This is due only to my personal, lack thereof, of welding experience, but it's a lesson for me to make sure I have tools with me when I go wheeling, which we were lucky to have with us. Everything worked out okay, since I could just bolt it back up to the stock location. We were getting some major rubbing in the rear this trip with some major flex. Check out this thread if you want to see all the pics and videos from our trip

www.toyota-4runners.com/windrock9-13-03.html

I'm gonig to definitely reinstalling it, because the axle definitely is shifted to one side of the truck, and it rubs like crazy in the rear. I didn't think I was going to have to do any fender trimming in the rear, but with the new shocks and suspension setup the flex is awesome.

Chris

 

So what happend to break the weld just not a good weld ?
The reason I am asking is my brother inlaw just helped me with welding up a drop bracket this morning after we replaced my Revtek rear spaces with a pair of OME 891 which I say WOW what a difference in hight, think I got 1" more so now the Runner looks more level and a tad higher in the rear. Also it sits more level left to right

 

Well, it's definitely a poor weld culprit. When welding the panhard drop bracket in, there is quite a large gap between it and the sides of the bracket, and filling it in was tough for some reason. At any rate, the weld was the culprit, and will be fixed soon with a very strong weld.

Chris

 

Yeah I am not much of a welder either, good thing my brother inlaw can do it, he fabed it up for from scratch . He did say that things not going to come off unless alot of other things come with it
I will have to say it helps get things back in the right place after getting it installed. Now I got to talk him into making me some sliders, so I can get rid of these running boards lol.

 

Good deal! I'm going to become good at this welding stuff, so I can make my front and rear bumpers and sliders, and possibly skids, but probably not the skids. Iv'e got some fender trimming to do in the rear, so I can clear my tires when fully stuffed. Right now they rub like crazy!

Chris

 

...is only as strong as its weakest weld. I spend countless hours every week arguing with project managers over welds. They want smaller welds to save money, but I just tell them that I'm not signing off on it if it doesn't have the weld that is called out for it. I've seen quality stuff turn into total crap because someone skimped on what seemed like an insignificant fillet weld and WHAMO, big hunk of piled metal!!! Don't skimp on those welds, better OVERKILL than UNDER...and never under 1/4" fillet or full penetration is a good R.O.T.



Brian

 

Hey Ravencr noticed in your pic there was a sports quad looked like a Z400 ?? was it and was it yours ? , I just got one about a month ago and have been having fun with it so far

 

It's my buddy's Z400, and he loves it too. I got rid of my KTM 250exc a this past April, and I'm looking to eventually get a Rincon or Prairie sometime in the future.

Chris

 

Chris, I urge you to take welding classes before you do anything structural, like a bumper that will be towing a 5000lbs trailer. The classes teach you the theoretical side of welding, like heat affected zones. You're lucky the bracket didn't break off on the freeway.

 

Chris,

How did the Revos do in the mud?

 

You need to install the angle supports as well.

 

Gaps? While I definately believe you had crappy welds and that is probably the biggest reason for the break, gaps are harder to weld and the welds will normally not end up as strong. A properly made drop bracket will no have gaps you have to fill in. I know mine didn't...

 

Yeah, I had the angle brackets on there too. I had some major flexing going on, and it was amazing that the opposite tire wasn't off the ground but it wasn't. Yeah, the stock that came for the panhard drop bracket was about 1/2" bigger than the width of the frame part, so I tried to even it on both sides, and weld away. I'm going to take it to a guy down the stree this time around, and see what he says. If the gap is too large, then it just won't work, and I'll unfortunately have to make my own.

Chris

 

The trip was a lot of fun, and as always I wish the people that rode with me were professional photographers, but it never looks quite the same, you know. The revos have been doing really well. On this trip, we encountered a section that was a pretty steep downhill, that was rock hard surface, but had a 1/2" of slimy red clay mud. It was really hard to navigate, because I had to brake and maintain control as the vehicle going down the grade. It really sucked, and that's the only time I lost traction with these tires. I had them aired down to 20 psi, not too low, and it stuck to every wet rock out there, which was almost everyone.

I don't have much to compare the tires too, as far as mud or rock tires go, but as far as every other all-terrain tire I've ever had, this is by far the best tire I've ever owned. At this point, even for the wet and slimy trails in the east that I run on a regular basis, I have not needed a rock or mud tire yet, and if I can stay away from them, I will. The on-road manners of this tire are great, with no squeeling around turns, no loss of traction in the wet (I can't even spin a tire in the rain at full throttle unless I'm make a quick turn), and I could be more impressed with the balance of them.

Chris

 

Did you mis-speak here or did you mean that?



Brian

EDIT: From below: That is what I figured!

 

Sorry, I couldn't be more impressed with the balance of them. They ride great on the road!

Chris

 

hey man how'd ur interview go?

 

It's only 8:30 am here! It's at 9:30 a.m., but thanks for asking!

Chris