Wisconsin Tacomas and bad financial advice

Wow! Yours came in more parts than mine did!

 

Very. You do not want to touch the cooling fans after you air up 4 tires. M'er F'ers' are hot. Keep the cords away from them, too. I let the compressor cool for a few minutes, like have-a-cig minutes, before putting it back in the case.

 

It's loaded in the truck, ready for blasting paint prep tomorrow. Not sure when I'll get it back yet. Talking to the guy at the place tomorrow morning. Hope my 2 cans of Steel-It are enough.

 

I know a place in Arkansas where you can test that.

 

Can't wait to see it on the truck!

 

Just catching up to the thread. I agree with the angle grinder recommendation for cutting the fenders. I do have a cheap body reciprocating saw that makes short work of cutting the sheet metal. I used it for my snorkel and it worked great.
As for covering the exposed edge I used body color touch up paint. For the lower fender I would recommend a primer and then paint applied with a small modeling brush.

 

Received some initial progress photos of the cruiser, thought you guys might enjoy a few of them!

The axle housings and fuel tanks are mostly done.

 

Dayum! That's a lotta fuel tank!!

 

37 gallon capacity

 

Oh, how I would love to find that spot again!

 

@Aztec120 showed me the way to https://www.paintscratch.com/
I got the paint pen kit from them that includes cutting creme, color matched base coat and clear coat. Seems like quality product. If it ends up looking ugly, I can always get some trim pieces to cover it and still know that it should be properly sealed against rust. (I hope.)

 

Very cool, Pat! Worst part has to be that you can't take a drive over to the shop to see how things are going. Really excited to see it when it's back here!

 

Harbor Freight has the winch hitch mount for $65w/coupon.

Not sure when I'll get to one of those fancy bumpers but I can still get the winch.

Badland winches.
Yay or nay?

 

Best bang for your buck!

 

Absolute best bang for the buck. 1200lbs. Doesn't have much of a duty cycle but I have never exceeded what it can handle, and I use mine quite a bit... Get the synthetic rope.

 

I looked at the Badlands but got the Warn EVO. It was a bit more, but the warranty is like 3 years compared to the 60 days on the Badlands. Other than that, they appear to be pretty much equal.

 

I have the apex 12k. Used it three times without issue.

Based on what I've seen and from others, it likely is the best bang for buck. Made in China, but so is the EVO line from Warn.

If you want the absolute best, then the USA made Warn and the Taiwan made ComeUp are two winch lines to consider, but will be 4 figures, not 3, in terms of cost.

 

HF have the 12k Apex w/steel $579 or synthetic for $599.

Then a 12,000ZXR w/steel for $350. (replace w/syntetic +$150)$500
I think the only difference is the APEX has a wireless remote

My wallet points to the ZXR

ZXR was out of stock. The other 2 are in.
Grabbed the hitch mount while the coupon is still valid.
I have some time to ponder the winch.

 

I'm sure @Taco-Grinder appreciated my USA made winch in Moab. lol

 

You want the Apex. The wireless remote is well worth it. And, the Apex is a stronger unit.

HF has a 10% off any single item this weekend...makes the Apex $540. Just saying...