Sunnier Finally Got 4x4!! Need Help Building It:

My homie from another momie!

 

The orbit eyes shouldn't be a problem with the u-bolt flip. If you wanted to get fancy with the shackles you may have a compatibility problem. I didn't opt for orbit eyes on my Alcans.

Hand Model my first car was a baja bug, it was a serious Frankenstein and was far from safe but I loved that car.

 

So much new stuff to learn. Good, maybe keep me from early-onset dementia. Like learning a new language. And more fun than crossword puzzles or sudoku.

 

I love this dark green. My dad's always had green trucks, better to blend with the scenery in the mountains!

 

Thank you! Great info here. I read good stuff about Toyo, I'll check out the R/T. Are you saying you like that they're heavy, or you like them despite them being heavy?

And the rear suspension: 'some smooth body 2.5’s or bypasses'

Do you mean by 'smooth body', not coil over? Like, if I went best extended (mid) travel Icon coilover I can fit on a 1st gen in front, what would be your recommendation for appropriate 'rear some smooth body 2.5’s or bypasses' to complement the front coilovers. *Spend my money!

 

Smooth body shocks are just shocks where the shock cylinder is smooth no remote resiviors or bypass tubes. A smooth body works good for mild applications but for a mid travel setup I’d lean towards at least a remote resi shock or a bypass shock. You are going to get much greater performance and long term life compared to a smooth body

 

Hey @Sunnier I like the Toyo’s despite them being heavy.
Definitely do coilovers up front but in the rear you have leaf springs so coilovers won’t work.
I’m pretty sure “smooth body” just means smooth bore and seamless. But I could be wrong. You can get a smooth body shock with piggyback or remote reservoir in many sizes and like Bruce said I do recommend a reservoir shock.
I like 2.5” for Gen1’s. They aren’t as heavy as Gen2’s so the 2.5’s should be plenty. I’m honestly not sure if a rear 2.5” triple bypass (3 tubes) in the stock location is available for a Gen1 but if it is and you can spend the money that’s what I would do. Although a 2.5” shock would probably suit you just fine.
I like Deaver springs for leafs. Call Deaver and talk to them about how you plan to use your truck and the weight you will be carrying (knowing the correct weight is important) and they can custom make something for you. They may even have something off the shelf for you.
Have fun trying to figure out what you want. I’ve gone back and forth a number of times and spent money I didn’t need to through trial and error. Just be patient and know the spending never ends. There’s always something else to get. Hahaha

 

@Sunnier This is what I had on mine and happy so far. The front is 2.5" DSC with 700 LBS coil and the rear is 2.5" piggy back also Deaver light to mid weight about 300 lbs load.
As John advised call Deaver and tell them your carrying weight, they will build it for you. Enjoy the build.

 

Fawk just keep it stick Sunnier! This thread would spin my head if I were in your shoes.


Glad to see so much good advice streaming though, haven't seen the 1st gen area so active before.

 

Thank you, Gentlemen!

My head is spinning- LOL.

But it's in a good way! I feel like I'm really lucky this is happening as it is: first I bought a pretty, new, inferno truck-- which I'm still in love with more than a year later; then, I got to "meet" a bunch of great people on this forum (some, out in "the Wild"); and finally, I've had time to learn what I'd like to do with my truck... and to acknowledge the 2WD 3rd gen I bought might not be the right truck for what I'd ultimately like to do off-road.

I'm feeling very lucky so many of you with so much knowledge are dropping it in here. Thank you, All!!!

No matter how much is in here, it's WAAAAAAAY BETTER being able to sort through these already vetted ideas than to start randomly on the internet, or throwing money at a local vendor and hoping they set me up right. I also think (hope/ pray ) I'll spend maybe a little less in the long run, jumping into a great set-up to begin with, rather than outgrowing the first round of mods right away.

 

Damn it @Sunnier! Now I’m itchin to spend some money on some shit!

 

Haha- Great! You lead, I'll follow you!

(I did see you posted over on the Auto Anything site. )

 

Thanks, OG!

 

I'm sorry about your truck, Homie! I hope .

Hey, your BIL is a talented driver.
I really enjoyed hanging with you both, on the Calcite Mine trail. Thanks again for letting the Boy and me ride along!

 

Yeah, seeing if they’ll have a site wide Black Friday discount. I doubt it for what I’m looking at though.

 

Welp! I just spent a couple hours with Bruce @papasmurf. First I ogled his flat-out, no-holds-barred, AWESOME truck!

(It has "knees" that extend UP through the floor of the bed!!)
I knew it, but actually seeing it is pretty cool. If it were mine, I'd sleep outside so I could look at it.

He looked my 1st gen over and convinced me I should spec long travel vs mid-travel up front (buy once, cry once, right?!!). Hahaha! I love when I ask others to help spend money, and they DO !!

Anyway, I'm very excited and can't wait to get started!!!

Also... gotta replace these cheap-ass WalMart tires at the same time. That hurts (I know, I know, 'don't be penny wise, pound foolish', but-- jeez!) So now I need you guys to weigh in on tires. Probably wanna be between 34" -35". It's got 285 75 R16 on now, but it looks like there's room for an inch more. So, I'd like to go slightly bigger circumstance if possible, but not much wider. Not afraid to cut or weld this truck if needed, as long as I find people willing to show me what to do.

Thanks for spending the afternoon with me, Bruce! I appreciate you throwing all that knowledge my way!!

 

if that doesn’t fit the thread title, i’m not sure what does...

sorry. couldn’t resist.

 

mine's all good, might get a detail out of it and hopefully very soon- new sliders!

Calcite mine was one of my favorite parts of the trip. your son is a sweet heart and has a Mom that loves him very much- thats for sure. i learned a lot from you on that short part of our trip and hope to learn a lot more from you on future trips.

and just sayin... i've seen what Sunny can do in 2wd- cant wait to see what she'll do with a dedicated 4x4! The only thing holding her back was her thoughtfulness of others regarding the idea (not fear) of getting stuck and others waiting on her. unleash her with a 4x4 and she'll tackle any trail possible. she has a great eye for obstacles and how to approach them. best part- she instills confidence in others around her weather shes on the radio or in the passenger seat...

 

Blushes

 

Aww, Steve, that's the coolest compliment I've received in a long time; thank you! I love our SoCal meet-and-plays, meeting other people that want to get out and see what we can do. I hope to see you again soon, and all of us do just a little more than last time.

 

@Sunnier are you mounting the KB voodoo rack on the 1st gen?

 

That's my plan. BUT.

But in the back of my mind, I've started toying with leaving the RTT on The BFT (inferno 3rd gen) for family camping, and going light on this truck: an awning, a gazelle tent (with an air mattress )..., because it's likely that I'll take this out most often without my family, or with just my son. It'd be more challenging to access a bunch of camping equipment under a rack in this truck (beds are much shorter than the 3rd gen)... unless I get a bed slide. And if I do that, well then my set up will be way heavy. Still thinking it through.

 

Did you get the max modular rack?

 

I got the KB Voodoo Steel Max modular bed rack.

It was a PITA to assemble and took weeks to finish due to needing some parts replaced. But once I finally got it together, it's awesome. Sturdy, looks good. I got he 10" which is good for the 3rd gen, the top of the mounted RTT is about 2" taller than the cab.

I recommend it with the caveat that, for the 10% of the population (or maybe 80% of females if you accept gender stereotypes; I'll admit, this applies to me) that can't look at one finished drawing and "make this pile of parts look like that", it was a major challenge. I took a couple dozen pictures though, detailing every step of the build and, when I have a spare hour, will post a How To Assemble thread, because I could find no detailed instructions online and KB offered none.

 

If I struggle that much on something, I would never make a “how to”. I get great satisfaction knowing others will suffer as much as I did.

 

What do you mean you needed some parts replaced? Damaged in shipping?

Can’t wait to see some pics of it. I’m looking at the Alumax 14”. What made you go with steel, if I could ask?

 

Hahaha!

Yeah, that. I was pretty pissed at the vendor, then I was pissed that no customer before me did a How To thread (I've come to expect *more* since joining his forum.) But I finally realized, most people that take these type of mod projects on have visual-learner, spacial perception skills going on. I could tell he was equally irritated by my repeated failures to "see" what needed doing, or to just find a work-around when a part wasn't quite right. To his credit, he was courteous, replaced what needed replacing. I understand that anyone comfortable with tools, and tinkering, would not have had the trouble I did. Therefore, probably the vendor never recognized the need for detailed assembly instructions. Until me. LOL.

 

What are these “instructions” you speak of?

 

Two of the "legs" (see the online diagram) weren't square. They're heavy steel (too heavy to hammer out square) and meant to hold the extruded aluminum cross bars that extend across the bed. One we got to work but another needed replacement. One of the sides got damaged in shipping; I was able to pound that out with a hammer AND KB sent a replacement. Mainly, I had trouble because the fasteners were packaged in ways that didn't "match up" with the numbers on the packing list. And a few locking hex-nuts were missing. Once I figured it out, I got what I needed at Home Depot. But I needed a lot of hand-holding to figure it out.

The only real "problem" was the one bent steel leg. To be fair, the other problems had to do with the lack of detailed written/ visual instruction, my unfamiliarity names of common fasteners-- stuff almost everyone else on this site would never consider a problem, because you would more likely be familiar with everything, know the nomenclature, and be able to "see" what to do. Now I've been through it, I could put another one together in an hour. But I struggled enough that i'd be willing to help 15 other customers not go through it.