Puddle Jumper

At the urging of several friends, allies, enemies, and weirdos, I've decided to finally start a build thread for the Puddle Jumper...

It's quite cool, you see...

There was quite a bit of catch up to do, some of this may appear out of chronological order, and I'm certain others will contribute correct details/dates/events as they happen.



My beloved 2017, the truck that was going to be my off roader, thanks to TW. And thanks to a driver intent on his phone and not a T intersection, I was t-boned at 50 mph.



Enter the 2018 TRD Sport, MT. Pictured here, hood has already been swapped with @mcharfauros , the first (and nicest) TW member I met.



You can see my original hood, on the black beast to the left.

 

Mine

 

TC Bed Stiffeners.





These have more than paid for themselves with the utility of extra tie down points and of course, keeping that bed from deforming.


Tow Taco! Hauled a broken 3rd Gen Explorer down Manchester. Good times.

 

Install of the RCI Rear Bumper






also, install of RCI Sliders

 

The more I post, the more I realize how truly out of order everything is.

Oh well.

Onwards...

Header Rail, fitted direct from a 2nd gen. Why these aren't standard issue is anybody's guess.


Maxtrax, pictured on @mcharfauros 's ride before they were transferred to mine. See what I mean, about him being the nicest guy around?



Bedside MOLLE Pannel from Victory 4x4. Yes it's pictured above as well. Feast your visage. This thing was a Christmas present in 2019, and I will be ordering one for the other side in short order. Dead useful. The passenger side, I have installed the hi lift carrier bolts (and I got a hi lift that Christmas too!)



Now, on to Tires & Wheels...

 

Sport wheels and tires work great on road, esp in the snow.



Swapped my Sport wheels and Tires for OR Wheels and Tires. I liked the look of the OR wheels better, and I foolishly thought that 16 in wheels would provide a larger selection in terms of tire sizes. Apparently that is no longer the case.



And THEN...



So I fixed it after work one day



Then went and made sure they still worked



Forward a bit, and It was time to replace the Goodyear trash with some quality rubber....

Enter the Falken 32s

 

@MESO Total Tail Light Stage 1

The BEST Light mod. Period.




Also went ahead and did a rear seat delete. Replaced it with a badass Molle pannel that holds stuff. I have stuff on the pannel, the pics I took of it loaded have disappeared. Maybe they'll be resurrected at some point.








Thanks to @docloco for putting together this Panel setup and group buy. Solid product.

Its a useful setup, and provides a TON more room in the back. I do still need to dynamat everything, that'll be a whole day/multi day effort in of itself, and will be documented properly.

 

Ok, a few random things that don't really go together that have happened all throughout the life of this truck.

Head unit removal to install 2Lo Mod (Courtesy of @lapoltba )



Will add a finished pic here in a bit.

Bike carrier clips, from etrailer. Have had these since before the SR5



Coming back from Canada, I ended up averaging over 27 mpg. These trucks can be driven in a civil manner....



Used the truck to help move my brother across the state. Tows well.

 

Under Armor, all from RCI








And, after a lot of healthy wheeling this year...



I cannot recommend @RCI-Offroad enough for their rock solid armor. This stuff has saved my bacon, and will continue to do so for a long time into the future.

 

A few adventures

ATR 2020


Some days.... was near breaking point with work, life, and many things, so I sodded off to a lake and enjoyed a nice afternoon.






Coming back from Shamrock Shakedown 2020, I had quite a TW Express collection, including sliders for @Tigerian



Also, this nearly joined my fleet. It was for sale before ATR 2020, was gone when we got back.



Sometime before ATR, but after Shamrock, I replaced my stock Hitachi shocks with a set of Bilstein 4600's from @uploadadventure 's OR. He sent some helpful diagrams and drawings.



Also at some point, the badges and emblems disappeared from the side of the truck. I'm going to have some custom badges made, but at the moment that is on the back burner. Plenty of stickers in the window to marvel at.

 

Something fun happened this past summer.... I ordered an ARB Single HO compressor.... @Shellshock noticed that the case seemed like a DOUBLE Compressor... and sure enough, it was!




Also while we're on the topic of @Shellshock , he provided my truck with @OVTune 2.0 and boy howdy...

 

Luckyyyyy

 

Now, here is where the fun REALLY begins...

Since 2020 happened, my MOAB trip didn't.... so those funds were put to use replacing my entire suspension, with help from @Sasquatch3153 and @G.T.
Say what you want about various brands, I went with OME for several reasons
1: They're Australian. And in the outback, it's do or die.
2: I've seen several TW members run with this exact setup and wheel it far harder than I will be (probably, things keep getting worse lol) and they hold up great.
3: @HeadStrong Off-Road have the best customer service in the business, hands up.



Yup, that's me. Glorious. Also note the Diode Dynamics SS3 Sport fog lights (in select yellow). Got these on a Black Friday sale, and so far I like em. Wider and brighter than factory fogs. Can't wait to bust em out in the snow.



If it wont come out, use @Sasquatch3153 strength....



That method wheel probably saved our lives.



A bumpstop upgrade is in the future. Will be looking at Archive Hammer hangers too, funds willing.



The old parts. Those Fox 884's were installed at the end of the summer (install pics disappeared from phone). They served well, and I'm debated rebuilding and keeping, just keeping, selling, rebuilding and selling, gifting...



Truck rides fantastically now, and the front swaybar was also removed during this install. Of course, a few days later the dreaded needle bearing vibration has begun. I've ordered the ECGS bushing and replacement will commence once it arrives. And it'll be properly documented.

I also have fluids coming via Amsol (thanks to @Pablo8 for a great fluid thread)

 

Aanndd..... lest we forget.... mine and truck's namesake...





Eyah.... so after all of that, the inside of my truck has never been cleaner.




So that's the shitshow, folks. Thanks for tagging along. Its a chronological mess, but so am I, and here we are...

Big thanks to
@mcharfauros
@Sasquatch3153
@G.T.
@Tacomania
@uploadadventure
@VangaSTL
@Willy224
@TacoSam556
@Shellshock
@tonered
@lapoltba
@Pablo8
@ResearchMonkee
@Slashaar
@Sociopenguin

and probably 147 others.

 

You are way younger than I thought.

 

How about that folks, a compliment....

Which begs the question... how old did I come across as in your thread? lol

 

Very nice Timm. That is why I forwent the chronological and put the list on mine.
It was painful enough to write out.....
Besides, I suck at taking pics.

 

Update: I did the ADM and rear diff breather mods a million miles ago. No pics because I'm cool like that.