NPR 4wd conversion and camper build thread.

Tourboy

Observer
Looking good but how much up travel in the spring will you have before you bend the arm? Off road flexing looks like it may be a problem.
 

javajoe79

Fabricator
Looking good but how much up travel in the spring will you have before you bend the arm? Off road flexing looks like it may be a problem.

It's about 2". I am concerned with that too but it was the best I could fit in that space. If I end up needing more room I will have to make some changes. I am on the fence about a coil sprung front end anyway....
 

javajoe79

Fabricator
Got started building the front subframe that will carry the fuel tank and water tank. I will be a flat bed on top for now but later it will be a large double ended storage box that will fill the void under the camper box. 19" of ground clearance to the fuel tank. 50 gallons of fuel.

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DzlToy

Explorer
One of the crappy things about cabover trucks is there is no "rocker" to put slider bars onto. On my 4Runner, I had sliders welded to the frame and could rest the weight of the truck on them to pivot around obstacles if required. I know this is not a rock crawler and Matt's won't be either (if it ever gets finished), but that was an issue that we discussed several times since there is such a large area between the back of the cab and the rear wheel.

I think 19" of ground clearance should be plenty. Are you going to make some kind of skid plate or slider to protect the underside of the tank?

I need to get up ther and check out the shop before it is 100 degrees out...

Looking good man.,
 

javajoe79

Fabricator
Thanks. Yeah I'm thinking I'll incorporate a plate into the straps that will hang the tank. Swing by any time
 

javajoe79

Fabricator
I glued in some windows today. I had the windows fabricated by a local glass shop. They are fixed, tempered, double pane units. Glued in place with SIKA 255FC. At this point I am thinking I should add more windows to the rear section of wall that is blank now. What does everyone think?



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javajoe79

Fabricator
I ordered some springs today for the rear suspension. Coil Spring Specialties here in the US had something off the shelf that should be just about right. Cheap enough to not worry that much about them either. If I need to change the rate at a later time, it won't cost an arm and a leg.

The springs I ordered are the following specs:

ID Wire Size Ends Rate Free Length Total Coil Travel
3.75 .812 S&G2 565 24.25 12.625 13.25

I also ordered shocks the other day. Went with the Rancho RS9000XL. I bought the same shock for all 4 corners. They are as follows:

Extended Length (in): 28.125 in.
Collapsed Length (in): 16.875 in.

I am shooting for 10" of travel per corner so these shocks and springs should do well. The shocks were only $100 each through my parts distributor and the springs were only $335 shipped for the pair. Very happy with that as the other option I was considering was King shocks at $500 each
 

DzlToy

Explorer
Will be interested to see how you go with these, as I have only seen them mounted on a factory FG.

Would love to have a shorter set of the 9000's for an FE work truck that rides like #@(@!
 

Haf-E

Expedition Leader
The windows and camper look great - nice job having it not just be a box! Looking forward to seeing it completed.
 

javajoe79

Fabricator
Will be interested to see how you go with these, as I have only seen them mounted on a factory FG.

Would love to have a shorter set of the 9000's for an FE work truck that rides like #@(@!

They have a few shorter options. I was a bit skeptical until I had them in my hands but they are very robust looking. I've read a number of accounts of them working well on trucks with a similar weight as mine so I'm fairly confident. They are also cheap enough that I am willing to gamble on them working. I also thought about using two per corner if needed. That way if they get too hot and stop working, I can add another shock per corner and use a less aggressive dampening setting for the same total dampening. 2 per corner is still $300 per corner cheaper than king shocks. My other option was a custom shock from A-1 in colorado. They would be $130 each but not adjustable and the specs as far as body diameter, piston size and shaft size were comparable to the Ranchos. I would also have to reorder a custom shock down the road as opposed to an off the shelf item that I can order and have in a days time.
 

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