W.T.F.D.I.G.M.I - Turning my daily drive into a trail rig.

[40x40]

Couple this morning pictures although mostly all I did was clean up, cut the exhaust, drill some holes for the new bumper mounts, and hit all the cuts and holes with some roll bar and chassis paint.

Exhaust cut wasn't clean but it doesn't really need to be..
Step bit worked wonders on the holes, just used a 1/2" bit to wallow and ream them a bit after the step bit.

Some cheap/quick paint and this is how she sits as the paint is drying -

One thing I didn't mention earlier that we had to trim for the bumper mounts were the MetalCloak Rear Sway Bar Reinforcements, they just happen to like the same piece of frame real estate by about an inch or so, so we just trimmed the corners.

Now it's wait on paint to dry ?
Then I'll be ready to start assembly...

ya know, my inner 16 year old says now would be a great time to take it out and do some EPIC smokey burnouts!

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[drewcnit]

Did you use the All Powder Paints and paint it yourself or have someone else paint it? Also, how difficult was it to find a buyer for the bed? With mine being gecko I would imagine it being hard to offload without basically giving it away.

The powder coat company used All Powder Paints at my request, they said they'd never worked with that powder vendor before, but they were happy with them after the fact. It's the only vendor that claimed to have a paint match by paint code for my Bright White.
The bed is still sitting as of now, I've had two guys flake out on me so far...
I believe it's going to be all in the pricing, no matter the color.
I've had 109 clicks on the listing as of right now and only 3 reached out. I've got it up at $2K or best offer, I know some on the FB say $3K and there's a couple recently sold examples on Ebay for $3K, so I priced it low to get bites quickly.

 

[JTenn]

The powder coat company used All Powder Paints at my request, they said they'd never worked with that powder vendor before, but they were happy with them after the fact. It's the only vendor that claimed to have a paint match by paint code for my Bright White.
The bed is still sitting as of now, I've had two guys flake out on me so far...
I believe it's going to be all in the pricing, no matter the color.
I've had 109 clicks on the listing as of right now and only 3 reached out. I've got it up at $2K or best offer, I know some on the FB say $3K and there's a couple recently sold examples on Ebay for $3K, so I priced it low to get bites quickly.

Understood. I have used All Powder Paints a couple times for my wife's gator JT and it is indeed a match. I've also used Columbia coatings gecko powder which is also a match for my JT. 2 hard to match colors but some how these 2 companies pulled it off. I would love for Northridge4x4 to run another sale like that. I get the emails but usually just gloss over them and must have missed it.

 

[drewcnit]

Understood. I have used All Powder Paints a couple times for my wife's gator JT and it is indeed a match. I've also used Columbia coatings gecko powder which is also a match for my JT. 2 hard to match colors but some how these 2 companies pulled it off. I would love for Northridge4x4 to run another sale like that. I get the emails but usually just gloss over them and must have missed it.

I had never heard of All Powder Paints until I found them for this project, they definitely have some of the unique colors, I saw Plum Crazy on their site as well, which is one of my favorite Dodge colors.
The Northridge email was something about Easter Jeep Safari and Bilstein and some trail run that they had planned, had the one time use coupon code in the email. I keep hoping for a sale, but all I've seen lately was random discounts from Northridge or Motobilt. I imagine EJS will create some deals/sales and should be near the end of this month.

 

[JTenn]

I had never heard of All Powder Paints until I found them for this project, they definitely have some of the unique colors, I saw Plum Crazy on their site as well, which is one of my favorite Dodge colors.
The Northridge email was something about Easter Jeep Safari and Bilstein and some trail run that they had planned, had the one time use coupon code in the email. I keep hoping for a sale, but all I've seen lately was random discounts from Northridge or Motobilt. I imagine EJS will create some deals/sales and should be near the end of this month.

I will definitely be on the lookout for one.

 

[RubiNewbCB]

That bed would be great for an overland trailer build!

 

[Hootbro]

A lot of people talk the talk, but you walk the walk. Nice to see people go all in on their projects.

 

[JTenn]

That bed would be great for an overland trailer build!

Got one I'd be willing to part with, lol!!

 

[JTenn]

@drewcnit About how long did the actual bed removal take? I'm wondering about putting it up for sale then removing it when/if it sells.

 

[Chunky White]

wtfdygyit?

Cool build

 

[drewcnit]

@drewcnit About how long did the actual bed removal take? I'm wondering about putting it up for sale then removing it when/if it sells.

So 6 - 15 mm bolts, You disconnect two wiring harnesses at the frame/wheel well driver side, 1 passenger side, then disconnect the fuel filler.
5 hours?
Maybe 6, but I was saving every harness too, so take apart tailgate for camera and harness, take out tail lights, plus remove harness, rear bumper, tow harness and license plate harness, then the jumper harness you disconnected at the frame is attached to the bottom of the bed by about 10 push pins but is easier to get off once the bed is off.

Bolts weren't bad once they started turning, big breaker bar helps, you'll also need at least a 12" extension as a couple were pretty recessed and hard to get at.
It took me most of the morning Saturday, going slow and easy at it. Thought I was meticulous enough to have detached that jumper harness from the bed before we lifted it, but still missed 3 push pins and had to disconnect the driver's side real quick from the body harness.

Fuel filler is a little <expletive for female dog>, just hard to get at the bolts, but only 3 bolts then it's push the stabilizing harness pegs out of their slots so that it will pull down. It doesn't flex much, but I was able to lift on the bed and pull it down once connected to pull it more towards the wheel well.

Lifting, I'd say 2 guys could do it, if they are half way in shape. We had 5 and it was overkill, felt stupid light. So 3-4 would be plenty to move it. We walked mine about 30 yards around the back of my house so the HOA won't complain ? !

 

[drewcnit]

A lot of people talk the talk, but you walk the walk. Nice to see people go all in on their projects.

Thank You, but I don't know about that sometimes I feel like I just make the worst decisions lol ??

 

[Zero_Accel]

And here I am proud of my little tailgate mod lol.

Motobilt makes some nice stuff, I'll have to keep this in mind if I ever crunch the bed on a tree or something similar.

P.S. Let me know if you're interested in selling the Oracle Tail-lights. I could even trade you my stock halogen's if you need something to go with the old bed you're selling.

 

[Jteakus]

It is taking every ounce of self control I can muster to keep away from the MB bobber. Your build is coming along nicely.

 

[drewcnit]

And here I am proud of my little tailgate mod lol.

Motobilt makes some nice stuff, I'll have to keep this in mind if I ever crunch the bed on a tree or something similar.

P.S. Let me know if you're interested in selling the Oracle Tail-lights. I could even trade you my stock halogen's if you need something to go with the old bed you're selling.

The taillights are already gone unfortunately, I posted them on FB and sold them in 10 min. I should have priced them higher apparently... The guy that bought them, said they were out of stock everywhere.
I didn't post them here because I was going to be without a vehicle for a week and didn't feel like trying to ship them.

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