Russ, you need to join Tippy on her last Hoorah on Holy Cross Friday August 6th....

 

Jay and i were talking about makin a HC or a spring creak run....I may be in San Fran that weekend tho...i will keep you posted.

 

Ment to hit on the bed comment...I love it but even at 6ft its still not the room i had before. At this point im wishing i did an extracab swap because its tight inside....After i get a canvas topper and get the tire out i should be ok i think. I just need room sometimes for stuff that wont fit in the cab with 2 people and needs to stay dry..My gym bag is about trashed from sun and rain then sun.

 

I know the feeling, even with an extended cab, its pretty tight in there on camping trips, and if two people ride it's miserable. About the springs, do you think a 3"/4" combo would ride similar to yours with the bed loaded? And do those 37's stuff w/o scrubbing?

 

[QUOTE=stock as possible;51503068]I know the feeling, even with an extended cab, its pretty tight in there on camping trips, and if two people ride it's miserable. About the springs, do you think a 3"/4" combo would ride similar to yours with the bed loaded? And do those 37's stuff w/o scrubbing?[/QUOTE

I think it would ride better. The 4inch rears have one less leaf im told. My pack is super stiff and i set it up to have a topper on it so im minus weight already...Take away that and a foot of over hang and no armor and honestly it sucks with nothing in the bed. If it were me and id do it all again id go with a 14inch hoop, a 12 inch shock, cut the bumpstops that go to the frame in half like i did, 4inch leaf and 5 inch shackle for the rear id go 12 inch shocks 4inch leafs, Fab up a bumpstop and either do both shocks on the back of the axle or maybe a slight ^ to make it ride a bit softer. Id run 5 inch shackles and set for the weight the truck will be run at most of the time. I would have cut to fit 37's or trimmed a little and bumpstopped the rest.

Right now i dont rub at all but i added a 2nd bumpstop on the frame because i cut the metal part in half and the shock was bottoming out and leaf back arching. now im a good inch from bottoming out and a flat leaf at full compression. The rear stuffs and doesnt rub loaded how i wheel...For camping it may im not sure yet cause we camped at a trail that was easy to get to and a stock rig would make no problem. i should have kept my 12'' shocks for the rear and not traded my buddy for his 14's and bumpstopped it with shorter shackles but im an idiot and thought i needed longer ones. DOH!!!

Im happy with it and day to day my mood changes about the set up. I like that i can rail up the canyon and not have a ton of body roll and that the rear is always acting the same. I can judge how tippy i am by the front and how light the truck feels. The down side is the front works really hard i think and may be a long term issue for the springs. My set up now allows for bigger tires and only slight trimming. but i doubt i will go much bigger unless i go crazy on the diamond housings that will be coming in a year or so.


you can be low on 37's tho. Scott from addicted is at 23 and a 1/4 on the same tires and isnt rubbing. hes on links and is 64'' wide i think


Thats kinda the plan long term once i get money for coils and all that jazz...Im going to hit some trails with him and see what his hang ups are and find a way to get around those and have the best set up possible..Right now i still need to grow in to the truck and learn it more...A front locker seems to be a huge need but i thought that before and wound up getting it through places i never thought i would....Who knows i may fall in love with it after doing a few harder trails and not change a thing...only time will tell.

SAS is a big step and a lot of work to take on if your not fully commited to it. I thought about giving up 100 times on this project and now im glad i didnt. I can say all the stuff i would do different like above but that could have been a cluster and maybe been a mess. I would for sure tho match f/r springs tho. I have tried to trade ryan 20 times for the 4inch rears and 12inch shocks. Not because i have caster issues or wobble jsut cause the rake of the truck drives me nuts. Maybe i will try shorter shackles next run and report back im running 6 F/R and have 5's i can swap to the rear to level it.

 

Since you have them, Definitely Give the 5's a shot! That'll probably be a pretty good setup. Stiff for the camper and camping, but not as tall as it currently is...

Keep Us posted

 

I dont have a camper but may go back to a glass shell if i cant find a canback before winter. With that on the shackle angle will be perfect cause it was set up for it.

I may slip those guys on next week and see how it does...

 

i almost got a camper for 800.00 but the guy sold out from under me... he wantend me to buy his materials that he has wasted his money on for redoing his camper, he was just to lazy to do the work.. . bottom line is that i got shafted when it came down to me going to pick it up

 

I try to stay away from those deals. I may just pick up a tow behind and lift it or something if it comes down to needing something like that. Im fine with a tent tho....I can find toppers on craigslist for 100 all day long...i would grab one but right now nobody is selling one that doesnt have a rise in it and i wont let the truck sit outside so it needs to sit level with the roof.

 

i always see those deals, when iam always strapped for cash, i want to find a 4x4 camper. and maybe with a diesel eng..

 

Ok small update. I picked up a Softtopper for the truck. I love it!! Easy to use and i was kinda worried on the last trail id put a hole in it with a tree branch so you pull the back 2 straps when its all rolled up and it folds forward and sits in the bed. SWEET!



All closed up

 

Did you get one for a 6' bed? Looks great!

 

Yes, I got the soft topper for a 6ft bed. Seems to work well but im going to call them and see if i can get the velcro piece for the tailgate and a few new snaps. The PO had replaced a few broken snaps with some from walmart and they have worked for the 3 times i have put it down and rolled it up and thats about it.

 

Looks Good! But it doesn't solve your shackle angle issues does it? Weren't you counting on the weight of the glass shell?

I know this has been covered, but was your truck a long bed before you bobbed it? So now it's effectively a standard 6' bed?

 

Yup. Full bed with a sweet a$$ departure angle too!

 

Russ, that soft top looks HAWT! Nice find dude!

 

you just need a urban camo paint job for that military look..

 

I was BUT as i wheel more its getting better. I may have a new job at a fab shop so Once the rear bumpers on and the bed floor is built it should work out. Im finding as the springs get softer the tires get closer to the bed and bumpstops will be needed. Im also looking to go to the 12inch shock like i traded off like an idiot. If im loaded with my tools and spare tha shackles are kicked back farther and if you add 2 people in the bed they match the front. I have a feeling the bumper, Tire carrier, wood for the false floor, highlift will be more weight then 2 people.

Yep, That was the idea.


Thanks!

Think i will stick to the super white lol.

 

So Saturday im going to push the truck a bit more. Doing wheeler lake and it looks like fun. I hope to have pics and vid to post after i get back..This is also going to be the deciding run on what to do with the rear suspension. Im going up with someone with about my set up but more weight in the rear so his truck is much softer. Knock on wood the truck will come back in one piece.

 

Well i didnt make Wheeler lake but i shot up to moody/crystal and ran the Rock quarry and some wall thing and played in the rock playground at crystal. Some pics.

Someone got pics but all i have is video of this....I will get that up ASAP cause it has a sweet 3ft+ wheel stand in it.


The wall thing.



The view in the truck...Had to get a shot of it

My girl was cool with it then i pull the camera out and she makes this face for the picture....She never even acted scared




Ok time to get serious..








this is the "I'm so glad we didnt die smile"



So I saw a jeep today with a tire carrier i kinda liked. Simple and my Gf will be able to change a tire if shes in the truck and gets one. Im not sure about the stinger to be honest but It could work out.

http://shop.jeeptubes.com/product.sc...1&categoryId=3

If anything i will chop it off and finish the tube across it...May do that part anyways.

So after today im amazed! I almost bitched out. I watched a jeep do it and then my buddy jay do it and im glad i did. The truck worked well and the only thing i could have asked for was more traction. My tires were not low enough i dont think for how light my truck is. Jay walked up places i couldnt hook and his tires were lower..next time i will know. I still pulled a wheelstand in the rock quarry in compound low so i had traction when i didnt want it. I walked up the wall with less of an issue then he did due to the gears and he hit the line i started on...I let the truck walk over and he didnt walk over as far as i did. Either way Both trucks impressed the hell out of everyone owners included and the guy we ran with in the jeep couldn't believe we were only locked in the rear.

For my plans to mod in the next few months..Im planning an anti wrap bar. The springs seem to twist and flex even tho they are stiff on the road. I really need rear armor so that will be on the list...My tierods are wearing super fast with the temp spacer set up in the front. Im on #2 in 5k miles. so im doing the IFS hub swap, and the marlin FJ80 rod ends. This time im going to take it and have it aligned. I want him to make sure my rear is square too. Looks like it and drives fine no dog tracking but Tires seem to wear fast on the rear now....Gotta get that straightened out before winter. A winch is also on the list of things to do before winter and finish the interior...Its driving me up the wall. Its been sitting and i have been driving the other cars more because of it. I also have an electric fan to install and sire it up to work with the A/C. build in the bed as time allows and put in all the small stuff i havent...OBA, interior lighting, Rock lights, The rest of the stereo stuff....

Other then that stuff all my mods will be simple and cheap for a while Im putting aside some money for new axles and hydro assist. Im going to contact diamond and see how wide i can go for the axles because i really want to be as wide as the FJ or my buddys T100. If i can go wider i will do some trimming and go lower then i was planning a few months ago.


I will get the video up as soon as i finish it. Im waiting on pics and clips from the other guys who went on the run.