Lamm, I'm just curious about the "East-Coast" style. Is the fact that they stick out past the tires to help bump the truck around trees in the woods? I have seen sliders installed like yours be very effective at saving a body panel from being dented by tree trunks. What are the characteristics of "West Coast" style sliders? Inquiring minds want to know

 

Pretty much. As Mark explained it to me:

-East Coast Sliders, the outer tube sticks out at least as far as the tire, the cant is around 15 degrees or less to provide maximum protection from trees and "vertical" obsticals. The sliders also easily serve as a step. The main downside is they increse you vehicle overall dimensions, that can lead to getting hung up on obsticles sometimes and being wider is not an advantage on the trail. They work GREAT in parking lots too by the way!

-West Cost Sliders, the tubes are tucked close into the rockers, sometimes they are even hard to pick out in a picture, the cant is 30 degrees or so and the sliders mainly provide protection for an obsticle with a breakover angle greater than the 4x4's. This is where the term "slider" comes from, the West Coast style provides a tight vehicle profile to avoid hang-ups better than the East-Coast style. They are most effective in rocks and desert.

Lamm

 

Now you just need to put some casters on them to save your tippy butt!

 

THose gaps and the distance from the truck look scary. I once got out of a jeep, with wet/icy boots, and my foot slipped between the cab and the steel bar. I fell foward and nearly bent my knees backwards or cracked my shins, either way it hurt like hell.Maybe put some expanded metal over them so you dont fall inbetween them.

 

Training wheels for my 4Runner, I like it!

Lamm

 

I will have to see what it is like this winter but so far with he grip tape, the size of my legs and feet and the gap of the tubes I don't see it happening unless you are a total doofus.

Lamm

 

what kind of front tow hooks do you have?

 

Erickson is the brand but those tow hooks are pretty universal. Any place like TSC, Advance Auto, Summit of 4WP sells em for $5.00 each. The hard part is getting the bolts to work because you have to find the wierd metric size in a high strength model.

Lamm

 

Sheesh, this thing has come a long way! NICE!

 

Thanks Kevin!

I still have a butt load of stuff to reprt on and I just ordered a winch system as well.

When the 32"s wear out another few inches of lift, new gears, ARB lockers and 33" tires will cap the whole project off. Other stuff on tap is my rear bumper, engine snorkel and a custom cargo box.

Lamm

 

Dang... it's nice to see initiative being taken on the new baby! I have a few things planned for Monday (14th)... Battery relocation to cargo area, Slider install, 1st gen roll bar install, and change all the fluids... You're truck is taking a very nice shape!

 

Thanks, be sure to document the roll bar install please, that is something I would like to do.

Lamm

 

Can Do!

 

I was wondering if I could Run 32 11.5 15" tires without a lift.

 

yes but find an appropriate thread to ask the question in, use the good ol' search bar, or make a thread.

 

Your rig is lookin' mighty nice! Are you still needing this part? https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f96/plastic-valance-below-radio-96691/

 

Wow, how did I miss that thread?!?!

The nice sir PM'ed me with the offer but I actually have a grey one from Reggie already so it is not needed. Very helpful Yotatecher though!

Lamm

 

Lamm,

What relays are you using for the lighting components?
I'm slowly planning my truck's reconfiguration and one of the things I want to replace is the el-cheapo relays I have, as at least one has burnt out, and one brand new one was inop....

 

Hella fused relays from Expedition Exchange.

They are $15 each but they have an ATO blade fuse holder built in so there is no need to fuse the light after the relay and they are of course very reliable and tuff.

Lamm

 

I wanted a winch for a long time. There is no better piece of mind when out alone or neater way to make your 4x4 that much more useful. I ran across Warn M8000s at RecoveryWarehouse.com for $525 and FREE shipping so I ordered one. It came with steel line and a roller fairlead but I went with an 80' rockstomper synthetic line for $120 and an aluminum fairlead for $30.

My friend Wes helped me with all of it and it took a long time. I also wanted to strip my TJM T-13 of ALL its paint and repaint it with my 3 step process (self-etching primer. POR-15, med. black rattle can). It took forever to strip the TJM., funny considering its powdercoating failed in many spots and rust was taking over... We ended up using 6 cans or aircraft stripper with paint scrapers and wire wheel brushes on drills to get it done. The paint removal wheels were taking forever and even a home sand-blasting system failed.

I also used 2 Expedition Exchange shackle mounting brackets and backing plates along with grade 8 bolts and lockwashers to make mounts for two 3/4" ARB recovery shackles. I had to buy a cobalt drill bit to drill the large mounting holes.

The winch itself came with mounting hardware and wiring. I used 2 military battery terminals on the top posts of my Optima to improve current flow to the winch. I also had my local mechanic enlarge the fairlead hole on the TJM as it does not line up well with a hawse fairlead. He did it for free, what a great guy!

When it was all over with it was a great mod. My TJM is looking good and is rust free, I have a great winch and some sweet recovery points that I added to the TJM as well. The hardest part was getting all the paint off. It was hard to hold the winch/bumper combo up too while my friend put the bolts in!

Here are the pics:


Ready to get to work.


Look at all the toys.


The TJM with current paint.


The old stuff I had to remove from the TJM.


TJM off the 4x4.


Slow going with paint removal wheels and brushes.


TJM getting stripped.


TJM stripped.


The enlarged fairlead hole.


The shackle backing plates.


ready for 3-step paint process.


The M8000!


Me spraying paint.


TJM getting primer.


TJM with some POR-15 on it.


The grille getting painted black.

The end result,











Lamm