Very cool setup. I have been looking at RTTs for a while now. I am leaning toward Hills Off-road Grar tents but they are a bit pricey. I want to see the tent in person before I buy.

https://hillsoffroadgear.com/collections/roof-top-tents

 

You will be shocked the places that the D2 will take you in relatively stock form. I'm looking at adding a smaller trailer to put gear/rrt on as we have 3 dogs and no kids yet but the ability to keep major weight off the top of a heavier vehicle is a major goal. I do tend to run some harder trails that anything more than bedding on the roof is a major concern. The idea of being able to get to camp, unhook and set up and have an un-tethered vehicle ready to hit any level of trail with a relatively empty interior is a real nice thought. I've heard great things about the fox shocks that lucky8 has ready for the D2, they are fairly pricey but imo totally worth it for longer trips.

 

@zski128 those tend to be 2 person tents - I looked at a soft shell version of that and it was described as good for 2 friendly people, I travel solo so I am ok with that. Watch the weight too we have a pretty low dynamic roof load, due the gutter mounting.

These are my notes

 

I have never been able to find a reliable source for what’s the loads are on a gutter mounted rack. Some racks like the Safety Devices one is about 65 lbs all by itself (close to 100 lbs if you get the optional plywood floor). If the max load was that low what would be the point of the rack if more than half the weight was already used by the rack? Obviously you want to keep the weight down as much as possible. But I would think that a rack and tent that weight somewhere around 225 lbs would be my max. You would not what to do any serious off-roading with that much weight up top I would not think. I bet the rain gutters can support a lot of static weight like when you have people and gear up there when it moving.

Take a look at some of the Camel Trophy videos on YouTube. They have Safety Devices racks, metal traction boards, shovels, axes, Jerry cans, and many boxes (not sure what’s in those). That has to weigh more than a single roof top tent.

 

@zski128 yea static stopped is no issue, the problem is that LR only talks about their rack,which is really light duty.

Pairs of roof bars as far as I could find out (Dynamic load) Static is about 3 times

Rhino rack rates thiers at 220 lbs for a Disco II
Thule claim 220lbs dynamic.
Yakima 165 lbs
Fronter Runner is about 220lbs

Voyager claims 1000lbs static with 4 gutter mounts per side so in theory 330, but that is about 200 more than I want on my roof.

I would suggest adding a 3rd bar if you are not going full rack, a Front Runner rack with 4 bars would take care of the issue.

I am adding another bar to mine for peace of mind and I am aiming a 95 -125lb tent

 

The Frontrunner rack looks like a good option as they have a low profile rack that is flat the length of the roof and it’s all aluminum. They also have load bars as well but 3 -4 of those is almost the price of a whole rack.

 

Been pretty busy lately but finally got around to pulling the engine from the parts truck. I took me about 10-12 hours or work overall but that was spread over weeks of spare time on the weekends and evenings. It went pretty smooth expect for the occasional stubborn bolt. I could not get one of the rubber engine mounts out but was able to remove the bracket as a work around. It was a little tough seperating from the transmission. For a minute I thought I missed a bolt. Some wiggling back and forth and it came free. I’ll be tearing down this engine over the next week to see the reason for coolant in the oil. Hopefully the block is good.

Next up transmission and transfer case.

 

Suspension work has started. The rear hubs appear to be original or at least they used LR branded replacements at some point. They seem right but will be replacing while I am in here. I got the OME heavy duty spring and shock kit. This should work nicely with the steel bumpers and sliders I will be ordering shortly. The steel brake lines are looking very crusty so will be replacing them as well. I snapped off all three 8mm bolts holding dust shield even after some heat and PB blaster so will be drilling and retapping...

 

I'd be scared to death...to put a jack stand under the frame in that location...on any Dll that has lived in Michigan. Most are ready to crumble away and wouldn't support the weight of the vehicle in any way shape or form.

 

I hear that. You should see the frame on the parts truck I have. The jack stand in the picture is actually not holding anything. There is one to the right just out of frame along with the tire removed for safety. The frame in the rear is actually is in really good shape surprisingly as this truck has been through a lot of New England winters. I just needle-scaled the rear and will be applying a rust converter and top coat plus I might try that Eastwood interior frame coating. I don’t like getting under a vehicle even on jack stands.