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For the PNW Pathfinders, yesterday started as the Silver Pathfinder Emporium & developed into a full on SwinGateFest 2019. Thanks to @02_Pathy &[mention=39745]stpickens[/mention] and his Dad for coming up from Portland. Also, thanks to[mention=32880]ferrariowner123[/mention] for just stopping by to hang out. Most of all, thanks to[mention=37543]TowndawgR50[/mention] for providing the venue, expertise, product development, hard work and good cheer! It really couldn’t have happened without him.

Worked some more on my overkill sheet metal steering column clamshell, and I'm pleased with how solid it is now that I've got all the mounts worked out. I'm hoping a couple coats of bedliner will hide my various crimes against geometry.

All done! I think it looks good. Really glad I found out about the WD21 transfer case skid plate compatibility. Saves me the time and work of putting something together for that rear section.

I use a blue tooth dongle and the OBD fusion app to help monitor things while towing. It also makes a great diagnostics tool. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Replaced the roof mounted off road lights and completed fabrication/mounting for new rear bumper! Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

I did weld a hitch directly to the new bumper, but kept the other one too. Instead of building a swing arm, I'm going to fab up a spare tire carrier to insert into a tilting carrier attachment where the wheel will simply fold down to access the cargo area instead of swing out. Going to try this first to see if I like it before forking out the $$$ for. Swing arm kit. Here are a few pics of the troutfinder after she got much needed bath! Been about year. Next big project is to get her repainted. Thinking strongly about going Heath Gray from.the old Fj's. If that becomes too difficult, then it's most likely Cement from the new taco's. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

For the PNW Pathfinders, yesterday started as the Silver Pathfinder Emporium & developed into a full on SwinGateFest 2019. Thanks to @02_Pathy &[mention=39745]stpickens[/mention] and his Dad for coming up from Portland. Also, thanks to[mention=32880]ferrariowner123[/mention] for just stopping by to hang out. Most of all, thanks to[mention=37543]TowndawgR50[/mention] for providing the venue, expertise, product development, hard work and good cheer! It really couldn’t have happened without him.

I didn’t quite dare take it too far, but I was curious once and put a jack with a block of wood under the step rail and put a little pressure on it to see if I could see any flex on the body at the mounting points. I didn’t see any give at all on the body/frame as the truck started to come up. I was afraid of breaking the step mount so I stopped short of lifting the wheels off the ground but I think the body side of the mount would have taken the load just fine.

Just yesterday,[mention=39745]stpickens[/mention] and I were discussing the strength of the OEM step rails. We both have the simple slim black steps as opposed to the tube steps (‘02 & ‘03). He’s actually used them functionally as sliders, sliding along the step on breakover & protecting his rocker. Surprisingly little visual damage. I know[mention=36148]hawairish[/mention] isn’t happy with how the RRO sliders mount and he and[mention=37543]TowndawgR50[/mention] are working on slider adapters that utilize the stock step rail mounting points. I actually have had RRO sliders for about 9 months while I await their solution.

Finally got rid of the stupid horns on the hatch today!! After

This should give an idea of the trimming I did to clear the tires up front. I cut out the lower portion of the wheel well liner, the inner edge of the flare, and a couple inches of metal off the inner bottom edge of the fender. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I’m using a Hayden plate and fin style cooler like this. I have it set up as a stand alone cooler, bypassing the factory cooler in the radiator altogether. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'll have to do some searching, so far I don't know where much is up here! I live in Grandview and work in Lenoir city. slowly learning in between! I definitely plan to do some fishing up here! James

Got a transfer case skid plate off a WD21 and a black honeycomb grill for a total of $9! Just need to drill in my old Nissan logo. For whatever reason the black grill looks better in person than in picture.

I may or may not get it done this summer, but one of the next big projects I’m planning is to Raptor Line the whole truck. Even though it looks good in pictures, the paint is far from perfect in person. Plus, I’m planning to start getting it out on some trail rides, and black paint and tree branches don’t play well together. I think the industrial/military look of a well done bed liner paint job would suit the rig well. It isn’t my daily driver anymore, so I feel a little more free to experiment with it, lol!

If you look at how I masked it off, I used the body line as a cut off to mask from, so it hides the cut off where I sectioned off that part of the panel for paint. The only buffing I did was to the old paint surrounding (upper section of quarter panel, the rear bumper, and the back door) the freshly painted section so it wouldn’t stand out as as too shiny compared to the surrounding paint. I didn’t do any sanding or buffing on the new paint.

This was just a quick and inexpensive project, so I used duplicolor products for the primer and base coat. Then for the clear I used a 2k clear in a can. It is a two part high solid urethane clear that comes in a spray can. Before you spray it you flip the can over and push it down on the included adapter that releases the hardener into the can to mix with the paint. Once the hardener has been combined you have about a 48 hour window to use the can before it is no good. This is the first time I’ve tried this product and the final result was every bit as good as traditional clear coat that I would usually apply with a gun and compressor.

Mine were also a bit beat up. I took them off and painted them with bed liner to clean them up and visually blend them in with the truck a bit. Also, if you get down and look straight under the truck, there are other parts of the frame and cross members that hang down at the same level of the lowest point on the step rails, so technically the rails don’t really hinder the overall ground clearance much if at all. Some of the steel step rails that came on the earlier R50s were not as strong and tended to rust out, but these late model aluminum rails are surprisingly robust.

Some stance pics to see how the wheels and spacers line up. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

There was also that time someone in a turn only lane decided to go straight and drove right into the side of me. This incident is actually the number one reason I still keep the oem step rails in place. The step rail took the brunt of the collision and directed the car up into the door instead of hitting the rocker panel. Without the step rail it would have gone into the rocker and caused a lot more damage. As it was, the damage was all contained within the door and I was able to fix it with just a used door from a salvage yard painted to match. The guy who hit me took off and was never found, so it was cheaper to fix it myself than to go through my insurance.The step rail took the hit with absolutely zero damage other than a scuff in the paint. Seeing how strong they are convinced me to leave them in place for the rocker protection. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

They’re taking over the neighborhood! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Around here the snow is usually super wet & dense. It can pretty easily compact & high center you as compared to CO/NM/UT snow. I’m guessing AK depends on if your coastal or inland.

Reminds me of a drive a friend and I attempted a few years ago. We didn't expect snow on a forest service road in May, but there it was. We weren't prepared and neither were our trucks, so we ended up turning around before we got both trucks stuck at once or broke something. Gotta throw some chains in the back eventually. What brand are you running? Oh, and good luck on the TB job. Definitely do all the seals, you don't want to get it all back together and end up having to do it again.

I like the Firestik mounted on the tail light guards! I've got some on order, might have to do the same.

Made this up today to mount a kindle fire that wasn’t being used with torque pro and the pro gauge app on it. Pretty sweet to be able to monitor all this stuff