2021 Kansas Rocks – New Shelter Built by Midwest Krawlers


Midwest Krawlers grouped together and built an awesome lunch/hangout shelter then did some wheeling! Had a great wheeling trip earlier this month after an initial hiccup while loading up that was almost bad.

Excitement while trying to pack up

Hooked on to the trailer for the first time with the new (to me) 2015 Expedition for a wheeling trip the next day. Pull out of the shop to test the brakes real quick, 10ft later the trailer brakes locked up hard. Then the brake controller on dash starts smoking 😳 I had to run around back and unplug the trailer quick. Luckily it wasn’t on an incline because I forgot to put it in park, so I had to run back around and stop it from rolling.

Google it while I’m sitting there still astonished, only to find there are pages and pages of the 2015 Era F150 and Expeditions having factory brake controller failures just like this. I wouldn’t be surprised if this was the first time this truck had ever been hooked to a trailer with brakes, I’m fairly certain it never hauled around anything but kids in its past life.

Ford factory trailer brake aftermarket replacement dash mount
Why does this always happen the day before a wheeling trip?
In hindsight, I didn’t need to take the dash this far apart. The trailer brake module pops out with some prying, I just didn’t want to go at it with a screwdriver so I stuck my hand around inside the dash to push from the back.

Shake my head then frantically search for an adapter available locally at a store that is still open at 8pm. Drive 25 minutes to the nearest TSC.

Kansas Rocks Offroad Wheeling Krocks
Had to take a picture of this. Took the Suzuki to go get the trailer brake adapter at the nearest TSC and didn’t want to take the expedition since the whole dash was taken apart.
This dang almost 20 year old truck gets the snot beat out of it offroad then cruises down the highway super smooth and is arguably more reliable than my daily drivers.
Of course it was night by the time I got back home and put the new adapter in.

I got this at TSC but it is almost half the price on Amazon. Would have ordered online if I didn’t need it for the next day. I think this particular adapter will hook a Tekonsha controller to any F150/Expedition that is 2011 or newer.

Ford factory trailer brake aftermarket replacement dash mount
My Tekonsha P3 even fit in the little hole, might just leave it like that… (except now I get a trailer brake module error EVERY time I start the vehicle, thanks Ford…)
Ford factory trailer brake aftermarket replacement dash mount
Here’s the little SOB that tried to catch fire.
Kansas Rocks Offroad Wheeling Krocks
PJ putting on his offroad shoes. With Gertrude’s help of course (if you call sleeping helping…)
Kansas Rocks Offroad Wheeling Krocks
Finally loaded up at like 10pm.
Kansas Rocks Offroad Wheeling Krocks
Packed a lot more stuff than usual and was glad I did, we ended up using more tools than I was expecting.
Kansas Rocks Offroad Wheeling Krocks
It’s a convoy!

The Shelter Build

This new carport/shelter was built at the south end of the park near the old barn as a place to enjoy lunch and have a shady place to get away from the heat.

Video

Check out the video. 2.5 hours of work compressed down into 2 minutes!

Pictures

Kansas Rocks Offroad Wheeling Krocks
This was a carport kit. Still took quite a bit of effort to get it put up. These twist in anchors took a while to get drilled in by hand.
Kansas Rocks Offroad Wheeling Krocks
The frame went up pretty quick.
Kansas Rocks Offroad Wheeling Krocks
Progress!
Kansas Rocks Offroad Wheeling Krocks
Done just in time for lunch.

Wheeling!

Kansas Rocks Offroad Wheeling Krocks
Jeeps doing Jeep things 😛
Kansas Rocks Offroad Wheeling Krocks
Didn’t get a chance to talk to this guy but he had a sweet setup.
If you were to give me no budget and spec out a truck of my dreams, it would likely look very similar to this.

I haven’t been able to get too many action pictures of our recent trips. Russ (SAS 4 runner below) and I have pretty similarly capable trucks and we just straight up cover some ground without too much drama (well, technically his is way more capable than mine but he has bald tires and his rear locker isn’t currently working. I think he leaves them that way as a handicap just to make me not feel too inferior 😛 ). It is a lot of fun.

Kansas Rocks Offroad Wheeling Krocks
Russ’s SAS 4 runner working well as always.
Kansas Rocks Offroad Wheeling Krocks
We covered a lot of ground for just an afternoon.
It was dry this time so we were able to do a lot more trails without full throttle assaults like last time.

For some reason my GPS stopped working for a bit on the north end of the park.

Video

Here is a short video of a couple of trails from the day

Kansas Rocks Offroad Wheeling Krocks
Beautiful weather and trails
Kansas Rocks Offroad Wheeling Krocks
Cool shot after getting back home. Towing with this rig is an absolute breeze. Ford (other than the fire hazard brake module) really nailed the towing mode on these trucks. I love that they downshift the engine while braking and have built in sway control. The ecoboost is like cheating.

Conclusion

Fun day was had by all and we now have another cool spot to hang out for lunch while at Krocks. Hope you enjoyed.

Now YOU, go outside and work on something (or go wheeling!).

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