Howdy! whado i do?

[wentz912]

Been there and I feel sorry, but I understand.

Once you open your mind (and rig) to cutting and welding, you have SOOOO many more options for everything. Some people build whole trucks that are awesome while never touching a welder (check out the Supercamper).

IIRC, even Marlin's a Trail-gear's flexy spring kits require you to weld new hangers for the rear.

I think we're getting away from the intent of your thread. You're not building a flexy crawler. I'd lose that swaybar and just wheel it. You'll be amazed what that truck will do stock.

Yeah thats what i plan on doing as soon as i get the clutch replaced this weekend. and its not that MY mind isnt open to cutting and welding, its just that DAD isn't into it and the truck is in his name still so he gets final decision on everything. Im gonna do some local research and try to find someone that deals with OME and try to get a hold of their stuff and at the same time look into the NWO at the same time. Hopefully ill have SOMETHING done before i leave for basic

 

[wentz912]

A popular comment on certain Toyota boards regarding North West Off Road and their customer service. Buyers beware...

N - No
W - Warranties
O - Or
R - Returns

And regarding the underwhelming 90HP 22R, I had one and I would suggest being careful about bolting on too much unnecessary stuff. Normally I would recommend a locker before a winch, but for hunting in the muddy PNW woods, I agree with getting a winch, even a handwinch or at least a come-a-long, sooner than later.

Keep the lift mild, 2-3", add the proper length shocks, flip the u bolts and get the most aggressive tread you can on a tire no bigger than a 32". This will give you good ground clearence and you avoid costly gear swaps. Get a good 5 gallon fuel can as the stock 17 gallon tank seems to empty quickly in the woods.

Yay..finally something that I DO have done got a hand winch (one of those ones thats like a come-along on steroids) looking to do no more than 3" of lift, and probably 32s in a nice AT for the road and find some old swampers and hot knife em for trail only trips down in tillamook and up in nacheez and the like looking for 2 5 gal nato cans to make a nice mount for too...anybody know someone who manufactures them or soemthing similar? and another question ive got is who here has used add a leafs on both ends with any success? Ive heard from a lot of people that they dont flex enough under light load to be worth a darn....but those were rockcrawler guys....

 

[kcowyo]

Badland Bumpers in Washington - good reputation, sharp looking products

I would be hesitant to mix and match 20+ year old factory leaves with an add-a-leaf or Chevy 63's or Exploder springs. Just ride the stockers until you can replace all 4 packs with something new and the correct length shocks to go with them.

Here's a simple low cost set up that I used and it took some good abuse without issue - Tuff Country EZ Ride

 

[wentz912]

Badland Bumpers in Washington - good reputation, sharp looking products

I would be hesitant to mix and match 20+ year old factory leaves with an add-a-leaf or Chevy 63's or Exploder springs. Just ride the stockers until you can replace all 4 packs with something new and the correct length shocks to go with them.

Here's a simple low cost set up that I used and it took some good abuse without issue - Tuff Country EZ Ride

The front springs look pretty decent...they are flat enough to still flex pretty well right? A buddy of mine has Pro Comps 4" and the front springs have terrible flex, only a little more than my stockers, his kit was lik $700 and has the terrible front springs and only rear BLOCKS! Thats one thing that I wont do. block...BLEH

 

[BogusBlake]

The front springs look pretty decent...they are flat enough to still flex pretty well right?

Factory front springs DO NOT flex worth crap. In fact, they ride like crap too. Most I've ever seen have gone into negative arch as yours probably have.

Any of those Pro-Country-Tuff-Jacker springs will be really stiff. In fact, anything marketed as a "Lift Kit" will be similarly crappy. What you want is a "suspension system" (which can be as minimal as just new springs and shocks). What companies like OME have done is actually design a spring and shock combonation that will complement your specific vehicle and the way it's meant to perform. They don't just throw some stiff as springs that happen to be the right dimensions to fit on your truck and their generic shocks in a box and advertize how much lift you're adding to your truck.

 

[wentz912]

Factory front springs DO NOT flex worth crap. In fact, they ride like crap too. Most I've ever seen have gone into negative arch as yours probably have.

Any of those Pro-Country-Tuff-Jacker springs will be really stiff. In fact, anything marketed as a "Lift Kit" will be similarly crappy. What you want is a "suspension system" (which can be as minimal as just new springs and shocks). What companies like OME have done is actually design a spring and shock combonation that will complement your specific vehicle and the way it's meant to perform. They don't just throw some stiff as springs that happen to be the right dimensions to fit on your truck and their generic shocks in a box and advertize how much lift you're adding to your truck.

I know they dont and thats why im hesitant to do have anything to do with any "box brands". Unfortunately, I'm having to figure out what i can do on a limited budgtet without doin a ton of welding and whatnot. maybe ill have to leave the suspension stock and put it on some decent 32s until i get back from basic.

 

[wentz912]

I've been thinking about lighting lately for some reason, maybe cuz it gets so dark early on in the day here in the PNW. Anyhow I cant figure out if I should try to bolt a roof rack/light mount onto my canopy since I dont know how much weight it would be able to support since its fiberglass:Wow1: If it did that I could mount 3 5" KCs.....or the other option is tear apart my front bumper/build a new one and mount 2 down lower. what's optimal?