Mountain Man Limo-ILuvtheMountains Tacoma Build

[Jackie]

It's looking great, Travis!

[ILuvtheMountains]

dscowell previously posted:

[Brucker]

NativeTaco previously posted:

[Java]

Tough looking setup!! I like that sticker with the compass.

[ILuvtheMountains]

Thanks Paul!

Aaron, here is the deal:
I need something that will take the weight off of the spindle when it is locked and closed and hold it securely so that it doesn't rattle. BUT it also needs to be low-profile enough to open the tailgate. And I don't particularly want to spend much more money on it, the bumper (while much cheaper than buying one) is way over what I budgeted both in $$$ and weight.

[ILuvtheMountains]

Just so that you have a bit more to work with, here is what the bumper will look like with the tire carrier on it

[dscowell]

NativeTaco previously posted:

[Fordguy77]

You could use a small chunk of UHMW with a bevel on it so the arm slides up it/holds pressure against the spindle.

[ILuvtheMountains]

dscowell previously posted:

[Brucker]

NativeTaco previously posted:

[ILuvtheMountains]

Did a bit of work today.
Filler plates cut. Unfortunately no time to weld.


Got the bearing races pressed into the swing arm so we could finally assemble the hinge and measure for cutting the spindle down to size.


Some parts Bob threw in with the coilovers I bought from him. A swaybar relocate bracket became a leveling shim for the arm when closed.

A few more pieces to cut, a weld day and a grinding day then ready for final coating and finally done with this *****.

[Brucker]

Looking good Travis! Be sure to leave enough room between your filler panels and your lights! The bumper will still "flex" some. I am sure you have taken that already into consideration. Just making sure as that can easily be overlooked when building your first bumper.

[ILuvtheMountains]

I did try to do that but I'm not sure that I left enough room. Probably .25" maybe 3/8". It will be close.

[ILuvtheMountains]

(Already in separate build thread but belongs here too for archival purposes)
Done. 4/28/14-6/17/15
417days

[The StRanger]

Nice !!! I like it...

[ILuvtheMountains]

The bumper has worked great after about 6months of use. The Bedliner has held up well, even with a few good collisions with trail side debris when snowbashing a few weeks ago.
I recently picked up a set of lightly used maxxis bighorns 255/85/16 because I needed tires but couldn't afford a whole new set of 5. Found a guy selling 5 for $450. Couldn't pass that up.
however I went to get them mounted and the techs at the shop didn't lock my tire carrier swing out and when I pulled out of the lot the arm swung open and bounced off of the bedside until I was able to pull over and lock it. Thankfully there was no damage to the spindle or my bedside. Pretty happy with this spindle I ordered from AtoZFabrication.com.

[Jim]

pfew!

Looking at the angles, the latch, under normal use has never un-latched itself? Do you insert any "lock" to keep it from popping open (going past center)?

[ILuvtheMountains]

The latch has a trigger-style lock that has never come unlatched by itself. There is no stop for the arm to keep it from opening past a certain point, if that's what you are asking.

[Jim]

I was looking at the latch - but didn't see the trigger catch at first look.

As the latch is in the same swing plane as the tire, I could see the tire carrier trying to pull the latching assembly "open" / past center. The trigger catch is but another item keeping it from getting loose on ya. Perhaps it never would (even without the trigger catch) - it's something I wonder about.

[ILuvtheMountains]

Hey everyone, I'm back! Nothing new on the rig to report but just glad to be back on here!