Build Thread: Mothra, the (blown) budget camping rig

[Renegade_Medic]

Awesome set up man, I like the color you chose for the paint. I'm assuming you didn't do inside the door at all, how jarring are the colors when the door is open?

No I didn't do the door jambs yet. I think im going to redo the exterior this fall, thinking tan Bed liner. I will go back and spray paint the jambs to match afterward. It's not actually that bad, the green was so dark that it almost looks black when you open the doors. Doesn't bother me, really.

 

[Renegade_Medic]

Got the trailer road worthy. Got the tent mounted. I'm happy with how it all went together. It still lacks outriggers/rear legs and an extended tongue. The tongue is pretty short and I'm not real happy with the amount of room I have between the trailer and the runner. Also, it's too close for kayaks. Also, my plan of making it large enough for the kayaks to fit underneath the tent did not quite work out, due to some design changes. Later I would like to put some larger wheels, but it barely fits under my garage door as it is, so that will be a problem for another day.

 

[wrench.n.wheel]

Not really. Don't expect any updates on your order after you place it. It will just arrive at the fastenal a few weeks later. There are basically no directions, so you pretty much have to figure it out. I had a hard time cutting the frame in the correct place, mainly because of my winch plate I added earlier, it was a pain to remove. Other than that, pretty easy to figure out.

What do you mean by cutting the frame?

The instructions are on their website and you have to download it and extract it.

 

[Renegade_Medic]

What do you mean by cutting the frame?

The instructions are on their website and you have to download it and extract it.

Yeah, I know they have instructions, but they suck. They leave a lot to be desired. You have to cut the ends of your frame off and weld on a plate to the end. How far? No idea, because they dont mention anything about it.

What you should do is remove the old bumper and put the little tabs on the sides and bottom where the bolt on. Then use a straight piece of metal on the very end of those to mark the frame where to cut. You then have to weld a washer and nut to the inside of the the frame cap piece and then weld it into the frame. At least that's what I did. Not sure how else it would have gone together.

 

[Ryan_B]

Killer Job

Nice looking rig! I just got a 02 limited 3rd gen and i have been looking at quite a few different build thread's to get some ideas on how I want mine to look and you nailed the stance I was looking for! You killed it on your build thread! Looking forward to more.

 

[Renegade_Medic]

Thanks!
Got some good stuff coming up, hopefully this weekend...

 

[Ryan_B]

Thanks!
Got some good stuff coming up, hopefully this weekend...

Awesome, looking forward to it!!

 

[Renegade_Medic]

Sneak peek on what will hopefully happen this weekend

I'm not sure if the weather will cooperate with my this weekend. A couple things in the works here.

Hopefully I'll have some nice pictures up before the end of the weekend.

 

[Kotrin]

Looks good, you're trailer design/changes sounds like my rear bumper/swinga way etc. Everytime I go to do something it changes and I have to adapt.

 

[Renegade_Medic]

Bedliner

Finally, the day came for Bed Liner.
I had a custom mix of paint made at a local Paint shop, it's a near perfect match for the Rustoleum Khaki. It's called Cummins Beige.

Good bye TRD decals.

Here, you can really see the texture. It's a nice rubbery texture. I sprayed it at about 70-80 psi so it laid pretty flat. I didn't want a rough texture. It laid down even more while drying. The texture is like a rough, or exaggerated, wall texture, but rubberized. It's exactly what I was looking for.

I bought way too much Raptor liner. I used a shade over 3 qts to do the whole 4runner. Of course, since it was already tan, it took much less. I bought 6 qts, so I have a bunch left over now. I may get some black pigment and shoot the fender flares later.

More pics once it starts getting put back together

 

[Renegade_Medic]

Got the Hood scoop on

Due to weather and some vehicle maintenance issues that came up, I didn't get the whole 4Runner put back together. But, what is back on looks killer!

And hood glare is pretty minimal. It is pretty flat, with a slight sheen.

 

[Ryan_B]

Looks bad ass. It turned out awesome! Well at least you'll have enough paint left over for touchups! Was if fairly inexpensive? Do you still have the Eibach/Toytec springs on the front? I'm looking into getting those up front on mine and I've been wondering how they ride before and after the steel bumper?

 

[Renegade_Medic]

Looks bad ass. It turned out awesome! Well at least you'll have enough paint left over for touchups! Was if fairly inexpensive? Do you still have the Eibach/Toytec springs on the front? I'm looking into getting those up front on mine and I've been wondering how they ride before and after the steel bumper?

Thanks. Yeah, I'll have a lot left over. I spent about $260 or so on the raptor liner, tint, and some equipment ( respirator, tape, plastic wrap etc).
Yes, the Toytec springs have been great. They are stiff. They were stiff before the bumper and winch and still are stiff, but not jarring. Firm would be a better term to use. The Bilsteins are a great pairing with them. The ride improved substantially with the bumper and winch added. Lost less than half an inch of lift them. The rear springs are another story. Too soft. Way too soft. With Airbags, they are better.

 

[I'mStock]

I was looking at Raptor's site yesterday trying to see which colors they offer but couldn't find anything... Am I blind and just not seeing it or is it something like they tint it any color you want?

 

[Renegade_Medic]

I was looking at Raptor's site yesterday trying to see which colors they offer but couldn't find anything... Am I blind and just not seeing it or is it something like they tint it any color you want?

Sorry, I didn't see your post until today. You can buy the tintable Raptor Liner wherever you want and you get the hardener and the liner. It's essentially a 2 part epoxy, you mix them as you go. For the color, you need to either order online from a paint place, or go to a specialty paint supply shop. You are looking for a quart of Pigment only with no binders or hardeners of whatever color you choose. Mix the 250mL of hardener and 750mL of bedliner in the quart bottle from raptor and then add 3 oz (88mL) of pigment to the bottle and shake thoroughly. It will be very full, so make sure you shake it for about 2 minutes. Then while you are loading it onto the spray gun, give the gun a couple quick blasts to suck down some of the bedliner so it won't overflow. The bottles weren't thought out very well in that aspect.

 

[I'mStock]

Sorry, I didn't see your post until today. You can buy the tintable Raptor Liner wherever you want and you get the hardener and the liner. It's essentially a 2 part epoxy, you mix them as you go. For the color, you need to either order online from a paint place, or go to a specialty paint supply shop. You are looking for a quart of Pigment only with no binders or hardeners of whatever color you choose. Mix the 250mL of hardener and 750mL of bedliner in the quart bottle from raptor and then add 3 oz (88mL) of pigment to the bottle and shake thoroughly. It will be very full, so make sure you shake it for about 2 minutes. Then while you are loading it onto the spray gun, give the gun a couple quick blasts to suck down some of the bedliner so it won't overflow. The bottles weren't thought out very well in that aspect.

So I'd just buy the tintable version and have a local (or online) paint shop color to my liking with pigment only, no additives?

 

[Renegade_Medic]

So I'd just buy the tintable version and have a local (or online) paint shop color to my liking with pigment only, no additives?

Yep. It's that easy. the actual spraying is more complex

 

[Ryan_B]

Thanks. Yeah, I'll have a lot left over. I spent about $260 or so on the raptor liner, tint, and some equipment ( respirator, tape, plastic wrap etc).
Yes, the Toytec springs have been great. They are stiff. They were stiff before the bumper and winch and still are stiff, but not jarring. Firm would be a better term to use. The Bilsteins are a great pairing with them. The ride improved substantially with the bumper and winch added. Lost less than half an inch of lift them. The rear springs are another story. Too soft. Way too soft. With Airbags, they are better.

Thanks for the input. I thought going the 891's would be a good router go with. But maybe not if your planning on putting weight on the rear end! How were they before the rear Armor? Also. When you went to the 285 tire did you end up re gearing? I'm just wondering if there was a noticeable sluggishness? I'm about to pull the trigger on some 285/75/16's

 

[Renegade_Medic]

Thanks for the input. I thought going the 891's would be a good router go with. But maybe not if your planning on putting weight on the rear end! How were they before the rear Armor? Also. When you went to the 285 tire did you end up re gearing? I'm just wondering if there was a noticeable sluggishness? I'm about to pull the trigger on some 285/75/16's

I think going with the 891s is a good idea. I think they are the stiffer available spring. Maybe 892? They rode well before I put a bunch of extra weight on. The Air Lift kit was fairly inexpensive, about $75-80. I think any complaints of stiff rode are from people using the OME shocks. With the bilstein shocks they are nice and soft. The spring rate is fairly low on the rear springs from everyone, including the 891s.

I did notice the heaviness of the tires. I went with P metric tires instead of LT tires specificay for weight. Also, buying very light alloys, 20 pounds each, really helped out a lot.

I have 4.30 gears already, but much lower than that. In would consider a regear, probably to 4.88. 4.56 doesn't seem liken it would really be deep enough to get in the powerband on the highway, unless you were going over 80. At 85, this thing hots it's stride. Problem is getting there and maintaining the lifted brick at 85.

 

[Renegade_Medic]

Finishing the trailer

Been a while since I've posted anything, but have done some stuff.

First, I finished the camping trailer. I added some "stabilizer legs" to it, to keep it from tipping over. This was pretty easy to do, but I still need to modify them a little to make them tighter.

I also made a tongue extension to accommodate the kayaks when loaded, and also make it possible to back this thing up.

I got everything in the trailer and it all fits perfectly.

We took it on a camping trip, last minute and had a blast. More Below.