Colinb17's kinda sorta build thread - now with 4-link and long travel

Starting on the integrated fenders/storage. Will have tools on one side and recovery/safety gear on the other. Each case is roughly 52"x12". The cases will be protected by tubing on top and bottom, and will slide out from the fenders to open. Since they are recessed into the fenders for protection, and I need them out far enough to open completely, the 12" cases required 16" sliders. 260 lb rated sliders that lock in the extended and retracted positions.

Since the slides are oversized for the cases, I had to drilled countersink some additional mounting holes.





Full extension.


For tool storage in one of the two cases, I opted for a handful of waxed canvas pouches and roll-ups. The factory wax was incredibly light, so I rewaxed everything. Really don't want to end up with rusty tools, so between the waxed pouches, waterproof (mostly) cases, and some desiccant canisters in the cases, I think we'll be alright

Green holds wrenches and sockets. Yellow is pliers, Allen keys, and other misc. Stuff.
Will also have an air hose and pneumatic impact in the case. SAE and metric of everything. A little overkill, but it's not always your truck that needs fixing on the trails. A full race prep will of course include removing all tools not needed speciffically for my truck, in order to save weight.

 

First of the two cases is mounted. Fairly simple brackets. Seems pointless right now, but the sliding out will make more sense once the top tubes and aluminum fillers are in place.
The rear slider will also be covered by an aluminum filler so it's not visible from behind.

https://youtube.com/shorts/1uWiBfZ-NGA?si=pZYlRnPg4dSCfipO

 

PRP seats finally came back in.
Did a quick test fit and am pumped to start working on the install. Despite all the steel I'm throwing at this thing for strength and safety, weight is still a very important aspect of the design. The seats provide a significant weight savings. Stock ones weighed inat a chunky 47.6 lbs. PRP seats come in at 22.8. increased safety and comfort with a nearly 50 lb savings between the two

 

Got the seats in. Built some frames to anchor them to the factory mounting points. Now that they're in, I can start the internal portion of the cage, which will tie into the seat mounts. Will likely keep the seats bolted to the body after they're integrated into the cage, because the more interfaces, more rigid the body becomes.

Quickly realized that the taller thigh bolsters make it a bit difficult to get in and out with the factory wheel. Factory steering wheel is 15". Swapping for a PRP wheel that is 13", with a flat bottom. That may be enough on its own to make getting in and out easy enough, but I put a quick release on it just in case. Easy to remove if it's not needed. Just waiting for the hub adaptor to come in.

 

Flat bottom steering wheels are rad. I've wanted one forever

 

I've put them in a number of my vehicles before and love them. Even have one in my kie truck.

 

Well, pro tip...remove your headliner before you put the seats back in. Took everything i had to finagle it out without folding it in half. For perspective, a doublecab headliner is as big as a kie truck.

 

Used every braincell I had to somehow turn out two nicely matching b-pillar posts. 4 bends each, with none of the bends in the same plane. Getting the first one right was difficult, reversing all of the angles for the second one was difficulterer....

 

Roll-cage and baby seat in the same picture. Love it

 

Rainy day, so I tidied up the shop a bit and got the horn wiring on the wheel and quick release sorted.

 

Pretty pumped about this. Had to take a break from the cage when the hub adaptor came in.

 

Your steering wheel setup looks sick! I've been thinking about upgrading mine for a few weeks now. I was leaning toward the newly released version of the eBay outer steering wheel since it's a direct replacement, but after seeing your setup, I’m seriously considering a 13” again...

 

Thanks!

i had no intentions of replacing the stock one originally. loved the custom thumb rests and leather wrap i put on it, but after putting the new seats in, there was just no way to keep the large, non removable wheel. I think the comp version of these seats have smaller thigh bolsters. that might have made it doable, but i didnt want those seats, so not really a solution.

if you want to replicate the setup, you'll need a steering hub adapter to start. PRP makes a tacoma specific one, or you can use the NRG 125H model. i ordered both out of curiosity. turns out they're likely made in the exact same machine shop, so just choose the one with the better sale going on. PRP has a massive sale right now on the tacoma hub, so the NRG got sent back.

went with an NRG gen 4 quick release with the paddles, but any quick release will work. this is the 3RD NRG release i've had across various vehicles. been happy with every one of them.

the steering wheel is a PRP Comp-R flat bottom. 13'' diameter, 1.5'' dish. it comes with a center plate, not a horn button, so you'll either need to get a center horn button or an external horn button kit. i went external.

Safety disclaimer: you should only do this if you have a roll cage, proper seats, and 4 or 5 point harnesses.

 

Do you still have cruise control?

Did you get the airbag light on the dash after doing this?

 

you can keep cruise control if you want since the clock spring is retained. you just have to rig up a way to mount the CC stalk to the new wheel setup, or pull the wires and install a new switch/buttons to take the place of the factory controls. briefly discussed it in the LT thread a day or two ago. its low on my list of things to do since i don't really ever use cruise control, but i may get around to designing and 3d printing some sort of adaptor that would hold the stock CC controls in an aesthetically pleasing way. would likely be some sort of clamp ring that wraps around the hub adapter.

yes, as soon as you disconnect anything airbag related, the light comes on, so my light actually came on when i pulled the factory seats out. the airbag computer and passenger airbag are the only two parts of the system left. next time i have the dash far enough apart, i'll remove the passenger airbag and pull the airbag light out of the gauge.

 

New plate, who dis?

 

That is fucking DOPE dude. Great work

 

Little update. Trying to get the roof and windshield portions of the cage done before the Overland South event this weekend.

Got the internal portion of the cage completed for now. Cut open the floor to weld it to the top of the frame right behind the front seats. It uses a bolted connection with sandwich plates to go through the roof. 1/4" sandwich plates with grade 10.9 hardware. Once the roof portion is welded up, it will tie into the plates on the outside.





Did everything I could to not catch the truck on fire.





Also picked up a weld positioner for the upcoming stainless snorkel build and eventually completion of my exhaust. Trick little unit. Adjustable speed and direction foot pedal activated, and it tilts.

 

Loving all the updates!

Always been curious how you seal the floor with the cage going to the frame, what’s the plan?

 

Thanks! You cut a patch plate out. If I wasn't using cage connectors, it would actually be two pieces that come together around the tube, but since I can remove that portion of the cage, a single piece with a hole in the center can drop right over the connector. I used 1/8" plate because I have a ton of it, but to minimize cracking risk, ideally you'd get closer to matching the gauge of the factory body steel.

Weld all 4 sides to the body, then weld around the tube. What your seeing in the photo isn't a sloppy weld, its 2-part seam sealer. Stickiest stuff you'll ever work with. Like the factory seam sealer all over the fenders and underside of your cab, it's there to keep you watertight in case any gaps or cracks form. Normally you'd use it on the outside, but since I could only get to half of the welds from underneath with the frame rails in the way, I sealed the topside too.

Once the carpet and floor mat are laid back down, you can't tell anything's different under your feet.