Thatbassguy's financially irresponsible build and record of where all of my money went

L brackets? Are we to ignore a perfectly good opportunity to use turnbuckles??? These things are responsible for winning the (first) war to end all wars! For man’s ability to fly among the birds…for footprints on the moon!!!

OK fine, pencils, staplers and probably L brackets are resposible for all that too.

But consider this…turnbuckles buckle as they turn. They’re hardware versions of haiku. They’re unmatched!!!

 

Truly poetic!

 

Both good ideas. The tricky part is that the section on the far left is separate, and will be out any time I'm on the MT's.

I'm starting to think I'll just ratchet strap it down.

I'm working on a little jig to keep the spare upright while it's in there. I'll probably strap the tire down to the jig, and put another strap from the tire to the cargo tie-down to hold it from flying around if I have to brake hard.

 

That looks excellent! And great idea on the spare retention system. It’s coming together beautifully. Nothing like a custom build for perfect usability.

 

I will add, if you ever want to include some sort steel cradle as part of your spare tire retention and deployment system (know known as the STRaDS system), let me know! Im sure we can puzzle something out that can be easily crafted. It might take a beer sesh or two to figure it out, but sometimes we have to make that sacrifice!

 

I was actually thinking that if I had the tools to weld and fabricate I would really love to make something out of steel or aluminum. If you have some ideas I would definitely love to talk it over with beers in hand!

 

I am.

 

Oops, wrong thread. Nice runner!

 

You take that back!!!

 

We have to now! I only can work steel though until I make the leap to tig welding. Also, aluminum feels all gummy and melty when cutting and grinding it. Havent learned any tricks for working with it.

I also cant get the idea of making a roof rack out of my head. I’d love to finally get my ideas figured out… so many ideas

 

I used 2 E-track plates and an E-strap to go over the tire, then another simple strap to pull the spare against my roll bar.

 

Wow - what a truly nice build! I easily relate to the title you chose, probably relates well to most who follow who follow this forum..

 

Thank you!

This hobby certainly isn't for the frugal type! It's the neverending project/money-pit.

 

So true - then when the bucket list is totally check off it’s trade-in time so the process can be re-started or we die, whichever comes first…

 

Nope!!

 

Sooo, I had a slow leak going on in my rear passenger tire.

Apparently, a rock got wedged between the brake and the wheel during my recent beach shenanigans. I actually remember hearing a grinding noise at one point, but it stopped on its own and I didn't think anything of it.

I'm guessing that it spun around when it finally popped loose and caused this indentation and a pinhole leak. It made a pretty good groove in the wheel as well.



It's been moved to spare duty for the time being. I'm going to look into getting the wheel repaired, if the damage isn't too bad.

 

Damn, that sucks!

 

It's been pretty quiet here, otherwise. I've been getting my money's worth out of everything. I have a camping/wheeling trip coming up with some of the other Wisconsin folks here and from Tacomaworld. It's been a busy summer!

 

This one is on my calendar! No camping, but should be up for Sunday!

 

~86K miles, changed oil, swapped to the Toyos, removed roof rack. I took it for a spin and quickly remembered how quiet the Toyos are! I love the MT's, but sometimes it's nice to have a quiet ride!

I'm in full winter/incognito mode now.

 

Seriously considering the Toyos for my next set of tires. I love my KO2s but I want something that rides a bit quieter.

 

I think these are a pinch quieter than my KO2's were. I've read that KO2's get noisy. I got rid of mine at ~29K miles to up-size, so I can't confirm. I think I have around 25K on the Toyos, and so far, so good.

 

They do get noisy, trust me. I have about 40K miles on them, and the tread is holding up really well. So a part of me wants to stick with the KO2s for future, but another part of me wants to try the Toyos. Both tires look nice and aggressive on the 4runner.

BTW, your rig looks great! Going to attempt an oil change at home myself this weekend. No more dealerships for me!

 

Thank you!

That's awesome that you're going to do your own maintenance! If I'm being honest, I don't really enjoy it, but I am glad to know that it's done right.

As far as those KO2's; how often do you rotate them? I have been doing 5K rotations in my own weird sequence, and it seems to be working well for me. My KO2's were at 80% tread when I ended up selling them.

 

I concur that they're getting noisy. My KO2s just hit about 45K and I was just thinking that they were a tad louder than normal yesterday while driving on the interstate. Like you, the tread is holding up great. @Thatbassguy measured my tread depth on a recent trail run and they're still holding up well. 5,000 mile rotation by the local dealership during routine maintenance.

 

Yep, every 5k miles I rotate them. Hoping to get as many as possible out of them. Tires are not cheap!

 

Not much going on here lately. I did stop at a truck scale, out of curiosity. This was without the roof rack, backseats out, and platform in. I'll have to weigh it again when I'm loaded up for a camping trip sometime. It's crazy to see how much weight I'm really carrying in there.

 

Also, picked up another potential project. One of the fellas over at TW gave me a sweet deal on a used '99 Jayco Eagle 10UD pop-up. It needs a little work, but everything is there. I can't wait to try it out in a few months!

 

Cool James. We sure do enjoy ours. Hope to see you in the fall for apple fest.

 

Awesome! Looking forward to it!