Build an 05? Why?

Well, it's not a crawler, and it's not your granpappy's truck. I bought it specifically for a few reasons and now that it's heading toward the end of the new car warranty, that's been my MO to start the heavy mods.

Started here:


Kind of stock. 3" Tuff Country spacer lift kit, MBM wheels and BFG All Terrain's. Otherwise stock, still had the new car smell. It got kind of, somewhat dirty:


Then, during the bulk of the warranty days, the poor pavement queen saw a wheel and tire change and severe domestic duty:

Still a spacer lift, Pro Comp wheels and X-Terrain's. Why? Dark days indeed.

Well, here it is, 6 months until the 3/36 is up and stuff starts gathering in the garage:


The grinder of Doom comes out of hiding after many months to actually work on steel stuff again:


Stuff gets installed:


New stuff:
Full OME suspension. Perfect height, stance, ride and best of all, it's the true off road suspension I prefer.
Shrockworks winch bumper. Big heavy bastige. (Still need to level it out, it was 119 the day I installed it, close got close enough after the fifteenth gallon of water.)
Smittybilt XRC winch. For $300 I couldn't pass it up to try it out. If it doesn't work well enough, I have a trailer it can go on and I'll get a different winch. We'll see. (Yes, as of this post, it is not completely hooked up. I pushed my own time dealines and screwed the pooch. Hell, it's on there anyhow.)

Next:
Communications
Rear Bumper
Sliders
Soft Top
Full skids
"Low hanging fruit" (Getting rid of or moving all the little stuff that can be torn off while navigating old mining roads or old logging trails.)

Stuff like a lockers and re-gearing doesn't happen for another while to let the full drivetrain warranty kill itself.

The purpose behind this truck is NOT to build a crawler. This truck is too wide and too long. What I want out of this one is a long distance back road cruiser. I'll keep this thread as a journal of all the little junk I do to this truck as time goes by...

Looking very nice. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

Looking good! Did you remove all the badging in addition to the TRD stickers?

That is a very clean looking truck. Are you going to put some lights in that bumper?

Yeah, all that chrome was too blingy, even for a "new" truck. The stickers were removed twenty minutes after I drove it off the lot! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />



I'm going to install PIAA's in there, but the factory fuse / wiring can't handle off road lights so I'm going to have to run a relay circuit to handle the electrical load.

I have a hawse fairlead and synthetic rope on the way for the winch and I need to build appropriate cables to remote mount the winch solenoid.

The skid that comes with the bumper is a very stout part, but it only covers the area that the stock skid "protects" now. After studying the part for a bit, building belly protection will be pretty straightforward.

Did the door handles come color keyed, did you do it, or is that just the angle of the picture?

I bought the TRD Sport which includes color keyed everything. I actually bought the Sport for the hood scoop... (Just kidding, I bought it for the 8.4 rear axle so I can put an ARB in after warranty.)

I've looked at the new TRDs countless times, but never noticed the door handles are keyed. Good thing I'm not an auditor. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/ignore.gif" alt="" />

I really like the clean look with the badging removed. How did you take it off? I've thought about removing mine, especially the tailgate, but don't want to do any damage in the process. Thanks and that's a great looking truck.

If you don't care to keep the emblems (I did not), grab the plastic with a pair of needle nose pliers and pull. Work the adhesive foam off with friction and naptha.

EDIT: No new updates, been busy working and exploring the desert.