Long Travel BS Thread

If I remember right, JD Fab does make the braces for those staying spring over.
@81Trekker can answer that better.

I have to say, the braces. Time and lots involved but they are worth it for the peace of mind.

 

I hear yea, maybe once you get the axle thing straightened out it'll be better?

 

I mean my truck has a fuck load of anti squat because of the 14” shackles. Was very undriveable the first month or so until adding an anti wrap bar. Now there is still some anti squat but works awesome. After I get the wife’s bumper done the next week or few we will get to dialing in you truck. Been a freaking busy season as you know.

 

Speaking of anti squat, what percentage would you shoot for? I'm thinking to aim for 70% as I'm not building a desert only truck, and that seems like a decent balance, but I haven't had the opportunity to drive a lot of different setups. I know trophy trucks etc are set up around 30% but that doesn't seem great for anything but whoops

 

For $30k I don't think you'd have to leave any frame rail

 

Oops. You are correct. I edited my post. Went from SOA to JDf SUA.

 

By the time you factor rear axle, fuel cell, trailing arms a legit shock package etc it ain’t far. And if doing it truly right, you’re putting shocks into the cab of a DCSB which is going to get even more extensive. And as a business, time needs to be a factor in overall cost because you’re spending instead of making. 30k certainly isn’t far off.


I can sit down, design a chassis. Have all tubes laser cut and labeled for about 10k material and labor. At the point of spending that much on a rear suspension, 10k is nothing to just say f it and do a full chassis with a steel cab that’s actually big enough to justify pushing a motor back a foot plus, to put a center mount bulkhead in. Have fun packaging, pushing an engine back a foot in a Tacoma.

That’s my stance at least.

 

But they look sooo good squatting when they gun it!

 

Can do like SoCal Eric truck Vivian. Still technically has what? 18” of Tundra frame in there somewhere? Probably some Cali loop hole for registration

 

They left that in because it would have been an entirely new chassis to remove it. However, as long as the cab has a vin and a title you’re golden. Especially in a state like Michigan with no emissions.

 

Question for those of you who had your frame boxed at a shop: How much did it cost you for materials and labor? Waiting on an estimate and it would be nice to have something to compare it against.

 

This is exactly where I’m at right now….

do I chuck my cab and frame, and start from scratch with the links, shocks and fuel cell, ect ect that I already have and do center mount tube chasis with the LT motor I have


Cause at this point
All my parts make a car on their own, and I’d only really be losing the cab/frame and the solo front kit, everything else would move to the new “car”

 

I remember peeking in this thread like a long time ago, reading things of your truck still in the works etc. what's state is it in right now? Seems like a project lol

 

It’s in cali
In Simi Valley

 

Holy shit
That's insane.

 

Really depends what the goal of the truck is. If I were building a pure desert truck, I would build a tundra or something like that because it's got more room, everything is stronger, and it starts out with enough power to actually be decent.

But for wheeling in the forest and mountains like I have here, a full size truck simply won't fit down the trails. We also have a lot more rock crawling than whoops, so that's a factor too.

My truck build has a tonne of compromises so that it can hopefully do everything I want it to decently well, plus it's just fun to build something funky. Center mounting the front so I can have 19-20" of 4x4 travel without making my track width wider. Moving the engine back for weight distribution and diff clearance. Short links so they don't get hung up on rocks as much. Lower motion ratio to keep the shocks mostly out of the cab so I can have a fridge, two dogs, and a baby in the back. A weird middle ground wheelbase around 135" so it's a bit shorter for wheeling, but also a bit longer for more storage. 39s for crawling and hitting big holes.

The goal is to hit whoops at 80mph, rock crawl some of the hardest trails around where I live, and still camp out of it with a tent, fridge, and pressurized water tank. And also be sort of comfortable enough to drive 10+ hours at a time on road trips. Yeah it's goofy, and no it won't be the best at any of those things, but it will do them all pretty good probably. It's kind of my vision of the best possible truck for what we do. Definitely not for everybody.

Also I build my truck completely on my own time outside of work hours. I'm typically in the shop 20 hours most weekends, and from around 5-10pm most evenings. I don't work super hard or efficient, just putz around on what interests me in that moment.

I doubt @81Trekker would tell you that building a mini truck as a prerunner is the "best" choice, but look how sick his little offroad gokart is. And he made it work for what he wanted. If we all went for the "best" option, we'd all have the same truck and this hobby would be lame.

But that's my outlook. I'm just building this truck for fun and to hopefully end up with a truck that does it all sort of good so I can go out and have a good time with my family and my friends

 

Is it in the hands of Morgan?

 

This man preaches the truth!

 

I have to disagree a little here. My truck and many others in here are about as wide as a trophy truck. With half the room. And half the travel. A full size truck is literally no bigger in wheel base/track width than what many of us are pushing. I know my body is significantly wider than say a Silverado. But either way, most TT’s and big Boy center mounts are roughly the same width as I am. You’re only giving up possibilities with a small cab.

Can you build a gnarly center mount with a Tacoma? Sure can. But it’s going to be full of compromise start to finish.