R09sters Kinda Overland/First Taco (learning lots of stuff) Build

Looks good!

I used epoxy to put some small bolts on my emblem. Then some rubber washers when i mounted it so i didnt scratch my meah if i decide to remove it. .

Seems to work well. Held up to the abuse last thursday

I have some left over epoxy you can use.

 

done! finially! stupid cold weather kept messing with the paint. i don't know how many times i had to paint the stupid thing. finally got it good enough (that and i just want to be done with it, lol)

so...kind of a huge iron man fan...




Thought it would just be fun to do.

 

That's bad a$$. Now I need to cone up with a superman theme.

 

Sweet truck

 

Had some time, so i painted more of my engine stuff



had fun with the wife's DSLR and getting ready to wax my truck

 

I'm thinkin there are some 5100's at .85 in my near(ish) future. she would look awesome with a little lift in the front to level her out. get a little more clearance too. I'm also thinking this week i might paint my running boards.

(i really want sliders because they are a little more low-pro and will make me look a little more lifted, but they are so dang expensive) i don't really want to take them all the way off because they do provide some protection from throwing stones, etc.

 

hope you enjoy the new long story

 

Just some fun editing photos instead of doing homework...

 

Some pictures of the fun! judicious use of my skid plate was involved on this trip...







Thought this one gave some good perspective of the mountains ans us on the trail. my pictures really don't do it justice. it was pretty amazing scenery up there.


all done!






decided to ditch the step rails. i was going to do it this weekend, and then i thought i'd keep them on for some protection for off roading today, but really i think about all they did was limit my ground clearance by two or three inches. i scraped them a few times, but those few times i think i actually wouldn't have touched the rocks or whatever if i just had those few inches back in clearance. i need to get some nice low profile sliders...$$$ =/ maybe i'll just paint these steps black and see what they look like back on it.



i have, however, made it such a habit of using the steps on my way out that i almost fell out of my truck 5 minutes after i took them off, lol. my truck isn't that high, its just such a habit.

So after we get off the trail i throw it in park and we talk and take a few last pictures before we split. we get in our trucks and go to leave, and i can't shift out of park!?! ended up using the override switch to get going, but all sorts of electrical things aren't working...really weird ones like the A/C, my blinkers, the shift release, my airbag light was on, no DRL, all sorts of weird, unrelated things...turns out when i crushed my 7-pin, two pins touched and blew my "IG1" fuse. apparently all that stuff above is on the IG1 fuse lol. dumb. but now i have a check engine light on. going to have to check the code tomorrow. everyone is closed today and i don't have a reader. probably something really dumb (i hope!) so good trip, don't think i broke anything but a nice big dent in my skid plate.

 

All ready for the snow! got some snow shoes! Nokian Nordman SUV studs. 265/70/17. a little bit of rub when turning and flexing, but i should have a ton more grip this year in the snow. hopefully no 180* drifts on the Glenn at 65mph...





i like the little bit bigger tires (had 265/65s) it would look way nicer with a bit of lift in there...i think for now i just want to do the 5100's at .85 to level out a bit and pick up the nose. once my regular AT's run out i think i might permanently go with 265/70's. unfortunately they have quite a bit of tread left, lol.

i'm working on getting a rescue bag going to keep in the truck so i can be a better good Samaritan.

 

so, some dude hit my tailgate when it was down at the local grocery store...didn't even leave a note. punk. too bad he didn't break something cooler that i could upgrade, lol. the parking lots are super icy up here, so i wasn't very surprised. just annoyed.

But you can also see the pop'n lock tailgate handle i put in just a week before dude hit it lol. i'll be putting that back on after i get new tailgate. Thanks USAA =D

 

Well, that 7 pin i destroyed like 8 months ago finally got some attention. decided to set it in the bumper to keep it safe. but...didn't really have a metal cutting hole saw...or a corded drill...but i thought i could make it work with a cordless one. nope. got like 1/3 through the bumper metal and it died, lol. then i was like, "well, shit. i just scraped off all the paint, so i have to finish this somehow." so i had to finish it off with my bosch plunge cutter. basically had to cut an octagon instead of a circle, but you can't tell.



yay no more hanging/broken 7 pin lol.

 

Getting some Billies for my Bday! Can't wait for them to get in.

Also looking at one of these =D

http://www.costco.com/Lifetime®-Cam...&keyword=tent+trailer&langId=-1&storeId=10301

basically a cheaper, slightly smaller version of jackrabbit's. with the wheels on the outside, I can upgrade those later after recovering from this and the toy we are planning on getting to haul around on top =D

not sure if we are going to go new or used on an ATV... but something. Just got back from Hawaii and it's really starting to look and smell like spring here in Alaska!

Time to get outside and have some fun!

 

WOAH! Birthday presents finally making it up here!



.85" i think will do =D

 

So i've got the adjustable billies up front on at .85" (pics soon) and after driving for a while now my wife says, "i think you should crank them up one more notch...i can't really tell the difference..." at first i was offended she couldn't see the difference (she was gone when i installed it so she didn't really get to see the before and after), but then i was like "best wife ever" because i can go higher. then i told her i'll need a new leaf pack for the back to keep it level, so we'll see how that part goes. i think my lame stock 3 leaf pack (2+1) is shot though...it's flat/a little frowny...

 

So, finally got my front Billies installed. some before pics:


after:



a little side by side with a stock taco at my work:


Stock


.85"


Sometimes it doesn't look like much, but i'm measuring about 36" from the fender to the ground on all four corners. not a total head spinner, but it makes you look twice and ask if it's stock or not, which i kind of like. i'm scared a bug has bitten me though...i will probably want to go a little higher now...

How she sits


I'll get some nicer quality pictures up soon. do a little photo shoot hopefully. I'm thinking i can maybe get the rears on this weekend.

 

Looking good!! I to need to do the 7 pin mod:/ I'll get it done tomorrow probably. Keep it up!

 

HA! So I installed my rear 5100's...and when I pulled off the passenger side, i thought, "hmmm, that looks awful short" yup...it was dead... needed new shocks more than i thought...

 

**Summary Page Updated!**




So i got a bunch of new stuff that i finally got put on the truck. first, some new 265/70 tires to go a little better with the leveling kit...i would really like to go with some 285/70's...but i'm not sure about all the extra work that entails... (almost wish i went there tho...now i have to wait for these tires to run out)

i put y step bars back on for the wife to get in and out a little easier. not sure if i'll leave them...i got used to how high it made the truck sit...maybe i'll just lift the front another notch. =D

I was able, with the help of Ben Bacher, to convince my wife of how awesome a roof top tent would be! (Thanks Ben). So here's some shots of us camping in it for the first time this weekend. (Alaska has been pretty nice this week, but it was still like mid 20's last night, lol)



Sweet spot! the river was almost too loud for me to fall asleep...







(Friend's Jeep monster in the background)

We got a little buddy heater and put it on the ground in the annex. worked great! went through like 3 bottles that evening and into the night, but it worked awesome. Even my wife (who's from the south) liked it. I wish i had a picture of us getting our dog up there with us though, lol. but then getting her down was almost impossible. we ended up opening the side window and letting her climb down via the roof, windshield, and....unfortunately, my hood. (i don't think she scratched it though because she was sliding on the frost...) My dog is such a chicken.

Now i need to get my 4 leaf pack put in...she's looking pretty saggy. Bumped my hitch on my way into our campsite. That little extra weight of the tent and bed rack (maybe 300 lbs?!) is enough to noticeably make her sit down. silly soft springs... that will definitely be the next project



Hopefully more to come soon!

 

subd!

Sweet truck man!