My Big Can of Worms Build

Super rough layout for the crossmember.

 

This is gonna be awesome when it finally gets out to the desert

 

Hopefully by the end of next year - lots of projects to work on on the weekends for sure - hopefully all the major fab work will be done by Jan 6th!

Anthony helped mock up all my shock mount pieces.



I burned it together - almost but need to do the swingers and the little gussets in the back.

 

Another all nighter, made some solid mounts that will hold a floor jack and battery under the bed tied into the cantilever kit - @Anthony250 helped me make the shock mount rear x member and I welded it up over the past week or so.

 

Solid work Bud.

 

I appreciate it! I like all the updates you have in the last few pages of your build thread - it’s the first time I’ve seen anyone show how they trussed a Tundra axle. I like reading and learning about home made trucks because you can learn so many good things!

 

Here is Jason's Truss that he did on his old truck. Pertty sure he got this truss from https://www.relentlessfabrication.com It's been a while so I would call to see if they would still cut one or not if you're looking for one. I used the ruff stuff 9" one. It took a lot of grinding to get it to fit. I agree it's good seeing different ideas. It helps think outside the box with building a truck. I did go work on my trailing arms yesterday. It's a lot of work considering I'm feeling burnt out. Need to find that spark again. Good luck with your build man.

 

fuck dude... this thing is gonna be sweet

 

Got a new thing coming together - cleaned up the work area for installing this guy.

Guess what’s in my hand



Getting near send off.

 

Still waiting - year long mod coming soon

Made a pivoting tray for electronics and battery to sit under the bed.

Completely skipped leg day



Thanks to @devinzz1 I have more new things to figure out.

 

Made some mods for my $60 ruff stuff u bolt plates. I needed bigger holes for my new u bolts and didn’t want to spend money on a machine shop to enlarge the 9/16 slots on my current ones. I didn’t think using my dremel would be fun for that either. Funny thing is, about 1/3 of the way into messing with these I calculated that I probably would have been finished dremeling out the holes haha. Anyway I’ll have a decent backup set if I dremel them out. Then again if these don’t work due to being damaged then they’re most likely going to be the least of my worries haha.

Wanted to protect the center pin since that would be the lowest thing under the axle.



Figured I’d make a ramp to hopefully not get snagged on the center pin protector.



I’ve seen these plates pinch the springs from torquing u bolts so I added a middle rib and welded both sides.



I figured I’d make a skid for protecting the ends of the u bolts a little bit more.



Had a good time making these!

 

just found this build thread. better late than never. sub'd

 

I have these same plates, I'm confused as to why you modified them.

 

Overkill / exercise in how I could use my random assortment of tools to make parts for my idea to reinforce the plates and protect the centering pin.

I came up on these a couple years ago. Bought them with 12" shackles and the deal basically was so cheap it made it worth it for the shackles alone. It seems like not enough bracing to keep them from drawing in on the leaf springs. Full disclosure I don't know how much the u-bolts may have been possibly over tightened, but another friend had one crack on him on the outside corner.



I copied some of the extra ribbing idea from my other ones from DMZ:



Tim's only other fab guy that welded these up said that even these will get bent if someone overtightens the u-bolts enough, but it seemed like a good idea anyway.

I would have stuck with the DMZ ones, but going to 5/8 bolts would mean I'd have to ream out the bolt slots with my dremel which probably would have taken less time than modding the RuffStuff ones looking back haha. I had my new axle at a shop and shop guy wanted $100 to machine out the holes for bigger u-bolts and at the time it seemed like a better idea to buy RS ones and eventually sell the DMZ ones, but perhaps I may eventually ream out the holes on those too - the RS ones leave a super tiny clearance for 3.5" wide u-bolts so I have to use a 12 point or get a thin walled impact socket for them which is annoying.

But yeah fun for the most part just to fab a little something.

 

Wow, I'll have to keep an eye on mine.

 

Hey pal, how’s it going? How’s the truck coming along? Is it full send time yet

 

If you haven’t already found out, those look like either Yakima side loader brackets:

$59 YAKIMA, SideLoader Brackets for Truck Roof Rack Systems

https://www.amazon.com/Yakima-8008002-SideLoader-Brackets/dp/B00066Z1EI/ref=asc_df_B00066Z1EI/?hvadid=312216043398&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=10422814760558060839&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9033793&hvtargid=pla-549542764502&psc=1
Or the Thule ones:
https://www.google.com/search?hl=en-us&q=Thule+542+Artificial+Raingutters&stick=H4sIAAAAAAAAAONgVuLVT9c3NEwzLTIxLDMyecRowS3w8sc9YSn9SWtOXmPU5OIKzsgvd80rySypFJLmYoOyBKX4uVB18vxiFAjILyjNSSxSKCjKTylNLinuYGVaxKoQklGak6pgamKk4FhUkpmWmZyZmKMQlJiZl15aUpJaVHyA9e7501sez1m75CrjAda_8_c0vWt9dNb-AOvO9TOO33m39yXHAdb7E-8ffXv3zfacA6x9D1e0f2md1Sp8i02SQWtqFVdq9rfP-6RuN_p6_cg7sNpWdHesQw4AJkZvotkAAAA&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjh-dnUwcPtAhUMCs0KHRHKAH0Qlr4CegQIBRAJ

Depending on your topper configuration you might be able to use Yakima Wide bodies- a 4 bolt wider flange gutter mount

 

Wife says spending less time on here should be a New Year's resolution... I haven't updated this in a minute though...

So here's a photo dump instead of detailed posts detailing the last year or two?

@Anthony250 made an engine x bar (bad welds on the gussets belong to me)



Got a new fiberglass hood (Hanneman)



Made hood pin mounting:





Finished the bumper and license plate frame that is removable for towing and off-roading.



Made a new 1/2" bolt mounting system when one of the stock nut-serts was stripped




Again @Anthony250 made a sweet modular and completely removable bed rack that bolts to the frame with stand offs (I hated the upside-down bolts and one again was stripped). I needed a good way to keep the bed hole-free.

Inside of the standoffs - all hold a 1/2" long bolt through to the bottom of the frame so I can install alone.



Stand off design - the bottom part "floats" in holes I drilled in the bed sheet metal and bolts through the stock nutserts I drilled to accommodate a 1/2" bolt. My poor welding.



The short ones at the right are the two for the rear most bolt holes.




The holes I made in the bed to put the standoffs and drilled out nutserts.



Anthony's bed design based on my preferences - the fore and aft tubes slide into the tubes at the end and it all stacks up nicely in a pile when off of the truck:



I added flanges to make a top level for a tent / more gear etc. at each corner (see the lower right one showing). I mounted a HF 2.5 ton jack (with a skid and mount from Solo) and an ammo box for basic "always needed" tools that will have a lock.



It all bolts on and off separately.




Got as much room before hitting the tailgate as I could to preserve bed space.



Made tire hold downs by hand:




Fits 2 35's stacked if I want to add more stuff or flat




Made a battery tray that strengthens the pivot for the canti that will swing down to access and maybe hold a fuse bus.




Mounted a compressor:



All parts bolt on and off:





Got a new windshield for $160 installed (bought it with a cracked one)



Poser shot with glass before two young guys that used to go where I was teaching in a high school and took all of it to cut their teeth on painting.



Naked:



Wife bought a 4runner (no pressure *ahem*)

Mint condition w/ 300k. Needed an engine that didn't leak out of every orifice. Now where could there be a good one...?



Yep



No worries - I had my OG engine and man was it... messy



Spent quite a bit of time degreasing and scrubbing:




This was our New Year's Eve:



Took some old heads to a machine shop. My new neighbor is a lifelong retired mechanic. After prepping the block for 2 days he came over and said that he found enough play in the piston rod bearings that he felt it should be sent to the machine shop also... where I wouldn't have had to prep it haha.

Here it is waiting to be picked up and this brings us to the present.



Where it was closest to being a running truck:



On the agenda

For a running, driving truck:

Engine
Brakes (plumb few hard lines)
Remove front diff (until I can scrounge for Solo axles)

For a finished one:

Finish wiring new batteries, lights, and aux stuff (Have tons of parts to do this)
Finish hard mounting LCA's (Not sure)
Plumb compressor (already have)
Rear Limit Straps (already have)
Reinstall front diff w/ axles
Install painted glass (already painted)
Install Bestop (2nd hand - already have)
Install vinyl wrap on cab (same color as painted fiberglass - already have)
Wire up AEM FIC6 (2nd hand - already have)
Install methanol kit (Snow - already have)
Buy winch

 

cool shit. I didn't realize you went with a canti setup. Pretty sweet.

 

Also tell the wife to fuck off








respectfully haha