Hank the Truck V.2 (Flippac Build)

Hank.

2014 TX Baja.



Suspension/Wheels:

• Bilstein 8112 Front / 8100 Rear Shocks
• Bilstein 700# coil springs
• Alcan 1200# leaf springs
• JBA Offroad UCAs
• Rotiform SIX-OR 17x9"
• BFGoodrich KM3 Mud Terrain 35/12.5/17

Armor:

• Pelfreybilt Aluminum Front Bumper w/ full hoops
• Pelfreybilt Steel High Clearance Rear Bumper w/ Gate
• BAMF Bolt on Sliders
• BAMF IFS Skid
  
• BAMF Mid Skid
• BAMF Transfer case skid

LIGHTS/Electronics:

• Baja Designs S8 20" Light bar
• Baja Designs Squadra Sport Aux Lights
• Baja Designs S2 Sport back up lights
• 2x Optima Yellow Top Batteries
• Spod Control Box
• Battery Doctor
• Power Tray Electronics mount

CAMPER:

• Flippac Camper Shell

2014 TX Baja, clean as the day it was born.

 

Step 1. Remove the Sticker.

I purchased the TX Baja from an older man in the SF Bay Area. He took fantastic care of it. Only 40k miles and aside from some small side steps and airbags, no modifications. He loved the sticker... but sadly, its the first thing to go.

 

Build out of the Truck Bed is beginning.

In Hank V.1, We always used a set of shelves and plastic tubs to hold camping gear. It worked great but didn't offer any security and forced you to unpack any time you wanted to find anything.

Hank V.2 will be getting a set of slides build out along with locking chests. I started the mock up of the floor plan today.

 

To start building the slides for cooler and table top, I ordered 2 sets of drawer slides from Amazon.

$80 Sugastune ESR-4513 304 Stainless Steel Drawer Slide, Full Extension, Positive Stop, 25-19/32" Closed, 26" Travel, 90lbs/Pack (1 Pair)

26" Drawer Slides

$90 Sugastune ESR-4513 304 Stainless Steel Drawer Slide, Full Extension, Positive Stop, 27-9/16" Closed, 28" Travel, 87lbs/Pack (1 Pair)

28" Drawer Slides

To test them out, I build a quick proof of concept to see how sturdy they would be, and the total distance of the slide. Everything worked great. Slides move the cooler out of the truck bed around 28", far enough to make for easy access while standing at the tailgate. Height of the slide is also minimal so stack height of the system can be reduced.

Also instaled a Bedrug in the bed and on the tailgate and sealed the gap between tailgate and bed with a "RocBlock".

$36 ESI ROK BLOCK Tailgate Gap Cover 4.25" width

RockBlock Tailgate gap cover

$172 Bedrug Classic Bed Mat | 2005 - 2023 Toyota Tacoma (Models with Spray-In or No Bed Liner) 6' Bed (Tailgate Mat Sold Separately), Charcoal Grey | BMY05SBS

Bedrug - Bed

$58 Bedrug Tailgate Mat | 2005 - 2023 Toyota Tacoma , Charcoal Grey, 1 pc. | BMY05TG

Bedrug - tailgate

 

Sub'd V.2

 

SUBD NEED MOAR!!!!

 

Subd! Beautiful truck

 

nice truck man!

 

Flippac installation last night.

Applied vinyl to top of bedrails to seal all holes.
Installed

$35 ESI Ultra Cap Seal 1 1/2" Width x 5/8" Height 20' Length, EPDM Rubber for Caps over 200 lbs

Extruded Solutions Ultra Cap Seal to side rails 1/2in from inside of truck bed.
Installed

$16 ESI Front Rail Seal 6ft EPDM Rubber

Extruded Solutions Front Rail Seal to front of bed.

On the last installation of the flippac on to my 2008 truck, the original owner had used

Bye bye 2008.


Vinyl strips added to top of bedrails on the TX Baja.


Seals added .5" from inside of the truck bed.


All extra holes puttied


The primary seal on the side of the bed was composed of two joined .75" tall foam tubes. We cut the inner side to allow it to bend around the corner which provided a smooth transition from the bed rail to the front of the bed for the outer tube. The 1"x.75" seal for the front rail was then cut and overlapped with the joining side rail to make sure their was no direct path for water to pass through. Once the weight of the cap was on all of the seals, everything was smashed to form a weather proof seal all around the Flippac. Scotch the dog helped.


After the cap was set in place we needed to redrill the 8 bolt holes that attach the Flippac to the truck bad... after much fiddling, they eventually dropped in to place.


Final installation success.


Next up, Wheels & Tires. Buildout of the flippac interior.

 

Keepin' on Keepin on. This week, i received brand new Rotiform SIX-OR 17x9 wheels and 255/80-17 BFG Mud Terrains. They have been mounted and installed.

Minimal rub on the front wheels midway through the steering rack. It should be taken care of by removing the front mudflaps. If anyone knows an alternative mud flap that will give a bit more clearance, im all ears. I'd love to know.





Also, while i have your attention, I've got they TRD forged wheels I removed available for sale. $900+Shipping for the set. Local pick up preferred.

 

Continuing the build-out of the bed.

Have planned for a box 9" wide (Just enough to cover the wheel well on the drivers side and a 20" wide box that will feature a dual slide for cooler and a place for cooking.

Just wraped up the framing of the driver side. It will eventually get an inset lock and be covered in carpet matching the bed rug.

Test fitting pieces to check if they fit around all of the protrusions of the Flippac.


The drivers side box was built with the intention of holding blankets and sleeping gear. With a small opening, it makes it easy to stuff blankets down inside.


We were heading out on a trip to the eastern Sierras last weekend and I wasn't able to properly finish the nondrive side box and slide. In it's place i modified my old shelf "Very quickly" (everything always takes longer than you'd expect...) to accept the hardware for the cooler slide.


Starting the build of the right side tonight. Ultimately, the quick build was a great learning exercise. Will no doubt help with the final build.


More to come.

 

Truck's looking great! I Like that you left the mud flaps on, most people here ditch them.

 

that brings me to my next point... does anyone know of mudflaps that wont rub?! These are going to have to come off... they are rubbing like crazy.

 

Rok Blokz makes some that a few folks are using, there are two sizes.

http://rokblokz.com/toyota-tacoma-regular-05-14.html

What slide did you get for the cooler? Does it seem plenty strong for a 100+ lb loaded roto molded cooler?

 

in

 

Thanks for the recommendation on the mud flaps. Not sure if you saw, but they even do a set for "trucks with oversized tires" seems like they are built specifically for the rubbing of 33s. good find. Now if they would do them without the logo on them!

The slides were from Amazon. they are rated at 100lbs. Admitedly, out of the gate they seem a little flimsy. But Im still planning on using them and will see how they break in.

 

Yeah, that's what I meant by two sizes, looks like they also have different lengths too.

Cool, thanks, have the same cooler and looking to not lift it out of the truck all the time, that guy gets mighty heavy.

 

Started building the new *permanent* slide set up last night and ran in to a snag. I realized that if i build on the passenger side of the truck, I am going to be creating a large blindspot. So, after some thought, im going to switch sides and move the lo cabinets to the left and build the taller slides on the right.

The right side will now feature an 18" high chest from the front of the truck bed to the back of the wheel well, and a 36" high set of drawers/cubbies from the wheelwell to the tailgate.

Test fitting in the truck. Needed something solid to mount the slides to and needed to clear the wheel well while providing support for the back of the cabinet behind. Some "clever' cutting helped to use a 2x12 as a support beam.



Continued framing the vertical supports and will box them in after the slide is installed.


more to come in a couple week... traveling for work. bummer.

 

@Lots2Learn58

oh and subbed!

 

Dude, tell me about it. In the set up in my 2008 I had a Pelican cooler and used it as the step up in to the flippac... getting it in and out of the truck took 10years off my life!