D
Deleted member 9101
Guest
Awesome build!!!
slow, budget built '89 toyota pickup expedition rig
- Thread starter xlcaferacer
- Start date
seanpistol
Explorer
This is a great build. I'm most jealous of your $600 re-gear and the Wildernest find. Great work! I love those older Toyotas and the 22re is bombproof!
xlcaferacer
Adventurer
Now that we had our RV, we were ready to go. The trip to Oregon and back went well. I miss typed the mileage of the trip in an earlier post so I will clarify. I previously said that it was 5,000 miles, it was actually 3,000 miles round trip. I would love to tell you how the truck did off road, but this trip was all highway and interstate. I did; however, learn a few things about the truck on the trip.
Problem #1: The stock rear springs on the truck were sagging pretty good when I bought the truck so I installed a set of longer shackles that I had laying around in order to level out the truck. This was an o.k. temporary fix as I already had the shackles. However, it didn't ride the greatest once I installed the camper and when fully loaded. It was an acceptable temporary fix but something that needed attention down the road.
Problem #2: The truck ran great when running down the highway but I started noticing that it would get hotter in drive thrus and in slow city traffic. I had changed the water pump and thermostat when I did the timing chain and the fan clutch appeared to be working. Guess I needed a radiator.
Problem #3: We took this trip in the fall and realized that we either needed better sleeping bags or a heater. It was cold at night!
We dealt with these problems on the trip and made it home with no issues, but I vowed to make everything better over the course of the winter.
Solution #1: The stock rear springs had to go. I contacted Safari Ltd. in Grand Junction, CO and discussed my needs. These guys were great to deal with and I would highly recommend them. We decided that with the extra weight I was dealing with in the rear I should go with the Old Man Emu "medium duty" springs. We determined that if I needed a little more load carrying ability down the road, I could add another leaf and turn them into the "heavy" version of the spring. I will probably add the extra leaf this winter but for now they ride great. I also reused my longer shackles but cut them down to stock length and replaced the bushings and u-bolts. Again, in order to save money I skipped the Old Man Emu shocks and went with some KYB monomax shocks. These work fine but I hope to upgrade to the OME shocks in the future. I don't know how much lift this gave me in the rear but now it sits about level with the camper on it and the stock front suspension.
Solution #2: I drove all winter with the old radiator and fan clutch. This wasn't a problem since winter is so cold where I live. As spring came around I made a call to Dave'z Off Road Performance and ordered up one of their 3row radiators. http://www.davezoffroadperformance.com/store/drivetrain/radiators/extra-cooling-3-row-radiators.html This thing looked good and fit well. I also put in a new fan clutch while I was in there. The truck has since been to the desert during the summer and trail running in low range to 13,000' in the San Juans and I rarely get above the middle mark on the temp gauge. So, very happy with this mod as well.
Solution #3: The cure for being cold is heat. So we did 2 things to solve this problem. The first was to buy a heater. So we bought a Mr. Heater Little Buddy Heater which can be seen here: http://www.mrheater.com/product.aspx?catid=41&id=338 This thing is great! We use it for an hour or two at night to take the chill off, and run it in the morning for a bit as well. We do leave some vents open a little just in case but overall,we are very happy with this heater. We have used it camping at about 11,000 feet and while it gets a bit quirky it has still worked.
The second thing we did for warmth in the camper was ditch our old sleeping bags and get one big bag. We accomplished this by purchasing a Big Agnes Dream Island sleeping bag. https://www.bigagnes.com/Products/Detail/Bag/DreamIslandCopy This is a sleeping bag made for two. Now we can sleep in warmth and its easier to give my wife some "camp cuddling".
Sorry there are no pics and only links to products in this report. I'm not the most computer savy and I don't know how to just cut and paste pictures.
Problem #1: The stock rear springs on the truck were sagging pretty good when I bought the truck so I installed a set of longer shackles that I had laying around in order to level out the truck. This was an o.k. temporary fix as I already had the shackles. However, it didn't ride the greatest once I installed the camper and when fully loaded. It was an acceptable temporary fix but something that needed attention down the road.
Problem #2: The truck ran great when running down the highway but I started noticing that it would get hotter in drive thrus and in slow city traffic. I had changed the water pump and thermostat when I did the timing chain and the fan clutch appeared to be working. Guess I needed a radiator.
Problem #3: We took this trip in the fall and realized that we either needed better sleeping bags or a heater. It was cold at night!
We dealt with these problems on the trip and made it home with no issues, but I vowed to make everything better over the course of the winter.
Solution #1: The stock rear springs had to go. I contacted Safari Ltd. in Grand Junction, CO and discussed my needs. These guys were great to deal with and I would highly recommend them. We decided that with the extra weight I was dealing with in the rear I should go with the Old Man Emu "medium duty" springs. We determined that if I needed a little more load carrying ability down the road, I could add another leaf and turn them into the "heavy" version of the spring. I will probably add the extra leaf this winter but for now they ride great. I also reused my longer shackles but cut them down to stock length and replaced the bushings and u-bolts. Again, in order to save money I skipped the Old Man Emu shocks and went with some KYB monomax shocks. These work fine but I hope to upgrade to the OME shocks in the future. I don't know how much lift this gave me in the rear but now it sits about level with the camper on it and the stock front suspension.
Solution #2: I drove all winter with the old radiator and fan clutch. This wasn't a problem since winter is so cold where I live. As spring came around I made a call to Dave'z Off Road Performance and ordered up one of their 3row radiators. http://www.davezoffroadperformance.com/store/drivetrain/radiators/extra-cooling-3-row-radiators.html This thing looked good and fit well. I also put in a new fan clutch while I was in there. The truck has since been to the desert during the summer and trail running in low range to 13,000' in the San Juans and I rarely get above the middle mark on the temp gauge. So, very happy with this mod as well.
Solution #3: The cure for being cold is heat. So we did 2 things to solve this problem. The first was to buy a heater. So we bought a Mr. Heater Little Buddy Heater which can be seen here: http://www.mrheater.com/product.aspx?catid=41&id=338 This thing is great! We use it for an hour or two at night to take the chill off, and run it in the morning for a bit as well. We do leave some vents open a little just in case but overall,we are very happy with this heater. We have used it camping at about 11,000 feet and while it gets a bit quirky it has still worked.
The second thing we did for warmth in the camper was ditch our old sleeping bags and get one big bag. We accomplished this by purchasing a Big Agnes Dream Island sleeping bag. https://www.bigagnes.com/Products/Detail/Bag/DreamIslandCopy This is a sleeping bag made for two. Now we can sleep in warmth and its easier to give my wife some "camp cuddling".
Sorry there are no pics and only links to products in this report. I'm not the most computer savy and I don't know how to just cut and paste pictures.
xlcaferacer
Adventurer
Now that I had the truck running great, and our camper was sorted out it was time for a few more modifications. When I cut off the roll pan and the bottom of the fenders in the back of my truck, it left the spare tire hanging down. This kind of defeated the purpose of gaining clearance by cutting off excess sheet metal. When my wife asked me what I wanted for Christmas I told her that I wanted a build it yourself swing out tire carrier kit. I can't remember where it came from but it came with a spindle and bearings, a latch, and a universal tire mounting plate. I bought a weld in 2" receiver hitch from the local auto parts store and went back to my metal pile and got to work.
The bumper that I previously built was cut in half. Then I fired up my trusty Lincoln AC-225 stick welder and the receiver hitch was welded in and braced. Next up I cut off the old bumper mounts and welded them in the new location. I then drilled a hole in the top and bottom on the drivers side corner and welded in the spindle. I chose to have the carrier swing to the drivers side because I wanted the weight of the tire closest to the spindle and with the carrier on the drivers side it would allow me to have a better view out the rear passenger window, thus giving me less of a passenger side blind spot. Another reason for the driver side swing is that the Wildernest opens to the passenger side when folded out. Now I don't have to walk around the swing out in order to sit in the shade under the folded out camper.
Now that the bumper portion was done, I shifted to the tire carrier. This was built over the next several nights in the garage. Once I was happy with the swing out, I remounted the bumper to the truck and added two more braces from the frame to the bumper at the rear of the wheel wells. I then ran another brace from the corner with the spindle in it to the frame. I then fired up the welder again and made the bumper a permanent addition to the frame. Then the bearings were greased and the swing out was installed on the spindle.
I had some extra metal left so I made a cargo basket that I welded on next to the spare tire mount. I have used this to haul my camping firewood in order to keep bark and slivers out of the "living room". This box is only temporary and will get cut off in the future and I will eventually mount a small 5 or 10lb propane tank in its place. I also wanted a fold down table on the backside of the swing out, so I took the lid off of an old metal storage trunk that I had laying around and made it work. Now I have a table for my camp stove and in turn added a new room to the RV. I now have a living room, bedroom, and a kitchen. Enjoy the pics.
The bumper that I previously built was cut in half. Then I fired up my trusty Lincoln AC-225 stick welder and the receiver hitch was welded in and braced. Next up I cut off the old bumper mounts and welded them in the new location. I then drilled a hole in the top and bottom on the drivers side corner and welded in the spindle. I chose to have the carrier swing to the drivers side because I wanted the weight of the tire closest to the spindle and with the carrier on the drivers side it would allow me to have a better view out the rear passenger window, thus giving me less of a passenger side blind spot. Another reason for the driver side swing is that the Wildernest opens to the passenger side when folded out. Now I don't have to walk around the swing out in order to sit in the shade under the folded out camper.
Now that the bumper portion was done, I shifted to the tire carrier. This was built over the next several nights in the garage. Once I was happy with the swing out, I remounted the bumper to the truck and added two more braces from the frame to the bumper at the rear of the wheel wells. I then ran another brace from the corner with the spindle in it to the frame. I then fired up the welder again and made the bumper a permanent addition to the frame. Then the bearings were greased and the swing out was installed on the spindle.
I had some extra metal left so I made a cargo basket that I welded on next to the spare tire mount. I have used this to haul my camping firewood in order to keep bark and slivers out of the "living room". This box is only temporary and will get cut off in the future and I will eventually mount a small 5 or 10lb propane tank in its place. I also wanted a fold down table on the backside of the swing out, so I took the lid off of an old metal storage trunk that I had laying around and made it work. Now I have a table for my camp stove and in turn added a new room to the RV. I now have a living room, bedroom, and a kitchen. Enjoy the pics.
xlcaferacer
Adventurer
And a few more random camping and travel shots with the truck at this point in the build:
JasonRedwood
Explorer
looks like a good set up!
David Harris
Expedition Leader
Nice truck and setup. I've had two of that vintage Toyota truck, one with the 22RE, and one with the V6. The 22RE is definitely better, but I did have problems with the plastic parts in the timing chain. It never broke but rattled around some. BTW: I grew up in CB!
Cheers,
David
Cheers,
David
D
Deleted member 9101
Guest
I know you gor a better radiator, but you can also add an oil cooler with its own fan. That will drop the temps better than anything else.
xlcaferacer
Adventurer
Now that the camper portion was sorted out, it was time to add something to the truck that serves a couple of purposes. The one problem I have had with the camper is getting all the canvas tucked back in when the tent is in the closed position. To remedy this I called a shop in Utah called Low Range Offroad (http://www.lowrangeoffroad.com/index.php/) and ordered up a set of Trail Gear weld on sliders. After notching the pinch weld on the bottom of the truck so that I could tuck the sliders up close to the body I welded them on. I now have body protection and side steps to stand on while tucking in the tent material on the camper.
After I installed the sliders I realized that the old cab mount bushings were fairly worn as they allowed the body to make contact with the sliders when I hit bumps in the road. To remedy this I installed new Energy Suspension poly cab mounts. The cab no longer rolls as much and the truck has a more "solid" feel.
After I installed the sliders I realized that the old cab mount bushings were fairly worn as they allowed the body to make contact with the sliders when I hit bumps in the road. To remedy this I installed new Energy Suspension poly cab mounts. The cab no longer rolls as much and the truck has a more "solid" feel.
xlcaferacer
Adventurer
Up to this point I have had the truck for about two years and due to family and work obligations she hasn't seen much play time. That was about to change. I was turning 40 soon and to celebrate I was planning to spend a week camping and wheeling in the San Juan Mtns of Colorado with my wife and dog. I thought it was very appropriate to buy my self an early birthday gift. So I went to Discount Tire Direct and bought my girl some new shoes! These shoes are BFG KM2's with a size of 33x10.50r15. I would have liked to have gotten some new rims as well but; we are on a budget, so the old chrome modular rims stay for now. Keep in mind that the truck has no suspension lift up front and very little in the rear. I had already done some trimming to the rear wheel wells, now it was time to trim the front. I trimmed about 1 1/2 inches from the bottom of the front fenders and beat the pinch weld flat. They still rub a marginal amount in the front when the tire is at full stuff, but it is tolerable at this time. These tires work great offroad and they make a perfect, hum on the highway that reminds you that you are driving a truck. 
J
JWP58
Guest
Very nice. How do you think those BFG's will do in snow?
xlcaferacer
Adventurer
I plan on buying a siping tool before winter and giving them the treatment, but I have driven some radial Swampers on a past truck and I don't forsee the KM2's being any worse than those. Winter driving is all about driving for the conditions and if you slow down a bit and don't get in a hurry, any tire will do. Some are just better at certain things than others. I would rather drive slower in the winter and know that I have the traction that is going to get me home when I am out in the backcountry.
J
JWP58
Guest
Valid points, good looking pickup for sure.
xlcaferacer
Adventurer
Our week in the San Juan Mtns. has come and gone. We had a great time. Our week was filled with rain, hail, and some sunshine. We stayed completely dry in the camper and the truck ran and performed amazingly well on the trail. We started our week with a beer festival in Ouray on Saturday and hit the trail on Sunday. We ran Engineer, Cinnamon, Ophir, Black Bear, and Imogene passes, as well as some side trips over Last Dollar Road, and up to Alta Lakes.
We saw some great places and enjoyed some amazing views. Here are some pics.
We saw some great places and enjoyed some amazing views. Here are some pics.