Twheat's Build and Adventure Thread

mjohns2 · Feb 21, 2018

How tall are the drawers and how tall is the ice chest? I’m getting ready to pull the trigger on drawers by Goose Gear and I’m debating if I want dual drawers, like yours, or a single cabinet for a fridge and a single drawer for gear.

Thank,
MJ

Twheat40 said:
This week I took a trip back home to TN to see my family for Christmas. While there, I took some time to use my Dad's tools and help, along with my grandpa, to build a drawer system for the 4R. It is mostly plywood. We used blue paint because we already had the paint, so we didn't have to buy any, and it almost matches the 4R.

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Twheat40 · Feb 21, 2018

mjohns2 said:
How tall are the drawers and how tall is the ice chest? I’m getting ready to pull the trigger on drawers by Goose Gear and I’m debating if I want dual drawers, like yours, or a single cabinet for a fridge and a single drawer for gear.

Thank,
MJ

The drawer box is 12" tall. The cooler on top is 28.75" tall. The left side is a drawer, and the right side is an empty cabinet that will eventually have a 10 gallon water tank and a pump for on-board water.

As far as what you want, it really just depends on how you want to set up your stuff. You could always do something like dual drawers, and have the fridge on top sitting on a pullout system. It is 100% up to you on how you want your cargo space to be utilized. I love the setup I have, and will love it even more once I get the water mod done.

Twheat40 · Mar 1, 2018

Last night I got the new suspension installed. Got a full OME setup with 883's and 895e's from another member on the forum. Took us about 3 hours to install and gave me just under 2" of lift all around. Not quite as high as I want, but soon I will replace the 883's with some 885's in the front, which will put me where I want to be.

Before:

After:

Not too noticeable, but I'm still happy with it for now.

brian0128 · Mar 3, 2018

Great pics of Green Ridge. Did you have a chance to do the water crossing?

I was up there 2 weeks ago with 30+ 4runners from the MD/VA area.

Twheat40 · Mar 4, 2018

brian0128 said:
Great pics of Green Ridge. Did you have a chance to do the water crossing?

I was up there 2 weeks ago with 30+ 4runners from the MD/VA area.

I've done it a couple times. So far I only take the 4runner to GR caus I don't have armor for rausch and AOAA and I just got the lift put on this week.

We go up every month or so. I mostly hang out with Tacoma World guys.

We're y'all at the big BBQ thing that was going on?

brian0128 · Mar 4, 2018

Twheat40 said:
I've done it a couple times. So far I only take the 4runner to GR caus I don't have armor for rausch and AOAA and I just got the lift put on this week.

We go up every month or so. I mostly hang out with Tacoma World guys.

We're y'all at the big BBQ thing that was going on?

Yes we did the BarBQ meet and greet. I’ve been able to complete all Greens and a few Blues at Rausch without armor. All my scuffs are usually on the rear bumper due to the poor departure angle. A few of us from Fort Meade are doing Flagpole next weekend if you are interested.

Twheat40 · Mar 4, 2018

brian0128 said:
Yes we did the BarBQ meet and greet. I’ve been able to complete all Greens and a few Blues at Rausch without armor. All my scuffs are usually on the rear bumper due to the poor departure angle. A few of us from Fort Meade are doing Flagpole next weekend if you are interested.

Yeah I'm getting my sliders sometime this month and then I'll be more willing to do the greens and some blues at Rausch. I rode in a buddies tacoma on one of his trips to Rausch and he runs harder blues and that was super fun. But he has full armor underneath and front and rear bumpers.
I'm definitely interested in Flagpole though. I've heard about it, but never been. I'm down to go depending on the day. If you don't mind, PM me the details and I'll let you know.

Twheat40 · Mar 23, 2018

Yesterday I got my Mobtown Offroad Weld-on Sliders installed. We used self-etching primer and Satin Black paint to paint them.

We also added a layer of sand after a heavy coat of black paint so as to give the sliders some texture so they aren't as slippery when wet. I don't like the look of bed liner or grip tape (yes, I am a very picky person), so I found this method in a jeep forum somewhere. It was a good first attempt, but I don't think it will hold long. If I had to do over again, I would use sprayable adhesive before laying down the sand, then lightly brush the excess sand off with a paint brush. We used an air hose to spray it off, but it didn't work as well as I had hoped. They still look very good, but I don't think the paint on top of the sand will hold long.

They got dirty as soon as I pulled out of the garage to snap some pictures.

In the end, I am happy with them. Mobtown did a very good job with these. They are very sturdy, and I am excited to try them out on a few rocks.

Twheat40 · Mar 26, 2018

Went to Sleepy Creek over the weekend. We were gonna camp, but after the snow and everything last week, we decided against it. There was about 8" of snow on the ground on most of the trails.

Didn't have much trouble with a slick as it was. But I was sliding around some. Definitely has me thinking about upgrading tires in the fall.

ttsphotog · Mar 26, 2018

Twheat40 said:
Went to Sleepy Creek over the weekend. We were gonna camp, but after the snow and everything last week, we decided against it. There was about 8" of snow on the ground on most of the trails.

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Didn't have much trouble with a slick as it was. But I was sliding around some. Definitely has me thinking about upgrading tires in the fall.

Nice! Where is Sleepy Creek?

Twheat40 · Mar 27, 2018

ttsphotog said:
Nice! Where is Sleepy Creek?

West Virginia. Right near the WV/MD border. Very fun place.

Twheat40 · May 14, 2018

Last week I installed my ARB single air compressor. We used a home built mount and mounted it driver side behind the battery and fuse housing.

Then this weekend, we finally got my Prinsu full length installed. The drilling into the roof was a hassle, but it ended up working out in the end. Also mounted two 42" Plano cases to it for recovery gear and to store my air compressor hose and nozzles.

Twheat40 · Jun 22, 2018

Got my [MENTION=212966]Dometic[/MENTION] cfx-40w fridge in a couple days ago. Had to modify my drawers so it would fit without taking up too much room in the back. Haven't been able to fully use it since I still need to rewire the back outlet, as well as finish wiring the solar panel/charge controller, which I got in last night.

Decided to repaint the box, but left the drawer blue because I'm lazy/ran out of paint. Will repaint it when I get the chance.

Fridge in! For now it only runs when the truck is on. Once I rewire everything, it will be on 90% of the time.

Ran the solar wiring through the grommet for the hatch wiring. It worked out perfectly. I need to zip tie them together, but I also need to go buy zip ties, and as I've said before, I'm lazy.

Did a mock wiring setup to make sure everything worked. We have power! Not much, but more than I expected since it is fully overcast.

Oh, and I also bought some traction boards off of a friend, but nobody really cares about those.

Hopefully I can get the wiring done this week/next week. I'm pretty excited to not have to mess with ice in a cooler anymore.

Twheat40 · Jul 16, 2018

Ordered a set of 295/70R17 Cooper MTPs last week and got them mounted and balanced this weekend. Had to do some minor cutting to get them to fit, but not too much.

They are quieter than my ST MAXX, but those were starting to age, so I'm not surprised. I also painted my wheels black last week.

Twheat40 · Jul 23, 2018

Finished my Solar shower setup this weekend. Used 4" PVC for the tube, a tire valve stem for the air inlet, a garden hose faucet for the hose connection, and black paint to help it absorb heat. It is held on to the prinsu with 5" hose clamps.

Total, it will hold just over 5 gallons of water. I figured I'm trying to harness the power of the sun with the solar panel, might as well harness some more for a decently warm shower on longer trips.

Twheat40 · Jul 23, 2018

Took a trip to Peter's Mill Run with a couple TW folks this weekend. The trail wasn't hard, but was very bouncy and a good beginner/intermediate level trail. There were some fun obstacles, but nothing crazy. Somebody could definitely mess up their rig there if not careful.

Also decided to do the mud hole towards the end of it. I would not recommend this. We tested the depth, knew what we were getting into, and prepared ahead of time for the probability that I got stuck. Definitely not the smartest thing I've ever done, and could have ended a lot worse. Thankfully nothing was broken, no water got into the cab, and I got further than I thought I would. If you go, and decide to do the mud pit, please make sure you are either prepared to make a quick recovery or prepared to get wet.

Twheat40 · Aug 13, 2018

Received my CBI full front bumper with hoops last week. Started painting the next day.

After painting and then sanding it down and repainting because the paint messed up, it was finally time to install the winch. I have a Smittybilt XRC 9500 lb winch with steel cable that I ordered shortly after I ordered the bumper.

I had to wait a couple days to install the bumper, but we finally got to it over the weekend. This thing is heavy. We used a 3 ton jack to hold it up, with 2 people keeping it stable on the jack. I took the stock bumper completely off to make sure the new one fit, then put it back on to cut. I didn't take any pictures of the cutting process, as I was trying to concentrate on not messing up. But I did cut about 1/4 - 1/2 an inch below where they recommend to cut, and it lined up better than some of the pictures I've seen. Once the bumper was cut, the new bumper was bolted up and everything fit pretty well. I re-used the stock fog lights until I can find something else to use in their place.

This bumper is beefy! The winch and fogs are all hooked up and ready to go. I do need to spool the winch, as well as clean up some of my cuts. I also have a factor 55 flatlink on its way, so that will be installed sometime this week.

Twheat40 · Apr 5, 2019

So I kinda let this thread go due to being busy in my day to day life with a new house and getting married and all that, but that didn't stop me from doing stuff to the truck and finding time to pick up welding.

First mod was to add some ditch lights and a light bar. Both from Amazon and work really well.

Then I upgraded my coils to 886's front and 889's rear

Then I got some Motown off-road skids put on, finally.

Then I picked up a pro eagle 2 ton jack and a full sized spare and remade my cargo setup.

Twheat40 · Apr 5, 2019

Next up was adding some limb risers to combat our tight trails around here.

Then I decided I want some tube doors. Why? Well, because I needed a project to practice welding and this was something I've wanted for a while. That's why.