Not A Copy/Paste Tacoma Build

Battery boxes and trans coolers!

Need to figure out how to make a tailgate and hatch that seal up properly once I finish the side tubes for the storage compartment at the back.

 

that last photo.....could just be the shadows, but are you using half inch plate for that trailing arm tab?

 

It's plated 1/8", sandwiching a big 3/8" puck inside, and then wrapped with 1/8". They were made by JD fab and came with the housing, I just welded them on.

 

This is the best pic I could dig up

 

Love it. Similar qualities to solid plate, but takes a whole lot less heat to stick it to the axle.

 

The JD guys definitely know what they are doing and build insane stuff. They have two insane tube chassis trucks they are building right now that are next level

 

Finished the rear structure today. Just need to figure out how to do the tailgate and hatch now... No clue how I should do that and have it solid and sealed... I'm all ears if any of you have some good examples or ideas

 

Place the plates interior and tack in from the opposite side. Then seam seal or weld air tight. Make the bottom panel removeable though, would make cleanup easy since that thing will collect dust and dirt just from use, regardless of how sealed it is.

Alternatively, you could make a drop in box, modularize it, then you could have a couple with different loadouts you could drop in and go for whatever.

Reading comprehension is fun. Tailgate/hatch, if that's the route you go, just use weather seals for the jambs of both the hatch and gate. Alternatively you could just make it 1 piece like a trunk lid.

I honestly thought you were going to put 2 tires in that, and a race jack underneath them along the narrow angled spot.

 

I just remembered who would know a lot about sealing hatches. @Blueberry.Taco built his own modular flatbed, with lots of hatches. He might not reply from the tag, but he's active on instagram.

 

Im planning to do an aluminum box to drop in, then have the spare tire on the hatch lid. I need the storage space for our camping gear etc.

I had though about doing the whole thing as one piece like a trunk, but a tailgate is super convenient for cooking etc, plus I think it will be easier to load more stuff without things falling out while trying to close the lid.

@Basikbiker runs the tailgate and hatch setup, but it doesn't look like he did much to seal it other than have the tubes tight to each other.

It doesn't have to be perfect, but I'm gunna have clothes and sleeping bags in there that preferably won't get soaked haha

Unfortunately my spare will probably end up pretty high up. I wanted it low, but then I lose too much storage capacity.

 

Nothing of benefit to add. Just wanted to state that I'm confident that you are single handedly keeping the pipe stand market afloat.

 

Hahaha I think I bought 8 of the little ones on Amazon just for this build. The big ones are for the shop. I think I have 3 but I really need 2 more now that we have more lifts.

They are super handy though

 

Happy to provide input or share my learnings and part numbers (at least in the US, not sure if McMaster/Amazon work the same in Canada) if you’d like, I’m more active on insta than here but I check up on here now and then.

 

if you want to have it like sealed build an aluminum box insert that goes in... then for the lid, have some weatherstripping seal against the top frame of the tubes

 

I don't know, seems up in the air to me.

 

Just put weather stripping all around the mating areas, it may be harder to shut, but it'll be sealed.

But honestly, one step at time. Build your box, then figure out the tailgate, then the hatch. If you try to do it all at once you might end up with things that fit on paper, but not quite in the end. Or build an assembly in your cad software of choice. Just remember, seals function from compression, so you can't take the seals thickness exactly into account. They need to compress some amount to seal properly. Also need to think about overhangs. You don't want to build something only for it to rust out because trapped water can't get out.

 

Fish_built on Instagram made a really nice rear storage area that I'm pulling inspo from, but it only has a top hatch. Swipe over to see how his is sealed

https://www.instagram.com/p/DDdDmUwR4JT/?img_index=1&igsh=cGU2cDd3OTczODV1

 

That'd work! Looks pretty slick. With the tailgate, you'll just need to add some more seal to the mating surface on the hatch where it meets up with the gate.

 

I think if I do it right, it should seal pretty well, and have the added benefit of only letting the tailgate open after opening the hatch, so it would be easier to make lock if I want to do that.

 

Got the lower pivot mounts built and tacked to the truck a bit ago, been working on the UCA and steering mount design for the bulkhead. I'll build that next, then start designing the j-arms, lca's and knuckles. So much time spent in Cad.