Gary Lewis

Thanks, guys. When Scott and I went to the overlanding event back in the spring they discussed soft shackles. And the thinking was that they are better as they are lighter so if something breaks you won't have that heavy weight coming back at you. However, from what I've read they do suffer from being cut so Bob is right, if I were to use a soft shackle on the tow eyes they would have to be seriously radiused and I don't have a good way of doing that. But from what I've read a hard shackle is one of the strongest components of the recovery line so it isn't likely to break. More likely it is the recovery point itself that breaks, allowing the shackle to come back at you. But my 1" thick tow eyes that will be fastened to the frame in a number of places won't be breaking. Instead it might be the recovery point on another vehicle that could break. So while I do want my tow eyes to be smoothed as best I can, I don't see the need to use a soft shackle on them. But I do like the idea of having at least one soft shackle to use where they can and should be used, so plan to pick one up. As for rubber washers on hard shackles, mine didn't come with any. I'll have to look at what they have at Okie Overland today and see if they do. Thanks, guys!

I think the Eastwood product would be fine to seal the holes and kill the rust. And since it will be covered with sound deadener and then carpet I don't think I'd paint over that. And speaking of sound deadener, I uased Noico 80 mil (2 mm) 36 sqft (3.4 sqm) car Sound deadening mat from Amazon. I can't say it is as good as any of the others since I didn't do a test, but it works fine so I'm happy.

Looks good, Chris. As for painting the floor, do you need to add something to the Eastwood Rust Encapsulator? I use POR15 and that's what I painted Big Blue's floor with after brazing it. That seals the rust and any pin holes that might still be in the floor. Over the POR went sound deadener that goes down with adhesive on it, so it won't be sliding and there's no friction on the POR so it should last forever.

I really like POR15. But, I am never able to get complete coverage with one coat. So I would plan on two coats, and the 2nd needs to go on before the first dries. The stuff self-levels so you can slop it on and it'll smooth out. But if you are slopping be careful as it does NOT come off of skin for a week to 10 days. I'd wear long sleeves and plastic gloves. Been there, done that, and had the paint to show it. In fact, my boots still have POR15 on them, and it isn't about to come off. And it eats some types of plastic, including foam brushes and styrofoam cups. I've started using the blue paint cups from the hardware store to pour it into, and cheap Nylon brushes. Use a proper opener to open the can as you do not want to damage the can. And when you put the lid back on use wax paper or saran wrap between the lid and the can or the lid will never come off again.

Yep, you are on the list. I just hadn't checked. Sent you an email and I think we are good to go.

Excellent! Glad you got it going. And kudos to Bruce!

Yep, that's what I'm thinking as well. Easily stolen and surely rattle. So why not keep them in the kit bag with the chain? Speaking of that, I have one bag with chain, shackle, pulley, etc. And I can barely lift it out of the toolbox. I think I'll pick up another bag like it tomorrow at 4WD Parts and split things up. As for light bars across the roof, don't get me started! What a good way to wash out all of the shadows showing where the dips are. And what a wonderful way to get blinded in snow or fog. I think I'm happy with the fog lights on the bumper.

I'm not too worried about the surface finish, but wanted the hole round. It was intuitively obvious to the casual observer that the holes weren't round, and Scott quickly pointed that out when he brought the pieces. So I've been wondering what the best way was to make them round and decided using the boring bar in the mill was best. And I agree about chamfering the holes. In fact that's what I was doing when I wound up smoothing the bores, although you can't really tell that in the picture. I have some flap cylinders that are just a bit larger than the holes, so I forced one in, spun it up, and then pushed it down into the holes. That chamfered the holes a bit and also smoothed them up inside, but it wouldn't hurt to hit them again. As for the shackles, I have one that I tried in the tow eyes earlier today, and it fit nicely. But I like your idea of buying some new ones from Okie Overland. Last, I've seen a lot of vehicles around that have the shackles always mounted to the tow eyes, but I wonder how often they get stolen? And, don't they rattle?

Are you on the list for dinner? If not, plan on being at the church building, the same place as the show, at 6 PM on Friday. The forum members that are coming are gathering there. I can get the liner there somehow and you can put it on in the parking lot, ready for the show the next morning. I have a drill and may have the right screws, but if you brought the right ones it would be best.

I think I'd hit it with POR-15. The latter will bond with the rust and since you'll be installing the drop-in liner you won't need to top-coat it. The stuff is hard and doesn't wear through. As for logistics, I think I can get it to the show ok on/in Big Blue, but if someone else has an empty 8' bed we can toss it in the back of their truck. I'll be heading to the church for the show by 8 AM on Saturday and won't get home until well after the show is over, so having it at the show would probably be best.

Welcome back, Kotter! Hope you get the new phone tomorrow. I'm glad you raised the issue of leverage as I'd overlooked that. I think Plan D is going to work nicely. And you are right, I did draw the cut for the forward angle incorrectly. TurboCAD tells me that a 1/16" opening at the end will get the angle I need, so it looks like just running the bandsaw blade down it will do the trick. Then we can bend it and weld it back up. As for what I did today, after running errands this morning I got Big Blue ready for his outing tomorrow. We are headed to the grand opening of Okie Overland & 4WD Parts. The former is having the grand opening, and I'm going to put up flyers in both places. So I added 1/2 a can of refrigerant to the A/C system 'cause it was down a bit. It seemed to be cooling fairly well, but the pressures were down and there was no condensation dripping out. But when I got done there was condensation pouring out. Anyway, the new hose assembly came in today and BB goes back into the shop on Wednesday to have it installed. And then, with a bit of time left I decided to bore out the other tow eye. Oddly enough I had to remove the same amount of material on this one to get the hole round. And apparently the process they used, which I think was plasma, hardened the material in some places. I say that because the sound varied significantly as the boring bar went through the hole. Anyway, here are the two holes after I ran a flap wheel/cylinder through them. I think they'll do.

Yes!!!!

I was pleasantly surprised at the shape of Big Blue's bed when I pulled this liner, but I do understand your concerns. Particularly since there was a hitch installed in the bed and there are 8 holes in the cover, as shown below: And there are 4 square holes cut out to allow a toolbox's j-hooks to go under the lips of the top of the bed, as shown with the red ovals below. And there are the 4 ovals, 2 shown in yellow, that are apparently for a bow for a tonneau cover? And there is a tailgate protector, as shown below. But I don't have any of the screws nor the hardware to hold the liner in. But it is "free" if you'll come and get it.

I have an 8’ drop in you can have. Came off Big Blue. Can get pics this afternoon.

Sounds good, Pete!

Glad you got them off! Two weeks!?!? You planning to make the show!? If so, are you going to be here Friday night?

That's a really nice truck. 351W with EEC-V controlled SEFI via MAF, and a E4OD would be a great combo.

I refuse to use the LMC on-line catalog. Instead I use Rock Auto's catalog, and they will show you the vendors, inc vendor part numbers. And then I shop around. I found my tank and sending unit/pump combo the cheapest on Amazon so ordered there. It was a Spectra Premium, and I really liked getting the tank and sending unit/pump as a combo since you know the sending unit will fit. I couldn't find a similar combo for the front tank and wound up buying the wrong sending unit initially and it wouldn't fit, so I returned it and got the right one. And, by the way, returns are an issue at Rock Auto. Frequently they can be a pain.

Well done, Larry! It looks great, and no one is ever going to see that little bit at the visor.

Ok, I've started laying out routes using Gaia. So far I just have Day 1 and Day 2 in Gaia, but would like your thoughts on them, Bob. (And others as well.) Day 1 is exactly what we did last fall in the Jeep we rented and should give us a good way to break into it. It is a total of 85 miles and goes over Last Dollar Road and into Telluride for lunch, then back out and over Ophir Pass. If we have plenty of time when we hit 550 we could go through Silverton and then some of those trails back to 550, or just head north to Ouray. Day 2 is the Alpine Loop but coming back over Engineer Pass. I know you said that Cinnamon Pass was boring, Bob, but I think I'd like to do Engineer Pass. Or, is Corkscrew Gulch the better trail?

Apparently they don't sell blue line because in my search I couldn't come up with any, but then it may have been a problem with my search terms. If only black line is available, then hopefully there are connectors with blue available. For info, I'm working on the parts order list. [Edit: Gary - The idea of using 3/8" in lieu of the 5/16" is a good one. The 5/16" > 3/8" connectors will help keep the lines from getting mixed up. Would like to have some kind of blue marking that is obvious, though. A single roll of 3/4" blue electrical tape is $5 and no guarantee about how well it would stick over time.] Buy some blue heat shrink tubing and put a ring around the line every foot or so.

I forgot that. Thanks for reminding me.

I actually thought about that, but I've promised it to Scott. And, Plan D does use all three of the lower bolt holes on the bottom of the frame on each side. So instead of the hitch using six bolts it'll really be using ten, including the four on the side of the frame holding the tow eyes on.

Good question, but there's a riveted-in crossmember at the back of the fuel tank, which is about where the spring hanger is, and there's no way to get past it on the inside of the frame. That's why I have the plates on the outside. So, what are your thoughts about Plan D?

Nice! And a very nice price.