TahoeTrails build

Well glad I did the plugs. They had quite a bit of wear. More of a bitch than I would have liked. But that’s mainly due to not have the best tools. A wobble extension would have helped a shit ton.

 

Also, since there has been a couple threads on fender liners for fiberglass fronts. This is how I resolved the problem. There’s no chance I can run an exposed intake up where I live. At first I was going to do a mini snorkel set up through the fender attached to a silicone hose. Then I thought an hdpe board cut to size and bolted into the wheel well would work. It was a bit of a bitch, but it came out really nice. Only downside... at full, and I mean full stuff, it rubs a touch. Here’s a dirty pic of it all done.

 

In response to your earlier question, I run the P&P shock skids on my truck.

 

How’s was the fitment? Really interested in those. I couldn’t tell the loss of clearance either.

 

Quick shot of inside the cab....

 

Insulation took all of 20 minutes, and there is not a noticeable lots of clearance. Maybe a half of an inch.

 

Good to know. Thanks for the info

 

Just picked up the wheel well liner material from summit racing. It's a gift and curse that I live so close to there. But if anyone is looking to make liners for fiberglass, or just creating more clearance, this stuff seems great. $50 for a 4x8 sheet of flexible hdpe plastic that is .100" thick.

 

The Truck is in the shop!
After speaking with Chris a few times, as well as all of the great info on this site, heres how the bumper will be built.

It will start with a rectangular tube that sits in between the end of the frame rails. DOM tubing will be welded to the top and bottom of the rectangular tube. The hitch will be welded through the rectangular tube, as well as to the DOM top and bottom. There will be Dom connecting to the wrap around section next to the tire. This will be straight from the frame. There will also be another piece of DOM welded after the shackle towards the tail gate that attaches roughly to the connection point of the lower and upp DOM.
Accessories... There will be two recovery points directly inline with the frame rails. 2x tab mounts for pod lights. Hitch of course! And I will be putting the sensors in the corners of the connections where the bottom dom welds back into the top.
This bumper will be a bolt on bumper. I thought about getting it welded on, But with how fast everything rusts up here, I decided it would be easier to take it off and sandblast it once it starts to wear.

As for cutting the bedsides...
The plan is to cut off 3" of the bedside all round and role it inward to create bolt mounts for the HDPE board that I picked up. This Point is as far as I can go without relocating the filler neck. Also this is where the inner wheel well liner goes to. He will be pushing that up a little also.

and to keep it confusing. Heres a shit drawing showing the rough design

 

Just got the call from the shop. I guess I was wrong about how much rub was coming from the rear. He brought up that its in contact as much as I had thought. It shows some marks but not anything detrimental. I did just put on the Icon bumps, so maybe Its limiting the up travel a touch more than before. IDK I'm still learning

But with that being said, I have a little wiggle room for other additions. 1,200 to play with...
What you fellas think I should knock off the list????
Finishing off the last of the skids sounds interesting

 

Alright bumper is completed. It took a couple tweaks and adjustments. But I like the over all look of it. Heres a couple shots of the truck as well as the front+rear bumper in detail. After seeing some of the first posts, my picture taking abilities are a joke... Enjoy

Working on a few more things in the truck bed and under the truck. Should have them finished by the end of the weekend.

 

I like everything from the horizontal line down. And the hitch angle is waaaay effed up.

 

any chance you've got a link for that stuff? i can't seem to find it on summit's site...

 

https://www.summitracing.com/search/product-line/allstar-performance-plastic-sheets

 

Ya it does have a little bit of downward angle to it. That was the first set of adjustments needed. Here’s a pic of a hitch on. I’m on the fence on if it will effect the tow quality or not.

 

I love the recovery points and that's one of the sleekest winch mount bumpers I've seen. I like that rear bumper a lot more than the Westin I've got.

 

Can you take a picture from underneath, so we can see how the rear is tied together?

 

Here’s some shots from under

 

New stuff coming in...

 

Looks like armor?

 

poor leaf pack...looks like they salt like crazy where you live

 

Haha ya, I am debating on taking them off and cleaning them. But it will just rust out again in 8 months. And yep armor, i pulled the trigger on a fuel tank skid. I just finished installing it, damn its a beefy plate. Ive got one more piece of armor coming from victory 4X4.

 

btw how do you like the Duratrac in the snow ?

 

They perform really well. I feel that they are the best balance for on/ off road in snow. They have been wearing ok, not too fast. But they are not as good as a dedicated snow tire by any means. My last set of coopers dedicated were way better on road. But over a foot/ heavy deeper snow, they didn't perform. If the duratrac came in 37" I would have no interest in buying any other winter hybrid tire

 

I had some time this weekend.
I installed the RCI fuel tank skid plate as well as the Victory 4x4 Diff skid plate.
Relocated Air compressor outlet to inside the bed. As well as attached it to a 30' hose reel. I'm not sure how durable its going to be once I put it through a few trips. But for now I like it a hell of a lot more than my yellow expandable line.

Also, in the process of wiring the rear pod lights. This will be a first for me with electrical, but thought its about time that I learn. stay tuned...

 

Looks like some nice hydro bumps on the rear? They don't look like they're going through the bed either, (nice) which ones do you have?.... asking for a friend.

 

I went with the Icon bolt on bumps. I planned on going with the ADS bolt ons, but I got too good a deal on these and they were in stock.

 

Alright just got these wired up. I have a new respect for these electrical aftermarket guys. Such a simple yet tedious task. I"ll take a pic with them on once its done snowing. But so far so good.

 

Couple of updates...
Did the rear fold down seat mod. All I can say is wow! I should have done this when I bought the truck.
I just got back from Reno meeting with some 4x4 shops about getting my shocks rebuilt.I've also called a few places through the Roseville Auburn area. I am really trying to find a shop that can handle the majority of my fab jobs as well as shock tuning. And have it be as local as possible. My previous rebuild was done by rock and road performance in Loomis. Same place that made my front bumper and my skid plate.
What I have been learning is that theres quite a few places that will rebuild the shock in house. And, there are very few places that will go out with you/ take the truck out to tune the shock.Or even me showing videos of the suspension working. I'm hoping Samco Fab in sparks is willing to take on this job.
My main question that I am trying to solve is if Mid travel is going to keep me satisfied. I love my suspension, but it tends to bottom out too easily, as well as rebound too aggressively going into a whoop. That could just be from too much preload(which will be lowered with the next rebuild).
So with that being said, I will be adjusting the valving in the front to my needs. And IF it satisfies me to 80-90% ill just add front bypass shocks. But very open to hearing ideas from you fellas that are much more knowledgable than me.

 

Well I was supposed to go shooting and wheeling today....
But it turned into a much longer shooting session and ran out of time. Got the 37s back on! Damn its a different truck.
I went to go get an alignment and... living in Tahoe makes all the bolts and nuts seize, so now I get to wrench the arms loose to bring back to the shop. The shop said 4-5 hours labor +alignment.... no thanks. got a set of.