Builds Imperial Land Cruiser II Build Thread

[car-car]

Looks good.

Thx!
Mike

Looks awesome. Ever thought about painting the door handles black?

Thanks guys!

No, I don't have any plans to do the door handles at this time. If I were going to do it though, I wouldn't use Durabak, as it is very rough.

 

[car-car]

Hey there, maybe you have already commented on this somewhere and I missed it, but I am wondering if there have been any psychological effects from the accident. Just looking at the aftermath makes me think twice about hurdling my junk down the freeway at 75+ mph. Talking to my wife, We've decided we're going to try to impose a 65 mph max speed limit when traveling in our cruiser... we'll see if that lasts. Maybe if I tape a picture of your wreck next to the speedo will get me to lighten up on the skinny. Anyway, how do you and your family do with freeway travel in your new ride? Any adjustment problems? Have you made any changes in the way you load or drive?

Your new one is coming along nicely by the way...

To be perfectly honest, yeah, its still a concern. I stay pretty light on the skinny pedal when I'm in the 80. I usually don't get over 65 mph when unloaded anymore. This past weekend, my son and I made the trip up from San Diego to Pismo for Surf 'n Turf, and I tried to keep at 60-65 mph pretty much the whole way since we were loaded and had the RTT back on. It "felt" most comfortable at 55-60 mph to be honest.

I just liken it now to when I had my FJ40, and just enjoy the slow drive and I'll get there when I get there.

In my wife's stock 100, I am not as concerned, but I still do stay fairly light on the skinny pedal.

As for loading things in the cargo area, I did add a cargo net behind the second row seats. I would highly recommend some kind of barrier or net to keep cargo where it belongs just in case.

 

[car-car]

So, the Serengeti RTT that I had on the wrecked rig wasn't completely destroyed, so I figured I would try to salvage it. The worst of it was the hinged brackets that allows the tent to fold the tent open or shut. They were custom and the manufacturer is out of South Africa, so I didn't have a template to go off of. So I started hammering them out and bending/straightening them back into place, just to see if I would have any luck in getting it back together. It took a little while to get it right, but I was able to get them pretty closely back to where they were so that the tent opened and closed properly. I replaced some of the bent hardware (bolts that bent during the impact, and then my wife sewed up a section in the tent that had torn (luckily under the rainfly). I tried getting a replacement travel cover from the manufacturer, but cost and timing wasn't ideal, so I had someone repair it the best they could as a temporary solution, and its holding up thus far, but will still need a better repair or replacement down the road.

I also salvaged the ARB awning, which had completely torn away from the backing/mounting plate. The rivets had torn away, so I just simply drilled those out and used bolts and nylon lock nuts to put it back together, and it functions as good as new again.

 

[car-car]

Updated pics with tent and awning back in action:

 

[rain76king]

Nice to see your back to normal!

 

[ElPolloBlanco]

I want this. Tell me how.

 

[jluck]

I want this. Tell me how.

2 mag light clips and 2 screws....

anyways....why wasn't treadwright paying for this rebuild? I am not the suiting kind but that's just wrong!
sweet build on a sweet rig! I will be doing similar soon I think.

 

[Cruisin']

Wow, I would not have guessed that you're still using the same RTT and awning. That's a testament to the quality of those units that with some repair they are still in service after what they went through!

Great build thread. It must be an interesting process to build a rig to replace one that had been bought already built up.

 

[2 E L O]

To be perfectly honest, yeah, its still a concern. I stay pretty light on the skinny pedal when I'm in the 80. I usually don't get over 65 mph when unloaded anymore. This past weekend, my son and I made the trip up from San Diego to Pismo for Surf 'n Turf, and I tried to keep at 60-65 mph pretty much the whole way since we were loaded and had the RTT back on. It "felt" most comfortable at 55-60 mph to be honest.

I just liken it now to when I had my FJ40, and just enjoy the slow drive and I'll get there when I get there.

In my wife's stock 100, I am not as concerned, but I still do stay fairly light on the skinny pedal.

As for loading things in the cargo area, I did add a cargo net behind the second row seats. I would highly recommend some kind of barrier or net to keep cargo where it belongs just in case.

What brand cargo net is that? How does it connect at the bottom? The top ones just appear to attach to the passenger handles?

 

[car-car]

What brand cargo net is that? How does it connect at the bottom? The top ones just appear to attach to the passenger handles?

Sorry for the dreadfully slow response here. It is made by Raingler: www.raingler.com I got it from a member here. Eventually I think I would like to go to a solid rigid barrier for ultimate protection. It does strap to the grab handles, and can be easily moved behind the 2nd row or directly behind the 1st row. It works for now.

Sorry again for the slow response.

 

[car-car]

So, I am looking for some opinions and feedback on some ideas I have been contemplating. Currently, I am geared to 4.88, which I like, and I am on 315 tires, which is a good combo. Suspension is OME J spring setup.

I use this as my DD and expo/overland rig. I don't wheel it hard and don't have plans to, so really its overbuilt for what I use it for, but I like being over-prepared vs. the contrary. That being said, I have been thinking about making the following changes:



Suspension:

• Swapping out the current J spring set up for an OME 2.5 heavy set up (I still have my wrecked rig from the roll-over, including spacers, so its just a matter of swapping in the parts). The idea here is to bring the center of gravity down slightly since I am running an RTT and carrying a lot of weight when we are fully loaded down on trips. I really like the J spring setup, but I would like to make sure we have the best set up possible for our application.

Tires:

• I am going to be in the market for new tires soon, and have been contemplating coming down in size from 315 to something like 285. My main question/concern would be regarding matching up the tire size with the gearing. I already run heavy, and plan on adding more weight in the future with dual battery, fridge, and rear bumper. I don't drive fast after our roll-over, usually 60-65 now, so I'm not worried of running RPM's too high at "my" freeway speed. I will be making the switch to AT's from MT's for a quieter ride. I haven't fully narrowed down which one to go with, but it will be a E-load rated AT.

Would love to get some feedback on my thought and/or ideas to help me make the best decision.

Thanks!

 

[Wheelingnoob]

I would put in the old 2.5" OME set up and keep the 315's, it will lower your COG but keep the clearance where its needed most axle to ground. You are geared for the 315's so why not keep the tires size advantage and just lower the COG a bit.

I run the OME 2.5" heavy/Med and 315's I have no added weight yet (have a 200lb rear bumper in the works though). I am very happy with the hight and the handling with the low lift and the 315's. I plan to ad Longs and 4.88's next.

 

[car-car]

I would put in the old 2.5" OME set up and keep the 315's, it will lower your COG but keep the clearance where its needed most axle to ground. You are geared for the 315's so why not keep the tires size advantage and just lower the COG a bit.

I run the OME 2.5" heavy/Med and 315's I have no added weight yet (have a 200lb rear bumper in the works though). I am very happy with the hight and the handling with the low lift and the 315's. I plan to ad Longs and 4.88's next.

That could work, thanks for the feedback and idea. Any issues with rub at full articulation with the 315's on the OME 2.5?

 

[Wheelingnoob]

That could work, thanks for the feedback and idea. Any issues with rub at full articulation with the 315's on the OME 2.5?

Only ever so slightly in the inside rear wheel well. No rubbing up front at all.

 

[Razorbackcruiser]

I've got some 850 and 860 springs I'd love to trade you for the J's but with both our rigs being our DD's I don't see how it's doable. My have about 10,000 mi on them. Any interest or ideas? How many miles on your springs?

Thx

 

[Wheelingnoob]

I've got some 850 and 860 springs I'd love to trade you for the J's but with both our rigs being our DD's I don't see how it's doable. My have about 10,000 mi on them. Any interest or ideas? How many miles on your springs?

Thx

I think 860's in the rear would be to soft for this truck with the RTT and loads it seems to carry. It would no doubt be quite interesting to drive down the hwy.

 

[Razorbackcruiser]

Yeah, I didn't think of his weight. Good point, but you add some coil spacers and you've got some heavies!

 

[car-car]

So I have a game plan on the suspension. Going to go from an 850J/863J combo to an 850/864 spring setup. That should bring my COG down some and carry the weight fully loaded. I do have some spacers for the front if it seems like it needs it.

I will see how this spring package works with the 315 tire size and see if there is any rubbing? I will post up pics when I get around to the swap.

 

[car-car]

I did the suspension this week. Swapped out the J's, and am now running 850 springs with 1.5" spacers/trim packers up front and 864 springs for the rear. Had a little drama on the swap, but everything seems to be good now: https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/604325-rear-suspension-swap-gone-horribly-wrong.html

 

[car-car]

Pulled the Kaymar tire carrier this week....