[razordave]

I spent a sizable part of my past two days seeking a hitch mounted cargo carrier for a 1.25" hitch.

That lead me to bicycle racks. Nothing really seemed to be exactly what I wanted vs what it would cost to procure.

Enter discarded satellite dish. I set that bracket to roughly 19 degrees but once I set it on the car, the twist was much more apparent. I may have to build another bracket.

My other thought is to utilize the dish itself as a rear bulkhead or maybe a cross member to affix the skin from the truck topper.

I also removed my rear seat as it's only ever me and the dog.

I may also ditch the muffler which could be weight reduction and performance. From what I've read, the turbo diesel becomes much more efficient when it can breathe.

Lastly but not least, I pulled the resistor to bring the fuel back to stock. I did a 24.5 mpg quarter tank and said enough is enough. I haven't brought the fuel below 1/2 tank yet. It makes me nervous to drive 300+ miles and trust that we haven't burnt half a tank yet