Builds building a landcruiser for overland expedition (3 Viewers)

[Scottb]

From what I understand duals are worse in snow and sand. Better to have a single narrow larger diameter tire. The other problem with duals is airing them down. At the standard spacing there is no room for sidewall flex when aired down. You have to remember he doesn't have the weight of a semi to compact the snow or sand with. Compacting that snow and sand is the way to get traction. Keeping singles also means tire/wheel combos are universal and can go on any wheel.

Sidewall flex is good for a softer ride, most people air down to get a wider tire pattern, which creates sidewall flex also.
But to much sidewall flex is not good on side hills, the tire wants to fold under.
I live here in Colorado, and we get lots of snow, I have friends with one ton duallys, and they say they get around a lot better than they did with there single wheel trucks.
I have driven in mud, sand, and snow with my 8000lbs. plus Dodge, and I wouldn`t have to air down with another tire in the rear. You ride on top of the mud, sand, and snow easier with duals, and you don`t have to air down.
If you`re running duals, you don`t run as much air in the tires as a single wheel unless hauling heavy loads. So you are already kinda of aired down some. For an example, 50-80 psi on a single tire, with dauls, you could run about 30-35psi.

Keeping singles also means tire/wheel combos are universal and can go on any wheel.

This is the down side of running dauls with a single style wheel up front. You would need two spares, or a spare tire without a rim. And if you have a flat, you would have to mount the tire out in the field.

Duallys only have one spare, but they have the same type of rim up front also.

 

[1tontoy]

Seems like a D70FF from a junk yard would have been an economical solution. I bought one complete for $100. You can find passenger offset ones, too. Then, all you have to do is cut down the short side and retube the long side. It is possible to build an offset D70 that uses stock axle shaft lengths, so you won't have to worry about customer axle shafts.

The D70 center section is much stronger than Toyota, is 35 spline (aka beefy as hell. can get 40 spline too), full floating, and parts are available everywhere. And, there are conversion kits to go from 8 lug to 6 lug. Or, heck, while you are at it, you might as well do a D60 swap up front!

Just my $.02.

 

[rideglobally]

I would use air bags, take out one leaf spring, or two from the pack, and then use airbags for a 1 ton truck.
Way smoother ride. The bags will be able to handle anything you can put them through.

I would have used a dual wheel setup for your type of driving. A lot of poeple don`t get it, you have two more wheels on the ground, a lot more traction, way more stability. I would use 4 narrow tires in the rear, excellent for dirt, mud, and sandy roads.
Two more tires on the rear, equals more floatation, pushing you through the sand, mud, or snow.

Keep up the good work.
Scott

any specific suggestion for an air bag? will air bags help in the swaying? i hope widening the tracks will help on the stability? what other things i can do to make the vehicle more stable? i am thinking of adding shocks.

with this wide i don't think i can run dullies, they will stick out too far, there where too many people saying do not do dullies when i started my research.

i may widen the front also, i want to drive it first.

Did you get your original steering wheel leather bound or is that aftermarket?

what halfshafts are you using with the housing you're getting made? would be fairly easy to accomodate airbags on it if you're getting it custom made

the leather came from Man a fre, SOR sell them as well.

i do not understand your question about a half shaft. the axel shaft will be custom made by Diamond Axel to accommodate wider axel housing.

 

[Scottb]

any specific suggestion for an air bag? will air bags help in the swaying? i hope widening the tracks will help on the stability? what other things i can do to make the vehicle more stable? i am thinking of adding shocks.

with this wide i don't think i can run dullies, they will stick out too far, there where too many people saying do not do dullies when i started my research.

i may widen the front also, i want to drive it first.



the leather came from Man a fre, SOR sell them as well.

i do not understand your question about a half shaft. the axel shaft will be custom made by Diamond Axel to accommodate wider axel housing.

I would definitly put on shocks, I would put the Rancho 9000`s on . RANCHO Shocks - RS9000XL You can adjust the ride for whatever load you are carrying, or road you are on. I would use this so you can control the shocks while in the cab driving down the road. RANCHO Accessories - MyRide Controller

I Have the Rancho 9000XL`s on my 95 Dodge Cummins expedition, Daily driver rig, http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=28936 and when I go on long bumpy roads, I turn my shocks to the soft setting, and the ride is great. I don`t have the wireless controler yet, but I can`t wait to get that next.

This website http://4wheelonline.com/Rancho_RS9000XL_Shocks.338.1357 has some good prices on stuff sometimes, I just got 35"x12.5"x17" Extreme MT procomp tires from them for $220 a tire.

Yep, I understand about duallys, but a lot of people who talk about somethings, don`t have any experience with what they are talking about. Two more tires on the ground equals more traction.
But the way you are setting up the rear of your crusier, should work just fine.

I would use an airbag kit that uses Firestone airbags, or any kit of the same quality. I would talk around to the shops that install airbag`s on Dodge, Chevy, and Ford, 3/4 and 1 ton trucks.
Most of these trucks haul 15-25,000 lbs. trailers, plus the airbags work great without hauling a trailer also.
Just make sure you get one that you can adjust the airbags for different stiffness, and ride quality, most of them do.

And of corse whatever airbag kit you buy, it will not be built for your cruiser, you will have to retrofit it to your rig. It will help your swaying some.

The other thing I would use, and probably the most important thing to stop the swaying, is an after market sway bar kit like this one Currie Enterprises 4x4 Rear Ends Antirock these work great.
Get the universal kit, a lot of different options in these kits, I`ve seen a lot of these on rock buggy`s to daily drivers.

Then you would have a nice riding rig that wouldn`t sway, and have ajustable shocks, and ajustable air ride from the airbags.

My plans on the rear suspension of my 95' Dodge Cummins 3/4 ton is. Remove the 4" factory lift block, put in Skyjacker 4" rear leaf springs. After the springs are broke in, I will take some springs out of the pack until it starts to sage with a load on it, if necessary. Then I will put an airbag kit on it, that will help lift/support from the little bit of sage I created. Now it will have a softer ride, because it will be riding on airbags also.

Then I will put the rancho 9000xl shocks on the rear also, with the wireless controller. I will have ajustability in the ride height, and that will help offroad. If you are dragging the rear bumper alittle bit down a dirt road, just add air to the bags and raise them up. (longer brake lines will be needed). And ajustability in the dampening of the shocks.
Airbags will raise and lower the rig about 3-5 inches depending on how you mount them, and the type of bag you get.

Hope this helps.
Scott

 

[rideglobally]

thanks Scott, this is very helpful, i checked out the rancho shocks and the sway bars very interesting. also there is an air bag set up that will bolt onto my rig made by this company Index

thanks again

I would definitly put on shocks, I would put the Rancho 9000`s on . RANCHO Shocks - RS9000XL You can adjust the ride for whatever load you are carrying, or road you are on. I would use this so you can control the shocks while in the cab driving down the road. RANCHO Accessories - MyRide Controller

I Have the Rancho 9000XL`s on my 95 Dodge Cummins expedition, Daily driver rig, Dodge 95' Cummins Expedition build - Expedition Portal Forum and when I go on long bumpy roads, I turn my shocks to the soft setting, and the ride is great. I don`t have the wireless controler yet, but I can`t wait to get that next.

This website Rancho RS9000XL Shocks, LOWEST PRICES on Rancho RS9000XL Shocks has some good prices on stuff sometimes, I just got 35"x12.5"x17" Extreme MT procomp tires from them for $220 a tire.

Yep, I understand about duallys, but a lot of people who talk about somethings, don`t have any experience with what they are talking about. Two more tires on the ground equals more traction.
But the way you are setting up the rear of your crusier, should work just fine.

I would use an airbag kit that uses Firestone airbags, or any kit of the same quality. I would talk around to the shops that install airbag`s on Dodge, Chevy, and Ford, 3/4 and 1 ton trucks.
Most of these trucks haul 15-25,000 lbs. trailers, plus the airbags work great without hauling a trailer also.
Just make sure you get one that you can adjust the airbags for different stiffness, and ride quality, most of them do.

And of corse whatever airbag kit you buy, it will not be built for your cruiser, you will have to retrofit it to your rig. It will help your swaying some.

The other thing I would use, and probably the most important thing to stop the swaying, is an after market sway bar kit like this one Currie Enterprises 4x4 Rear Ends Antirock these work great.
Get the universal kit, a lot of different options in these kits, I`ve seen a lot of these on rock buggy`s to daily drivers.

Then you would have a nice riding rig that wouldn`t sway, and have ajustable shocks, and ajustable air ride from the airbags.

My plans on the rear suspension of my 95' Dodge Cummins 3/4 ton is. Remove the 4" factory lift block, put in Skyjacker 4" rear leaf springs. After the springs are broke in, I will take some springs out of the pack until it starts to sage with a load on it, if necessary. Then I will put an airbag kit on it, that will help lift/support from the little bit of sage I created. Now it will have a softer ride, because it will be riding on airbags also.

Then I will put the rancho 9000xl shocks on the rear also, with the wireless controller. I will have ajustability in the ride height, and that will help offroad. If you are dragging the rear bumper alittle bit down a dirt road, just add air to the bags and raise them up. (longer brake lines will be needed). And ajustability in the dampening of the shocks.
Airbags will raise and lower the rig about 3-5 inches depending on how you mount them, and the type of bag you get.

Hope this helps.
Scott

 

[Scottb]

thanks Scott, this is very helpful, i checked out the rancho shocks and the sway bars very interesting. also there is an air bag set up that will bolt onto my rig made by this company Index

thanks again

Oh yeah, I forgot about that company. I haven`t checked into air bags for awhile. I use to have a 1990 Toyota truck, but I sold it for the Dodge.
I wasn`t planing on putting air bags on the Toyota, but since I got the heavy Dodge, I think it will be a good idea just in case I pull a trailer, and all the stuff I plan on putting in the back.
The Rancho 9000 shocks can adjust to real soft, or real hard. My Dodge has the Cummins engine that is real heavy, and when I turn the shocks up all the way, it rides like a tank. I was amazed the could handle the weight. I run the shocks on level 5 for the street, and 1 or 2 for the bumpy roads.
It is nice to have things adjustable, that way you can fine tune it to your liking.
I`m glad it helped.

 

[jb BJ73]

the leather bound wheel looks pretty cool, do you know if they do one for 70 series?
halfshafts are just another name for axle shafts. you getting them to make the axles fully floating ?

 

[Chamba]

jb,

The 70 series wheel is just a standard 15" (I think) size. The 40 series is the one which is a bit difficult to find, because it is a 17" (I think). I've never seen these steering wheel wraps in Australia, but you can order them from JC Whitney and have them sent here. I have brought six or seven of these back with me from the US for the in-laws, and they absolutely love them. When I sold my Hilux a few years ago, the bloke from Darwin who bought it told me that the reason he was buying mine was because he loved the steering wheel... Make sure you get the genuine leather one.

Cheers,

Josh

 

[Bogo]

I've used bicycle handle bar tape to wrap a steering wheel. You'll need a few rolls.

 

[rideglobally]

the leather bound wheel looks pretty cool, do you know if they do one for 70 series?
halfshafts are just another name for axle shafts. you getting them to make the axles fully floating ?

the steering cover are genuine leather, they are great but they are not toyota specific, it depends on the size of you steering wheel mine in 17 inches, you can get them at different sizes. i am sure sor or man a fre will ship it to you but i don't think it is the cheap way to go. try ebay.

 

[jb BJ73]

awesome, thanks guys. didn't know they were a generic thing.

 

[RustyzChopShop]

You mean like this. Where is the other Ubolt?

this looks scary

 

[DanS HJ-45]

this looks scary

What are you talking about? It looks like Zorro has been there!

Are those 60 axles under a 40, but instead of outboarding the springs, the spring pads were inboarded and SOA'd, while using the stock steering arms instead of High-steer?

Dan

 

[rideglobally]

pop top

this is now the third time i maybe changing my pop top, i am seriously considering the pictured set up as suggested by Soenke. here is my other link which i will now continue her. https://forum.ih8mud.com/expedition-builds/228234-building-pop-top.html i did a mock up today of the pop top mounted on the side rather than the rear. similar to the one on the link above. pictured is the pop top with the internal structure, in any case see picture below.

 

[hawkeye]

Looks like that will work.

 

[rideglobally]

build updates

here are some update 1. outside cabinet door.

 

[rideglobally]

more pictures - pop top

re oriented the pop top to open from the side. see pictures below.

 

[hawkeye]

Looks very good. How quickly can it be folded in and out?

 

[Awl_TEQ]

Very nice...

I like that cabinet behind the wheel. What is the door - looks like thick tread plate rather than thin with a perimeter structure. Aluminum is great to work with.

 

[rideglobally]

aluminum cabinets

it is a 1/4 inch aluminum with a tread plate bolted together, later i might also glue it together. there will be cabinets in that area of the cruiser made out of aluminum. i will begin that project after i strengthen the chassis and widen my track. i am expecting my axel from Diamond Axel in 3 weeks. here are my other thread on ih8mud asking question about that part of the build. https://forum.ih8mud.com/40-55-series-tech/316085-strengthening-chassis-pros-con.html

thanks much!

Very nice...

I like that cabinet behind the wheel. What is the door - looks like thick tread plate rather than thin with a perimeter structure. Aluminum is great to work with.