4x4 Toyota Truck // Chinook Pop-Top Conversion Build

[turbotommy]

I love the fact that the chinooks are easy to sleep in with the top up or down .my previous toyota was a 1985 4Runner and I wish I used the cab of one of those as the roof has a sharp 90 down to accomidate the removable roof.this would have made mounting the Chinook easier than with the stock reg cab truck . Your goin to love the truck for sure ,I'm excited to see a extended cab Chinook!

 

[wrecked]

Great build. I had to join and subscribe to the thread when you mentioned bike packing in the PNW. I just finished the Boundary Trail from Mt. Adams to Mt. St. Helens. I've also recently ditched building my Dakota to build my '85 Toyota turbo diesel into an expo/bike race support camp rig.
Do you have plans for bike transportation or is that not a concern on this rig?

 

[Gabriel Amadeus]

Yeah, that's a big plus for road trips, possibility to do stealth city camping. Not sure how I'm going to connect the two yet.

 

[Gabriel Amadeus]

Nice! I'd love to see your route between the two mountains. I'm probably going to do a north shore style rack on a big pivot like a Blazer spare tire.

 

[Gabriel Amadeus]

Got the bugger together last week! It actually plopped on pretty smoothly. All 8 attachment points lined up perfectly and there's a good buffer space behind and over the cab.

Any suggestions on suspension/wheel/tire upgrades? I know there's a billion options out there. I'd like to maybe lift it a bit since the back is so long and not sure if giving it a bit wider wheelbase would be smart since it's way more top heavy now.

 

[tanglefoot]

Waa--hoo...maybe the first Xtra cab 'Nook!

With suspension, I would focus more on support than height. I wish I were a bit lower with my combo. I have quite a bit of rear overhang as well, with an 8-foot camper (what's your floor length?).

There are quite a few ways to get more support. I went with some inexpensive half-leaf helper springs that just bolt on, but some airbags might be nice. The ZUK coil mod is also an option.

I'm not a fan of big tires for heavily-loaded Yoats. They just make the brakes and powertrain less effective. I won't go bigger than 30x9.50 any more.

 

[refried]

Looks nice, Can't wait to see it finished. My Father had a couple Chinooks in the 70's/80's and after I built my truck I thought a 4wd Chinook would be great, Even better with a V6 ( thought they were terribly under powered). I've been looking for a good shell for a while, but theyre either too nice to cut up, or rotted.

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

I recently installed a set of Old Man Emu springs on a solid axle Toyota and I was really impressed with the quality. They sell them in roughly 2" lift or stock height and there are three spring rates available for the rear. Oh, and they were $100 each!! Can't beat that price, especially for the quality.

 

[refried]

I've had springs from Northwest Offroad Specialties in my truck for the last 17? years and have been very happy with them, They're firmer OME springs but still ride decent with an empty bed and have no problem with a heavy load . They offer several different lifts and spring rates.

http://www.northwestoffroad.com/parts/suspension_intro.php

 

[borison]

Very nice, looks great. Looking forward to how this progresses. Should be a lot of fun. Good job.

 

[turbotommy]

how did this truck work out ?

 

[bkg]

I've had springs from Northwest Offroad Specialties in my truck for the last 17? years and have been very happy with them, They're firmer OME springs but still ride decent with an empty bed and have no problem with a heavy load . They offer several different lifts and spring rates.

http://www.northwestoffroad.com/parts/suspension_intro.php

I wasn't aware they were still in business.... interesting..

 

[mgraff]

Heck of a project

 

[forty2]

I wasn't aware they were still in business.... interesting..

Good old No Warranty Or Return. They've got a well deserved rep as a **** place to send your money. It's been ten years I've been waiting on torsion bars or a refund. I do live considerably closer these days though, maybe I should pay them a visit...

 

[bkg]

Good old No Warranty Or Return. They've got a well deserved rep as a **** place to send your money. It's been ten years I've been waiting on torsion bars or a refund. I do live considerably closer these days though, maybe I should pay them a visit...

Been 19 years waiting on refund for a poorly setup diff... I'm sure it will arrive any day.