12thman's build

In preparation for my Moab trip next week I figured I better find a way to utilize the space under my sleeping platform. I settled on a super simple design using 1x8's and some scrap 1x4's from the pallet that my front bumper came on. All said and done I spent about $100 dollars on it. I probably could have got it done for cheaper but I just wanted to pound thing thing out.

The rough framing:


Got the drawers built


Put some dividers in there to keep things organized. That jerry can fits perfect!


And the final product. It isn't perfect, but it gets the job done.

 

Went to Moab last week for the 3rd year in a row. Got to put the new winch and bumper to the test.

Driving into Cisco wash:


Winching out of Cisco wash anchored off of a buried hi lift jack:


All said and done I put about 2600 miles on the truck in 7 days and had zero problems.

 

nice truck, how you like the Cali amber pods? I'm thinking of getting them

 

So far I like them. They are built very solid and I can't complain about the light output either. Also the price was right.

 

Nice, I'm in Cali right now, so I'm thinking about picking some up.

 

Do you have more pictures of your front bumper? I am looking to get the cbi bumper with no hoops too but can hardly find pictures of it!

 

Here ya go:

 

Some pics from a recent run up the Whipsaw Trail. What a fun trail!




...And of course I had a wheel bearing crap out on me on the way home. I wasn't too worried though because I carry a spare hub/bearing assembly with me. I was really thinking I was going to score points with my wife until I found that the hub had seized itself onto the spindle or whatever is behind it. I ended up having to call my dad and have him drive up into Canada with his trailer to come and rescue me. What a guy!


I even got the old man to give her a wash before I dropped it off at the mechanic.

 

What was happening that you needed to address the hub on the side of the road? I've got one on it's way out again. I've got about 18k miles on one of bamas units.

 

I had even less miles than that on this bearing. Probably about 10-12K. It was my original hub with an OEM bearing pressed in by a local shop. There was nothing wrong with my hub but I had to take it off in order to get the new hub/bearing assembly installed. I never did find out what caused it to get stuck, I'll hopefully see the mechanic's report this week.

 

M

Mines making noise when weight transfers to the front right tire, otherwise I never notice it. I have a feeling I didn't get the torque right on the nut. I didn't have a torque wrench and it calls for something like 140ft lbs iirc so I got it as tight as I could with what I had and called it good.

I was worried about the wheel leaving the truck in motion, but I was assured that couldn't happen. Or could it?

 

That would be scary as hell. I could be wrong but I believe as long as the axle nut is on then it would be nearly impossible for your wheel to fall off. That's why there is a cotter pin to make sure that the nut can't back itself off.

 

Hey man nice build. How has that unistrut rack held up for you? how has it held up with the RTT? What about the rack and leer combo any issues? Go Hawks!

 

Thanks man! It's been about a year now and I've had zero problems with the canopy or rack. I don't think I would change a single thing if I had to do it all over again.

 

Good to hear man I'm thinking of building one myself for my leer since I already have tracks.

 

Today I got some new wheels and tires mounted. FN 5 stars with bfg KO2's in 305/70/16. I did the cab mount chop and beat the pinch weld back this last weekend to help with the rubbing. I still rubbed the fenders like crazy pulling out of the tire shop so I'm thinking I'll have to cut an inch or two out of them.



Love that wide stance though!

 

In an effort to stop the rubbing from the new tires I cut 1.5" off of the front fenders. I think I'm going to keep the flares off for the time being since I broke pretty much all of the clips.

I did the cab mount chop a week or so ago and I'm finding that i still rub it at full lock. Since I haven't had the BAMF plates welded on yet I guess I'm going to hack some more off before the welding begins.

 

Nice looking rig, man! Great to see some other Washington folks on TW. Liking that sleeping platform idea a lot!

 

Thanks! I loved sleeping on the platform but as soon as my wife found out what a roof top tent was she insisted that we had to have one. Needless to say, sleeping on that platform is now a thing of the past.

 

Robby, I've got a bunch of the red and blue clips for the fender flares. How many of each do you need? I can see if I have enough