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

Door latches were keeping me up at night thinking rainwater was going to run down the seal and right into the upright frame tube. so I did something about it last night. Cut some 1x1 and capped the end to make a nice little square bowl. then used the plasma cutter to open the hole a little more and square it up. Then I welded in the bowl to seal the hole but also still use the latches properly. Looks wayyyyy cleaner and makes me feel better about everything. I also tacked on the uprights and tested each one. Need to finish weld the uprights and also finish weld the fridge tray. Then I can start on the tent rack which should go quick.

 

Spent a solid day working on the trailer. Knocked the rack out and gave it a few test lifts. Also pulled it out of the garage and realized I needed to flip the hitch to get it to sit a little more even. Pulls pretty nice unloaded, can feel it hopping around over bumps but I am hoping a little weight in it helps the springs not be so bouncy. Also considering some strut kits to minimize bounce if it gets way too bad. Just need to wrap up the list of little things now that will take forever. Its also getting too cold in my garage now that the temps are dropping to get paint on it, so that will have to wait till spring unless I can find a paint shop to spray it with the raptor primer for me.

 

Looking great! Does anything hit the bumper when you jackknife it?

 

Thanks! The A supports on the tongue get real close when it gets closer to 90 degrees but I haven't fully tested completely (hopefully dont have to in real life haha). I made the tongue extendable by about 3 feet so if I need to I can extend it and definitely get 90 degrees without touching.

 

Feels like I knocked out a bunch but only did a few things. Made some drip edge for the doors. Front doors get top and front facing drip edge to help deflect debris off the truck away from the door openings. Kind of makes it impossible to remove the door if I wanted to but the further I get into this I cant see removing the doors for any reason. Then I made some side shooter brackets for some LED lights. The main purpose of the passenger side was to have a light shining directly into the fridge when it slides out. I still plan to make on/off switch mounts just inside the doors for these lights for easy access. Riveted one in place to see how it looks and how well the wire snakes through the holes I drilled. turned out really well. Then I knocked out the license plate bracket and drilled the holes out so I can place some bolts in to tie it the license plate when I eventually get it vin'd and registered. Then finished it out by starting on the fold down table. Got the main frame and hinges done. Should have drilled the holes in it first for the top but oh well. I plan to use some wire rope with crimps and then drill some holes in the top then place some aluminum sheet on it and rivet it down after paint. Then I can paint the frame without painting the aluminum.

 

Been too cold in the garage especially with no exhaust vent to pull fumes out without opening the garage door so minimal work on the trailer lately.

After losing my passenger rear splash guard at some point I decided to make my own out of some multi-purpose rubber floor mats following this guide. Holes mount locations were a little off but some re drilling didnt hurt anything.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...bay-splash-guard-rock-guards-template.621635/

 

Weekend was in the 60s-70s so I spent a day working on the truck. Had previously bought and painted a USOffroad winch bumper and XBull 12k winch. Since it was going to be nice I installed them on the truck. Previously had the light bar installed on the aluminum crush bumper so I had to find a new place to mount it. Since the trailer build is stalled till its warm enough consistently to work in the garage I grabbed some of the scrap and built 2 brackets to hold the light bar in the upper grill. Welded in some supports and painted them up. Also reinstalled the ditch lights I took off a while ago and cleaned out the winter gear and replaced it with all the recovery gear I had in the backseat so now its usable again. Bumper install was super simple and straight forward, have an inline on/off switch for the winch ready to go in I just need to fab up a bracket to hold it in place. I thought cutting the lower chin off the bumper would phase me more than it did but I was in the zone and before I knew it the angle grinder was through both sides and there was no turning back.

 

Replaced both front hubs as I was starting to hear them from 20-45mph especially on curves. While I was in there I checked over the suspension and found my JBA UCA ball joints were all cracked and the passenger side had sprung a leak in two spots. The passenger side paint has also started flaking. For having them on for only a year and three months I expected a little better quality. Started a claim with JBA to see what can be done.

 

JBA was super quick to respond to the cracking boots. They sent me 2 new boots and zip ties with steps to replace them. Had both boots swapped out in a matter of a few hours. Doing anything with these UCA ball joints is super easy. Major props to JBA on their quick response!.

After about a month of being busy and being set back on the trailer build I hopped back on and started working again. Started on the propane tank mount that will be on the swing out. 20lb cylinder sized will add some weight so I hope I made this thing thick enough. Going to gusset it to the swing out and add a bolt to the top to make a clamp as well as add a couple straps around it to ensure it doesnt bounce off while driving.

 

To get the bends on the propane tank holder I didnt have a metal brake so I picked up a cheap harbor freight 30" brake. I also didnt have a solid heavy bench to place it on to bend against so I built a hitch mount out of some scrap I had laying around from the trailer build. Some 2x2 for the leg and 1x2 for the cross piece. then finished it with some 3/16 plate to mount the brake to. Gusseted it up and gave it a whirl. For free dollars it turned out pretty decent.

 

Monday I wheeled it with a buddy, Badlands offroad park. Almost sunk the 4runner but we both walked away with new pinstripes and some rattles as armor and tires self clearanced.

 

Haven't done much to the truck or trailer, been too busy lately then the heat hit making it impossible to work in the garage in full protective gear. Gas prices mean I have been barrowing the wifes car as much as possible when I can.

Replaced the sway bar end link on the driver side as it was rattling pretty good over off-camber bumps. Wheeling seems to have wallowed out the hole a little bit because the replacement one didnt fit snug like I expected. If this wasnt a daily driver I would remove the sway bar completely to get more articulation. Transfer case skid plates also shifted up 1" when I took a hit somewhere in badlands. The exhaust was rattling on it and it sounded horrible. I need to weld the holes shut so the rear doesn't shift upwards and maybe brace the back side of it to the frame rails so it doesnt pinch the transfer case on big hits.

But with the price of gas she's left to basic mall crawling duties. Wont be taking it to Wyoming this year as of now which saddens me. maybe later in the fall if gas prices calm down a bit. At almost $800 to drive there and back taking the wifes car cuts that in half.

 

Made some small progress on the trailer build. Been nonstop busy since April then we got right into the hot part of summer. Its no fun working in full PPE in a garage with no airflow and it being 95+ outside. I did manage to complete the 20lb propane tank mount and the awning brackets. I believe everything is mounted that I wanted to mount so now its to drilling holes for wiring and water. Then I should be able to start putting primer down so this thing stops surface rusting.

 

Fab work has officially come to an end as far as metal work. Finished drilling holes in perfectly good sheet metal for all the water and electrical connections. Ran a wire brush over the entire thing to remove all the surface rust and to clean up around welds. Today starts the paint prep process. Going to hit it with raptor liner epoxy primer then if that dries fairly well before wed/thurs Ill hit at least the underside and rack with black raptor liner and start prep for the gray top. Going to go two tone color scheme. Underside, tongue, frame, wheel wells and fenders will be black. 2" up the side will be black to wrap the bottom liner around the side. Then the body of the box will be gray to give it a black/gray color combo to break up the trailer a bit.

 

Awesome work!
It's going to look amazing! Can't wait to see the results.

 

Bought a full gallon of Raptor liner epoxy primer. used about 25oz of it (one gravity spray container)
Gravity fed Harbor Freight spray gun made quick work of spraying everything. Being able to adjust the spray width wide for the panels and narrow for the bar work and rack was killer. Made the primer go a long way too. Checked it this morning and its drying with a smoother finish so I may run some sandpaper over it real quick to rough it up so the liner has something better to stick to.

 

So close to having the outside in a ready state then I can work slower on the inside but still use it while finishing the inside. Paint always gets me nervous because going back means ruining a sealed cover. I just hope I don't find something that needs updated or changed at this point haha

 

Finished Priming everything inside as well so now the whole thing is primed. Starting on Raptor liner on Monday when we get a quick warm snap. Probably going to leave the inside primer grey so that I can touch it up if need be also cant decide on an interior color so primer gray it will stay.

 

Taped and ready for the 2 tone, also installed the door latches with caulk before raptor lining so it can also seal up to the latches. Did some caulking on the inside with the remainder of the caulk. Around the tops and sides of the doors, started doing the insides of the lips and around some of the inside openings. Going to look real nice when its all sealed up.

 

Black raptor liner has been applied. Entire underside, tongue, fenders, and sliders all got 2 coats. Swing out and rack each got their first coats. Couple spots on the swing out need touched up. I was worried the 4L kit wouldn't be enough so I focused on getting two coats where it counted and then I ordered 2 spray cans for touchups on the swing/rack areas. Overall I think I sprayed it a bit heavy and close but it was good practice for the rest of it. Going to re-tarp the floors before I do the gray because the overspray made EVERYTHING sticky. Still trying to decide what color to go on the old tacoma wheels. They are currently still brass monkey plastidip from when they were on my truck. I am thinking re dipping them black to go along with the paint theme.