J. Boogies... Kinda slow but super exciting... Build Thread

I had a little truck stop by the house today...



https://youtu.be/-EjabRlmVeo

 

Well... my garage is so full of parts it's getting hard to move around in there! I need help getting all of this crap installed... who's in?

 

This...

 

Now this...

 

And this...

 

I’m dreading this... but these need to go in today as well...



I’m thinking I will cut the bed sides next to give me more room to work.

 

SEND IT!!!

 

Sendid...

 

Deaver Expedition Stg 3 leaves really give the truck some rake when there is no bumper, swing out or spare.

 

LOL those are the leaf packs I have and the bumper and swingout with spare won't drop it much. They are beefy but ride well.

#rakefordays


They don't drop but about 3/4" when I hook the camper up with about a 400# tongue weight.

 

My truck actually looks lifted now...

 

Ok... went to a local spot and did some flex preliminary testing:

 

Looks good man!

Hope it wasn't too much of a pain. I do not regret the old shackle flip mod in the sense that the new BAMF hangers were a bolt on swap. Thoughts so far?

 

Install took all weekend... started Friday after work and worked until Sunday evening. All in all, I ended up installing my CBI front bumper, and Smittybilt winch Friday. Then I started the install of the rear bumper on Saturday. It dawned on me that I couldn't finish the bumper install without adding the springs if I wanted to drive the truck. So mid install, I found a breakpoint and began to install the Deavers, BAMF HD hangers and shackles. Honestly, the hangers and springs took the most time to install. Partly since I was working mostly alone. It was almost 1:00 am when I had the rear suspension buttoned up and all the prep work pre rear bumper install completed.

Sunday, I had my sons help me install the rear bumper and I was off again! I spent all day preparing both swingouts. I ran into one issue trying to get the arms to seat fully on the axles. The dead blow alone wasn’t enough, and I didn't have something I could use to get over the swing-out axle, as well as seat on the inside race of the bearing while swinging a hammer. I ended having to make a tool... I used a hole saw and drilled an appropriate size hole in a 2x4. This allowed me to get around the stub axle for the swing out and make good contact with the swing out hub. This device worked for a little bit until the 2x4 shattered. Luckily, I ended up holding onto a piece of a banister I recently installed. I did the same thing using the hole saw, but this time I didn’t let it go all the way through. The hardwood held up nicely to the dead-blow hammer and transferred the force perfectly allowing me to finish off the install with ease. I wrapped it up by installing my spare tire and roto-pax mount.

Last thing on the list was the shakedown process, checking every bolt for tightness. Another note is I put anti-seize on everything! Except for the spare tire carrier and Roto-pax mounts… those should never come off. Those got red Loctite. I did order the camp tables but ran out of daylight and decided to save the install of those for another day.

I have a few things to finish/clean up. First, I need to determine the best way to mount my front shock resi’s since the bumper mount takes the mounting holes for the resi brackets. For now, I have them zip-tied to the front frame rails… but will figure something out that’s more robust long term. In the back, I have purchased the camp tables for the swing outs but didn’t install them. I think I may wait until spring since this truck sees a lot of Ohio winters and salt. In addition, I need to decide if I should move the hi-lift off the inside of the bed rack to the swing-out for easier access. Also, I need to decide on the antenna length to run (suggestions welcome).

As far as feel… Well, I can feel the weight on the truck. I'm sure I lost another MPG or two! Maybe I should have gone with 4.88 gears over the 4.56's now that I have all of the added weight (and I’m debating 35’s). With that said, the truck rides and drives great. After the flex test, I feel pretty good about my setup. I'm excited to see what it can do on the trail!

 

Whipped up some resi mounts using the original Fox provided mounts by simply welding them to the steel bumper reinforcements for the CBI bumper. Simple and elegant... mostly just simple.

 

I'm approaching the time to replace my battery. I have a winch and some additional lighting... any recommendations?

 

I guess i should update this from time to time... here was an event that sort of fell together a few weeks back with some friends of mine. Ended up leading a group of 5 jeeps through a fun day in Vinton County, OH. Good time.

Go easy on my editing... I'm a PM not a videographer.

 

You've got playback disabled for other sites (ex.: tacomaworld.com ), btw. Need to go to YouTube just to watch it. I don't mind, but someone else might give a care.

 

Let me see if I can figure out how to enable that function... Google!