Simple yet Satisfying DCLB

Truck is at 45,000 miles. Today I changed oils in both differentials, transfer case, and the engine. Rear diff and transfer case oils both looked pretty good, but the front diff oil was SUPER dark with thick black paste on the magnet and throughout. I'm not too worried, but should I be?

I was also planning to change the spark plugs, since the manual says to do them at 30,000 miles. They still looked good at 30k, and they still look good now. I only checked 2 today, and the gap is still at .044. I'll leave them alone but will change them out at 60k. Thoughts?

 

Also, since I removed the skid plates, I fixed an issue that has been bugging me for 2 years. The hole in the IFS skid for changing the oil is too small, and it's nearly impossible to not spill oil on top of the skid. Anyway, I think I fixed that today. I changed the 2" hole to a 3" hole.

Here is a trick I used to enlarge the hole. As you know, the pilot bit on a hole saw needs to make secure contact with something, or the hole saw will just dance around. I screwed a piece of wood to the back side for the pilot bit. Worked great! All I need to do now is clean it up and file off any sharp edges.

 

Also, stay tuned. I'm changing from bolt on sliders to weld on in the next few weeks. Also, I have moved the winch onto a winch cradle for use front or rear. Just need to do the wiring. @Sandman614 what was that plug we were talking about? I have some research to do on wire size and what not.

 

Anderson plugs, color does matter red only plugs to red, gray to gray, etc.

 

Thanks!

 

Really like these plugs. If they are wired correctly you reall can't screw things up because the design won't let you.

 

I like how you cut that hole in there plate, ingenious! The pool in the back of the truck is awesome! So you're gonna run a shell on the truck now? They sure are nice! One of the best mods you can do, IMO. Nice updates all around!

 

Hey, welcome back Nick! I only have the shell on the truck when I'm going somewhere overnight. I use the truck too much for 'truck-ish' things at work to leave it on full time. I modified my garage hoist from my old RTT setup to now lift and store the shell. SUPER easy.

 

Thanks! Nice reuse of the hoist.

 

I luv it!

 

Small update to the truck. I have been modifying the camper shell with some ghetto custom windows. I am also modifying it to fit my @KB Voodoo bed rails and to be more water resistant where it mounts to the truck. A surprising amount of water has been leaking there.

I added some 1" wheel spacers, and traded some frame rub for some fender flare rub, lol. I easily trimmed them though. I sold the bolt on sliders and decided not to replace them at all for now.

Also, this happened last night. This will be my ultra ghetto camping trailer. I it will actually be kind of cool when done in an odd way.

 

Can't wait to watch this trailer build!

 

I cut the floor out of the jeep today, and now it's time to drink cheep beer and dial in my plan.

The jeep's rocker pinch welds fit perfectly inside the trailer's top rails. The plan is to essentially make the jeep into a slide in "camper" like the cab over ones you see on full sized trucks. I will build a new floor for the jeep that sits down on the trailer deck.

This will be nowhere near the quality workmanship that @1 Bored Clerk is doing on his camper, but it will be a fun cheap camping trailer.

 

I guess I should start the jeep trailer build from the beginning. I bought it for $300 with a blown motor and promptly took it apart. There, you are caught up.

I saved all the usable parts for a 4x4 swap on a twin of this one I used to own years ago. Long story, but I'll be getting it back and plan to make it my trail rig. I'll spare the Tacoma from some of the heavy abuse.

 

This trailer build is already awesome! I have not seen anything quite like this. Well done, sir!

 

Thanks! Expect to see progress during the winter, since the garage is heated.

 

Since the trailer is more of a winter project (and a big one), I figured I would put some windows in my camper shell. That way I have something to use this fall. Since it is a $40 camper shell, I decided to use some scrap plexiglass and aluminum I had laying around. I have a few more pieces of plexiglass for the other windows.

Camper shell setup costs so far:
$40 purchase price of shell itself
$7 key made to fit
$5 hardware to retrofit my existing RTT hoist
$0 existing mattress and bedding

Still need:
A few cans satin black spray paint for windows
Velcro to attach curtains I will make from an old bed sheet

My camper shell camping set up will be way less than $100 LOL!

 

Warning! This build is getting lame and boring!

Projects are on hold for Now. Sister needed to move in for a while. Super glad to have her, but there is now a bunch of stuff in the garage and the camping trailer project. On the bright side, I have been traveling almost every weekend to the beach or the mountains. Mostly day trips, but I have found time to camp a couple times. I camped on the beach for the first time ever at Freeman park (Carolina Beach area) the weekend before last. It was awesome! Something to be said about waking up to the sound of waves.


Also, for my birthday, I decided I wanted to down size the tires a little for better performance on road trips. I also decided to use this opportunity to change to a 16" wheel and to go with a quieter tire. I know, I'm boring, but "function over form". I bought some used 3rd gen Off-Road rims and plan to mount some BFG K-bro2 load rang C tires in 265-75-R16. I have had great experiences with several sets of KO's over the years.

 

Jesse, nice to see an update. What are the wheel specs, if you don't mind me asking?