12_degrees_north

04/20/2026

Everyone loves a clean snorkel install… until it’s time to cut metal, reroute plumbing, and make a kit designed for another vehicle actually work on a ’93 Ranger.

Part 1 of the build is up now — full of the messy, honest, real‑world steps nobody else shows.
No fluff. No staged photos. Just the truth of what it takes to make an old Ranger breathe like an overland truck.

Read it here and see why this one turned into a full‑blown tech deep‑dive:
https://www.12degnorth.com/single-post/overland-ready-snorkel-installation-for-the-93-ford-ranger-part-1

04/18/2026

— Teardown Chronicle, Chapter Progression

Another round of late‑night progress, and this one moved the needle in a big way. 🛻

🔧 Pistons are out.
⚙ Crank is out.
🔩 And aside from a couple stubborn small parts, we’re staring at damn near a bare 4.0L OHV block for the first time in its 350k‑mile life.

What looked “clean enough” from the outside has officially told on itself — decades of heat, oil v***r, and road grime hiding in every pocket Ford never intended anyone to see again. But that’s the whole point of this tear-down.

Now it’s the unglamorous part — measuring, scraping, cleaning, and seeing what this block has really been through.

The Chronicle continues.

04/18/2026

Sometimes it's just stuck in my head on repeat...

04/17/2026

A purpose‑built mounting solution engineered for strength, clean power delivery, and seamless integration into the 2016–2023 Toyota Tacoma interior.

Designed for drivers who rely on their gear—phones, tablets, GPS units, comms, and navigation devices—and need a stable, high‑visibility mounting point that won’t flex, rattle, or fail on rough terrain. Built from precision‑formed 5052 aluminum and finished in a durable black textured coating, it delivers both strength and a factory‑grade appearance.

04/16/2026

Some rigs run out of space long before they run out of ideas. The Bronco isn’t one of them. One of the smartest power upgrades you can make doesn’t sit on the roof, the rack, or the tailgate — it sits right on the hood.

A hood‑mounted solar panel turns unused real estate into constant, clean charging for your Bronco’s electrical system. No unfolding, no setup, no babysitting. Just steady power feeding your battery bank while you drive, park, or camp.

It keeps fridges cold, radios live, tools ready, recovery gear topped off, and every accessory in your overland kit powered without touching your roof rack space. Pair it with the Bluetooth app for monitoring, or integrate it with REDARC and other systems to complete your off‑grid power ecosystem.

Multiple vehicle applications available — DM for options for your rig.

04/01/2026

High‑function builds need smart solutions.

Everyone fights for rooftop or rack real estate, but one of the most underrated spaces on any vehicle is the hood. Most rigs don’t need a massive solar array — they just need consistent, reliable charging to keep single or dual battery systems topped off.

This hood‑mounted solar panel turns unused space into high‑efficiency, clean energy. It keeps your vehicle battery charged and supports fridges, solar generators, handheld devices, emergency gear, lights, tools, and overlanding accessories — all with zero setup after installation.

Monitor and program the system through the Bluetooth app, or integrate it directly with existing setups like REDARC to complete your off‑grid power ecosystem.

Many other vehicle applications available, DM for options on your rig!

03/28/2026

03/22/2026

.0 Just for some shared knowledge and future thoughts on the next project..These are a slightly different type of Grommet, a compression fitting type to be exact, and work best when you are utilizing a main power wire from the engine bay or external locations into the cab or a enclosed bed situation for example.

This way, you can safely run a single fused line, 8ga to 2/0 cables, as a bulkhead pass-through and then safely add your power distribution inside the bulkhead/cab to protect circuits and minimize chances of the cable wearing from vibration, harsh riding or movements in your day to day grind and not have to worry about shorting out a wire from bare metal to a hot lead or damaging the component wired itself directly.

Grommets come in a multitude of types, materials, sizes, and even wiring application specific, allowing for creative functionality and clean results in your installs. Just thought to share..

Hope it's useful in your future.

03/21/2026

🛻 Another late push before the weekend. Front cover is almost off, and we’re knocking out as many teardown steps as we can between all the other side‑quests life keeps throwing at us. 🔧

⚙ This 4.0L OHV Cologne is finally getting close to the moment we’ve been waiting for — a bare block on the stand, ready for inspection, measurements, and the full cleanup process.

🔩 Not the fastest pace, not the cleanest path, but every bolt that comes off gets us one step closer to the truth of this engine’s 350k‑mile story.

03/19/2026

🛠️ Chronicle Update — The Engine Finally Comes Out

Once the engine cleared the bay, the truth showed itself fast: it was way dirtier than it ever looked assembled. Years of heat, dust, oil mist, and road grime had been hiding in every seam and behind every bracket. Nothing catastrophic — just the kind of buildup that only reveals itself when the whole assembly is hanging on a stand under real light.

We’ve already stripped the manifolds, most of the accessories, and front‑end hardware. Fluids are drained. Every bracket, bolt, and components we are keeping is coming off one by one, getting degreased, cleaned, labeled and sorted. Hardware goes into labeled zip‑locks, parts get cataloged and shelved, and the whole thing is being broken down with the same discipline you’d expect from a factory teardown.

This stage isn’t glamorous, but it’s the part that sets the tone for everything that comes next. Once we get it down to a bare block, we’ll finally see the full story — what’s reusable, what’s worn, and what direction this build wants to go.

For now, it’s just steady work: pull, clean, organize, repeat. The foundation gets built here.

03/17/2026

🎨 Precision in Color — Canopies That Complete the Build

A canopy shouldn’t look like an afterthought. It should look like it belongs on the vehicle — engineered, intentional, and finished with the same level of detail as the platform it’s mounted to. That’s why aluminum canopies are built to accept the same full color‑matching options as a UTE tray.

Whether you want a perfect OEM‑matched finish, a premium powder‑coat, or a contrasting color that sets the build apart, your canopy becomes part of a unified system — not a bolt‑on compromise.

The modular aluminum construction gives you the strength and utility you expect, while the finish ties everything together visually. The result is a canopy that doesn’t just function flawlessly… it looks factory‑born.

Color‑Matching Your Canopy Offers:
🔶 OEM‑level integration that makes the entire rear of the vehicle feel cohesive
🔶 Enhanced protection against weather, abrasion, and long‑term wear
🔶 A premium, intentional aesthetic that elevates the entire build
🔶 Freedom to personalize — match the body, contrast the tray, or create a signature look

Raw aluminum has its place.
But when you want the build to feel complete — engineered as a single system — color‑matching is the final layer of refinement.

03/17/2026

🔥 THREE DAY SALE — LIMITED TIME

Precision‑crafted from 3mm aluminized steel, our 24‑gallon auxiliary tank is engineered to seamlessly integrate with the Toyota Land Cruiser 250 Series, giving you the long‑range capability Toyota should have built in from the factory. This is the upgrade that transforms your LC250 from “capable” to continent‑crossing.

Built by Long Range America, these tanks are manufactured in Australia by certified craftsmen in a third‑generation, family‑owned facility. Every weld, every baffle, every mounting point is designed for real‑world reliability — not theory.

Why Upgrade?
134% more fuel capacity

This isn’t about convenience — it’s about capability. Range anxiety kills momentum, limits routes, and forces compromises. With over double the fuel on board, your LC250 becomes a true long‑haul rig: fewer stops, more control, and the freedom to push deeper into the backcountry or crush long highway stretches without planning your day around gas stations.

— THREE DAYS ONLY, STARTING TODAY
For a limited time, we’re dropping pricing on the LC250 24‑Gallon Auxiliary Tank. No gimmicks. No fluff. Just a rare chance to upgrade your range at a holiday‑level discount.