BigMike’s Big Journey: New 2016 Tacoma

Oh yeah that's how the top caps go back together. I don't have those anyway. He mentioned there was some glue/mixture that they used. I can't really find anyone outside of this thread that actually detailed the process.

 

in the hunt too, hopefully we can get some feedback on the process.

 

After looking at mine, the fiberglass bed sides are going to make this tough. I'm going to have to section each side into 3-4 pieces then glue it all back together.

 

So after reading this post I googled SMC and welding resin. Found this:
https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/company...-Repair-Adhesive/?N=5002385+3293241362&rt=rud

I might order it and see how it does I've got a some pieces of bed that I've already cut off I can try. I'm going to track this in my build thread so I don't clutter Mike's.

 

I'll see if I can't find the build thread but a shop in NC did a lot of custom stuff to a guys bed and bonded it back together with a plastic that's pretty much the same as the stock bed.

 

Roger that, staying tuned.

 

Hey guys,

Regarding plastic welding, I'll contact my body guy and get more details and respond hopefully tomorrow.

ovrlndkull is right; This was what I was thinking however I still have yet to get around to trying it myself. So many things to do, so little time..

Thanks for the info guys. I should be able to resume working on the Tacoma 4th of July weekend. Two things I didn't think of before are that when I lower the truck back down about an inch to where it was before, the front spring force will be reduced and the LCA will be positioned closer to horizontal. Both of these will enable a smoother front end ride. I'll know more once I get back healthy...

..which I should update the thread with what's been going on.

 

Late Spring 2019 Update

It has been quite the spring... My original plan was to have the Tacoma ready by mid-April and a schedule of at least three trail runs per month, and now I'll be lucky to have it ready to go by late July. I originally wasn't going to post about this but things seem to be improving along with my motivation so here goes

My wife and I have been homeowners for 2 yrs and back in May I purchased a whole house attic fan to install before summer (

$460 Cool Attic CX24DDWT Direct Drive 2-Speed Whole House Attic Fan with Shutter, 24"

from Amazon). My parent's house has one of these and it is really, really awesome. We could have hired a local installation company, but the combination of owning my first house + the love of projects meant I had been eager to do this since we bought the house!

We have two attic entrances the previous owner had plywooded for storage (about 300 sq ft each). One of these areas happened to be a perfect location for the vent fan which has made it extremely easy to work on it.

Here I am with a section of plywood removed figuring out where to place the fan via center joist installation. At top-right is the attic entrance from a small closet with ladder. Surrounding the plywood area is pink insulation which comprises the rest of the attic (of course).



Here is where I am installing it near the middle of our house, centered between the far light fixture and smoke detector.



Here is a progress picture with platform and raiser built (for reduced noise and vibrations). This shows a better image of the loose fill insulation that is piled up in a sloped manner all around.

 

While working on the fan project I noticed insulation wrap had partially fallen off A/C ducting right above me so I bought replacement zip ties and got that fixed.

I then began shining my flashlight around and noticed A/C ducting extending way across the attic over to my wife's office (3rd bedroom) had it's wrap insulation 75% fallen off. This wasn't part of the job I was doing either, but just like projects on the Tacoma, if something is "easy & quick to fix" I can't just ignore it so

Now before I go on, please know that I have been in many attics, both residential and commercial, and know full well how to walk across joists. The only excuse I can provide for what you're already assuming is that I had been up on the plywood for three weekends in a row and had become fully complacent walking around at will....














...and while wearing noise cancelling headphones enthralled with another Graham Hancock podcast about ancient Egyptian history whilst simultaneously assembling 24-inch zip ties end-to-end, I proceeded to casually walk straight into the pink insulation like I was walking down mainstreet.



I never inspected how far the plywood extends under the insulation and it probably wouldn't have mattered as I was so focused and it happened so fast that I don't even recall the sensation of falling, I just remember being head-deep surrounded by insulation with half my body through the ceiling








Yeah. I know. Extremely embarrassing.

Fortunately the light fixture broke my fall. Easy to say then, not so much now, but as many have reminded me it could have been much worse... The light fixture is connected to a metal beam that spans between two joists which impacted into the bottom right corner of my rib cage. All of this was covered by at least three feet of insulation. As one customer told me, I'm lucky I didn't get impaled in my side. That's a great point... wow.... count my blessings for sure


It happened so fast.. I lifted myself out using nearby joists and while spitting out pink insulation and being completely dumbfounded and pissed at myself, the pain in my side and back really began to hurt. My wife was home and quickly ran over. She said the sound was extremely loud and even the kitchen ceiling across the house shook. I managed to climb back down the ladder and by the time I made it to our bed I could barely tolerate the pain. I took 200mg Ibuprofen and gave my best friend who is a nurse a call.

To spare the thread some p0rn, here is a reduced res image of my injury (image is mirrored) (click for larger view).

 

My nurse friend asked: (1) Can I breathe okay [answer: yes], and (2) Can I raise my arm over my head [answer: yes--slowly]. Then, knowing my voice and mannerism so well, he told me to continue with Ibuprofen to manage inflammation, stay in bed and limit movement, and best of luck buddy! I think he chuckled when he said, "Best of luck buddy!" Known him since I was 2 yrs old; True friend for sure! He told me a doctor will say the same thing so don't waste your time. This pleased me because I'm the sort who prefers self-recovery and avoids medication when ever possible.

This is my first potential rib injury. For the first three days I couldn't bear to stand or sit and could only lay on my back. I think I slept more than 20 hrs the first two days back-to-back. Whew... Rib injury sucks.

The most difficult thing to manage has been not being pissed and frustrated at myself... I was so extremely mad at myself. Summer is around the corner, I'm working on multiple new products, we've got hotels and events reserved with people expecting to see SlowestTacoma.... can't do anything about it.

This mental anger worsened when I caused my ribs to pop and/or crack from my habit of doing a full-body stretch upon waking up, not once, not twice, but three times during the first 10 days. Each time hurt like hell and seemed to erase any progress from the previous day. I even wrote phone notes to myself challenging me to make it 4 days straight without subconsciously stretching in the morning. The third time it happened, waking up to an on-going full-body stretch cracking & popping whatever was damaged, as soon as I could manage it I went in and got x-rays.

The doctor confirmed exactly as my friend told me: Rest and don't move. He also said it was good I waited, that the best time to view x-rays is around the 2-week mark. After a few days the doc called and confirmed I had "non-displaced fractures" on ribs #9 and #10.

They emailed the images and I sent them to my friend. We were able to find a complete fracture to my #9 rib but never figured out where the fracture is to rib #10. Granted he is not an x-ray tech, but it's certainly better than finding some massive displaced or compound break. Counting my blessings.

This was my first time ever seeing my internal organs. I'm so proud of them :'(



Here is the fracture enhanced in Photoshop.



Random chart for reference




Also, my buddy sent me the following image from his house... He told me this was caused by..... drum roll please............. a Solar Panel installation crew!! Holy crap. Said the guy fell completely through unscathed. He left me with the comforting words, "Even professional contractors fall through ceilings." Thanks man

 

And so... yeah. Such has been the past month plus for me. I've watched many YouTube videos on fracture recovery tips. Videos I found useful are:

1. Nutrition for Bone Healing (12:59m)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LW4nEMk-kcQ

and

2. Fracture Healing (6:40m)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktWiW6yssbU



So I stocked up on things such as

$22 L-Arginine Capsules Nitric Oxide Supplement for Men with L-Citrulline - 1200mg L Arginine and L Citrulline Blend - Non-GMO Veggie Capsule for Performance, Endurance and Muscle - 1 Month Supply

this,

$24 Micro Ingredients Organic Bamboo Extract Powder, 8 Ounce (1 Year Supply), Rich in Silica and Minerals, Supports Healthy Skin, Nail, Hair, Joints and Bones, Non-GMO and Vegan Friendly

this, this,

$10 Amazing Formulas Inositol Tablets Supplement | 1000 Mg per Serving | Vitamin B8 | Non-GMO | Gluten-Free | Made in USA (1 Pack, 120 Count)

this,

$24 Garden of Life Vitamin K2 and K1, Vitamin Code Vegan K Complex Vitamin for Bone Strength and Heart Health, Vitamin K1 and K2, Omega Rich Flax Seed Oil, Trace Minerals, Probiotics, 60 Day Supply

this,

$25 Sundown Vitamin D3 1000 IU, Supports Bone, Teeth, and Immune Health, 400 Softgels

this,

$5 Nature Made Magnesium Oxide 250 mg, Magnesium Supplement for Muscle, Heart, Bone and Nerve Health Support, 100 Tablets, 100 Day Supply

this, and

$11 Nature Made Calcium Magnesium Zinc with Vitamin D3, Dietary Supplement for Bone Support, 300 Tablets

this. I don't care what it takes, if some supplements to my already healthy diet can help then I'm game. I've already lost MC way more by now...

I'm in week # 3, but because I kept re-injuring it up until day 10 -- I think, it's really like I'm in week # 2 or worse. I'm pretty sure I extended the inflammation period an extra week which leads me to...

The final issue:

Because my break is on the corner of my back, when I lay down my bed pushes up on the curvature of my back causing my unbroken portion of rib # 9 to push into and inward towards my lung. So for at least the first two weeks I could not breath deeply while laying on my back due to sharp pain on my right lung. However, the moment I lift my body up or repeat this process standing, I could do a full inhale with minimal pain. So if I run my fingers across the front of my rib cage while standing, it feels normal, but the moment I lay down, I can instantly feel rib # 9 move about an inch deeper into my chest then both neighboring ribs. I feel this is compounding the recovery process, as the most important time for recovery -- sleep -- is also the time when the fracture is being pushed out of alignment...

A few nights leading up to and during last weekend was absolutely the worst, with the inflammation being so bad that it felt like I was constantly sleeping atop a small tennis ball right where my rib hurts and I could only take short small breaths. I did some reading on pneumonia and practiced coughing and breathing deep while not in bed. Still can't lay on either side. Am so sick and tired of laying on my back... My wife left to Japan on the 20th. Been an interesting solo recovery.. Still cannot sit comfortably on soft surfaces such as a couch or office chair. I have to put a small pillow behind my back to sit in a vehicle. Haven't wheeled since... the Round-Up last September. Gonna jam-pack as many wheeling trips as possible once I get healthy.. Counting my blessings!

Even only breaking one (or supposedly two) ribs has put me 100% out of commission. I assume not a big difference had I broke one or many ribs.. While recovering there have been multiple times where things start feeling normal and I forget, and try to lift something or bend sideways to grab something, and while I haven't felt any new "pops" I've experienced many crunchy or grinding sensations that immediately result in inflammation & stiffness, forcing me right back in bed. Forcing myself to remain stationary has been very frustrating. Has been an exercise of humility.

In closing...

I've read many horror stories mostly on motorcycle forums of dudes breaking multiple ribs along with a collar bone. MANNNNN.... I feel soooo sorry for these guys. And every one I read about simply rested at home for recovery. Pretty amazing actually. For example, look at this image below. This guy wiped out hard while riding and slid like a rag doll into a guard rail. I rarely watch movies but last week saw the latest Mission Impossible film and I have to call B.S. because Ethan Hunt would have broken all ribs precisely rendering that mission impossible hahaha

So anyway... I know I have a couple weekends of work remaining before the Tacoma can go wheeling again. I've had to cancel a bunch of events, namely Toyota Jamboree in Texas, Canadian Moab trip, and FJ Summit in Colorado. The next big event is a local run called Moonlight Madness, but with only 19 days remaining it's gonna be my own Mission Impossible

Regards,
BigMike

yikes!




---

holy smokes while proof reading I came across this one, Good Lord!! I don't know any back story, was a random image search, but lotta mercy wow!!

 

Oh man, sorry to hear what you did to yourself ... @BigMike

Sucks to be laid up but I’m glad you didn’t have even more damage!

Good luck to you and your family as you recover.

Here’s to a full recovery with no lasting affects

 

Dang @BigMike I hope you’re recovery goes well. I appreciate you throwing yourself through your ceiling to slow down progress. Now my wallet can build up for the release. Get well bud.

 

It’s a long road back too 100%.

I broke 1 rib and fractured 1 falling into a 13.5 foot deep excavation. Thankfully I had the contractor rip the bottom with a D8 dozer, due to its high moisture content, to dry it out over the weekend. I probably would have been paralyzed if it had been hard/not ripped.

That was 2006. I still get inflammation after certain types of work. The first 6 months were the worst, no time off, any bump or pot hole in the road sucked. Also had to drive with my right hand and shift truck cause of pain from ribs on left side.

Good luck, rest as much as possible!

 

Man, now my ribs hurt again. Light snow last January during the night. Went to the truck about 1pm to get a tool. Before hand I had got the paper from the front yard and let the dog out the back yard. As is typical, not a snowflake in site anymore.

Except.....the back stairs. I hit the first step down without thinking and landed on my back. Although it is unlikely, I swear my feet were above me! Fortunately I landed slightly to my right side. Before the pain started I managed to get up and into the house (carefully). Sort of like you getting out of the attic. I don't think I could have done it 3 minutes later. The rest of your story is just as familiar (x-rays, pneumonia research, etc.) . Including feeling extremely silly for doing such a thing.

In both of our cases it could have been MUCH worse. Really glad you are OK. Like you said it is what it is. What can you do.

Back to normal now, but it took a bit. Being an old fart probably contributed to that some!

 

That sucks, glad to hear it wasn't worse and that you're recovering.

 

Broken ribs suck, I hope yours recovery quickly. Take it easy for about 6 months, and remember, you're strong enough to re-break a rib fulling on a wrench hard.

I broke 3 of mine two years ago, then re-broke them 3 months later catching myself from falling off a ladder.

 

Speedy recovery Big Mike! Sub'd to hear you're feeling better and continue following this awesome process.

 

What's up guys and gals!

Thank you for all the kind words everyone. After 3 months & 21 days since I last worked on it, I am finally getting the Tacoma ready for the Marlin Crawler Round-Up (MCR18). The last Round-Up ended Sunday Sept 16, 2018, or 338 days ago, which was the last time I went wheeling This is the longest I've gone without wheeling since getting my driver's license. /firstworldproblems

The last work I did was installed RCLT HD Prototype v2.0 on April 30, and then RST did the rear 3-link in May. My rib injury has been... has been interesting. It is without question the most annoying injury I've ever experienced. Healing progress is only noticeable on a week-to-week basis and after 2-1/2 months I still cannot sleep on either side or chest. Yesterday I put my MR2 back together (a rear brake upgrade project I started in late May) and got it out of our garage, and torquing down bolts caused noticeable pain in both sides of my ribs

(oh yeah, it turns out the other broken rib which my friend and I couldn't find in the X-Rays is from my OTHER SIDE. So I have one broken rib on each side, yet the accident only impacted one side. Explain that one...)

Random pic from a few weeks ago. I now have 2,350 city & highway miles on RCLT HD v2.0



I will be ready for some wheeling soon so it's time to get the truck trail worthy again. Here is my short-list of required things to do before MCR18:

Rear End

• Fix rear ARB
  • Internal seal went bad and is pumping gear oil up to the compressor
  • I really dislike air operated lockers...

• Fix angle of rear panhard bar
  • Truck is too tall for the brackets used

• Lower the rear shock mounts
  • Shocks are bottoming out too soon

• Install limit straps

Front End

• Address clearance in front of tires
  • My old prototype suspension was "+1 RC" and my new RCLT HD is "+2 RC"
  • Now that the front tires are pushed forward an extra inch (2-inches total), I need to trim back the front bumper and a few other things

• Flip TRE bolts
  • Been bugging the hell out of me this entire summer

• Apply a few RCLT HD Prototype version 3.0 updates to my current v2.0 setup
  • I would LOVE to install my final prototype design (v3.0) before the Round-Up but it won't be ready in time.
  • v2.0 is lightyears better than v1.0, and v3.0 is gigametres better than v2.0
  • v3.0 RCLT HD is the real deal that I can stand behind and will be the last prototype before transitioning to production

Body Armor

• Install new Marlin Crawler 80-inch Rock Sliders

• Build new prototype Rear Rock Crawling Bumper

I leave on the 10th for my organized MCR18 "TacoBox Run", so I've got 23 days including today which should be doable

Here are live images of @SlowestTacoma. This is the first time she's been on a lift in 112 days In fact, this is the first time RCLT HD v2.0 has ever been on a lift



Below is a nice shot showing that sweeeeet "+2.0 RC" Rock Crawling ability. (Axle moved forward 2"; The "RC" of RCLT). Also, the amount of RCLT HD downtravel completely blows away my previous LT setup. In fact it is very close to the same amount of droop as the rear end which is a 3-link with 12" shocks!!

(ps. I estimate RCLT HD v3.0 will have more downtravel than the rear 3-link EDIT: After looking at my drawings it will come close to but not surpass the 3-link)



Got some work ahead of me; Gonna be fun as always!! I doubt I'll have any time to update this thread until after the Round-Up. I'll see how it goes and will try to check back a few times if possible. Cheers!

Regards,
BigMike

 

Thanks for the update! Cant wait for this to release, I'm really wanting to redo my suspension. The longer it takes the more time I have to save the funds up to purchase so I'm waiting patiently.