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My wife said she had a shoe problem when we first met, I’d say 6 LR’s is a bit more than a shoe problem. She see’s how much kids love em & my wife finds them unique. She prefers not to go off road with me (worried we’ll flip over...) but when my girls get old enough I’ll take them with me!
I'd say 99% of the damage my 01 endured...could have been avoided...easily. But, l chose to push the limits...or was too lazy to get out and trim back a branch. Probably 90% of the damage was from branches, gouging a panel or pulling off a plastic piece. The only mechanical issue that happen, was breaking the y-pipe at the flanges. Any time l high centered the rover, the cats hit (they hang below the frame rails, very poor design for off-roading). Other than that, she always got me home (from southern Ohio and northern Michigan).
Honestly, I don't mind the dirt and mud at all on Myrtle when offroading. I just hate it when I scrape against heavy branches and it loos like gang of cats have been scratching up the sides of my panels.
But I'm weird like that. lol
Once Redrover was no longer a daily driver I was more relaxed about trail rash from brush along the trails. Now, however, the clearcoat fungus has taken over a significant portion of the roof and a growing part of the bonnet. I looked into getting it repainted, but then I'd be back to having a truck that would look like GCBurke's shown above and I wouldn't want to take it on the trails around here, offroading only on the beach.
Speaking of getting it painted, I've been quoted ~$3500 by two different body shops. YIKES! There are a few small dents and door dings but nothing significant. The second shop said a gallon of the red paint alone was something like $900, I recall. I had no idea paint cost varied so greatly by color. Do any of you here have any comparative information?
They are big trucks but $3,500 seems high. Although for a decent paint job that may be the case. It really depends on how well you want them to do and how detailed they will get (ex, remove fenders, door handles, lettering, inside door sills, all those little nooks and crannies are time consuming). You could probably sand it yourself and remove a lot of those things first and save a lot of money. That’s what I plan on doing.
Has anyone tried a rattle can paint job, or some other off-the-shelf DIY paint job? I've heard they can be done pretty good. I want to do a color change and allow for easy touch ups after hard trail rides.
I'd be game, and I have the circumstances, to do a lot of the prep work, e.g. drop the headliner to remove the roof rails, pull the sunroofs, door handles, etc.
When I was in high school auto shop we had project cars from the community. We did bodywork and mechanical work. I wonder if the local community college takes in cars for its auto body program that would be a less expensive alternative? Extra time wouldn't be the problem; they could have the truck for several weeks, as necessary. Do any of you have knowledge or experience with something like that?
