Ironraven's random upgrade/mod/repair thread

Good job! This is just an observation but maybe next time U should weld the nut (instead of the head of the bolt)to the frame and screw the bolt up through. This way U wouldn't have the end of the bolt sticking down and hooking stuff. Also U wouldn't have to line-up all four bolts to install plate. Just my 2¢ worth.

 

Eh? I didn't weld anything to the frame. There isn't anything sticking down anywhere, I drilled and tapped a 1/2" piece of steel and put it inside the frame rail, then bolted the bumper to that piece of steel. It doesn't stick down anywhere, it goes inside the frame rail... maybe I'm not quite understanding what you're saying? I put the steel plate in there because I didn't trust the frame of the truck to be strong enough on its own and I didn't want to weld to the frame rail since it's not very thick steel.

Edit: DOH! I just realized you were referring to the other post before mine I would use a thicker piece of aluminum instead of steel so you can countersink the bolt so it won't stick down. That's my plan...

 

Sorry, my mistake, I was addressing o8k's protective skid plate.

 

<Giggle> Ya i went back and forth. I had a Jeep liberty with a skid setup that way (nut welded to frame) all of them eventually broke from the shock loads incurred during use.

So my thought was, a lesser of two wevils. 1. Nut to frame weld is weaker and more likely to fail but provides a lower profile. Bolt to frame weld is stronger but sticks down more past the skid (higher profile).

I err'ed on the side of a stronger weld.

 

Use coupler nuts for more weld surface:sly:

 

Yesssss!!!! A Carlton County Sheriff just left my house after inspecting and passing my mini truck That's right, my mini truck is now officially street legal in Carlton County! Just wanted to share

 

congrats

 

Can't stop grinning he's ready for the road!

 

Get ready to turn heads now and get double takes. Maybe even get a steering wheel for your passenger even if it's a dog.

 

http://www.fox21online.com/news/mini-trucks-rollout-big-discussion-duluth

Well although my Duluth ordinance failed last night by a margin of 4 to 5... I got positive news coverage. I'm not making my next steps public on this forum as one of the councilors is e-stalking me here and I'm sure is watching my every move but he doesn't need to worry, my plans have nothing to do with him.

It was interesting the "conservative" council members voted it down while the more left-leaning ones voted for it. I guess "conservative" councilors in Duluth forget that personal freedom and independence from Federal regulation are cornerstones of TRUE Conservative values. The councilor in question cited safety as his major problem... and the others ignored comments about Smart cars, classics like the multiple "T-Bucket" Model T's with V8's and no hood much less any impact zone, AND the fact that my other vehicle is a motorcycle that I can ride on the freeway at 55 mph at night without a helmet or any other safety gear because it's MY PERSONAL CHOICE to operate a less safe vehicle.

 

Lol, I wish it'd been an interview after the ordinance had passed but... it's a step in the right direction

 

Nice to put a face on the raven!!! Good luck in your endeavor.

 

Thanks dude. I'll be a long road, but I figure I have all winter to scheme and plot for my next big move

Right now I need to focus on getting my little beastie prepared for winter plowing. I've made and scrapped a few more plans for my front receiver and now finally think I have something workable... it's just a matter of finding the time to muck around with it now :/

 

This is exactly my contention as well..if anyone was really concerned with our safety then 18wheelers would never share the roads with us.

 

Yeah, and there are actually 17 states not 14 states that allow them on public roadways... but positive press is better than negative

The 001 is my Carlton County ID number so I love it too!

 

Yup. Nor would vehicles like the 3/4 ton suburban I trailered my truck down to the meeting with. That thing is a MONSTER I think it would probably drive right over a Geo Metro without even noticing it was there or spilling my coffee...

 

Lol, you're probably right

 

I'm still trying to picture the Geo floping around in the fender whell. Kept me occupied for an hour thanks.

 

Whose the boss? My truck is the boss




So this is the trailer I hauled the truck into town with... 18' long and heavy as sh!t but no match for Takumi he pulled it over to my buddy's house and had no trouble at all parking it exactly where I wanted it to go. Damn I love this truck.

 

Well... after several foiled attempts yesterday I'm forced to admit I don't have the tools I need or access to the kinds of steel I need to build a front receiver hitch. The mounting points are too tight for me to be able to fab something good enough to fit in there :/ but I do intend to modify the one I'm going to have to purchase to incorporate a skid plate AND attach a brush guard to it as well. So that's something anyway... I'm still disappointed that I couldn't get my ideas to work though. If only I had access to a metalworking shop and a steel foundry I'd be SET lol.

 

Takumi being put to good use It was a decent hunting opener, although none of those deer were mine it would have been a major PITA to get them out without my truck! Now I have even more incentive to finish that winch mount though... would have made hoisting them a lot easier.

 

Well they look mighty tasty. Fruitfull hunt....

 

Yeah, it was great... one of my buddy's was going to drive his F150 back there but realized there was no way he was going to make it through a swampy spot... so I passed him going about 7 mph and blasted through no problem lol. Then we loaded around 450 pounds of deer in the back and cruised back to the barn to hang them. Good times.

What's the difference between men and women? Guess which "decorations" are hers lol. Dead soldiers from a weekend of hunting and butchering

 

Oh man, I really want to go pheasant hunting, but I'd have to go way outside my legal driving radius to find any. Well there might be one or two random game farm escapees but no real population. I'm hoping to be able to get out this fall still, even if I can't drive the truck.

 

Up here no legal pheasant hunt yet. But they're all over the place. More get killed on the road than kangaroos in the outbacks.

 

(Just figured I'd throw these pics up in my "official" mod thread as well as my plow thread...)




Super heavy duty... this sucker is awesome.


This matters to me, I don't know about the rest of you but this whole thing was made less than 100 miles from my house and I love supporting local businesses!




Quick preview I expect my receiver to be here before this weekend!