Tyler James Inc's Ultimate '01 SR5

[theesotericone]

Oh awesome [MENTION=143526]theesotericone[/MENTION] (what does that mean, anyway?)!

The story of my online name.

About 10 years ago I was hanging out with some friends playing Trivial Pursuit. I've always been good at that. My brain just somehow remembers weird stuff and trivia games are full of it. So the guys I'm playing with are all upper business men with a few PhD's between them. I'm a carpenter. We've known each other for years and this is there chance to one up me. We've always been competitive with each other. Basically we can turn anything into a competition.

About half way through the game I'm killing it. These brainiacs are pretty far behind. So we get to my final question. The one that if I answer correct it means game over. I forget the exact question(pretty funny huh) but I answer it correctly.

My buddy Shawn, who is a PhD in rocket science(not kidding) throws his pieces across the table, drinks half a beer, and looks at me. There's a silence in the room for a second. He screams:

"Well, aren't you the ****ing esoteric one"

We all laughed. I damn near spit the beer I was drinking out of my nose. It was such a good line I figured I'd use it as my online name. So that's what it means. lol

PS: Esoteric means having or requiring special knowledge

 

[AssBurns]

Man, if my wife saw the shit you are making, she would for sure nag me to built that stuff. Definitely cool, but for some reason I hate working on projects that don't benefit me. Selfish, I know. I wish I liked that stuff and I have plenty of tools to do it too. Just no interest at this time. Maybe once I own my own home things will change. Those projects look killer!

 

[Tyler James Inc]

Man, if my wife saw the shit you are making... Maybe once I own my own home things will change. Those projects look killer!

Oh man, having a house is definitely a love/hate situation [emoji23]
Thanks man. It's actually a lot of fun.
I understand the selfish part, but it's rewarding to see something you built turn out cool too.

Guys, when's the hard part?

Picked a spot and went for it-

I know some guys are like "run it with the rest of the wiring...go through the firewall boot" Yeah, fvck that. I like easy, and this was easy. I also like no extra wiring in the engine bay, and this is 100% unseen.
Put a little silicone around the gromet for some insurance. The hole saw was bigger than I should have used, so the gromet wasn't a super snug fit. Should have used a step bit; oh well.

Cell phone AND sideways pics?! I must really not care right now.
Left a 6" loop, because who doesn't like dual cases?

Ran it with the other wiring I ran for the manual swap-

Hoping it works [emoji1374][emoji51]

Hellya [emoji1316]

Don't mind the FVCKING BRAKE LIGHT! [emoji35][emoji21][emoji36]
For those not reading my current thread about the brake light-
It's tied into the VSC ECU, and since my manual engine ECU doesn't have VSC, the system isn't going to be used at all. The parking brake lead actually goes straight to the VSC ECU, then to the cluster from there. Without the VSC ECU in, the brake light just stays lit. I'm trying to figure out how to defeat it, but the EWD isn't super clear.
I need to figure out what the square is that's in-line with the ground path of the brake light-

It has +12v to ground when the ignition is on. I might just have to send it to ground, but I'm hesitant to try things with electronics that I don't know 100% what I am doing.

 

[rkntoy]

Left a 6" loop, because who doesn't like dual cases?

:amen:

 

[Unner]

Would you say the lift and drop bracket make a big difference in handling? Right now I'm just running the stock bar, no lift or drop, but I've been contemplating getting one of those kits and finding a welder to weld it on.

And those tables look amazing. One day I want to build furniture like that. How'd you get into that? And any idea what your cost was for the table you just built and that coffee table? One of the reasons I want to learn to do this is because furniture is insanely expensive, and I feel like I can build furniture that will last 5 times as long as some several hundred or thousand dollar piece.

 

[Tyler James Inc]

Would you say the lift and drop bracket make a big difference in handling? Right now I'm just running the stock bar, no lift or drop, but I've been contemplating getting one of those kits and finding a welder to weld it on.

And those tables look amazing. One day I want to build furniture like that. How'd you get into that? And any idea what your cost was for the table you just built and that coffee table? One of the reasons I want to learn to do this is because furniture is insanely expensive, and I feel like I can build furniture that will last 5 times as long as some several hundred or thousand dollar piece.

Dude, stock bar/mounts with that much lift?! [emoji15] I can't praise Keith enough for making those brackets. Aside from being insanely well thought out, designed and manufactured- they improved my handling a TON. If you didn't read it- without me mentioning the kit, and without her being very familiar with vehicles in general- a lady that test drove my '97, actually said to me "it feels a lot more stable than other 4Runners I've driven. Seems like it has less roll."
Now, you have to take my opinion with a grain of salt, but I think her noticing that herself says a whole lot.
I've read members on here recommend guys to pull their sway bars- claiming they "can't even tell a difference". Yet, when I pulled the sway bars on my 2nd gen, it felt SUPER unstable to me.
It really comes down to how you drive, and what you expect from your rig. When my boys aren't in the truck, I drive it pretty hard. Not that I drive unsafe, but I take corners without slowing down, rally on twisty backroads, etc. Again, I can't recommend his brackets enough!
Thanks for the compliments on the wood projects! It's pretty freakin cheap man. The table was only $54 in lumber, and the coffee table was probably about the same. The only tools we have are a 12" DeWalt compound miter saw, 18g nail gun, orbital sander, impact driver, and a Kreg pocket hole jig. A table saw would be really nice to have, but we've gotten by without one so far.
Got into it from my wife finding people like @shanty2chic on Instagram building cool shit, to be honest. Haha
It's been a ton of fun, and definitely makes it possible to have cool furniture without the expense!

Went pew pew'n yesterday!

 

[jkeith.w]

aw shucks - yer makin' me blush!! :embarassed:

 

[Unner]

Dude, stock bar/mounts with that much lift?! [emoji15] I can't praise Keith enough for making those brackets. Aside from being insanely well thought out, designed and manufactured- they improved my handling a TON. If you didn't read it- without me mentioning the kit, and without her being very familiar with vehicles in general- a lady that test drove my '97, actually said to me "it feels a lot more stable than other 4Runners I've driven. Seems like it has less roll."
Now, you have to take my opinion with a grain of salt, but I think her noticing that herself says a whole lot.
I've read members on here recommend guys to pull their sway bars- claiming they "can't even tell a difference". Yet, when I pulled the sway bars on my 2nd gen, it felt SUPER unstable to me.
It really comes down to how you drive, and what you expect from your rig. When my boys aren't in the truck, I drive it pretty hard. Not that I drive unsafe, but I take corners without slowing down, rally on twisty backroads, etc. Again, I can't recommend his brackets enough!
Thanks for the compliments on the wood projects! It's pretty freakin cheap man. The table was only $54 in lumber, and the coffee table was probably about the same. The only tools we have are a 12" DeWalt compound miter saw, 18g nail gun, orbital sander, impact driver, and a Kreg pocket hole jig. A table saw would be really nice to have, but we've gotten by without one so far.
Got into it from my wife finding people like @shanty2chic on Instagram building cool shit, to be honest. Haha
It's been a ton of fun, and definitely makes it possible to have cool furniture without the expense!

Went pew pew'n yesterday!

Yeah, I should probably have done something about it, but it doesn't handle too bad in my opinion, and I need to learn how changing the panhard bar would affect the movement of the driveshaft. I don't want to deal with it contacting my gas tank skid plate anymore. I don't even want to think about that topic with everything I had to deal with on that... If it makes that much of a difference then I guess I'll need to find a competent welder and get a set put on!

I'm definitely gonna try my hand at building a coffee table or something of that sort. You might even be able to make a little cash selling tables like that if it only runs you ~$50 in supplies. I'm sure it's way sturdier than any store bought furniture without getting into the really expensive stuff. My girlfriend is moving in a few weeks so I'm sure she'll be in need of some new furniture, aka my excuse to try building a table... I've got access to all those tools, minus the nail gun and the pocket hole jig. I'd definitely get a pocket hole jig, but would you say the nail gun is something that is necessary?

 

[Tyler James Inc]

I need to learn how changing the panhard bar would affect the movement of the driveshaft. I don't want to deal with it contacting my gas tank skid plate anymore. I don't even want to think about that topic with everything I had to deal with on that...

Hm, no promises on that. Having the bar corrected WILL push your drive shaft closer to the tank. Your axle isn't centered right now, and having the bar corrected re-centers it- meaning closer to the tank. Would it be a big deal to do a little BFH clearancing on the tank skid?

I've got access to all those tools, minus the nail gun and the pocket hole jig. I'd definitely get a pocket hole jig, but would you say the nail gun is something that is necessary?

Oh awesome! Should be a good time.
You'd be fine without the nailer. Most projects don't require small nails, and even if they do, you can drive them by hammer no problem- that's what we did on our night stands.
Oh, we could definitely make good money on selling them. The $54 table we built is based off of a $2k Pottery Barn table. Labor is obviously not free, but selling them for $800-1k would make it worth it.

 

[AssBurns]

Those Kreg pocket hole jigs are amazing. Definitely worth the money. I've used it on a few projects and it's awesome!

 

[Scottyboy]

Nice build man! Hopefully one day I can get Mine where I want it!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Chim]

You went shooting! I was just texting a buddy Friday saying I need to go.. haven't been in about two years which is nuts! How far do you have to go from your place to shoot?

 

[I'mStock]

Thanks for the compliments on the wood projects! It's pretty freakin cheap man. The table was only $54 in lumber, and the coffee table was probably about the same. The only tools we have are a 12" DeWalt compound miter saw, 18g nail gun, orbital sander, impact driver, and a Kreg pocket hole jig. A table saw would be really nice to have, but we've gotten by without one so far.

I just started getting into "wood working" and I need one of those so badly, seems like it opens up so many doors as far as what you can build+assemble.

:bigok:

 

[Tyler James Inc]

Those Kreg pocket hole jigs are amazing. Definitely worth the money. I've used it on a few projects and it's awesome!

I just started getting into "wood working" and I need one of those so badly, seems like it opens up so many doors as far as what you can build+assemble.

They're so cool! Pretty much a necessity, IMO.

You went shooting! I was just texting a buddy Friday saying I need to go.. haven't been in about two years which is nuts! How far do you have to go from your place to shoot?

I hadn't been in way too long myself! Probably over a year. There are supposedly places up Wildcat- around 20 minutes from my place. We went way up outta Estacada though. It was SUCH a sweet shaded spot, and we had the place to ourselves. I'll hit you up next time we go out. [emoji322]

Nice build man! Hopefully one day I can get Mine where I want it!

Thank you! I think we're all constantly reaching for our vision of what we want our rigs to be! The journey is my favorite part. I have no shame in saying I like the build more than actually "using it what it's built for". That might be mostly because I don't make time to get out much. Always busy with the house, and other adulting shit!

Finally replacing the LBJs

Rotor and calipers were all nasty, so I got those wire wheel'd and painted up

Also, finally got my dude [MENTION=28464]eimkeith[/MENTION]'S upper bracket welded on

Before

After

 

[Tyler James Inc]

Just wanted to update and reiterate how well the [MENTION=28464]eimkeith[/MENTION] brackets make these things handle, and how flat they keep you in corners. Don't do just one. Don't be scared of "butt welding" the lower bracket on. Have a competent welder weld it on, and it won't be going anywhere. Chamfer the edges where the butt-weld is, and it will be PLENTY strong for the forces that it sees. [MENTION=116387]Unner[/MENTION] you need these.

 

[repo]

Oh awesome [MENTION=143526]theesotericone[/MENTION] (what does that mean, anyway?)! It's so rewarding to build things yourself! We built our bed too- but not out of doug fir! That's sweet. Yeah, I hate IKEA. They make it way too easy to buy decent looking dressers and shelving and crap!
Yeah, we have a pocket hole jig we use a lot. Super cool, and not expensive at all. The most recent project was a coffee table for the in-laws-

Our king bed frame was a pretty amateur project early on. We didn't even have an orbital sander at that time. Well, no sander at all. Turned out nice, but we'd like to sell it and build another. That thing is HEAVY.

That stuff looks great, are you using plans from somewhere or you do the design yourself?

 

[Unner]

Just wanted to update and reiterate how well the [MENTION=28464]eimkeith[/MENTION] brackets make these things handle, and how flat they keep you in corners. Don't do just one. Don't be scared of "butt welding" the lower bracket on. Have a competent welder weld it on, and it won't be going anywhere. Chamfer the edges where the butt-weld is, and it will be PLENTY strong for the forces that it sees. [MENTION=116387]Unner[/MENTION] you need these.

I was thinking about this earlier today. Glad to hear another good review, I've heard nothing but good things about them. I might go with them and try to find a welder this Fall that I trust to weld on my truck.

 

[Tyler James Inc]

I might try to find a welder this Fall that I trust to weld on my truck.

Take a quick trip to Oregon! I'll get ya all squared away [emoji6][emoji12]

That stuff looks great, are you using plans from somewhere or you do the design yourself?

Thanks so much!
I think my wife gets them mostly from Shanty-2-Chic.com
Anna White has plans too, but she leaves a lot of info out, and kind of sucks at instructions.

 

[Unner]

Take a quick trip to Oregon! I'll get ya all squared away [emoji6][emoji12]

If you weren't so far away I'd be at your house this weekend with the parts haha

 

[Tyler James Inc]

If you weren't so far away I'd be at your house this weekend with the parts haha

And I'd happily weld them up for you!

Had a bit of a fiasco getting my windshield replaced, but I finally got nice new clear glass!
I wanted to keep it short, but it's a long story- you've been warned!
Two weeks ago, I called a local reputable windshield replacement shop and talked to one of the owners. I told him I wanted Pilkington or PGW. He said he like Pilkington the best, and that's what he'll use. Perfect! [emoji1360] He made me an appt for Tuesday morning.
I get a call from the tech Monday night, to let me know the glass showed up damaged. He said he can still do it "tomorrow", but it wouldn't be till the afternoon. I verified the glass was Pilkington, and he said "no, it's 'yf1'"- or some crap I've never heard of. I'm like "um, okay. It was very clear- when I talked to the owner last week- he was ordering Pilkington." "*chuckles* oh, you talked to R*ck, that makes sense". Awkward- wtf is that supposed to mean?!
Since I didn't want it done at my dirty job site, I was leaving it home- where my wife would be.
He said he would order Pilkington for me. I told him my wife would be home Wednesday AM, and that would work well. I didn't feel good about it, and didn't want my wife to have to deal with any mistakes, so I called back, and told him I would take off from work early Tuesday. We scheduled a slot between 2 and 4pm.
Tuesday afternoon- I got home at 1:55. Waiting around, I decide to help out the tech, and take the wipers and cowl off. 3pm rolls around, and I call the office. "Hey there... am I scheduled to have my windshield replaced between 2 and 4?" "Yes! The tech is having a hard time on an RV, and running behind"
4:40pm I get a call from the office. Mind you, I left work 2hrs early- I would have been home by 4 if I had worked a full day. I'm just a degenerate construction worker, so I don't get paid for that.
"Hey Tyler, they're still working on that RV; I'm gonna have to reschedule" I'm a nice guy, so I sucked it up and said "Hey, shit happens. It's not their fault. I'm not talking any more time off work though, so I'll just have them come do it at the job site." "No problem! I'm sorry about that. He'll be out tomorrow"
Wednesday, he shows up, and has a no name windshield. He's like "I picked this up from Pilkington, but it's not Pilkington glass- I figured you probably don't want it"
"Um, nope"
"Okay, well I'll let the shop know and get back to you. I know this has been a hassle for you- I'll see if I can get you a discount" "Oh, great, thank you!"
The shop calls me a couple hours later. "Hey Tyler. So, I did some research, and it looks like Pilkington no longer makes glass for your rig. You want me to order a PGW, and make sure it says PGW on it? It should be here about 1. I'll call you and let you know." "Great, thank you."
No call by the time I got off at 3:30, so I called. The windshield had come in, and it was a legit PGW. Sweet [emoji1360] Scheduled an appt for Friday morning at the job site again.
He shows up, shows me the glass, and gets right to it. He had just gotten his knife out, and told me it would be about 30 minutes. I look at the time *8:38*
I get a call at 8:55- "all finished up man"
Um, wow, 17 minutes from start to all cleaned up?! [emoji15]
I meet him at the rig, and he says "if you have the cowl, I can put it on" "no, it's at home" He gives me the bill- they dropped it from only $230 to $190! Hey, that's pretty cool. He didn't have change, so he got $10 for lunch. All good. At least I have nice new glass, and the headache is over!
As soon as I get in, I see he left a disaster all over my dash and floor. Hm, nice. All good. On my way home, I notice the windshield isn't centered; the black outline is much greater on the pass side vs the driver. Hm, that's gonna bother me, but probably not worth griping about.
Saturday morning, I go to put the cowl on, and find out the headache isn't over- the windshield wasn't installed far enough up, so the cowl won't fit [emoji36]
I can't believe I'm still having to deal with this. But is it my fault for trying to "help" when I took the cowl off? But how would I know the cowl holds the windshield up?! Shouldn't he have known?! I also notice he didn't prime some areas he scratched with his knife. I'm no pro, but I know that's a very basic part of windshield replacement.
I call the shop Monday morning, and let the gal that answers the phone know about the issues: after finally getting a good windshield, he left a mess, it isn't centered, and it's not installed high enough to fit the cowl...
"I'm so sorry! We need to get that fixed for you- Wednesday work for you?" "Sounds good!"
The tech that came today said as soon as he walked up to the rig, he knew it was installed too low- you had to work to even see the VIN. I wasn't trying to trash talk the other tech, but I pointed out the scratches, and asked if those should have been primed- he agreed that was a shoddy job, and they definitely should have been primed.
The shop wanted him to try to save the glass, but he wasn't able to. He ran and got a new PGW, and did a great job installing it. He even decided to disclose there were un-primed areas under the molding- but not covered by adhesive- as well.
It was a rough experience, but I am honestly still a happy customer. I know shit happens, and what matters to me is how they handle it WHEN shit happens.
Let's try this new windshield thing again [emoji1598]