Builds Truckasaurus - linuxgod's Build Thread (1 Viewer)

[linuxgod]

Ordered an RLC rear swingout bumper. James @ RLC has been great to work with. He did several customizations to suit my setup:

• Equal length swingouts
• Horizontal latch (required because of the above)
• Roadvision tail light cut-outs
• Changes to the jerry can carrier to also function as a ladder for the occasion I need to get on the roof
• Wider (more square, really) trailer hitch opening so I can more easily access the locking pin

Cost was also very reasonable, and start/payment to delivery will be less than 6 weeks.

Given that the powdercoat on my front bumper only lasted a few years before starting to rust, and my sliders made it longer but even still the diamond plate on those is starting to rust, I decided to prep and paint the rear with POR15. I ordered some cleaner, metal prep, base, and top coat and will take a week or two once it arrives to paint before installing. Not sure how much material I'll need but if I estimated right it'll be about $120 vs $400-500 to PC it.

While waiting on build/delivery I built a wiring harness for the lights. Info including the schematic and parts is posted in the RLC thread at RLC rear tire carrier / swing out / jerry can / custom fab bumper - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/rlc-rear-tire-carrier-swing-out-jerry-can-custom-fab-bumper.871580/page-44#post-14358929. My goal was something completely plug-and-play - no splicing of any Toyota wiring required. I tested it with a 12V battery today (just applying power directly to the pins) and it worked perfectly as expected.

Will update with photos once it's received and I get rolling but James sent me a photo of it in-progress recently

 

[kcjaz]

Ordered an RLC rear swingout bumper. James @ RLC has been great to work with. He did several customizations to suit my setup:

• Equal length swingouts
• Horizontal latch (required because of the above)
• Roadvision tail light cut-outs
• Changes to the jerry can carrier to also function as a ladder for the occasion I need to get on the roof
• Wider (more square, really) trailer hitch opening so I can more easily access the locking pin

Cost was also very reasonable, and start/payment to delivery will be less than 6 weeks.

Given that the powdercoat on my front bumper only lasted a few years before starting to rust, and my sliders made it longer but even still the diamond plate on those is starting to rust, I decided to prep and paint the rear with POR15. I ordered some cleaner, metal prep, base, and top coat and will take a week or two once it arrives to paint before installing. Not sure how much material I'll need but if I estimated right it'll be about $120 vs $400-500 to PC it.

While waiting on build/delivery I built a wiring harness for the lights. Info including the schematic and parts is posted in the RLC thread at RLC rear tire carrier / swing out / jerry can / custom fab bumper - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/rlc-rear-tire-carrier-swing-out-jerry-can-custom-fab-bumper.871580/page-44#post-14358929. My goal was something completely plug-and-play - no splicing of any Toyota wiring required. I tested it with a 12V battery today (just applying power directly to the pins) and it worked perfectly as expected.

Will update with photos once it's received and I get rolling but James sent me a photo of it in-progress recently

View attachment 2960520

What made you to decide to go with tire carrier on the right? I've certainly see both and pondered it myself. I went left for mirror or over the shoulder visibility and am happy I did that. The top of my cargo box I mounted on the accessory swing out is at the bottom of the rear window and I can just barley see it in the mirror.

Bumper looks great! What are the brackets thingy's next to the tow points? Locks for the swing outs?

I think the POR-15 is a good play with proper prep/application process. I use it to touch up my PC but I have been lax with the prep and my touchups are flaking off where they overlap the PC. The POR15 sticks to the bare metal places fairly well, even with little prep (just washing with water). Getting rust protection but it doesn't look so great. Who really wants a clean and shiny 200 anyway except maybe most original owners...

 

[linuxgod]

What made you to decide to go with tire carrier on the right? I've certainly see both and pondered it myself. I went left for mirror or over the shoulder visibility and am happy I did that. The top of my cargo box I mounted on the accessory swing out is at the bottom of the rear window and I can just barley see it in the mirror.

Bumper looks great! What are the brackets thingy's next to the tow points? Locks for the swing outs?

I think the POR-15 is a good play with proper prep/application process. I use it to touch up my PC but I have been lax with the prep and my touchups are flaking off where they overlap the PC. The POR15 sticks to the bare metal places fairly well, even with little prep (just washing with water). Getting rust protection but it doesn't look so great. Who really wants a clean and shiny 200 anyway except maybe most original owners...

James does it on the right. I'm sure he could have swapped it, but I didn't have a huge preference. The spare tire sits a bit to the right of center so it seemed sensible to keep the weight on that side, especially since I only have one drawer and it's on the left.

I think those are guides to align the swing outs. Not sure if locking pins fit into those or what... we'll see.

POR15 seems harder than PC, so I'm hoping it holds up better. With the chassis black top coat it's a matte or maybe eggshell finish so decent. I do like the idea of an easy-to-match touchup option, as opposed to PC in which Rustoleum matches until it fades and then looks terrible. I'm hoping with using the metal prep which supposedly etches the metal that it'll stick pretty well. I do like to clean the LC maybe twice a year, typically before a big trip, but it's dirty within a few days anyway.

Bumper arrived after lunch today (one day shipping!) It's still wrapped and on a pallet but it's in my garage

 

[kcjaz]

James does it on the right. I'm sure he could have swapped it, but I didn't have a huge preference. The spare tire sits a bit to the right of center so it seemed sensible to keep the weight on that side, especially since I only have one drawer and it's on the left.

I think those are guides to align the swing outs. Not sure if locking pins fit into those or what... we'll see.

POR15 seems harder than PC, so I'm hoping it holds up better. With the chassis black top coat it's a matte or maybe eggshell finish so decent. I do like the idea of an easy-to-match touchup option, as opposed to PC in which Rustoleum matches until it fades and then looks terrible. I'm hoping with using the metal prep which supposedly etches the metal that it'll stick pretty well. I do like to clean the LC maybe twice a year, typically before a big trip, but it's dirty within a few days anyway.

Bumper arrived after lunch today (one day shipping!) It's still wrapped and on a pallet but it's in my garage

View attachment 2960653

I painted some bare steel floating dock parts that are continuously in contact with lake water with POR15 in 2008. I did the full process, clean, degrease, etch, paint (did 3 coats), final UV coat. No rust yet 14 years later.

 

[linuxgod]

Finished up the RLC bumper install this weekend. All told it was probably ~20 hours of work, including building and extending wiring (camera, tail lights, license plate light, parking sensors, and trailer plug). I'm not fast but even if I'd had a buddy to help me do it a second time it would've been ~12 hours I think.

I posted instructions at RLC rear tire carrier / swing out / jerry can / custom fab bumper - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/rlc-rear-tire-carrier-swing-out-jerry-can-custom-fab-bumper.871580/page-47#post-14483009 for future installers. Just need to get to a muffler shop to have them chop the resonator, and track down a creak/groan that I sometimes get right when coming to a full stop. Gratuitous booty shot below.

 

[CharlieS]

A sawzall with a long metal blade makes quick work of the resonator.

 

[linuxgod]

A sawzall with a long metal blade makes quick work of the resonator.

Yeah. For the moment it doesn't really bother me. If I chop it I kinda want to point the exhaust away from the undercarriage, and I have no welding skills (or tools)

 

[kcjaz]

Here’s mine:

Shop did it. I thought about having them try to bend this to get it up even higher but they weren’t too interested in trying and I wasn’t very interested in pushing so we just went straight.

 

[linuxgod]

Upgraded the rear coils to the Ironman constant 220-880# medium duty springs this weekend. Also did a weigh-in at a CAT scale with the new setup. It was just me and my older son in the front seats (about 300# total) plus a full tank of gas, so the truck is sitting at ~6750# "empty" now (no people, no gas). Adding 3 kids plus a dog would put us right around ~7500#. Not even gonna think about what it looks like with the trailer...

 

[linuxgod]

Aligned today. After adding the bumper the front end was higher so I’m sure camber was too positive. He set caster about 0.5deg lower than I normally run so I’ll see how it drives on our upcoming trip. I expect caster will drop .1 or .2 deg and camber will increase .2 deg or so when I’m loaded down for towing and the front end lifts another 0.25”

 

[linuxgod]

Added a Kaon barrier, shelf, and divider this weekend. Props to Kaon, shipped direct from Australia. Expensive but a very nice piece of gear, which should keep the dog contained and the gear secured.

I like everything except the hassle to use the 3rd row seat. Will likely replace a number of the screws with knobs so I can dismantle easily as needed. Need to think about how to do the same with the divider as that screws into the drawer, and I’m fairly sure if I unscrew it enough times the screws will eventually weaken the threads they’ve made in the wood.

 

[CharlieS]

Added a Kaon barrier, shelf, and divider this weekend. Props to Kaon, shipped direct from Australia. Expensive but a very nice piece of gear, which should keep the dog contained and the gear secured.

I like everything except the hassle to use the 3rd row seat. Will likely replace a number of the screws with knobs so I can dismantle easily as needed. Need to think about how to do the same with the divider as that screws into the drawer, and I’m fairly sure if I unscrew it enough times the screws will eventually weaken the threads they’ve made in the wood.

View attachment 3264203

You could replace them with tee nuts. I find them useful for threaded holes in wooden drawer systems.

Hillman 4149 1/4-20 x 5/16 x 3/4 in. Stainless Steel Pronged Tee Nut (25-Pack) https://a.co/d/3iCcQQM

 

[linuxgod]

You could replace them with tee nuts. I find them useful for threaded holes in wooden drawer systems.

Hillman 4149 1/4-20 x 5/16 x 3/4 in. Stainless Steel Pronged Tee Nut (25-Pack) https://a.co/d/3iCcQQM

Yeah I have those and thought about it. But where the divider mounts to the top of drawer I can’t access from the underside anymore. The problem is I used 8020 rails which are secured from the top, but the top is now carpeted so I can’t access the bolts that hold the rails in place without cutting the carpet up.

I was thinking about it while lying in bed jet lagged and unable to fall back asleep this morning. What I may do is get a strip of 1/4” aluminum bar to place underneath the divider, use recessed screws to bolt that to the divider, and then bolt the bar to the drawer using T nuts, as a 2” wide piece would allow me to bolt the bar down offset from the rail. Then if I want to remove the divider I just need to remove those ~4 bolts

 

[a200]

which should keep the dog containednd

View attachment 3264203

Do you mean in the event of an accident? Do you guys not access gear in the back while driving?

 

[linuxgod]

Do you mean in the event of an accident? Do you guys not access gear in the back while driving?

Well that too. My 75# dog has a habit of deciding he's no longer happy in the back and then insisting that he needs to jump into the middle row. Or if someone is sitting in the 3rd row, sometimes he'll just decide to plop down on whichever kid is sitting there. So if he's sitting on top of the drawer, this should put an end to that nonsense. I do like the idea of keeping gear from flying around in the event of an accident, though despite how the Kaon shelving mounts I wouldn't count on it holding back a cooler if I rolled the truck while flying down the highway at 75 mph. I'd definitely still strap down heavy cargo like the cooler.

I do somewhat regularly have one of the kids reach/climb back to access stuff in the trunk... cooler, snacks, backpacks of books and other stuff they bring on a long trip, etc. This setup will mean more planning, or at least dropping through the middle seat arm rest and stashing stuff directly behind it. I would have preferred a 2nd/3rd row divider panel which was 3 pieces (an "upside down U frame that attached the headrests and grab handle mounts" and then a left and right panel that could be independently added/removed) that bolted together. If the design did that I would have left the passenger's side off, so the cooler would still be accessible. That setup would be more convenient for me for accessing the 3rd row seat, too.

I realize though that Kaon can't build something sturdy and infinitely flexible and still keep it affordable, so I'm ok with the tradeoff as I'm sure I've got a relatively rare use case. Even if it solved the above, then I'd probably complain about the occasional Home Depot run still being a hassle. As a compromise I have replaced a couple of the bolts with knobs and I'm part way through fabricating a plate to allow me to easily remove the divider, so my hope is that I can get to a point where it's ~5 minutes to add the dividers back in for a weekend trip and then pull them out just as easily when we're done so day-to-day usage isn't really affected.

 

[linuxgod]

Lots of stuff happening recently.

I did swap out all of the Kaon bolts with thumb screws, and put a plate under the 3rd row divider. I can get the whole thing in and out in about 5 minutes now.

New SPC upper ball joints installed just before our trip to UT/CO. Steering was starting to feel sloppy on the highway. They had a bit over 70k on them.

Yaesu FTM-400XDR radio installed before our trip to UT and CO. Had some issues with the voltage to the Blue Sea fuse block in the rear, but TheGrrr was kind enough to bring me some Yaesu wiring harnesses for the trip, and I ended up making use of the cigarette lighter adapter for now. I'll figure out the correct wiring when I have a little time in a month or so. Right now the radio is just sitting in the storage net ("magazine holder"?) behind the driver's seat so I need to find a permanent place to mount that anyway.

Asfir aluminum engine, transmission, and transfer case skids installed. Had to buy some 2" aluminum bar stock and cut/drill it to make the correct height spacers to work with my diff drop. Skids held up reasonably well in Moab - the front has a very small dent and the transfer case skid too a solid hit with a bit of a dent but protected the transfer case quite well... I'm fairly sure it would not have been pretty otherwise.

Blew out a lower front strut bushing in Ouray on the Alpine Loop. In hindsight the Tough Dog shocks/struts were done before this trip as I've had a strong pull to the left for a while and been feeling floaty for 5k miles or so, and that bushing was probably already bad just not visibly showing yet. Couldn't find a replacement bushing and the truck was so floaty I decided after 75k to just replace the shocks. Slee snuck me in last minute and I came out with a new set of BP51s, some Durobumps, and a spot-on alignment. Truck no longer pulls me into oncoming traffic when I let go of the steering wheel.

Ordered new sway bar end links as those bushings are shot too. They haven't arrived yet so I'm twiddling my thumbs. I do have replacement washers for the LCA bolts as I bent mine in Moab on TOTW since my end links are mounted outside the cradle

Chunked up a pair of Nitto RGs pretty in Moab on TOTW. They now have 32k on them. Going to run them a few more weeks on another trip and then will go through the fun of moving up to 35s.

The u-bolt on my RLC rear swingout bumper broke at the bottom while in Ft Collins. Temporarily repaired it with a nut and some loctite. Waiting on some better replacement parts to arrive but I have a 2' piece of threaded rod and some extra nuts in my drawer just in case it happens again on me. Still not sure exactly why it sheared where it did.

New brakes on all 4 corners this week. Just pads. Went with Borsch QuietComfort ceramic pads this time because the HD pads are so noisy at creeping speeds and create sooo much dust I felt the need to try something else. If they suck when towing I'll report back but otherwise I'll likely just run them. Pads for all 4 corners were about $70. The Stoptech slotted cryo rotors still looked good.

Ordered RLCA skids from Trail Tailor and rear lower shock guards from Bud Built. With the BP51 "investment" I felt the need to protect them, and the RLCA leading mount got scraped some in UT or CO so the protection seemed worthwhile.

Off to do some fluid changes today.

 

[TLC2013]

Lots of stuff happening recently.

I did swap out all of the Kaon bolts with thumb screws, and put a plate under the 3rd row divider. I can get the whole thing in and out in about 5 minutes now.

New SPC upper ball joints installed just before our trip to UT/CO. Steering was starting to feel sloppy on the highway. They had a bit over 70k on them.

Yaesu FTM-400XDR radio installed before our trip to UT and CO. Had some issues with the voltage to the Blue Sea fuse block in the rear, but TheGrrr was kind enough to bring me some Yaesu wiring harnesses for the trip, and I ended up making use of the cigarette lighter adapter for now. I'll figure out the correct wiring when I have a little time in a month or so. Right now the radio is just sitting in the storage net ("magazine holder"?) behind the driver's seat so I need to find a permanent place to mount that anyway.

Asfir aluminum engine, transmission, and transfer case skids installed. Had to buy some 2" aluminum bar stock and cut/drill it to make the correct height spacers to work with my diff drop. Skids held up reasonably well in Moab - the front has a very small dent and the transfer case skid too a solid hit with a bit of a dent but protected the transfer case quite well... I'm fairly sure it would not have been pretty otherwise.

Blew out a lower front strut bushing in Ouray on the Alpine Loop. In hindsight the Tough Dog shocks/struts were done before this trip as I've had a strong pull to the left for a while and been feeling floaty for 5k miles or so, and that bushing was probably already bad just not visibly showing yet. Couldn't find a replacement bushing and the truck was so floaty I decided after 75k to just replace the shocks. Slee snuck me in last minute and I came out with a new set of BP51s, some Durobumps, and a spot-on alignment. Truck no longer pulls me into oncoming traffic when I let go of the steering wheel.

Ordered new sway bar end links as those bushings are shot too. They haven't arrived yet so I'm twiddling my thumbs. I do have replacement washers for the LCA bolts as I bent mine in Moab on TOTW since my end links are mounted outside the cradle

Chunked up a pair of Nitto RGs pretty in Moab on TOTW. They now have 32k on them. Going to run them a few more weeks on another trip and then will go through the fun of moving up to 35s.

The u-bolt on my RLC rear swingout bumper broke at the bottom while in Ft Collins. Temporarily repaired it with a nut and some loctite. Waiting on some better replacement parts to arrive but I have a 2' piece of threaded rod and some extra nuts in my drawer just in case it happens again on me. Still not sure exactly why it sheared where it did.

New brakes on all 4 corners this week. Just pads. Went with Borsch QuietComfort ceramic pads this time because the HD pads are so noisy at creeping speeds and create sooo much dust I felt the need to try something else. If they suck when towing I'll report back but otherwise I'll likely just run them. Pads for all 4 corners were about $70. The Stoptech slotted cryo rotors still looked good.

Ordered RLCA skids from Trail Tailor and rear lower shock guards from Bud Built. With the BP51 "investment" I felt the need to protect them, and the RLCA leading mount got scraped some in UT or CO so the protection seemed worthwhile.

Off to do some fluid changes today.

Looking forward to seeing the 35s and new suspension. After using both the TGs and BP51s i am curious how the two compare.
What part numbers are the new bump stops? I have been eyeing upgrading the stock ones as well.

 

[linuxgod]

Looking forward to seeing the 35s and new suspension. After using both the TGs and BP51s i am curious how the two compare.
What part numbers are the new bump stops? I have been eyeing upgrading the stock ones as well.

Slee's part #s were DBF17T (Front) and DBR375 (Rear). Price was $450 for the pair. They are helpful but I've still maxed them out.

Right now with the default settings Slee used (3/7 and 4/7) the BP51s have better highway manners but the TDs were a bit better in the city. I suspect I just need to spend some time playing with them, but I have a road trip with the trailer coming up so I'm resisting tweaking until I've run them a bit as is in unloaded, loaded, and trailer loaded setups, as my gut wants to soften the compression and rebound a bit in the city when unloaded (potholes and manholes are a bit stiff) but I already felt a tad floaty on the highway when loaded with camping gear (but no trailer) and I don't want to wallow any more than I already do (really I want less).

 

[TLC2013]

Thanks for the details, good to know.... in regards to the bump stops I have noticed when loaded down my rear have occasionally bottomed out coming off drops and high speed trails. I want to upgrade mainly the rears but I don't want to limit up travel. The Duros mention they reduce up-travel by 2 inches, is that something you have seen?

 

[linuxgod]

Thanks for the details, good to know.... in regards to the bump stops I have noticed when loaded down my rear have occasionally bottomed out coming off drops and high speed trails. I want to upgrade mainly the rears but I don't want to limit up travel. The Duros mention they reduce up-travel by 2 inches, is that something you have seen?

I don't know completely but I feel like I have plenty of travel. Maybe they start to engage 2" earlier but it's my understanding that they bottom out the same, just progressively vs all at once. Sure looks like full compression to me