Safari Pacific MX2 Build

[TheBeast]

Sweet. I've been following your build from the start. Good work

 

[daniel3507]

Greatest build ever. I look forward to following your upcoming expedition

 

[Rangerman4158]

wow all i can say is wow i just read this whole build took a while to read but was well worth my time to read it

 

[feellnfroggy]

WOW, I saw this when it first started, needless to say alot has changed since then, awesome job. I like the tent being higher up too. In case of, you know, flash floods or snowstorms etc. Great Job

 

[Daniel C]

wow all i can say is wow i just read this whole build took a while to read but was well worth my time to read it

You actually read all the thread? Interesting. ha

This thing is gonna be sweet. Wish i had those fab skills.

 

[84stealthranger]

wow i just read the whole thing lol that is an amazing truck makes me wanna buy a welder even more now..lol

 

[SnC RangeR]

man what i would do to have a rig like that.

 

[schanusa]

Thanks all!

WOW, I saw this when it first started, needless to say alot has changed since then, awesome job. I like the tent being higher up too. In case of, you know, flash floods or snowstorms etc. Great Job

Thanks!. Lol, if there's a flood I think I'll still have something to worry about. Being higher up is mostly so animals can't get to you, well as easily.

 

[schanusa]

After another visit to Adventure Trailers and my brother's shop I picked up some cool new suspension parts.

Fox Shox for a better ride.
Air Bags for fluctuating load weight (water, fuel, food and etc).
Limiting straps and tabs to keep parts from over extending
Uniball heim joints and poly bushings for new upper a-arms.

To start I tack weld the new shock tabs from AT in place, create a mock up of where the remote reservoir will mount.

Then I move onto positioning the air bag mounts. Another cross bar is added at the end of the upper air bag mount.

Parts removed then both cross bars get welded into place.

 

[schanusa]

Air bag mounts welded directly onto the frame.

To support the weight the air bags will carry I add gussets. (Thanks to Wil for giving me a hand with making these.) Also a limiting strap tab is welded on over the axle.

Wil snapped a photo of me welding the final gusset in place.

Reinforcing completed. Hard to see, but I added another short piece across on the reverse side where the limiting strap tab is located.

 

[schanusa]

I begin bolting on all the parts to make sure nothing warped while welding.

Then I spray on a coat of paint and install the parts once dry.

Another angle of new suspension setup.

Next I fab up the bottom plates for the air bags to ride on. I only have bolt holes on one side to allow extra up travel.

 

[schanusa]

Under side of air bag lower bracket.

Bracket installed with air bag and air line.

I run the air lines to the bags to one location for easy inflation/deflation. Also used some no lose valve caps I got from George at Extreme Outback Products.

Next I assemble all the parts for an air supply system. I'm using a small compressor for now, though I want to swap out for a much nicer ExtremeAire one in the future.

 

[schanusa]

I decided to build my own air tank so I could fit it much easier than a pre-made one.

This is my second attempt at making one, thankfully it worked holding 100psi.

I removed all the fittings, cleaned all the sharp edges, painted and then installed the tank right behind the bumper.

After installing I fought with popping the air line and loosing pressure. I ended up installing a check valve on the feed line to the tank.

The compressor fit perfectly off to the left mounted to the AT boxes. I added the brass fittings to help dissipate the heat, keeping the plastic line from popping.
I'll be creating a small shield for the compressor to keep anything from touching it and so I have a place to mount a switch in easy reach.
After fighting with everything for over a day I managed to get everything working properly. If I had to do it again, I would of bought an air tank and saved myself time.

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

what kind of problems did you have with the tank, just air tightness?

 

[RDR]

man that truck is insain!