Leaderboard

Alright, we've been busy. Big batch of parts finally cut and cleaned up, ready for drilling and bending. Couple tweaks on parts from the last sets, most notably changes to the motor mount spacers. Same footprint, but more efficient piece with tons more tool access. In other news...I ordered another CNC plasma table last week. This one will increase cutting sizes to 48" x 33" (my current is 25" x 23", though I've not installed the kit that bumps it to 25" x 33"). This gets us a step closer to making bumpers and skids a reality. Still tons of things to think about in that regard, but since the table won't ship until January, we have some time to plan.

I installed them boot down and man they are like night and day. My old ones were shot.

How do you get 5v on a 12v (14v) system, let alone that from a ground wire? I think only the interior light circuits output 5v when the lights are off. I use those cheap voltmeters everywhere. Super simple to install. Two in my truck (one under the radio and another at the rear by a separate power panel), plus one on a recent battery/refrigerator project. The voltage is maybe ±0.1v compared to my equally-cheap voltmeters, but totally sufficient for my needs. The one under the radio is tapped off the nearby power socket, so only on when keyed to the ACC and ON position. The rear is on a dedicated switched circuit direct from the battery. As far as reading the battery when the truck's not running and running...well, it's just going to read either the battery (not running) or the alternator (running). But, I presume that's what you actually want?

I finished this a while back, but I successfully got that screw off. Used a 10mm wrench and help from my friend. Once I got it off, I realized that I didn't need to take it off in the first place. What was holding it on was the rock hard PCV valve hose ?.

Overdue thanks! I think that's a very likely possibility. Well...sorta. Things have been slow-moving, and my fault really...overworking at my regular job, working on a downright horrible Land Cruiser project, and a few other projects eventually just burned me out a bit. So, I took a vacation! Spent a few weeks driving around the country with my family, caught a few baseball games, visited family, and just put some miles on the new Telluride. Notably, I did spend one of those weeks on the road at my company's headquarters working...not that I really wanted to, but it saved me the trouble of having to fly back out there later and it was actually on the way home. Plus, the expense report paid for all my gas on the trip. It was a good way to clear my head. @TowndawgR50 and I haven't stopped chatting about things, and feeling a little refreshed now, we're ready to move forward again. After the first prototype sets were made a few months, we learned a few things and it's just been a matter of adjusting things to get the product we want. So we've tweaked the designs a little, purchased some more equipment, and are working on a few more tooling items before cutting the raw parts. The near term goal is to produce a small batch of kits and finally get them on the PNW Piners' trucks. Steering joints ordered already. The biggest change from the first kit is that we've decided to drill all bolt holes. The plasma cutter can cut small circles and can do it reasonably well, but it can't do it consistently well. So we're needing jigs to ensure we can mark all holes quickly and consistently, and while it'll be extra work drilling, we think it'll produce a cleaner product. It also gives us opportunities to use press in studs, which will simplify installation in a few places. I've got an expansion kit for the plasma table arriving this week. While it doesn't give us any massive cutting widths, it's a beneficial upgrade that I'm pretty stoked about nonetheless. No immediate need for it, but the need to do skids keeps surfacing, and there's a good possibility we may see if bumpers are viable.