So I've taken a job in the Alaskan bush off the road system. I'm going to be up there for a minimum of a year and most likely several years (probably 5-10 years). I have a kinda hacked/ kinda built s10 blazer (44/60, 36's, doubler, high angle shafts) that I spent a year and a half working on and have wheeled once. It's to the point now where it needs some things finished up and all the bugs worked out. Right now it's sitting in my yard with a dead alternator and it needs a fair amount of work finished (new steering shaft, front shackle hangers moved/ new shackles, t-case/ doubler shifters, traction bar, the list goes on and on). When I'm in Alaska I plan on returning to the lower 48 for at least a month during every year, might get the opportunity to wheel/ wrench on it once or twice a year.

Bringing it to my village isn't an option. There are very few cars in the village, I'm pretty sure wheeling with a truck would be frowned upon, and between tow rig gas and barge fair I'm sure it would be about $3000 to get it there if not more.

Here's the options I see for the rig

Sell it whole, I'm going to take quite a hit, I doubt I could get 3 grand for it and I have that much $$ into steering, doubler, and drive shafts.

Park it at a buddies house till I get back. I've had a buddy offer for me to keep it at his place for up to 2 years. I'd still have to tow it from CO to MI. The tires leak, it has a voltage draw, it would sit in the woods rotting away

Pull the valuable parts off (axles, steering, drive shafts, doubler/ trans, tires, odds and ends) and put them in my parent's basement till I return/ move onto the road system.

I'm leaning towards keeping the parts and getting rid of the blazer body/ frame. What would you do? Anyone been in a situation like this, how did deal with your rig?

Just bring it to me, I'll take care of it for you I would store it if possible, Make sure this Alaska thing is going to work out. I thought this rig has some potential so why start all over... If everything works out and you don't need it, then you could sell it. I would say bring to MO and I'll store it in one of our 400 foot chicken houses that we use to store hay but the problem there is mice. Would have to keep it loaded up with mouse poison to keep them out.

As the years go by, we eventually have sold all our projects as we move or time to start a new one. Only one do we regret selling - Grandpa's old Blazer that we took from Farm-Stock (complete with 8-track player and hard top that had never been removed) to totally custom trail rig, daily driver dream. People couldn't believe where we could take that monster.

We had a chance to buy the Blazer back many years later, and broke our heart to see the body damage and rust. And they guy knew the value of all the customization we had done to it, and wanted money out the wazoo. Yeah, it was worth that ONCE, but now... Killed us to say no thanks.

I guess my point is that unless you have serious emotional attachment, most any trail rig can be rebuilt again in the future, and that's half the fun. Pull the good stuff off as a nest egg for your new adventure, and let someone else enjoy her.

Pull the good parts that you could use on another project, junk the crappy parts (the rest).

The good parts stay dry in the basement, the crappy parts you don't want or need get gone, and someday you'll have some great parts for a higher quality build.

Good luck
Pete