Colinb17's kinda sorta build thread - now with 4-link and long travel

Going all chomoly, right?

 

whole cage gonna be inconel, because i don't value retiring before i'm 85 years old.

 

Turned the truck into a poorly functioning motorcycle.

 

I can only imagine what the neighbours are thinking. So epic!

 

i'm very fortunate to be surrounded by amazing neighbors. all are within a few years of us, and all have similar lifestyles and interests. we all go out on the boat together, restaurants, etc. they're all looking forward to riding in the finished product, as well as being able to tow the boat again.

The HOA on the other hand...... but that's where the black painted 2x4s come in handy. you'd never tell from the street

 

axle is removed from the springs and frame, which were taken to the dump. removed all of the factory brackets and tabs from the axle. cleaned up the axle so it'd ready for the trusses and all of the mounting points. good bit of pitting under the leaf spring perches where water wasn't able to freely drain out. may plate those areas just in case.

whatever Toyota has their axles coated with should probably also be used on their frames, because that stuff stood up to 3 applications of aircraft paint remover. The surface prep grinder ended up being the ticket to fast and easy paint removal. small section on the diff housing was 10-15 seconds of work. highly recommend the tool to anyone with a welder.



wear a Tyvek suit when you do this. not a clean process.

 

Got that axle sparkling. Gussets next?

 

Horizontal and vertical tube trusses. Vertical one will hold the upper link mounts. They'll be tied together as well. Got a few fun/functional elements going into it as well.

 

This is going to be fun.

 

first piece of the vertical truss. red pieces are next. was able to get away with notching the first tube with a 2.5'' hole saw, and then will widen it with a grinder. didn't want to spend $60 on a bit for two cuts. where the red tubes meet the axle will have to be completely by hand because of the angle. would need a 6 inch deep hole saw to make a cut at that steep of an angle.

 

Photo of the fit-up. Completely welded now. Sorting out how to approach a rear truss, as well a tying them together.

 

I don't always toss the delivery guy a tip and a Gatorade, but when I do, it's because he decided to CARRY 400 lbs of tires to my front door instead of rolling them in 90 degree heat and looks like he's having a heat stroke

 

Alliteration for the day: Tiny truck tire Tetris today.

 

Marty with MCM would be out of his mind proud!

 

another fun part came in today. I'm going to be running a 13.5K winch on the rear. the shackle mount from Agency 6 will be at the end of the winch line. This is a direct competitor to the Factor 55 Flatlink E, but i believe it outperforms in nearly all categories.

Compared to the flat link:
-WLL is a few thousand pounds higher (19k vs 16k). this is probably the least important
-the pin retainer is two hex key bolts and a stainless cap instead of a c-clip. if you've ever shot a c-clip across the trail and tried to find it, you'll know how amazing this is.
-most important feature to me is the last photo. the factor 55 leaves the winch line completely exposed. odds of damaging the line on an obstacle are slim, but synthetic winch line DOES NOT like UV exposure. this shackle mount shades the winch line from direct light. recently, Factor 55 has caught on, likely due to consumer feedback, and come out with an aluminum retrofit plate. you attach the plate by removing the rubber pads from one side and riveting the cover on. good solution, but for such a premium product, it felt like a bandaid fix to me. the Agency 6 and Factor 55 are comparable in price, so to have to spend extra to rivet a cover on, when one product already has the protection built in seemed a bit silly.
-the only area where i believe the flat link excels over the Agency, is that is is slightly smaller, and it is anodized (agency is powder coated).
-the flatlink uses a titanium pin, and the Agency, a stainless one. the pins however are factored into the WLL, so while it's another difference between the two, i wouldn't say one is better than the other.

 

That sucker is badass!

 

That is strange. When I got my flatlink about 7 years ago, it came with the aluminum cover to protect the line from uv... I must have lucked out somehow.

 

They may have had it as a bundle option?? I see some 3rd party vendors selling a package deal currently, but it's the same price overall as buying the parts separately directly from factor 55