The Frankenstein Build! LT/Expo/Trail rig..and BS

Wut??

no..just two trucks..

well..i have some parts an update will be coming soon

Good points Adam.

First off, don't ever feel like your shitting on this thread by bring up points this thread has almost 200 pages of BS as it is i like it when people come to ask questions and stuff like this is brought up. I love talking about it.

anyways.

So, why LT? simple for me..More wheel travel. I don't plan on running it through the dunes or jumping it. It is just too top heavy and im slighty worried of rolling for good reasons obviously..

But. I have though of just running a good mid travel setup. Extended travel coil overs with resi's and some new UCAs..

but here is the difference..

Stock wheel travel..about 8''
Mid travel..about 10''
LT...about 14''

give or take..thats mostly estimates..so take the numbers with a grain of salt..

Orginally i basically wanted a truck i could live out of for long periods of time as i want to go to South Ameraia and maybe even Africa someday in my life with it. BUT i also wanted it to beable to run some hard trails. Jumping was never on my list really.

Expo was first..hence why Frank has truned out as he has. Trails next. So, without going SAS, LT merits me the most wheel travel. Why no SAS? well the ride hieght is just way too tall for my liking. And to me anyways, you need 40s. 37s look okay..but to me look like a 31 or 32 on a 3'' lift..just not quite right.

So..that would put me WAY high up. Which i don't need to be.

The LT properly valved and right springs(700lb springs is what i wanted for all the weight) would work great.

Is it as good as SAS in terms of crawling and trails? no..never said it would be. BUT..way better then what i have now. And fitting 35s would be a bit easier as they get pushed out more ect.

NOW however that i have the new rig..my plans are up in the air.

Eventually, the dbl cab is going to get most of Frankensteins goodies. The bumpers, RTT, and 33s probably. The dbl cab will become my overland long trip expo/trail rig. I think with that i will just go Mid travel up front and keep it on 33s. Its a great combo and i know it works.

Frankenstien then gives me some new freedom..either a SAS rig crawler..or LT strait up truck. Not sure..or even if ill keep both..i might put the 5 speed in the dbl cab for all i know and really swap stuff up. I am unsure at this point.

But. Either way, LT IMO would be the next step for Frank. but only up front. I am quite happy with my rear lift and travel. Only thing id change is shocks to a better shock and maybe relocate them like /\. OR a cantilever shock setup. Now while Jason's rig is epicly awesome..i do NOT want a rig like that...well close. Id take his front end probably..minus the secondary shocks cause i wouldn't need them. But i can't imagine not have a full bed. And while he has awesome full axle droop out back..it doesn't like to droop one at a time or articulate due to the shocks being strainght up and done. Plus, there is no way his rig could hold all the weight i carry and sit level or still have rake. I HATE bro lean so even though thats not a huge deal..bugs the crap outa me.

Sorry for the long post and typos..i just kinda spewed out crap..

will be interested to hear what you have to say about any of that..

Plus i wanted a crawl box..and dual lockers..

Yea but see that where im different from you. I like week long or longer trips! and while i would also enjoy having a trailer..trailers still won't go up some trails very well. And i don't plan on doing a lot of in and back out type trails. Its one way for a few hundred or thousand miles. Just what i like. So i need everything i need on the truck all the time and a trailer might help..but might not..plus..i am going to need a hell of a lot more power if i want to tow anything

I still dream of turboing mine..only money right? lol

Frankenstein could very well end up SAS and a lexus V8..but..no idea. One thing is for sure ill need a hell of a lot more fab practice before i SAS or LT mine haha

Yea see i want a rig that can do like 7-8 maybe 9s even..but..live out of it. haha

As i said up before. Jasons rig is sex. But as soon as he loads it down, those real nice LT rear leafs don't hold weight..and i need that. and i dont want to sag to a bro lean. I have seen pics of Jason's with a RTT on it and all. But i can't really imagine him going on a 2 week trip living out of the truck...Just doesn't have the storage for spare shit and blah blah blah. Much less 5 month through South America..

 

i dont see an ifs truck like ours t or not on a 9. especially with all that expo weight. Monte id say make up ur mind tho man what u want frank to be ad ur dbl cab to be.... no sense in lt then sas, waste of money u know

 

He has time haha

 

A correctly done sas can sit at whatever height you want. The main reason most sas trucks sits high(esp tacomas) is they use a tg kit with there stupid 3",4",5" lift springs. If you want low leaf springs are pretty much out of the question, it can be done but it will have very little up travel. The way to go is links, even then it can sit high if thrown together. Getting it to sit low and have enough up travel will be fighting tight places if the factory frame and engine location are unchanged.

 

i would not put a dual tcase, especially chain drive tcases behind the weak 7.5" r/p and cv's. i understand your not doing hard or fast, but if dual cases is an option, then i would honestly do a sas, get a toyo axle, dual gear driven cases, boom done, and reliable.

just my 2 cents.

 

Get some custom made SUA leafs. You could still have some decent up travel and whatever amount of lift you would like. Plus you could have them design to hold however much weight you would like too.

 

Typically having dual cases is nicer on the components because it applies all that force in a more gentle manner than not having dual cases does. There is a 2nd gen running 36's on the weak autozone CV's with dual cases and is locked front and rear and has yet to break a CV, yet some of us without dual cases have popped the stronger OEM ones on 33's and 35's.

 

yea. Well nothing drastic is going to be happening to either truck for a while. I have a good 2 years to plan for it.

As of now. Id like to just regear Frankenstein and add a rear locker. Then just drive it as it is now for a while and leave the dbl cab stock till im done with school..

But i now for sure the dbl cab will get made into kinda what Frank is now just a bit better suspension and lockers.

yea..links don't do a great job as doing weight tho either right??

And whats the point if you have no up travel haha

Jerry's is looking awesome though..hopefully ill see it in person and maybe that'll inspire me..ill need more fab experience tho either way and..DEEP pockets

Nooooo. Are you kidding? Having a second T case would let me go much slower and more controlled. With dual lockers id be at way less risk of poping CVs with a crawler.

Bingo.

 

I've already say this to you in another thread. If I were in your shoes, I'd be moving everything from Frank over to the new DC right away. Few tweaks to the bedrack and it would fit too.

You've already pointed out that after the body swap Frank is noisy and rattles. That's not what you want for long trips. At least I wouldn't. It would drive me absolutely nuts to have to listen to all the noisy squeaks and rattles for a week long trip. But could I put up with it for a day on a tough trail? Sure. So move all the "expo" stuff over to the new DC that's tight and quieter and more comfortable.

Then you've got Frank basically at a blank slate where you can go LT or SAS, bob the bed, get it on 35's or bigger, regear, lock it up and have a killer hardcore rig.

I know that's what I would be doing.

 

Not entirely true... with a front locker and crawler setup comes a huge risk in snapping cvs like twigs

if you get one ounce of wheel hop with the wheels turned your gonna snap one right away. I almost watched psutaco snap one last weekend because he was stuck on 2 rocks and it started bouncing

 

I'm not sure who started that but your no where near what I'd considered heavy. I've been in a 6-7k lbs truggy runnin 30-40 through the woods and been awesome. Having a good controllable link setup is all in the setup, and good coilovers. Tuning will go a long way on how a susp acts with weight. The up travel issue can be solved just takes a lil relocation on things. Just remember all the cool kids go solid axle

 

Spring under still will run into massive clearance issues. The suspension itself might have the ability to have the up travel required but the frame and oil pan say otherwise.

 

x2

 

x3

 

Yeah but had he not had the crawlbox he probably would have bounced sooner or more and would have broken a cv. Crawlboxs tend to make you bounce less because you have more control over your speed.

I would think that this would be an issue no matter what setup you have other than IFS.

 

I will. Thats the plan anyways.

But im headed to St. Louis this fall for College. i bought it to be able to haul all my stuff out there. The extra room in the cab will be great to store my thousands of dollars of audio gear on the way over and keep it dry.

Like i said. Pretty much everything will get moved over once im out of college.

Frankenstein isn't that bad haha Road nosie is just higher. The body itself doesn't rattle. or dash. But the MTs and i have a door that need re mounted that howls down the road. Is it ideal? no. But not un bear able.

And yes. Frank will be the blank slate for..somthing..haha not sure yet. Ill have tons of time to research and really put together something i like.

I already love the idea of expoing the dbl cab. Its going to great. But i don't want anything on it right now that'll tempt thieves and i want the good MPGs.

So for now. Nothing is gonna happen. But i do get where your coming from..love the idea..and am going to totally do it just in 2 years or so.

well yes. You always gotta watch the steering angle and bouncing. But i still think if you have a crawl box you will be able to keep track of your steering better since your going slow and you can stop the bouncing as it won't happen as fast or be as drastic of a hop if you didn't have a crawl box.

Well dude..i sit at over 5k now with skids i bet and no like gear. So when im loaded up im sure im over 6k..

however..i have lots of time..i honestly don't know that much about links..Maybe Frankenstein will get 4 linked.. ill do lots of reading first..

yea no kidding

 

Okay back to the actual build for a second..

Got my new fairlead and new arb inflator. Now I can install my synth line on my winch. The inflator is going to be great with the CO2. The kit was great but it came with just a standard tire inflator and no gauge. Now I can just let off the co2 and get my tire pressure instantly. Very handy. Wil make inflating tires super easy and fast.



Now back to the discussion of the future of my rigs..haha

 

if ride height was the only thing stopping you from a sas, you could link it and still be pretty low like aloves

 

Link the front and SUA the rear for weight capacity!!!

 

Good call on going syn. line, after handling it and pullin cable a few times you will never go back to steel.

Anyways if you plan to swap most of the stuff over to the new dc then you could make frank a truggy. Cut the frame at the firewall and rear of the cab and go to town with tube. I would say lt but most kits I've seen don't retain 4wd. Really depends on what exactly you want the truck to do, for mild wheeling and expo stuff a mid travel would work great. But for hauling ass over bumps you need lt or a well designed link setup. For crawling leafs or links do best but lt(ifs) has started to be proven as another viable option.