1983 FJ45 Troop Carrier Buildup
- Thread starter Hltoppr
- Start date
24HOURSOFNEVADA
Expedition Leader
Hltoppr said:
Cool. Thank you.
Nullifier
Expedition Leader
Hltoppr said:
Awesome you will love your OZTENT. I run an RV 4 with the same side and front panels. I would suggest however having them send you 2 more adjustable poles. Everytime I set up I think man it would be nice to have another awining out front to sit under. The front panel allows you to do that but you need 2 more poles.
Hltoppr
El Gringo Spectacular!
I thought about the poles as I hung up with Aaron...I'll worry about it later...
I did come home Friday to a nice package!
OZTent goodness...set up the body and let the kids play around in it a bit...so far my daughter loves it!
Then on to the project of the weekend; installing a factory Toyota spare tire carrier.
I went with the OEM carrier over the rear bumper for several reasons: 1. It's Toyota, and I like the design, 2. It will allow me to open the right hand rear door without worrying about the tire carrier, 3. I can still fit in the garage with a spare tire on it; I'd have to chop the front bumper into a smaller design to do this with a larger bumper, 4. It ran me $50 instead of $1,300....
The lower hinge bolt holes were in a crossmember, so drilling them out was a breeze. I then located the upper hinge, as well as the rubber bumper and latch, and drilled the holes; tapping the lower body panel for M8 grade 10.9 bolts.
The rear body crossmember, unlike those FJ40s which came from the factory with a rear carrier (a Troopy's carrier is underneath, which for me has a propane bottle in it's place), does not have a backing plate. To make up for the loss of strength, I welded the bumper and latch to the body. This should be plenty strong, as I'm only going to have the alloy wheel/tire combo on it. If it begins to stress the body, I'll bite the bullet and go with a rear bumper....
Tonight I'll remove the carrier and paint everything the color of the body...it should look OEM.
Since the backspacing on my wheels is 4", I needed to make some spacers, and extend the lugs to fit....instead of tearing apart the rear carrier to do this, I just ordered an additional Spidertrax 1 1/2" spacer, like the ones used on the front. Cost is just under $50, and Spidertrax is great to work with. I figure this will be a clean, neat solution, while giving me a spare spacer...just in case.
-H-
I did come home Friday to a nice package!
OZTent goodness...set up the body and let the kids play around in it a bit...so far my daughter loves it!
Then on to the project of the weekend; installing a factory Toyota spare tire carrier.
I went with the OEM carrier over the rear bumper for several reasons: 1. It's Toyota, and I like the design, 2. It will allow me to open the right hand rear door without worrying about the tire carrier, 3. I can still fit in the garage with a spare tire on it; I'd have to chop the front bumper into a smaller design to do this with a larger bumper, 4. It ran me $50 instead of $1,300....
The lower hinge bolt holes were in a crossmember, so drilling them out was a breeze. I then located the upper hinge, as well as the rubber bumper and latch, and drilled the holes; tapping the lower body panel for M8 grade 10.9 bolts.
The rear body crossmember, unlike those FJ40s which came from the factory with a rear carrier (a Troopy's carrier is underneath, which for me has a propane bottle in it's place), does not have a backing plate. To make up for the loss of strength, I welded the bumper and latch to the body. This should be plenty strong, as I'm only going to have the alloy wheel/tire combo on it. If it begins to stress the body, I'll bite the bullet and go with a rear bumper....
Tonight I'll remove the carrier and paint everything the color of the body...it should look OEM.
Since the backspacing on my wheels is 4", I needed to make some spacers, and extend the lugs to fit....instead of tearing apart the rear carrier to do this, I just ordered an additional Spidertrax 1 1/2" spacer, like the ones used on the front. Cost is just under $50, and Spidertrax is great to work with. I figure this will be a clean, neat solution, while giving me a spare spacer...just in case.
-H-
Last edited:
Overland Hadley
on a journey
Hltoppr said:
Nice!
Looks good.
Hltoppr
El Gringo Spectacular!
Just a couple quick shots from the weekend.
First...the new tire carrier, with the Spidertrax spacer, works great!
Spent some time supporting an 80 mile mountain bike race on Saturday!
Then took the family out to let the little one try out the new OZTent RV-5 with deluxe sidewalls and front panel! A solid thumbs up from the kiddo and wife, who both took naps in the new tent!
Cheers,
-H- :sombrero: :safari-rig:
First...the new tire carrier, with the Spidertrax spacer, works great!
Spent some time supporting an 80 mile mountain bike race on Saturday!
Then took the family out to let the little one try out the new OZTent RV-5 with deluxe sidewalls and front panel! A solid thumbs up from the kiddo and wife, who both took naps in the new tent!
Cheers,
-H- :sombrero: :safari-rig:
Hltoppr
El Gringo Spectacular!
...and the other part of my Sunday :smilies27 :
http://expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=19245
-H-
http://expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=19245
-H-
24HOURSOFNEVADA
Expedition Leader
Very cool. I was hoping to see your tent set up.
Jacket
2008 Expedition Trophy Champion
Any chance you've got a close up picture of what you did with the latch? Although I have the older box-style tire carrier, the mounting is pretty similar to yours and my latch tore what was left of the sheet metal from my sill. Longer term I'll get a new rear sill and re-mount the latch, but I'm looking for ideas for an interim solution.
Hltoppr
El Gringo Spectacular!
Hopefully, I'll be by the Cruiser in the daylight here soon to get that pic....
Anyways, as usual, getting ready for Mexico always has the little things....
Put in a new motor mount last night....one was toast, and the night before I rewired all the accessories to run off the aux. battery, after doing a wiring diagram of the relay-based dual battery system...wishing I was installing a National Luna system...but I digress.
I also noticed that the clutch master cylinder was weeping....no bueno before a Mexico trip with the family....so....
A call to Dan Busey at American Toyota in Albuquerque (800-432-6668) has a new OEM Master and slave cylinder being overnighted! Dan comes through once again!
-H-
Anyways, as usual, getting ready for Mexico always has the little things....
Put in a new motor mount last night....one was toast, and the night before I rewired all the accessories to run off the aux. battery, after doing a wiring diagram of the relay-based dual battery system...wishing I was installing a National Luna system...but I digress.
I also noticed that the clutch master cylinder was weeping....no bueno before a Mexico trip with the family....so....
A call to Dan Busey at American Toyota in Albuquerque (800-432-6668) has a new OEM Master and slave cylinder being overnighted! Dan comes through once again!
-H-
Hey HT,
Where'd you get the headliner? Looks like I might be back to work with the FJ. Well, not me, but my dad is wanting to get to work on this rig. They moved it to my brother's house (closer to me and a decent work area.) Will finally be swapping the motor and hopefully getting it running soon.
Rig is looking good man!
Where'd you get the headliner? Looks like I might be back to work with the FJ. Well, not me, but my dad is wanting to get to work on this rig. They moved it to my brother's house (closer to me and a decent work area.) Will finally be swapping the motor and hopefully getting it running soon.
Rig is looking good man!
