What did you do with your truck this week?

[jfz80]

Tested the lateral load ratings of an aluminum garage door.......it is much less than 4700 lbs
Anybody got some hookups in the construction industry???

 

[dohcdelsol93]

Tested the lateral load ratings of an aluminum garage door.......it is much less than 4700 lbs
Anybody got some hookups in the construction industry???

i feel your pain

last year my wife opened the garage door on her car 3 times.

the 3rd time the door collapsed down the center.

I warned her each time that she hit it the next time would be the end of the door

900 bucks later we have a new door.

last week she ran into the door again. I give it one more good hit and i'll have to make another 900 buck purchase.

 

[BMThiker]

Dang! How about painting the inside of the door neon orange or something offensive and hard to overlook?

 

[jfz80]

Dang! How about painting the inside of the door neon orange or something offensive and hard to overlook?

Well, um .... it would have to be the outside. And then theres that whole HOA thing. Right Steve?

 

[Southeast Overland]

... And then theres that whole HOA thing. Right Steve?

"I fought the HOA and - I WON! I fought the HOA and - I WON!"

Funny thing is the HOA hasn't even sent out dues reminder letters this year. I think they are 6 months late. <Nelson>HA HA! </Nelson>

 

[dohcdelsol93]

I spent about 3 months pushing the garage door up in the center so it would move up/down without crushing and falling.

Then one day it finally collapsed. I left it shut with a huge crease down the center for about 2 months before the HOA told me to replace it or else.

I would paint it something very offensive but then i would have explaining to do to the inlaws after my 10yr old tells me what i did to keep her mom from running into the door again.

We are also hoping to sell and get a house with a shop/barn and a little more acerage.

 

[dohcdelsol93]

headlight squiters work again!

now to tackle the rear squirter

 

[3pits]

got a few things finished this weekend

now on to mount the m12000 and make the front bumper

so thats a fuzzy pic, but the gauges are, volts, trans temp, water temp and oil pressure, homemade mounting plate, I might redo it and install the vacuum gauge...or just use that for diagnostics

 

[CruisinTiger]

Hey Bob great lookin bumper....what gauge metal did you use?

 

[3pits]

it is a piece of 5x5 I believe 3/16, I had to remove the back cross member leaving the diagonal one,,, and cut the frame about 2.5" to match up to the cross member...
the top is 14 ga.
the tow points are 3/4" bolted into the frame

 

[CruisinTiger]

So the main part is 5x5 and you tapered it down each side....looks like to a 3x3.....did you take any pics as you were building it?

 

[3pits]

That is about right, it tapers up and back.
I knew I was using the 3" x .75" tow points. I marked the bumper for the material dimension at the frame intersection, remembering the thickness of the bumper material, I added .25", and tapered it up out to the expected end of the bumper,. I ended up cutting about .5" off the end, which is about .5" inside the body line. I think I am going to make some quarter protection...but will make a tire swing out and gas can holder first.

I dont remember why I chose the width of the main/middle section. I could not find any 4x5 or 3x5 so I just went with the 5x5, but I like having a larger place to put my foot and beat on if needed... I dont do enough wheeling to consider the extra 1-2" width a huge deal,,, but if I were to do it again I would try the 3x5 or 4x5 material.

I did not take any in progress pics, partially because I started this project 8-9 years ago before moving out of my warehouse in atlanta... the main body was easy, the lining up the holes for the tow hitch and tow points were a little difficult, but not the end of the world.

I did not want to remove the rivets that hold the body mount on so I spaced the 3/4 off the frame with some 3/8 material ground down so the 3/4 rests on the rivets and the 3/8.

If I were to make another I would do somethings differently, like not cut the frame. In my case I did not care, this cruiser will never have a stock bumper again. I would use the factory holes in the frame for mounting instead of drilling the frame-3/4. I know there is a better, faster just as strong, easily repeatable way of building a bumper without those extra steps... but this is what it is and works fine for me.

 

[Southeast Overland]

I installed some heavy OME springs on the rear of my FJ Cruiser. It was pretty darn simple but fun to have some nice weather and to be able to wrench again.

More here.

My rear is now not saggy and the FJ rides much better. I liked having the medium OME springs and the rear flexed pretty darn good with those but after adding an EdgeStar fridge, a BajaRack, Mombasa RTT and awning, and 2 Jerry Cans it got to be a little too much weight.

 

[boombapslappy]

Hey man, where can I get one of those spring compressors?

 

[BMThiker]

Took my truck and Cat took her truck to N. GA to ride some FS roads near Amicola Falls. This was the first wheeling trip for her truck since we got her back together and she did great.

It was a beautiful day to be on the trails.

 

[Trollhole]

Glad to see Bertha back on the road.

 

[Rooskey]

Took my truck and Cat took her truck to N. GA to ride some FS roads near Amicola Falls. This was the first wheeling trip for her truck since we got her back together and she did great.

It was a beautiful day to be on the trails.

That looks like it was a good trail run. BTW what are FS roads and is there a map available for those? I would love to find some different trails for a change.

 

[BMThiker]

Forest Service roads can be found on common Delorme Gazetteer maps, Google, etc.

Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest- Maps

 

[89s rule]

I took the wiper arms off my pickup and painted them with some rustoleum and put on my new Bosch wipers that were on sale at Oreilly BOGO! Hope to eventually get back on some wheeling trips with you guys. The new job I started last week is definately more suited to making some trips than BMW.

Just have to find my front oil leak and check my Ball Joints as I think I have a bad one. (Hoping its not my idler arm.) Maybe updates next week.

 

[dbenke]

Glad to see Bertha back on the road (trail). I also see a red Jeep (JK) in the 2nd pic.