Max's wanna be overland build

Yeah I hope so. I have a job here at the local Ford dealer, which is okay.

 

How did I miss this? Very tasteful mods!

 

Thank you! Checked out your build and your truck is bad ass man, very nice.




Some more pictures

 

Nice Truck man, Love those bumpers!

Kinda weird cause my truck looks very similar...and my name is Max too...

 

Thanks! I love mine, worth every cent to me.

Well you must have a good looking truck and a great name as well.

 

Went out to this area called Dog Valley for a bit of snow wheeling. Took plenty of gear and played it pretty safe. It was coming down hard most of the time we were out there. It was very pretty though. All was well until my rear end started sliding into a ditch on the side of the road. I tried to rock it out but only made matters worse. Oh well I thought... time to pull cable. Plugged in my winch controller and no go, thought the solenoid froze up even though I had RTVd the seal. I had tested my winch just a couple of weeks ago and it worked then so I was pretty pissed off. Started digging, then thought I'd fool around with the winch some more. Had it plugged in backwards the first time, we were in the money. Rigged up with my snatch block and a strap and hooked back to the truck and started winching. Got out quick, turned around and called it a day.















Note: We had informed others where we were going and when to expect us back. I had a full tank, and plenty of safety gear.

 

I'm jealous of the snow. I'm sure you're glad you had that winch.

 

Hah, me too! Instantly paid for itself in my eyes. There were enough times I've needed it and not had it but wanted it, to buy it in the first place. This time having it... woo! I was quite happy!

 

Got a PM from one of our members here asking:

I thought others might have similar questions and so...

To answer I replied something to the effect of:

With stock TRD 16" wheels I rubbed the UCA and LCA while turning, to fix this I adder Spidertrax spacers from Wheelersoffroad.

The only rubbing after that I've had has been on the front mudflaps but I lost those while wheeling in the snow. One ripped off and is gone, the other I took off.

Some people have to trim however, I think those with stock front bumpers may have to trim a little bit extra.

On the road...
Well, I'm running 886's and OME struts no top plates. With a winch and an ARB this has probably sagged the 886s a bit, and I got the truck aligned the day following my install so I figure the alignment specs have probably changed somewhat. With the 265s it seemed fine without an aftermarket upper control arm (UCA). When I switched to the 285s, for whatever reason, they seem to want to follow every groove in the highway and it seems to wander a bit more. It's nothing too horrible but I'm definitely thinking about buying some LR UCAs from Wheelers.

It rides a bit rough naturally and I attribute this to the Dakar leafs, heavy coils, non factory geometry, and load range E tires I run. You really can't expect stock ride quality.

I also have some driveline vibes around 35-45mph and the take off shudder. I haven't use a carrier bearing drop kit or added shims as it really doesn't bother me all that much. These may help, there are plenty of threads around that address this.

Issues I've run into...

The only thing aside from above is that the fins on my upper CV boots slightly rub. From what I understand these should last like this somewhere around 50-60-70k miles?

Other possible issues yet to surface...

Wheel bearings. Lots of threads on this issue. No problems here so far in 30k miles of being lifted on 265s. We'll see what happens now that I've added 285s and spacers.

I think those are all the little quirks with lifting a Tacoma. To me though it's totally worth it and I'm quite happy with the end result.

 

A few new additions to the truck.

Bought some cheap walmart lights and used my relays from Hellas that were stolen to wire up bed and reverse lights. Couldn't remember how to set up the relays and I'm pretty piss poor at electrical stuff so I followed this DIY and it went smoothly, or mostly.





I also picked up a free 48" hi-lift, in pretty good shape, from my buddy to replace my shitty harbor freight jack farm jack. When I got it it was caked in dirt and who knows what, as it was partially buried when he told me I could take it. I dumped some oil on the pins and worked it loose, then took some degreaser to it and washed it down.



LR UCAs coming soon!

 

Can't beat free.

 

My thoughts exactly.

 

Some more pics from this summer and before











Thats about all I have

 

Wow! That's beautiful.

 

Thanks man! I grew up in Wyoming and miss it fiercely! Nevada is great but just not the same. I'm excited for this summer though, I'll be down near the Windrivers and closer to Bridger-Teton Natl Forest which IMO is much more pretty than the Big Horns above, or maybe it just that I grew up near there.

 

Met up with another member for a little snow run out by Boca near Reno.
We spent a few hours messing around in the snow and had a real good time, it was an absolutely gorgeous day for this.

 

After two hours at Big O (the closest shop to my house), I finally got back home with my truck.

Got my LR UCAs installed yesterday and went in this morning to get it aligned. I explained I wanted 0* Camber and 2.4* positive Caster and that I had adjustable UCAs. No problem I was told, just gonna cost an extra $20, bringing the total to $90.

When they were done hey handed me the sheet and keys and I was sitting at: 0.1 left 0.0 right Camber, 3.0 moved from 3.3* L and 3.1 moved from 3.3* right. ( the factory specs being 1.3-2.8). He packed all the papers up gave me my keys and was about to send me on my way when I stopped him.

I explained this was a no go and they said that they couldn't adjust it anymore, I told them that the UCAs were adjustable from 0 to +4* of caster and that I had the ball joints sitting at +2* so what needed to happen was that the ball joint needed to be turned to +1* on either side. He cut me off and said he knew what the paper said but in the real world it would only go so far, but offered to have his tech re-try.

Well I got it back the second time, 2 hours after I initially brought it in, and the specs are now at 2.2* L and 2.3* R caster (toe and camber are fine). Tired and ready to leave I said it was acceptable. When I got to the truck and took a look at the ball joints they hadn't touched them. They were sitting at +2* caster with the SPC logo stick out, exactly as I installed them. The steering wheel is also SLIGHTLY crooked, but I have little interest in taking it back. They also charged be an additional $20 on top of the $70 price because of the adjustable UCAs, although they never touched them.

I only went there because the toe was way off and I didn't want to drive far and it's probably a mile from my house.

I guess I'm just generally frustrated and wondering how they managed to squeeze and extra -.9* of caster after they told me that was the best they could do, without touching the ball joints. I'm not sure if it's possible to forge alignment sheets, I'm always very cynical I guess.

What kind of experiences have you had? Where are your ball joints sitting, if you have a lift? Any thoughts?

No complaints with the UCAs obviously...

 

My caster is at 2.9 and 3.1 respectively. It handles fine. Honestly, you need to find a good dealer to get all the work done that you can't. Get on good terms and be loyal and they will give you good deals. That's at least what I do. In fact I just got back from the dealer. The dealer isn't the closest one nor where I bought my truck. Ask the local members where they go and get service then tell the service manager that so and so recommended their dealer.

 

That's a good idea, thanks. I about hate having anyone else work on my truck.