Pretty quiet in here... what are you working on? (20 Viewers)

[emorth]

This begs the question, what would you program into a baofeng to hand over to someone stuck in DC with no electricity with roving gangs of looters and the bridges sealed off? As someone who doesn't know much about radios, this was the best I could come up with at the time.

Been there, done that. I was a young teenager living in DC during the 1968 riots. Lots of looting, vandalism and fires. Telephones didn't work. Roads to PG and Montgomery counties were blocked by the National Guard. We did have electricity.

I would program in the FRS, GMRS, MURS and local ham repeater freqs. Right after the earthquake the ham repeaters were very busy with damage reports. The 147.30 repeater in Blue Mont is the Northern VA weather spotter repeater. During bad weather the ham station inside the Nat'l Weather Service near Dulles is activated and hams report weather conditions to help the weather service validate what their instruments are reporting.

The only commercial freq that I know of that might be informative is 155.16. This is the common search & rescue freq. I don't know when, how and who uses it. I suspect it is only used by the S&R folks when they are looking for a lost person in the boonies. You could also listen to the local police & fire dispatch freqs. You would need a scanner that is P-25 trunking capable. They don't transmit on just a single freq anymore. There are also scanner apps that let you listen to the police & fire comms on your phone. All of the federal law enforcement comms are encrypted.

Here are some local VA ham freqs

You can find more here: RepeaterBook.com: Quick Search for Amateur Radio Repeaters - https://www.repeaterbook.com/repeaters/index.php?state_id=none

 

[Diff Kraken]

Been there, done that. I was a young teenager living in DC during the 1968 riots. Lots of looting, vandalism and fires. Telephones didn't work. Roads to PG and Montgomery counties were blocked by the National Guard. We did have electricity.

I would program in the FRS, GMRS, MURS and local ham repeater freqs. Right after the earthquake the ham repeaters were very busy with damage reports. The 147.30 repeater in Blue Mont is the Northern VA weather spotter repeater. During bad weather the ham station inside the Nat'l Weather Service near Dulles is activated and hams report weather conditions to help the weather service validate what their instruments are reporting.

The only commercial freq that I know of that might be informative is 155.16. This is the common search & rescue freq. I don't know when, how and who uses it. I suspect it is only used by the S&R folks when they are looking for a lost person in the boonies. You could also listen to the local police & fire dispatch freqs. You would need a scanner that is P-25 trunking capable. They don't transmit on just a single freq anymore. There are also scanner apps that let you listen to the police & fire comms on your phone. All of the federal law enforcement comms are encrypted.

Here are some local VA ham freqs
View attachment 2938500
You can find more here: RepeaterBook.com: Quick Search for Amateur Radio Repeaters - https://www.repeaterbook.com/repeaters/index.php?state_id=none

Thanks, @emorth! Much appreciated. And 1968 sounds like quite a time to be in the District.

 

[Diff Kraken]

My potential LC200 purchase has been put on hold for the time being, so I just ordered these recently released Toyota OEM "rock rails" for the 4Runner. Apparently these hold up pretty well as actual rock sliders. I'll use these for wheeling and swap them out for the stock running boards for non-wheeling days. Giggity. I'm excited to try these out as a cheaper alternative to aftermarket sliders as these keep me close to my desire to wheel a stock OEM vehicle.

$500 for the set from Koons parts website with local pickup.

LH # PT228-89191
RH # PT228-89190

Not my truck here, but here's what they look like and how they mount. They bolt flat to the frame rails but don't wrap around the frame like a proper aftermarket slider:

 

[iptman]

Those are sweet! I wonder if they have a similar design for 3rd Tacomas.

 

[Diff Kraken]

Those are sweet! I wonder if they have a similar design for 3rd Tacomas.

I think they make something similar for the FJC but not sure about Tacos

 

[Diff Kraken]

My potential LC200 purchase has been put on hold for the time being, so I just ordered these recently released Toyota OEM "rock rails" for the 4Runner. Apparently these hold up pretty well as actual rock sliders. I'll use these for wheeling and swap them out for the stock running boards for non-wheeling days. Giggity. I'm excited to try these out as a cheaper alternative to aftermarket sliders as these keep me close to my desire to wheel a stock OEM vehicle.

$500 for the set from Koons parts website with local pickup.

LH # PT228-89191
RH # PT228-89190

Not my truck here, but here's what they look like and how they mount. They bolt flat to the frame rails but don't wrap around the frame like a proper aftermarket slider:

View attachment 2940291

View attachment 2940293

View attachment 2940295


View attachment 2940290

View attachment 2940286

Looking again at how other sliders mount, this OEM set looks on par or pretty close. The Slee Step Sliders I had on my GX had a bit more bracket that hugged the bottom of the frame rails, but it looks like White Knuckle for the 4R is pretty similar to how these mount so that seems like these should do pretty well. I guess the white knuckle strength benefits from the addition of U-bolts. It does weird me out a bit that these OEM sliders are supported just by the 6 bolts. But, I suppose, the Toyota engineers calculated out the load across the 6 bolts with the weight of the vehicle resting on a rock? Or one would hope... I guess I might find out sometime.


Slee Step Sliders:

White Knuckle Sliders:

 

[afgman786]

Looking again at how other sliders mount, this OEM set looks on par or pretty close. The Slee Step Sliders I had on my GX had a bit more bracket that hugged the bottom of the frame rails, but it looks like White Knuckle for the 4R is pretty similar to how these mount so that seems like these should do pretty well. I guess the white knuckle strength benefits from the addition of U-bolts. It does weird me out a bit that these OEM sliders are supported just by the 8 bolts. But, I suppose, the Toyota engineers calculated out the load across the 8 bolts with the weight of the vehicle resting on a rock? Or one would hope... I guess I might find out sometime.


Slee Step Sliders:

View attachment 2941122

View attachment 2941121



White Knuckle Sliders:

View attachment 2941123

The side mount only should be more than fine. BudBuilt sliders for the 200 only mount to the side of the frame,. Nothing wrapping around or under. Only difference is instead of having 3 legs that mount to the frame it's the length of the sliders

 

[captainva]

Looking again at how other sliders mount, this OEM set looks on par or pretty close. The Slee Step Sliders I had on my GX had a bit more bracket that hugged the bottom of the frame rails, but it looks like White Knuckle for the 4R is pretty similar to how these mount so that seems like these should do pretty well. I guess the white knuckle strength benefits from the addition of U-bolts. It does weird me out a bit that these OEM sliders are supported just by the 6 bolts. But, I suppose, the Toyota engineers calculated out the load across the 6 bolts with the weight of the vehicle resting on a rock? Or one would hope... I guess I might find out sometime.


Slee Step Sliders:

View attachment 2941122

View attachment 2941121



White Knuckle Sliders:

View attachment 2941123

The thing that matters most is how thick and what the metal is rather than how it mounts. As far as the frame, Toyota is never going to design something that is stronger than the frame and for sure those rails will break first. With aftermarket who knows. After speaking with a few places I really only trust Budbuilt in terms of fully engineering a product. Bud has a degree in metallurgy and builds baja trucks and the like with the majority of his time. Hes done stress analysis on all of his products to make sure that they will break before the frame of the vehicle does

The side mount only should be more than fine. BudBuilt sliders for the 200 only mount to the side of the frame,. Nothing wrapping around or under. Only difference is instead of having 3 legs that mount to the frame it's the length of the sliders

Thats how the GX sliders mount as well. 3/8" plate the length of the frame with through bolts that thread into 3/8" thick capture plates.

 

[dbug]

I repurposed the U-bolts from my old suspension and made a coat rack. Fun little project to practice my welding.

 

[Crusha]

I repurposed the U-bolts from my old suspension and made a coat rack.

Effing love it!!!

 

[Von Hayek]

Sweet!

 

[Diff Kraken]

This is one for the books. Real nice work @dbug

 

[DirtNap]

Pretty minor, but I bought a set of Rock Warrior wheels a few years ago. Got them pretty cheap because the trim rings were pretty best up. I've been doing some refurb and finally got around to finishing them up.

Ended up having to go down to 60-80 grit to get out the damage, then took it up to 1500 and metal polish to get it shiny.

They originally had a clear coat on them, which was a pain since I had to strip it all down to get a uniform appearance. I.e., I couldn't just sand and polish a small spot.
Let me know if you think I should hit these with some clear coat though for some reason. The aluminum won't rust but maybe it would still oxidize or discolor?

 

[Von Hayek]

Preparing the dual-filler neck for the auxiliary tank going into the 100.

 

[iptman]

Replacing the front bearings/hubs on the Quadrasteer Suburban. These effers are heavy. I don't have the 35mm socket for the hub nut so I'm stuck waiting for a neighbor who has one to come home.

 

[matzell]

Replacing the front bearings/hubs on the Quadrasteer Suburban. These effers are heavy. I don't have the 35mm socket for the hub nut so I'm stuck waiting for a neighbor who has one to come home.

View attachment 2943965

Common over 100k. At least you got some good replacements. Be sure to double check routing of abs harness.

 

[iptman]

And done. Those caliper bracket bolts gave my torque wrench a work out. 221 lbs/ft.

 

[NearJetties]

Picked up some custom drawers made by a friend. Will be adding a sleeping platform using 80/20, wings, drawer dividers, rubber on top and L track

 

[Von Hayek]

After a lot of wrestling, hair pulling, and gnashing of teeth, the auxiliary tank is in.

 

[matzell]

After a lot of wrestling, hair pulling, and gnashing of teeth, the auxiliary tank is in.

View attachment 2948088

Where does the spare go? How many extra gallons?