Builds Trail Tailor- Custom Armor Build plus a few things

[TonyP]

Been away most of last night and today man... Tornado hit my grandmothers ranch in East Texas and doing all I can to help my father from a distance.

If you remove the stock bar and lift the rear off the ground where the rear free hangs, the axle will basically center itself. Set it back down, then measure hole to hole, adjust new bar and install. Repeat the free hang and the check center to center. You could be anywhere from 1/2" to 1.5" pending lift on length adjustment.

J

Sorry to hear Jason. Hoping everyone is safe and it's a smooth cleanup process.

 

[Markuson]

Wow. Jason, so glad your family members are OK.

Sounds like a mess though. They are blessed by you and your help no end.

 

[TRAIL TAILOR]

Wow. Jason, so glad your family members are OK.

Sounds like a mess though. They are blessed by you and your help no end.

It is indeed!

My dad is headed there now. The hardwood vulchers are already taking advantage of the bad situation there. Some company tried to say they worked with our family insurance company and they would start immediately to remove the damaged trees for $$$.... "but they will cover any deductible..." They have crews mobilizing to the area to rape the landowners...

Charlie, one of our lead hands, said that just the downed hardwoods are worth over $100K on the North K sections alone. There are some hickory and oaks with up to 52" diameter trunks and 100-150' tall. Just one of those trees is worth $6-8K pending final grading. We lease/profit share part of our West sections/1700 acres to Georgia Pacific for pine tree harvest. It is about 60% destroyed.

I may end up having to head there instead of Australia in the next two weeks.

J

 

[Markuson]

It is indeed!

My dad is headed there now. The hardwood vulchers are already taking advantage of the bad situation there. Some company tried to say they worked with our family insurance company and they would start immediately to remove the damaged trees for $$$.... "but they will cover any deductible..." They have crews mobilizing to the area to rape the landowners...

Charlie, one of our lead hands, said that just the downed hardwoods are worth over $100K on the North K sections alone. There are some hickory and oaks with up to 52" diameter trunks and 100-150' tall. Just one of those trees is worth $6-8K pending final grading. We lease/profit share part of our West sections/1700 acres to Georgia Pacific for pine tree harvest. It is about 60% destroyed.

I may end up having to head there instead of Australia in the next two weeks.

J

Wanna borrow my Benelli M4? It's great for vultures...

 

[linuxgod]

But when your rigs time is up its up... no matter what you do to it..

That'll buff right out

 

[gaijin]

... do you have any pics with a shackle mounted?

Here you go:

And one pic without the shackle:

HTH

 

[Markuson]

Here you go:

And one pic without the shackle:

HTH

I'm curious why the lower extension?

 

[gaijin]

I'm curious why the lower extension?

Because this is what's in the Owner's Manual:

And if I ever find myself having to be tied down to a flatbed, I'd rather use the original tie down points than TT's recovery points - a chain hook, as typically found on tow trucks for this purpose, would fit much better in the oval OEM tie down hole than the circular hole on the TT's.

Make sense? Or did I overthink the problem ... Certainly wouldn't be the first time.

 

[Markuson]

Because this is what's in the Owner's Manual:

And if I ever find myself having to be tied down to a flatbed, I'd rather use the original tie down points than TT's recovery points - a chain hook, as typically found on tow trucks for this purpose, would fit much better in the oval OEM tie down hole than the circular hole on the TT's.

Make sense? Or did I overthink the problem ... Certainly wouldn't be the first time.

I wouldn't want the loss in clearance, personally...and tie downs do not require all the much force... Feel certain they could tie down from those massively strong points. It's not like they are lifting your tuck's weight with them. They are just keeping it from rolling.

I would not tie down with the stock points, because they have welds that are weaker when pulling down. But with those recovery points? There IS no weld. I figure Toyota adds those extensions because they only have those messy welded stock points... Once you add solid points? Meh. I'd lose em. My truck was recently flatbed towed by the way. Didn't bat an eyelash using my recovery points that are much like yours.

 

[gaijin]

... do you have any pics with a shackle mounted?

Or how about with my preferred Bubba Rope 7/16" Gator Jaw soft shackle:

These soft shackles continue to impress - 32,000 lb breaking strength, lightweight, won't ding stuff up - not good for connection to chains, but any kind of rope, webbing, etc. it works great. Amazon has them here: Amazon.com: Bubba Rope *Newest Version* Green & Black GatorJaw 7/16 Soft Shackle: Automotive

HTH

 

[TonyP]

I'm planning on trying those soft shackles too.

 

[TRAIL TAILOR]

Front is finished.

 

[TonyP]

Hopefully/Possibly, late next week it'll be all coated, mounted and ready to ram into and drop onto various geological structures.
Very excited.

 

[Willy beamin]

Nice work. Bunch-o-tough dog in the background. You're busy

 

[TRAIL TAILOR]

Nice work. Bunch-o-tough dog in the background. You're busy

I am indeed! Good product and 9 more pallets on the way.

J

 

[spressomon]

Nice design and fab work on the front bumper J! Sorry to hear about the twister ... hope no one was hurt!

 

[Markuson]

Front is finished.

View attachment 1452452 View attachment 1452453

MAN that looks fantastic!

 

[TRAIL TAILOR]

Or how about with my preferred Bubba Rope 7/16" Gator Jaw soft shackle:

These soft shackles continue to impress - 32,000 lb breaking strength, lightweight, won't ding stuff up - not good for connection to chains, but any kind of rope, webbing, etc. it works great. Amazon has them here: Amazon.com: Bubba Rope *Newest Version* Green & Black GatorJaw 7/16 Soft Shackle: Automotive

HTH

Get a hold of Chaz at MRT Motorsports-- usually cheaper than Amazon and is a MUD vendor. He is a RIGID and Baja Design dealer too.

BUBBA ROPE is at Moore Racing Tech - IH8MUD Discount!

 

[TRAIL TAILOR]

Nice design and fab work on the front bumper J! Sorry to hear about the twister ... hope no one was hurt!

MAN that looks fantastic!

Thanks guys! It was a fun build. Weighs in at 114# bare.

J

 

[linuxgod]

I would not tie down with the stock points, because they have welds that are weaker when pulling down. But with those recovery points? There IS no weld. I figure Toyota adds those extensions because they only have those messy welded stock points... Once you add solid points? Meh. I'd lose em. My truck was recently flatbed towed by the way. Didn't bat an eyelash using my recovery points that are much like yours.

I'm not a certified engineer but I play one on the forums

The extension would be a better tie down point, since it puts the stress of the tie down directly under the bolts, rather than at the end of the recovery point. If you're tying the vehicle down, it's pulling downward on the end of the recover point. There's more leverage against the recovery point and therefore more stress on it.

That said, even with the vehicle tied down I wouldn't think the stress would be significant (it's not like the recovery point is 3' long) and unless the flatbed tow truck has a head-on collision I can't see it making a big difference.