OffTrac's New Purchases

[OffTrac]

Thanks.

Yeah, I trimmed the bumper cover a little.

 

[2TimingTom]

I've had my RCi Skidplate for about a year now. It's deflected a few rocks so far. I haven't looked at it too closely, but it appears to be holding up just fine.

One thing you will notice is that because it's not rigidly attached to the front crossmember, you might get some noise from it as it rattles against the crossmember. I can produce it on demand if I hit the side of my front bumper with the meaty part of my fist. And on the trail you'll occassionally hear it.

Refer to THIS link for some good action shots of my rig, with skidplate installed, out on the trails. Some good angles showing the skid plate in some of the pictures.

 

[OffTrac]

Good to know. Thanks.

 

[OffTrac]

I'm going to be changing the differential fluids in a couple weeks so, why not?...

I really wanted to get the ubolt/shock skidplates from Brian1 but had to make a choice for one.

 

[obie]

Glad to see you got the skid plate installed, now your front end doesn't look wimpy and exposed with all that bumper cut off!

And let me know how you like the Riddler diff cover. I'm up in the air between that and a Solid one. Kinda leaning towards the Solid because of the fill plug, but the Riddler ones are supposed to be pretty much indestructible up to a .460 S&W round.

 

[01STrunner]

You'll like that cover. I've heard lots of good things about them and the solid covers. I was astonished at the inferior quality of our stock cover. When they say its paper thin it really is. It hardly weighed more than the box my solid cover came in. Good to see you got bitten by the bug again haha

Obie the only thing I don't like about the solid cover is that the hardware is all hex socket head cap screws where you need an Allen wrench or hex sockets. I have hex sockets so not a big deal for me but I don't like them as much as normal hex head bolts.

 

[OffTrac]

I was initially concerned about not having the fill plug but I thought I'd do more harm by overfilling trying to use that plug than simply not having it and using the factory fill hole.

Since my pinion angle is still relatively the same and any extra capacity possibly provided by this cover does not really matter because the fill level won't change and whatever tiny additional amount is needed will be filled at the bottom of the cover yet the level won't change relative to the factory fill plug. I don't know if that makes sense as I typed it but when I was searching for fill capacity and such, I didn't find much info other than factory recommendations and a bunch of "fill it 'til is spills." I came to the realization that the capacity will not change relative to the entire increased capacity of the cover, just the bottom portion which will not change the necessity of which "level" to fill it to, only the decimal portion of a quart changes. Again, sorry if this is confusing as it makes more sense in my mind than I am able to put into words. I'd draw a picture but, eh....

I had a Solid cover in the cart, paypal selected and ready to hit Submit when I decided to do one last search on this site. Well, there is a thread that covers some pretty poor customer service, a thread I even posted in, and that sealed the deal. I had no doubt about the quality of the Solid cover, just realized that I posted I wouldn't buy based on the experience related in that thread. I am a man of my word.

The sunk bolts on the Riddler are pretty awesome, too.

And as I was typing this, I got an email confirming it was shipped today! Customer service points off to a good start (ordered from Quadratec, but I believe shipped direct?).

I don't need to post anything else in this thread for awhile. Maybe I should have it locked.

 

[obie]

I don't need to post anything else in this thread for awhile. Maybe I should have it locked.

Nah, why else do we work if not to buy things that allow us to get into more trouble with our toys?

Are you gonna paint the cover yourself or get it powdercoated?

 

[theluke19]

Maybe I should have it locked.

 

[OffTrac]

Are you gonna paint the cover yourself or get it powdercoated?

I'm going to ask a coworker to quote what his brother would charge to powdercoat it. I don't know how much I'm willing to pay for powdercoat but I'll know when I hear the price whether I'll go that route or paint it myself. I'll probably just paint it myself out of impatience, though.

You stop it now!

Really, if (and that's a big 'if') I lock the 8.8, it'll be a Spartan. I'll save the high dollar lockers for the tons.

 

[Markaprice73]

BAHAHAAHAA!!! Good one, Luke

 

[OffTrac]

RLC Bumper with added hoop
Warn M8000
Little accessories to go with the upgrades that I'll post about later.


Gotta sand down and paint the RCI skid plate. The powdercoating on that did not last.

Probably new tires soon, too.

 

[theluke19]

Very nice!

 

[MidnightRebel07]

Looks good man. I see you trimmed the plastic behind the sides of the bumper, I did that to but cut it straight back because I couldn't stand that piece of plastic swinging around. What are you doing with your old tires? They look like they still have lots of tread left.how is it mounted (pictures)? Bolted/ welded?

 

[01STrunner]

Heck yeah man!! The house looks good by the way.

 

[JuBean]

Ooo that looks good!

 

[TGtrac05]

That's the cleanest looking bumper setup on a ST I've seen so far. Exactly how I would imagine an ideal bumper for our trucks

 

[OffTrac]

Heck yeah man!! The house looks good by the way.

Thanks. Did you notice the box on the back steps? Look familiar? LOL Just took the CVs out of the bed when I took the cover off.

Ooo that looks good!

That's the cleanest looking bumper setup on a ST I've seen so far. Exactly how I would imagine an ideal bumper for our trucks

Thanks guys. [MENTION=115788]jamscal[/MENTION] does excellent work and the price is ridiculous. The frame width was exactly right. Install was a breeze. Took me longer to install the winch than the bumper. Why I'm only the second ST with one (to my knowledge) is beyond me. Give this guy your money! You won't regret it. Linked so you can click and buy today.

http://www.rlcweldfab.com/index.php/store#!/95-01-Front-Winch-Bumper/p/9971837/category=2125921

 

[OffTrac]

The shopping list:

RLC bumper with added hoop

Acetone, self etching primer, sanding materials, satin black paint...you know the drill.

Warn M8000

Warn Hawse Fairlead

Warn Wireless Remote

Warn Winch Gloves

Quadratec 3/4" Shackle

Daystar Shackle Isolator

Quadratec Receiver Shackle

Factor 55 Winch Lock

 

[OffTrac]

Looks good man. I see you trimmed the plastic behind the sides of the bumper, I did that to but cut it straight back because I couldn't stand that piece of plastic swinging around. What are you doing with your old tires? They look like they still have lots of tread left.how is it mounted (pictures)? Bolted/ welded?

I haven't noticed the plastic flapping. I'll have to pay closer attention. I'm going to try to find a way to keep it if I can. I want that gap filled and love the way it came out so far.

Old tires will be sold locally. They don't have as much tread as it looks. They're near the wear bar. Still got some life left but I like to sell when they're still a good value to someone else so it brings down the cost of new ones for myself.

It is bolted on. One bolt as of right now since that's all that is available on the frame. I will drill one or two more to match the mounting holes and bracket of the bumper. I don't think I'd ever weld a bumper to the frame. Plus, my welding is the poo.