addiction2basses daily driver build

[DRAGGIN95]

I like the white smooth cover!

 

[addiction2bass]

ya im liking the smooth one much better. i love just looking in the rear view and seeing a smooth reflection of the sky off the cover
i didnt have time to work on the cover today. i was busy all afternoon building another swinging gate for my folks patio. i think it turned out nicely. but now i have to redo my first gate and space the boards to match. i thought they would have shrunk up alittle more by now since they where so wet but NOPE. only just barely 1/8th inch shrinkage. gotta space them to 1/4inch to match.
my folks should really like the new gates! old ones where just janky old crap rusted fences propped up.
old crap makeshift gate

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first gate

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second gate

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i love these spring loaded hinges! very nice not having to close gates behind ya.LOL
http://s40.photobucket.com/albums/e...on=view&current=video-2012-08-20-19-56-04.mp4

i got like 170bucks in materials for these new gates wood and hinges and such. still gotta have brother stain them to match the patio deck and put up some new fencing around the patio to replace the old crappy chicken wire fence my dad slapped up for when we had puppies about 5years ago cause they kept going under the patio and didnt want to come out.lol needless to say the folks should really like my improvement on the patio for them! sure makes the house look better! money well spent even tho i could have put it into my truck....
i just need to trim the 4x6 beams alittle still. i just need a longer blade for my saw to make a clean cut. at least i didnt have to clean up the patio... i made my brother clean it up since i bought the materials and built it he could atleast clean up after me.LMFAO

 

[DRAGGIN95]

Nice, your gates turned out nice!

 

[addiction2bass]

thanks i think the folks will be happy with them once my brother stains them. i also put new fencing up on the side of the patio. pops put up some chicken fence about 5years or more ago from when we had puppies and they liked crawling under there and didnt wanna come out.lol well that was ugly as hell. you can barely see it in my pictures but it was pretty dam ugly and rust and collected alot of leafs in the fence. i also got brother to remove half of those pond plants out right after i took pictures. now i can finally see my soldier goldfishes and some of them are big now! they been eating ALOT of mosquitoes for afew years now. im suprised they still alive after winter last year!

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you can also see i built the gates perfect size so i can just roll the BBQ grill to the gate and be able to grill right out the door and yes i did plan the bbq grill fence height... it just happened to match the first gate i built perfectly.LOL i got lucky on that one! but i will tell everyone else i planned it all.hehehehe
and the old fence YUCK!

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and well today i searched all morning for a good rear axle and springs and brackets from a suburban since i was told that tahoe/suburbans front hangers are basically 2inch drop hangers on trucks SO i got them so i could lower the trailer real easily instead of doing a custom flip set like i did on my old trailer. and well after 2junkyards and the very last row in the whole junkyard they had a unmolested suburban 2wd rear axle. so i rapped the truck with the saw
BUT when i got home and unloaded the axle from my truck.... OF COURSE the front bracket just falls off the spring.... the dam spring hoop broke. i swear that ******* stayed on just long enough to get off my bed and IT FELL OFF.... DAM IT. so i gotta get another spring. (luckely eric has a set of springs he no longer needs so im gonna snag up his sometime.)
now im just waiting till payday (next friday) and i will at least price out some metal for the new frame and hopefully it wont cost to much and ill be able to buy enough the first time! and thats all i need to get this project really going! i was hoping to be able to just bolt in the rear axle/spring setup BUT looks like im gonna probably need new Ubolts on one side at least now. but i guess 2 is cheaper than all 4. what can ya do... to bad i didnt get warrenty on the axle/springs. trying to save a buck is gonna cost me a buck.

but at least i also got the cashier to not charge me for the sway bar, and i got a hotdog and 2 pops (customer appreciation day at pullapart=great timing for me) but the sway bar will probably just go into scrap pile cause i dont see any sway bars on trailer axles!
pictures suck sorry.... i was tired as hell from getting this dam rear axle and hungry as hell so i quickly unloaded it and rolled it into the shop for a nice cold shower and some food!
and this time i think im gonna leave the brakes in the axle and try and snag a Ebrake handle of some type and try to make a Ebrake/PARKING BRAKE for the trailer maybe if i can think of a way to do it on the cables i cut or maybe just replace those cables but i think i can figure something out in time.

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[addiction2bass]

ok well i got some steel now for my trailer build.

1/8inch thick 2x4 tubing. 64feet of it which should be enough. cost about 308bucks so not to bad. i would have liked to have the next step 3/16th thickness but it was dam near twice the price!
1/8inc thick. $4.50ft. the thicker 3/16 was 7bucks a foot, and 1/4inch thick was $8.75ft. i just didnt want to spend almost all my whole check on just steel!
but this stuff looks like it would be strong enough for anything id be hauling on/in this thing!
im sure ill have plenty of scrap to do extra bracing to overbrace the dam thing more than i already planned on! just because i guessed dimensions and rounded way up! before i cut any tubing i might just buy some cheap 2x4wood and make a quick frame templet just to take out any quess work!
i got two 8ft pieces, and four 12ft pieces.
and its actually the same thickness as the other steel i used on my last trailer. i guess it was the 2x6 size that made it look thinner wall. i think it will do just fine!

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collin had a idea to bag a trailer and it did get me thinking! that would be pretty sweet and also freak people out while driving and such but i think for now ill just be lowering it ruffly 6inches in the rear I HOPE. figuring out the drop might be tricky! still not sure how ill figure that out just yet with welding the stock spring brackets to the new frame! trial and error i guess maybe slap a few tack welds and lower and cross fingers its close, and then when happy just burn it in solid.
i think ill leave the bagging project for this trailer for the future! at least until i get my truck bagged in the rear.LOL till then i got helper bags i can put on the trailer and for any heavy hauling ill just add air to them.
works gonna be abit slow currently. ive gotten lazy mixed in with my folks coming up from florida for who knows how long and with my pop back up here he might not like me taking up all the space in his shop with steel laid out and such! tho i will try to see if he can help me move some stuff around in the shop so ill have more room to work with when needed. one of our overhead garage doors popped another steel cable off the pulley so that will be fun fixing rewinding that dam spring 30ft in the air! i swear i really hate that garage door! it seems to be poping of one side or the other every year now!

anyways so far i think i got like 800bucks in this trailer project. its adding up fast BUT it will be so much nicer than my last one! i figure once i get it done ill have ruffly 1K-1,200 bucks in this thing. its a hell of alaot more than i had in my first trailer! first trailer i paid 300bucks for the back half just no wheels or taillights. i think i had 5-600bucks in it without paint of course since i never got that far. this time im going all the way paint and all! maybe afew extras as well. if i can find a drop in underrail bed liner in good shape ill snag it up BUT that might be hard to come by a clean one.... but if i cannt find one of those i might just look into a nice smooth spray in bed liner! ive seen some in the junkyard that looked pretty nice looked tuff and still very smooth texture!
gotta order my trailer coupler right now from etrailer. they got the raw one i want and its cheaper than tractor supply

 

[addiction2bass]

well not much been happening. hurt my shoulder at work a few weeks ago and havent been able to do much at all like i want to do. but now parents gone back down to florida for the winter so i got the shop all free to myself. as soon as my shoulder gets normal and pain free ill start back.
i did get a fuel pump with sending unit from junkyard yesterday. i wont be using fuel pump cause not sure of what brand it really is and my pump i just replaced afew years ago. main thing i wanted was the sending unit since mine stopped working shortly after i swapped pumps and im just tired of waiting till last few gallons left in the tank to show how much gas is really in the tank now! so time to fix this jacked up gauge. PLUS the truck in the junkyard already had the bed removed and fittings already removed. aparently somebody removed the bed to pull fuel pump and i guess it was the wrong pump or they had to run out.lol hell i just turned the hold down ring and unplugged it. cannt beat that hassle free removal any only cost me like 20bucks with the pump. hell maybe ill slap this pump on something for a sprayer or something. hell for 8bucks i just took it with the pump

i also scored me a pair of street scene mirrors, well the GUTS of some power mirrors. the bases where broken and mirrors just hanging of the truck and drivers mirror glass was missing. so i just took the motors and the one passenger mirrror. tho i thought i got another nice upgrade being led signal mirrors. but i only found the passenger glass with led and replacement glass with led signal SS only sells them in pairs and im not paying 180bucks just for some dam mirror with led signal and only using one of them!
hell ill just rock these with only the passenger signal and hold out to either find a drivers side mirror with led or just say screw it... no body will ever notice i only have a right/passenger turn signal
biggest plus is the power mirror motors themselves since right now i just have manual mirrors. i just gotta pull mine off and carefully remove the glass and unscrew the manual mirror plates and screw these power mirror motors inplace. real easy!
or if anybody knows anybody that had to buy new mirror glass with led signals and has a extra drivers side mirror with leds hook me up ill buy there spare parts

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hopefully my dam shoulder heals soon and i can start getting to work again on my truck! after i swap sending unit then i can finally start laying out the truck bed and steel to build its frame for my trailer! i keep thinking of doing dump bed but the more i think about it the more i think WHY.LOL so i wont be doing the dump bed for sure now. just regular trailer simple and easy!

 

[addiction2bass]

today i finally removed my boyo backup camera that hasnt worked for months. turns out the wire harness for the camera cut cut on a metal bracket on the frame last time i was runing my large 1/0wire to my truckbed for my extra toys and i guess put to much weight on that cheap ass tiny wire they got!
well after fiddling with the wires for about an hour i just cut the whole harness apart and wired it within a few feet. but atleast the camera still works, so now i just have to get new wires are run them! just gotta find something with a bunch of wires in one to run from dash to rear bumper now. im thinking switch box wire. small enough, got enough wires for extra hookups like tailgate sensor and maybe even a remote poper unit for bedcover.
but even after fiddling with the wires i just decided screw it and upgrade alittle. and this time im getting the little better boyo camera hd.
new camera is hd and has better low light. hell why not
520 TVL horizontal resolution
175 Degrees Viewing Angle
Remarkable low Lux performance of 0.1 Lux at F2.0

old one is
380 TVL horizontal resolution
175 Degrees Viewing Angle
Remarkable low Lux performance of 0.3 Lux at F2.0

so it should be a better picture day and night ill just recyle this camera to my dads 2000 suburban then only thing i have to buy for him is a monitor and wires. ill do that sometime this winter since he left the suburban up here and i can tear into that monster and take my time running wires.

 

[addiction2bass]

finally got new tires for the front of my truck. just need to get alignment done now (friday)
atleast i can sit the front valance on the pavement now. tho my tie rods are touching the frame... i hope they arent bent... either way i need to pull front end apart soon and notch for the tie rods! wish i had remembered to notch for them when i bagged it in the first place! o well. once i remove the bag i can simply cut it out with plasma cutter and weld in some tubing.

tires dueler ht 225-70-15s and yes id still would have rather have the AT revos on the front to match my rear AT revos BUT they dont make them in this size o well. ill be slapping on my studded winter tires here shortly right after the first snow we get.

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i also got 2 new gauges since the used ones i got were not accurate i dont believe. and for my new alignment i wanted to make sure i knew exactly what PSI im running in front bags, and also the main tank gauge. it was 40psi to low. so now it reads right. i also slapped in some leds in the gauges while i was at it since those bulbs are dim as hell! im just not sure why the older gauge on right is dimmer than the other 2 other than maybe its dirty inside the gauge. who knows....

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consoles alittle greasy in picture... i never really cleaned it after greasing all the hinges and latches after painting it.

 

[addiction2bass]

today i started notching for the tie rods.... what i should have done along time ago.... but after getting about half of one notch cut i ran into afew problems... first my big bandsaws blade snapped and then the tube/pipe i bought is really to thick... the bandsaw really screwed up my ability to cut it cleanly as i had to use a portable band saw to cut it the rest of the way which is very heavy and just awkward to handle! also since the pipe was so thick i tried to bend the pipe to the frame after i welded in one side to hold it inplace.... and well it didnt bend at all!
and third problem... when making the notch i didnt account the extra thickness of the tube and i already welded it in almost all the way before i noticed that it rubbed on the inside when turning right when dumped. tho this might not be a problem just yet since i still have stock inner fenders of course but it might later down the road so i might have to cut it out eventually and redo! next time ill use thinner steel and maybe switch to a square tube since it would be far easier to notch for tho im not sure about strength as good so i might not use the square. just thinking.
i also remember that welding upside down is a crap with a mig!!!! but i got one side welded in good from the inside so its for sure got 2 good sides right now. tomorrow ill try to tilt the truck as steep as i can to the side to maybe help the welding! and ill also see if i cannt just grind some of the thick tubing down a bit where its rubbing and hopefully that will be enough. ill have to slap the wheel back on to check with stock inner fenders still, it should be fine until i cut out the inner fenders later down the road next year sometime.
main problem is my busted blade on my big band saw! its hard to get a nice clean cut without it!

and im not done in these pictures.... phone died and im not done yet of course.

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^ i got alignment yesterday and the nut that did it has my adjuster bolts all different! im kinda pissed about that since i have to rotate them now myself! i had them all pointing down so they wouldnt hit anything.

you know... first time is always the ruffest! my passenger side will be better. well atleast im going to try afew different things and this time just tack it in place and test for clearance. o well learning experience.
im also going to cut off my drivers side shock mount and redo it moving it forward about another inch on both the top mount and the LCA bolt mount!
atleast its just steel and i can tweak it over and over till its good.

 

[addiction2bass]

well finished up the tie rod notches alright. plenty strong with the thick tubing i used. and once i raise my inner fenders ill probably have to do somemore work atleast to the drivers side, BUT for now i have plenty of clearance!!!
also took it back to alignment shop today to have them recheck my alignment since the guy stuck my adjuster bolts straight up instead of down! i had to turn them myself and it was off a hair the guy said. but they was quick fixing it and didnt cost me another cent (cause id have really been pissed if they did)
i also relocated my drivers side shock mount cause i was rubbing it before. i moved both mounts. the frame mount forward and the LCA hole forward alittle more as well. and so far no rubbing on the shocks so thats a plus!

before

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after

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i also bought me a new welding shield... while at tractor supply buying anew band saw blade (but turned out the blades not good enough so still have to buy another good hardened blade to cut thicker steel) but anyways i saw the autodiming adjustable shield and i just had to have it cause ive wanted one for afew years now! and i must say WOW my welds lookin much better now that i can see where i start and even better while welding with this mask! ill never use my dads super dark shield ever again!!!!
theres also my welder and baby plasma cutter i got that suckers small as but works just fine for me! exponentially for the price! still not a pretty welder myself but i rarely weld so they not pretty but they are burned in there.

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i also switched my front top bag mount alittle to. i hated the way they came with just nuts welded inside so instead of fighting it so hard blindly with a long bolt stricking into the frame i switched to some threaded rod and a nut on top and i must say its a bit harder to get the whole bag into the pocket BUT ITS SO MUCH EASIER TO GET IT LINED UP AND BOLTED INPLACE NOW!!!!!! i highly suggest that way over just using a bolt!

only thing i need to do to my truck now is instal these SMC water traps on both my compressors and my truck will hopefully be winter ready! and im also considering some kinda fitting on my air tank so i can put in some of that air brake antifreeze just incase i do get a sticking valve i can have a bottle ready to pour in a few cap fulls. not sure if ill need that stuff or not with the water traps..... but what could it hurt to have it ready just incase tho.
tho i probably wont instal the water traps until my next weekend off OR if the weather gets real nice again ill do it sooner. this past weekend the weather was great which is why ive done the work i have.

now that i have tie rods notched i think the truck sits even lower now. i think they where holding the suspension up about 1/4inch or so atleast on the drivers side.