"Yota" Build-Up : The Plan

[r0nin89]

Alright so I have a near stock 1995 ext cab pickup with a v5 and 5speed stick. When I first bought the truck the idea was to make a decent rig on 33's with 4 inches of lift and mud tires. Now that I've realised I can break the IFS on a speedbump its time for a rework. I decided to go all out which incase you dont know is the middle of my scale of awsomeness:

Little Awsome - 31's, open axles
Gettin there - 33's, 1 locker
Awsome - 35's, 1/2 locker(s)
All out - 36/37's, 1/2 locker(s)
Balls to the Wall - 39/40's, 1/2 locker(s)
Holy shit - 42/44's, double locked

So now that we're past that ... I started to dream up a plan for my truck which will entail part budget part shopping spree but all well built. My goal was to get in the 36-38" tire range. Since I will be lacking in tire money for a while I decided to go with 36x12.5 r16.5 Goodyear Military RT II's. I know I can find a set for $200 locally after talking to a friend. I plan to put 5" suspension lift over the tires and hopefully 0 body lift.

Now I know alot of people are thinking "36's on IFS junk!?". Well the suspension end of the ordeal will be a Trail-Gear IFS Eliminator Kit. I'll be opting for the traditional choice of 8in Toy axles because... well Toy love I'll be keeping my IFS steering box (obviously if you know anything about a SAS) and getting 4bolt high steer. I'll be using FJ rotors and tierod ends for the stopping and extra beef. Since the mounts for the springs provide 1" lift ontop of the spring I'll be going with a 4" spring for a total of 5" suspension. Any opinions on this would be appreciated because I'd like to stay away from body lift. The axle will be rebuilt, gusseted, armored and running 4.88 gears.

As for the rear I'll be going with 63" chevy springs with a 3" AAL and longer shackles to balance the lift. The rear will be my stocker with 4.88's and a locker.

Well thats the plan. I hope to take plenty of pictures along the way. Any opinions are welcomed, especially about lift to clear 36's with maybe an inch over lifted.


Overview:

Front Suspension:
1) IFS Eliminator
2) Toy 8in Axle w/ 4.88's, armor, gusset

Rear Suspension:
1) 63" Chevy Rear Springs
2) AAL
3) Stocker 8in with 4.88's
4) Richmond Locker

Tires and Wheels:
1) 36x12.5 r16.5 Goodyear Wrangler Military RT II's
2) What ever 16.5's I get my hands on

[2ndGenToyotaFan]

Sounds exactly like a plan!

Post up a few before pictures! ...... So you can remember it......

[r0nin89]

Yeah thats a must...

[KLF]

I was gonna ask what you'll do about the odd wheel size, but I see you're already thinking about that one.

All I'll add is Trail-Mart is the DEVIL. I'm convinced of that now. I won't elaborate here. But I wouldn't buy a lugnut from those... people.

BTW, a bodylift isn't really such a horrible thing, if you keep it reasonable. I have a 1", and I have a BudBuilt x-member with 1" of lift and I've lifted my engine 1" too. Really helps in a few things, like it made it a lot easier to attach my sliders.

You must have much more relaxed laws down there concerning vehicle height. You wouldn't get around the corner in New England with tires that big. Make sure you beef up your brakes to compensate.

[r0nin89]

The laws here are 8" over stock or 38's which ever is smaller. Since my truck was stock with 31's that makes me legal right to 38's. Although I dont get it the cops in southern jersey just have some understanding that we're gonna run tires as big as we want and they wont do anything about it. My one friend daily drives a mini on 40's another had a chevy on 44's daily driver with no problems. Theres at least 2 others in town on 42's.

By trail-mart do you mean trail-gear? I've heard nothing but good things except that their springs sage out a wopping 1/2in.

As far as body lift I know... But I'd just like to get the suspension lift correct the first time around. That way if I ever wanna goto 40's I can toss 3in BL on and be set.

[bkg]

Originally Posted by r0nin89

By trail-mart do you mean trail-gear? I've heard nothing but good things except that their springs sage out a wopping 1/2in.

I side w/ KLF on this one. Their springs will sag more than 1/2" if you get a bad batch (China), but more importantly, you will be able to find the truth on PBB's Land Cruiser section...

[locrwln1]

The only thing I would change would be to do 5.29's. With those heavy square bias ply 36's (which other than being cheap, suck big time) you are going to want all of the gear you can get. I had the 5.29's with 35's on my '88, v6, 5spd, 4runner and that was about as spot on as it could be with the weight/tire size. Good luck.

Jack

[r0nin89]

Personally I find alot of people on the net go with lower gears. I have a friend that runs 5.29's with 40 groundhawg bias plys on a 4cyl. I'm not worried about the gears really. I'll change em out if i ever go bigger though. The military tires I plan to get are 36x12.5 r16.5 Goodyear RT2's off of a Humvee. I'm 98% sure they are radial tires so no concern with the whole bias lumps and weight.

As far as trail-gear goes this is the first I am hearing about this. Who do you guys suggest i go with for my SAS kit? Everwhere else I read trail-gear is the most complete bang for your buck kit. How much do the springs sag?

[KLF]

OK, here is my opinion, some of it is based on reading posts on other forums, and some of it is inside information. Please don't flame me, no letters from lawyers, etc. Remember that this IS the Internet, which means that I'm allowed to be full of shiit...

The reason they are known as Trail-Mart is they are the WalMart of this industry. They, like WalMart, let somebody else do all the R&D to introduce a killer product, then they just duplicate it and sell it for a few $$ cheaper. They are going strictly on price, they know that a lot of people have no loyatly with a specific vendor yet. That's fine, but in the meantime they also have no conscience.

All SAS kits are pretty much the same, I believe. I have been impressed with Marlin so far. Yes, they are not perfect, stuff gets screwed up. Just yesterday I took deliver of an order that I placed early last week, but most of the parts were missing out of the box. THEY CALLED ME to apologize. That makes me a big supporter, and I will be ordering my 4.7 gears from them soon, even though they are $100 more expensive there than "those other guys".

Sky Manufacturing is another vendor that seems to be decent, I have a few of his products. Personally I hate how they have their name cut into the front bracket, I'd weld a plate over that.

As for springs, I'm kinda a snob, I only use Old Man Emu. But, they don't have enough lift for you, so you'll have to use something else. I have inspection Nazis to wory about, so I can't go that high.

How far are you from OK 4WD? If you bought springs there, couldn't you save the shipping cost? Just curious...

[bkg]

Originally Posted by r0nin89

As far as trail-gear goes this is the first I am hearing about this. Who do you guys suggest i go with for my SAS kit? Everwhere else I read trail-gear is the most complete bang for your buck kit. How much do the springs sag?

What do you want to know? I, like KLF, have read a lot and have had conversations w/ Mr. Geiger about said issue(s). My opinion is that TG has no business ethics whatsoever. I believe they falsely advertise (stating they've been producing products for often 5 years before the company even existed is one of the more entertaining ones), they copy, they out-right steal. I will not support business practices like that, especially when they use someone else's good name to profit.

For SAS, I like FrontRangeOffroadFab.com hanger/install kit. OME springs are phenominal, but I happen to have All-Pro on both of my trucks. Steering is All-pro on both trucks, with Marlin arms on one. From what I've heard from Brian @ FRORF, All-pro's new arms are some of the best out there. Shock hoops are shock hoops, shocks are the same, spacers are the same... The rest is basically commodity parts with the exception of the trunion bearings; use USA made only.

It comes down to what YOU want to do and what is important for you. I know what's important for me and what vendors I support and why.

A list of very helpful vendors that I have dealt with.
Budbuilt.com
frontfrangeoffroadfab.com
marlincralwer.com
allprooffroad.com
offroadsolutions.com
4xinnovations.com

I have no experience with Sky.

[KLF]

I'm in total alignment with what Brian says. I have personally met Chris, it was a long time ago before he even worked for AllPro. He can be abrasive at times. You are right, they seem to have NO ethics, it's all about making a sale.

I forgot about FROR, yes I have several of Brian's products too, his front bumper and front axle widening spacer kit (which I don't think they sell anymore). Super nice guy, very knowledgable. He went out of his way 3 years ago to get the bumper built for a 1" BL, then got it to another shop in Denver (Off Road Solutions) so I could pick it up on the way thru town as I was heading back east.

I have Sky's arms, shock hoops, and RDB brackets. Good stuff.

[r0nin89]

Alright I'll look into it. Trail-gear seems to throw in a bunch of stuff with the kit like armor and gussets that Marlin doesnt have (or I thought they didnt). Their kit also comes with knuckle rebuild ect. I guess if i need to spend an extra $100 on armor and knuckle kit then i will for the quality.

[tntoyota]

Is there room for Unimog axle's under a mini on your "scale of awsomeness"?



7:17 I think, I've been toying with this for years dont ask me how I plan to de-gear as I only want about 35-37's


THIS is only a thought but I HOPE to instal that gear reducer David ? or Goliath ? backwards....................................?

[extremetoy1]

MOG axles?..... MEH-

I have a pair of them at my house, use the volvo portals for the minis- much less weight and tough enough for an 80 series.

[tntoyota]

Originally Posted by extremetoy1

MOG axles?..... MEH-

I have a pair of them at my house, use the volvo portals for the minis- much less weight and tough enough for an 80 series.

What the Volvo's : ? 7:77?

[Symon623]

Your gonna have a tough time gettin 16.5's in a 6 lug bolt pattern, but you can get H1 wheels with 6 lug centers from USA6x6 at quite a reasonable price I understand?

Would really be coo with the portals under it though.....

[DevilDogCruiser]

Post pics pleas!