Changes

Spend most of my time here on the Wisconsin group pages but thought I would share the transformation that has taken place this years:

What my truck has looked like for the past 3 or so years: Moab March 2023:



Then I purchased rims and tires. Upgraded from 33 to 35's and all of the associated problems...



And then... I went all in. Been wanting one of these for a while, so made it happen. Tired of the sheet metal damage and the associated guilt so build a tray! Not completely done, but close. LOVE it. More storage, more clearance and if I miss a tree it will bounce rather than bend! The wife even approves. Can't wait for 2024. Who knows what might change...

 

how did you do this...

 

JK.

Lotsa skill and lotsa way more patience.

Very nice.

 

The short version: I saw an add for a company in South Africa that makes trays for the HiLux. Really liked their interpretation. Did a lot of measuring and then used SketchUp to "draw" what I wanted the tray for my truck to look like (very similar to theirs) with my dimension and clearance requirements. This part was hard as what I would have wanted even just two years ago versus now was very different. Once I had this in hand, I bought a bunch of steel and went to it.

One big requirement for me was to get the spare out from underneath. Thier picture, all my wheeling buddies (that still carry a spare under) show/impinge on clearance. Once the bed was off I cut out the rear crossmembers from the frame and made a new one that allowed me to put the tire in from above and sit in the frame. The first thing that will hit now are the Hammer Hangers (rear spring mounts). I also moved the trailer receiver up and centered in between the frame rails. This was a big and scary part. From here it was just a lot of fabrication and welding.

Thats how I did it. Still more to do-doors for those rear cubbies. Wool Wax and some more paint Need to remake some of the deck boards as I put them on too soon in the project. Still some modular parts like side stakes etc. and a canvas/screen topper.

Oh, and I happen to be a welder/mechanic type with tools (which helps!)

 

Wonder what that dude’s sellin’ in the background of the pic with the rack bars.