Taking the modification plunge timeline

WyoCherokee

Adventurer
Well my build is sort of a "patience build". My rig serves as my daily driver, in addition to my exploration rig. I do have a 2nd vehicle that i can drive without issue as a DD status. Here in lies my 'fear' i guess you could call it. I have a laundry list of things to get done to the rig, that require it to become well....a garage queen for a while. I really enjoy daily driving the heck out of this truck and really dont want to hide it in the garage for 6 months while i do everything i have stockpiled and listed. Many items i can and have been doing on weekends(wiring, guages, suspension, body work, small things) but a majority of my items take time....installation of the 3 link/crossmember also requires welding new front LCA mounts and going SOA in the rear, which also entails going to disc brakes which waterfalls in to having to install a new brake booster and deleting the height sensing valve. Yanking the interior to run wiring, sound and climate proofing the cab, installing onboard diagnostics and navigation, building bed storage, etc.

So my question to you all is, at what point did you just say "enough" and throw her in the garage and start tearing in to it. I have always been an avid promotor of doing things in stages so that you dont have a "garage queen" while all your buddies are out enjoying nature and you are stuck in your garage with a pair of wire cutters and 50 ft of 16g wire and heat shrink. We don't all have the luxury of pulling the XOverland timeline of mobbing 6 guys into a garage and outfitting a rig from bonestock to expedition worthy in 12 hours, so what do you you all do to keep yourself motivated to get your rig done and how did you finally convince yourself to just start building?
 

rayra

Expedition Leader
Reappraise your projects, you'll find you can do a bit more than you think without having to garage / disable the vehicle. My storage drawers build and lots of integrated electrical work were all done on a 'daily driver' basis. I just broke the work into smaller bites.

eta - I also tried to research and pre-plan everything to a greater degree so as to have all the parts and necessary tools on-hand, so I could get the necessary work done on a planned day or weekend. Rather than losing hours by having to go to the store.
There have also been a couple times where I've run into a problem and aborted / backed out of the work, to keep the vehicle mobile. Then found a solution and made another run at it at a later time.
 
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javajoe79

Fabricator
I've always found that a usable vehicle will keep you motivated more to than a disabled one. Try to keep downtime to a minimum. My build is basically from scratch and will probably never be "done" so I am currently pushing towards just being roadworthy. Details can come later
 

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