Builds Odinskind's build thread (1 Viewer)

[odinskind]

I'm finally back in VA and have time to do a write up about this first phase of my build. First, Zack and Jay at Rocky Top Customz were a pleasure to work with, and did a fantastic job. They maintained excellent communication with me throughout the build and proved that they were willing and able to complete the build on time.

Here she is.

 

[odinskind]

We wanted to get the suspension done first in the event we experienced a KDSS problem. We did unfortunately have a problem with rusted KDSS valves, but Jay was able to get it sorted out, and the truck was level and solid post OME struts, shocks, and springs install. I have a little positive camber but it has settled and I may get UCAs to fix it. I'm not going to put many asphalt miles on the truck the bulk mileage will be on hard packed dirt and sand in Mauritania.

 

[odinskind]

I have a lot to say about the VPR stuff. Some good, some... bad. The front bumper looks awesome. It is very well built and definitely has an aggressive look. The powder coating we went with looks amazing. It has two recovery points but I would definitely not lift up on the sides only from the front. The winch fit well, and the 12” light bar mounted up amazingly to the upper bar. It had cut outs for the head light sprayers and cutouts for LED fog lights. Problem is the LED fog lights would not fit in their slots with the headlight sprayers installed (which is why I went with a 12" bar instead). There just is not enough room. Finally there is about ¾ – 1” gaping on the bumper.

 

[odinskind]

I really like the style and build quality. A few issues need to be pointed out. First, VPR definitely told me that the bumper would be drilled to accommodate the front sensors, it was not. Secondly, The upper bar is mounted directly in front of the cruise control radar sensor and completely interferes with its operation. The upper bar is very easily removable, and could be removed before a long road trip, and reinstalled at the trail-head.

 

[odinskind]

Moving on to the “sliders”. I'll start positive. They are well built and look very nice. Now reality... they are NOT rock sliders. At best they are just bulky looking side steps. They are mounted to the body of the truck and not the frame. The mounting brackets look strong enough to support a few hundred pounds but would just damage the body on the trail. I am completely disappointed in these and honestly do not want them. I have thought about contacting a local fab shop to see what it would cost to weld up frame mounts for them. Probably be cheaper to just buy a pair of actual sliders. I have not followed up with VPR yet but I will definitely be sending them an email.

 

[odinskind]

Moving to the back of the truck. The rear bar looks great. It is built well and the finish is amazing (we had a local shop do the powder coating). We actually had it sitting next to a ARB rear bumper before installation and the build quality is on par. Unfortunately, It is not drilled for sensors and VPR said it would be.

 

[odinskind]

Overall I am very satisfied. The front and rear bumpers are awesome. The suspension looks great, and the wheels and tires are killer. The “sliders” were a complete waste of $700 . I don't understand why they just didn't build the brackets correctly. It makes zero sense to me. I should close this out with saying that I am not an experienced off-road enthusiast. My opinions are purely based off of observed fit, weld, and build quality but not based off of trail experience. None of this will be tested on the trail for a while, and I'll likely not push my truck nearly as hard as some of you push yours. If anyone has requests for specific images please let me know. I'll be happy to provide all the images you want.

 

[Markuson]

Great photos! It seemed the gap between bumper and fender was too thin, but then I saw your close-up with your fingers in there.

Bummer about the slider, because from your description it sounds like it's basically a damage multiplier.

What kind of powder coat is that?
I like it! It looks rough...almost like bed-liner.
Never seen powder coat like that. ??

 

[odinskind]

Great photos! It seemed the gap between bumper and fender was too thin, but then I saw your close-up with your fingers in there.

Bummer about the slider, because from your description it sounds like it's basically a damage multiplier.

What kind of powder coat is that?
I like it! It looks rough...almost like bed-liner.
Never seen powder coat like that. ??

Yea I'm not pleased at all with the "sliders". I have an appointment with a paint and body shop tomorrow to quote me a under body cleaning and coating. I'm also going to talk to them about modifying these to mount to the frame.

The coating is called ripple. The shop that does all the master craft wake boarding boats did this job, and I think it looks killer.

 

[Markuson]

Yea I'm not pleased at all with the "sliders". I have an appointment with a paint and body shop tomorrow to quote me a under body cleaning and coating. I'm also going to talk to them about modifying these to mount to the frame.

The coating is called ripple. The shop that does all the master craft wake boarding boats did this job, and I think it looks killer.

Agree on the powder coat. Looks sweet...especially close up!

From the look of the metal used in that slider, I can't imagine it could support the weight of the truck even if it was connected to the frame. Metal strength where it would actually slide looks thin.

 

[Oakleyguy]

The gap is a bit excessive, but at least you wont have any issues from flex:

 

[dnh1]

I have been wondering if you were ever gonna post these pics. It was worth the wait. The truck looks very good. I like it a lot.

Sorry about the sensors and sliders. Sounds overall like you are happy and should be.

 

[Willy beamin]

Congrats on getting your truck back. I'm sure you'll get the it sorted out and enjoy your trip just the same.
So I used this weather stripping from autozone as filler for the front fender gap. Works nice and doesn't attract attention. It squishes if needed when it counts.

 

[gaijin]

Sorry about no sensors front or rear, no radar, no front camera and those side steps. Overall, however, I agree the powdercoat is excellent and those VPR bumpers look pretty good.

If you want real sliders on the sides of your rig, I strongly suggest not trying to jury rig those steps you have now - just get a new set of well-engineered sliders.

Thanks for sharing - much good stuff.

 

[Willy beamin]

For the rear where the plastic body panel was cut to allow the bumper clearance I used a different strip pictured below. Didn't save the packaging but you'll get the idea and it's a clean finish.

 

[odinskind]

Congrats on getting your truck back. I'm sure you'll get the it sorted out and enjoy your trip just the same.
So I used this weather stripping from autozone as filler for the front fender gap. Works nice and doesn't attract attention. It squishes if needed when it counts.

View attachment 1408424

This is exactly what I was looking for. I need it for the rear bumper too.

 

[odinskind]

Sorry about no sensors front or rear, no radar, no front camera and those side steps. Overall, however, I agree the powdercoat is excellent and those VPR bumpers look pretty good.

If you want real sliders on the sides of your rig, I strongly suggest not trying to jury rig those steps you have now - just get a new set of well-engineered sliders.

Thanks for sharing - much good stuff.

Sound advice on the sliders. I'll keep these installed for now and will look into getting real ones in the future.

 

[mcgaskins]

The build looks very nice, but I'm curious why you decided to not go with the tried and true brands like ARB and Slee? It sounds like you will be really using your 200 like it's intended, so I would want to use extensively field tested equipment only. The parking sensors, cameras, radar, headlight washers, etc. are some really nice features to miss out on!

 

[Markuson]

Sound advice on the sliders. I'll keep these installed for now and will look into getting real ones in the future.

If you were to powder coat Slee or Trail Tailor or other solid sliders the same as you did the bumpers? Would make a sweet looking rig and keep the theme going. Again...love that powder coat!

 

[odinskind]

The build looks very nice, but I'm curious why you decided to not go with the tried and true brands like ARB and Slee? It sounds like you will be really using your 200 like it's intended, so I would want to use extensively field tested equipment only. The parking sensors, cameras, radar, headlight washers, etc. are some really nice features to miss out on!

If I could start over I'd make some changes now that I have more knowledge. I basically bought all this stuff with limited research and didn't really know the difference. I'll probably sell this rig to a rich Mauritanian for what I paid for it and build a new one with ARB stuff. That'll be two years from now.