NW WA Meet / BS Thread

Have a current picture of your truck? Ill keep an eye out for you, usually look for tacos anyway when I drive.
Lucky! Wish I could go to New Zealand! Definitely towards the top of my list to go

 

My profile pic is about as current as I have. Just a MGM dcsb with a leer cap. I've dipped my grill surround and rims so looks for the shit job on those and that'll be me lol.

 

I've been getting my stuff lately from mule. They can order most anything. I got my phone call today saying my dakars came in. They price matched wheelers. And they're only 15min from my house. Had a buddy pick them up and put in my garage since I'm still at work.

 

Another vote for Mule, they're awesome to work with.

 

Mule is also dealers for Pelfreybilt and Total chaos now too

 

Build day FTMFW!

 

Need a few more things, shackle flip and longer brake lines, then its build day.

 

Mule ordered me upper control arms shipped in two days. Awesome customer service they have an install shop and a store now.

 

You'll want the lift before the armor because otherwise the added weight will be too much for the stock suspension.

Sometimes you don't get options. Sliders provide an incredible amount of additional options and the ability to provide easier tire changes when things go wrong. I'd only really write them off if I was doing sand and the weight was a consideration.

 

Mule is in Issaquah: https://goo.gl/maps/V21QtEhBrNG2

I stopped by their shop shortly after I got my Taco as I've read a lot of good recommendations about them. SUPER nice staff and a very nice store and shop setup. They are first to admit that they never meant to become the kind of shop they are now (they did older VWs and such, then Jeeps), but are very happy that Toyota guys are becoming regulars and welcome them/us. They have several experts on staff and were very up front and honest with me about everything. When my BAMF sliders show up, I'm taking them to Mule. I'll most likely get the Pelfrebilt skid plate and bumper from them when those times come as well.

 

When I first saw their store front, it was mostly old VW vans outfitted and other euro vehicles. They have got their arms around most expedition related stuff for multiple platforms now.

 

I really feel like they saw their shop grow based on quality work they were doing and took some risks branching out. They actually told me that they know what they're good at and what they're still not comfortable doing, and tell customers so up front. They also said that they're always trying to learn new things so some customers end up being their test platforms for a first time job. I'm totally cool with that and really appreciated their honesty.

One caveat: their labor fees are higher for customer-provided parts than for ones they stock/order/carry. This is due to numerous fitment and compatibility issues with customer-provided parts that they've had to deal with over the years. Seemed reasonable to me too. I'm thinking there is some wiggle room there if it's manufacturers or parts they've seen before.

 

Oh definitely. I'm pretty sure that's common practice among many shops. They'd rather get a sale for all the goodies, not just install.

 

Holy crap these are heavy.


I always get a chuckle when I see things dated like this. Only Canada and European country's write the date like that.

 

Have you ever bench pressed a rear leaf spring? I can add that to my resume. I did haha

 

It's been a while. I used to be able to do a clutch job on my older trucks with out a tranny jack. Basically get under the tranny and use my knees and arms to wiggle the input shaft from the pilot bearing and clutch then shimmy it back and gracefully put/drop it on the ground. Putting it back in was a 2 man operation.

 

Ok, so let me poke your brain about something I can't seem to figure out. The (pricey) Icon stage kits come with AAL, but I'm wondering if that's a smart choice compared to the OME leaf pack. Is there a specific use case for one versus the other? I'd like to think that the manufacturer (Icon) is selling what works best with their coilovers, but then I wonder if it's a price point move instead. If I'm going to spend $3K on Icon coilovers, am I shooting myself in the foot by going with their AAL?

 

The aal icon provides is just their way of matching the back with the front. I have icons in the front ATM, and a block with aal in the back. I should be able to remove the block and OEM leaf pack with aal and keep the same ride height matching the front with the OME dakars. The aal and block are less expensive than a set of dakars so keep that in mind. With the icon kits that include just the aal for the rear, you're pretty much paying for quality front suspension while sacrificing the rear.

 

Hm... ok, so you basically verified what I was thinking. Looks like I need to save some more change and go with the OME leaf pack. Buy once, cry once.

Once I'm done with that, I'll have a badass weekend grocery getter!