The Dog's Spruce It Up Build (and BS)

Thanks man.

How are things going in Washington? Are the house projects / repairs under control?

 

Sort of, still working on the back yard. Thinking about selling this place and moving to Vashon Island. People think I'm hard to reach now, wait till there is a ferry ride involved. Truck is looking sweet. I'll be waiting for your review of the ADS.

 

Forgot to add some pics of the powder coated bed rack from a few weeks ago.

So when I got the BAMF low-profile rack I wanted to run another hoop out the back for a couple of reasons -- 1. More real estate for a future RTT base and 2. To run some back-up lights.

Here is what the gents at Avid Offroad (@2ndGenJonny) came up with -- Brandon did a fantastic job keeping the lines consistent with the original product and I can honestly say I don't think you can really tell that it was added on after the fact.

Also added a Water-Port and transferred all of the stuff (shovel, Hi-Lift, Matrix) I formerly had on my DIY mounts under the canopy. Front corner braces / additional tie-down points were courtesy of @At The Helm .....speaking of which.....need to get on ordering that bumper....

 

Good that you got the interior stuff done. I don't think I've every been over to Vashon Island when I was living in Washington. That would be sweet though. Your pics of Vashon look like its a cool place. After we got my wife moved down here last year I went back to Washington for about 3 months to finish up some work there and I was staying at my boss's beach house on Camano Island - right on the water....it was amazing.

Being down in Arizona I really kinda miss the lush green of the Seattle area and the smell of the ocean. My wife is heading up there in June to go to a conference and hand out for a week with her sister and parents in Shoreline so that will be nice. I have to hold down the fort here for a couple of weeks while she is away.

 

What bumper you getting?

 

Looking at this: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/ath-fab-12-15-front-bumpers.521370/

 

@Juforrest I'm pumped to see your truck on 35's. That re-gear and tire combo should be down-right beastly.

 

That bumper is way cool. Makes me want build a new one for my truck. I have the rims and gear sets patiently waiting for me to decide on a rear traction device. I was thinking of going with a TruTrac but an air locker would be sweet.

 

I’m not familiar with TruTrac but if you plan on having on-board air to air up/down anyway, I think the Air Locker makes more sense and if you want to run a front Air Locker at some point you have that option.

 

That's the way I'm leaning, but man, airlocker + compressor = ouch$$$$$

 

Yeah it is.

I’m staging mine so Air Lockers are in the distant future but it’s a long term goal along with re-gearing.

How much chopping and tubbing are you going to have to do to fit 35’s?

 

A fair amount. 2" in fenders and flairs. Hoping to not have to hammer down pinch welds with the .5" body lift I did.

 

Cool man. What kind of body lift did you go with? How was the install involved with something like that?

 

I cut 1/2" pucks from 6061 aluminum. Install was easy. Only had to replace the 2 bolts that go thru the bed stiffeners.

 

Truck's a bit like a mullet right now. Business up front, party in the back.

 

How those new ADS bits treating you?

 

So far so good. Before I had purchased them I was a little skeptical about the clickers but damn they really do significantly change how the truck behaves over bumps / washboard. They only adjust for compression so not quite as high tech as your BP's that are also doing rebound but I think I've decided that at some point when I swap out my front 6112's, I'll be getting clickers on the front as well.

 

Honestly I'm starting to not like the BP's very much. Everything about them is a bit of a pain in the ass and a compromise of some sort. When everything is set just right the ride is incredible but such a pain to adjust.

 

Do you find you need to adjust them for different terrain or is it just kinda of a pain getting them set up initially but once you figure out what your settings need to be at it’s just set and forget?

 

Adjusting for terrain and load on the truck. Like this morning I'm loading the truck for a 5 day trip out to Plain/Leavenworth area and I kind dread having to go adjust the shocks.