Flight's Build

As I got it, more or less; stock except for the rubber and topper.




6 months later:






1 year later



Bought my 2007 Access Cab SR5 4x4 used with 55k miles in Feb. 2010.
The idea behind my build is that I am planning to spend at least 8 months on the road in the near future whitewater kayaking across the country and I want a rig that: can move all my gear, I can camp out of and sleep in comfortably, is great for long hauls, is affordable and works for the paddling lifestyle (not too tall and still gets good MPG).

Most of the stuff I am running I am buying used or on the cheap to keep the project affordable. Also I am trying to stay away from anything flashy or easily removed, where I live at school I am on the other side of a park (1 block) from the ghetto. Last thing I need is someone trying to rip off stuff from my truck.

This is the first vehicle of my own that I have ever done work on so this has been an adventure to say the least.



Work done so far

Shell
Jerraco- no rise camper top with dome light and Yakima racks (racks are great, but Jerraco is a crap company do not buy their products)

Unnecessary Stock Parts Removed:
Mud flaps
Secondary Air Filter
Front Sway Bar
Resonator- 4 cyl only
Rear brake line holder at the pumpkin

Lighting:
Blacked out Gen 1 Projectors modified to keep the low beams on with the highs. Low beams are now HIDs
HID Hella 500s behind the grill
Fogs- installed first cheapos hidden behind the lower grill (great option for $20)- then later OEMs in the stock slots
Rock Lights- mounted facing backwards on the cross member
Blue “Fighter Pilot Lighting” in foot-wells (front and rear) and cup holders- trick to these is to use prewired 12v WIDE ANGLE LEDs available in bundles of 20 for $8 on Ebay.
Installed Carling Contura switches into the OEM slots with some modifications and illuminated them to run the above and more to come.
Full LED swap on all the stock LEDs in the cab to a blue/white theme. This includes the gauges, head unit, display by the clock, and the climate controls.
Map lights on with Dome light- still might go back and make this work better so that this only happens with the “Door” mode instead of all the time.

Suspension:
Front Bistien 5100s at 1.75” (Will be going to 2.5, waiting to figure out how- might be with OME 885s)
Rear Bilstien 5150 remote resi's. 8" travel stock valving.
Middle leaf from a stock 3 leaf pack modified with 20 min of cutting into an AAL. This gives about 2.5” of lift with my camper top as well as increases my load capabilities and gives an awesome ride for less than I could have bought a standard AAL for.
Ubolt Flip Kit
No rear bumpstops- they hadn't touched in two years since the lift, even with two blown shocks. I'm going to be doing flex tests and research before making a final decision.

Cosmetic:
Black Billet Grill
Aries Nerf bars
Shortened the stock antenna


Interior:
Pioneer AVIC-U310BT Head unit
6" under seat sub- JVC CS-BB2
TRD neoprene seat covers
Weathertec digi-fit floor mats


Armor:
Avid Offroad Light bar- LineX'ed no tabs
TRD Skids added for the transmission and the Tcase

Wheels:
17/265 Duratracs
FJ Rims


Misc:
AUX bed power outlet- Makes inflating an air mattress in the back way easier.
Mounted a 2 D-cell maglight in the center console lid.
17" FJ cruiser Alloys – Waiting for the stock rubber to die so I can go to Duratac 265/70/17s
AFE Pro Dry drop in air filter
Micro On-Board Air system
Biggest bottle-jack I could cram into the stock location
Exhaust chopped above the axle




Some photos (a lot more as you go):

 

Nice!!!

 

TRD Seat Covers added! They are on my SR5 seats but the fits isn't too bad.

 

Cool. I think you need some more canoes on there though.

 

Actually more would have been a disaster. My kayak stackers blew out on the way back from WV, and there was nothing but the straps and friction holding that rig together for 400+ miles of highway driving.

Pic of the nerf bars (It was muddy out):



I guess they are supposed to be shorter, but at 53" they are the perfect length to give me access to the front roof bar and fit the body contours of the truck well.

 

do you have more info on the reverse lights with the headlight bulbs?

 

I have yet to have the time to do it but the idea is that once mounted in the hole that the reverse light bulb goes in the only difference to make the bulbs go from lo to hi is which terminal is hot.

Basic wiring idea is that I am going to run a power lead from the battery to both hi beam terminals. in that circuit I am going to install a relay which is operated via dash switch. The power for the switch circut on the relay will come from the reverse lights themselves so that the reverse lights are only on when I am in reverse just like a hella. The only difference is that I will be using a different type of relay, which I am blanking on the name for, which works in such a way that when the relay is off the normal circut runs to the lows. When the relay is activated it will stop supplying power to the lo beam + terminal and instead be sending it to the hi beam + terminal. The - terminal is universal.

 

lol X2

those are ALOT of switches

 

Rock lights are in! I just used two more cheapo driving lights mounted behind part of the frame to prevent rocks from hitting them. Pics to come.

 

Also a rock magically managed to smash one of my fogs. what were the odds? Still works but I have to wonder for how long. Good thing they are cheap and hidden, doesn't really bother me.

 

My fogs up close.

 

Just made the harnesses and ran all the wiring to illuminate the switch panel. Looks great! While I had the soldering iron out I also wired up LEDs to install under the seats and in the cup holders.

Pics to come.
Woot!

 

Bought a full set of super cheap Weather Tec floor mats off CL today and ran the power for the LEDs under the seat. This was way easier than I expected it to be! The kick-plate just pulls right off and it is super easy to thread the wires from the seat under the carpet, under the plate along the existing wires, and up under the dash.

Pics to come!

 

Installed 17" FJ rims yesterday. They have the stock rubber so good-bye AT tires for now, but I'll pick some off when I kill the tires on these.

Here is a comparison pic.

 

Nice color of truck.

 

Thanks!

Just finished the ordeal that is your first AAL install solo. Bought a set of bottom stock leafs from a member on the cheap and cut the shackles and ends off so that the leafs are on the stock shackles, but there is minimal overhang. Also greased the hell out of them since they had gotten a mean squeak.

Tried to follow RelentlessTaco's directions since they seemed simpler; wound up almost busting the floor jack and loosing 45 min to trying to find a work around then being forced to refill the oil in the drum. Chris4x4's method worked almost instantly once I figured out that I had to jack the frame WAY up to get the needed clearance.

As of when the wheels first hit pavement the leafs gave 3+" of lift. Exactly the opposite of what I wanted. In the end the height isn't the end of the world, and the improved ride and load capacity is totally worth it. When I used to sit on my tailgate the truck would drop nearly 5", now its maybe 2.

Funny story, since the lift was way more than expected I nearly got totally screwed by the low garage door. As was I cleared by a max of 2mm getting out. nearly had to round up a posse to weigh the truck down to get it out.

Edit: Also ordered some higher power bulbs for the Hella 500s off ebay. Looking forward to seeing how they do. At 7$ shipped I am hoping not to still need a DDM Tuning HID kit when all is said and done. That would mean a ~40$ savings.

 

Rear has settled by an inch so far after 15 miles and 14 hours. Still seems really high though.



Here it is as of now:

 

Upgraded the Hella Bulbs

 

Picking up front 5100s in the next few days. Have everything btu the time to put them in.

Also decided to do LED swaps in my cluster and stock radio. White numbers and blue needles in the cluster, white screen and blue buttons and whatnot in the radio. Was thinking of doing more blue, but I thought that would be total overkill.