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Larry Buck of LBMaps has been traveling to Baja for years. He built
planes, cars and boats in is free time. Here is a tale of how he equipped
the ultimate Baja Explorer's Motor Home. For this trip Larry has
added his own PC/GPS mapping package. Now he knows exactly where he
is and never has to worry about forfeiting his "Man Card" by asking
for directions!
As summer winds down here in the Pacific Northwest,
my mind starts to turn again to Baja. Time to dig out “Homey,” the motor
home, and get her ready for yet another trip south. As I start
to go through my check list, I am amazed at the changes and improvements
I have made over the years. Hard to believe the old girl has not ended
up in the scrap heap like so many of her siblings. I guess being
stored in a dry barn during the 80’s and most of the 90’s helped.
When I first spotted her in the back lot of an RV dealer
I thought she would fit the bill nicely. I was looking for an RV for
our first driving trip to the southern tip of Baja. My method was to
find a very inexpensive RV that I would not be too attached to. I figured
if the worst happened, whatever that may be, I could leave the rig on
the side of the road with the signed title in the glove box, fly my
family home, and not be out a huge chunk of money. The first trip went
off without too many problems, but I could see that a few improvements
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Transmission
The transmission is a stock, heavy-duty NV4500 5speed
from a 2000 Dodge Ram. I wanted to be able to cruise and still have
power when I need it, so I added an auxiliary 2 speed transmission onto
the back of the main box. This allowed me to split
 the
5 gears by having a direct and overdrive in each gear. This gave me
10 different gear ratios to choose from. It could be shifted by a switch
on the shifter and could also be split-shifted. This has made a great
difference in hill-pulling performance when hauling a heavy load. Also,
my cruise RPM at 70mph is about 1700; right on the torque peak for this
engine.
Fuel Capacity
 This
motor home originally had two fuel tanks: a 22-gallon and a 36-gallon.
I added an additional 27-gallon tank for a total of 85 gallons. I can
select which tank to draw from by using a switch on the dash. I also
added a 100-gallon tank on my trailer that can be transferred while
driving to any of the coach tanks with a flip of another switch on the
dash. This gives me a
 whopping
185 gallons of diesel on board. Getting 14 miles per gallon, this gives
me a range of over 2500 miles. I can leave Seattle full and arrive at
my place in the East Cape without a single worry about
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 needed
to be made. I sure would have liked a bit better mileage and I needed
more power so I could haul a big trailer with all the stuff I would
have liked to have along. The original 400ci V8 with an auto transmission
would only get 8mpg max and was pretty slow up hills when towing a small
car. What to do, what to do?
The Engine
I started doing some research and discovered that without
too much redesigning the Cummins turbo diesel engine from a late model
Dodge Ram would fit the early 70 chassis/body. I also wanted to change
from the automatic to a 5-speed transmission, which I felt would be
better for towing and mileage. I also discovered that these engines
are very easy to “turn up” the power on. A larger turbo, exhaust, and
injectors would be a nice addition. My decision was made.
 Now
I needed to locate a donor truck. After a few months of searching, I
located a totaled 1996 Dodge diesel with a 5speed transmission. After
many details, the engine was ready. I pulled the old engine and tranny
and installed the new one. I had a new heavy-duty driveshaft built to
fit, and a new radiator for a late model Dodge pickup.
The Exhaust
Since I had to install a whole new exhaust, it was a
good time to upgrade to a full 4” system. I also added a 4” exhaust
brake to help save the service brakes and add to safety. This
is a turbocharged, straight 6cyl engine and there is only one pipe;
the system is fairly simple, but large.
Intercooler
When the intake air is compressed by the turbocharger
it
 can
be heated to hundreds of degrees. This hot intake air produces less
power because it is less dense than cool air. Hot intake air also causes
temperatures in the engine to become hotter than optimum. This is where
an intercooler comes in. The intercooler is like another radiator that
the compressed hot air goes through and is cooled in before being fed
to the engine; a real must for a high performance turbocharged diesel.
Fitting the late model intercooler behind the grill of the 72 chassis
was a chore, but well worth the effort.
Click here to learn more about LBMaps
and electronic maps for your Garmin GPS
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where I can find fuel. This has become one of my two favorite additions
to my “Baja Rig.”
Trailer
The trailer I have built has a small shed for all of
the miscellaneous objects one would inevitably want to bring along.
Also I carry a Suzuki Samurai, converted to VW turbo diesel power, 2
motorcycles, an 11ft aluminum boat, an 18hp Johnson outboard, two spare
tires for the trailer and one for the coach, a full tool assortment
and top chest, and lots of little necessities. I installed disk brakes
to help slow down all the weight. This makes one complicated trailer.
 GPS
This item is my second favorite addition to the
“Baja Rig”. The GPS has added a whole dimension to Baja travel that
I didn’t know existed. With my Laptop PC connected to my GPS, or my
GPS alone, I can follow along the map with pinpoint accuracy at all
times. No more wondering how long to the next town or turnoff. My biggest
problem was finding a GPS map of Baja; there were none. There was only
the basemap that came with my GARMIN GPS, and that had extremely little
detail. Well, I guess I’ll have to learn how to write my own map. I
think this was a far bigger brain twister than the entire RV project.
In fact, it just keeps going. The more people use my map, the bigger
the need for more information. I have had a large number of people send
me waypoints, paper maps, GPS tracks, and other information. I just
keep adding and adding. No matter how much information you put
into a GPS map someone will always find something I can add to it. I
have also discovered that for many customers, having to use a PC to
load maps is a problem. They just want to have a hand held GPS with
a Baja map. For these people I have begun to offer a small handheld
GPS with our Baja map pre-installed. I have discovered one thing for
sure, I love this GPS mapping project. It just keeps growing.
Traveling Baja without a care as to where I can get
fuel and always knowing where I am takes all the worry out of my trips.
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