Expedition-ifying a 2000 Tundra

[devinsixtyseven]

Since the welder is on the way, and I'm finally looking at rooftop tents and refridgerators, I thought I'd start a thread...not for what's already on the truck, but what I'm gonna do to it in the very near future.

A couple of comparisons between Canbacks and Technitops:

Canback-- ~80# (a bit more if it's stainless, which mine is), with the CG about 12" above the lip of the bed. It's the same height as the cab, it's impossible to see out the sides when it's rolled down, difficult to see out the back with the small window. Weatherproof, more or less. Easy to get stuff through the sides. Durable, more or less. Windows are poor in extreme cold, like any other plastic.

Technitop-- ~130#, CG roughly 5"(?) above the lip of the bed. 11" high closed, so I can see out the top half of the rear window in any direction. Durable plastic case is more or less "everything proof". If it's mounted over the bed, I can't get to stuff in the bed except through the tailgate. About 1.5' of open space remains at the end of the bed for easy access.

So here's my thoughts at the moment. I want a rooftop tent...and I have a big truck that I drive like it's a lot smaller. The bedsides and fenders are already fiberglass. The only reason I still have a bed (other than hauling stuff around town) is because the Canback sits on it, and two people can comfortably sleep under the Canback. However, that means the bed must be empty, which means unloading and reloading every time we make or break camp. Either that, or sleep on the ground, which is something I'd like to avoid if possible (wind, rain, snow, drainage, etc...been there, done all that, recently even).

The tailgate has been rendered useless except as a camp shelf due to the recovery ladders that sit just inside the tailgate. Otherwise, its use is around town, keeping stuff in the bed when I'm hauling things.

Properly equipped, I don't need a large box to hold everything, I need reliable access to various box-like items that are almost exclusively shorter than the bed height and can be mounted wherever expedient. A "bed-top" tent would make this difficult, and I don't want a tall truck since I like being able to fit in garages and low CG means the truck is more stable.

The rear of the truck is wide, and it's width I don't need since I don't use the tailgate, and the ladders are shorter than the gate is wide.

In other words, I don't need the bed, and a tent mounted solid to a frame over the bed would get in the way. The tailgate is unnecessary since there's something there already that acts as a gate. So, a dovetailed bed cage with a rooftop tent on a forward hinge and the recovery ladders on a hinged dropout at the tail would make for easy access to all the gear under the tent, the spare tire, the recovery ladders, and shave a significant amount of weight off the back which can go toward water, aux fuel and toys. 55# is a lot to try and lift, but a couple of those gas assist tubes would help a lot and a brace would keep it safe in the upright position. A slightly offset front pivot would allow the tent to back up right against the cab--the front of the tent drops down instead of moving forward.

The rear can be dovetailed almost 10" on each side and still maintain enough forward space for a rooftop tent, enough cargo space for a large spare tire, fuel, water and other things--almost all the cargo is carried at the front, not the rear of the bed--and still leave more than six square feet of space open between the back of the tent and the recovery ladders.

If it's bolted on using the existing holes for the bed, I can even swap the two if I want the bed back...may as well, since the bed is already trimmed to hang the glass, and a bed is handy.

The part I'm having trouble with at the moment is how to carry the bikes. I think they could ride on top of the tent, since the Technitop uses that hard plastic shell. They'd end up about 1' over the top of the cab, where most people let them ride anyway.

With this setup (sans bikes), I could do hard 4WD work in style with a rooftop tent, maintain visibility and a low COG, carry necessary items in designed space rather than splitting a box (the glass bedsides could even be hinged, so shovels and such could be accessed from the side and hidden otherwise), and essentially keep it low profile but extremely capable and comfortable.

I'll get some CAD drawings of this up later.

The truck is already "built", but not for expedition travel yet...just 4WD stuff. The new rear axle is ready in the next week or two, sez the FROR crew...pics when I pick it up :D.

-Sean

[DaveInDenver]

So here's my thoughts at the moment. I want a rooftop tent...and I have a big truck that I drive like it's a lot smaller. The bedsides and fenders are already fiberglass. The only reason I still have a bed (other than hauling stuff around town) is because the Canback sits on it

The tailgate has been rendered useless except as a camp shelf due to the recovery ladders that sit just inside the tailgate.

Properly equipped, I don't need a large box to hold everything, I need reliable access to various box-like items that are almost exclusively shorter than the bed height
I snipped heavily. I read that and what jumps out to me is to take the bed off completely, replace it with a flat bed tray with utility boxes on the sides. Then build a rack to hold the tent where ever you want.

Like a Aussie ute tray, but maybe add locking utility trays along the side to protect your stuff from weather and theft.

http://www.silverbackutetrays.com.au/images/triton.jpg

I'm not all that different from you, except that I have a WilderNest and that fits nicely on a stock bed. Plus having a strong rails is key to not tearing the 'Nest off when it's open. To fab anything similar would end up as or more heavy than the bed and probably be less weatherproof anyway.

[devinsixtyseven]

yeah, almost exactly like that. just picture normal bedsides covering the box, and the box will only be what's necessary, and lower profile. i need the tent and a way to carry gear, and a box isn't necessarily the most efficient way to do that.

those wildernests are really nice. i used to have a snugtop, which was also completely weatherproof...weather is one of the downsides to the canback, and i've gone with ammo cans, drybags and tupperware to keep everything weatherproof and continue using the canback. fuel and water cans are weatherproof anyway, as is the tire, shovel, and other stuff...it's really just tools, tents and clothing that needs somewhere sealed and protected, if i have a rooftop tent, and that's all fairly small stuff.

[BajaTaco]

This sounds like a really cool concept. I have thought about similar ideas myself. The only part of your description that I am fuzzy on, is how you will stow all of your gear. You mentioned a "box". Would it have pull-out drawers? Or would the hinged tent open like a big lid to access the box? I would think I might want to be able to access the gear without disturbing the tent (like in the case of a multi-day camp).

[devinsixtyseven]

I meant box as in the stock bed, not a gear box.

I'm actually not worried about gear storage. The major items that would stow underneath the tent would be storage for water and auxiliary fuel, with chuckwagon gear and general large camp items to the rear of liquid storage, and the remainder of the open box left for soft goods, toys and random stuff.

A standard 5gal jerrycan is about 19x7x14, or taller than the bedsides of a Yota standing up. On their sides, they fit a couple inches below the bed, and a pair leaves either space in the center or crush space at the edges. The open center would be a great spot for an auxiliary water tank. Ten cans (30g fuel, 20g water) would only require 3' from the front of the bed, or not quite all the way under a rooftop tent mounted over the bed. There would still be about a foot under the rtt, and another 3' of open space to the tailgate. A gargantuan spare tire fits at the rear and leaves about a foot of completely empty space somewhere in the mix for "stuff", plus about a 9" high space over the spare inside the bedrails. That doesnt even include the blank space from the jerrycans--they take up about 40" width at the centerline, leaving almost 10" per side, or a 20" wide blank in the center. That's enough to stow shovel, ax, hilift, camp chairs, recovery gear, tools, snowboards, etc.

The recovery ladders can either ride at the very bottom, or just under the tent. I don't think it's a problem to raise the tent for fuel, and I'd prefer water be in a dedicated tank anyway that doesn't require moving the tank for access. With water at the front (it's heavier anyway), fuel would be easy to access by lifting the tent like a tonneau cover, and if it's a multi-day camp I won't need to be digging for fuel anyway, until it's go time and then the tent will be stowed.

Here's a quick, rough autocad sketch. It's all to scale, that's a 44x51 Technitop set to open rearward, with the axle in about the correct location and the planned width, with the planned backspacing and tire size. The left shows the planned dovetail design, the right is what it looks like right now (but with the new axle and tire, stock actually sits inside the fiberglass an inch). I'll have to TRY to bounce the rear of the bed off things.

I'm gonna work at this more later, and in color, to show where I plan to stash fuel, water, and the spare tire, then fill in the blanks with tools and gear, including the passenger compartment. This is a really, really rough sketch and it's only accurate to about an inch or so.

If I do like I was talking elsewhere, water and food go in the cab, which frees up almost 2' of space along the bed. I'm also assuming that "most necessary" clothing and emergency items go in the cab, they will fit even with a fridge and water containers in the cab. Tundras have quite a bit of cargo volume to play with.

*edit* You would not believe the flaming hoops I had to jump to upload a bmp. The front axle is on the right, rear on the left, bottom is the passenger side (not dovetailed), top shows the planned dovetail.

The welder arrives in four days, and then it's soooo awwwwnnn :jump:

[devinsixtyseven]

Odyssey has a new cell out as of last summer, it's a 1500DT...lighter than a 1700, more reserve than a 1200, and no need for liner or metal jacket. 50#, and fits (rough rounded estimate with cables) in a box 12"x12"x8". It's the same size as a group 34 cell, ie same size as a standard Optima.

They also have an electronic wall charger...it'll charge Optimas as well, and it's about the size of a large cell phone charger. There's an Odyssey-specific charger as well, only difference I think is higher current, which few batteries can handle outside the Odyssey.

How they stack up:
Battery/CCA@0F/RSV@25A/Gp/Wt
Optima/750/120/34M/43
Odyssey/825/125/34M/49

They're the same size, the Odyssey is 6# heavier...running through the numbers, the Optima just barely has the edge on the Odyssey as far as output per pound...like around 3%. With the increase in CCA and the better charge/discharge characteristics of the Odyssey, I'm going to give these a shot.

[BajaTaco]

Cool, I kind of got lost in your description, but it sounds like I will be able to see photos before too long. So you are planning to use ten jerry cans? And you will not have a passenger?

[devinsixtyseven]

If I do it right, I should be able to carry at least one passenger. Ideally, three! But two would have to be smaller, like girls, or midgets, or girl midgets.

Ten jerrycans, well, ideally just six jerry cans. I'd prefer to carry 20g water in a dedicated tank at the centerline of the vehicle...under the Technitop, between the gas cans. That pushes the liquid storage forward more, and keeps a major consumable source of weight centered. Water in the rear also leaves more room for gear in the cab, the fridge will be centered low in the back seat and I think I can keep the two outer seats intact for passengers. I'd at least like to keep one seat there, and if possible keep both areas open...it's really nice to be able to put soft goods, food and drinks in the back seat when it's only two people, or carry a few friends on a short trip. I mean...riding shotgun is great, but riding next to the cold drinks in the obf might be even better.

Actually, the only thing I'm still working out is where to put the CO2 tank. It might work out to move the Technitop back enough to load the tank behind the cab (where it loads now), and have a toolbox or something spanning the remainder of the forward space.

Here's another cool item. The rooftop tent doesn't need to open sideways, it actually works out better to open backwards. It clears the tailgate even in the forwardmost position over the bed, and could rest on the aft end of the truck, allowing the whole deal to be repositioned while the tent is open. I think gjackson mentioned something about this a while back, regarding tents opening forward (mounting to the bull bar) or sideways. Also, with a privacy screen type deal, the tailgate can be opened inside the screen for weather-shielded access to the cargo area. I gotta go back and measure clearance and stowage for the 5' recovery ladders, I still think they can fit below the tent for a good, clean package and preserve visibility out the rear window. It also means I can do whatever I want with the tailgate area.

I'll get a chance to lay it out better in acad tonight...I'm psyched, the glue gun arrives Friday :D.

The attached jpg is completely not to scale, I just sketched some stuff over the acad clip using paint :p. The jerrycans are red, water tank is blue, Technitop is green, recovery ladders yellow, the spare tire is that wierd brownish greyish color.

I should wind up a little more aerodynamic from the dovetail and the low profile in the back, though it's like putting a wing on a brick and calling it aero I'll take anything I can get. With the water and fuel I should get a range of 600+ miles on-road and ten days in the desert with just myself, or five days with two. I'll make the water tank as long as possible, and losing the bed means it can actually be taller than it would otherwise, and a sump can easily be fit in the front. I'll also have to be really trying in order to carnage the bedsides and taillights.

The downside to all this is having to come up with some sort of ridiculous mudflap design for running around more "retentive" areas. I haven't had a problem yet, but the tires are still inside the glass right now. They'll be outside the glass several inches even at the front of the bed, and almost totally exposed at the rear after the dovetail. Maybe some Arctic Trucks flaps would be cool...

Oh and I got my tech callsign :jump:. One more toy to locate, buy and install...

-Sean

[devinsixtyseven]

It all fits :D....and I can easily get 30g H2O right up against the back of the cab, down low. The cad I did this evening (will post tomorrow) has the water tank at 25.3g without sump and at the same height as the gas cans, but I know it can rider lower by at least 3 inches--that'd be over 30g, I could run a shower off the thing as well AND let the Technitop ride at least an inch below the top of the bed rails and still clear a massive spare tire.

Also found that a pair of Odyssey 1500s will fit on their sides about 10" back from the rear axle, under the spare and higher than the bottom of the frame rail, and out of the way of a shock hoop.

The dovetail plan is 6" on each side. There's still a huge amount of room left for things like camp chairs and drybags.

Total payload in the drawing so far (including passengers) is about 1100#. This doesn't include tools, recovery gear, food or toys. It also doesn't account for the weight loss of the fiberglass, the bed and tailgate, or the bed cage.

The truck has a max payload rating of 1790#. I'm glad I'm ditching the bed and tailgate, and already went to fiberglass. With the skidplates and rock sliders, I'll be right close to the max sprung payload weight once the truck is loaded for a long trip, including tools, camping gear, recovery equip, food, clothing, toys, and miscellany.

Autocad pic tomorrow :D.

-Sean

[calamaridog]

I didn't know about the Odyssey 1500. They didn't have that model when I bought my 1200.

[BajaTaco]

I still don't know what the heck is really going on... but it sounds awesome :D Seriously though, I think I have a pretty good idea of what you mean now. This is a super cool project. You are basically designing a variant of a project that I have been mixing up in my head for a while now. The only issue of contention that I can see... is dust. With the setup as you describe, I imagine everything coated in dust and grime. Any thoughts on that?

[RoundOut]

Sean,

I know you already own blitz cans, but here's another idea...

As long as your blitz cans were under the tent, your tent MUST at a minimum, ride at a height of about 19-20" to clear the 18.5" blitz can.

With an auxiliary fuel cell, such as this one from Northern Tool (http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product2_6970_200306747_200306747), you could hold 37 gallons of extra fuel, and have a much lower CG. It's baffled, so sloshing isn't going to be a huge issue.

I was even thinking of this for under my box, but I'd have to find one that is 8" or less high. Our beds are plenty wide, and the witdth (front to back) is perfect for under my box, but it is too high. :-(

Gary

[RoundOut]

Can you weld aluminum with that thing? Using aluminum would shave quite a bit more weight off the design. I hear that aluminum is harder to weld than steel, but I have no knowledge of this personally. Just a thought, and since your just talking about framing, and not bumper-type stuff, you would have all the strength you need from AL and lots less weight.

[devinsixtyseven]

No aluminum with the PP180, at least not easily. The Miller guys tried it, it's frustrating at best...I might look in to ways to attach a spool gun later, but it's not a priority. I'm definately using steel for the cage, as it'll be integrated later with the rest of the truck...it's actually pretty easy to integrate the bed cage with the rear half of a cab cage, it's the front of the cab cage that's the hard part.

I have a pair of Blitz cans and would only transport them upright...I'm not sure I trust the seal. I also have a half dozen NATO cans that seal really well, that's what I'll be using as I trust them laying down backwards, same as a few people run them here on the front of their racks. Upright, they are around 19" or so and rise above the bed rail, but laying down they're only about 14". BTW 1 gallon = 231 cubic inches and I think you could get 20-30 gallons under the back of the bed, where the spare tire used to ride...but also keep in mind 1 gallon gasoline weighs on average about 6.5 pounds (water is about 8.3 pounds) at "room temperature", all the weight aft of the axle makes a big difference in handling.

I am considering an aux fuel cell, but the aux cell would contain more volume than the regular tank, and I'm not sure how well it'd work as the aux tank would be a gravity feed to the main tank. I guess a Super Siphon would work, it's definately something I'm keeping in mind and might be better in the long run than the jerrycans. In the configuration in the attachment, it would replace the space taken by the cans but would be smaller widthwise, and if the depth is increased it can be shorter in length. The more I think about it, the more I like the aux tank vs the cans, actually...hmmm. Also it would be lighter than 6 cans and associated brackets, and I wouldn't have to move anything around on a trip as long as the access port is on the left with the stock filler. It sounds like it'd be a better option, actually.

I will wrap the wheel wells, crud won't be an issue from the tires. The auxiliary tank(s?) will be sealed anyway, all it should take is a gentle hose to clean them, and there is no issue with the spare tire or recovery ladders, and I like the Technitop as it has the shell vs a soft cover. I'm thinking of doing something very simple, like plastic sheeting similar to what's used to skin rock buggies, to keep dust out/away from soft goods...or perhaps eventually a set of aluminum cargo boxes outboard of the fluid storage. My roommate and I were throwing ideas around yesterday and came up with a great solution, but I'm not gonna post it yet since you'll probably be cracking up :p.

In the attached drawing, the bed is dovetailed 6" each side--10" was a bit much I think (was crawling around the truck last night). Red is the jerrycans (or where the fuel cell would go), blue is H2O, orange is the recovery ladders, green is the tent, yellow is the battery boxes, tire is dark grey, fiberglass is light grey.

H2O is in the middle as it's densest. The batteries are a total 100#, vertically they're below the stock bed, and 10" aft of the rear axle they're clear of where the shock hoop will sit. I'm thinking of running a section of conduit up to a patch panel somewhere...someone else was recently thinking through battery relocation and cable routing, I think the conduit will make it easier/safer and the right frame rail is completely empty. If the patch panel/box is in the engine compartment, everything will seem stock including jump starts and accessory wiring, except the batteries will be elsewhere. Everything in the drawing is actually scaled this time, I rounded up an inch or so for the fuel cans to allow space for mounting brackets.

The mounting height of the tent is mostly dependent on the spare tire since it has to be able to fold out on top of the tire...at the moment I'm guessing about 14-15" above the floor of the stock bed, but hopefully the tire can be mounted lower. BTW that is "normal" backspacing on the rims--4.5" on a 9" rim. I don't think they'll stick out that far as I should be able to run a couple inches more backspacing on the new setup.

[devinsixtyseven]

The welder has arrived, it's Miller time :D.

This past weekend, I had a chance to REALLY crank on a few things, leading to some Tundra-specific 4WD observations...

Locker are really, really helpful, and I need one.

If you change your configuration to something specific to a certain kind of travel, make sure you can change it back at the end of the day to something capable of safe, legal, high speed freeway operation...whether it's your license plate bracket, tire pressure, fenders, mud flaps, sheetmetal, etc.

A few inches of additional track width--as long as it's not outrageous--really helps overall stability. I'm currently at the same track width in front as a "fullsize" axle...seventy inches...and with a 12.5" wide tire on 4.5" backspacing and 1.5" adapters the tire was maybe an inch beyond the stock TRD fender flares...it sounds wide, it's really not. I could go to 72" and deeper backspacing (actually, I am), resulting in a better scrub radius, more stability, proper bearing loads, and sufficient clearance to the frame, and still be no more than an inch beyond the stock TRD flares. For reference, stock front WMS on a Tundra is 67". What brought on this thought was a poseur shot on a small rock...the pre-05 Taco I was running with was working on a pretty good roll angle. My roll angle was nowhere near as severe.

The shackle hangers and tailpipe are both in awkward places. I can now state with all confidence that the tailpipe will definately hit first, followed by the shackle hangers, which will then put a dent in the tailpipe and provide it some support so you dont tear out your exhaust system. The tailpipe needs to be moved and protected first, followed by a shackle flip, and then a brace on the frame to prevent landing on the shackle or the rear end of the leaf spring.

The ARB Sahara bar for the Tundra is HUGE. It really puts the hurt on the approach angle, particularly compared to a stock pre-05 Tacoma. It will prevent the truck from doing anything particularly steep offroad, and limits tire size. I've griped about this in the past, but it was particularly evident this past weekend.

3/16" plate is barely adequate to land the front of a ~5000# truck (6K# loaded). The skid plates could use a couple braces on the backside to take pressure off the crossmembers and keep the skid plate more or less straight--for instance, cutting a piece of HREW tube in half the long way and putting the half-rounds down the length of the top of the skid plate. The plate is flanged up on the sides about an inch, doing something similar in the middle would go a long way to prevent the puckering and bending I caused over the weekend. Angle might be a bad idea in case the plate actually failed, as it would drive the wedge in to critical components--the tube halves would be better. I plan to do this to the engine and transmission skid plates, and later the belly skid.

Finally, I can't count the number of times I said "I wish we had a tent with us, because this would be a great place to camp."

-Sean

[devinsixtyseven]

Since it's only about 4 1/2 weeks to the trip and I obviously still have a bed, a couple things are winging this way to make packing easier.

For the spare tire--it rides low in the bed--four toggle anchors (http://www.polyperformance.com/shop/product.php?productid=707). With a couple 'biners and a ratchet strap, the tire will safely stay put.

For coolers, the toolbox and the small recovery ladders, some light duty toggle anchors (http://www.polyperformance.com/shop/product.php?productid=708).

I'll be able to reuse these later.

Also got a pair of 2.5g Dromedary bags. There is a recess to the seat backs, I'm going to try and sling them low and slightly inside the seat backs. We used one of the bags last weekend, they work great.

Quick Fists are on the way as well, should arrive today! Also got a backup regulator for the CO2 tank (many thanks to Brian at Ultimate Air). Side project is plumb a fixed 150# (or so) regulator to the 12oz CO2 bottles as a backup/emergency compressed gas source.

Last weekend I found that 35s on 4.5"bs rub the side of the bed, inside the stock wheel well at full twist...the cage plan continues.

Next: All this stuff goes on the truck, along with another can of Herculiner.

[ChuckB]

I just saw this thread today... and I was just thinking to myself yesterday it would be pretty cool to set-up a Tundra. I can't wait to see how it goes. Good Luck!!

[devinsixtyseven]

Sigh...soooooo bored at work. Nothing like babysitting a long code run and poking at the code to make it run faster.

In the mean time, like those of you who sketch in the terminal or poke at your laptop in the hotel, writing down all your mod ideas, I'm writing down a couple more here :D.

The battery box is something I can do now, even though I still have a stock bed. With a deckplate and some dzus fasteners (http://www.polyperformance.com/shop/product.php?productid=1308&cat=436&page=1), along with a dimple die (http://www.polyperformance.com/shop/product.php?productid=1329&cat=436&page=1), I can make a flush-mounted deckplate over the battery box and continue to use the stock bed. I also suspect I could make small plates located over the new locations of the upper shock mount bolts...those things are always so !@#$ hard to reach.

As for the tiedowns, they are recessed, and I thought about shaping small holes in the bed with a reinforcement plate on the backside...but that's overly complicated. It would be much easier to just make a cutout from some 1/8" (or so) polycarb (which I picked up yesterday) and make a spacer between the rim of the tiedown and the bed.

Thinking back to water storage, there's a lot of room under the captain's chairs. I'm not sure how much room yet, but I think a clever guy could put a couple gallons under each seat. The CG of the setup would be lower than if they rode in the bed.

The carpet needs to come out. Anyone know someone with a Tundra who needs to replace their carpet? Maybe I'll keep it for another project. The carpet, and those goofy hanging flaps of foam behind the rear seat, will disappear and be replaced with several coats of Herculiner. Eventually I'll take care of the sill plates for a completely grunge-resistant floor. I think the result will be a little noisier, and more influenced by outside temperature and the temperature of the space between the cab and the belly skid, but I'm ok with that.

On the subject of temperature in the powertrain, a few holes in the belly skid will lighten the load and allow the space to breathe. JDM dimple dies aren't cheap, but will dimple 3/16" plate.

The carnage and chaos begins Monday.

[devinsixtyseven]

The carpet is 3/4ths of the way out. There is an incredible amount of red dust around the rear cab vents, I'm adding a small filter--even if it's just a piece of thick gauze--to the vents. Yuck.

I'm amazed at how many of the bolts for things in the cab penetrate to the outside of the cab. Perhaps it's just surprise that the cab is so thin, or that some of these things would be bolted to such a small section of sheetmetal, or that such small attachment points hold up in a crash (Tundras' crash resistance is well documented). Several of the seat, seatbelt, and rear seat lower frame bolts go right through the cab. They'll get a good cleaning, Green Grease and loctite before they're reinstalled.

The deck of the cab is a good eight inches below the level of the bed. There is also a generous amount of room under the seat, extending behind the seat to the bump over the exhaust and fuel tank areas underneath...enough room to easily stash five gallons on the passenger side, not sure of the available space on the driver side but it's a lot. Not only does water storage in this area keep the center of gravity over half a foot lower than water stored upright in the bed, it frees up a huge amount of space in the bed by using otherwise blank space in the cab--space that would be poorly used for tools as it's hard to reach.

Without the back seat in place, the cab of a Tundra is cavernous. With potentially fifteen gallons of water stored in and around the cab (between the sliders and the body there's ~2.5gal space each side), vehicle dynamics will be much more stable. Because of the location of the fuel tank, there's less space on the floor of the cab on the driver side, however I think with two equal sized water tanks, the additional space on the passenger side would be a good place for small hand tools--things like tire deflators, screwdrivers, pressure guages, tire chuck, blast nozzle, and other small bits that normally live in the center console. In addition, the drivetrain will keep the water in that location warm--thawed in winter and shower warm in summer.

Tundra seats are a little different than Tacoma seats. I haven't quite decided how to mount flashlights...they may mount to the tub. The orientation of the seatbelt mount and the lack of plastic area on the outside of the seat would lead to interference between the light and the seatbelt tensioner pod--no bueno.

There are several very beefy attachment points in the back of the cab, not associated with the back seat. Not sure what I'll use them for, yet, but they'll come in handy I'm sure. Simple use would be to hang a mesh bag for dirty clothing, better use would be lashing down a storage container...not a cooler, this area gets too much heat from the drivetrain with a belly skid (I need to get some dimple dies for the belly skid). It's a good area to lash down backpacks, drybags and other things that probably shouldn't ride in the elements. Eventually, there will be a fridge there, but not for a while.

Also, the rear axle is finished :jump:. I get to pick it up (and the deflator tool and the exhaust jack!) next week, when the truck is back in one piece :p.

I haven't even started on the bed yet...

[ChuckB]

We NEED picts!!!! :chowtime:

[RoundOut]

We NEED picts!!!! :chowtime:

:iagree:

[devinsixtyseven]

My roommate has the only digital in the house, and since's hes gone for two weeks, I get the garage to myself.

Of course, he has the camera :p. Katie might be able to check one out from school...

The rear seat of an Access Cab Tundra weighs fifty pounds. The carpet weighs twenty pounds.

A can of Herculiner weighs two pounds.

Between the fiberglass fenders and bedsides, integrated low-profile rear bumper and receiver, "carpet mod" and removal of the rear seat, the truck is probably a good 150#+ lighter. 150# is a lot of steak and beer.

It's really easy to take everything out...even the seatbelts, tho the pretensioners on the front belts have me a little psyched out, I'm not going to detach them from the belts, just pop the wires loose to the assembly and support them somewhere. The rears don't have pretensioners wired to the accelerometers, so they're already out. The floor of the cab is bare metal, all I need to do is pop the wires loose, support/cover them, then clean everything and I can paint it up...should be able to start tomorrow. There is some garbagey tape running along under the back window, it's not attached to anything, nor does it appear to serve any purpose at all. Also, the black electrical tape wrapped around most of the wiring is a little tangled in places and hanging loose here and there.

The main wiring harness leading from the dash to the drivetrain electronics is under the driver's seat and passes through a huge rubber grommet in the floor. Also, there are two power leads...one under each seat, neither is being used since I have manual seats. Haven't decided how to use these yet (or even at what point they're hot), but I'm sure they'll come in handy later. In addition, the rubber grommet on the driver side is probably the same size as the plastic cover filling the hole on the passenger side. Either side would make a good location to run lines for rock lights, since the lines can follow existing wiring channels under the door sill trim.

The weight I'm removing will go back in eventually as water--ten gallons is about 80#, and it should fit just above floor level in the cab, with the CG 2-4" off the deck vs roughly a foot (or more) higher if it's riding in the bed in 5gal containers (tho I will still carry a Scepter can JIC, so I can use a grav filter setup like the Badgers--see their pics). In addition, I think another 2-3 gallons will fit in the space between the sliders, body and frame, and access could be routed through the grommets on either side of the front seats. Combined with the two Drom bags (haven't looked yet at the backs of the seats, been busy with the carpet :D), that's 20gal water in dedicated onboard storage, with a spare 5gal Scepter to be filled with filtered water if desired. With a Katadyne grav setup I think that'll be plenty! And NONE of it will have to go in the bed or on the roof :D.

More tomorrow, hopefully pics at some point before it's covered in Herculiner :p.

I'm hoping if I can get this done at the rate I think is possible (liner done by Friday), I can pop the bed off and have a proper look around under there...plus mount all the goodies from Polyperformance and the Fire Store :D.

Also I was incorrect before in my estimation of whether or not a 4D Maglite will fit against the captain's chairs...it'll work fine.

[devinsixtyseven]

Katie just told me I have to keep this short because it's late and there are only so many ways to say "I put a whole lotta pieces of tape in the truck."

The cab is stripped bare except for the dash and the upper A-pillar trim.

The vents at the back of the cab can't be removed except by taking the bed off, but the clips can be pushed in so they're loose, enough that they won't get sealed in place by the Herculiner.

With the under-seat metal box structure removed, the passenger side near the rear (the front of the rear bench) is very weak and deforms easily. Be careful sitting/standing/etc on this spot...it needs some sort of structural support or something bridging/covering it that can be stepped on...like a baffled stainless steel water tank.

The spot welds in the stock jack location are kind of a pain, and it was a little sketchy running the grinder in the cab even though it's completely bare. Removing the metal flanges resulted in two small holes in the sheetmetal...not like there aren't more, but it's two I didn't intend to make. A spot weld drill would be better but I don't have one. Herculiner is fortunately a gap-filling material, and there are various grommets that can fill the holes if they remain after lining.

The OEM lining (it's painted over, three sections each side on the floor and two in the center, looks like Dynamat or similar but thin) comes out very, very easily. It doesn't appear to stick well to concave surfaces--the sections over the rear seat hump came out in one piece. The flat sections under the seats adhere better, tho I removed them as well as the area is fairly corrugated. The sections in the footwells remain as they are well perforated and more or less flat...I'm not worrying about the concave surface at the front of the tub.

The big rubber grommet in the previous post...in the footwell on each side there is an identical hole. Behind the grommet there is another hole. On the passenger side, there are another couple holes the same size. Two of the holes drop directly in to a crossmember, haven't looked to see which one, but the exit from the holes is protected by the inside of the crossmember (it's U-shaped). On the rear surface of the cab, there is a smaller--maybe 1.5" dia--hole with a rubber cover inserted from outside the cab on each side low to the floor and near the rear doors.

The front seat belts are held to a bracket by a single bolt. Once the bolt is out, the belt is still attached by the pretensioner wiring, tho the bracket can be removed by pulling the two bolts at the bottom. The wiring can be removed from the plastic guide without pulling any tabs or tape. The seat belt pretensioner wiring is easily removed by rotating a small clip gently downward, then gently pulling directly outward on the yellow wire tab. I actually used a very small screwdriver to slowly move the tab out until it moved freely and could be separated by hand.

The rear door wiring separates at a connection just inside the wall of the cab from where the wire loom runs between the door and the cab. I used the screwdriver trick again to separate the connectors, pulled every tiedown loop, bracket, clip, etc., and hung/set/zip tied it all to the dash/roof/handles/steering column.

The door trim is easy to remove. Start at the rear corner and pull up from the bottom of the trim (not the soft top section). I went almost to the upper rear corner, and to the bottom of the upper A-piller trim. This gives enough length it can be tossed over the roof and the two sides clipped together and out of the way.

There is a single large bolt in the center of the rear cab panel. I don't know what it goes to, it's still in place since I didn't want to hear a "clunk" between the cab and the bed and not know what came loose. It might just be a blank bolt.

The bolt holes all have a cone of tape pressed in to place inside them. I wish I had a camera handy, it looks like the cab is sprouting little blue flowers (blue masking tape)...there are a couple dozen holes, at least, not even counting the larger grommet/plug holes which are also taped off.

Painting starts tomorrow. FWIW it's possible to reach across the centerline of the cab with the brush, so no monkeying around trying to reach the middle when it's still tacky.

-Sean

[ArchaeoTaco]

Can't wait to see your rig, Sean. It sounds like a huge project, and I have to admit that I don't fully know what's going on, but it'll all make sense when I see it.

Good luck!

[devinsixtyseven]

Didn't get anything done last night except the last bit of taping, and then the rear axle arrived and I spent the rest of the evening drooling over new toys.

This axle is just massive. Other than providing "outlast the truck" capability for a 3T vehicle with a V8 and large tires, it doesn't have much to write about expedition-wise, except that it pretty well breaks the curve for reliability and capability, and will help balance out the weak front end. Can't wait until I get the front axle to match! tho it will be quite a while.

The Nupla D-handle shovel and two dozen Quick Fists also arrived yesterday. Once the cab is lined, I'll install all the little toys :)...driver/passenger D-cell maglights, Hilift, shovel, CO2 tank...plus tire and cooler tiedowns.

Along with the axle came an ARB deflator. This is the kind (same as the Currie unit) that pulls and retains the valve core, with the guage for checking pressure. The instructions are very, very Australian :p.

The goodies also included a Bushranger X-jack. It actually looks tall enough to lift the truck off the ground, which is unusual :p. I'll be playing with this and the deflator before the trip in March, just to make sure I don't bugger anything up..."Buggah!".

The mini ARB compressor looks like a great little unit. It's about fist sized, just tiny, looks like it'll fit anywhere. It's only meant to run the lockers, nothing else. The CO2 tank provides more efficient liquid storage, and while I'll eventually plumb the system to use CO2 or air for the lockers (actually I'd like to be able to run the lockers from a 12oz CO2 bottle if necessary), I think completely separate systems will work fine for now. BillaVista has an excellent writeup at the PBB on this compressor and his full pneumatic setup...he has some great suggestions I'll probably follow. The best part is all the pictures of the abused compressors, still fully functional, and the video of the one running completely submerged.

Sorry, still no "in-progress" pics...but I will get some pics when it's all in place :). Lining the cab tonight...it's all ready for painting :D. If any of you Denver guys want to drop in this weekend, I still have a couple glasses' worth of Moab beer left :p...if I don't drink it tonight :beer:

That reminds me I still need to get a 5gal Scepter H2O can...

[pskhaat]

Dude, I'm so confused with all your mods, you have to post pics. How did I miss your rig at the DEN HH? No more excuses, post some pics of this thing...

[devinsixtyseven]

We drove Katie's car :).

Got the QFs (Quick Fists) attached to the Tundra seats. The plastic sides of the seats are easy to remove, all that holds them in place is two small phillips head screws and the seat release lever; there's a clip on the back of the lever that's easy to reach with a flathead screwdriver when the lever is pulled up.

The plastic sides have a strengthening moulding on the back, with some circular hollow sections in there. They're larger than 5/32nds by a bit, and drilled out were a great place to put the 10/32-18 allen bolts I used to mount the QFs. With a nylock nut on the back and the rubber compressed a bit, they're not coming loose, and the nuts clear the adjusting rails. I used the second hole back from the front, and the first hole to the front of the pair that's side by side...it makes more sense when you're looking at the plastic piece.

I also found the seatbelt sensors were unplugged. Not sure why the P/O did that, not that it's of concern to me as I'm always belted in the truck. FWIW the Wet Okole seat covers are easier to deal with when the seats are out and the seat bottom is removed...it's just four bolts and the seatbelt sensor wire needs to be unhooked from the seat bottom, just another wire loom clip thinger that's easy to release with a screwdriver. It was FILTHY in there...

The 38" D-handle shovel fits great above the left wheel well (in the bed, not outside the bed), below the bed rail, sort of tucked inside everything. It clears jerrycans stored in the corner, and it fits better if the shovel is pointing backwards and facing the bedside.

I was going to mount the Hilift to the bedside, but decided against it. It's heavy, I don't have a structural bedside anymore, it would fit best on the left side anyway due to the orientation of the nose and moving parts and making the foot face the cab rather than the tip of the rail, and it would take a bit of a standoff from the bedside to clear the foot. The Hilift is going to ride where it usually does, between the tailgate and the recovery ladders, this time strapped to the ladders...they are strapped to the bed and the tailgate is locked.

With three jerrycans in each of the front corners, there's room for the CO2 tank front and center, tho the lip of the front bedrail means I'll need to put something in there as a standoff...piece of wood or something.

I'm thinking one cooler (the "standard" one) in the back seat, strapped down, and one cooler (the "marine" version, all white) strapped in the bed.

I also took off the CanBack (we're taking the tent)...that's 80#...and took out the bed mat...that's about 20#.

I think between the additional trail armor and all the weight reduction, the truck should be close to the same starting weight as the last trip (added ~330# of trail armor, removed ~250# of dead weight), but the weight is biased more toward functionality and the load will be organized better...30gal fuel in the front corners of the bed, spare tire forward or centered over the axle, one cooler in the cab and another at the end of the bed, recovery ladders and Hilift at the tailgate, 5gal (at least) H2O in the cab (haven't got to taking apart the seats yet ;)). The weight is also lower on the truck than last time, by a good three feet--the sliders and belly skid are not far above the hubs.

I plan on Herculining the outside edges and faces of the recovery ladders as well, it will protect the fiberglass. They're looking a bit thrashed.

The cab is coming along well. It's better to just get the gallon of liner from the start, it'll probably go four thin coats.

I think the new rear axle weighs about 350#. Not sure offhand what the stock axle weighs.

[jim65wagon]

OK if anyone has a small digital camera they're not using, please, please, please send it to Sean. We really need pics and he is spending all his cash on mods and cannot afford to buy one for himself!:hehe: At least his truck sounds like it looks cool.

[BajaTaco]

OK if anyone has a small digital camera they're not using, please, please, please send it to Sean...

LOL!

:lurk:

[devinsixtyseven]

Got the shovel mounted...though it would benefit from a small spacer between the QF and the bedside...I'll just use a piece of wood. Finished the second coat of liner in the cab, it's looking good.

----

Hilift rebuild, no manual necessary:

Unbolt the flat at the top of the rail. Pull the cotter pin at the foot. Pull the cotter pin at the bottom of the handle. Hit the reverse lever and slide the climbing assembly off.

Pull all the bolts out, remove the handle, reverse lever, the connector between the two climbing assemblies, and the slug inside the upper half of the connector attaching it to the upper climbing assembly. Separate the lower half of the climbing assembly from the upper, it's very easy, just kinda falls right out.

Use a pair of needlenose pliers to compress and remove (not twist or deform) the large vertical spring in the upper climbing assembly. Then take the small stemmed cage and rotate about 270 degrees and slide it out the bottom, then back up again...kinda like those bar puzzles with all the metal rings and whatnot. Makes more sense looking at it, basically the angled flanges need to clear the retaining crossbar on the climbing pin. It just slides right out once it's rotated the correct way.

That's it. Nothing else to it...replace rusty bolts with the same thread and grade (mine were all fine), hit rusty parts with some Rustoleum "Rust Reformer" from a rattlecan, lubricate, reassembly, test. No more rust, and it works great :). Total time maybe an hour, including washing everything off, but not including time to let the paint dry.

I like Herculiner. I think I'll add a couple coats to the business end of the handle. BTW the inside of my handle appeared never to have been painted...shot some Rust Reformer down there too.

----

"Expedition seats":

The idea of putting the Dromedary bags in the cavity in the Tundra seatbacks works great. To get to the necessary bits, pull the seat out of the truck, turn it over, and look for two wires at the bottom of the seat back holding the front and back of the seat cover material together through three small wire loops. Bend one end of both straight (they are U-bent at the ends) and remove. Now look in side the seat back. Plenty of wires to attach things! The Drom bags have six attachment points, one at the top and bottom, and two each side. The top of the seatback is padded. Right at the bottom of this padding is where the first wire is. I made a small cut through the foam and the seat back covering, and attached a small carabiner that pokes through the seatback. The next point down is actually the first U-pattern spring, I attached carabiners through small cuts in the seatback fabric again, one U in from the edge to stay away from the sharp parts. There are a couple points below on the edges which look good, I used the lower section of the flat section of metal at the bottom of the seatback, but need to examine the other spots with a full Drom bag. The lowest grommet on the Drom bag attaches to a carabiner linked by a keyring to the center ring from those two wires holding the front and back of the seat cover together. With some sewing skill, a competent sort of person could make the cuts for the carabiners look like they were meant to be there. Since I have seat covers, I don't care about making cuts in the back of the seat fabric, and the fabric protects the Drom bag from abrading against the springs in the frame of the seat.

In order to easily get the bag on and off, I put keyrings through each grommet on the Drom bag, then the keyrings hook to the carabiners. The Wet Okole seat covers go over the whole thing to protect the Drom bags from sharp or abrasive gear. I intend to refill the Drom bags in place, gravity feed, through the on/off nozzles.

The flashlight mounts seem pretty sturdy :). Now all I need is to attach a hose and a magnetic mount nipple to the Drom bags.

-Sean

[devinsixtyseven]

The guys at Nalgene were kind enough to send me a sample of this (http://www.nalgene-outdoor.com/store/detail.aspx?ID=1049).

I'm going to see what I can find that reliably fits the connection. It'll make it much easier to refill the Drom bags while they're on the back seats, if I can just attach a line with a shutoff valve from a Scepter can to the quick connect.

Details when it arrives :).

*edit* Just found another piece...their bladders use a q/c fitting that looks to be the same size as the valve q/c. The trick is getting a couple of the fittings from Nalgene...help really depends on who you talk to. The first guy I talked to said he'd send me a sample bite valve kit, the lady I talked to minutes later was full of "I don't think that's something we normally do" remarks. The product manager will hopefully call me back :).

*got it* Katadyn Quick Fill Hydration Adapter, P/N 8014399, includes the male q/c piece which fits the Nalgene piece :D.

[devinsixtyseven]

It took almost exactly one gallon plus a half quart to coat the inside of the cab from the very front of the footwell to below the rear window with three coats of Herculiner. It'll be a few days until it's dry enough that I'm willing to abuse it, but it's all done and I can start putting the trim back together.

At some point, maybe not before the upcoming trip, I plan to Herculine the foot of the Hilift jack and the end of the handle, and the faces and sides of the traction ladders.

Moosejaw had the Katadyne parts and the best pricing and shipping deal, REI sells the Nalgene q/c bite valve conversion kit.

[devinsixtyseven]

A few pics, finally. With the Herculiner and the blue tape, it sorta looks like there should be a fog machine, a disco ball and a laser or two in there as well.

Three layers do a great job covering everything, but take longer to dry when it's 30* in the garage :(. Hopefully I can mount the (finished!) seats tomorrow...

The door seals are back in, as are all the plugs in the floor of the cab. You can see how many holes there are--this was taken right before I plugged everything back up. All the visible holes, except for the largest four at the corners of the cab, drop through the cab and could be used to run cables/hoses/whatever.

The yellow wire loom covering the seatbelt pretensioner lines is visible at the right side front and just to the left of the steering wheel, all hanging over the dash.

The benefits to this are lighter weight and greater durability. The downside will be a noisier cab and more heat from the drivetrain in the cab...also potentially more absorbed heat during the day, however the rear windows are factory tinted and everything else will be more or less covered by seats, floor mats, and other stuff...I do intend to put the stock floor mats back in place for daily driving, and the Husky mats in for dirty stuff.

Haven't decided yet what to do with the box structure that bolts in at the rear, under the bench seat. I'd like to attack it with a dimple die and the sawzall, for starters, but for now it'll just go back in like normal, but bare.

The dirty vents at the rear of the cab, other than being cleaned, need to be sealed better around the edges, and then I'll put a filter over the openings. I think a filter sandwiched between a couple pieces of grating would take up less space and seal better, and with a dryer vent style cover--open at the bottom, like the kind on the outside of a house--will be weather resistant as well (not to mention it's already protected between the cab and the bed).

All the moulding goes back in like stock. I'll get an "after" picture when it's all back in :).

[devinsixtyseven]

The "expedition seats" worked out GREAT. Ended up with a couple minor changes to the plan tho...

The plastic side moulding isn't sturdy enough to get the flashlight on and off easily...the plastic deforms rather than the QF. There is a better way...the lower front of the seat bottom is formed sheetmetal and makes a very sturdy mount. I trimmed two slots in the foam under the seat fabric to allow the QFs to mount flush against the metal and not deform the seat as much, then poked small holes in the fabric large enough to clear the bolts, put the seat covers back on (no holes in the Wet Okoles!), and put the upper half of the back of the QFs over the W/O covers. Works great, and the light can be turned on to shine outside the truck without having to take it out of the clamps.

The original plan for the water bags hung too low. I removed the upper seat section fabric (there's another wire holding the front of the seat fabric in place), and used MSR's supplied webbing to thoroughly secure one keyring to the very top of the seat frame, one carabiner on each side hanging from the frame, and one carabiner on each side down lower on the U-shaped spring sections such that the bag is supported by the four grommets on the sides rather than the top or the bottom. The top and bottom are linked by keyrings and carabiners but are only holding the bag in place, not supporting the weight like the other four. The bag fits just inside the perimeter of the cavity in the seat back, and the Wet Okole cover stretches enough to completely cover the bag and then velcro shut.

The plumbing bits arrive Friday, and then the seats can go back in the truck. The mostly finished seat in the picture is carrying a 4D Maglite and 2.5gal H2O. All it's missing is the drinking tube. The on/off lever on the Drom bag is easy to access under the velcro at the rear bottom of the seat back.

[RoundOut]

All the moulding goes back in like stock. I'll get an "after" picture when it's all back in :).

Will you have issues with the moulding being loose where the carpet was under an edge?

BTW, those seats are BEAUTIFUL!

[devinsixtyseven]

Last pic of the day, this doesn't have much "expedition" value but it's pretty neat. This is the new rear axle, one side in mocked-up form (incidentally the service caliper is mounted on the "wrong" side...they are "reversible"). It's really all just a bunch of pieces, nothing is greased, torqued, painted, or anything yet...not even spring perches, shock tabs or brake lines.

The large grey caliper is the hydraulic service caliper. The small caliper is the parking and emergency brake. The differential is an ARB, I'll finally get to learn how to drive with a locker. I'll be making the shock mounts, running brake lines, tabs and brackets, air lines, paint and assembly...my request was for a box of parts rather than a finished axle, so I'd know how everything worked and be able to work on it myself when it's time for service.

I also intend to mount the "stock" Hellwig rear sway bar to this axle...it looks like it should fit.

[devinsixtyseven]

Truck's all back together, at least the front seats are back in ;). It's not really noisier, except the vents at the back of the cab are normally behind the bench seat so the sound is blocked. Open cell foam in the vents should allow airflow and keep it quiet, eventually I'd like to put a baffled plate with a proper filter and a seal in their place, but need to pull the bed to reach the vents properly and do it right...a couple nuts tack welded to the outside, with a basic paper, gauze or foam filter sandwiched between two pieces of sheetmetal with holes drilled in them, and an "exterior dryer vent" sorta cover on the outside and inside, similar to stock, to keep water out. That won't be until later this summer :p. Incidentally, Polyperformance sent me some open cell foam today...it had a bunch of D-ring tiedown loops packed around it :D.

The seats with the water bags work out great when driving...all I have to do is reach over my shoulder and grab the bite valve off the magnet...no fiddling around. Already drained the bag on the driver's seat, actually...really, really handy, no more Nalgene bottles rolling around loose in the truck.

It still smells strongly of Xylol (the base for Herculiner).

The frame for the box section that the rear bench sits over will make a great place to stash small stuff, or lash coolers/bags/water jugs in place. Eventually I think they'll make a great place for sliding drawers.

The D-ring tiedowns look like they'll be a great addition. They'll be attached with 3/16" grade 8 bolts, underneath the bed, with a hole cut for access to the D-ring. They're really sturdy, and larger than I expected. They also are predrilled with a drain hole. The large, square versions fit almost exactly within the profile of the two large corrugations running the length of the bed. Four of these are arranged such that the spare tire can be lashed to the bed using the tiedowns.

At the front of the bed, three 5gal jerrycans fit in front of the wheel well, and don't rest beneath the window. Two more D-rings fit in the corrugations to the inside of the jerrycans to lash them in place. I've arranged the tire tiedowns such that they'll keep a 37" tire in place--tested it with a 37" Krawler--but clear the recovery ladders and cooler.

The cooler fits almost exactly between the 37" spare and the jerrycans, and will be lashed down using the tiedowns already in place for the tire and jerrycans. The Hilift fits perfect on the right bedside, clears the jerrycans...guess it will live there after all.

The tailgate will stay in the garage for now :). The recovery ladders are lashed to the factory tiedown loops at the tail end of the bed, inside the bulge in front of the tailgate, so there's really no reason to use the tailgate when everything else can be completely secured in the bed and can't fit through the holes in the recovery ladders. Plus, I can see through the ladders...not so the tailgate :). Voila, another 47# off the truck, and now it weighs about the same--within a couple dozen pounds--of what it did before loading for the last trip (if not actually lighter), but it's much more capable and better protected, I won't be carrying as much STUFF, and the weight is much, much lower on the truck.

Bonus Batter: The X-Jack looks like it will fit perfect over the spare tire. With a tarp (or something) over the X-Jack and tire, both will be protected from dust, rain, mud, snow, sunlight, and prying eyes.

Even the toolbox can be lashed down, and will be more or less hidden in the space between the jerrycans and the cooler (probably also a great place for dirty shoes, wet clothing, trash, other random stuff...a bit of an oubliette, while stuff will be out of sight to everyone else, I may forget it as well. Some of those tools can be secured inside the cab with mini-quick fists now, they are just about exactly the right size to hold 1/2" drive wrenches. I just need to figure out where to stash the crowbar...probably near the shovel.

The second cooler will ride in the cab, possibly also the (hopefully) two Scepter 5gal water jugs, all lashed to the frame in the back of the cab and the three tiedown loops under the rear window. I think there will still be plenty of space for drybags, backpacks, duffle bags, sleeping bags, tents, and miscellany...lots of room still in the bed, just not all of it is in a lashable area at the moment. Fortunately I have almost a dozen of these D-ring tiedowns to work with :D...

Gotta pick up a hole saw, a tarp, and some rope. The space inside the spare tire will make a great storage location for small recovery gear, particularly since it'll be wrapped in a tarp with the X-Jack over top--rope for impromptu chains, Lift-Mate, tow strap and other stuff.

Pics this weekend :D.

[pskhaat]

Hey Sean,

Why is it that you need a new rear axle?

[devinsixtyseven]

Why is it that you need a new rear axle?Building up the Tundra axle would mean a disc brake conversion kit, an ARB locker and regear, full float kit with stronger shafts, diff armor and axle brace...in other words a lot of time, effort and money. The jump to a new rear axle was not much in comparison, and now I have thicker axle tubes and diff housing, more clearance under the housing, nearly unbreakable differential and axles, the diff will run cooler, fluid will never leak out of the diff down the axle tubes, the driveshaft will be up and mostly out of the way, the ebrakes should be effective enough (much more so than the "hat" style internal parking brake, or spot calipers) that eventually they can be used as cutting brakes, the bearings are easily servicable, the entire housing end to end is regular mild steel and thick enough to mount tabs and brackets as necessary as I see fit, which will make it easier to run the shock configuration I'd like...there's probably more but OTOH I can't think of anything else.

I'd also like to run a larger tire, and rather be overbuilt than worry about breaking something in very difficult terrain. 37s are the current plan, they will fit in the rear and will fit in front with a few caveats. I still have stock-class IFS...granted it's about as strong as it can be, but I think with clever driving and reliance on an overbuilt rear axle it'll be able to continue down the trail easily with 35s and with some caution on 37s. The hubs can be opened, the rear end will be locked, and climbs rely more on the rear axle for traction than the front, so even in 4WD the rear axle will take more of the load and the front drivetrain should be relatively safe.

I do plan to put a matching proper axle in the front, eventually. The IFS is about as built as it can realistically be...the truck never sees high speed dune time, but it would probably do just fine, minus the things that require long travel as it's only built as medium travel IFS.

If I had a 100 series drivetrain ;), I wouldn't bother with any of this, but I don't. The front diff in my Tundra is the original late model 7.5", plenty of Tundra owners have wrecked their front diff just spinning the front tires in sand and snow with a bone stock truck, and lack of skill combined with 35s is essentially a guarantee to break the differential (a buddy of mine has broken at least two diffs, one axle and at least one CV joint, and that's just one guy). I suspect the only reason mine has lived so long, and will hopefully continue to perform, is I try to drive gently offroad, never, ever! spin the tires except on accident and get off the accelerator as soon as I feel the spin, and I do a lot of driving with the hubs open and choose to lock them only when I need 4WD.

I didn't mention any of it before since it really has absolutely nothing to do with expedition travel...

...The tiedowns in the bed, that's another story :D. Should be getting most of it done tonight :).

[CornDog]

Building up the Tundra axle would mean a disc brake conversion kit, an ARB locker and regear, full float kit with stronger shafts, diff armor and axle brace...


Not to keep on the axle thing, but rather then building that monster in the pic, why not just go with a Rockwell 2.5 w/ diskbrake conversion and ARB?
Rebuilt 2.5- $800
Disk Brake Swap- $800
(usa6x6.com)

[devinsixtyseven]

Well...other than usa6x6 having an exceedingly poor reputation...

Rocks are really, really heavy. This axle was designed from the ground up based on existing parts and plans through Diamond Axle, with strength, stability, reliability, braking redundancy, build flexibility, clearance and ease of maintenance/repair in mind. In addition to rail slides on concrete halfpipes (not by me), this axle will be able to easily and reliably run at highway speed, keep unsprung weight at a minimum despite its strength, use easily sourced OEM parts for consumables (bearings, rotors, pads, service calipers), allow me to "drive by feel" with the rear axle, continue to run a completely street legal setup (no driveshaft or pinion e-brakes), and minimize overall weight as it affects braking distance and general handling. A Rockwell axle is strong, but the size, weight, options, parts and I've heard even material make it unsuited to my needs and wants.

There's nothing wrong with my stock axle :). It's still unbroken and in great shape. However, I think this new axle will serve my (our?) needs better as my interests expand and the vehicle evolves. Built right, this truck can be a rock crawler, a dune jumper AND an expedition vehicle, and this axle is just a part of that :).

The bottom line is the axle was a want, not a need, driven by my desire to safely, reliably and easily negotiate more difficult terrain with a fully loaded truck, and make complete use of the capability that larger tires can provide.

-Sean

[CornDog]

Well...other than usa6x6 having an exceedingly poor reputation...

Yea, I've heard of their rep... I was just using them for a price basis.


Rocks are really, really heavy. ...

I knew the 2.5s were heavy, but I didn't think they were that heavy. I've never heard of the over all build quality being that bad either, but you probably know better than me!
Thanks for the info, and great write up!

[devinsixtyseven]

Got a few things done over the weekend :D.

The heavy duty D-ring tiedowns went in underneath the bed, with four 3/8" Grade 8 bolts each. They take a 2.5" hole saw and a finishing cut with a sawzall to allow the ring to fully pivot upward and back. All four lie in the two wide channels in the bed...measured from the rear lip of the bed, the close edge of the rear tiedowns is at 8.5" and the forwards at 43.5"...it's enough to lock down a 39" spare, if I had one.

When the spare tire is loaded face down, the cavity in the rim can be filled with stuff. On top of that, the X-Jack, then a tarp, and ratchet straps. A pair of camp chairs are lashed to the straps with a tautline hitch, so they're quick & easy to get in and out. There's a better way, but they're tied down.

Hilift jack is mounted on the right bedside with a 4XRAC. It's more stable than Quick Fists, but the provided mounting hardware isn't really very helpful...better to source your own 1/4" fasteners, since the included fasteners are rather long and only include nylock nuts. Kind of awkward in tight spaces. The label side is facing in to the bed, and the foot is facing the cab (and the jerrycans), so if it did come loose nobody gets hurt.

The Nupla shovel is mounted with QFs to the left bedside, over the wheel well.

There are three jerrycans strapped down on either side of the front of the bed, using another pair of lighter duty D-ring tiedowns. Because of their layout and location, they had to be mounted on top of the bed. The cans are protected from the bolt head by a couple thick sheets of neoprene...actually fender covers for working in an engine bay, handy to have around in any case. There is a better way, I just have to DIY, and they will sit in the channel like the spare tire tiedowns. The cans are strapped in tight--strap, crank, burp, repeat. I'll burp them again at altitude, to minimize trapped air and pressure buildup. The better way is an auxiliary fuel cell.

In between the six jerrycans, behind the sliding rear window, there's currently a 5gal blue water jug. They're durable enough, and I have crates for them. The crates can be strapped to the same tiedowns holding the jerrycans. There's another blue jug at the end of the bed, on the left. Better solution is a pair of 5gal Scepter H2O jugs, strapped in the center between the fuel cans.

The space between the jerrycans and the spare tire is full of cooler. Right now, it's a 58 quart Coleman...we discovered we can pack 11 days of food and some drinks (frozen, ice in the cracks, etc) in that cooler, and a few frozen drinks in a smaller cooler. I think the 82 quart cooler is similar dimensions except length, and there is plenty of room to either side...I see an 82qt fitting there in the future, and no need for a second cooler with everything precooked, frozen and sealed in individual containers.

Right now the CO2 tank is sitting at the right rear bed corner. I think there is a better way, but for now this will suffice.

With the rear seat and carpet removed, the two storage wells are easily accessed. A small toolbox is lashed in the right well, it sticks up a bit, eventually I'd like to make it a sliding tool drawer, with everything packed using QFs, foam, small drawers, etc. The right well contains the 1/2" drive stuff...breaker bar, torque wrench, ratchet...and they'll all be attached to the inside front of that well using mini QFs.

In the cab, the space under the seats is perfect for a couple tarps, maybe some rope, pair of flip flops...it's a couple inches high and almost a foot square.

In the back seat area, two large blue tupperware bins get lashed in place. One contains non-perishable goods and cookware, the other is clothing.

The tent rides on the floor behind one of the seats, the duffel containing various stuff (fire extinguisher, duct tape, flares, gloves, paper towel, etc) goes behind the other. A couple drybags of clothing can rest wherever--probably behind the seats again--and the sleeping pads and bags can also sit in the back seat somewhere.

Should be plenty of room in the bed, maybe even back of the cab, for a couple packs.

Last items are a couple tarp stakes...a pair of lightweight wooden dowels to lash wherever in the bed for a high ceiling, and a pair of metal stakes to be buried in the ground at the other end as shelter from the weather.

End result is proper loading, great visibility out the rear, truck doesn't wallow or ride low in back, and we're ready for 11 days of whatever and only need to resupply with water somewhere in the middle. I think the truck could easily still carry another 15gal H2O, if it were held in Scepter cans...they have a better shape than the round jugs we're using now, two can go in the front, another pair can sit to either side of the cooler, and one more in the rear left corner where a blue jug is sitting now. All this except the last would be riding forward of the rear axle.

[devinsixtyseven]

Here's how it all stacked up.

The final weight with about 3/4 tank was 3500# front, 3000# rear.

The d-ring tiedowns worked great...nothing shifted around, ever, period.

I'm glad I brought a second regulator since the quick-connect busted on one of them. Fortunately the regulator itself is fine, just need a new q/c.

I left out the cupholders in the center console...it actually makes it easier to set stuff there, I'm leaving them out.

We left the duffel that normally carries all the "stuff" at home...the "stuff" found homes in the rear under-seat compartments and in the center console.

The water bags in the seatbacks worked great! As did the flashlights pointing sideways. Fortunately we did not need to use any of the recovery gear. It was great being able to see through the "tailgate". We did end up using the crowbar, copper tube and the large tarp.

I blew the front shocks again.

Nothing on the truck broke other than the front shocks and the alignment going nuts.

Next project...finish the welding table, learn to weld properly, then build, fit, finish and install the rear axle :D...as well as the shock hoop, then the compressor and dual batteries relocated to the rear. I intend to continue loading like I did for the last trip, relocating power to the rear and adding a second battery will improve handling since the weight distribution will be closer to 50/50, at least until I get a winch.

Also need to find a good place for the fire extinguisher, and I'd like to make sliding trays for the under-seat storage in the back of the extended cab.

[devinsixtyseven]

Finished the welding table :D, rebuilt the coilovers, currently assembling the axle :jump:.

To-Do List---
Hang the rear axle
-Shock hoop
-Brake hard lines and proportioning valve
-Ebrake lines
Check for 37" tire clearance
Regear front diff
Make wheel well liners
Install compressor
-Look at full pneumatic
-Mod an ammo box to hold the unit
Relocate batteries

This will straighten out the weight distro a little more...right now it's 53/47, moving the battery from the front and adding a second will pull it closer to 50/50.

[BrianTN]

Anymore updates on this? I'm really interested in hearing how you setup the batteries and compressor. It's something I'm interested in doing with my 01 Tundra.

[devinsixtyseven]

I need to pop the bed off to look at battery mounting, but the compressor is one of those little bitty ARB units and will fit nicely in an ammo box. With a couple holes for ventilation and drainage, and a hole to run the snorkel, I'll be mounting it behind the cab out of harm and heat's way, right hand side, front of the wheel well. there's a lot of room there, and it'll be protected by the sliders.

I bounced off the belly skid a couple times this weekend, glad I added it.

[devinsixtyseven]

The new rear axle is ready to bolt up! The e-brake lines are on order, should be here in a couple weeks. At this point I need to shoot some paint at the u-bolts and plates and the drop over to the driveshaft shop...then it'll be time for the front, hopefully just in time for the Expedition Portal Trophy! The rough part is deciding between an ARB front or an open front, since I have to regear the front.

The brake lines went a lot easier than I thought they would. Right now everything is "there", not necessarily pretty but everything works and the only new lines are a single line to the driver's side front wheel, and the lines on the rear axle...everything else I was able to reuse what was already on the truck.

A lot of the mods I'm about to make aren't really "expedition" mods, more like capability mods...massively strong rear axle, lockers, dovetail, etc.

There are also a few other much more important things I need to throw money at, so once the axles are finished I'll be giving the build a break for a while, unless it's something I already have parts for, like the bed cage and shock hoop.

-Sean

[devinsixtyseven]

The axle is hung on the truck, and it's been around the neighborhood a couple times...progress, progress. Couple more pics on TS, too.

The wiring on the back of the truck is very exposed to the wheel well and the elements. It looks like it can be moved inside the frame rail, out of the grime and gunk, fairly easily.

The factory wrapping is so-so...tape kind of strung everywhere, split loom supported by the lines at nodes rather than lines supported by loom-constructed nodes...I redid the all the loom and routing from the back of the cab, right before the forward bed mount. There are enough holes in the crossmembers next to the inside of the C-channel to route the wiring, except around the driver's side upper shock mount...it's not hard to go around the mount so the wiring is protected from dirt below and the bed above. If the wiring were about 4' longer, or I felt like splicing every single line in the loom (8 to 10, IIRC), it could be run on top of the gas tank crossmember to the passenger side frame rail, where it can run inside the C-channel all the way back...no need to wrap around the passenger side shock mount since it's forward of the axle.

This routing should be much cleaner (I shook a ton of dust and grit out from the original loom as it sat over the frame in the wheel well), and easier to deal with when the bed is on and off, and particularly when working with the cage. The loom I used is also the minimum size for the wiring it supports, so it's not as bulky as the OEM harness.

It's also shiny bling bling red now, because red loom costs the same as black loom :p.

[devinsixtyseven]

For you guys in the Front Range area, Rocky Mountain Driveline did a great job on the new rear driveshaft, they were fast! and it was reasonably priced as well.

4.88 gears and 315/75/16 tires feel REALLY good :REOutArchery02:. The ratio should work up to a 37" tire, which I plan to run for DD duty for a nearly spot-on stock gear & tire ratio, and really mellow double track since they won't flex all the way

With the 35.5" Q78 Swampers I'll be getting hopefully next season, I think it'll be about perfect...plenty of kick for charging up the hills on I70, and plenty of room to crawl slow when aired down. If I were to jump out next to the truck as it idles in low range L, it would be a fast walk or a really really slow jog. Like I figured years ago, it runs a little higher in the RPM range than a bone stock base model Tundra on 245/70/16 tires...hardly "screaming on the highway" material, and I expect it'll be about perfect with the 37s (actually about 36-1/2" diameter).

-Sean

[devinsixtyseven]

It's amazing the changes you consider when you have time to think over the future use and intent of your build.

I got a front air locker through one of our on-board vendors (thanks Kurt!!!), Longfield is doing a cryo and heat treat on the 4.88 gears, and I'm very pleased to say great customer service from both :D. Offroad Solutions will be doing the setup, hopefully next week...I can't wait!

Both lockers will be driven by the CKSA12...it has enough volume that I think it'll do just fine even with the length of tube I'm running to the rear. I do forsee an eventual switch to full pneumatic, but I want to make the ARB blinky lights work first ;). Call it the geek in me.

Got some front suspension pieces coming soon, including something really, really cool from Camburg.

Expedition-wise, this winter I'd like to finally do the shifting of components, water, tool and gear storage I've been talking about for months. It's easy to make lots of suspension and drivetrain mods and miss the whole point of adding all those pieces.

[Blacknmuddy]

any updates?

[devinsixtyseven]

Many, many updates...the seven month build saga is done. The suspension and drivetrain have been completely redone. Here's everything, old and new, I'm very happy and might decrease the front spring rate and lower the ride height at both ends, but that's it. The steering knuckles and outer tie rod ends need a revisit but nothing critical right now. Windshield washer fluid res needs moved as well. I'm not happy yet with the emergency brake, but haven't had a chance to really investigate...it is fine as a parking brake at least, but not sure there's sufficient pedal leverage to clamp on steep hills.

The front got an RD90 with 4.88 thermal treated gears, Camburg LT with custom upper arm and full heim steering, and 700# springs. WMS front is 74", rear is 72", it looks "normal" or at least proportional.

Probably headed to Moab next weekend to see how it really works. So far, it's been great what little it's been driven in the dirt, and I'm very glad I got the RD90...it's already proven beneficial in the snow and helped me get "unstuck" a couple times already.

Why LT...width, stability, strength, and clearance to the frame with very large tires. The truck is extremely stable, sits under 7' tall, could be lowered another couple inches at both ends and get back most of the clearance with a larger tire vs only improving belly clearance with a "lift". Current tires are ~35" (34.6) BFG AT/KO, probably sitting around 34" right now since they're getting rather worn, new grind tires will probably be 36" SXs, long haul/easy road tires a set of used 37" Baja T/As, and next season 38.5" TrXus M/T for winter and deep snow. "Stock" final drive ratio at 4.88 needs a 38" tire.

Time to go play again, and think about "expedition" mods vs improving the suspension and drivetrain.

-Sean

[Overland Hadley]

Probably headed to Moab next weekend to see how it really works.
-Sean

Take some pictures while you are in Moab, and post them up. It would be great to see your rig in action.

[jim65wagon]

Yes pics!

[devinsixtyseven]

It's been a LONG time since I've been here!

With the cost of fuel, construction finally finished, and a lot of tooling and material sitting around, I finally pulled the bed about a month and a half ago, maybe two months now, and got to work! This first rear cage is fairly simple...it bolts down to existing holes, it's light gauge tube, and it's a lot of practice and learning experience.

This project is affectionately referred to as "Zip Tie Removal". The rear shock reservoirs and the brake prop valves were, until recently, held on by a bunch of zip ties.

Since the bed's gone, the weight bias requires two prop valves in series when the truck's empty, and barely one when full...the usual fuel/water/spare/tools/etc. that weigh ~800#+. In addition to a bracket for the valves, all the rear brake lines were hand-bent and located from the union under the driver's side of the cab to the soft line over the axle.

I also made a couple tabs to better mount the headlights to the fiberglass fenders, and fixed one of the smaller cracks in the fenders.

Then I got to bending tube!

The goal of all this was to drop the weight of the truck 300-500# (inner bed ~300#, tailgate 50#, Can-Back 80#, back seat 50#, carpet 20#, etc), more securely carry 30g fuel and 10g water, cooler, spare and tools, bring the bedsides in (ie dovetail), and achieve 14-16" of vertical rear wheel travel while mounting the shocks outside the frame (new rear axle is much wider than stock)--edit--which will make me feel a heckuva lot better about moving really fast across harsh terrain on large tires! There are already places here in CO where Katie and I have been, that normally require two or three hours to access on rough roads, we've been able to access them in under an hour.

Also flipping the shackle over will provide a more consistent spring rate, tho it will negate the benefits of Toyota's tension-hung design. The arc of the OEM shackle provides a benefit to droop, and a rising rate to full compression. I'm doing that part last.

Recent picture:
http://www.tundrasolutions.com/forums/members/devinsixtyseven/albums/main+gallery-428/main-rails-cut-tweaked-footer-plates-3201.jpg

Sorry, that's all I got. At this point there are two braces at the rear, the top has a cross-brace, front and rear braces, and the first floor tube in front. Right now there's a 37" TA/KX, a cooler, and a couple gas cans stuck in there for fit-up...looks like I'll be able to do everything I wanted, plus carry two mountain bikes :D. I have some old action shots but they're not hosted anywhere since TS recycled the photo gallery and I haven't had time to repost them. The bracing on top of the assembly should be good holding several hundred pounds, for example if I ended up carrying an extra cooler and water or whatever...and otherwise it's a perfect place to lash down drybags, snowboards, etc...

Looking rather seriously at Radflo shocks & hydro bumps for the rear. Many more ideas but it's all talk right now :)...must finish this first, hopefully suspension cycled and shocks mounted some time in October...and there's still room for the shocks next to the cooler, if they have to go inside the frame after all.

Building this cage is quite a learning experience :). I still have a ways to go, before I'm comfortable building towards the design in the first post ;).

[jim65wagon]

:lurk:

[devinsixtyseven]

Those springs will cycle a hair under 14" with the stock shackle and hanger.

On their own, the springs do about 9" droop with the weight of the axle and tires, so ~10" top to bottom for a 60.5" long spring.

The stock, hurting, rusted hangers, shackles and bump brackets are off the frame, leaf packs are taken apart and ready to be cleaned up.

[devinsixtyseven]

http://www.tundrasolutions.com/forums/members/devinsixtyseven/albums/main+gallery-428/mostly-welded-waiting-finish-suspension-before-5725.jpg

It's starting to take shape! Rear suspension needs to be finished before I can finish the sides of the assembly, but I've checked the space and it should work out great, with all six fuel cans under the front, both water jugs behind them, the cooler in the middle (it opens with the top flush against the top of the cage), and a 37" spare tire wedged in the back of the assembly.

The top should work out beautifully for lashing down drybags and other soft goods.

The recovery ladders seem like they'll fit quite well at the bottom of the assembly.

There's a good space front and center for a couple Pelican cases.

With a cross brace between the spare and the cooler, there will be a safety support in front of the tire, a way to stiffen the assembly side to side, and another spot to lash down the cooler.

I'm pretty certain with a couple of tube clamps that I can setup up a removable RTT between that upper deck and a removable crossmember!

Also got a pair of new spring plates done up by ORS for my larger rear axle...the Total Chaos pieces were the wrong dimensions, and they were kind enough to say "go ahead and make a set that fits your build."

The leaf springs are in the background, stripped, prepped and ready for POR-15.

I'm keeping the OEM inverted shackle because of the travel advantage and spring rate characteristics that it provides, but making a new shackle hanger and shackle that will allow the spring to twist without damaging itself or the hanger.

http://www.tundrasolutions.com/forums/members/devinsixtyseven/albums/main+gallery-428/new-u-bolt-plates-bolt-heads-5722.jpg

This spare Tundra axle is stock length with a manual CV joint, Downey outer boot and 930-style inner boot over an OEM inner CV joint, for the Alpine Tundra (Gary aka RoundOut's truck) (http://expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8558&highlight=alpine+tundra) during the 2008 Expedition Trophy! The splines are covered with split foam pipe insulation, then a fresh shop rag for some compressible bulk (and to have a pair of shop rags handy), covered with a capped section of 2" sch40 PVC, with the rags zip-tied down to protect the base of the bearing surfaces and dust sheilds. It will be vacuum packed tonight, for clean, easy storage and transport. The only thing that would make this better is an ammo can or something, with foam to hold the joints steady.

http://www.tundrasolutions.com/forums/members/devinsixtyseven/albums/main+gallery-428/best-way-i-could-think-pack-5724.jpg

[devinsixtyseven]

Paint is drying on the reconstituted leaf springs. Each pack has a Baja Bushing at each end, and every leaf is covered in POR-15.

One pint of POR-15 is not enough to cover a 60.5" 8-1/2 leaf Alcan pack...I ran out on the second coat at the last main leaf, very frustrating, and threw a layer of Chassiscoat on instead...not the same thing at all, but equally durable. Unfortunately it takes much longer to dry than POR-15, which is ready for a second coat in 3-5 hours depending on climate and temperature, and cures overnight.

Tried to add a coat of Hardnose paint over the POR-15. Not gonna do that again. It stinks to high heaven, goes on runny and tacks up quickly. One pint was enough for two coats on one pack. Awkward! So I may end up with zebra-striped leaves :rolleyes: or just rattlecan them black. Hardnose also takes about four days to fully cure, so they're stinking up the front porch right now.

Important note...POR-15 (like most things) doesn't stick to zinc-plated steel, which means it doesn't matter how much you get on the edges of your Baja Bushings, it'll come off pretty easily when you're ready.

Next time, four coats of POR-15 and nothing else.

[devinsixtyseven]

Getting there.

Shocks and bumps have arrived, as soon as I'm able to work on the truck again, I'll be finishing the rear suspension and can get back to the overland stuff :coffee:.

Note the expedition-ready zebra leaf springs. :elkgrin:

http://thumbnails6.imagebam.com/2482/2dc0ac24819385.gif (http://www.imagebam.com/image/2dc0ac24819385) http://thumbnails12.imagebam.com/2482/72144324819399.gif (http://www.imagebam.com/image/72144324819399) http://thumbnails9.imagebam.com/2491/3d184624901283.gif (http://www.imagebam.com/image/3d184624901283) http://thumbnails16.imagebam.com/2505/2e235a25045249.gif (http://www.imagebam.com/image/2e235a25045249)

Currently sitting on the suspension, and it's been driven around the block a few times :victory:.

The Baja Bushings really help...note the driver's side spring angle in the last picture. If I'd done this before, the shackle and hanger never would have been damaged. Still to do, new hangers and shackles, air bump brackets, shock mounts and then I can hang the fiberglass while I finalize how to carry fuel, water, cooler and spare tire.

[jim65wagon]

:lurk: Thanks for keeping us posted Sean. I'm really, really wanting to see more of this...it's going to be sooo cool when its finished!

[Jacket]

What? No picture of your bump stops?:ylsmoke::D:hehe:

Can't wait to see that thing outside the garage!

[tdesanto]

What? No picture of your bump stops?:ylsmoke::D:hehe:

Can't wait to see that thing outside the garage!

Ditto. Get this thing finished Sean. Here's some motivation: :violent-smiley-031:

[01tundra]

Come on with it man - you have under 2 months to get that dude finished so you can wheel Moab with us :ylsmoke:!

Oh yeah, 37's & 4.88's are a perfect match for our rigs by the way - think I'm turning about 2,100 RPM @ 70 MPH.

[devinsixtyseven]

I'm counting the days til my surgery is considered fully healed...14 days left, and then it's back to work.

I am not posting that picture of the "air bumps" here! :removeredX: I got enough grief posting that "fleshlight" writeup on TTORA :elkgrin:. The picture is in the main gallery with the other shots in my last post ;).



Oh yeah, 37's & 4.88's are a perfect match for our rigs by the way - think I'm turning about 2,100 RPM @ 70 MPH.

Wait til you head up the Divide and Vail Pass and the four speed starts hunting for 2nd gear :hehe:

[brettf]

Updates??? This is one of the few builds I'm following with great interest!

[TangoBlue]

[QUOTE=devinsixtyseven;351334]I am not posting that picture of the "air bumps" here! :removeredX: I got enough grief posting that "fleshlight" writeup on TTORA :elkgrin:. The picture is in the main gallery with the other shots in my last post ;).
QUOTE]

I really wanted to see that writeup too. I have QuickFists I hwaven't even used yet waiting for that mod. Bloo

[devinsixtyseven]

Yeah Bloo the writeup was friggin hilarious :elkgrin:...but only about 30-some people saw it before it was axed :hehe:. There are some pictures of the flashlight setup on TTORA in the expedition section, it's buried in the thread about the water bags in the backs of my seats. Sorry about all the missing pictures here, they were hosted on TS, so when we switched the photo hosting software & format, everything disappeared.

Surgery is officially healed! :wings:

I and a buddy cut a section of 3" x 4" x 0.25" box tube down to rough brackets last Sunday. I figured after bending the 3/16" (presumably treated steel) hangers, and as much as the rear of the truck lands on them, that if I were using mild steel that 0.25" might be a better plan.

We didn't realize the amount of tension through a section of box tube until we cut it in half. At the end of the first cut, the 1/8" or so gap from the cutoff wheel turned in to a 1/4+ gap, with the appropriately loud ring of metal against the concrete floor of the garage. I decided not to use channel, the profile just didn't really fit what I needed.

When I get back from this weekend's trip, it's gonna be more holes and more cutting. I have to match the 3-degree angle at the back of the frame...glad I picked up one of these (http://www.vansantent.com/angle_finders.htm) a while back.

Total material cost was under 30$ :victory:. Pics after more substantial work.

Also...very handy for making holes. 1/4" max depth of cut, and they go through like 1/4" plate was warm butter. (http://www.vansantent.com/sheet_metal_cutters.htm)

[devinsixtyseven]

Haven't updated in a while, just had so much stuff to do that this is going really slowly. Right now it looks like this.

http://thumbnails14.imagebam.com/4448/8c61b744473639.gif (http://www.imagebam.com/image/8c61b744473639)

I plan to have it sitting on its own suspension in the next couple weeks, so I can sort out the shock mounts. Too much work, too little time. The plan is still the same, six jerrycans, two water jugs, cooler, spare tire, traction mats, and more...

My welding is getting better, too. Still have plenty to learn, but it's coming along.

[pskhaat]

Whoa! We need a few more pics!!!

[bobDog]

Whoa! We need a few more pics!!!

Yes, more pics...I just went through the whole thread and all I have to show for it is a headache and a blurry imagination. 2 + yrs of descriptions is a bit much. I subscribed just in case something visual shows up. :coffee:

[devinsixtyseven]

Sorry guys, all the older photos were linked to the old TundraSolutions photo gallery, which was taken down a while back...I guess I need to get some new pictures. Not even sure if I have copies on a computer somewhere, of the older pictures when I was building up the new rear axle :(.

[devinsixtyseven]

Pictures from the past.

Seats...they were cleaner when I first set them up.
http://thumbnails5.imagebam.com/2281/786c0b22807040.gif (http://www.imagebam.com/image/786c0b22807040) http://thumbnails13.imagebam.com/2281/31400c22807042.gif (http://www.imagebam.com/image/31400c22807042) http://thumbnails5.imagebam.com/2281/1659fc22807043.gif (http://www.imagebam.com/image/1659fc22807043) http://thumbnails.imagebam.com/2281/93bfdf22807044.gif (http://www.imagebam.com/image/93bfdf22807044) http://thumbnails10.imagebam.com/2281/92e4cd22808091.gif (http://www.imagebam.com/image/92e4cd22808091) http://thumbnails2.imagebam.com/2281/d180b122808093.gif (http://www.imagebam.com/image/d180b122808093) http://thumbnails.imagebam.com/2281/94f0df22808095.gif (http://www.imagebam.com/image/94f0df22808095)

[devinsixtyseven]

Truck before the LT, hybrid rear and lockers etc.:

http://thumbnails10.imagebam.com/2346/d0fd6823453721.gif (http://www.imagebam.com/image/d0fd6823453721) http://thumbnails13.imagebam.com/3567/af545335668494.gif (http://www.imagebam.com/image/af545335668494) http://thumbnails10.imagebam.com/2346/d7ca4723455367.gif (http://www.imagebam.com/image/d7ca4723455367) http://thumbnails10.imagebam.com/2346/7e890b23453778.gif (http://www.imagebam.com/image/7e890b23453778) http://thumbnails4.imagebam.com/2346/14b90623455353.gif (http://www.imagebam.com/image/14b90623455353)

All the stuff in the bed is strapped down to the D-rings I mentioned in an earlier post.

[devinsixtyseven]

After the regear and new rear axle, before the LT:
http://thumbnails.imagebam.com/2282/214be822811535.gif (http://www.imagebam.com/image/214be822811535)

Drivetrain and new front suspension, this is the trip where I broke the old shackle hangers...
http://thumbnails6.imagebam.com/2282/dcc7ff22810526.gif (http://www.imagebam.com/image/dcc7ff22810526) http://thumbnails.imagebam.com/2282/34a18322810530.gif (http://www.imagebam.com/image/34a18322810530) http://thumbnails5.imagebam.com/2282/5335f822810531.gif (http://www.imagebam.com/image/5335f822810531)

Removing stuff:
http://thumbnails13.imagebam.com/2282/09731722811887.gif (http://www.imagebam.com/image/09731722811887)

Got a new toy to speed the building process:
http://thumbnails15.imagebam.com/3934/70ca4839335146.gif (http://www.imagebam.com/image/70ca4839335146)

That is all for now...the old pictures are stored somewhere, not gonna bother taking more til it's sitting on its own suspension again...these pics are all reruns.

[tacollie]

This is a really sweet build! Nice work.

[pskhaat]

Why'd'ya paint the roof black vs. white?

[devinsixtyseven]

Why'd'ya paint the roof black vs. white?

It's Rhino Liner, to protect the roof from trees, kayaks, and whatever else. White was apparently the only color they couldn't do, and the Line-X shop in Dayton wouldn't even do it because it wasn't a bed, which was apparently all they could figure out how to spray, so...it's black. I s'pose at some point I'll coat it with white paint, maybe that epoxy Hardnose stuff...but it's not a big priority.

[thecriscokid]

Nice to see those old pics.
Somewhat off topic, but you have done just about all configurations of suspension that I'd like to.
Any chance you know what length rear shocks to use with 2" taller leaves?