Matt's 2013 slow build

I was planning on ordering a bunch of little things soon i.e. bed lights, under hood lights, hood struts, Flyzeye, console organizer, etc. but doesn't look like that'll be happening anytime soon. Spent almost $4k this weekend and now I'm broke.

 

how level you sitting now with your set up?

 

Ive settled some but still have some rake. Don't know exactly how much off the top of my head but I can go measure in the morning. It may also be a little skewed because I have about 200+ lbs of stuff back there right now. Either way it rides great and I think it looks pretty good

On a side note, I ordered some LEDs for my interior, reverse lights, and license plate. Next is the panavise mount and a Mob Armor phone holder. and then figuring out how to pay for a softopper lol

 

Hey man, I completely forgot to check for you! my bad. I'll do that first thing tomorrow morning. It's settled a little, but not a ton. Rides great though!


On a side note, I ordered some interior, license plate, and reverse light LED from CSJumper. Stoked for them to get here. Next paycheck I'll be ordering a panavise mount and Mob armor phone holder.

 

Kinda talking to myself here, but finally got around to measuring for you. I'm 23 up front on both sides and 24 in the back on the passenger side. 23 on the rear drivers side - I'd assume due to the gas tank (even though I was on E and my gas light was on when I measured?) Either way, pretty level with slight rake. Not enough of a difference to notice the lean from side to side. Still rides as well as it can on the shitty roads around here and I have no complaints!

Thinking I may take the front sway bar off during my next oil change because I hate the way it pulls to one side when i hit a pothole or uneven surface.

 

Small victory of the day: swapped out my fog light switch for an FJ 6-pin switch. a little cutting with the dremel and a little soldering, and now I have a fog light switch with an indicator light without the headache of switching out the 4-pin harness to a 6-pin.

All in all, cost about $60, but had to buy the diode, heat shrink, and some more solder along with the switch.

 

I love the colour of that truck, and the practical mods that you're doing. Makes me kinda wish that I went that route with the colour, since so many MGM's are showing up around here, and I've only seen one PM.

Do you mind sharing what tool box (UWS model #/size/pics) that is and install tips? I could use one of those in my truck!

Thanks, man!

 

Thanks man! I love this color too. It looks much better when it's clean, but it's a nice break from seeing silver everywhere lol I sat in traffic next to a PM Rav-4 the other day and was like "damn that's a nice color.." Haha

As far as the box, I only have these two other pictures on me at the moment. I'm out of town at the moment, but I can definitely take some others if you want one of something specific!





The box is a UWS TBC42W tool chest. I got it from Amazon:

$506 UWS TBC42W Wedge Blue Series Truck Box

http://www.amazon.com/UWS-TBC42W-Wedge-Series-Truck/dp/B0017HB3X8

It fits perfectly between the wheel wells of a shortbed (48" wide and the bed is 50" at that spot) and is the exact height of my tonneau. I think without the tonneau it's about a half inch taller than the bedrails, but I don't know for sure. I originally had it Jerry rigged to the bed rail along the back of the cab with some galvanized steel strapping and some bolts, but I wanted to clean it up some so I ended up drilling two holes in the bottom and mounting using the existing bed-frame bolts. It's solid and isn't going anywhere, but also only takes about 3 minutes to take out by myself if I have the need. It's been a very well used investment. Lol

If you don't have a tonneau and want a really low profile (and a shortbed.. I'm on my phone so I can't really tell) the UWS TBS52SPLA (I believe that's the right one) is a typical crossover style box, but it's made for a step side ford ranger. It's the same width as the bed, and fits like a glove between the wheel wells. I.E. It sits on the bed between the wheels, and comes up and over the top of the wheels. It's the setup I was going to originally go for but I wouldn't have been able to open it because the rails on my tonneau stick out a little bit.

 

I have a 2012 DCLB with the same tonneau cover as you. I'm going to measure the specs and see if I can get a slightly wider one due to the long bed on my truck. I use my truck mostly for commuting and contract work. I could sure use a nice tool box.

That's why I asked, and thanks for the info!

Now I have to find one in Canada.

Cheers!

 

Oh awesome. Let me know what you find out. I don't have a long bed (obviously) but it'll still be interesting to see if you can do something different. I wonder if you could find one of the trapezoidal ones that would fit (wider in the back and narrower in the front).

UWS are kinda pricey as far as tool boxes go, but they are up there with Weatherguards for quality IMO. I had the cover rolled up and got stuck in a severe thunderstorm last year and it was still completely dry inside. I had to lube one of the latches, but that's no biggie.

The UWS website has a TON of boxes/chests on it and I believe has the dimensions of them all if you want to find some other options.

 

Installed this bad boy yesterday!









And my tool chest can still easily open with plenty of room to access and open the lid.




Wired up the third brake light today. Sort of a pain in the ass just because of how I tapped into the tail light and having to extend the wires, etc. Rather than screwing the brake light to the topper frame I just zip-tied it in place. It seems pretty stable. Extended the wires, tucked them inside a wire loom and ran them down along the edge of the frame, along the bottom of the side rail and tied it into the tail light. I need to find a more permanent solution for running the wire loom along the side rail, but i'll deal with that later.

 

prettied up my 3rd brake light wiring today and added some quick disconnects. Also put a new TW sticker on my Bestop

Heading over to Skygear's place on Wednesday to help him install some LCA's and with his on-board propane endeavors, so I may have him redo my shitty soldering on these disconnects..