The Lone Ranger – Kage’s ’94 X-Cab Leaf SAS and Bed Bob

[4.0B2]

such a good weekend.. my 21st birthday weekend your truck gets it debut ride. sweet. drink one for me when you're out! lol.. and climb a rock for me. hahaha.

anyways. i like the idea on the bumper, simple clean effective

 

[Bray D]

Love the truck man. Really diggin the build, but I gotta say, you killed it with the bumper.

I fight the Illinois laws too, and that is partially the reason I haven't built bumpers yet. I've decided to take the FTP principle into full consideration when building my front bumper. The rear I think I can make work, but there's no way I can keep my front bumper that low.

I figure I'm less likely to get pulled over if my truck looks cosmetically appealing, like the bumper was something I bought rather than built. I don't think police like the idea of people driving home-made stuff on the street. I could be wrong I suppose.

Either way, if they want to get technical with it, the law states that if the bumper has been modified, the officer then measures to the front most portion of the unmodified frame. So technically you're still too tall.

 

[kris97ranger]

If they measure modified bumpers to the unmodified areas it'd kinda be cool to build a big tough bumper then just run the stock steel bumper over top so it is like the plastic covers that Cars have. Then it looks stock and good but is strong

 

[Kage]

such a good weekend.. my 21st birthday weekend your truck gets it debut ride. sweet. drink one for me when you're out! lol.. and climb a rock for me. hahaha. anyways. i like the idea on the bumper, simple clean effective

Thanks I’ll kill a beer or two around the campfire for ya.

　

I fight the Illinois laws too, and that is partially the reason I haven't built bumpers yet. I've decided to take the FTP principle into full consideration when building my front bumper. The rear I think I can make work, but there's no way I can keep my front bumper that low. …

FTP? File Transfer Protocol? (Yeah I’m a bit of a nerd, but you lost me on that one). I’ll agree that the bumper isn’t 100% what I want, but by the time I get the tube work on there, it’ll be close enough. You’re missing the main point here… The wife likes it. When she likes something, it makes the project that much more "happy" if you will.
　

….I figure I'm less likely to get pulled over if my truck looks cosmetically appealing, like the bumper was something I bought rather than built. I don't think police like the idea of people driving home-made stuff on the street. I could be wrong I suppose.

Agreed, but once you’re this far into it, its kinda hard to make it not stand out. Slapping a factory bumper back on it only gets you so far. That and I've still got tires that are sticking out past the bumpers so I'm screwed there too.​

As far as the home made stuff, a large chunk of the aftermarket bumpers are made "in some dudes garage". In my mind, so long as it doesn't look like a hazard, its probably good to go.
　

….Either way, if they want to get technical with it, the law states that if the bumper has been modified, the officer then measures to the front most portion of the unmodified frame. So technically you're still too tall.

Granted, you’ve dealt with it more than I have (and I think that has to do more with where in IL you’re at than IL as a blanket statement), I doubt that I’ll be harassed down here for it. For reference here’s what Bray’s talking about..
　
From IL 625 C5​

(625 ILCS 5/12​

​

​

‑608)(from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 12‑608)

Sec. 12‑608. Bumpers.

(snip)

For any vehicle with bumpers or attaching components which have been modified or altered from the original manufacturer's design in order to conform with the maximum bumper requirements of this section, the bumper height shall be measured from a level surface to the bottom of the vehicle frame rail at the most forward and rearward points of the frame rail. The bumper on any vehicle so modified or altered shall be at least 4.5 inches in vertical height and extend no less than the width of the respective wheel tracks outermost distance.

(/snip)​

That said, I’ve talked to a few County and City PO’s about this, most have never pulled anyone over for a violation of this law. There’s a crap ton of Jeeps running around down here that are worse violators than I am, so no one is pushing the issue in the southern part of the state anyway. It probably helps that I’m not so much the punk kid anymore, just a middle aged balding dude.

On a more serious note, I'm betting a solid case could be built that while its "More legal" to have just left the factory bumper on, it is actually "more safe" to create an aftermarket bumper that meets the height law. So the "intent" of the law was still actually met.

That still sounds like a shitstorm so if I find myself dealing with that, there was probably a major accident and lawers involved at that point anyway.
　

If they measure modified bumpers to the unmodified areas it'd kinda be cool to build a big tough bumper then just run the stock steel bumper over top so it is like the plastic covers that Cars have. Then it looks stock and good but is strong

I had strongly thought about doing that (really liked how the Ranger looked that they built in Petersons). But I couldn’t figure out how to make it look right and work once I had the stinger/cage on there. If the law gives me too much trouble, I’ll figure out a way to do something along those lines.​

All in all, I'm not losing any sleep over the bumper height/frame heigh laws so we'll keep rocking on. There's wheeling to be done soon​

 

[Bray D]

FTP? File Transfer Protocol?

Fawk The Police.

It probably helps that I’m not so much the punk kid anymore, just a middle aged balding dude.

I'm still the 'punk kid' and I think it throws em for a loop after they initiate conversation and find that I'm a pretty sharp guy.

I push the limit and ask difficult, yet appropriate questions. If they're going to try and write on a piece of paper to make me pay money, they better be 100% confident in what they're doing. My interogations usually leave them a bit unsure, and leads them to write warnings rather than tickets.

I'll probably get pulled over tonight and get the book thrown at me.

 

[wahlstrom1]

Haha... Isn't that the truth. Atleast they're slack about bumpers around here unless it's rediculously (re. 49's on a superduty) tall. Here's what I got from our Provincial Transportation Department on full hydrosteer, now to see if I can make insurance stick!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thank you for your email of May 10, 2011 regarding hydraulic steering.

Full hydraulic steering is acceptable on any vehicle originally equipped with such a system. There is no legislation in Alberta prohibiting a vehicle from having fully hydraulic steering.

However, Alberta Transportation strongly recommends a vehicle not have its steering converted to a different style; a vehicle originally built with a mechanical connection between the steering wheel and wheels should not have that connection removed. If you modify a vehicle's steering system you are responsible for the design, engineering and safety of your modifications; if a vehicle converted to a fully hydraulic steering were to get in a crash the safety of the system you put in would be brought into question.

If you have any further questions please contact me.


Chris Yanitski
Vehicle Safety E.I.T.
Alberta Transportation
chris.yanitski@gov.ab.ca
780-427-8901

 

[86 slo-vo]

I'm a pretty sharp guy.

i call BS

 

[Kage]

Fawk The Police.

Gotcha

...I'm still the 'punk kid' and I think it throws em for a loop after they initiate conversation and find that I'm a pretty sharp guy.

I push the limit and ask difficult, yet appropriate questions. If they're going to try and write on a piece of paper to make me pay money, they better be 100% confident in what they're doing. My interogations usually leave them a bit unsure, and leads them to write warnings rather than tickets.

I'll probably get pulled over tonight and get the book thrown at me.

It pays to be educated in the laws of the land (regardless of the situation). Bonus points if you have a copy of those laws handy for when you need them (i.e. a copy of IL 625 can play in you favor depending on the situation).

Haha... Isn't that the truth. Atleast they're slack about bumpers around here unless it's rediculously (re. 49's on a superduty) tall.

Even the trucks form "Big Gay Truckland" don't really have an issue down here. At most they'll get hasseled for the bumper height at which point they'll take a piece of C channel and mount it at the appropriate height.

i call BS

I'm not touching that one until I meet him in person

No real progress last night, I got part of the rear bumper done last night, then promptly ran out of wire. So that brought everything to a halt. Should be alot of progress this weekend though!​

 

[Kyle M.]

i call BS

X2 just cus he refered to himself as a 'sharp guy' LOL

 

[Bray D]

i call BS

X2 just cus he refered to himself as a 'sharp guy' LOL

I hate you guys.

It pays to be educated in the laws of the land (regardless of the situation). Bonus points if you have a copy of those laws handy for when you need them (i.e. a copy of IL 625 can play in you favor depending on the situation).

I don't keep a copy of the law with me. I think it comes off a bit cocky. "Its your job to know the law, but since you're a dumbass and don't know it, I have a copy here for you."

I make them show me exactly what they're talking about. I've sat in the back of a cop car while they look up every law. After they read off what it says, I'm always sure to give them my interpretation, which may not be necessarily wrong, but ALWAYS plays in my favor.

One guy was trying to hassle me about my exhaust. The law says something like a modified exhaust cannot be louder than the exhaust was from the factory. He said it was obviously louder. I asked him if he had a decibel meter, and knew the value of the factory Ranger exhaust. Of course he didn't. Without knowing how loud the factory exhaust is and having a means of measuring my exhaust, its impossible to make the claim that mine is louder. I win.

Of course if he wanted to pursue it, he couldn't given me a ticket, and we would've gone from there. Most officers don't want to go through the hassle though, and I leave with a warning.

 

[Kage]

I don't keep a copy of the law with me. I think it comes off a bit cocky. "Its your job to know the law, but since you're a dumbass and don't know it, I have a copy here for you."...

Its not a first line of defense, but its been handy to have. Its all about presentation

Doesn't really matter though, usually when the cherrys come on, I know Its because I've obviously done something wrong (Like 85 in a 65 anyone?).

The rear bumper is done for now. I'll get an update here shortly. I also started on the belly skid and finishing up my exhaust (which is a little louder than a stock Ranger, but not too bad)

 

[Kage]

Rear Bumper Air Tank

The rear bumper isn’t anything special, Just some ¼” wall 4x5 that Is capped off to be an air tank in the future (If I remember my measurements right, its about a 4 gallon tank size) .

I took the center section to work and milled a hole for the receiver mount. After that was completed, I burned on the end caps and receiver:

And burned on the truck:

At this point I started playing with the side tubes some. The first try was a bit too long for my taste:

So I shortened everything up a bit more:

That’ll work, so everything got burned on and had some spray on bed liner applied:

(The side tube is level and square, I don’t know what up with this photo, body lines maybe?)

Now I just need to plumb the air (and get an air source), and add the license plate. For what its worth, it does measure the correct height for IL 625.

 

[4.0B2]

i like it.. multi-functional! looks good n clean to

 

[Kage]

Fender Trimming

Very little trimming was required in the rear:

And with the flare back on:

I might have to trim just a smidge more back here, we’ll see when I flex it again.

The front needed a bit more aggressive of a trim job:

I wound up leaving some of that little bracket in the front to make it easier to mount the inner fender liner too. Hopefully it won’t rub the tire too bad at full stuff.

 

[Kage]

Belly Skid

In my XJ, I had actually spend some time making a ‘contoured’ transfer case/tranny skid. That resulted in decent ground clearance, but also meant that I always wound up high centered on one of the nooks of the skid.

So this time, I gave up some clearance in order to have a flat belly. The net result is that I only lost about ¾” and I now have a stupidly stout (and heavy) skid. This thing pretty much threw weight savings out of the window.

So I started with another cross member:

And then started grabbing flat stock (the center is ½”x5, The outer two plates are ¼”):

Added some bracing:

Burned it together, and stuck it back on, didn’t lost much in clearance:

The center bar ties into the front K member where the TTB mounted before (I’ve never hit my engine skid before on the XJ, so I’m thinking this is overkill):

It’s a little hard to tell but there are two cross members, the rear most one, and the transmission cross member. These carry the brunt of the load. I’ve also got a tie in to the front “K” member, as well as the spring bolt on the passenger side rear leaf mount.

So we’ll see how this one works out. I put the trucks weight on the weakest part of the thing and managed to pick the truck up without damage to the skid or truck. So while this is stupid heavy, it should work just fine.