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87 Dodge Raider - Beadlocks & Grabbers

Overview Gallery Discussion
So the wife and kids are at the beach for a couple days so I should be able to put in some long hours out in the garage on this thing.

Worked on the rear bumper some more today.

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Got the tube ends capped with some of Kert's pieces.

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Then added this step to make getting things out of the future roof rack easier.

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Thinking I am going to weld some diamond plate on top to make a nice non skid surface.

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Tomorrow I am going to work on the front bumper and maybe the sliders too.
 
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Worked on the front bumper this afternoon/evening. Honestly it was kicking my ass a bit since it was more or less trial and error for a good part of it. Anyway, this should be the last time the bumper has to come off. Once all the finish welding is done I can wire wheel the heck out of it, get it painted, and get the winch back in before reinstall.


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Promised pics of fairlead cut-out next time I took the bumper off so here ya go.

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Hole saw at each end and cutoff wheel worked pretty good

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Got the wings welded on and the supports tacked in place. The wings angle up around 2 degrees towards the outside to keep everything nice and tight to the body.

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Also got the ends of the wings angled to match the wheel well body line and capped with some of Kert's ends. Should have bought more 30 degree tube caps since that is all I seem to be using but luckily I think I am done capping tube on this Raider

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Just in case you were wondering, I needed a little counter weight in the winch tray to keep the bumper from tipping over


Tomorrow I plan to finish up the front bumper and start the painting process while I move on to slider install
 
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God do I ever hate painting. Didn't even get to touch the sliders today but I did get some prep work done so I can try and get them mocked up with legs to the frame tomorrow.

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Primer, the only thing I actually somewhat enjoy shooting

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Really hope I don't wind up regretting this. I started out laying down some fine texture black and wasn't digging it so decided to make all the tube work and body armor stand out a little with some grey hammertone

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I have to admit, it does look pretty damn good by itself, just hope it looks as good on the Raider

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If I get this on and decide it's not working my back up plan is to just do black hammertone instead.
 
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Crazy how much narrower the frame is at the front wheel well compared to the back wheel well

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This one was all measured and tacked while installed, then pulled off for finish welding. I will build the other one to mirror this and check it for fitment with the legs just tacked and if everything looks good I will burn everything in. After that it's the grey hammertone paint on the sliders before welding the legs to the frame.

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And here is a sneak preview of the Thule MOAB (mother of all baskets) roof basket that is going on top of the Raider to make this a true expedition style rig. In the plastic is an extension for the basket to make it run the whole length of the roof. I paid $75 for the basket used and it is in good shape, just needs de-mildewed. Here is the crazy part. The basket extension I had to buy new online and it was $129 shipped :eek: . Anyway, $200 for a $500 basket is still pretty good. Also in the picture are the roof rack towers. I got them used off ebay for $50 shipped and they are Yakima so they are also pretty high dollar new. One thing that is super cool about this combo is that both the towers and the basket itself are lockable so they can't be removed in a parking lot by those with sticky fingers
 
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Put my roof basket together and threw it up on the Raider to do a little mock up. I am going to try to keep it as low as possible but we will see what I can come up with while still using the Yakima towers. I am not married to this basket. Personally I would probably seldom ever use it but I think it adds to the build theme and overall desirability to someone else who might buy it. What are your thoughts? Keep or ditch?

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I think you'll like the extra space the rack provides.

Paint came out well :waytogo:
 
Overall nice build. Keep the basket. You will likely need every bit of space if you go on any extended trips. Me and my wife have done two big trips now. It is addictive. You can check out my trip report here: https://ck5.com/forums/threads/beag...read-oregon-coast-2014-starts-post-46.322912/

I might add. With a rack of that size, a ladder might be nice. Certainly you have the skills to make something.
Lastly I couldn't help but notice your front clevis mounts. I think you might want to add some reinforcement to the back side. I know that thing can't weigh much but I would add something on the back to beef them up some.
 
83ChevyK5Blazer said:
I think it sits up to tall.... in my opinion.
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I have never really been a fan of roof racks for this very reason, but I have always owned/wheeled rock crawlers and this is definitely not that. I think it is almost a necessity for any kind of overland/expedition style build especially if you are going to be hauling 4 people around.

beags86 said:
Overall nice build. Keep the basket. You will likely need every bit of space if you go on any extended trips. Me and my wife have done two big trips now. It is addictive. You can check out my trip report here: https://ck5.com/forums/threads/beag...read-oregon-coast-2014-starts-post-46.322912/

I might add. With a rack of that size, a ladder might be nice. Certainly you have the skills to make something.
Lastly I couldn't help but notice your front clevis mounts. I think you might want to add some reinforcement to the back side. I know that thing can't weigh much but I would add something on the back to beef them up some.
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I will have to give that a read. I thought about the ladder. I have seen other Raiders/Monteros online that have Land Rover looking ladders retrofitted on to them. I am on the fence about doing the same. Honestly I don't think it is necessary on this rig. I think the only time that it might come in handy is if you wanted something out of the back of the basket and didn't want to open the rear hatch. The rear bumper has that built-in step that will get diamond plate on top of it and with the hatch open it provides very good access. The sliders will likewise provide good footing for easy access to the sides. Also, I don't want to encourage someone to climb up on the basket as it's not meant for that and could be a liability in public places.

What are you suggesting for the clevis mounts? I can't gusset them any in the back since they actually recess into the frame rails and it is a tight fit. They are through-mounted, welded inside and out, and just inches away from the main frame attachment points. Are you thinking they would bow the bumper face out if pulled on? Wouldn't the breaking of the 1/4" steel plate above and below that main panel give it rigidity? Those were my thoughts on it but I don't claim to be an expert or anything.
 
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My thought about the ladder is something that would hook to the top tube of the rack and be movable. Not permanent. I had a roof rack on the top of my topper on my 3/4 ton and always was a bi!ch getting to things. Just my 0.2.

I see that in my expo trip thread, the pics didn't come over in full size. I will have to fix that.

As far as the d-rings mounts go, typically you try to build them inline or on the frame horns. After looking at your pics and seeing how close they are to the frame it may not be an issue. But to my point. I would try to gusset them back some. The issues would be pulling out bending the plate. One thing to try might be to plate the outside of the D ring steel with some plate that has the frame hole pattern and make the frame horn into a double shear mount. If that would be possible.
 
beags86 said:
My thought about the ladder is something that would hook to the top tube of the rack and be movable. Not permanent.
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Oh, I see now. That would be interesting.

For the clevis mount, the inside edge of it is pretty much right up against the inside edge of the frame. I could go further inward to sandwich the frame between the existing outside plate and a new inside plate. I would have to put it back on the truck with the winch installed to see how that could work. Wish you would have said something before I got it all painted, hahaha.
 
truck-oholic said:
Oh, I see now. That would be interesting.

For the clevis mount, the inside edge of it is pretty much right up against the inside edge of the frame. I could go further inward to sandwich the frame between the existing outside plate and a new inside plate. I would have to put it back on the truck with the winch installed to see how that could work. Wish you would have said something before I got it all painted, hahaha.
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You could build loop hooks on the top of the ladder and on the bottom it would have a kickback kind of thing( towards the vehicle) to keep the ladder out from the side of the raider. You could use some pipe insulation foam to protect the body. Then maybe some sort of mount to store it on the side of the rack.

As far as the d ring mounts goes I would be interested to see how it would work with the winch, but if didn't work out just add some gussets. And call it good. I am sure it would be fine. I didn't post before because. I didn't see the back and I really try not to criticize people's work.
 
I like the roof rack. They're a great spot for carrying larger, light weight bulky items like sleeping bags and tents while on a trip. Saves the interior floor space for the heavier items like coolers and tool box. They also give you a good base to carry a canoe or kayak.

I like the ladder idea, too. Doing the one-handed-balancing-act off the rear bumper or door sill while you're trying to get something in/out of the rack is a PITA. I like Beags idea of making it removable. Think something w/ a hook off the top that could grab the top bar of the roof rack that could be used on the back or sides of the rack. It should have padded legs to keep it off the body of the rig (gives you room for your feet & hands to go through the rungs and it will protect the paint). You could come up w/ some trick way to store it under the rack (like some car trailer ramps slide under the deck) or just strap it on top of stuff in the rack to hold everything down.
 
Well, pretty sure the engine just shit the bed on the way home from work today. Died two driveways up from mine and engine seems to be locked up. Had to get towed home by my buddy. Looks like this thing will be getting a 4.3 after all but it is going to have to wait quite a while. Want to finish up the Blazer or at least make some really significant progress on it before I start thinking about engine swap and possible SAS for the Raider. So, for now, I am going to park it outside the garage, sell the wheels and tires, sell the trans & transfer, and possibly sell the axles (debating on this) so I can start with a blank slate whenever I get around to it again. I will keep working on bumpers, sliders, roof rack, interior, etc with everything else stripped out.

Here are some pics of the front bumper reinstalled after paint. Had it off when it broke down so had to go get it and put it on so I could get towed home the 1/4 mile.

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Ironically this was the first time I got to see the finished bumper back on the Raider after initial mock up and tack welds

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Not sure why it has a gangsta lean now all of a sudden but the driveway is sloped right there so who knows at this point

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Well the body armor and roof rack will be done sooner than later but I'm thinking it won't be driving for at least a year. Really want to get this K5 done and driving! Got a 12x32 mini barn being delivered on Tuesday to free up room in the garage so I can have the whole thing as dedicated fabbing/building space. Getting the cage done is at the top of the list but I think I need to get this other bedside back on to do that
 
I like the basket. Also gives you a spot to through some LED bars on. I liked that on my Trooper, not that I ever utilized it but I had the flood lights all the way around on the basket/racks. Instant daylight when setting stuff up in the dark all the way around the truck. And those were cheapy lights too before knock off LEDs got so cheap on ebay.
 
Wow I'm really digging the bumpers and sliders. Clean and tough but no jungle gym :waytogo:
 
So I just sent Ian Johnson a text message asking if he wants to LS swap this thing on the show. Waiting to hear back :D
 
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