Howard, I'll be very interested to see your wood burning stove setup once complete. Not up my alley, but I love to see and read about people doing mods to meet their tastes.
Thanks for the clarification on which Bush Company awning you were considering. I'd compared the "270 XT" because that is what you had mentioned in your previous post. The "270 XT Max" does make more sense due to it's shape and coverage compared to the "270 XT" which targets a square vehicle (like on the back of an SUV overlanding rig). I went back and added the "270 XT Max" image and specs to that thread for future-readers info. Seems like combining one of the 270 XT Max and the 180 XT Max, like you mention, would greatly simply your "both sides" awning solution as they could be mounted on the same plane without interfering with one another. And, that combo would only leave one small corner gap in coverage.
Alu-Cab covers 107 sq feet (10 sq meters). Weight: 55 lbs
Bush Company 270 XT covers 86 sq feet (8 sq meters). Weight: 61lbs
Bush Company 270 XT Max covers 129 sq feet (12 sq meters). Weight: 74lbs
Bush Company 180 XT Max covers 92 sq feet (8.5 sq meters). Weight: 57lbs
To answer your previous question, 37" tires will not fit on any HD pickup without a suspension lift. I'm a big fan of fitting the largest tire size that will fit without any lift, but we personally don't want our rigs to be any taller due to the tree clearance issues we have on the trails we frequent and don't want a higher center of gravity. I do outfit the tallest tire that will fit on stock suspension, but run them as narrow as I can find for the desired diameter because, while I want the tire height (larger diameter rolls over obstacles better), I do not want the width as I don't drive terrain that I needs floatation (sand). Extra width just means a lot more tire weight (worse gas mileage, more unsprung weight, more wear and tear on components), harder to squeeze the tires through tight rock spacing, plus, one can typically fit a taller tire if it's narrower than one can fit if you go wider (because of wheelwell rubbing when at full steering lock). I don't quite get the fascination with such wide tires as that feature is suited to a very limited terrain. From what I read, other countries don't have the same fascination and their taller tires (34"+) are relatively narrow compared to the tires on the US market. I have been able to find relatively narrow tires for the height more recently, which is nice. I like to keep them at 265mm to 285mm wide and you can find tires 33" - 34.5" in that width. Once you hit 35", they suddenly change to very wide tires, (12"+ or 350mm+) unfortunately, in most LT, Load Rated E, all-terrain models. That being said, I love the look of all the overlanding rigs that are on massive 40" tires and huge suspension lifts, but as much as I'd like that type of rig, the overall height and width would mean we can go LESS places than we currently do rather than more.
As for running on washboard, we simply find the speed needed to float rather than relying on suspension upgrade. Ha. Granted, not always possible, but works the majority of washboard roads we've encountered. One will get shock fade as shocks heat up on long (20+ mile) stretches of washboard roads, which piggyback reservoir shocks help with, but finding that sweet spot on speed means the suspension doesn't have to move and work as much in the first place. We ran 30 - 40 miles of "Hole in the Rock" road around Escalante, UT last spring in one session in and same on the way out. On the way in, I stopped to feel my stock 1/2 ton shocks a couple times and they were not heated up at all. I ran non-stop on the way out and checked at the end and again, not heated up...but I ran it like I was in a rally car. Ha. Only shake from the road was in the slower corners where ones speed had to drop to 15 - 35mph. Above that, it was smooth as any other gravel road.
