AlumEscape Expo Build

Good to know, I'm thinking I may do the skids and sliders here at home rather than going with an off the shelf solution like I did for the front and rear bumpers. I really hoped to get some more things checked off the build sheet this summer but time seems to have gotten by me again

 

I have a full set of skids you can borrow to plan your own. The only one on my truck now is the IFS.

 

Great close up shots. Thanks for posting these up. They are very helpful. Exactly what I was looking for.
Lots of gussets, I like that.
Really like that pivot too. Very well made and thought out. Some r&d went into that.
Pretty welds, high heat.
I like it.
What is you plan with the back up camera?
Sorry, so many questions.

 

Holy shit. I just read your question bout reverse camera relocate and after just doing mine from scratch I scoped out the bumper in the first pic of five and to the left of the center hole appears to be a packet for the camera! Now that's thinking ahead.

If I'm right, definitely remove and install the camera before installing the bumper, the wiring harness can go on the camera after. And note how small the holes are to hold the camera, there are two very small screws. Hopefully paint doesn't clog those holes to bad, may just run a drill bit through them again.

 

I think you are right Chux. I see that. Nice.
This is a very well thought out and designed bumper. I like it more each time I look at the pictures.

 

I appreciate the offer @Chux , I'll let you know - I'm not sure I'll end up getting to it this fall though as originally planned as I'm still running behind on some other lingering projects.

 

Yup, @allpro did a great job with the design and they provided provisions to move the the camera down by the plate. I'm not positive this will work for me though as I tow fairly often and don't think this location will be trailer hook-up friendly. I'm thinking for now that I may be able to get away with keeping the camera mounted up on my tailgate handle as the pop-n-lock shifted the camera to the driverside. I hope it will miss enough of the tire their to allow me to see the hitch but probably not much else.

 

I made a little progress on the rear bumper over the weekend! After stripping it down to prep for paint I decided I wanted to add some provisions to padlock the swingouts shut to keep unsavory folks from messing with my gear. I picked up some 3/8" ID spacers to weld on and bingo, all set for padlocks to keep the latches shut!





Also put on a few coats of VHT chassis paint which is looking pretty good.






The plan is to let the paint cure this week and get the bumper mounted up this coming weekend!

I also made some progress today on my awning lights. I'm using some leftover LEDs from @mattgecko and some bulkhead seals I picked up online. Drilling out the ARB extrusion was a bear to fit the seal fitting but after a good bit of filing I got everything mounted up. Really pleased with how this came out and think these will seal out the elements nicely!

 

My opinion of All-Pro is changing... I met John at Rock Therapy this past year & seeing this is impressive.

 

I'm really looking forward to getting it all mounted up and seeing how everything looks on the truck. I've never been one to buy premade gear for my rigs but for the bumpers on the Tacoma I just couldn't justify the downtime to fab them all up. All-Pro was easy to work with and did good work so no complaints here so far.

 

How did you get the wire underneath the lining?

 

Awesome build! Subbed

 

LEER (and I'm assuming most all shell makers) use a hand full of different pieces of super stretchy carpet to line the shells. On mine the front wall by the cab is one piece and another piece covers the roof and the left and right sides. I started where I wanted the wire to go under the carpet and cut the carpet with a sharp blade. From there I used a dental hook type tool to basically get a hold of the carpet and give it a light pull to pull it from the glue holding it in place. I continued this in the direction I wanted the wire to run until I either got to an edge then fished a stiff wire through to use as a pull tape for the bigger cord. If I can't get to an edge I just make a new slip with a knife and use it as a pull hole basically. Once everything was under the carpet some stretch and some pressure gets the carpet seated again without much issue. I will say I did use some spray glue in my front corners where LEER was a bit light with it but no biggie.

I ran the wires for my cap interior lights the same way and haven't had any issues (been a year) with the carpet coming loose. I suspect if it did I could cut some more access points, shoot in some spray adhesive and be back in business.

 

Thanks man, stay tuned for more!

 

Well it's been a busy few weeks with work and travel but I have checked off some major items on the build - The biggest update was getting the @allpro bumper mounted up with all the gear! Really pleased with the design and fit of the whole product and the few adaptations I made for my specific plans.

Disassembly was straight forward other than the stock bumper was bound up on there pretty well after being tweaked a few times. With everything stripped it was the perfect time to do some cleaning and painting to try to keep the rust at bay. Looking much better under there now.



I'm really picky about hardware so I reassembled the bumper using stainless hardware and yellow zinc grade 8's. Also popped in my S2 lights from @Baja Designs before hanging the bumper.


Looking good so far!





I wired up my S2's using a diode designed for use with RV's when flat-towing another vehicle. Now the S2's power on in reverse from the main truck battery and can be manually switched from in the cab from the aux battery from the switch bank in the console. The diode keeps the system from back feeding one way or the other or drawing on the main truck battery when setting up camp with the truck off. I've still got plans to install some additional rear lighting off the PrInSu rack and if wired correctly, I'll be able to switch on the additional lights from the same switch in the cab without those added lights coming on when switched in reverse!


I also put some rubber edging I had leftover from another project around the hitch opening along with some rubber "bumpers" in the lower screw holes. These keep my plate mount from digging into the paint and when fully seated and pinned in the hitch gets rid of any rattles.






I also had some 1/2" snap in trim plugs lying around so I popped them in the side extender holes to clean up the look.


Drilled for Rotopax and mounted! Also put on some stick-on rubber to save the cans and paint.







I wasn't happy with the harness mount location and needed to move it so my trailer would reach. I still wanted it to be concealed and protected so I welded some tabs to the inside of the bumper to move the plug about 6" closer to the trailer.



Finally figured out how to make my lock idea work too! Now I don't have to lock my cap door or tailgate anymore and can just lock the tire swingout - can't open either with the tire side latched.





The only additions I'd recommend to others going this route other than relocating the trailer harness plug would be to pick up some LED plate lights (I went with these and am very happy with them) as the incandescent chrome ones don't throw a ton of light and can't "reach" around a plate mount that sticks out ~3/8" from the bumper. I also picked up latching pop-pins to go on the swingout hinges (these specifically) as the ones that come with the bumper latch on every hole every time. Handy to be sure the it's always latched but I prefer to have the option to do it myself - the ones linked can function just like those from All-Pro or be latched in the up position so they won't pop locked in any position. For those on the fence about this bumper - Buy It!

Lots more updates are on the way this weekend including some upgrades/changes to my drawer system and some awning lighting!

 

Clean as always. Always look forward to this trucks progress.

 

Trucks looking better every time I see it man!

 

I really like your install and your interpretations to make it your own. Good call on the locking swing-pins, for safety reasons I had to design with non-locking...for reasons you can imagine. Also your lock to keep the tire swing itself closed is a very nice touch. for me I'd rather lock my cap then have to fumble with an extra lock at the swing-latch and hope that the latches themselves are intimidating enough to keep people from wanting to get into the bed of my truck and through the locked cap.

for the back-up lights I just used the stock reverse light +wire to power a relayed 12v feed from the battery to my lights. I like your diode idea and wish I would have used that instead.

your review and write up on this is greatly appreciated and I hope the bumper serves you well for the life of the truck.

Good call on those caps for the bed extension mounting holes, I'm totally stealing that.

 

Thanks Chux!

 

Thanks @XJfella95, glad the rearend finally matches up with the rest of the progress on the rest of the rig!