Clear Pvc Windscreen Film - Photo 66947254

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It certainly isn’t a daily driver, but the GravelMaker is registered and Nate drives it to and from the trailhead when necessary. He made the windshield out of 40-mil clear PVC film with snaps to cut down the chill on early desert mornings. If it gets torn or scratched the film is inexpensive to replace.

2010 schutt built gravel maker wheeling

Visibility out the back is admittedly poor. “That just means I need to not back down!” Nate quipped. When reverse is necessary, a backup camera with a small screen mounted under the dash keeps Nate from running over baby seals and nuns. The safety theme continues around the sides, with window nets to keep Nate’s sons Ashton and Brennen safe on the trail.

Mercedes Unimog axles offer unmatched ground clearance with their portal design, but the most common 404 model axles have a reputation for breaking the cast portal boxes under extreme use. Nate chose to run the much larger 406 axles, which feature 3.14 ring-and-pinion gears, 2.08 gear reduction in the hubs, and factory air lockers plumbed to the onboard air compressor with pneumatic switches. “Hopefully I never break them, because parts are nearly impossible to find,” says Nate.

The 302 Ford engine was pulled from a ’93 F-150 and topped with EFI from an ’89 Lincoln Mk III, BBK headers mounted backwards, and custom exhaust from HSF with a Flowmaster muffler. The engine is backed by a C4 automatic fitted with a TCI 1,600-stall torque converter, deep pan, and full manual reverse valve body, Klune-V underdrive, and NP205 transfer case with custom SOB twin sticks.

Auto Meter gauges keep tabs on rpm, coolant temperature, oil pressure, transmission temperature, and voltage. When we asked why the gauges were mounted at such odd angles, Nate explained that with the deep mounting bezel of the Auto Meter gauges, that was the only way he could read them from the seat. Everything on this buggy was done for a reason. Cool custom touches abound throughout the GravelMaker, such as the shifters fashioned from broken axleshafts, the color-matched cooler, and the hard-mounted ammo cans. We appreciate all of the details, many of which required more creativity than dollars.

Originally Nate’s buggy wore Goodyear military tires on the stock 20-inch rims, but they were dry-rotted and chunked on the first trip out. With a limited budget and the need to run 20-inch rims to clear the portal boxes, Nate was able to wheel and deal for some heavily grooved 46-inch Mickey Thompson Baja Claws from a former Top Truck Challenge competitor. He added beadlock rings from Great Lakes Off Road on the outside and welded a safety bead to the rims to keep the tires from peeling off.

The chassis was constructed from 13⁄4-x1⁄8-wall HREW tubing, and all of the link mounts attach above the skidplate for increased clearance in the rocks. The links are constructed from 2x0.250-wall DOM tubing and Evolution Machine 13⁄4x3⁄4-inch rod ends with threaded ends to easily adjust caster and pinion angles.

Sure, billet endlinks are cool, but they are also expensive. Nate built his own steering links out of 11⁄2x1⁄4-wall DOM tubing with weld-on tabs that connect in double-sheer to the custom-built steering arms. The links connected on the other end to a Surplus Center double-ended ram that works in conjunction with a PSC P-pump, POS cooler, and POS orbital valve that is mounted where the stock steering reservoir resided.

16-inch-travel, 21⁄2-inch-diameter Fox air shocks act as both the spring and shock at each corner. The air shocks work in conjunction with reverse triangulated four-link arrangements front and rear that control rotation and also keep the axle from moving side to side. This suspension configuration provides incredible articulation and stability, but packaging is more challenging than a traditional four-link or radius arms with a Panhard bar.

Here is a neat idea. A small magnetic LED light is mounted on the tube work to act as an interior light. Nate picked up these lights at his local home improvement store and uses them under the dash as well.

It certainly isn’t a daily driver, but the GravelMaker is registered and Nate drives it to and from the trailhead when necessary. He made the windshield out of 40-mil clear PVC film with snaps to cut down the chill on early desert mornings. If it gets torn or scratched the film is inexpensive to replace.