Mike's 50 shades of mud, and shenanigans every once in a while

Welcome to my slow build thread


Mod list:

Truck:
2011 TRD TX DCSB MGM 4.0 v6 Auto
bought new in late June 2011

Suspension:
Front:
Bilstein 5100's @ 0
OME 887X
SPC LR uca's
1/2" aluminum top plate spacer on left side

Rear:
Fox 2.0 rear shocks
Wheeler's hd progressive aal with overload leaf left in, smallest leaf taken out (too much rake)
1/2" steel shim in left side for taco lean.
3° axle shims
Toytec u-bolt flip kit

Wheels & Tires:
TX black "bead locks"
Cooper Discoverer STT Pro 285/75R16

Lighting:
Rigid Industries Amber Duallys (retrofitted in stock fog location, using factory switch)
2 7" Tuff LED 51w round spots
2 Auxbeam 20w hyperspot pods
2 Auxbeam 18w flood beam pods on Relentless Fabrication hood hinge brackets
2 Avec LED pods (rear facing)
6 OTRATTW switches in front of shifter
self wired bed lights, hood lights and interior floor lighting (red)
"Fog light anytime" mod

Armor:
Custom front bumper bar ----- "armor"


BAMF IFS skid
Relentless Fabrication tailgate reinforcement plate

Recovery/air equipment:
Rugged Ridge receiver hitch shackle block
(4) 3/4" shackles, (2) 1/2" shackles
Smittybilt 3"x30' recovery strap
ARB EZ deflator

$91 Viair 88P Portable Compressor Kit (12V, 120 Psi, Forup to 33" Tires)

Viair 88P air compressor (hardwired in truck - partial on board air)

Electrical:
Deka/East Penn 850CCA AGM battery
Custom battery tray and hold-down (self made)
Blue Sea 12 space aux fuse box
100A Bussmann breaker
Ultragauge MX 1.3
"a/c plug in cab" mod
"400w anytime mod"
12v power socket & USB charge port wired in rear of center console
Replaced cigarette lighter socket with usb socket
Streamlight Strion w/ charger mounted to center console storage lid (inside)
7-pin trailer plug relocated to rear bumper
Custom self made harnesses for lights and compressor
American Volt 7" transmission fan

Communications:
Cobra 19 DX IV cb
4' firestik II on a 4" spring and quick disconnect
Cobra external speaker
Middle finger

Interior:
wooden shifter knob
booster seat mod
morale patches

Exterior:
bug guts, stickers, and scratches

Misc:
Rear diff breather mod
Demello Offroad bed cleat bar (discontinued)
Chopped exhaust
Dirty truck mod
MPG lol
Never been wheeled
Squeaks and creaks

To do:
Weld cam tabs or do TC cam tab gusset kit
Spindle gussets
Finally plate cab mount

Semi-major/major maintenance:
Trans flushed at 72,380 (3/7/20)
new battery - 72,491 (3/25/20) - 850CCA AGM
left front wheel bearing - 74,138 (7/9/20)
Cooper STT Pro's mounted - 75,058 (8/8/20)
inner and outer tie rods (Moog) - 75,346 (8/17/20)
front 5100's and coils - 88,687 (1/22/22)
belt tensioner, pullies, and belt - 90,866 (4/18/22)
right CV axle rebooted - 102,968 (9/2/23)
left CV axle rebooted - 104,290 (10/21/23)
ECGS bushing installed - 104,290 (10/21/23)



*** Disclaimer: as you venture through this thread, you'll see that I'm pretty childish ... so, uh, yeah, don't worry about that... just sit back, enjoy the slow ride, and listen to thrash metal

 

This is it's first time "offroad" a couple weeks after I got it



This was the day I put the bumper bar on. I designed it on paper, and a friend of a friend welded it up for me. He didn't have a pipe bender, so he had to weld all the pieces together.



March 2014 was my first real wheeling experience. I learned alot this trip..... including learning to just follow the ruts, being confident in my truck, and how/when to use my locker



don't try to straddle, just follow the ruts because you end up there anyway.





Then I finally pieced together a lift! I installed it in January of 2015. 5100's set at 2.5" with stock coils. No install pics, but this was taken shortly after. Still had stock 265/70/16 Rugged fails ....got some half used 285/75/16 BFG KO's about a month later from a TW member in the Tn thread.



Ran it that way until August 2015 when I got new coils, used SPC LR uca's from another TW member, 3 degree rear shims, and the u-bolt flip kit. I cut out the old uca bushings, cleaned the uca's up, repainted, and rebuilt them with new spec ride bushings and new ball joints... so essentially had brand new uca's. I actually took install pics the second time around






ditched the swaybar and aligned it.



Dirty Driveway shot at my new house (Oct '15)

 

Ditched the outdated Prochump 130's for some better, brighter 51 watt Tuff LED spots (May 2015)




Added some Auxbeam 20W hyperspots in (late Dec 2017)



And Auxbeam 18w flood pods on Relentless Fabrication hood hinge brackets (early Jan 2018)




Lighting Comparisons:

Low beams and duallys



High beams with duallys



The 2 7" Tuff LED spots only



All front lights



and my switches


left to right: Cb, rear lights, ditch lights, front hyperspots, 7" 51W spots, and air compressor

Bed lights



Interior floor lights

 

wheeling pics

March 2014 - Land Between the Lakes, Ky (stock)




March 2015 - LBL, Ky (lifted & 285's)





June 2015 - Turkey Bay, Ky





March 2016 - LBL, Ky






March 2017 - LBL, Ky





November 2017 - Adventure Offroad Park, Tn



March 2018 - LBL, Ky






March 2019 - LBL, Ky (I showed up late and didn't take any pictures. the following is not my picture, but proof i was there )

 

Suuuuubbbbed

 

In

 

I think I might, just have to watch this thread
and see where it goes =D

 

im in

 

Do I know you?

 

you're gheeyyyy because you have no 4wd

 

I'll get down on this. Didn't even have to stumble across it either.

 

I'm only here cause I followed the 2wd guy .....

 

So who in the tn thread that offroads withs us doesn't have a build thread now?

 

You

 

Oh

 

Scenic driveway picture while visiting my parents. I realized that i don't really have a full shot of my truck while it's actually clean....ish.

 

Did you take the wheel spacers off?

 

Yes. I had them on for all of a week