| PullRite trailer hitch. A massive 20,000# trailer hitch that
pivots under the truck just like 5th wheel trailer pivots over the
truck. Beefed up further with a solid billet ball mount in lieu of standard welded ball mount
and 17,000# HD trailer ball in lieu of standard 12,000# ball. |
| Lifted truck 3". The PullRite hitch ate up a bunch of our
ground clearance, so we had to lift the truck 3" to get it back.
We also upgraded to Bilstein shocks and a Firestone air bag system on rear axle with remote control &
gauge in cab.
|
| Auxiliary fuel tank. With nearly 300 remote miles between gas
stations, we need to carry enough fuel to make the distance. A
50-gallon aluminum tank in the bed of the truck gives us around 800 mile
range while towing on a regular highway. We'll find out later what
our MPG is on primitive roads of the north. |
| Alcoa forged aluminum wheels for the truck. 7" wide in lieu of
6.5" OEM wheels for oversize tires; the super strong forged wheels instead of the much more common cast
aluminum wheels. |
| Steel wheels for the trailer. The trailer came with pretty
aluminum wheels, but they're Chinese cast aluminum wheels not suitable
for 2,000 miles of primitive roads. So, we're putting the off-road
tires on much more rugged steel wheels. |
| Serious expedition capable off-road tires. Firestone
"Destination M/T" tires on both truck and trailer are built extra rugged
to shrug off the sharp rocks and pot holes that frequent the Dalton and
Dempster highways. Well also carry several mounted spare
tires--like 6 spares. |
| Dexter E-Z-Flex suspension upgrade on the trailer to smooth out the
bumps a bit. |
| TD-EOC: Turbo-diesel engine oil cooler with a cold air intake
system. The Duramax tends to get a bit hot on long, steep grades
while puling a heavy load at slow speed, so we added a huge engine oil
cooler & cold fresh air intake system to keep the engine temps normal.
We've got a 4,800 foot pass to go over on the Dalton Highway that's a
steep 12% grade. |
This photo was taken the day after we installed the Hensley Hitch
Memaloose State Park on the Columbia River, Oregon
Sitting in our driveway
The day we took delivery. Note that we hitched up using an old hitch
without connecting the weight distribution spring bars. First, we
drove directly to the Washington State Police weigh station to weigh the new
trailer completely empty with absolutely nothing installed. Second, we
installed the Hensley Hitch the following day.
A
photo of the receiver installed by Northwood. The installation
included the 1/4" thick rectangular tubing and channel welded to the rear of
the trailer frame rails, plus the two 1" square tubing side braces on each
side of the receiver. We requested that the receiver be mounted as
close as possible to being flush with the license plate portion of the rear
cap so what ever we connect to the receiver reduces our angle of departure
by the absolute minimum.
How to build an Arctic Fox 29V
An annotated photo essay on the construction
of an Arctic Fox 29V