Local Legend Mai-Tai-Yota

[the_fablab_]

I hear you Mikey, you're just kind of boring. I agree moving the motor back would be more work than not but really not much more work beyond that. Not sure where you've been but the whole front is cut off already. Fitting a radiator up front would be the biggest challenge.

Kelly is a bad influence I could get onboard with, lol. Have you seen @laramie_nielsen on IG building up a Hummer?

Center mounting your truck isn't that much more work huh?

How long were the upper arms on the old setup? Why not just build some frame rails back and build some slightly longer upper arms, and an upright, lower arm and swing steering to go with it? That way you can run your old cooling setup, etc.? You should be able to get 20+ inches of wheel travel and use the shocks you already have no?

 

[juberafab]

Centermount snow ball guy here. Race trucks are fun and all but they are tons of work and require all the maintenance to keep them at the level they were built to be ran at. I.am all about building wazu out of the box stuff, but there is something to be said for having a street legal prerunner that is capable and easy to prep. The Wife's truck needed little prep/ maintenance and was a blast. We drove it to the desert, romped on it all day and drove home.
That being said I was looking forward to this rendition of the the build.

 

[84Prerunner]

Could very easily get 20” of usable travel at his same old track width if he went slightly longer arm and ditched the d44 hubs. If you went full race 88”+ track width you could get 22” or more out of stock lower pivot arm. Imo a BIG shock is going to be the game changer over a little more wheel travel. I’ve setup a few trucks with 2.5/3.0 and 2.5 bump shock package that are mind blowing fast with only 14 ish inches of travel. Throw a 3.5 on a yota with 20” of travel and it’ll work bitchen.

 

[Motiracer38]

I could pull the pivots in a bit and get about 20" staying around 84" wide using 2" hubs, swingset steering with hydro assist, and a 3.0 coilover, 3.0 bypass, 2.0 bumpstops all with parts on my shelf. The only reason for center mount arms would be to minimize scrub as it helps stabilize the truck. My kids would also think I'm cooler so there's that.

In my head building a full race truck but driving like a prerunner should extend maintenance cycles. It has helped a lot in the rear, haven't touched much back there.

 

[GahnRacing]

2.9 swap it

 

[Kellyex1450]

Picture this:


You’re pulling away in your fresh, one-off 4x4 A-arm IFS long travel setup. Everything’s working. It’s planted, composed, and it’s eating chop like it was built for it.


Up ahead you’ve caught a long travel TTB truck, and you’re coming into a long, giant, whooped-out section where things usually get sketchy and the fast guys start separating from the rest.


And that’s exactly where it happens…


You don’t just hang with it — you’re reeling it in, then you’re overtaking, and then you’re pulling away.


Not because the driver sucks. Not because their truck is slow.


Because your IFS geometry is simply better when the speed comes up and the suspension is really working.


It stays more consistent through travel. It tracks straighter. It holds camber better. The steering behaves. Less weird toe change. Less “TTB doing TTB things.” It’s predictable — and predictable is fast.


Yeah, it was harder to build. More work. More planning. More fabrication.


But that’s the price of doing it right.


And the best part? You’re doing it while keeping 4x4, not sacrificing capability for simplicity. When the terrain changes, or when you’re in sand, snow, rocks, or a nasty hill climb, you still have the option to grab 4x4 and keep moving.


Now think back…


Remember all those guys telling you to ditch 4x4 and go 2wd?
Or telling you “just do TTB” because it’s easier / cheaper / proven?


They almost had you.


But you didn’t follow the crowd.


You built the better system.


And right now — floating through the rough at speed and walking away from that TTB truck — you’re fully vindicated.


You made the right call.

 

[Brett_408]

Damn you just made me decide to center mount my Bronco! F these shit ass TTB's

 

[the bodj]

Everything’s working.

That's a bold assumption

 

[85Yota]

@laramie_nielsen Hummer is pretty crazy. Lots of travel on that thing. He's bought 14" co and 16" 3.5 bp on that thing from me.

 

[the_fablab_]

The delusions of grandeur happing in this thread right now are next level. I love it!

 

[GahnRacing]

Picture this:


You’re pulling away in your fresh, one-off 4x4 A-arm IFS long travel setup. Everything’s working. It’s planted, composed, and it’s eating chop like it was built for it.


Up ahead you’ve caught a long travel TTB truck, and you’re coming into a long, giant, whooped-out section where things usually get sketchy and the fast guys start separating from the rest.


And that’s exactly where it happens…


You don’t just hang with it — you’re reeling it in, then you’re overtaking, and then you’re pulling away.


Not because the driver sucks. Not because their truck is slow.


Because your IFS geometry is simply better when the speed comes up and the suspension is really working.


It stays more consistent through travel. It tracks straighter. It holds camber better. The steering behaves. Less weird toe change. Less “TTB doing TTB things.” It’s predictable — and predictable is fast.


Yeah, it was harder to build. More work. More planning. More fabrication.


But that’s the price of doing it right.


And the best part? You’re doing it while keeping 4x4, not sacrificing capability for simplicity. When the terrain changes, or when you’re in sand, snow, rocks, or a nasty hill climb, you still have the option to grab 4x4 and keep moving.


Now think back…


Remember all those guys telling you to ditch 4x4 and go 2wd?
Or telling you “just do TTB” because it’s easier / cheaper / proven?


They almost had you.


But you didn’t follow the crowd.


You built the better system.


And right now — floating through the rough at speed and walking away from that TTB truck — you’re fully vindicated.


You made the right call.

And then you wake up and come back to reality…

 

[Motiracer38]

I am liking the picture being painted. If I have the horsepower of a 2.9 then I should try to make up the difference with 4wd. I have no doubt that TTB has the advantage in a whoop section, it's everything in between that I'm trying to make more fun

 

[dose]

I am liking the picture being painted. If I have the horsepower of a 2.9 then I should try to make up the difference with 4wd. I have no doubt that TTB has the advantage in a whoop section, it's everything in between that I'm trying to make more fun

Don’t rule out square tubing and tie rods close to your feet.

 

[the_fablab_]

I am liking the picture being painted. If I have the horsepower of a 2.9 then I should try to make up the difference with 4wd. I have no doubt that TTB has the advantage in a whoop section, it's everything in between that I'm trying to make more fun

Right.......

 

[Motiracer38]

Don’t rule out square tubing and tie rods close to your feet.

Haha, there is no way this could approach that level of fun. Although 4wd would allow me to cruise that route less gear of getting stuck. Seems like Baja would vote for it

 

[DialedShockPrep]

Juberas truck is a unicorn that somehow magically eat moon bumps like they are mall speed bumps, definitely don’t base your build and decision making for one small section of a very specific race course haha. In reality, he has just the right wheelbase, rear chassis weight, up travel, horsepower, and huevos to carry the truck though those.

Don’t go full centermount, don’t go stock pivots, do something in between that still makes it simpler to build and work on without the full necessary front halving engine moving etc plus rear radiator nightmare typically associated with a full front half. Keep it simple in a mildly complicated way.

 

[the_fablab_]

Juberas truck is a unicorn that somehow magically eat moon bumps like they are mall speed bumps, definitely don’t base your build and decision making for one small section of a very specific race course haha. In reality, he has just the right wheelbase, rear chassis weight, up travel, horsepower, and huevos to carry the truck though those.

Don’t go full centermount, don’t go stock pivots, do something in between that still makes it simpler to build and work on without the full necessary front halving engine moving etc plus rear radiator nightmare typically associated with a full front half. Keep it simple in a mildly complicated way.

More logic. Brian doesn’t like logic

 

[the bodj]

To be honest, if anyone I know doing this as a hobby, Brian is probably the only one I know who would accomplish it. It will take him a couple years, but that won’t stop him from hitting dirt in other vehicles in the meantime, but it will get done.

 

[84Prerunner]

When you’re done building your mini TT can we retry the Barstow access road?

 

[Motiracer38]

Juberas truck is a unicorn that somehow magically eat moon bumps like they are mall speed bumps, definitely don’t base your build and decision making for one small section of a very specific race course haha. In reality, he has just the right wheelbase, rear chassis weight, up travel, horsepower, and huevos to carry the truck though those.

Don’t go full centermount, don’t go stock pivots, do something in between that still makes it simpler to build and work on without the full necessary front halving engine moving etc plus rear radiator nightmare typically associated with a full front half. Keep it simple in a mildly complicated way.

All good points as I've seen the wonder of Jubera through moon bumps but also seen the downside of it in other handling areas. I never said that was my goal with this truck, just that goofy 2wd arms get you closer to that. Oh, and I already front-halfed it so no turning back now!

More logic. Brian doesn’t like logic

Au contraire, I love logic-
If Mikey complains it's too much work
Then it must be a great idea