Ransom's Slow/Budget "overland?" build

So I bought this 99 SR5 4x4 at the beginning of 2013 and it is my first truck, so far I am head over heels in love, but I have this horrible syndrome most of us suffer from and that is "Must Mod Syndrome" but as the title says I am on a budget. Ive been doing alot of small things here and there to spiff it up and big plans are scheduled to pan out in the near future so i figured id get a start on my build thread. And the "overland?" is referring to me not really being sure where this project will end up, but overland beast is the inspiration/goal

This is from the day I brought it home


Current Goodies:
-2.5" Revtek spacer lift (must go)
-Color matched Leer canopy
-265/70/17 Nexen Roadian HT (also must go)
-Flowmaster 40 series
-Tinted windows all around (makes backing up at night pretty difficult)

The amount of chrome on the truck kind of disgusts me, the suspension is sagging and im almost positive both shocks and both struts are dead, the tires are shit for anything other than pavement, it needs a roof rack, and the lights arent cutting it

so heres the To-Do List;
Exterior:
-Roof Rack with Kayak mount system
-Driving lights
-REMOVE CHROME!! (partially finished)
-Bull bar or weld together bumper
-winch/other recovery goodies

Suspension:
-OME Dakar rear leaf springs
-OME D6XL Extra leaf(for the canopy weight)
-OME 883 Front coils
-Nitro 9000 Struts and Shocks
(Looking at getting roughly a 3" Lift with slight rake, let me know if im on the right track or not)

Tires:
-Something cheap but reliable and effective in dirt and snow. Will most likely go with treadwrights or possibly some Les Schwab brand tires.

Im sure more will come up

 

I removed some of the chrome by taking off the stupid chrome fender flares. Also plasti-dipped the window trim that was dried up and falling off and the door handles. Still not sure what to do with the gril and bumpers.

 

The bed needed some sprucing up so I hurculined it and built myself a mattress platform/storage compartment. Cant wait to put this to use this camping season (just installed it a couple days ago) the storage containers are just under bed storage boxes and all of my fly fishing gear, boots, waders, shoulder bag, and net fit into one. This was just the first quick attempt at building a mattress platform but its not bad for $70(wood and storage containers) and a few hours of labor.

 

Huzzah for chrome deletion. I think it looks better without it.
Let me know how your mattress platform works out- I was thinking of doing something like that with my Taco. Cheaper, undoubtedly, than buying a tent, and more comfortable than just sleeping with the mattress straight on the bed, I'm sure.

 

I went from lowering cars to now trying to lift a truck and keep the suspension solid so im learning as i go. I need to rear leaf springs bad, the OME Dakars were the original plan but now i found these ProComps which are a better price and provide a bit more of a lift. Does anyone want to shed any light on these or which of the 2 is a better bet?

$111 Pro Comp 3.5" Rear Leaf Spring - 33211

http://www.4wheelparts.com/Lift-Kit...ng.aspx?t_c=1&t_s=101&t_pt=4113&t_pn=EXP33211

 

I guess a general review on ProComp suspension parts would be great, as it is a much more budget option than the OME route

 

OP, I suffer from MMS too. I'm diggin the simpleness of your sleeping platform. Good looking rig btw!!

 

I tried to make a part of it a trap door of sorts(you can kind of see the hinges) just incase i needed to put something a bit taller in the bed or something i didnt wanna dirty up the mattress platform. But i ended up having to trim down the platform alot due to being lazy in my measurements so the door is pretty small... and it still wont open because i didnt accomodate for the canopy getting in the way

 

Adding a CB radio to the to-do list

 

MMS doesnt only effect the sober, dont judge my drunken deck plate mod. itll do just fine

 

Oooooooo new goodies came in the mail today




OME Dakar rear leaf springs (plus required shackle bushings)
Rough Country Nitro 9000 shocks
Rough Country Nitro 9000 struts
(Gonna stick with the stock springs and revtek spacer lift on the front for the time being)

Now to find some time to actually install these parts.

 

Well i finally got my rear suspension bits installed. started a new job and didnt have any time until a couple weeks ago, but anyway.... 2 days, 1 broken bolt, alot of swearing, more than a few beers, and 4 stitches later, I was able to finally get everything all bolted up in the rear. It sits and rides so much better already. cant wait to get the new struts in.

The 4 stitches happened when I was trying to cut out a bushing on one of my shocks and my multitool blade closed on my finger. cut right down to the bone.

Thought this was kind of a cool shot

aaaand the semi-finished project. I took the mudflaps off for easier access to everything and decided to leave them off as it looks sort of badass


Next step is new wheels and tires. My new job is at discount/americas tire so i should be able to get the good stuff. any suggestion on tires would be appreciated, leaning towards the Duratracs but the wrangler mt/r kevlars are pretty badass.

 

Looks good man. Makes me want to pose you.

 

Please don't get Duratracs.

 

why's that? what should i get?

 

Well besides the fact that I think they are a Fugly tire.....but that's just personal opinion and not everyone will agree.

They have weak sidewalls and are prone to punctures. Also the rubber compound is realtively soft and they tend to wear much more quickly than other comperable tires.

Choosing a different tire will really depend on how you want to use the truck. What type of terrain are you going to see most? What conditions? What is most important to you in a tire?

 

Now I'm leaning towards the kevlars. I want something that will last and will put up with the semi frequent beatings of forest service roads and wheeling trails. Also need something that can get me through snow and out of most situations. Unfortunately most if my driving is done on pavement though and that kind of scares me away from MTs

 

First hand experience. I love the Kevlars offroad. But they are a little noisy on the road and you can feel all the lugs hit the pavement. I'm willing to accept the tradeoffs but they are not a great road tire in terms of comfort.

Here's a few others I would take a look at if I were you.

ProComp Xtreme All Terrain (the one on the right). It's a bit more aggressive for an all terrain, but still a decent tread for pavement.


Nitto Terra Grappler


BFG AT KO. I am on my 3rd set of these on my Land Cruiser and love them. They wear great. Last set got 75K miles. I'm suprised by them almost everytime I take them offroad. They won't self clean as well in deep sticky mud but do surpisingly well.


If you want more aggressive you could also look at the BFG KM2, the Hankook Dynapro MT, MTR Kevlars, Trxus MT, and the Nitto Trail Grappler. but these are all definitely more on the MT side of things and you'll sacrifice some road manners for better offroad performance.

Just my opinion, but you couldn't pay me to run Duratracs.

 

Funny thing about due attacks, the day after you said not to get them I repaired 4 punctures on duratracs all in one day