Cynicalriders "J0hnny5 is ALIVE!" 01 build thread.

maybe that fiberglass isn’t holding up as good as I thought

 

Alright well I got the truck slapped together in time for the trip. It was definitely in it's most janky state leaving for a trip though.

Current issues:

Power steering leak AGAIN (This was a brand new OEM rack in 2017 before Moab)

Bald eagle by Michael Halat, on Flickr

Super torn CV:

Bald eagle by Michael Halat, on Flickr

And of course the cracked and leaking rear axle. But fuck it, I was out of time and I was still going to send it.

This trip was the first test of the system I had designed for offroad camping while hauling the bike.

The first test was the airbags. This was what the shock shafts were looking like with the bags aired down to 6psi with the truck fully loaded for the trip:

Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr

And then aired up to 38 psi:

Bald eagle by Michael Halat, on Flickr

I could have gone higher to lift the truck up more but then the bags would likely ride like bricks.

The whole setup worked flawlessly, and I made a demo video of how versatile the rack is from dry storage, to hauling lumber/metal, to hauling the bike.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YSQUJca4B4

And some pictures:

Bald eagle by Michael Halat, on Flickr
Bald eagle by Michael Halat, on Flickr

I definitely want to find a better place to stick the ramps.

I also found that the soft top can double as a temporary tarp since I was expecting rain the night before departure and I didn't want my wood to get wet.

Bald eagle by Michael Halat, on Flickr

After that we met up for 2 days and 1 night of riding and camping. Stayed at a fairly large site in the state forest:

Bald eagle by Michael Halat, on Flickr

Day 1 featured riding a bunch of their double track, and some of their single track. The forest has tons of great vista's including this one, which I visited in the winter years before.

Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_3338 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

Shortly after this vista we went up a double track that I have driven down before but had to turn around because it dead ends, but it keeps going for dual sports. It was supposed to be a tiny ass distance, but it turned out to be a hill we nick named "death hill" because of its steep terrain and drop off that made it very difficult to get back on the trail if you went off. I did fall off and Steve needed to take my man card and get the bike back up on the trail for me.

After that we rode around a bunch more and headed back to camp. We cooked some food, drank some beers and got ready for another full day of riding the next day. Breakfast was of course a banging pork roll bagel, and it was nice to use my full camp kitchen again vs my paired down winter setup. I brought more shit than I needed for this 2 day trip only to test what it would be like and if I had the ability to carry the food/gear I need for a multi day riding/camping trip.

Bald eagle by Michael Halat, on Flickr
Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr

After that we rode a ton more and found some extremely fun trails.

This was one of the best ones we ran. A rocky hill climb in a wide open area brings you deep into the woods on some flowy single track.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33FlzLhmTgk

I have a bunch more video from this trip but want to throw a simple edit together.

He also hit a bunch more overlooks the next day, too.

Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr
Bald eagle by Michael Halat, on Flickr

Eventually the rain finally came through and we headed home.

Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr

My only damage on the bike from the weekend was a busted stock signal.

Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr

But I was planning on replacing that anyway.

Coming home was not without its own drama. After driving 2 hours through sustained torrential downpours I was noticing the truck was stuttering and bogging at high RPM's (basically my highway cruising speed) and I had no idea why. I pull off to a rest area and found this in the airbox:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4-BvzenlCk

I guess my ghetto snorkel from 3 years ago finally failed on me and was letting water that was getting splashed on the tube in the fender well into the tube. This combined with the fact that I sealed the drain holes up in the airbox means water was now pooling in the airbox with no way out. I took my bowie knife and drilled drain holes into it and got a new filter from Vatozone. This was enough to get me home without dealing with the bogging anymore. Of course this happens when I have a snorkel sitting in the garage, but that's always the case isn't it?

 

You got some better pictures of that storage guy have under your bed?

 

I'll do you one better and give you a video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDJdlKbfuBo

Got the idea off @Reh5108.

 

That’s dope! I was thinking that would be a good spot to store my spare cvs

 

Hey Mike, how do you have your spare tire mounted in the bed now? My lazy ass apologizes in advance if this is already covered and easy to find in your thread. I still need coffee today.

 

Nah no worries, it's changed like 4 times. I originally had a big 1/2" bolt going into the bed side with a nut welded to a 3/16" plate on the back side. Now it's a little more beefy and actually welded into the bed side.

I looked back and it seems I never actually posted the new setup.

I actually fabricated a beefier piece to weld into the bed side and would support the bedside itself:

Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr
Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr

I probably never posted because of these welds...

Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr

That's when I learned trying to weld thick metal to sheet metal is MUCH harder than it looks.

Also the bottom of the tire is supported a piece of angle with an extension welded to it to make it taller. When I would play race truck the tire could slip over the angle and get loose.

Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr

This was the original before the extension:

 

Do you get much for bedside flex with a 35 holding on? That's really my only concern with mounting directly to the bed. Now that I've pulled the shell off the Tundra I feel like I need a better solution for the tire to avoid having it flopping around in the bed freely.

 

Not a ton I have noticed but it's hard to tell with how beat to shit the bed already is from wheeling, the accident a while back, and rust lol. Since the beds holding most of the weight of the tire just sitting in it, and with the added supports there isn't much room for it to be able to flex to be honest. But I have had it like this for at least 3 years and seems to be the most solid solution I can come up with so far.

 

After the last trip I have a bunch of things I really need to get done so I can wheel this pig at least once or twice this summer.

For at least summer wheeling the minimum needs to be done:

Steering rack

New inline filter

Bleed steering system

Dorkel install

CV Change

AC pulley

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alright making this it's own post. I took a deep dive into the goals for the truck, and the things I want to improve. This list is always changing/ being improved upon, completed or added to.

As always green was just completed, BOLD is priority/realistic. Anything previously green gets deleted (though I still need to update the build specs lol). Of course this is all for my sanity's sake.

Maintenance:

Armor up rear diff, fix plug, or weld plug permanently shut and replace two studs with bolts to drain

Plugs

Wires

Carrier Bearing (Might wait on this, still feels tight)

Paint rear bumper, drill holes out bigger to accept 3/4" shackles

Rebuild the spare alternator (need rebuild kit)

Rebuild spare cv's

Swap CV with the torn boot

Address cracked Exhaust

Power steering rack, filter and system bleed

New OEM ac tensioner pulley

Interior Mods:

Platform in back with taller rear locking storage, a place Mac can be raised up on while the fridge stays at the same height)

Lit up cup holders

Tablet lighting solution using Raspberry Pi

Switch reconfiguration

Fix deflator markers

Put in cubby under the fridge:

Change of clothes, canned foods with long expirations, fire starter kit, emergency blanket, MRE's. Stuff that is worst case scenario survival shit.


Exterior Storage Mods:

Build a dual swing out tire carrier. The one swing out will contain the 35" tire, and a fold down table. The left side will hold the high lift and chain saw and will also have a fold down table. The goal is to make everything more accessible without needing to unload the truck. - Potentially decommissioning this idea.

Get a back door stitched up to attach to current rack.

Figure out a ramp mount solution when hauling the bike. Maybe prinsu rack on cab?

Add camp light mount.

Potentially add a roof rack above the cab to hold traction pads/a plano case that contains recovery gear. The jury is still out on this concept. I would like to avoid adding anymore weight that high if I can. See ramp mount point. ^


Performance upgrades:

ABS controller delete/LSPV delete/manual valve install and complete fluid flush

Dual battery setup, one battery in current location, the other under the bed. This will be the house battery that the fridge, and all lighting accessories will run on.

Crawl box: I need lower gears to really take the truck to the next level crawling wise.

Build/get built beefier drive shafts

Ebay dorkel: Getting water in the air box last trip was an eye opener, getting water in the airbox again means it's priority.

Airbags? If I want to start hauling a bike, I need airbags.

Custom Alcans or Deavers: Once I get the average weight of the rear figured out as a typical always on rolling weight, I want leaves to be able to hold the weight of my normal everyday load. Airbags will be the interim solution.


Lighting Mods:

3 additional floods to rock lights (one facing from the rear bumper to the diff, and two near the front facing down near the bumpers, goal is to eliminate the current dead spots)

Hood lights on pin switch

Two Toyota rock lights as additional turn signals

Add back bed lights

Create new electrical hub to replace tool box setup

Add back camp lights

Add back tool box lights


Misc Exterior/ Camp Mods:

Redline Hood struts

Heat exchanger in engine bay for warm showers

Fiberglass fenders and bedsides (this will eliminate some of the body glamage I have gathered over the years)

Half doors

New bedside decals

Print up decals of trails from Moab, put on cab


Full LT or 3-link is way to far out of reach currently


Bike mod list currently:

New LED front signals
Oil change
Stock clutch springs
Black side plastics
New graphics

 

Mine is just ratchet strapped up against the bulkhead using the tie down rings. Not ideal in the instance I need it but so far I've only needed it that one time in the snow.

 

That how mine was/is, coupled with a large plano case full time. I'm going to be moving things around in anticipation of hauling a moto more often, so want to avoid having crap stored in front of the bed as much as I can.

 

Wouldnt be able to use the swingout and haul the bike? Theyd have to be left open.

 

Whoa. Didn't realize this was a thing! I'll be having a look at mine! I really like the unconnected airbags. definitely something I'll be considering in the future.

 

Yeah a bunch of second gen buddies run a similar setup and it's where I got the idea from.

Did a quick overnight camp to go riding with @Wheelspinner:

Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr
Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr

The camp site was less than ideal but it was literally only a place to sleep so I made due.

Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr

Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr


I also started getting some shit knocked out. First was the dorkel install which got far more annoyingly complex due to the ditch lights and all the shit I am running on it.

You can see the current setup here before I had to modify it:

Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr

I knew I needed to cut a large portion of the bracket to fit the snorkel, but I didn't have enough material left to drill another hole for the ditch light to be aimed the way I had it between the snorkel and the antenna.

So I chopped off what I needed to get the snorkel to fit and then worked on what I would need to get more space again.

Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr

I decided I really wanted the mount to look as decent as I can, and since both mounts had rounded parts for accessories I took the hole saw to some 3/16" plate and cut it pretty much in half to weld onto the bracket.

Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr

What I got was a pretty clean looking final version.

Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr
Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr

After that I flipped the main intake tube back around, re sealed the joints with some silicone, and ran all the tubing for the dorkel.

Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr

I used some M4 stainless rivnuts and machine screws to secure it to the a pillar.

Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr

And voila, the dorkel is done.

Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr
Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr
Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr

I also drilled out the holes I made with a knife on the side of the highway and put plugs in, in case I ever somehow get water in there again, since it's a completely sealed system.

Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr

When I was working on this I started planning my new exhaust project and found out the rock light wiring harness was fucked.

Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr

I also swapped my torn boot cv, need to rebuild this other one now.

Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr

Parts started coming in for the exhaust project. That will be next.

Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr

 

where do your ditch light brackets attach?

 

The top two bolts that hold down the hood hinge to the body of the truck.

 

Those seals are the bane of my existence. I swear I replace them every 6 months. Even if I follow the FSM to a tee and check depth with a caliper.

 

slob it up with extra thick gear oil and the leak fixes itself usually. If not, at least you don’t have to worry about front diff rusting.