- Thread starter
- #521
I'd likely lose the head on a Ironman/Dobinsons/etc around here. Our trails are just way too tight. The top of my rig is covered with scratches from limbs, vines, etc.
Builds "Rednexus" - 2007 GX470 Build and Fabrication Thread (4 Viewers)
- Thread starter Rednexus
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MrTorgue
Grizzly Clint
Welcome to my world. LOL There are good USFS roads/trails and there are "trails". I try to avoid the "trails" in my GX for this very reason.
- Thread starter
- #523
If I avoid those, I'm never going wheeling
. Everyone around here has just switched to SXSs and abandoned licensed, road-going rigs. We have plenty of folks driving lifted jeeps around but they are pavement queens most of the time. I'd love it if they took them wheeling more and opened up some of these trails!
MrTorgue
Grizzly Clint
I'm going to buy a Subaru Sambar instead of a SXS. Just need to hold off until I find a higher paying job.If I avoid those, I'm never going wheeling
- Thread starter
- #525
Not GX related, but did some more practice welding today. Laid some good beads where access was good. Still learning in the nooks and crannies. Turning the gas up helped a lot. The loader mount plates and reciever tube were purchased. I built the rest, including some flat parts I designed in CAD and had laser cut by SendCutSend.
This will be handy for moving our camper and hoisting logs with a set of tongs. I could have bought one for what I have in this, but it would have been Chinese junk and lacked the shackle mounts.
This will be handy for moving our camper and hoisting logs with a set of tongs. I could have bought one for what I have in this, but it would have been Chinese junk and lacked the shackle mounts.
- Thread starter
- #528
Thank you! It only took me two ten pound wire spools and two bottles of gas to get them looking like that
.Answers below:
1. AutoCAD LT (which I first learned in ~1999, but hadn't used much since ~2004). My work has a corporate license and doesn't care if we use it for personal stuff. Looks like it's $65/year for a personal license, which I'd gladly pay if I had to. Despite a 20 year gap in use, I still remembered many of the commands and was drawing stuff within a couple hours.
2. Hobart Handler 210MVP. Looks like they are on sale for $1K at Tractor Supply right now, and most of our local TSC stores keep them in stock. Last week it had no problems welding 3/8" steel. It's been a great welder for the money and is (IMO) better than anything Harbor Freight sells.
Hindsight being 2020, I would have considered a Miller Multimatic 215, which has the computerized auto settings (my buddy has one - it welds a bit cleaner with less splatter since it fine-tunes wire speed and voltage as you weld). But the Miller is over $2K and the Hobart is just as capable at half the cost, and both are made in the USA by the same parent company, so it just depends how much you want to spend and how much you'll use it. Both will run on 120V but really need a 220V plug to weld anything over 16 ga steel.
- Thread starter
- #529
We've gotten somewhere between 6 and 8 inches of rain in the past 1.5 days. With other rain on Wednesday and Thursday. So, our rivers were rip-roaring....but not quite as much as they were in 2017.
Also, the cheap $300 bandsaw I had finally crapped out. One of the blade guides got loose, leading it to be destroyed, taking out another guard with it, and leading it to cut crappy and be super loud. So I got a pre-tariff big saw from HF and made a stand for it. It's about 3x faster and much easier to use, much quieter, and cuts nicer with the thick blade. And its way overbuilt for how much I'll use it, so it could last me the rest of my life.
Also, the cheap $300 bandsaw I had finally crapped out. One of the blade guides got loose, leading it to be destroyed, taking out another guard with it, and leading it to cut crappy and be super loud. So I got a pre-tariff big saw from HF and made a stand for it. It's about 3x faster and much easier to use, much quieter, and cuts nicer with the thick blade. And its way overbuilt for how much I'll use it, so it could last me the rest of my life.
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What coating did you get? When my bumper and sliders finally arrive, I’ll have to decide between powder coat or one of the spray on ‘liner’ coatings. Either way will get primed first since it will see time on the beach.
- Thread starter
- #532
When I installed the sliders in 2021 I sprayed them with rattle-can VHT Chassis and Rollbar paint and then gave the tops of them a coat of Dupli-Color truck bed liner. This certainly worked fine, but there was not paint/coating left on the bottom of the sliders, and it was also popping off on the top and sides.
I'm not sure what kind of powder my guy used, but it looks awesome. It was around $200 to have them blasted and two-stage powder coating. You could probably paint them for $50 in materials, but you'll have 2-3 hours of time in prep work, flipping them over to paint, etc. I though the rattle can job did OK for the nearly 4 years the sliders were on the rig. IMO the powder certainly looks a lot better than a rattle can job, but it needs to last just as long to be the "better" option for a set of sliders since it's more expensive.
Here are some pics of a front end loader attachment for my tractor (John Deere Green) and some deck railings (satin black) that I also made and had blasted/coated. Both came out just as good as paint, IMO, with the loader attachment having a nicer finish than John Deere put on my tractor from the factory.
Looks great!
Yeah, I’m bypassing paint entirely for this stuff. Could do that myself, but just won’t last. Looking at a pic on my phone I couldn’t see enough detail to tell what was on your sliders. There’s a shop in my area that regularly does full dirt track chassis and the like, so I was thinking about using them. They will do a two stage primer/topcoat. It’s probably the most appealing aesthetically and should hold up well.
In the meantime, I’m thinking hard about refreshing my welding skills and building out a rear bumper from a kit.
Yeah, I’m bypassing paint entirely for this stuff. Could do that myself, but just won’t last. Looking at a pic on my phone I couldn’t see enough detail to tell what was on your sliders. There’s a shop in my area that regularly does full dirt track chassis and the like, so I was thinking about using them. They will do a two stage primer/topcoat. It’s probably the most appealing aesthetically and should hold up well.
In the meantime, I’m thinking hard about refreshing my welding skills and building out a rear bumper from a kit.
You're making me want to try out a local welding class around here! GX looks great. That slider powder coat really does look good.
Had I any idea the wait for my bumper and sliders would be so long, I would have just gone the DIY route to start. What began as 10-12 weeks is double that now, and I’m told another 8 weeks before they ship.
- Thread starter
- #537
It's pretty crazy how booked up all of the off-road suppliers still seem to be. I ordered a Prospeed rack back around Christmas and it's coming today! Around a 18 week delay.Had I any idea the wait for my bumper and sliders would be so long, I would have just gone the DIY route to start. What began as 10-12 weeks is double that now, and I’m told another 8 weeks before they ship.
I got into fabrication mainly to build railings for my deck. Custom-built by a professional with my CAD design, and powder coated, they would have easily been $100 a foot all-in and my deck needs ~72 feet of them. I'll be a little below that all-in, but that includes buying all of the fabrication tools, and now I have a new skill. I'm also finding it to be a enjoyable and de-stressing hobby.
- Thread starter
- #538
Ordered some new rear wheel bearings as a "while I'm in there" thing for gear/locker install (probably next month sometime). These are SKF bearings from Rock Auto ($139 per side), which turned out to be Made in Japan NSK bearings! They might come from the same factory as the OE Toyota bearings for all I know. I'm curious if the SKF front assembled bearing/hub units are also Japanese bearings, considering they are $104 ea. while I paid $170 ea. for them from Yota Bearings and Hubs a few years ago.
Regardless, the SKFs appear to be the cheapest option for a legit set of Japanese rear wheel bearings. NAPA sells them for $322 from they are $202 from Summit Racing - so they are really getting marked up by others.
Regardless, the SKFs appear to be the cheapest option for a legit set of Japanese rear wheel bearings. NAPA sells them for $322 from they are $202 from Summit Racing - so they are really getting marked up by others.
- Thread starter
- #539
Work took me to a site in rural Mexico this week. Diesel, 6-speed manual Toyota Hiluxes were everywhere! We rode in the backseat of one for about 4 hours from the airport to the site in the mountians. It was a bit cramped for me, but a nice little truck, fairly zippy, and very quiet for a diesel. I also saw a few Tacomas and FJs running around, plus one 4th gen 4Runner. Zero Land Cruisers or Lexus vehicles of any kind were spotted.
While the Hilux does seem to be the work truck of choice, but there were also Nissan and Mitsubishi equivalents on the road as well, along with a few JAC knockoffs (Chinese brand that looks like of like a Tacoma/Frontier mix).
While the Hilux does seem to be the work truck of choice, but there were also Nissan and Mitsubishi equivalents on the road as well, along with a few JAC knockoffs (Chinese brand that looks like of like a Tacoma/Frontier mix).
- Thread starter
- #540
Noticed that Mr. T appears to be using AI-derived gobbledygook on their parts website.
Can't say I've ever seen such a word salad devoted to a $9 hose barb before. And, I had no idea - until AI told me - that a hose barb could wear out and lead to serious mechanical issues - and it therefore requires periodic replacement!
However, ToyodaGPT seemed to have missed the fact that most people who buy this parts are using it for a rear axle breather extension on their off-road Toyotas.
Can't say I've ever seen such a word salad devoted to a $9 hose barb before. And, I had no idea - until AI told me - that a hose barb could wear out and lead to serious mechanical issues - and it therefore requires periodic replacement!
However, ToyodaGPT seemed to have missed the fact that most people who buy this parts are using it for a rear axle breather extension on their off-road Toyotas
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