Landraider = FZJ80 land cruiser + 18ft Sunraider

[mycroft]

Painted aluminum black with some rubber paint. And couldn't resist adding a snorkle

 

[mycroft]

Took it to inspection and they werent sure they could test it since its full time 4wd and has huge tires that kept hopping out of the dyno. Also went by a truck scale. Found out it had 2450lbs on the front axle and 3960lbs on the rear axle. Stock should be about 2750lbs on the front and rear. Also found out it drove like a tall ship in a storm.

 

[mycroft]

Decided my little air lift bags werent gonna cut it. Added ome 2868 rear springs that should be able to carry an additional 1200lbs. The back came up 3in with the new springs. The airbags can no longer touch both spring perches. Note the diffrence in wire thickness. Also pulled the ac off the roof and replaced it with an automatic fan.

 

[mycroft]

I just took it out for its maiden voyage and found that at 70mph it rocks side to side dangerously. The spring rate went from 170lbf/in to 360lbf/in but it still drives like a bobble head doll. At 65 it drives fine as long as im gentle in turns. Off road it was a beast in snow and mud but did terrible on side to side slopes. I mesured once when my passenger side tires were 10in higher uphill than my driver side tires. It looked and felt dangerous. The dowhill springs (f & r) were compressed about 1in and the uphill springs were expanded about an in. This made the rig tilt at twice the slope the hill was actually tilting at. When I got home I immediatly ordered the kyb monomax shocks since I think they will be stiffer than the OME nitro sport. Im hoping they will fix the freeway body roll. They havent arrived yet but I dont think they can do much for my off road issues. Im not sure what I should try next. I did notice thay airing up my tires to 65psi helped a lot. They are load e so that's my max. I can't find stiffer aftermarket torsion bars. I would cut my springs to lower my center of gravity and make them stiffer but the springs taper on one end and are closed squared and ground on the other end. so I can't cut eithor end off. I am considering cutting the open tapered end and making a new spring perch to match the wider spring end I would create. How do rock crawlers with longer springs than mine keep from having these exaggerated tipping issues? I would think they have the same issues with uphill spring expansion. I really don't mind being lower if it makes me more stable. Right now the offroading is limited more by a small mound than by a huge snow drift. Thanks for your help.

 

[mycroft]

Had a good time despite the bad suspension

 

[BlueCruiser84]

I love this!! I have an 80 that I cut the back off of and I have been looking at those drop in pickup bed campers.

Rockcrawlers and most other vehicles don't have a problem with sidehills because of they are not carrying an extra 1500lbs above their head.

I think this is a heavier than stock swaybar:
Whiteline Rear Sway Bar 27mm Heavy Duty Toyota Land Cruiser 1993-1997

Since you aren't really after flex you could try polyurethane bushings. And You might need some custom valved shocks for the rear. Anything you buy for a Land Cruiser will probably not be able to handle all the extra, top-heavy weight.

If you do all that and still aren't happy you may want to consider leaf springs outback.

 

[mechanist]

Couldn't you make dually out of it? You've got the parts. Should also help with stability.

 

[jamesurq]

Really cool project!

 

[Heckraiser]

Wheel spacers to widen the stance probably wouldn't hurt either.

 

[cjmoon]

please extend the wheel base. the fact that your lighting the load on the front end because of the rear over hang scares me and is likely causing all of your handling issues it's like having a trailer that is to tongue heavy. rear leaf springs and lengthen the rear drive shaft and you'd be in business. i love the transition between truck and camper looks great.

any inside pics?

 

[Heckraiser]

38/62 weight distribution is not too terrible, but that is a good point. But the original sunraider was probably worse--truck cab in the same location, but a lighter truck and smaller engine.

Try hanging a couple hundred pounds of chain off the front end and see if the handling improves?

 

[4runnerd]

Stripped out seats doors windows hatch sunroof ect. Still have most of those if you needs something and live in denver.

View attachment 1281531

Does the rear hatch lock actuator work?

 

[KliersLC]

Lexus lx450 chinook expedition vehicle

might find some lessons learned in there...

 

[scottryana]

Whiteline also does a 32mm and Darren from Australia does up to a 38mm rear bar. I think a sway bar is going to be a lot more important in this type of setup than going to heavier springs.

I love this!! I have an 80 that I cut the back off of and I have been looking at those drop in pickup bed campers.

Rockcrawlers and most other vehicles don't have a problem with sidehills because of they are not carrying an extra 1500lbs above their head.

I think this is a heavier than stock swaybar:
Whiteline Rear Sway Bar 27mm Heavy Duty Toyota Land Cruiser 1993-1997

Since you aren't really after flex you could try polyurethane bushings. And You might need some custom valved shocks for the rear. Anything you buy for a Land Cruiser will probably not be able to handle all the extra, top-heavy weight.

If you do all that and still aren't happy you may want to consider leaf springs outback.

 

[1973Guppie]

def get some heavy duty sway bars on there, are you running the stock sway bars or are they removed? You may want to try the heavier springs with the air bags, that's alot of weight. Cool project although with all that weight I would of chosen a larger v8 toyota, like a 100 series or tundra

 

[mycroft]

Thanks for all the info. Ill look into getting heavier sway bar (thanks for the leads) as that seems like the best solution. Its still got the stock sway bars and they don't seem to do much. I thought about using the leaf springs from the original truck but will save that as a last resort. If I go that rout ill also move the rear axle back about 6in.

I am planning on welding up a new front bumper that will hold my spare tire and a winch. That should hopefully help my weight distribution issues a little bit and improve handeling. I really like idea of wheel spacers to give it a wider stance in the back. With a wider rear axle I would be much less worried that body roll would actualy cause me to flip.

Any concerns that wheel spacers plus extra weight would cause rear axle failure?

 

[scottryana]

Yes, avoid wheel spacers, get wheels with the proper offset. If you can't find wheels or want to go cheap, at the very least upgrade the studs to ARP.

 

[scottryana]

Hey Darren, I think this is a case that deserves your 38mm sway bars like we talked about! @AutoCraft Aus

 

[mechanist]

MDT out of Oz had a 70 series with dual tires in the rear. Super singles would be too big, but can you use parts from that bad ass Nissan? That would eliminate any worries surrounding load capacity or stability in the rear. Could you do that or is there a reason it's not possible? For so many reasons I'd double up the wheels on that rear axle.

I love this build. Reminds me of when my buddies and I would cut up trash trucks and turn them into container trucks and flat beds. Now I'm on CL looking at Hinos and the brain is spinning.

 

[AutoCraft Aus]

weight doesnt seem to be to over the top, but height weight and overhang combo probably doesnt help.

My suggestion would be good monotube high pressure gas shocks, spring rate seems to be about right, and the air bags, and heavy sway bar.

Tyre pressures will also be important.