AStinkyBumb's Build Thread, Now with trailer build bonus content

Done a few small things here and there since last update. Installed a lip NMO antenna mount on my hood, ran cable into the cabin to my Baofeng mounted next to the radio. Great reach for only a 5w radio. I hang the handheld mic from the extra sun glass holder in the overhead area so I can hear it and its in quick reach.


Used the softoppers brilliant design to start work on a deck for our house and haul home a hefty tiller to move some dirt around easier.

 

And finally just today I installed a couple of RagoFab bed stiffeners in prep for a bed rack build. Smittybilt Overlander XL was on sale for $855 delivered so we ordered one. I don't have enough time to build a trailer before our last two camping trips in October so I am going to build a bedrack going over the softopper that will be removable. Following Roversvx's thread here I am going to attempt to build a removable bed rack the same way they did. This will allow us to use the RTT in the mean time and will be a nice functional rack after we move the tent to a trailer.

 

A few months back I nabbed a deep discount code for a Titanium 140 mig welder and it has been sitting in the box on my work bench all summer. Finally have the money to grab an 80cf tank and a cart to hold it all on. Today after work I went and bought all the metal for a bed rack. Hopefully starting this weekend with all the cuts then practicing my rusty welding skills before actually welding this thing together.

 

Started my bedrack build, 1/8" 1x2 might have been a little over kill as this thing is quite heavy now but it turned out exactly as I planned. Tomorrow I will finish weld all the seams and start looking into bed lining all of it.

4x4 angle cut to mount to the utility rails

1x2 1/8" for the main frame.

1/4" thick gusset tabs with 9/16" hole

1x2 1/8" uprights with 1-3/4" 1/8" tube, inside each tube is a 2.5" bushing. I think they are bushings for older mustangs. Fit like a glove in the 1-3/4 tube. Grade 8 4" 9/16 bolts.

Rack removed from the truck.

Test fitting over top of stoftopper after tack welding everything.

Side profile to see the gap between rack and softopper. about 2-3 inches above the softopper

 

Bedrack got finish welded, I put 2 gussets with holes on each leg and 1 gusset with hole in each of the 4 outside corners of the top. Used Rustoleum bed liner spray (4 cans) and grade 8 hardware all around. I weigh 200lbs and the bars do not flex one bit when I am standing on them. If I shake the rack the entire bed moves with it. We will see how the RTT does up top but I think it should be fine. This will just hold me over for the RTT during the rest of this season until I can build a trailer for camping next year.

 

RTT was finally delivered today and I feel so Broverlander now. Smittybilt Overlander XL. Took it for a test spin to see how the truck managed the rack and RTT at different speeds and turns. Roundabouts and city driving you cant even tell its there. Highway speeds you can hear a small amount of extra wind but I am not sure if that's due to the tent being above the cab or if it was just because it was extra windy today. I will update this post with a link to my Amazon review if anyone stumbles upon my thread here.

 

This is so neat! Cool to see you put your skills to use and combine that with aftermarket options.

 

Bit of an update to my thread since its been a while. Took the tent camping two times after mounting it, before it got too cold. It performed pretty well. Leaked a little in a 24 hour downpour on one of the trips, had to tarp everything to keep it dry. Completely missed the break-in steps on the very last page when putting it together. I got too excited. Bought some seam sealer and sealed the entire thing. Also bought some tent spray to get the non seam areas, should do the trick. It survived 50-60mph wind gusts the next night after the rain. crawled out the next morning and all the ground tents were in piles while mine was still standing, annex and all. The rain fly kept lifting out of its straps so I had to knot them in the middle of the night to keep them from pulling out.

Truck updates: Bought a TRD pro grill from ebay, waiting for some warm weather to paint the chrome grill shroud black then install everything. Also bought some brass monkey plasti dip to dip my wheels something other than black. Want to try dark bronze for a little while and see how I like the color offset.

Started collecting electrical parts for my trailer build. License plate bracket with light, brake lights, side markers, 7pin harness. As soon as its warm enough to park my truck outside I am going to start purchasing the metal for the frame then get an axle ordered to fit.

Debadged the doors and tailgate, absolutely love the clean look. Makes it a lot easier to wash the truck as well when scrubbing dirt off the doors from wheel spray. Nothing to catch on.

 

Bedrack is turning out to be a great investment. Started collecting parts to build a trailer. Added some tail lights to the bedrack to act as a 3rd brake light when the tent, topper, and rack are all on.

 

Restrictions finally lifted in Indiana to the point where campgrounds can finally open so the wife and I loaded up the truck and the dogs and went camping. Absolutely beautiful weekend, 70-80s during the day 50-60s at night. Took the rain fly off and opened the "moon roof" so we could sleep under the stars. This was the first time I have ever in all my years of camping have slept with the top open in any tent.

 

We quickly found out during that trip that the truck sits about half an inch above the bump stops when loaded down. So I bought some firestone Ride-Rite airbags and daystar cradles to give the rear end a bit of help when loaded up. Since I plan on building a trailer this will help in the future as well. Took it for a spin empty afterwards and quickly realized anything more than 5 lbs of air with an empty truck is totally noticeable. Hopefully once loaded down 10-20lbs will feel perfect and give the right amount of lift.

 

And to wrap up this update I also got a 2TPAM from Expedition Essentials to mount my new ham radio head unit and a tablet for GPS on future trips. The 2TPAM is solid! my passenger side mount was about 1/16" off from being lined up. I had to literally put all my weight into pushing and pulling on the mount to get it to line up. Segway'ing into ham radio mount I picked up my first mobile dual band 2m/70cm rig and single band 2m rig that are not handhelds. Picked up a Kenwood TM-281 for my home office and an Icom 2730a to mount in my truck. Since the Icom head unit is not protected from UV I grabbed some ABS sheet I had laying around and cut/bent a hood to mount the head unit to so I can mount it on my dash without the head unit warping or being ruined by the sun.

 

Spent the afternoon installing 80mill sound deadening mat to the interiors of the doors, rear wall, and roof. Then put 150mill closed cell on the outer shell of the door, then on top of the 80 mill on the rear wall and roof. Did a tap test on the first door done vs a door that hadn't been started. Deadened door gave off a solid thunk, non deadened sounds so like an empty trash can. Roof sounds the same now too. Also gave me a chance to re-pack my behind the rear seats gear. Whoever signed off on the design to remove practically every plastic piece in the cabin to remove the head liner deserves to be dragged into the street and beat. Doors only took a couple hours total to do it was the roof that took double the time.

For those wondering I bought three 18sqft boxes of the 80mill and used 2.5-2.75 total. And I used all of a single box of 36sqft 150mill and could have probably used 3-5 more sheets to complete the back wall and part of the floor behind the rear seats.

 

Went to Wyoming for a week for vacation, took the truck to the Grand Teton National Park for a hike around Jenny Lake, over the Teton pass into Idaho for some distillery action, and instead of renting a side by side we took it back into the Greys River for a little 4wd action. Wife actually admitted she had fun offroading and gave me the thumbs up to start adding to the truck to do more of this..... but not all at once. Brother just built a house out there so this may become a reoccurring trip, which I will in NO WAY argue.
Only negative to the trip was I lost my license plate back in the Greys somewhere. Made for an interesting 23 hour drive back to Indy. Need to get a replacement so I may get an amateur radio license plate now.
Grand Teton National Park

Teton Pass (WYO 22)

Wheeling in the Greys

 

Busy weekend for the tacoma, changed the fluids in the front diff, transfer case, and rear diff with Lucas Oil Synthetic

$30 75w-90 Synthetic Gear Lube - 1 Quart (Pack of 2)

75w-90. Flushed the transmission with 7.5 quarts of Toyota ATF WS fluid. Snapped the rear bolts off of the bash plate when removing to do the trans cooler flush so I filed off the tack welds on the bolts and tack welded new hardware on.
Built my first wiring harness instead of buying one and wired up some cheap Nilight amber ditch light pods.
Bought a new Group 27F interstate battery from Costco and installed it when done with all the work.

 

That rack is really slick! I’m running a softopper on my 2018 DCLB OR. I picked up a CVT Mt St Helens hard shell tent. Been down the ever branching TW rabbit holes investigating possible bedrack solutions. Your rack is great! Have you ever felt the need to tie it into the bed bolts or along the end of the bed where you bolted in the bed stiffeners?

 

I thought about that and I know there were a few guys who have done that but I chose not to. I have 4 T-slot bolts on each rail that connect it to the bedsides. My goal was to keep the softopper in 100% use without modifying it at all and build the rack around it.

With the tent and now an awning mounted on the rack I can shake the rack back and forth holding onto the rack itself and the entire truck shakes. There is very little flex in the rack or the bedsides now that I have the bed stiffeners in place.

 

Thanks for the response. I’m fairly certain I will copy your design; I’m thinking of making a couple of the crossbars removable in order to facilitate easier on and off for the RTT.

 

Finally found it but this is the guy I copied when making my rack, I just modified it to be a bit longer for 6' bed instead of the 5' bed he designed it for. I might suggest making it out of slightly thinner metal. I used 1/8" thick and its pretty heavy. Probably 75+ lbs, which makes it quite the bear to maneuver when loading it up.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/custom-softopper-rtt-rack-build-pic-heavy.551277/#post-21510476

 

Thanks Brother!