Desertjunkie760's 2011 Not So Basic but Never a Bad Bitch Build Thread

I couldn't agree more but I regret that thought when I see what they sell for.

 

So I took the truck to discount tire a few days ago to try and diagnose what to me sounded like something loose inside my tire. I’ve been having a strange noise coming from the drivers front while inside. Can’t source it, but if I had to guess I would say my CV is going bad.

Had the GF drive the truck through our complex while I walked next to it and heard something in the tire. Discount found the rest of the piece of metal that punctured my tire in Mexico. Don’t know what it is exactly, but it’s probably 1/8” wife and 3 inches long.

Sadly, it didn’t fix the noise I’m hearing from the inside.

 

New mod updates coming soon! Maybe even a multi day camping trip to Henderson, NV. Anyone have any recommendations in that area?

 

Well the build updates took longer than expected but I promise, I've been busy with this thing.

First, I did the overhead switch panel in the sunglass holder and I made the wiring harness with my alterations. I followed the very elaborate and informative writeup by @tacozord and made some alterations so that I could integrate my ABS delete into the overhead panel. I wanted to do something more unique and uniform than a toggle switch hidden somewhere under the dash. If you are interested in doing this mod, follow this writeup and it is very doable. I used this opportunity to wire up the Bussman fuse block I purchased a few weeks ago into the system and then run the @CaliRaisedLed ditch lights that the GF got me for Christmas through the new setup. It took a good amount of time to complete the project, but so far I am very happy with the end result.

I contacted OTRATTW when ordering my switches and was told that I need a different switch layout than what the OP used in the write up that would allow me to illuminate both LEDs while keeping a complete circuit and then interrupt the ABS circuit when the switch is engaged. He sent me V4D2 which is a switch that has the LEDs independently wired from the switch operation. I am going to be integrating this into the panel with the rest of my switches that power my accessories.

With that said, my wiring is different from the first and second switch. Basically, using the same terminals within the writup I used the wiring diagram below for the LED independent switch. Let me know how you would wire everything up.

So far, with the independent LED switch listed first, I have terminal #10 going to terminal #6; terminal #8 going to terminal #2; terminal #9 going to #7; and terminal #7 going to #8. From here, I was going to run the positive side of the ABS system to terminal #2 and then run the negative side to #1 or #3. I think that just alters whether the circuit is completed with the switch on/off.

Regular Switch used for upper/lower independent.


V4D2

 

I got the opportunity to take a firearms course on short notice through an instructor that has been a very large influence in my shooting career and I have been wanting to take a course with for YEARS. The entire ordeal was extremely short notice when I won't a spot in his AK course last minute. I have operated AKs before, but never shot one under pressure such as a competition or training course and mine was far from being setup to shoot to this extend. After scrambling for a week or so, I got my shit together enough to make the trip happen.





The course was in Henderson, NV at the Pro Gun Club and I didn't really have the funds to get a hotel room for the 3 days so... I drove the truck out and camped. I got some coordinates from a local member in the NV thread and spent 3 days exploring some very cool trails in the mountains just outside of Vegas and Henderson.

Same spot, one pic at night.


Last night of the trip overlooking Lake Mead. Was by far the best spot I had during the trip.

 

FINALLY got to cute the wires for my ABS delete and I am kind of disappointed that it took me so long to do! It will be one of the best mods I have done when I finally get to put it to the test. No pics of the completed project yet but they will come. Followed THIS again very detailed writeup by @Benson X and threw my own little twist to the switch I used to make it a little different.

 

It's been awhile since I've posted up but progress has been made. Work has been keeping me busy and I haven't spent much time on the computer lately to get this post up, but it's here!

Months ago I made a phone call to Eric at @ARCHIVE and inquired about his newest product, the Hammer Hangers. I personally didn't see the hangers to be such an issue when wheeling or I hadn't really thought about it but with the release of the BAMF and Archive hangers I knew there was a need in the market. After some reading, I decided to give Eric a call and get some of my basic questions answered. They're were some claims made in a BS thread that got me thinking and really wanted to dig into the finite details regarding his product. Eric spent a good deal of time with me over the phone elaborating on the product and it was a great conversation. He was patient and informative regarding my inquiries, however there was limited information regarding the numbers that were being seen since the product had been so new. I decided to pull the trigger and place an order and find out for myself.

My initial impression was how beefy these hangers are and the craftsmanship behind them. The guys at Archive are on point with their products and don't miss any details. In order to do a comparison and to allow me to plan for future modifications, I decided to cycle the suspension before and after the install so that I could compare my measurements accurately. I started the project by stripping my Dakar leaf pack down to the main leaf. This would allow me to cycle the suspension without a tremendous amount of force. There are differing opinions in choosing this route to cycle suspension and the accuracy of the measurements, however I did not have the equipments to bump a leaf pack assembled and I figure the margin of error is minimal for my use.

Leaf pack stripped and mounted with spacer to imitate an assembled pack. I found some spare metal laying around but the overall height was thicker than an assembled pack so keep this in mind when looking at the data. Spacer measured 3' and the assembled pack was 2 1/4". 3/4" difference when comparing measurements.


Next I worked on the rivets that keep the OE hangers to the frame. As many have heard, these were a SOB to remove and despite all of the different techniques used by other members, these still took a fair amount of time to remove completely. I started by cutting the head of the rivets off with a cutting wheel and grinding them down completely. I read that someone had an issue when doing this as they couldn't see where the rivet was once completed, however if you look closely you can see a vague break in the metal. Enough to drill or hit with a punch and know you're hitting the rivet.



I then used an air hammer and worked them out. It sounds a hell of a lot easier than it was but I'll spare the prolong details. I found the bottom rivets more difficult to remove to do the fact that they go through the factory crossmember that the spare tire is mounted to. I could get the rivet out of the frame but the crossmember was too flexible to allow me to hammer the rivet from the bottom. I ended up drilling a hole through the rivet and then actually using the air hammer from the top. With a chisel tip, I was able to get between the rivet flange and the crossmember to pry them apart. Again, took longer than I'm making it sound.

Side by side comparison between OE and the Hammer. These things are overkill considering the frames of our trucks and paper thin but this will eliminate any concern you may have for bending an OE hanger.

 

It was requested that I measured from the top of the axle tube to the bottom of the frame and I feel that this option was best for comparison as it was consistent and gave me solid measuring points. I marked the bottom of the frame roughly in the center of the bump stop pad so that I was measuring the same point every time. With that said, this information does not tell you anything about shock selection other than the amount of travel the leaf provides.

Stock hangers-

Drivers side on ground: 11 1/8”
Passenger side on ground: 11”

Drivers side at full droop with shocks: 14 1/4”
Passenger side at full droop with shocks: 14 5/8”

Drivers side at full droop without shocks: 15 1/4”
Passenger side at full droop without shocks: 15 1/4”

Drivers side droop stripped leaf: 18 3/4"
Passenger side droop stripped leaf: 18 15/16"

Drivers side bump stripped leaf: 8 5/8”
Passenger side stripped leaf: 8 3/8”
(this is done with bumps in place since they will be limiting the bump travel while assembled. This number likely varies per the amount of force applied since we are dealing with a rubber compound but it's close enough for my use. The leaf stays virtually flat at this position so any further would decrease the leaf pack life.)

Hammer Hangers-

Driver side droop, stripped leaf: 18 3/4”
Passenger side droop, stripped leaf: 18 7/8”

Drivers side full droop, leaf pack assembled: 18 1/4”
Passenger side full droop, leaf pack assembled: 18 3/8”

Driver side on ground: 12 1/4”
Passenger side on ground: 11 7/8”

You can see that the Hammer hangers gave me about 3" of additional down travel over stock and I gained roughly an inch +/- 1/8" of lift at ride height. My leaf pack cycles about 10.5" with no limitations and my shocks are now limiting my down travel by about 4". Needless to say a shock relocation and 12" shocks are very high on the priority list when it comes to future mods.
(Keep in mind that the space I used was 3/4" thicker than the assembled leaf pack when you look at the stripped leaf numbers and try to compare them to the assembled leaf pack numbers.)

Also note: I did notice that my rear shackle was very tight when I was disassembling, especially on the driver's side, so I think I could have gotten more out of the stock hanger with the assembled leaf however it was nowhere near 3" difference so either way I gained droop.

I know there are others who may be more experienced have installed this product or just straight up know more than I do regarding suspension and I'm curious to hear results. I know the information may vary and I'd like to hear any feedback about my approach to acquiring this info. @tetten @jberry813 @MojaveMadman to name a few

 

Once the rivets were removed it was time to drill the new hole in the frame. Archive designed these hangers with slightly different geometry than stock to optimize longer leaf pack and shackle combinations. With that said, the Dakars are shorter than some of these other aftermarket companies so he recommended I move the hanger to the foremost position. This requires one new hole being drilled into the frame. From my understanding, this gets you very close to the factory hanger geometry as far as where the shackle mounts but more data would have to be collected to be sure.

Hole drilled and hanger mounted.


Leaf assembled and drooped


I believe that the additional droop is mainly due to the additional inclination that the Hammer hanger allows the shackle to use. I've heard from other readings that you can achieve this by cutting the factory hanger but never really tested the idea myself. It's very clear that the shackle drops another 15 degrees or so. I don't have a pic of the OE position but it's pretty much level.

 

Thanks Shane, I appreciate you taking the time to do this comparison and write up.

I'll add that the Dakar leaf pack with HH is not fanned out, there isn't leaf separation. This means that the main leaf is not binding between the hangers.
There have been people who have forced a Dakar pack in between stock hangers, binding the main leaf and they fan out, even catching on the stock hanger as they unload, there are pics of this happening on Alex.busta's Instagram.

 

That would be a nice upgrade for my dakars and also do a shock relocate

 

Thanks for the great product and taking he time to answer all of my questions! I’ll post up ride quality when I have some more miles and get some dirt miles on them.

 

That’s my plan. 12” is all I’ll be able to use since I’m only cycling 10.5” +/- .5” or so. No reason to try and shove anything bigger under there. Just need to focus on the valving!

 

I found that you might need to have ~1" of shock bump travel left for articulation vs. Non articulated bump so you don't bottom the shock when articulating

 

That’s valid. I also didn’t consider the slight degree that the shock will need to be mounted at that will scew the numbers a bit.

I know your relocation kit fits a 2.5x14”. How much room is there to fit a 14” shock. I haven’t taken any measurements yet.

 

Just read through your relocation thread. Gives me a good idea.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...-14-shock-relocation-2005-2nd-3rd-gen.519011/

 

So when are we installing the new shock hoops?

 

Haha. Hopefully soon! I need to get the new shocks first to do some mock up.

 

@SoCalTacoTruck