Canadian h3t Alpha build

Another update... this onehas been on going for two weeks, still hasn't come to a conclusion but I thought I would share anyway... trying to burn the last few minutes at work!!

Last weekend I had noticed a small pool of oil under my truck as I was getting the wiring for my LED bar put in... no big deal I still have warranty and I would get take it in on Monday and get the dealership to look after it.

Fast forward to Thursday, I pick up my truck and head off on my jolly way with GM covering my for the $1,400 bill to repair the rear main seal under warranty. Sweet

Fast forward to Saturday, f@!# there is a giant pool of oil under my truck and I am 70 miles from home... oh and was is this? my check engine light is on??
Ms. Onstar lad can you tell me why the check engine light came on?... turns out there is an issue with the transmission now as well.... well isn't that just magical!

I limp my truck home (made sure to keep the oil topped off) and again took the truck in on Monday.

Fast forward to Wednesday, the dealership told me they stopped the leak this time... but still can't figure out the tranny issue.... they'll call back
Present time, just got off the phone with the stealership and they advised me that a new transmission is on order and I should have the truck back by Wednesday of next week.... whoop what and exciting time!!

Had to do some truck therapy to help with my separation anxiety; hence the Thor Parts bumper

:rant:

At least you're not paying for all these repairs - that is some stealership you deal with.

I have to admit they have bee good about it, the first time I brought it in they told me that I no longer had warrant and it wasn't covered.... after about a 2 hour conference call (I was away for work) they agreed that it was still covered until November, and that they would wave the fee's

The UPS tracking numbers for each item says that they are in the truck out for delivery today!!

So excited to see what the Thor Parts bumper looks like in person! Now I can get busy designing the tire carrier swing out with actual parts out in front of me!! Armchair building for this project will soon be a thing of the past!!

yay! both the bumper and DIY kit showed up today at work!


The receptionist was overwhelmed by such a big package..... (pun there or not for those who want it)


teaser:


Haven't opened up that boxes yet but will be sure to post up some more pics when I do later tonight!

RamRod said:

The receptionist was overwhelmed by such a big package.....

Click to expand...

:giggle: ...congrats on the new "acquisitions"!

So I unpacked everything when I got home and its looks great! Its bigger then I expected, but it is exactly what I was hoping for!

Did a quick mockup of the general layout that I want to do, its nothing new or original, but here is what I want to do:


The tire in this picture is the stock spare, this will be built to hold the full size 37'' tire so things will shift about slightly, just didn't have access to that tire tonight for the photo.

The EMS off road kit looks great and I am sure it will be more then sufficient to hold water, gas and the spare... when it gets welded up by a professional.... not me haha

I will have to cut a spot for the rear camera, that shouldn't be too hard

Next I will have to decide if I want to add a second recovery point and tie it into the rear end.

I am going to build a gas can holder to the dimensions of the three cans, but it will also serve as a basket for "other" storage when extra fuel is not a concern... i.e. muddy boots, a small cooler...etc

UPS dropped something else off for me today!!



The Rancho knobs that they sent me!

Project time!!!:cheers:

Bigunit sent posted this in another thread:

Bigunit said:

Mike, if you don't want to drill into the dash, here is one option you might want to consider. This is my CB mic set-up in my 3T:

I used the ProClip. No drilling so no marks left if you decided to do something different down the road. They clip on - it's a 2-piece set-up - you start with this mount:

http://www.proclipusa.com/brodit-ve...6-2012/proclip-center-mount-853702-14398.aspx

and then you will need to add this clip holder for the CB:

http://www.proclipusa.com/store/products/button-and-clip-holder-(small)-215052.aspx

The only drawback with this mount is that the ProClip does block some of the A/C air but it's worked great for me.

Click to expand...

I just ordered those pieces above today for my CB install, now just trying to figure out where to put the main unit, I want it out of sight but still accessible.

My truck is still at the dealership, took this pic last night as I drove by to say good night to my baby:
still bleeding... at least he's with his older brother!!

Ordered some parts last night for my bumper build:

Pop Pin to lock my tire carrier in the "open" possition (plan on having two different positions, one at 90 degrees one at 180). The pin is spring loaded and will pop down into the hole automatically when the gate is open, then if I want to swing it out to the 180 possition I will just have to lift up on the T handle and keep pivoting until it hits the second of the two holes:


That 1'' steel piece shown in the picture is what will be welded onto the swing out.
Then I decided to get some LED license plate bolts to keep things clean on the rear bumper & a gimmicky rear view camera with NIGHT VISION :funny... but seriously it was 10 bucks, free shipping and I already have a stereo that can display the video feed...

You might be asking, "your Alpha already has a backup camera in the the rear view mirror, no?"

Yes it does, however I want to be able to switch on a video feed while in drive to watch the traffic/terrain as the snug top kills ALL rear view ability. I am sure I could have re worked the existing camera with some tinkering, but then I would risk damaging a system that is working just fine and perhaps wreck the system which would cost me much more then $10 if I had to replace.

Here are the two Ebay purchases:

Picked up some bolts for the spare tire carrier that are the same thread type as the lug bolts on the hub, then went to my local performance parts store and he gave me three matching locking lug nuts for free! (they are matching to the existing set that I have on all four tires!)

Once my ebay orders come in I should have all the parts required to build the carrier! So pumped to post up build pics!

A pic of the wheel lugs pre-welding (don't have any welded pics right meow)


The pro clip order came in today as well so that will get installed this weekend along with the


I plan on getting the swing out arm cut up with weekend, maybe even tacked up then I'll take it to a buddy who is a much better welder then I to get everything good and

It came with the swing out kit from EMS off road, it has holes cut out to fit 3 different bolt patterns, its was deff worth the money in my opinion

Installed the ProClip CB radio holder, super easy and gets the pro look that I was after (really didn't want to drill into the dash at all!)
View attachment 10808

Looks good. That' s where I put mine.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapataint

Hey do some research before your fabricator welds that bumper carrier. I had installed that same kit on my dads old TJ. The problem is that welding that spindle directly to the bumper weakens it quite a bit and there have been failures. Mostly from the carrier being closed and rattling with a big tire and gas cans. ems offroad doesnt even state the weight capacity on that hinge. What ever you use you must make sure that the carrier has ZERO movement!!
I did a rear bumper build on here of my dads swing away. I purchased comp 4x4 double shear HD setup plus you dont really weld the spindle becuase it gives you a DOM sleeve that the spindle slides into eliminating the need to weld the doo doo out of the spindle.
http://www.comp4x4.com/Tire-Carrier-Hinge-Kit-with-Double-Shear-Bracket-HEAVY-DUTY.html
Zero relations to them. But I used the same hinge on my buddies YJ carrier and he is running 40's zero problems 1.5 later.
Just dont want you to go through all that work and the carrier fall off

Here was my build if you wanna look at it.
http://www.hummer4x4offroad.com/forum/showthread.php?2248-rear-bumper-and-swing-away-carrier

that comp 4x4 setup looks so nice!

I took a look at your build before, gave me some good ideas, too bad I didn't take note of the spindle at the time though.

I will make sure there is ZERO movement where there is not supposed to be any, and have an extra fail safe or two to insure that the system wont completely fail if it ever comes to that.

Got the Thor parts bumper on today, but I ran out of battery so I'll have to post pics of how that turned out tomorrow!

Lots of great stuff. Really nice build.

Another piece to the rear bumper puzzle came in the mail today!



I have to say that the camera is WAY! smaller then I expected it to be!

I am excited to see how well this little guy works!

Oh and I forgot to say that this came in the mail today!

It came with both the "T" handle and a "ball" handle.... I think I'll end up using the T as it seems it would have much better grip if it was to be covered in mud!

Just waiting on my LED license plate bolts and I need to go pick up a cutting board from IKEA.... haha yes you heard that right and you laugh now, but wait till you see what I plan on using it for!!

The LED light bolts finally came in! after I install them tonight I will be able to drive at night legally again! wohoo!

I will get taking my cut pieces for the tire swing out over to my welder shortly, then it will get powder coated, once that is done I will get my welder to install/weld in the spindle to the Thor Parts bumper, then give it a test run, make sure it all works then take the Thor Parts bumper to get its final powder coat... I am thinking of doing something different from the traditional black powder coat... just haven't made up my mind 100% yet! stay tuned for that....

Oh and in about 2-3 weeks I'll be getting a local shop, Bear Trax, to do a SOA for me!! because I am too chicken $h!t to cut into the frame of my T!

Excited for the added clearance for sure

Last night I ordered some rear diff protection from Purple Cranium, I liked their set up and the color options and it is the best priced option for the T that I could find!

It'll look something like this:


Now I just need sliders and skids and my build will be close to done (once the current projects get finished up as well)

SO a few more things to update my build with.

First off Rancho again is coming through with great customer service! after I received the replacement knobs that they sent me I figured out why I had some knobs breaking and others only adjusting to 3-4 of the 9 positions! here is a pic to describe as I am told its the same as a thousand words... and I don't feel like typing that much!


SO they are sending me four new replacements as this shouldn't have happened! it'll take about 3-4 weeks!

The next update is on the potential SOA that I was thinking of doing.... Well here are some pic's of where I have to park everyday.. and I just don't think I'd be able to fit if I did the SOA :gaah:.. again I'll let the pic's do the talking!
I put my hand in the gap for some reference