Rebuilder
Builder of Things That Interest Me
Hello Everyone! This build sorta started out of winter boredom and is escalating pretty quickly so I'm pretty excited to see how it turns out. I've always liked the practicality and look of flatbed trucks so one day a few months ago I decided to see what I could find on Craigslist and after a short search this one popped up. I could tell right away that it was in great shape, had low(ish) miles and was right in my impulse buying price range so I went and took a look and ended up bringing it home. It's a 2WD 2008 F350 former Home Depot rental truck with 114k miles and I think it'll be perfect for starting a new build. I'm also in the middle of converting a 2001 E450 ERV but it's cold in Minnesota and that one won't fit in my garage so I figured this build would keep me occupied until I can work outside ?
Here's what it looked like when I brought it home. Not bad although the tires were bald and someone bent the front of the flatbed back at some point. Thankfully those things won't be needed where we're going... well I need tires but not those little things
I didn't take any pics of the next step for some reason but yada-yada-yada it turned into this. I swapped in a complete (12k mile) front axle from a salvage yard , a rebuilt manual shift transfer case, new driveshafts, a 3" lift and 35" Nitto Ridge Grapplers on some 18"x9" Bronze "Mayhem" wheels. I'm not a fan of fake beadlocks but they'll do. For those wondering, all the 4wd stuff bolts right up with basically no mods needed. It took a weekend to do the swap with the exception of getting the correct T-case and finding someone to make a new rear driveshaft. Making the shaft ended up happening pretty fast but actually finding a shop that would call me back was tough. Anyway moving on...
Up next while I was still contemplating what I wanted to do for the actual camper was I figured I'd wrap it. I've always liked the beige Tacoma's and I've never wrapped a vehicle so I thought I'd give it a try.
Once I got the hang of it it wasn't too bad but I'm glad I didn't have to do a whole truck. After getting what I could reach of the wrap done I started prepping the flatbed by removing the fold-down sides and cutting off the bent hoop from the front. I'll finish the wrap when I remove the flatbed to add a spring mounting system.
I think that's it for now but here's what the plan is..... I'll figure out the window placement and explain things in more details as the build progresses.
Here's what it looked like when I brought it home. Not bad although the tires were bald and someone bent the front of the flatbed back at some point. Thankfully those things won't be needed where we're going... well I need tires but not those little things
I didn't take any pics of the next step for some reason but yada-yada-yada it turned into this. I swapped in a complete (12k mile) front axle from a salvage yard , a rebuilt manual shift transfer case, new driveshafts, a 3" lift and 35" Nitto Ridge Grapplers on some 18"x9" Bronze "Mayhem" wheels. I'm not a fan of fake beadlocks but they'll do. For those wondering, all the 4wd stuff bolts right up with basically no mods needed. It took a weekend to do the swap with the exception of getting the correct T-case and finding someone to make a new rear driveshaft. Making the shaft ended up happening pretty fast but actually finding a shop that would call me back was tough. Anyway moving on...
Up next while I was still contemplating what I wanted to do for the actual camper was I figured I'd wrap it. I've always liked the beige Tacoma's and I've never wrapped a vehicle so I thought I'd give it a try.
Once I got the hang of it it wasn't too bad but I'm glad I didn't have to do a whole truck. After getting what I could reach of the wrap done I started prepping the flatbed by removing the fold-down sides and cutting off the bent hoop from the front. I'll finish the wrap when I remove the flatbed to add a spring mounting system.
I think that's it for now but here's what the plan is..... I'll figure out the window placement and explain things in more details as the build progresses.
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