SOcalTrail's 2011 Trail Edition Beast Build Thread

~~~Roof Storage - Hardigg Medical Chests (Surplus)~~~

I have a couple 3 and 4 day off road trips coming up this fall so I have been looking into how to carry my camping gear, food, supplies, etc.

A buddy of mine had a nice Plano chest that he stored all his camping gear in, whenever we go camp he just throws it in the truck and pulls the trunk out when we get to the campsite. When I was looking for the model of Plano trunk that he had, I came across the Hardigg surplus cases. After doing some quick measurements, I found the Hardigg Medical Transport case fit side by side on my Gobi rack nearly perfectly.

Here is the case on Pelican / Hardigg's site:
Pelican-Hardigg*472-MEDCHEST3*Medical Chest Case

I found two very, very nice condition surplus cases on Ebay for a little over $100 / each (including shipping) so I snatched em up. These cases are very durable, think military personell tossing these things in and out of trucks all day. They are build to withstand that abuse. 12 nice latches, wheels on one end, pressure compensation valve, full rubber seal.... AWESOME.

One ratchet strap going over the top holds on on rock solid. Now I gotta load em up with my camping gear!

So here they are:

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~~~Update to Rear Bumper Build~~~

Finally had some free time this weekend to do some work on my bumper, I spent the last couple weeks making up some CAD drawings of how I wanted it to look, taking measurements, and ordering up more steel and goodies.

I got the rear portion done, top and the "wings" on the rear quarter panels. We also figured out how to cleanly interface the bumper with the factory rear bumper covering after some rough trimming. Not a whole lot left for the actual bumper portion of the project... still have to: mount tow points, reinforce the crap out of what I have done so far, and plasma cut the existing bumper for the flush mount tow hitch. So far I'm absolutely tickled with it. Great lines, took about 2 inches off the overall length of the truck and greatly increased the departure angle. I have the mounting flanges all designed and cut to hold my rear skid and aux. gas tank which will be made shortly.

After the bumper is all done the way I want it I am going to focus on the tire swing out. I have a pretty good idea of how i am going to interface it so it should be pretty easy. I'm using an AutoLoc Bear Claw latch to lock the tire carrier arm and a massive Comp 4x4 spindle for the assembly to rotate on. It will be so darned burly when its all done. Can't wait!

Here are the pics:

**Still have a little fit up / tack / weld / chop / grind to do :D

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SOcalTrail,

Very nice rig, I saw it in person in the REI parking lot on Copley Dr. 3 or 4 months back (pretty sure it was you) right after I got my TE. Needless to say your rig was the inspiration for mine given the similarities.

I just noticed you have the Hankook dynapro MT RT03. How are you liking them? As coincidence would have it, I just ordered a set on Friday and should be getting them installed today. It was a tough choice between them and duratracs.

If you ever need an extra set of hands etc. for your bumper mock up or whatever I'd gladly volunteer to help.... seriously. As well I'm up for any wheeling here in SoCal.

-BH
 
I can't wait to see this all finished up!! :hungry:

Oh and thanks for all of the info about those Hankooks. I got my set of them in 285s order on friday as well as the guy posted above me! I'll have em on, on friday when I get back from school.
 
bRunner said:
SOcalTrail,

Very nice rig, I saw it in person in the REI parking lot on Copley Dr. 3 or 4 months back (pretty sure it was you) right after I got my TE. Needless to say your rig was the inspiration for mine given the similarities.

I just noticed you have the Hankook dynapro MT RT03. How are you liking them? As coincidence would have it, I just ordered a set on Friday and should be getting them installed today. It was a tough choice between them and duratracs.

If you ever need an extra set of hands etc. for your bumper mock up or whatever I'd gladly volunteer to help.... seriously. As well I'm up for any wheeling here in SoCal.

-BH
Click to expand...

HAAHAHA - Spotted me at REI???? How is that possible....:biggrin2: I'm getting ready for a Mt. Whitney trip next month so finishing getting geared up....

You will loooooove the Hankooks! I have 29K miles on mine, lots and lots of off road time on em and still have at least 20k miles left on em. I kinda want them to wear out so I can get 285's!!! 265's look way to small on my truck now. I am definitely sticking with Hankook MT's though, love em.

FactoryRide said:
I can't wait to see this all finished up!! :hungry:

Oh and thanks for all of the info about those Hankooks. I got my set of them in 285s order on friday as well as the guy posted above me! I'll have em on, on friday when I get back from school.
Click to expand...

Congrats on the tires, I've never had another tire that has served me as well as these. Great wet traction, great dry traction, excellent off road in all conditions / terrains and reasonably priced.

Post a report on how you like em after you run on em for a while!

Cheers!
 
SOcalTRAIL said:
HAAHAHA - Spotted me at REI???? How is that possible....:biggrin2: I'm getting ready for a Mt. Whitney trip next month so finishing getting geared up....

You will loooooove the Hankooks! I have 29K miles on mine, lots and lots of off road time on em and still have at least 20k miles left on em. I kinda want them to wear out so I can get 285's!!! 265's look way to small on my truck now. I am definitely sticking with Hankook MT's though, love em.
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Very nice... some buddies and I are going up Mt. Langely up there near Whitney over 3 nights the weekend after labor day. We tried Split Mt. earlier in the summer and got our a@@'s kicked. So we going back for revenge on a different 14'er.

The used tire market here in SD is huge, you could probably get $250-300 out of your 265's on craiglist no problem so you could move forward with the 285's... just a thought.

-bh
 
SOcalTRAIL said:
Congrats on the tires, I've never had another tire that has served me as well as these. Great wet traction, great dry traction, excellent off road in all conditions / terrains and reasonably priced.

Post a report on how you like em after you run on em for a while!

Cheers!
Click to expand...

Will do. If all goes according to plan. I should be heading up to Gulches ORV in the next 2-3 weeks for a weekend trip.
 
Absolutely beautiful rig.

I'll have to keep my eyes peeled for it rolling around here in San Diego! I'll probably shoot you a PM here in the near future seeking advice and such on how I'm going to start adding to my truck.
 
Antman said:
What is that, some sort of sick joke? :50cal:

Bumper is lookin' great!
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HAHAHAHAHA sick joke indeed Mr. Man of Ants - I spit up my Redbull when I read that just now.

:cheers:

Logan714 said:
Absolutely beautiful rig.

I'll have to keep my eyes peeled for it rolling around here in San Diego! I'll probably shoot you a PM here in the near future seeking advice and such on how I'm going to start adding to my truck.
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Thank ya buddy.

I'm thinking us West Coast guys should organize a nice trail run sometime this fall, maybe Ocotillo / Anza, Death Valley, or Big Bear.

Feel free to hit me up whenever.
 
SOcalTRAIL said:
Thank ya buddy.

I'm thinking us West Coast guys should organize a nice trail run sometime this fall, maybe Ocotillo / Anza, Death Valley, or Big Bear.

Feel free to hit me up whenever.
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I'd love to do a trail run, as long as it is one my bone stock could handle!

The military doesn't pay me enough to support my hobbies :(
 
SOcalTRAIL said:
I'm thinking us West Coast guys should organize a nice trail run sometime this fall, maybe Ocotillo / Anza, Death Valley, or Big Bear.

Feel free to hit me up whenever.
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Would you allow a Norcal guy come? I am always looking for an excuse to take time off of work.

:lookout:
 
SOcalTRAIL said:
I'm thinking us West Coast guys should organize a nice trail run sometime this fall, maybe Ocotillo / Anza, Death Valley, or Big Bear.

Feel free to hit me up whenever.
Click to expand...

Logan714 said:
I'd love to do a trail run, as long as it is one my bone stock could handle!
Click to expand...

mikey's2010SR5 said:
Would you allow a Norcal guy come?
Click to expand...

SOcalTRAIL said:
Heck ya. The more the merrier!!!
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You guys have been missing out! We've done a few trails (Big Bear and Cleghorn) this month and plan to hit up Hungry Valley OHV in Gorman next.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/t4r-meet-pictorials-writeups/121137-big-bear-august-4-report.html
 
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