SAS using Toyota Axle?

I heard a rumor snowy is going to swap to tons beause he blew up a hub and birf mall crawlin last weekend....

 

Tons and 42's

The parking curbs are fierce

 

The real 1ton determination:
Do you need to turn tight: tons
Do you like doing 19point turns to pull out of your driveway: yota axles

 

This truck is a daily driver and these axles are toyota based but bigger than my Dana 60 derived axles. The Ring and pinion are 1/2" smaller than mine but the overall axle is not only bigger but heavier as well.





This was a daily driver on Tons and 40's. But not only tons. It has a 14 bolt in the rear.



Another 1st gen on Dana 60 front and 14 bolt in the rear on 40's that was daily driven.



And one more 1st gen on dana 60 front and 14 bolt rear always driven to and from the trails and daily driven sitting on 40's. And this one is the 4cyl.



I'm just saying that if you build them right you can get it to function the way you want it too both on and off the road with some compromise. Oh, and mine is just as nimble as any 1st gen out there.

1st gen in front of me.



Me coming up after the 1st gen.

 

That 1st gen with Diamond axles front/rear is not a fair example of an "all toyota parts" project. First of all, that thing is totally custom; far from your typical budget toyota parts build. I bet it has over 10 grand in axles alone. Add suspension parts, tires, duals, coilovers, suspension, etc. and I bit it gets closer to $20,000 in parts alone.

I put that out because some guys get carried away with pics of trucks like that thinking they can build their truck similarly with "all toyota parts"; not realizing that the truck in those pics is an expensive an expensive custom build. Long gone are the TTORA days when guys where really building awesome rigs out of junk yard parts with small budgets relatively speaking. Then everything changed and people really started building custom-over-the-top rigs like that white tacoma.

Good point about building a rig with tons and big tires. Yes, you can have your cake and eat it too I have a 4 cyl with big axles/tires. You just have to adapt to the fact that it is a heavier and slower vehicle. Personally, I think tons is the way to go. Those are the last axles you will ever build.

This obsession with lighter axles is out of proportion. Many guys don't even know what they are talking about LOL. Most people change their opinions immediately after wheeling a rig with full-width 1ton axles with big tires for the first time. It's a whole different experience.

 

^^Here hacked together out of junkyard parts, free front leaf springs, all built with a flux core welder and will do 80mph all day on 9.5" cruiser axles. Driven to and from the trails and i have less into the whole sas than the white truck has in the front axle.

 

Im happy with my Tacoma on all toyota parts and 35s Do I want 37s? Yes but there not real pratical for daily driving and 40s are even worse in my head just because of how much they are and the wear the street puts on them. Can you daily drive on 40s? Sure, you can daily drive anything but you have to think about how pratical it will be and the wear and tear of driving that truck everyday. Im all for driving my truck to and from trails but I did trailer it from vegas to tahoe for the rubicon and am happy I did because I ended up breaking a major part and wouldnt have been able to drive it home safely. So trailer queens have their place.

But the real lesson I learned after I finished my truck and did some local trails, was that I was so caught up in the internet and what others had that I was already shopping around for tons to start building until I went and did Marlin Round up on the Rubicon. Just about every toyota there had: toyota axles, 35s, old worn out leaf springs front and cheby 63s in the rear, no hydro assist, and for the most part all looked the same. Why did they all look the same? Because it simply works and after that I just learned to love my truck how it is and enjoy it and beat on it till I find a reason to upgrade. The few rigs that did not look like the others where some of the big builds you would read on here or pirate (Like breynolds or bayareastaco) and they were far and few. For now this has turned into any other thread on tw and where just here. But its different than the regular one so Im okay with it haha. And this is all my 2 cents for the guys wanting to do this reading. Probably doesnt make any sense.

And a picture cause SAS Tacomas are cool. And dont get me wrong Wyatt. Those trucks are awesome but are way over built for the average joe toyota owner. Cool non the less.

DSC_1000.JPG by Harrison M, on Flickr

One thing I would do differnt was get an atlas. Having to much trouble with the auto tranny leaking into the tcase... Tired of changing the seal. Anyone want 2.28 crawlbox with 4.7 tcase? Passenger drop? Haha just kidding.

 

You are correct on all points with the white rig. I changed the front geomerty on it three times before I was happy with it and gave it back to the customer because he wanted to keep it low but run 40's. Building that truck was like trying to stuff the workings of a simi truck into a pinto. Putting those huge tires and monster axles under that think and keeping it low was a MAJOR pain.

I do miss the days of TTORA when folks just cobble together stuff in a weekend and then went wheeling. But times do change....

The other two trucks are just that. Former TTORA guys that built their own trucks from junk yard parts. And they still wheel them.

 

Not everyone can get free stuff for their rigs though. Nor do they have the talent to build their own either like you do. Plus, some pweople are fortunate enough to be able to pay someone for what they want. He is one hell of a driver though and knows exactly what and how it wants his rig to handle.

 

Yes, mine and the white truck are over built for the average joe. But we're fortunate that we could do it this way. I just wanted to make the point that a rig could be built, and it can be done cheaply too as seen by Slanders and the two brown first gens, They could be built to run tons and 40's and be driven all the time if need be.

Oh and if your leaking tranny fluid into the front case, just change the seal or check your t case/ tranny mount. The Atlas uses a very similar seal as the Marlin does and in my experience leaks more from the tranny than the Marlin or even Trail Gear does.

 

Cant wait to see the build thread on it!

And yes the death of TTORA sucked!!

 

That might be the funniest thing I've ever read on these boards.

Slander neither knew how to weld or owned a welder when he cut the frame off his truck. Brass balls in place of skills? I'll concede that.

I DD'ed my truck on 37's with a 3RZ, 5.29's and it was serviceable at best. If there was any real headwind I'd have to draft semis to do 75 in 5th. If somebody says DD'ing a 3RZ is okay on 40's then they are kidding themselves.

Most people can't afford Rock Jocks, Diamonds, or a shop to put it all together well. It irritates me that people on these boards think that's how you have to build a wheeler to have fun anymore. It really is a testament to how well the marketing of RST, Icon, AP, etc, works. I tip my hat to all of them for finding a niche.

I think people have gotten away from putting whatever they can find together, going out and having fun with friends. Now it's lay down the plastic, wheel your super-awesome badass truck three times a year and then sell it because you are up to your eyeballs in debt and none of your friends want to wheel the kill you buggy lines that you insist on.

 

HEY!! I had 16yrs of drinking beer watching other people weld, i learned via osmosis.

How else do you learn? Immobilize the truck the in the garage, 6 months before a wheeling trip 18hrs away and now you have to get it out.

My good friend learned how to weld after he found a buzz box in his garage, thought it was a battery charger, ran a few beads. 2 days later were cutting off the stock suspension and building a long arm/radius arm hybrid suspension for his zj, flexed it once and drove it 10hrs to ky to wheel. gotta take the panties off at some point.

 

Your killing me man..... I build these trucks in my driveway..... Thats my shop.... LOL The neighbors love it.



Marketing. I have a website that is in serious need of some attention. The home page isn't even set up correctly. And my social media presence is sad. You give me WAY too much credit for that kinda stuff. Heck, I can't even figure out how to set up tap a talk on my forum. LOL

Oh, and all the people I've built trucks for still have them by the way......

 

I just realized what this was and spit all my soda on my computer.... Time for a new computer. LOL

 

@Snowy had to buy his truck pre built, so he really cant talk...

 

It's all a matter of perspective I guess. Leaf springs and 35"s has been proven to work well for sure if you stick to what you know.

But things evolve, interests change and many people just move up to links, big axles and big tires. Not because it is inherently better but because it is a different experience. Think about it; people would not go to those extents if it was not a significant improvement.

And yes...Atlas is a nice piece of metal....a big and heavy one for sure After going duals and all the required modifications, you are not that far from an Atlas price range anyway.

Nice rig BTW.

My 3-link SAS with tons was quite a big project too. The project gets bigger and bigger as you bring the truck lower and lower. Way too many compromises to keep it low; moving shit around a 100 times until everything fits the way you want, etc. With full width 1 tons, however, I do not think having a low rider is that necessary. People obsess too much with low rides...more of an issue with narrow axles for sure.

I miss the TTORA days too. That was the beginning of a new era for toyota guys; which led to where we are today with link suspensions and big axles

Not everybody that builds a rig with link suspensions, tons and big tires is trying to show off. Sure, maybe there are a few immature guys out there. But that's an expensive way to be immature! And yes, getting in debt to build a rig do it is the stupidest thing ever.

Reality is that most people I know did it because of the experience. It is just hard to negate how substantially different it is to wheel with links, tons and big tires. The whole thing is just a new level of wheeling.

True, a 4cyl with tons and big tires does not behave the same. At the end, my argument is always the same. Many guys end up spending twice as much because they start building their rigs with "all toyota parts" mentality; and with the mindset that eventually they will upgrade this and that. Rebuilding and upgrading crap all the time is what makes this hobby expensive.

I took the approach of building it as strong as possible from the beginning and forget about it. As hard as it is to believe, in the long run this is the cheaper approach. So yeah...when somebody asks me I always say that going with tons and big tires is the best way to spend your hard earned money.

 

Goals. Clean and classy setup. Well done. Me likey.

 

Not sure where you are getting you numbers Wyatt.
-9.5" is only 1/4" smaller than than the 9.75" d60 ring gear
-9.5" front, complete, with steering is under 400 pounds, where a Currie rockjock, WITHOUT steering is 500, so over 100 pounds less on the Diamond
-the 3.5" tube of a Diamond may be larger than what currie uses, however, the clearance at the diff is better with a 9.5" center than the tightest shaved d60.

For overall weight comparison. My Tacoma was 3800 pounds, dual case, 37s, with 8" Toyota based front axle. When it went to 42's, steel beadlocks, 9"/d60 hybrids, and full cage, it hit 4700.[/QUOTE]