Getting it done on the Cheap
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What kind of clearance are you getting from the ground? Basically measured from the "lowest hanging point" under the truck to the ground. Generally its the differential or exhaust system that's lowest. Sorry I didn't really specify with my with post.
Stock 2015-2017 Power Wagons have 14.3 inches of ground clearance. But since you've done quite a bit of modifications I'm curious as to how much your gained if any.
Went and measured. Not sure where Ram gets that factory number. But it's 22 inches to the bottom of my sliders which sit a little lower than the rocker panel and 17 inches to the bottom of the axle.
I don't have any suspension modifications other than 37's - My truck is not as heavily modified as it looks. Most of it is armor.
Not bad, I'm partial to the 93's. I'm asked this so much I'm thinking of making a buyers guide check list lol.
1. 4.0 6-cylinder. Stay away from the V-8
2. Part time 231j transfer case. Shifter will say 2h, 4h, 4l.
3. Check that all doors open and close by using inside and outside door handles.
4. Check that windows all go up and down.
5. Engine may rattle, they all do a bit, mines rattled for the last 75k
6. Stay away from sun roofs, never seen one that worked and didn't leak.
7. Buy a cubby for a 2wd and replace the none working Vehicle Information Center, or build a switch panel for there.
8. Take your time, when I went shopping for my current one, there were 7 93's in Spokane for sale, I looked at each one until I could check all my boxes.
9. Try to not be tempted by $100 lift kits, my Rough Country was $399 with arms, shocks and new front springs and works well. With 3.5", they drive good at freeway speeds, pulls my off-road trailer good, clear 31's, drivelines still work and are still good with no gear swap.
10. Enjoy your comfy, roomy, cheap overlander, I've got 240k on mine, my last one went to 516k.
FYI, I love to talk about these.[/QUOTE]
Wish I had known this when I got my '98 ZJ!!
1. 4.0 Check
2. Oops! Full time transfer case--front diff rebuilt and all working now so this will stay until it breaks...
3. Check
4. 2 out of 4 ain't bad, right???
5. No engine rattle so far...158,000 miles.
6. He's right! So I just park with the nose facing downhill...
7. The VIC can be very entertaining as long as you don't take it too seriously, but I like the switch panel idea, Thanks!
8. Same here...north Georgia.
9. No lift so far, so thanks for this!
10. I've enjoyed mine so far and hope to for a long time.
Take care and thanks again for the list.
1. 4.0 6-cylinder. Stay away from the V-8
2. Part time 231j transfer case. Shifter will say 2h, 4h, 4l.
3. Check that all doors open and close by using inside and outside door handles.
4. Check that windows all go up and down.
5. Engine may rattle, they all do a bit, mines rattled for the last 75k
6. Stay away from sun roofs, never seen one that worked and didn't leak.
7. Buy a cubby for a 2wd and replace the none working Vehicle Information Center, or build a switch panel for there.
8. Take your time, when I went shopping for my current one, there were 7 93's in Spokane for sale, I looked at each one until I could check all my boxes.
9. Try to not be tempted by $100 lift kits, my Rough Country was $399 with arms, shocks and new front springs and works well. With 3.5", they drive good at freeway speeds, pulls my off-road trailer good, clear 31's, drivelines still work and are still good with no gear swap.
10. Enjoy your comfy, roomy, cheap overlander, I've got 240k on mine, my last one went to 516k.
FYI, I love to talk about these.[/QUOTE]
Wish I had known this when I got my '98 ZJ!!
1. 4.0 Check
2. Oops! Full time transfer case--front diff rebuilt and all working now so this will stay until it breaks...
3. Check
4. 2 out of 4 ain't bad, right???
5. No engine rattle so far...158,000 miles.
6. He's right! So I just park with the nose facing downhill...
7. The VIC can be very entertaining as long as you don't take it too seriously, but I like the switch panel idea, Thanks!
8. Same here...north Georgia.
9. No lift so far, so thanks for this!
10. I've enjoyed mine so far and hope to for a long time.
Take care and thanks again for the list.
If I can confidently copy it, I build it. I built my dual battery system for $175 and my awning mount, hi lift mount, and ax/shovel mount for free. I also made a skottel from an old plow disc for about $15. I am currently deciding whether or not to spend the time fabbing a skid plate system for my Tacoma or spending the $800+ buying one. My free time is limited right now so I'm leaning towards waiting and taking the time to build it myself. If I had the funds I'd buy the stuff and spend the time using it, but I have to balance the time money thing to get the most out of both.
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Craig Cooper
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I've learned (mostly the hard way) that if you look at it as a whole project, it becomes too overwhelming. Just remember what Johnny Cash said "one piece at a time". You'll get there. I always enjoy seeing people's home built modifications vs. pure catalog cruisers.
I agree, more often than not they're more functional for that persons need too since it's not a cookie cutter part designed for the masses and a profit margin.
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Traveler II
I am also considering building my own skid plates not just because I want to but having a rig that is not US market and importing them would be ridiculously expensive.
Love the conversation. If you can build it often better to do so. Consider though how much engineering some of these companies go through, and iterations of each product to get it right. What I mean is not all are created equal, so also weigh the quality of what you can produce vs buy. Also factor how important this product is, I may build something non-critical, but skids for me is not something I think I could do better for the money, and having my truck protected, and skids able to take a beating is why on that particular item I would go with for example BudBuilt skids vs DIY.
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Traveler II
New front page video that I feel captures the intent of this thread... Thanks @Michael Love seeing the creativity and solutions people come up with! https://www.overlandbound.com/budget-built-tacoma-overland-rig/
This was probably the best walk around video yet, time to do more budget walk arounds!
The über projects(super models) are fun to look at but these budget ones (the girl next door) are much more inspirational and useful to gather ideas from!
The über projects(super models) are fun to look at but these budget ones (the girl next door) are much more inspirational and useful to gather ideas from!
Enthusiast III
100% agree. Not to take anything away from the well stocked and (for lack of better term) "assembled" rigs. The home brew way about outfitting a rig will always be like no other.
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Enthusiast III
After finishing my last build, I have some insight to throw into this discussion.
Adding up the cost of buying the truck (91' Toy-PCKP, 22re), to the binder I had filled with parts purchases, napa bills, and maintenance that was beyond my skills, I was looking at about 18 grand. In a short amount of time. Long story short, that is not gonna happen again.
That being said, I had the income, and building it didn't eat me out of house and home. On the other side, though I have a good buyer lined up, I will not recover over 10,000 bucks from the truck.
Things I recommend doing, in this order -
preventative/scheduled maintenance
a good once over with all fluids (all), grease points, etc.
all terrain tires - just big enough
small suspension lift, cheap (spacers etc.)
good recovery gear
things I wouldn't buy again -
intake/exhaust system
bumpers
aftermarket engine mods
Adding up the cost of buying the truck (91' Toy-PCKP, 22re), to the binder I had filled with parts purchases, napa bills, and maintenance that was beyond my skills, I was looking at about 18 grand. In a short amount of time. Long story short, that is not gonna happen again.
That being said, I had the income, and building it didn't eat me out of house and home. On the other side, though I have a good buyer lined up, I will not recover over 10,000 bucks from the truck.
Things I recommend doing, in this order -
preventative/scheduled maintenance
a good once over with all fluids (all), grease points, etc.
all terrain tires - just big enough
small suspension lift, cheap (spacers etc.)
good recovery gear
things I wouldn't buy again -
intake/exhaust system
bumpers
aftermarket engine mods
That’s funny because I was thinking that building skids for me would be the least technical thing to build. Of course it would be more complicated from rig to rig, but in the end it’s just a big sheet of metal to slide over rocks on. Once the shape is cut, bent etc, mounting it is just a matter of zapping brackets on the plates. Between loosely copying ideas from pictures of the name brand stuff and some fitting trial and error it should be the ideal diy project. If it’s not just right, who cares? IMO as long as it’s strong and covers what it’s supposed to, it’s just going to get beaten on rocks anyway. The 3 piece skid for my Tacoma seems to average about $800. I over estimated the price of the amount of steel to make my own and it was under $200. Now I just need to wait until there’s nothing to hunt or fish for a weekend...
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Wish I had known this when I got my '98 ZJ!!
1. 4.0 Check
2. Oops! Full time transfer case--front diff rebuilt and all working now so this will stay until it breaks...
3. Check
4. 2 out of 4 ain't bad, right???
5. No engine rattle so far...158,000 miles.
6. He's right! So I just park with the nose facing downhill...
7. The VIC can be very entertaining as long as you don't take it too seriously, but I like the switch panel idea, Thanks!
8. Same here...north Georgia.
9. No lift so far, so thanks for this!
10. I've enjoyed mine so far and hope to for a long time.
Take care and thanks again for the list.[/QUOTE]
I'm partial to the '93's myself. 93 - 95 were transition years so there are a few eccentricities with those years as changes to transmission. Luckily most of those still have matching parts so you have a larger selection of junk yard parts to choose from. This is the 2nd '93 I have built. Bought the first for a grand, put a grand into it and sold it for 2300, which I paid on one in better shape with the 5.2 V8. The old 4.0 is darn near bullet proof, but much of my 4 wheeling is at 10,000 plus feet. The inline six just runs out of poop at those altitudes. Very few, if an, ZJs came off the line with a 231 transfer case which does give you 2 wheel drive when you're on the highway saving gas and front end parts, but that 231 was standard in most comparable year XJ, so chasing around the junk yard again can nab you a 231 at a decent price, and having a rebuild done is not that big a deal. Most of the old 4.o engines had piston slap so they all sounded a little like a diesel. Also, I agree with Craig on the VIC. switch group, or fer real gauge set in there serves a better purpose. I have put a 3.5 lift on both of mine as 31/10.50s clear well and stuff in the fender well without hitting anything. All the way around I have a trail vehicle that's capable of going places that scare me, and can hold gear for a week or so out, with a total price outlay of about 4.5K. To me that's cheap jeeping. IMHO
Another place to find general camp items is garage sales and resale shops. All of my pots, pans, utensils, etc. are from garage sales. These were purchased for pennies in some cases and I don't care what happens to them. I know they don't have the cool factor of 200 dollar titanium backpacker items, but I also don't care if I set them straight into a camp fire or have to use one as a fluid catch-pan.
Home Depot is a great place as well. 12 dollars for a shovel, under 20 for a good axe. Mounting hardware for those items can be found there as well.
Before you buy the elite drawer system that looks so great, check with local cabinet makers if you can't build it yourself. You may save yourself hundreds of dollars, or in some cases a thousand, on a nice storage system for your vehicle that fits your needs perfectly.
Home Depot is a great place as well. 12 dollars for a shovel, under 20 for a good axe. Mounting hardware for those items can be found there as well.
Before you buy the elite drawer system that looks so great, check with local cabinet makers if you can't build it yourself. You may save yourself hundreds of dollars, or in some cases a thousand, on a nice storage system for your vehicle that fits your needs perfectly.
Influencer I
Would love to see what you did for the mounting hardware for the axe and shovel.
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Ditto on the yard sales, I’ve scored great deals on old cast iron pans and Dutch ovens. I also have found some nice Coleman lanterns etc used once by people that decided that camping wasn’t their thing. Amazon has been a great source for stuff too, Even builder parts like the little sliding threaded things that go inside the Tacoma bed accessory rails that I was able to use to attach the mounting brackets I fabed for my hi lift and ax and shovel mounts.
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I have been told that getting custom parts for the Xterra is difficult because of the unibody
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