
u/Useless_Engineer_

First Trip in the Custom DIY Off-Road Trailer!
Built a custom off-road toy hauler / camping trailer completely from scratch! Our first trip with it was an absolute blast, super comfortable and effortless.
I’ve posted about the build process, so if you want to see more, let me know and I’ll send a link to the other posts.
OTT and Regear + Trailer in CO Mountains
All I can say is holy crap... what a difference the OTT tune made for pulling a trailer. It complements the regear so well!
Drove from North Denver up to Red Feather Lakes and back on a single tank of gas while towing roughly 2,000 lbs, averaging 13.8 mpg. Waze decided to take us on a "faster route", which definitely wasn't faster, but hey, it gave me a chance to test the trailer out off-road. Also managed to snap the obligatory Buc-ee's photo (or tried to, at least).
All in all, it was such a smooth drive. No gear hunting, handled the grades like a champ, and I couldn't be happier with how it performed!
Bought a 450 as my first bike... Here's what I learned
Don't do it lol
But for real, I see this question come up all the time in this forum: "Is the 450 too much bike?"
33M, I am 6'2" and was 250ish lbs when I bought it, now 225ish. Doing the math on weight and size and everything, all things point 450.
I used to ride in highschool with friends (but not on moto or trails, Arizona washes and long desert rides), thinking I could handle the 450, and its been a struggle. And I live in CO where it's for less HP due to oxygen density, and gets even less power as we go ride in the mtns. I can only imagine what this bike would be like at <2kft above sea level.
I have been practicing and pushing myself to get comfortable for 3 years, and trying to not just sell it and buy a 250. Keep telling myself don't quit, you just need seat time. And I feel like this year, the middle of the 3rd year with it, I started to become more comfortable on it but still know it's a lot of bike.
My advice, if you want a 4 stroke, I'd make sure you can get EVERYTHING out of a 250, be able to use every ounce of bike before considering a 450 (even for us bigger fellows).
My wife's old KLX 140 is so fun to ride at it's limits. My wife's new TE150 is fun to ride hard because it's got significantly less HP.
I equate this to my Corvettes, I had a C5Z06 with 340ish whp and was an absolute blast to drive all the time. I built a C6Z06 with almost 600whp and it was too much car for the road and to enjoy besides on long staights at the track.
This has probably been covered and posted but want to give perspective
Day ride in the mountains with my better half 🤘🏼
Wife's first ride on her TE150 (besides at a motox track), she loved every second of it! The confidence and growth was amazing to watch
Switzerland Pass, CO
DIY Off-Road Toy Hauler & Camper fit the bikes perfect!
Biomechanical Calf Tattoo by Mike O', Denver, CO - Neon Falcon
After years of contemplating, I told my artist to brand me like a Tarnished
TIL that mild dehydration/thirst can be mistaken for hunger or wanting a snack
genexiahealth.comBuilt a trailer to compliment the 4Runner!
After years and thousands of miles of packing the 4R full, a massive RTT, and enjoying some beautiful trips, buddy and I decided to build home made overland off-road toy hauler.
It's finally registered, road legal, and 95% complete but had to go get some photos after detailing it and the 4Runner.
Notes about the trailer:
Goal was to build a trailer that fits in a standard garage, haul two dirt bikes (or mountain bikes), have a queen sized mattress inside (have a tri-fold mattress not pictured), capable off-road, and be WAY cheaper than what's on the market.
-Weight: 1680lbs
-Length: 15'8" (yes the tongue is long, that was intentional)
-Width: 88" to the outside of the tires
-Height:79"
-Material Cost: $11.9k (We bought the best of everything we could and spent more $ than expected as we made changes and learned our way through building this thing).
Make myself an off-road overland toy hauler to go with the 4Runner
After years and thousands of miles of packing the 4R full, a massive RTT, and enjoying some beautiful trips, buddy and I decided to build home made overland off-road toy hauler.
It's finally registered, road legal, and 95% complete but had to go get some photos after detailing it and the 4Runner.
Notes about the trailer:
Goal was to build a trailer that fits in a standard garage, haul two dirt bikes (or mountain bikes), have a queen sized mattress inside (have a tri-fold mattress not pictured), capable off-road, and be WAY cheaper than what's on the market.
-Weight: 1680lbs
-Length: 15'8" (yes the tongue is long, that was intentional)
-Width: 88" to the outside of the tires
-Height:79"
-Material Cost: $11.9k (We bought the best of everything we could and spent more $ than expected as we made changes and learned our way through building this thing).
Being childfree has allowed my wife and I to treat the people we love most
One of my two best friends turned 30 yesterday, so I planned a very nice dinner with him, a good friend of ours, and my wife. We even ordered an Uber to and from the restaurant so we could all fully enjoy ourselves and stay safe.
While we were hanging out and having a few drinks before dinner, our friend mentioned she was just going to get a salad or something small because she didn't want to spend too much. I just told her okay and smiled.
We went to this wonderful Japanese sushi place that imports their fish fresh from Japan, ncredibly tasty and like nothing else. Once we were there, I told her not to worry about the bill and to just enjoy the evening. We ended up having both of them trying all sorts of new things! It was an amazing night filled with great food, drinks, laughs, and beautiful memories.
All this to say, being able to share an experience like that and treat our friends to something they wouldn’t typically do for themselves was so heartwarming. We're just incredibly fortunate that being childfree has allowed us to advance in our careers, and now we get to share that success with the people we love most.
DIY Overlanding Toy Hauler / Tear Drop finally finished!
Will post more photos once I go through the album, and show a curated timeline of the builds!
Beside myself that they're finally complete!
7 months, 1 week of build time
Working on the cost breakdown and materials list
One of my proudest moments in GT7 so far 🤌🏼
Followed this up with 2, triple star (fastest lap, clean race, and pole position) in A/S 🤘🏼
Casecade Creek, CO 🏔️🌫️
Colorado being Colorado
​
Second photo: was doing some maintenance(elocker corroded), long story short, left the bolts for my sway bar loose. 2/3 the way through the trail wife and I hear a metallic crush sound, very much like crushing an aluminum can. Well it wasn't far off, one of the bolts finally backed out and the bracket chunked the aluminum gas tank skid. Didn't have the necessary tools (also lost bolts) to fix it, so I ratchet strapped the bar back to the axle and made it home safely.
Hey, did Kawasaki come out with a 2 stroke?
/s
My thoughts on TV vs VR
After years of adding pieces here and there to be a AC drift rig and a GT7 racing rig, I got PSVR2 to see what the hype was all about when I see these posts or people promoting getting it as the next step or "best way to race".
Comparison of TV vs VR:
TV is more competitive at the higher levels of online racing (A/A+ in GT7). The physical markers for braking/acceleration points are consistent, the resolution and fidelity of a OLED TV with a fast response time is unmatched.
VR is unreal immersion, the Logitech Pro with the Trueforce feedback makes you feel like you're in the vehicle. Every little bump, vibration, imperfection in the race is felt in some way. Side by side racing online is incredible, it gives you a special awareness edge that has increased my battling race craft (has translated to the flat TV too). Only thing I'm missing is the buttkicker or some level of motion (which takes a little more to be supported on PS5). Picked it up for $150 on FB brand new as well, totally worth it.
My issues for TV vs VR are similar to those that have posted before:
-Qualifying laps with the blue/red pace arrow/time split from your fastest lap. It's harder to make adjustments in qualifying when you can't immediately see what is better or worse. I understand this is more like real life but it could be better, like a "pit crew" giving you updates via coms more frequently than sector times. Or just give me the option to add it to my HUD somewhere (it would be cool if each car had a floating screen that acted like a custom Ui that you could choose to put whatever you want in).
-The above comment translates to online racing, pace to car in front and behind is missing and it's hard to know if you're pushing too hard or not enough to close a gap, or even what that gap is for that matter. Same recommendation, a pit crew giving updates or let me add it somewhere.
-VR is hard to dial in the clarity for me, some nights it's perfect and some nights I'm messing with the headset constantly. Having rewetting eye drops seems to help. But I've found I really don't "look around" or move my head besides a slight movement to look at the apex or exit point of reference (mostly in the eyes moving not my head), and it's very minimal at that. I think this comes from my racing experience in a real car and having a helmet/hans and halo (wrap around) racing seat.
I do find myself gravitating more towards the TV over the VR when I need that extra edge (typically 0.5-1.0 second faster with the same consistency) but for what it's worth, it's an incredible and a fun thing to own.
Overall, I couldn't be happier with every aspect of my rig, it's served me very well and been the gateway drug to about 4 of my friends who now all sim race on GT7. We all went GT7 because of the cost of entry and ease of use is way better than PC setup, it's helped them make the plunge.
Unsolicited review but thought I'd give my 2 cents to anyone curious or who wants to ask questions.
"Final" rig setup - unavoidable upgrades are next
After years of adding pieces here and there to be a AC drift rig and a GT7 racing rig, I have hit the inevitable wall.
Only things left to do are get triple's (probably 55" TVs to compliment the one there) and a new PC (Laptop or Tower, haven't decided yet for other personal usage reasons)
If anyone has experience choosing the laptop over the PC let me know, it's hard to convince myself a laptop could handle triple 55s but I'm sure anything is possible for the right price.
Comparison of TV vs VR:
TV is more competitive at the higher levels of online racing (A/A+ in GT7). The physical markers for braking/acceleration points are consistent, the resolution and fidelity of a OLED TV with a fast response time is unmatched.
VR is unreal immersion, the Logitech Pro with the Trueforce feedback makes you feel like you're in the vehicle. Every little bump, vibration, imperfection in the race is felt in some way. Side by side racing online is incredible, it gives you a special awareness edge that has increased my battling race craft (has translated to the flat TV too). Only thing I'm missing is the buttkicker or some level of motion (which takes a little more to be supported on PS5). Picked it up for $150 on FB brand new as well, totally worth it.
My issues for TV vs VR are similar to those that have posted before:
-Qualifying laps with the blue/red pace arrow/time split from your fastest lap. It's harder to make adjustments in qualifying when you can't immediately see what is better or worse. I understand this is more like real life but it could be better, like a "pit crew" giving you updates via coms more frequently than sector times. Or just give me the option to add it to my HUD somewhere (it would be cool if each car had a floating screen that acted like a custom Ui that you could choose to put whatever you want in).
-The above comment translates to online racing, pace to car in front and behind is missing and it's hard to know if you're pushing too hard or not enough to close a gap, or even what that gap is for that matter. Same recommendation, a pit crew giving updates or let me add it somewhere.
-VR is hard to dial in the clarity for me, some nights it's perfect and some nights I'm messing with the headset constantly. Having. Rewetting eye drops seems to help. But I've found I really don't "look around" or move my head besides to look at the apex or exit point of reference, and it's very minimal at that. I think this comes from my racing experience in a real car and having a helmet/hans and halo (wrap around) racing seat.
I do find myself gravitating more towards the TV over the VR when I need that extra edge (typically 0.5-1.0 second faster with the same consistency) but for what it's worth, it's an incredible and a fun thing to own.
Overall, I couldn't be happier with every aspect of my rig, it's served me very well and been the gateway drug to about 4 of my friends who now all sim race on GT7. We all went GT7 because of the cost of entry and ease of use is way better than PC setup, it's helped them make the plunge.
Unsolicited review but thought I'd give my 2 cents to anyone curious or who wants to ask questions.