The original NV4500 out if Alex’s tahoe is in my crew cab now
CK5
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'91 K5 Four Wheel Camper
This is the build for my 1991 V1500 Blazer, AKA the K5.3. It started out life being sold to the U.S. Government with a 350 TBI/700r4/241 combo. 4 years with a 5.3/700r4 Combo and now moving to an 8.1L Vortec and NV4500 5-speed.
That's funny. He did have the ZF in the Tahoe when I was there.
I can't wait to really get the swap done, but it will be later this year fall/winter. The cool thing I can use is the comparison on how your setup works with the crewcab and HUGE camper compared to mine. Since it works so good in your case mine ought to be great with less weight and frontal area of the camper. Should be wicked.
Yeah, I traded him 4500's (mine was internal slave which he needed at the time, his was external slave which worked better for my setup), but he told me he ended up selling the 4500 I traded him and bought the ZF-6 to put in the Tahoe. His Tahoe will be sick when done.
Oh yeah, you are gonna be very, very happy with it, I can guarantee that
I guess I was in the right place at the right time. Super appreciative for sure.
Got to spend the afternoon working on the rear bumper. We made a lot of progress. It is coming together as planned.
Mocking up the bumper and upright to the truck. We are repurposing the old tire carrier to save some fab time.
We cut the length to be just flush to the quarters.
Fitting the main horizontal tube to the pivot. We locked the hub so that we could make sure the lock position lands where we want it. There is a few degrees of slop when locked, but the hub was never going to be the main lock anyway. The latch and rest will do that work.
We tacked the tube with it on the spindle to make sure we got it where we want it.
Tacked into position.
Like the previous session, we preheated the hub with the torch to aid in penetration. The weld came out great and we set it aside to cool naturally. We then deconstructed the old carrier to get what we needed for the upright. It's already built and worth reusing.
Welded together. We ran out of tube to triangulate the upright.
Even without grease in the bearings at this point the swingout is very smooth. Plus the lockout will hold it when it's open. I did swap out a Warn Premium for a Superwinch so the lock/unlock action is down to a 1/4 turn. It's coming along just like we brainstormed it.
Mocking up the bumper and upright to the truck. We are repurposing the old tire carrier to save some fab time.
We cut the length to be just flush to the quarters.
Fitting the main horizontal tube to the pivot. We locked the hub so that we could make sure the lock position lands where we want it. There is a few degrees of slop when locked, but the hub was never going to be the main lock anyway. The latch and rest will do that work.
We tacked the tube with it on the spindle to make sure we got it where we want it.
Tacked into position.
Like the previous session, we preheated the hub with the torch to aid in penetration. The weld came out great and we set it aside to cool naturally. We then deconstructed the old carrier to get what we needed for the upright. It's already built and worth reusing.
Welded together. We ran out of tube to triangulate the upright.
Even without grease in the bearings at this point the swingout is very smooth. Plus the lockout will hold it when it's open. I did swap out a Warn Premium for a Superwinch so the lock/unlock action is down to a 1/4 turn. It's coming along just like we brainstormed it.
That looks fantastic! Cant wait to watch more progress on it
Looks good. Turning out a lot like how mine was built.
I need to order some lights and D-ring mounts. Where we mocked it up the hub blocks the back up light a little. So we both figured a little extra light should help me from finding out how tough the bumper is when someone hits it. A couple of 4" flush mount LED stop/turns and a pair of 4" back up lights that have dual light levels. One will be for reverse (wired in with the stock lights) and the other wired independently to a switch. Use for the bright lights might depend on the scenario like somebody riding my tail too close or backing into a dark campsite.
I agree. It will make the other addition work well when we are in camping mode. We are going to add a folding table to the back of the swingout to have a spot to put the campstove. The tailgate was where I would do this, but it's gone for now. So this will be a good way to get some usable space back that I don't have to pack inside like a table.The locking open part is what really makes this cool...
Not gonna lie, I pulled ideas from many other bumpers here. I lost track of all of them since I looked at so many.
My buddy Bill must have got out of work early today. He sent me a couple more pics of the tire swingout. He got some more 2" stock to add in the diagonal supports.
Looks pretty good to me!
H
His welds ain't too shabby either. He had asked me if I wanted to burn some of the welds in last weekend and I declined. I haven't welded anything in 20 years, so I didn't want my booger welds compromising the strength. His will do though.
Taking shape nicely.
Looks pretty good to me!
His welds ain't too shabby either. He had asked me if I wanted to burn some of the welds in last weekend and I declined. I haven't welded anything in 20 years, so I didn't want my booger welds compromising the strength. His will do though.
Taking shape nicely.
Bill got a little more done today while I was at work. I dropped off some crazy bright tail lights I picked up for it. LED stop/turn/tail and back up lights. Onward to some fresh pics.
We added a receiver for towing but most likely will be the mount point for the folding step we have in the plans. For a little more clearance he set the receiver in about 1/2" instead of just welding it to the bottom of the bumper. He's still got some gussets to add and chain hookup points.
Looking up from the bottom:
The backside.
He also capped off the end and smoothed it down. He had already done the other side.
The tail lights are flush mount so we still need to cut a big hole in the bumper for each one. I felt like I needed a little better rear visibility compared to the stock lights and the left side reverse light will be slightly blocked. The two little white LEDs in the center are the back up lights. They are stupid bright.
They are going out near the ends. The 1" thick d-ring mounts are still on the way too.
Here's the backside of the swing arm he did yesterday.
Can't wait to get this mounted up!
We added a receiver for towing but most likely will be the mount point for the folding step we have in the plans. For a little more clearance he set the receiver in about 1/2" instead of just welding it to the bottom of the bumper. He's still got some gussets to add and chain hookup points.
Looking up from the bottom:
The backside.
He also capped off the end and smoothed it down. He had already done the other side.
The tail lights are flush mount so we still need to cut a big hole in the bumper for each one. I felt like I needed a little better rear visibility compared to the stock lights and the left side reverse light will be slightly blocked. The two little white LEDs in the center are the back up lights. They are stupid bright.
They are going out near the ends. The 1" thick d-ring mounts are still on the way too.
Here's the backside of the swing arm he did yesterday.
Can't wait to get this mounted up!
Looks great, gonna Van Sickle or powder coat?
It's going the Van Sickle way. Satin black. It's gonna take a few cans I think. The weight factor is going up. I see a pair of zero rates in my future once it gets mounted if the ass end sags any.
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Um, that is a big NO on those lights there ghost rider. Seriously, WTF is with those???? 
What's the beef? Size or the fact that I wanted some extra lighting back there? They are flush mount so they will sit flat to the face of the bumper and not out like they are sitting now.Um, that is a big NO on those lights there ghost rider. Seriously, WTF is with those????
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All of the above. Those are going to look like 
dude. Why do you think you need honkey lights on there?
dude. Why do you think you need honkey lights on there?
LMFAOUm, that is a big NO on those lights there ghost rider. Seriously, WTF is with those????
C'mon Larry it really does not matter you are always in front of him anyway.All of the above. Those are going to look like
I guess that means you are probably not gonna like the third brake light I have planned.
