P500 My P520s day of reckoning

[crewcabrob]

As we’re going into fall, I decided to buy a back panel to cut down on the dust when we take some gravel roads around our area. We’ve talked about getting out to the sandhills again and traveling any speed you guys already know it kicks up a bunch of dust. I picked up a task rear panel pretty inexpensive at Amazon. I haven’t had a chance to put it on yet. It’s still a little warm to have the passenger area almost completely sealed up. I was really hoping that by now it would cool down enough that I could for sure give it a test

Of course I was gonna take a picture so you guys could see it but somehow I have miss placed it inside my garage. As soon as I find it I’ll get a picture to you guys

 

[crewcabrob]

 

[crewcabrob]

I’ve been hauling a bunch of rock and mulch around my house and so it got a little dirty. A full truckload of mulch and 3 ton of rock moved this week. I try to use the wagon for the rock but the mulch goes in the bed.

 

[JJdog]

Curious what brand of seat cover you used and where you got it? Thanks.

 

[crewcabrob]

Hi,

I purchased them here: Seat Covers

They are custom made to order and there is a few week lead time.

They are good covers and customer service has been great. They are a little pricey, but I find they fit really well and nobody else has a custom product for the 500/520.

Rob

 

[JJdog]

Great thanks. They look fantastic, as does the rest of your build.

 

[crewcabrob]

I appreciate that! I'm getting the itch to do it all over again... Maybe I just need to tear the ROPS apart and make the cage I want to have. Also thinking of converting the bed area to something different for going on Overlanding adventures. Just so many more mods that I would like to do if I only had the time.

Still in the works is a small, light, overlanding trailer. Started to design the suspension the other day. I found a small coil over shock with enough capacity (300 pounds each) and enough travel to match or better the P520 at 7". At first, I wanted to make a really cushy long travel suspension for the trailer, and then realized the P520 only had 6" travel. I also came to the realization that its top speed of 39mph, the trailer doesn't have to have 10" of travel. It could have a little less than the Pioneer and likely be fine.

My target for the trailer is no more than 550 pounds fully loaded. It needs to be the same width as the Pioneer and also have the same ground clearance. I'm going to put a roof top tent on it for a quick easy camp set up.

 

[crewcabrob]

Not sure if anyone has had this happen, but I was out tinkering with my P520 yesterday after work. I wanted to check the air pressure in the tires as one looked different. The long story:

I moved 75 bags of cement (60 pounds each) over the course of two days and multiple trips with my P520 and a new utility trailer I bought. I ran over something with all that weight, and one tire went flat.

I unloaded the P520 and drove it up to my garage. Put 9psi in it and it had no issue holding air. (still full 2 weeks later)

9PSI is what I landed on last year for the best ride compromise. It looked bigger compared to my other three tires, so I checked them all. Yep, 4 psi in the rest of them... ugh

I'm not sure how long they have been that low and it kind of makes sense why the tire rolled off the bead on the back side of the rim. I have bead locks, so the front never separated.

Now all is good with 9 all the way around. Should really help my rolling resistance and top speed!

 

[DRZRon1]

did the temp swing down in your case, rule of thumb is 1-2Psi per 10F

 

[crewcabrob]

I didn’t think that was true for all tires. For Car and truck tires, that’s also what I’ve heard. Not sure a tire with only 9psi can deflate at the same rate.

 

[cnapierala]

Thanks!

I was able to finally remove it from the basement today and take it out for a ride. I’m also working on getting my mountain bikes put in the back for our trip

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Mind blown by this picture. I'm a cyclist as well (Hey i have a Specialized Epic Expert hard tail!). Never thought of using one of these to get deep into new and cool places to ride!

 

[crewcabrob]

It worked pretty well for the bikes. The only thing I would really do different is to have a better support for the rear tires. Due to the length of the bikes, the rear tire doesn't sit square on the tailgate, It needs to be just about 5-6" longer.

This would be easy to resolve, either make a tray to support and strap down the rear wheel/tire or move the fork mount up higher on the rear ROPS support.

My wifes bike is the real issue. She has a Specialized Turbo Levo Comp and the wheelbase is really long. My Epic has a relatively short wheelbase and fits pretty well.

We took the bikes up to the trails with the P520 and had a blast.

 

[GRANITE]

It worked pretty well for the bikes. The only thing I would really do different is to have a better support for the rear tires. Due to the length of the bikes, the rear tire doesn't sit square on the tailgate, It needs to be just about 5-6" longer.

This would be easy to resolve, either make a tray to support and strap down the rear wheel/tire or move the fork mount up higher on the rear ROPS support.

My wifes bike is the real issue. She has a Specialized Turbo Levo Comp and the wheelbase is really long. My Epic has a relatively short wheelbase and fits pretty well.

We took the bikes up to the trails with the P520 and had a blast.
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What kinda SUV is that? Looks BA

 

[crewcabrob]

It’s a Land Rover Defender

 

[WVhogfarmer]

Great Build, Nice write ups
any chance you remember the replacement Diode Dynamics bulbs you used ?

 

[crewcabrob]

I believe they are 881

 

[WVhogfarmer]

I believe they are 881

Thanks

 

[The Green Goat]

Thanks

Don't get your hopes up.

 

[futzin]

Whiter but not brighter, as I recall?

 

[The Green Goat]

Whiter but not brighter, as I recall?

Yup. Still borderline useless, IMO.