CoastalDefender's build thread

[CoastalDefender]

that's what she said, lol

but seriously, what size do you have/need? I can't believe you need the 60" our truck is not that wide!

I've got the small one (48"?) and it falls short on the mounting bolts by just a hair (or two holes short).

So it seems if I want to use that area for a Jack Mount, I'm going to have to get a fullsize (60"?). Joy.

 

[bigdog]

I've got the small one (48"?) and it falls short on the mounting bolts by just a hair (or two holes short).

So it seems if I want to use that area for a Jack Mount, I'm going to have to get a fullsize (60"?). Joy.

well that's why i was asking the small one is actually 42" or 43" middle is 48" and big is 60" So, I was hoping you were going to say you had the 42" jack.

 

[CoastalDefender]

I take it back! I take it back!

You have to ratchet up the jack to clear the bottom holes, then it will fit.

Also, it only likes to be mounted with teh handle down. Which totally kills the use of my rear-view camera.

The damn gate-stop was bolted in the wrong location, so I'm going to have to fix that.

***Look, I understand Articulate's and my trucks are going to look quite similar, but I REALLY don't want the same mod-caused damage marks as he has.


My bumper is already rusting, but with last night's storm and the freezing temps this week we'll be getting, I don't seem to have a decent time to pull it and re-paint it in the forseeable future. And living 100yds off the Pacific Ocean, this thing is going to get surface rust quickly.

I'm seriously considering getting some marine-grade paint to do it with. But will probably just stick with a Rustoleum Satin Black.

 

[bigdog]

I take it back! I take it back!

You have to ratchet up the jack to clear the bottom holes, then it will fit.

Well that's good news! I was going to post up and ask if flipping it over, or mounting in other direction might help. I could not believe the 48" jack would not fit. that would be another strike against KMA!

 

[CoastalDefender]

Okay, got the AT Can carrier in this week.

Tested it against the can holder on the KMA. I was hoping for the AT to be slightly smaller than the "tray" of the KMA and slip right in. No joy.


So my plan is to cut the "lip" of the tray off on two sides (driver's side and rear side), and bolt the AT in on the bottom of the tray snug up against the front and passenger side lips. That should take care of it.


I've got part of it done already, but the rain hit and the wife had to run out. So I came in and taking care of the baby for a bit. And the more I used cordless tools, the more it occurs to me a man needs a set each of cordless and corded tools. My 18v sawzall just sucks the batteries.

 

[CoastalDefender]

Installed.

Now all I have to do is pull it in good weather, sand the rust, paint, re-install.

Stole the spare and wheel locks from my wife's Xterra.

And just like Articulate's Frontier, the jack handle totally destroys any real usefulness of the rear-view camera.


Still to do on bumper-
Pull and paint/protect mounting locations
Find my stupid locks that are lost (wife and I just spent 30min tearing the house apart) to lock the gas can
Install gas strut to keep gate open
Install better gate-stop to minimize damage to vehicle



Pic-

 

[CoastalDefender]

Oh and when I ran to the hardware store to get a lock for it, I showed the install of the can carrier to my pal there (he helped me earlier decide on how to remove the "lip" on the original carrier easiest).

His words when he grabbed and shook it- "Well ********, that ain't going ANYWHERE!" :xxrotflma

 

[mcm4090]

Looks good. Got any more pic's?

Can you mount the rear-view camera on the spare tire?

 

[CoastalDefender]

Looks good. Got any more pic's?

Can you mount the rear-view camera on the spare tire?

Sure what parts you want to see?


Mounting the cam on the spare will really screw with my reference points I think. Not to mention the tire's mounted on a . I am toying with the idea of drilling holes on the bottom of the plate and mounting there.

I may also just ditch the cam I have and replace it with one of those "keyhole" rearview cams. Put this one on my wife's Xterra. Drill a hole directly in the bumper for the keyhole cam, etc.

Not sure yet, and the weather isn't exactly "modding weather", so I've a while to figure this one in my head.

 

[articulate]

:safari-rig:
Nice. Don't worry too much about getting the camera off to one side or the other, especially if you have one with a wide angle view. It's not that detrimental, and obviously having a view back there is better than no view. It's worth a shot to get the camera in the wheel hub. Mine's off to the side by several inches, and no doubt we have to compensate but the wide angle view really helps.

Funny, I was just looking at "bullet" style cameras today ... or some kind of a flush mount camera. The camera I have is starting to take a long time to adjust in low light.

Hell, man, similarly, I've got two can holders from AT I've been wanting to have welded in place like you have.

And careful with the gas spring, I have broken two already. They really need a stop built into the swing gate, because you've got to keep the swing from opening on it's own. Make sense? You'll blow off the plastic end. They're a nice addition for keeping the gate open and for keeping the gate from opening all the way into the truck body. I really dig this style of a gate stop and pair it up with a gas spring. Nice and low profile, simple, effective .... all that jazz. I should take it to a fabricator to see if I could get that done.

Anyway, I'm happy for you that you've got good brackets on there!

 

[CoastalDefender]

:safari-rig:
Hell, man, similarly, I've got two can holders from AT I've been wanting to have welded in place like you have.

A friend on a preparedness-oriented website stated the obvious to me when he saw the pic- Why not give the holder a 90 degree turn and stack 'em in there?

Wonder if I can get three side by side in there? Two fuel, one water scepters.

But at appx $90/AT Holder, the idea will remain just that for the time being.

 

[bigdog]

A friend on a preparedness-oriented website stated the obvious to me when he saw the pic- Why not give the holder a 90 degree turn and stack 'em in there?

Wonder if I can get three side by side in there? Two fuel, one water scepters.

well, what i don't like about that idea is safety. If you turn them 90 degrees then they will extend beyond the bumper and will have minimal protection in a rear impact. May not be best place for 10 gallons of gas.

 

[CoastalDefender]

well, what i don't like about that idea is safety. If you turn them 90 degrees then they will extend beyond the bumper and will have minimal protection in a rear impact. May not be best place for 10 gallons of gas.

The water there will take care of any fire. :hehe:

 

[CoastalDefender]

Just got the "okay" from the wife on the next aspect of the build- Armored Frontier.

Looking at how things will fall, the Feb sounds good for payment on-

Shrockworks Front Bumper
Ramsey Profile 9500 OR WARN 9.5XP
Fog Light Kit from Courtesy Nissan
Shrock Sliders
Shrock Skid set (full)

Anyone know if Shrock cuts a deal on shipping if I pre-pay for a whole bunch of crap at once and have them shipped on the same pallet?

And I'm going to go synthetic winch line right off the bat. Things rust in minutes out here on the beach (literally, I'll take pics next time I'm grinding on steel), and I doubt the winch line will last a whole summer out here. And also a Shrock aluminum fairlead to clean the front end up. Amsteel Olive colored seems appropriate instead of the blue.



Does anyone have a good website I can weigh the cost-benefits of the Ramsey vs Warn?

 

[CoastalDefender]

:safari-rig:
Nice. Don't worry too much about getting the camera off to one side or the other, especially if you have one with a wide angle view. It's not that detrimental, and obviously having a view back there is better than no view. It's worth a shot to get the camera in the wheel hub. Mine's off to the side by several inches, and no doubt we have to compensate but the wide angle view really helps.

Funny, I was just looking at "bullet" style cameras today ... or some kind of a flush mount camera. The camera I have is starting to take a long time to adjust in low light.

Hell, man, similarly, I've got two can holders from AT I've been wanting to have welded in place like you have.

And careful with the gas spring, I have broken two already. They really need a stop built into the swing gate, because you've got to keep the swing from opening on it's own. Make sense? You'll blow off the plastic end. They're a nice addition for keeping the gate open and for keeping the gate from opening all the way into the truck body. I really dig this style of a gate stop and pair it up with a gas spring. Nice and low profile, simple, effective .... all that jazz. I should take it to a fabricator to see if I could get that done.

Anyway, I'm happy for you that you've got good brackets on there!

I'm not even going to waste time with the gas strut until I figure a decent gate-stop. But gate-stop+strut will be a perfect combo. I'm taking extra care not to screw up my rear quarter panel like you did. :jump:

I think the guys at the shop could fab me up the gate-stop, but I'm thinking I'd rather just screw a bolt into a more appropriate place than the original one is. i'll take pics when it gets light out tomorrow. (Providing of course it isn't a blizzard all day like today was :xxrotflma ).

Oh, and a little new intel on the camera- We've recently had a spat of really colder-than-crap weather. Lows at night in the lower teens and all. REALLY REALLY freaking cold for my area. In this cold, my Rearview Cam has been totally useless. I'm not certain if it's the unit itself or the electrical resistance being increased inline due to the temps. Giving me really strange red-hue pics on the stereo, and the V-balance being all off.