Building my own pop top (2 Viewers)

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sfluke said:
@Funner, I'm waiting on getting the heavy duty OME coils. Previous owner put Mediums in there. Hoping that will do the trick! Should give me 1600lb above GVWR. Airbags are next if that doesn't work. I haven't been able to take it off the road much in Tahoe for fear of bottoming out the coils and breaking the shocks unfortunately.
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Your 80 is looking great.

I have the Long Ranger as well. At first I had J springs and even with air bags it wasn't enough when we were towing our old (too much tongue weight) trailer. However, we now own a Kimberly and I upgraded to Slee 4" heavy spring. That helped and now the air bags are too short. So I'd like longer bags, just have got around to measuring the space. Its nice to have the ability to add some extra spring rate. With how much added weight you're running (ours' used to looked just like it when our old trailer was hooked up) it'd be a good idea to add the air and run the lines with the springs out. After all it's nickname is "over-engineered";)
 
sfluke said:
@Funner, I'm waiting on getting the heavy duty OME coils. Previous owner put Mediums in there. Hoping that will do the trick! Should give me 1600lb above GVWR. Airbags are next if that doesn't work. I haven't been able to take it off the road much in Tahoe for fear of bottoming out the coils and breaking the shocks unfortunately.
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I am pretty sure the heavies will not make anywhere near enough of a difference. You have so much weight biased over and behind the rear wheels. Once you add the rest of the gear, fill the rear cargo box and water tanks, that is going to be a major badonkadonk butt on that 80.
I am running heavies with just a drawer full of gear a rear fridge and about 10 gallons of water and mine rides nice, but you're in another realm with your setup. If possibile I would load it up with full weight and get to a scale, get total weight and weight on each axle and see what you are dealing with on that rear axle. Then contact Slee and cruiser outfitters to see what they think you should do.
Not at all trying to discourage you, so I hope it doesn't come off like I am.:cheers:
 
I vote for air bags in the rear coils as well as they add 500lbs of extra capacity per bag. I have the Slee 4" heavies with the air bags and they do their job quite well but I don't have nearly the overhanging weight that you do!

Can you elaborate on the Espar install, perhaps pics of that installation?

Keep up the good work.
 
Oh yeah, a build that just keeps giving with new ideas. I'm also interested in the heat system and the other internals (where does a 25 gallon water tank go?)

I'll also put in another vote for the airbags. While the carrying capacity is useful, their ability to adjust ride height is just as important. This helps maintain the driveline angles close to optimal, something that is important for both offroad and onroad handling but also to limit wear and tear on u-joints, etc. They adjust to whatever firmness you need, unlike coils where they are WYSIWYG once they're on the truck.

You are correct in not installing the bags until you get your coils where you want them. Think of the coils as the coarse adjustment, while the air bags are the fine tuning system of the suspension in a case like yours.
 
greentruck said:
You are correct in not installing the bags until you get your coils where you want them. Think of the coils as the coarse adjustment, while the air bags are the fine tuning system of the suspension in a case like yours.
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Mike's explanation of the bags is brilliant - fine vs coarse. Since I tow a trailer, I use the bags to level out the trailer tongue with the vehicle.

Given that the OP's rig will always see a constant heavy load in the rear, I think OME has super HD competition coils that may meet his goals. I think the Slee 4" heavies are 400 lb/in if I'm not mistaken and that may not be HD enough. Basically this rig is now a RV and the weight requirements moved on to a different realm!
 
Bags will also limit your articulation, possibly give too much bounce, and add another possible failure point.:( Because your load will not change much correctly sized springs with the use of spacers to fine tune ride height is what I did on our 6950lb traveling 80 series.
 
My truck fully loaded is 7800lbs (water, full fuel, 2 people, all my gear). There's an extra 40gal of fuel in the back which I don't plan on doing often (so subtract ~300lbs for fuel). The OME application guide (http://www.arbusa.com/Uploads/PDF/onlineManualsGuides/OME_Guide_current.pdf page 80) lists "SPRING: CONSTANT 600 KGS" as the heaviest option for an 80. They have a 360lb/in spring rate.
 
LandCruiserPhil said:
Bags will also limit your articulation, possibly give too much bounce, and add another possible failure point.:( Because your load will not change much correctly sized springs with the use of spacers to fine tune ride height is what I did on our 6950lb traveling 80 series.
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Once installed, replacing a failed bag isn't too big a deal, provided things like air lines and bumpstops are squared away and things are basically where they need to be for longevity.

But a 25 gallon water tank and a 30 gallon auxiliary fuel tank suggest that the differences will rate some additional help or a choice of coils too stiff much of the time in order to run at max capacity as needed.

Ali's point about this being as much an RV as an offroad vehicle is well-taken. The 80 has some beefy propshafts/u-joints, but not indestructible. With heavy loads, best to get them as close to normal as possible and then try to keep them there under changing load conditions for max life.

I'd suggest dialing the coils into the usual expected load, assuming at least partial fill on the water; the extra fuel may indeed be empty enough of the time to rely on the bags to sustain that limited use. Airbags need to be kept at a minimum inflation to maintain position properly and maybe 5 PSI would be about right with the coils at expected load, adding more air as needed above that.
 
sfluke said:
My truck fully loaded is 7800lbs (water, full fuel, 2 people, all my gear). There's an extra 40gal of fuel in the back which I don't plan on doing often (so subtract ~300lbs for fuel). The OME application guide (http://www.arbusa.com/Uploads/PDF/onlineManualsGuides/OME_Guide_current.pdf page 80) lists "SPRING: CONSTANT 600 KGS" as the heaviest option for an 80. They have a 360lb/in spring rate.
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Hi Luke,

I have an '81 HDJ80 with a Campteq top, Front Runner 45 gallon rear tank, a 3rd 20 gallon tank inside, Kaymar rear bumper with a 25 gallon stainless water tank on one of the swingaways, ARB front bumper and winch, ARB fridge, LandCruiser Phil's sliders, dual batteries, etc, and when I'm loaded for a road trip with tools, spares, recovery gear, PullPal, etc. my truck weighs 9200#. I have OME extra heavies in the rear, OME heavies in the front, and a '94 full-floating rear end which has a larger diameter sway bar, and the truck sits level when loaded. I don't think you need airbags. And: good job!
 
sfluke said:
My truck fully loaded is 7800lbs (water, full fuel, 2 people, all my gear). There's an extra 40gal of fuel in the back which I don't plan on doing often (so subtract ~300lbs for fuel). The OME application guide (http://www.arbusa.com/Uploads/PDF/onlineManualsGuides/OME_Guide_current.pdf page 80) lists "SPRING: CONSTANT 600 KGS" as the heaviest option for an 80. They have a 360lb/in spring rate.
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How much of that weight is on the rear axle, 4800 lbs or is that massive rear cargo box just for pillows? That's what you will need to deal with as the load isn't spread evenly on both axles.
 
@PlantDriver your rig is probably even more loaded than ours! That makes me feel much better ;) 25gal stainless tank is probably similar in weight/load on the swing out than our bikes. The bike rack is not much more than 250lbs fully loaded. The huge alu box contains mostly light & bulky stuff because of weight concerns.

We ended up with the extra heavy duties in the back and a 1" spacer and the heavy duty coils in front. It rides quite well both on highways and off road.

We've left Sonoma and our now on our way down south... We stopped by Mono Lake this afternoon and parked a few miles down a sandy track that goes around mono lake. We thought we were going to be alone but mercedes g-wagen with german plates and an enormous cabin up top passed us on our way out.
 
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Wowsers, I will hate to see the price tag, but I'm sure every penny was well earn..

Incredible work congratulations for the vision, spirity and tenacity..

Ps: If I was still in San Francisco I will introduce you to a bunch of masters, then again 99% move (Mostly to Portland" do to the crazy cost of living) Actually my favorite (JP Morgen) just move close to Petaluma and besides sawing he can make you anything you can dream off (Mega designer/mad scientist in his own right..)

Ps: Do you know about "RivNut's"
 
Great ingenuity! Keep us posted of any changes or upgrades.
 
This brings overlanding in an 80 to a new level! Nice ride. Hope to see some updates and more pictures!! @sfluke are you on Instagram?
 
I guess he hasn't posted here for a while and IG since August. What a cool journey for them. I'm curious how they secure their truck when they're trekking.
 
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