ckrockets build thread (daily driver/overlander rig) - Jack's 2010 4X4 DCSB Silver Streak Mica

Day two, rain on and off all day long, a good portion of the work was done inside the truck with all the doors/windows closed. I'm not a small guy so this was pain in the butt/knees/back literally.

Sunday 4/7/19






***fridge slide installed, battery tray installed, and back wall rack wiring terminated


***Aux battery installed, positive & negative connections terminated


*** ARB 82 QT fridge w/ transit cover installed (hard mounted via feet 4- 6mm bolts)


***notice lid in fully open position when slide is at its fully opened position, this did require some forethought






***Spring loaded detent pins installed (zero movement of slide when engaged), 2" wide x 1/8" thick rubber sheet running full length between slide and platform (to prevent Duratex sticking to Duratex, plus a small amount of vibration isolation)


*** fridge lid can be partially opened to access items without extending slide


***access to right half of back wall rack possible with slide fully extended


***2 inches of clearance under slide allows for some recovered storage


***travel condition, some storage area in front of aux battery, fridge has not been turned on yet, plan is to drive around with it installed for a few weeks to diagnose any potential installation problems

May not seem like it but this was a brutal 10 hour install day.

 

Gave it some serious consideration on making my own roof rack base. I would have to source material, hardware, and there was the concern on how the 3 factory mounting positions are not in a straight line (the front position skews outward). I wanted the left and right base's to be made from a solid piece for added rigidity and strength. I determined I would have to fabricate and install each individual mounting point then tac weld them together. The idea of molten welding slag flying who knows where was off putting. I've had little luck with welding blankets in the past catching slag. Plus there was the uncertainty of how well it would turn out. My research on different ways to attach a roof rack had led me to admire ARB's method so opted to go ahead and use their roof rack base to mount my homemade rack. The price was quite reasonable for what you get, a one piece design made of heavy gauge steel, powder coated, and complete with some very nice hardware.

Saturday 4/13/19

***install time about 4 hours taking my time cleaning the drip rail thoroughly, installing bases, installing double sided tape (included), and trimming drip rail covers


***notched the drip rail covers 0.5" vs 10mm as in instructions, wanted the ability to access allen head mounting bolts to torque check on occasion


***even included some really nice hardware and threaded backing plates to mount the rack (which I will be using)

Overall happy with the install and how it looks.

It was necessary to pre-install the base so I could take some final measurements before starting the roof rack build (next weekend provided the weather cooperates). Tomorrow is going to be a vortex washout here so I'll be starting some overland rig related sewing, as I had previously mentioned in the thread.

 

Sewing day.

Sunday 4/14/19

***1000D Cordura Medium Grey (5 linear yards)


***Friskar scissors are a must to cut Cordura (ridiculously sharp like a razor)


***I was hoping to make the item from one piece of material but I needed 62.5" width to accomplish. Unfortunately the bolt of material was only 59" wide, so I had to make it 2 piece down the middle. The seam will be hidden so no big deal.



***hemming edges




***attachment straps (hook & loop, 1" solution dyed webbing), boxed stitched to the 1000D Cordura, 34 locations



***about 2 min each to sew

Need a good weather day to finish up. I'll be holding it in place with 34 neodymium disk magnets while I mark the locations for each of the 34 mounting strap points.

Anyone figured out what it is yet?

 

Tonneu cover for the rack???

 

Sort of

Not sure what to call it as it mounts on the underside of the rack.

I've been calling it a under rack soft top.

I've been planning to make it since I finished the rack over a year ago, just now getting around to it.

I've made accommodations in the cover itself to add zippers later on for front and rear panels w/ clear pvc.

 

A bikini top/jeep soft topper sort of thing that oughta be pretty cool!

 

Sub'd

 

4/18/19

Yesterday was the last dry day for a few. I decided to try holding the rack inner cover up with the neodymium magnets I bought so I could mark exact locations of the 34 mounting straps.

Well that didn't work. Magnets not strong enough and the 58.5" long stitching caused it to spring back to around 57".

I've had to use a technique I figured out years ago to stretch the material back to length. Quick clamp piece to table, stretch to correct length and let sit for a few days. While it's stretched out to length I measured and marked all the correct positions to sew the mounting straps.

Sat, Sun, Mon I'll be building the roof rack. Rack inner cover on hold til next weekend.

 

Worked the Holiday so I could take off Monday, total washout here Friday. Picked up steel (40' 1.5" square tubing, 20' 1" square tubing, 5' 1" schedule 40 pipe, 3' 3"x0.125" flat bar) on Thursday, $200 total wasn't expecting that much.

Plan is to get the roof rack frame completely finished in the next 3 days.

Plans modeled and dimensioned.




Saturday cut metal, Sunday and Monday weld.

Saturday 4/20/19

Rained on and off, worked under a 10x10 canopy all day.


***30 min in I realized my chopsaw did not have the reach to cut a 22.5deg angle. I could make the angle with my offset jig but the 14" disk wouldn't come close to cutting the entire piece. I opted to try hand scribing the angle (on both sides) then using a guide and 4.5" cutting disk (makita 18v angle grinder).




***cleaned up nice with blue flap disk on the makita 18v angle grinder

tips: don't attempt this method with a 120v plug in angle grinder extremely dangerous, the 18v angle grinder doesn't have enough torque/momentum to be dangerous, this method requires a light grip to maintain dexterity, the 120v will kickback! , allow the disk to cut straight down into the piece in several spots don't move along the guide


***well that worked out better than I ever expected


***got all the 1.5" tubing cut to length and mitered

 

Cut off disks on a grinder will make you chunk that abrasive disk chop saw out in the yard. Get a 6” guard for your grinder and some 6” x .045” disks and you will be shocked what you can get done. Don’t buy cheap disks! Now an Evolution chop 15” saw and a Milwaukee Metal cutting saw on the other hand are tits.

Evolution Power Tools EVOSAW380 15-Inch Steel Cutting Chop Saw

Evolution Power Tools | 14" Chop Saw | 15-Amp Motor | 0-45˚ Miter Range | 66T Mild Steel TCT Blade | Metal Cutting EVOSAW380

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003TX1UPO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_BH6UCbYN7SE0J

Milwaukee 6370-21 13 Amp 8-Inch Metal Cutting Circular Saw

$469 Milwaukee Electric Tool 6370-21 Electric Corded Circular Saw Kit, 120 V

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000WUQI4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_iJ6UCb2ZMHDC0

 

I considered buying this cold saw in July 2017 when I started my build. Wish I had, I'll definitely get one before I start another bed rack build.

https://m.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200641810_200641810

Never heard of using 6" disks on a 4.5" angle grinder. Does it slow the rpm's down enough not to make it quite so dangerous. I'll only use a 4.5" 120v angle grinder with cutoff disks on small cross section metal. I've had them jump out of hand to many times, but never had a disk explode thankfully. This Makita 18v angle grinder with a 4.5" cutoff disk is the best cutting tool I've ever owned. Not to mention what you can do with a flap disk on this thing is amazing.

Makita XAG11Z 18V LXT® Lithium-Ion Brushless Cordless 4-1/2” / 5" Paddle Switch Cut-Off/Angle Grinder, with Electric Brake, Tool Only

Makita XAG11Z 18V LXT BL 4-1/2"/ 5" Cut-Off/Angle Grinder

 

Happy Easter

Sunday 4/21/19


***cut more material, squared and tacked up most of the rack

Weather is going to be excellent here the next 2 days so went ahead and took off Tuesday.

Hopefully I'll be able to get it finished over the next 2 days.

 

11 hour day today

4/22/19



***finish tacking up everything, welding, splatter clean up (1/2" belt sander), and dressed welds (wire cone 120v angle grinder) for most of the day






***rack set in place so I could transfer mounting point slot positions(pain in the butt, completely by feel using an angled scribe) note the welds on bottom ground flush to allow mounting plates to sit flush on rack base, all other welds left intact

The plan tomorrow is to get the mounting points drilled, KC 40" led light bar mounts, KC led pod mounts, and awning mounts fabricated and welded to rack.

Also need to double check measurements for sheet metal wind deflector for front of rack. I have a local metal shop with a shearing machine cut it to size.

 

Another long day, got 90% of rack completed. All that's left is to weld front sheet metal to rack, drill mounting holes for 40" light bar (need to buy the bar first so I can mark the hole locations), and coat (may powder coat after all, if it's to expensive I'll black Duratex as planned).

Tuesday 4/23/19
***mounts for awning placement on both sides of rack, extended KC led pod mounts, mounting tabs for 40" light bar, support bar for sheet metal wind deflector

 

A preview of what the end goal is for the roof rack.

 

Awesome build! Your fab skills are way above mine! How are you liking the KC amber ditch lights? I'm thinking about adding a set behind the grill but am not sure if I want to go higher on the wattage. I have a set of black oak 12w amber floods and am wanting to run some lights to add more of a distant hotspot for bad weather and dust at higher speed.

 

Thank you

I really like the amber KC's, the amber works great for rain/snow/fog, makes me want more amber.

 

Weather was looking great for Sat, Sun, & Mon so took a 3 day weekend.

Saturday 4/27/19

***finished up the fabrication welded on the wind deflector, cleaned up weld splatter, and dressed welds


***Used entire can of brake cleaner then an entire can of engine degreaser, rack was still coated in a black film. I assume it was a combination of the lubricant from the foundry and welding/grinding dust. It's very strange washing bare steel with soap and water but it worked. Surface ready for coating.


***I had called around to price powdercoat best I could find was $200, still to expensive so I went back to the original plan to black Duratex the rack. I'm glad I did it turned out great! 1st coat of Duratex.

We sold a washer, dryer, and complete bedroom furniture set to a wife's coworker, spent half the day on Sunday getting the items moved and loaded.

Sunday 4/28/19


***moved around switch face plates in preparation to wire and mount additional switches in dash

Monday 4/29/19

***pulled dash apart in preparation for wire routing, will have to remain in this condition until next weekend



***mounted and pre-wired bass control knob, amplifier remote switches, pre-wired dash switches, pre-wired red LED dome light


***final coat of Duratex, allowing 5 days to cure

 

Thanks for the feedbac! I'll probably snag a pair next month. Did you see they have some of the flex dual spots for sale in the KC garage sale thread? I have a set of them with amber covers on the way. They may end up on the backburner for a while though as I'm not sure if the spacing btw diodes will work behind a pro grill. The pods work great behind the pro grill though

 

8 weekends til my trip, still a bunch to do.