Spiders

Those fuckers work fast! There is a huge web from the truck to the driveway in one day!
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All Pro Offroad Interior Cage

One requirement for my build was an interior roll cage. Since again I wasn't good enough at fabricating at the time, I thought this bolt together (with some welding) cage would be perfect. I think I paid around $400 for it from All Pro Offroad.

It came via UPS in a box and the longer parts taped together

After I got it I layed everything out to inventory and started with the instructions that came with it.

They were pretty simple, but the install is time consuming.

The first thing you need to do is mount the plates. I didn't really like the way the rear plates mounted, so I fabbed up some new ones out of 1/4"

With the original rear plates the cage did not line up correctly without cutting off some of the leg. I wanted to keep this cage high and tight, so I adjusted.

Once you start welding the cage in place you will find that it is no longer easy to move in and out of the cab. By welding down the feet for the main hoop it took me almost 15 minutes just to get it back out.

I tried to line up the posts with the body line. In this first picture you can see where it wanted to go.

By using clamps I was able to raise the height of the bar to where I wanted.

Then all you have to do is a little grinding, welding and alignment to get everything where you want it.

Oh yeah, and try not to catch your headliner on fire. I did and later removed it anyway.

Once you have everything tack welded in place in the cab with the holes drilled for the sleeves, take it all out.

It took about an hour to do all the finish welding and paint.

You may or may not want to pad the roll cage. I chose to pad it since I'm 6'4" and could easily hit my head on it in a full roll. Since the idea of the cage is to protect you, PAD IT! I used 1.5" pipe insulation and it worked perfect.

To this day I still have not rolled my truck on it's roof to test the cage, and I hope I never do. It is nice to know that there is a little added protection there for me though, just in case.

Friday night

Just made my plans for Friday night on Fandango...Iron Man 2 on IMAX! The cost of the movie tickets was bad though... $37 for 2!

Low Profile Chevy Spring Hangers

I made some low profile Chevy spring hangers for my rear springs. The design is loosely based on a picture I saw on Pirate4x4. I have to say that if I did it again I would just french them in to the frame. That may be something that I do in the future to lower the truck more.

They are made from 3.5x3.5x0.25" square tubing and 1/4" flat stock.

The slope is so that they glide over rocks with little resistance, and believe me that has been tested and prooven.

The cutout is so that the spring will sit even lower, it's only 1/4" but every bit counts.

Rock Sliders

I fabbed up some rock sliders out of some 2x2" tube steel. They run from wheel well to wheel well just 3" short to account for the fender trimming and tire size I had planned.

Welded up the posts and flat supports first, I think they were 6" long for the middle and rear and 12" long for the front.

Used the truck frame to weld on since I didn't have a welding table

Hard to see, but they are the black bar below the body of the truck.

Quick check with the Hi-Lift Jack to make sure they would support the weight of the truck and it was golden.