make sure you post up some pics of how you mount your sliders please. I am about to order a set and could use all the ideas.
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- Thread starter
- #142
Sure. I am planning on making these sliders bolt-on using 3/8" plate as the "feet". There will be 4 feet per slider and they will sandwich the frame, with 2 bolts going over the top of the frame. Once I get time to actually work on them, I'll post up the information. I'll need to get a new photo hosting acct as well, now that Photobucket is demanding $400 a year to host my photos.
Thanks...I was thinking bolt on vs.welded as well
- Thread starter
- #144
I made a little progress on my skid/slider project!
I'm hanging a 2x3 tube under the frame so that I can run a big plate all the way across, clearing the trans and t-case. Based on that... I think I should call it my fat belly skid. What do you think?
Anyway, I made very little progress this weekend. Here's what I have:
I cut and drilled the feet for the sliders:
I cut the 2x3 tube and mocked up the sliders with cross members. The idea is that I'll hang the 2x3 along the bottom of the frame ( lowering the clearance by 2"). The sliders will be welded to that tube, with the feet I made and sandwich the frame. This will also give me a good place to mount 3 crossmembers (1.5x3" tube). I'll mount either 2 or 3 large skids onto those cross members, covering basically the entire belly of the truck between the axles. You can kind of see the idea in this picture... I really need to make more progress:
That's it for now. Hopefully, I'll get an hour or two to work on it during the week.
I'm hanging a 2x3 tube under the frame so that I can run a big plate all the way across, clearing the trans and t-case. Based on that... I think I should call it my fat belly skid. What do you think?
Anyway, I made very little progress this weekend. Here's what I have:
I cut and drilled the feet for the sliders:
I cut the 2x3 tube and mocked up the sliders with cross members. The idea is that I'll hang the 2x3 along the bottom of the frame ( lowering the clearance by 2"). The sliders will be welded to that tube, with the feet I made and sandwich the frame. This will also give me a good place to mount 3 crossmembers (1.5x3" tube). I'll mount either 2 or 3 large skids onto those cross members, covering basically the entire belly of the truck between the axles. You can kind of see the idea in this picture... I really need to make more progress:
That's it for now. Hopefully, I'll get an hour or two to work on it during the week.
I hesitate to see the benefit of losing clearance?
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- #146
So, the idea is that I'll sacrifice clearance at the frame to gain a super strong and flat skid that covers the entire belly of the truck. Since the cross members will tie the sliders on both sides together, it will be way stronger than anything I could buy. Also, on my Tacoma, I tended to need clearance at the slider (which will be the same as everyone elses) but I never seemed to land on my frame. I've seen some T-case skids on here that are reinforced but leave an unsupported end... I don't feel comfortable with that design. Who knows... maybe this design will be terrible and I'll have to redo it. Or, maybe the flatness of the skids will let me slide over rocks that end up hitting...
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- #147
I got pretty excited when my Rigid D2s came in the mail today.
Then I saw this:
If you look at the lower left, you can see that the reflector is touching the diode. I bought what was supposed to be a top tier brand, so I'm pretty disappointed. Beyond changing the designed light pattern, I think this might have an effect in the longevity of that LED. Long story short, I'm sending them back. My string of unfortunate car part purchases continues!
Then I saw this:
If you look at the lower left, you can see that the reflector is touching the diode. I bought what was supposed to be a top tier brand, so I'm pretty disappointed. Beyond changing the designed light pattern, I think this might have an effect in the longevity of that LED. Long story short, I'm sending them back. My string of unfortunate car part purchases continues!
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- #148
I took the majority of the week off and went up to the cabin. Since my Photobucket lake pictures aren't up anymore, I took Nutnut out on the canoe and grabbed some sunset photos with my cell phone. I really need to get a real camera so you guys can see the vivid colors.
!
!
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- #149
After that, I did a little exploring. (sorry for the dark pictures... only had my cell phone with me) I drove up an old Class VI road and found an "intersection" where I could see some rock walls go in 2 directions. I looked into the corner and found an old foundation. Looks like it was an old house:
In the center of this picture, you can see that there's a rock and mortar foundation under that old brick
I kept driving the old roads as it got darker. I'm still not used to the look/feel of the New England woods... way different than Colorado.
After that, I found this HUGE wall. It was around 15 feet tall and 8 feet thick. I went on for a long way and then there was this neat break in the wall to let a river come through. I have no idea what the wall was built for:
We drove a bit farther and found a lake.... got lost and ended up back at the cabin. It was a fun evening
In the center of this picture, you can see that there's a rock and mortar foundation under that old brick
I kept driving the old roads as it got darker. I'm still not used to the look/feel of the New England woods... way different than Colorado.
After that, I found this HUGE wall. It was around 15 feet tall and 8 feet thick. I went on for a long way and then there was this neat break in the wall to let a river come through. I have no idea what the wall was built for:
We drove a bit farther and found a lake.... got lost and ended up back at the cabin. It was a fun evening
- Thread starter
- #150
Got the end caps cut, ground and welded on my two longitudinal braces yesterday. I feel bad about how slow my progress is but I only get a couple hours a week to spend on this stuff anymore.
mudgudgeon
Resident galah
I went the polar opposite route to you 
. Ground clearance is king.
I cut my sills out and welded sliders into the body (this is on what was a pretty tidy 105series at the time) I have sill protection, and about 6" more clearance at the sliders, and nothing below the chassis. Just need to add a good belly plate.
. Ground clearance is king. I cut my sills out and welded sliders into the body (this is on what was a pretty tidy 105series at the time) I have sill protection, and about 6" more clearance at the sliders, and nothing below the chassis. Just need to add a good belly plate.
- Thread starter
- #152
I went the polar opposite route to you
I cut my sills out and welded sliders into the body (this is on what was a pretty tidy 105series at the time) I have sill protection, and about 6" more clearance at the sliders, and nothing below the chassis. Just need to add a good belly plate.
Haha! Yeah, I considered that route as well. My only concern was all the salt they use in the winter out here. (I'm in the "Rust Belt") I was concerned that I could get rust into the areas that I cut. You're right about ground clearance, though. How did you skid plate your t-case? On my 80, that is the lowest hanging component. So, I set my plate height to that.
mudgudgeon
Resident galah
No skid plate on mine yet. It's on the to do list.
I've bounced it pretty hard on the transfer/gearbox pretty quite a few times hard crawling in rocks. So far no damage, but it worries me every time
I've bounced it pretty hard on the transfer/gearbox pretty quite a few times hard crawling in rocks. So far no damage, but it worries me every time
- Thread starter
- #154
Yeah, I have nightmares about cracking my t-case or my fancy Wholesale automatics transmission on a rock. I thought about contouring my skids to get maximum clearance... then I realized that I'd never finish! (I only get an hour or two to work at a time)
Speaking of which, I made a little more progress on the armor. I got the feet prepped for welding:
- Thread starter
- #155
Got my replacement D2s in the mail today. I didn't like the little cherry 3 way switch that comes with the kit so I ordered the same marine switch that I had in the Tacoma. When I took a closer look, I found that the marine switch uses 1/4" spade connectors and the cherry switch uses 3/16". So, I'll make a jumper today. (hopefully) Then I'll post up some pictures showing the performance of the light in both low and high output modes.
- Thread starter
- #156
I wanted to see what the light output of my Rigid D2s were last night. I made some jumpers so I could use my marine switch:
Then I set up the D2s on my grill, just to keep them from falling:
So, here's the baseline: Lowbeams only (With Slee harness upgrade)
Here's low beam and lo output on the D2s (How I would drive on the street)
Here is just the D2s on high: (as you can see, they are aimed too low... the hot spot is on the ground really close to the front of the truck)
Overall, these things put out a LOT of light! I am really happy. I am extra happy that the lo output is bright but not too bright to run on the street. The high output is incredible... the pictures really don't do these lights justice.
Then I set up the D2s on my grill, just to keep them from falling:
So, here's the baseline: Lowbeams only (With Slee harness upgrade)
Here's low beam and lo output on the D2s (How I would drive on the street)
Here is just the D2s on high: (as you can see, they are aimed too low... the hot spot is on the ground really close to the front of the truck)
Overall, these things put out a LOT of light! I am really happy. I am extra happy that the lo output is bright but not too bright to run on the street. The high output is incredible... the pictures really don't do these lights justice.
- Thread starter
- #157
Made a little progress this weekend. I cleaned/prepped the long support tube for welding on the slider legs and made a couple of short support tubes that will attach to the forward most leg. Hopefully this weekend I'll be able to get everything mocked up and tacked together so you guys can see what it will look like:
My welds aren't pretty, but I think they are functional:
My welds aren't pretty, but I think they are functional:
- Thread starter
- #158
My deck arrived! I'm a total cheapo on electronic items, so I never spend money on stuff like this. But, I found a decent deal on Amazon and got a Pioneer double din deck for $184. So, I can wire up my reverse camera and I can use Bluetooth. Here are some pictures:
So, I did a quick google search for wiring and found the following link. Can any of you guys tell me whether this info looks correct? (or give me a link to a reputable source for the stereo wiring)
1996 Toyota Land Cruiser Car Audio Wiring Guide - ModifiedLife.com
Also, it looks like I need to tap the reverse light wire for the rear view camera... can you guys direct me to what that wire looks like and where it is located?
Thanks!
So, I did a quick google search for wiring and found the following link. Can any of you guys tell me whether this info looks correct? (or give me a link to a reputable source for the stereo wiring)
1996 Toyota Land Cruiser Car Audio Wiring Guide - ModifiedLife.com
Also, it looks like I need to tap the reverse light wire for the rear view camera... can you guys direct me to what that wire looks like and where it is located?
Thanks!
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mudgudgeon
Resident galah
When I put a deck in my 80, I was able to buy a short 6" long adapter harness that gave me plug and play connection from my new deck to the factory harness without cutting anything
Your welds look ok to me.
Your welds look ok to me.
mudgudgeon
Resident galah
Something like this, not certain this is what you need, but you get the idea
Look at this on eBay ISO WIRING HARNESS for TOYOTA LANDCRUISER 80/100/200 SERIES cable connector lead | eBay
Look at this on eBay ISO WIRING HARNESS for TOYOTA LANDCRUISER 80/100/200 SERIES cable connector lead | eBay
