weeeee's build thread
- Thread starter weeeee
- Start date
ECUDrummer
New member
Awesome pics, man.
You may have answered this earlier, but do you like the tire swingout being on the driver's side (or are your pics flipped)?
You may have answered this earlier, but do you like the tire swingout being on the driver's side (or are your pics flipped)?
weeeee
New member
Yeah, there's plenty of trails up there. Many are marked on trail books, some we just happened to stumble upon. It's already getting cold in some places (our last campsite was 20 degrees in the AM), will probably head back right at the start of the snow season. I'll try to hit you up once I get something planned.
You can order them directly through Autohome US. Seems like they're a small operation, try emailing them before you call. I like mine a lot- you can't go wrong with the James Baroud either, although the Autohome units can typically hold more items inside (pillows, bedding, etc) due to the interior volume.
A few quirks-
- There's a rubber plug you have to take out whenever you insert the crank handle. I lost mine about 3 times now. Make sure you buy spares.
- Tent fabric sometimes gets pinched in the corners, making small pinholes in the fabric. No real issues yet, when it gets bad I'll just repair it with the free fabric Autohome provides.
Other than that it's been amazing. I love being able to throw an unfolded slepping bag, standard pillows, and a first night's change of clothes inside before a trip. I can literally roll up to camp and just crank it up and I'll be set.
I like the additional visibility. Since the tire takes up more window space than the jerry cans, having it right behind me is helpful because I can still see over my shoulder. It's a tradeoff though- the gas tank is already on that side and it will heavily lean towards the driver's side when the tank is fully loaded and you don't have full jerry cans to offset the weight.
For sure man! We literally planned this with about a week notice and picked up some people along the way, will definitely let you know for next time.
LawnDart
Senior Member
You wouldn't have seen anything from that low on the trail anyways.
weeeee
New member
:lmao:
I'd be surprised if he made it out of the gas station parking lot with that ground clearance...probably would've gotten stuck on a speedbump....
LawnDart
Senior Member
You're one to talk...
The way it goes is if you high center YOU have to get yourself off. Quitter!
carlomagne
New member
amazing photos! felt like i was there haha
Snow-Jet-MK5
New member
Did you get the front skid installed?Guess it was finally time to change out the RCI gas tank skid I've had laying in the garage for a few months. Anyone want a factory skid with minimal damage :bigok:
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk
weeeee
New member
Yeah I did! Totally forgot to take pics though, hence the lack of updates. Thanks for the help!
BTW, we found out the order to make everything work without any drilling or modifications. Just bolt the SW filler piece directly to the frame, bolt up the OEM radiator support, and the RCI skid stacks on top of everything else.
Snow-Jet-MK5
New member
perfect! I'm planning on doing the install this weekend and i'm glad i was there to witness the installation of yours.
Hbryanlopez
New member
wow, awesome build man!! question on the bumper. That piece thats bellow the headlight, it looks like you didn't cut up your front bumper to fill that gap. what piece is that and where do you get it? also does that piece extend all the way across because I do see the upper grill mesh had a black piece that runs bellow it which looks attached to the other piece under the headlight.
weeeee
New member
I'm running a Shrockworks filler piece in that photo. It does extend all the way across and retains the stock upper grille. If you have the TRD Pro upper grille it extends all the way across, for the SR5/Trail grills there's a cutout for the factory emblem. I think you mentioned wanting to do the facelift, might as well buy the TRD Pro upper grille instead of the other one.
FWIW if I did it again, I'd probably buy a 2014+ Limited front bumper to cut it- it would be a lot cleaner. Unlike the 2014 SR5/Trail/TRDP models it doesn't have the gills so it'd look a lot similar to the Shrockworks fill pieces except with factory fit and in plastic.
Hbryanlopez
New member
cool man, thanks for the info!
weeeee
New member
Took a trip through the Mojave Road. Ran it in reverse (East-West) so we could hit Vegas for the weekend.
Mojave River crossing
Sand Cliffs
Union Pacific bridge
Disaster struck as I hit the washes a little too hard, proceeded to shear the bolts off the roof top tent. Tent came crashing down and somehow stopped short of hitting the hood.
Unfortunately most of the hardware wasn't salvageable, friends helped me cobble together a quick fix. 4 bolts ultimately lasted the rest of the trip home.
We lost about an hour or so because of this incident, so we stopped taking as many pics to save time. I was also reduced to a really slow pace because the fix (although it would ultimately hold the rest of the road) was pretty sketchy.
Back on the road
Stopped by Traveler's Monument
Took pics at the Mojave Mailbox but forgot to sign the guest book...
Visited the frog garden and other random figurines
Government Wells
Forgot the name of this cabin
Last night's campsite at Phallus Rock...I wonder how they got that name...
On the way out the following morning. There's probably more joshua trees here in the Mojave than in Joshua Tree NP
I was pretty disappointed that the tent incident cost us so much time from the Mojave Road, but since it exposed a flaw in the weak bolts I can learn from my mistakes and build a stronger mounting system. Due to the varying terrain (rocks/sand/washes/etc.) it'll pretty much expose any weaknesses in your setup so I'm just glad we were able to fix the issue and continue on.
Mojave River crossing
Sand Cliffs
Union Pacific bridge
Disaster struck as I hit the washes a little too hard, proceeded to shear the bolts off the roof top tent. Tent came crashing down and somehow stopped short of hitting the hood.
Unfortunately most of the hardware wasn't salvageable, friends helped me cobble together a quick fix. 4 bolts ultimately lasted the rest of the trip home.
We lost about an hour or so because of this incident, so we stopped taking as many pics to save time. I was also reduced to a really slow pace because the fix (although it would ultimately hold the rest of the road) was pretty sketchy.
Back on the road
Stopped by Traveler's Monument
Took pics at the Mojave Mailbox but forgot to sign the guest book...
Visited the frog garden and other random figurines
Government Wells
Forgot the name of this cabin
Last night's campsite at Phallus Rock...I wonder how they got that name...
On the way out the following morning. There's probably more joshua trees here in the Mojave than in Joshua Tree NP
I was pretty disappointed that the tent incident cost us so much time from the Mojave Road, but since it exposed a flaw in the weak bolts I can learn from my mistakes and build a stronger mounting system. Due to the varying terrain (rocks/sand/washes/etc.) it'll pretty much expose any weaknesses in your setup so I'm just glad we were able to fix the issue and continue on.
Last edited:
Snow-Jet-MK5
New member
Looks like you need a Snorkel. I'm selling my FTS Snorkel for the price I purchased it for. Never installed.Took a trip through the Mojave Road. Ran it in reverse (East-West) so we could hit Vegas for the weekend.
Mojave River crossing
Sand Cliffs
Union Pacific bridge
Disaster struck as I hit the washes a little too hard, proceeded to shear the bolts off the roof top tent. Tent came crashing down and somehow stopped short of hitting the hood.
Unfortunately most of the hardware wasn't salvageable, friends helped me cobble together a quick fix. 4 bolts ultimately lasted the rest of the trip home.
We lost about an hour or so because of this incident, so we stopped taking as many pics to save time. I was also reduced to a really slow pace because the fix (although it would ultimately hold the rest of the road) was pretty sketchy.
Back on the road
Stopped by Traveler's Monument
Took pics at the Mojave Mailbox but forgot to sign the guest book...
Visited the frog garden and other random figurines
Government Wells
Forgot the name of this cabin
Last night's campsite at Phallus Rock...I wonder how they got that name...
On the way out the following morning. There's probably more joshua trees here in the Mojave than in Joshua Tree NP
I was pretty disappointed that the tent incident cost us so much time from the Mojave Road, but since it exposed a flaw in the weak bolts I can learn from my mistakes and build a stronger mounting system. Due to the varying terrain (rocks/sand/washes/etc.) it'll pretty much expose any weaknesses in your setup so I'm just glad we were able to fix the issue and continue on.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk
weeeee
New member
Ugh....I need a snorkel at some point but I think I'll wait a little bit for now. Most of the crossings I've done up until now have been okay with the stock airbox but I'll let you know if I change my mind.
