Stage 1 of my build complete! 37's are on!

Hello everyone, just wanted to share my build and where I am with it currently!

Here is how the truck sits today as of 5/1/2025
Vehicle:

• 2018 MGM CrewMax SR5 4x4 TRD Sport Package

Front Suspension (+3"):

• Coil over - Bilstein 6112 (setting 4 providing 2.5" lift)
• Coachbuilder - 0.25" shims providing 0.5" lift.
• Upper Control Arm - Icon Tubular UCA with Delta Joint (should have gotten billet)
• Bump Stops - OEM with coastal off-road spacers (limits up travel by 0.5")
• Removed Front Sway Bar

Rear Suspension (+3"):

• Shock - Icon RXT remote reservoir shock
• Leafs - Icon RXT (option 2)
• Bumpstops - Timbren Active Offroad
• No Rear Sway Bar

Wheels:

• Method 707 Bead Grip 17x8.5 0mm offset Matte Black - Qty 4
• Apex Designs Rapid Precision Valve Stems

Tires:

• Mickey Thompson Baja Boss AT 37x12.5r17 - Qty 4

Armor - Exterior:

• Powertrain Skids: RCI Engine & Transmission/T-Case Skids
• Front Bumper: CBI Baja Hybrid
• Bed Cover - Bakflip MX4 Tri-Fold

Armor - Interior:

• Window Tint Front: 25% Ceramic
• Window Tint Windshield: 45% Ceramic
• Window Tint Rear: 5% Ceramic
• Window Tint Rear Windshield: 15% Ceramic
• Front Floor Mats - Weather Tech HP FloorLiner
• Rear Floor Mats - Weather Tech HP FloorLiner
• Seat Covers - Truckiipa (Amazon Special )

Lighting - Interior:

• Cool White LED conversion for all OEM bulbs
• Footwell - Cali Raised LED kit (light blue)

Body - Exterior:

• Door Handles - OEM Black Handles
• Matte Black Emblem Covers

Performance:

• Exhaust - Corsa Sport

Convenience:

• Remote Start - Start-X

Miscellaneous:

• Speedometer Correction - HyperTech
• Carrier Bearing Drop - Coach Builder
• Body Mount Relocation Kit - Stellar Built Custom made
• Horn Blasters Conductors Special Train Horn Kit
• Rear Brake Line and ABS relocation: Coachbuilder

I'm sure the question everyone has is do I rub... The answer is complicated lol. During street driving at suspension ride height I only rub at full lock to the left. I rub the passenger side tire against the front TRD red sway bar (Removed off the truck as of 4/29/2025). I do plan on removing this eventually before my first off-roading trip, but for now its super manageable because if I just back the steering from full lock just a bit it doesn't rub. And its only to the left it does this. I do not rub what so ever against the body mount or fender liner, just the sway bar. I dont know for sure if I would rub against the body mount at full suspension flex, but with how much space there is at ride height I dont think I will have any issues.

This is what I had to do to fit the 37s. The CBI Baja bumper was a no brainer, otherwise I would have had to trim a good bit of the OEM bumper. I had a shop in Sacramento, CA named stellar built relocation my body mount. This was not a chop... They cut off the OEM body mount COMPLETELY and welded on a part they made themselves which gave me a lot more room back there. I also had them do their "pinch weld service" which includes flattening the pinch weld and molding the fender liner back. I also installed coastal offload's bumpstop spacer kit myself. Yes this does unfortunately limit up travel by half an inch, but I was ok with it since the coach builder coilover spacer I have gives me half an inch of extra droop. I definitely didn't have to do the bump stop spacer, but everyone I have seen with 37's rub against the top of the fender liner just ever so slightly. I didn't want to risk the accidental fender liner delete mod lol. I will end up removing the bump stop spacers if I ever end up getting fiber glass fenders.

Would I have done anything differently? Yes... I would have gotten my Methods in a +35mm offset they offer instead of the 0mm. This would for sure help with clearing larger tires, but I wanted the stance and didn't know that more negative offset makes it harder to clear larger tires at the time.

What's next for my build?
For stage 2 the first thing I need to get is hands down rock sliders and get the OTT tune. After that im probably gonna get switch pros and get one of the new ARB brushless twin compressors. After that is gonna be lockers and a regear. Right now im on the stock 4.30 gears and the truck honestly drives fine. A lot of people say that unless you regear you wont be able to use 6th gear. I have found this to not be true in my case, my tranny shifts into 6th around 60-65mph on the free way even when I use cruise control. It only downshifts if I go to accelerate. I still wanna regear to make the truck feel like how it was from factory. Acceleration has for sure gotten worse. I am still debating on 4.88s and 5.30 gears though. For the lockers I wanna do the ARB air lockers front and rear since I will have the switch pros and an ARB compressor already by then. Finally I will probably get some lights too
For stage 3 I wanna do a bed rack and roof top tent. Rear bumper. Fiberglass fenders and maybe bedsides too. A winch. And who knows, if I have lost all touch with reality by then I might end up putting a whipple on too!

Heres some more angles of the truck



Let me know if you guys want pictures of any of the suspension components or other angles of the truck!

 

You got a nice looking truck.

 

Definitely looks badass.

 

Looks nice!

Have you measure what's the center of your wheel to the fender opening?

 

100% 5.29s, even if you had smaller tires 5.29s would be the go to.

 

Whipple! Or Turbo should be the next addition so you can turn those monster tires!

 

Thanks for the input. Definitely been leaning a lot more towards the 5.29's!

 

Don't temp me lol! I have whipples website book marked on google chrome

 

Not yet, but I will do it as soon as I can and let you know!

 

I triple dog dare ya!!!

 

Just measured it today. I cant give you exact numbers because of my tires poking out well past the fender due to the 0 offset on my wheels. Eyeballing it with a tape measure this is what I got.

Front: Middle of wheel to bottom lip of fender - ~25 inches
Rear: Middle of wheel to bottom lip of fender - ~27.25 inches

Rear suspension sits higher since I don't have any weight in my bed besides the Bakflip MX4 bed cover and a 30lb husky tool box courtesy of home depot. I do plan on getting a bed rack and roof top tent eventually along with some more gear in the bed, but I need sliders first

 

Thanks for the measurement! really appreciate it!

 

That frame was probably bending to hell and back! Did the bed hit the cab on the ramp?

 

As far as I know the bed did not hit the cab! Here is a picture that my girlfriend took from the crowd area. You can see that the bed and cab have a consistent gap from the bottom of the bed all the way to the top. So I dont think they touched.

 

Finally put on my RCI engine/transmission skid plates today after putting it off for about a month.

For all you guys that have a CBI bumper like I do, the RCI engine skid plates will not fit with the bumper. I had to take an angle grinder and cut around 1 inch off the front of the skid plate and cut the corners at a 45 degree angle to get it to fit. Wasnt hard to do at all, but make sure to paint the bare steel so it doesnt rust. Let me know if you pictures showing where I cut mine.

Get a buddy to help… these fuckers are heavy if you got the steel version. Install took about an hour for both plates. The hardest parts were putting in the middle 3 bolts on the engine skid, lining it up was difficult while holding it high enough for the bolt to reach the hole. The other 4 bolts for the engine skid plates was easy. The transmission plate was pretty easy to install, but one of the bolts is really hard to access due to how low the clearance between the plate and transfer case is. Huge piece of advice, get a ratcheting 14mm wrench with the ratcheting end being able to tilt. Harbor freight sells a set for like 25 bucks. Without these wrenches it would be impossible to tighten that one bolt.

Skids look great though and cant wait to put them to use!

 

Awesome build so far! How are you liking the 6112s? Any plans to upgrade in the future?

 

I agree. They are heavy. I did it by myself with the help of a floor jack. if you don’t have any help, use a floor jack. I got mine at harbor freight on sale. It paid for itself long ago making jobs easier.

 

I know harbor freight gets a beating for having junk. But, they do have good stuff too.

 

Nice build so far. And yes Whipple’s are fun can confirm.

 

Dont have anything bad to say about them! They ride pretty good especially for the price. I have no sway bars on my tundra so these shocks being digressive really helps keep body roll to a minimum on the road. I do plan on upgrading in the long run to maybe an Icon 3.0 but for now I have no reason to. Maybe Ill get the 8112s, who knows what Ill want a few year in the future lol

 

Fair enough! I currently have kings with coach builder shims, but they are in need of a rebuild. Been contemplating going with a set of 6112s just so I can rebuild the kings or maybe change over to something different. I've heard good things about the 8112s and the longevity before needing a rebuild is intriguing. I currently have front glass and 37s on the truck, I noticed you were thinking about upgrading to glass in the future possibly. Do you think the top setting is still necessary or would you drop down a setting on the 6112s since the glass really opens up the wheel well? Lastly, did you need the extended length studs with the shims?

 

I did not need extended studs for my shims. The thing is with clearing large tires is that lift does NOT help. It will only help clear large tires at ride height. The only way to clear large tires is by cutting or limiting up travel by extending bump stop. I can tell you that if you have glass fenders you dont need to worry about not clearing those with 37s. You only have to worry about your body mount. You could set the 6112s on any setting and be fine, just depends on how much of an increase you want in ride height.

 

Awesome! Thanks. Look forward to the rest of your build

 

Looks so nice man!!