab Toyota pickup with bucket seats when I was born, my mom got tired of riding around in the bed real quick and he bought a 1990 S10 extended cab so she could sit in the back with my car seat in the front. I grew up in that truck, my dad still has it, well half of it... about 7 years ago when prepping for state inspection the frame buckled where the cab and bed meet. Truck got parked in the back yard and he replaced it. He tired parting it out once and went to pull it up to the garage with the tractor, rear axle, bed and back half of the frame came with him the front half of the truck stayed were it was and that's where it still sits today. I always want to find a new frame to put the body on but in reality the truck is probably completely lost, maybe the 4.3 could still be saved from it.

I came for the first gen S-series truck, stayed for the adventure, hunts, and lifestyle. Something I hope to do more of myself and have been taking much inspiration from.
 

nitro_rat

Lunchbox Lockers
Best thread on the site, I hate they split up the "Domestic Full Size and Other" forum into different groups, it's so much harder to keep track of everything I care about now! A S-10 in the same forum as my Suburban didn't make ME feel insecure in any way...
 

Andrew_S

Observer
Wow, that's a lot of meat! Nicely done. I'm curious how long it's been since you've had to buy meat at a grocery store / butcher, haha

Congrats on the 4Runner. Looks like a great find. Any plans for it or just drive and enjoy?

Yes, the pics of the damage I've been seeing are unreal. I also heard there is a 2nd 'atmospheric river' in the forecast. Hopefully that forecast changes.
It's funny, we occasionally go to the butchers and buy a nice prime rib steak or a chicken as a treat to change it up haha.
No big plans for the toyota, just a clean daily. Maybe some better tires in the future.
Looks like the damage hasn't gotten tooo much worse. My heart goes out to all those folks who don't even have a property to go back to now.



Similar story here, my dad had a regular cab Toyota pickup with bucket seats when I was born, my mom got tired of riding around in the bed real quick and he bought a 1990 S10 extended cab so she could sit in the back with my car seat in the front. I grew up in that truck, my dad still has it, well half of it... about 7 years ago when prepping for state inspection the frame buckled where the cab and bed meet. Truck got parked in the back yard and he replaced it. He tired parting it out once and went to pull it up to the garage with the tractor, rear axle, bed and back half of the frame came with him the front half of the truck stayed were it was and that's where it still sits today. I always want to find a new frame to put the body on but in reality the truck is probably completely lost, maybe the 4.3 could still be saved from it.

I came for the first gen S-series truck, stayed for the adventure, hunts, and lifestyle. Something I hope to do more of myself and have been taking much inspiration from.

Awesome man. Glad you are enjoying it.



Best thread on the site, I hate they split up the "Domestic Full Size and Other" forum into different groups, it's so much harder to keep track of everything I care about now! A S-10 in the same forum as my Suburban didn't make ME feel insecure in any way...

Me either haha,


The ice fishing season is off to a sloooow start. +20C here on the 1st of Dec isn't helping either.
We did cheat and get out last week.
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A couple brookies landed and no one else on the lake.

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I've wanted to do something on the outside of the camper for a while.
I contacted a guy about a week or so ago about doing up a custom badge for the camper. I sent him this as a template
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He sent me back this rendering
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This is a nickname the camper picked up from a buddy and it stuck. These turned out absolutely awesome, the guy is an artist.
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I haven't decided on a pattern yet but I'm planning on something similar to this
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De-grampifying the toyota. Window sun shades gone,
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Bug deflector and steps went next. Amazing how 3 things can completely change the look of a vehicle.
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Check out how clean this thing is.
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Lastly, almost done this years moose skull.
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Explorerinil

Observer
Just curious how much meat you try to get during hunting season for the year. My goal is 200 lbs of venison to get me through, just curious for comparable. What did you shoot the moose with? My uncle lived near Kendra Ontario and when they still had moose (most are gone due to cwd and some rusty crab infestation that is eating all the grass habitat in the lakes) he shot one bull per year with his muzzleloader. Nothing tastes better than moose meat!
 

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