Local Legend Turtle Truck 2.0

[theycallmeWALLY]

hell yeah. I wanna put a RTT on the back of my build too.
Which go fast tent did you pick? the superlite?

Yeah. It's an older version that they discontinued. They wanted to make some changes to the new superlite.

I've used it once so far. I just laid it flat in the back of my F350 when we did the clean up prerun. It was super windy all night and Elliot's tent was flapping making the normal tent noise which kept them up for most of the night... the GFC was nice and quiet.

The nicest part about these tents is that they are so light weight. I can easily put it on and off of the truck. It's obviously bulky but I can pick it up and walk around with it too. A normal RTT would not be so easy...

 

[theycallmeWALLY]

Wow... I guess I haven't updated here in a min...

So Got the RTT on the truck and went for it's first trip out to Laughlin for Rage.
- Trip report: https://forum.badlinesgoodtimes.com/threads/rage-to-the-baker.338/

Proceeded to loose a tail gate after about 1 mile of dirt haha

Truck ran solid for that trip. Didn't break out any tools which is rare.

It was my first time sleeping in a RTT.

Thoughts - Kind of sucks how tall it is considering I don't have a ladder. Having most of your sleeping gear inside the tent is rad. Usually I'm going to bed in dusty blankets and pillows. The GFC coming with a nice sleeping pad as well. And the last item I like most about the GFC is that it's quiet. There was some wind that night and I didn't have to listen to the tent flopping around.

 

[theycallmeWALLY]

Something I hadn't said on here before is that I've been slowing transforming the original bumper. I was told that it came off of an F150 and it was grafted onto this truck... very poorly.

I didn't take a lot of pictures when I first got the truck because I just really wanted to fix it It just drove me crazy. first of all it stuck out like buck teeth, the tubing that wraps around the fenders didn't match the lines of the truck, and where they grafted it to the frame horns it left like 2 inches of exposed frame horn because it just didn't match up. Not to mention that the 2 lower tubes that 'should' have connected to the bottom of the frame did not... they were just floating there about 1 inch below the frame. Must have been some voodoo magic welds or something.

Oh did I say 'welds'. Yeah give the pics below a gander. That bumper would have been held on better with bubble gum.

 

[theycallmeWALLY]

So once I just cut the bumper off I went to trimming it up. The main structure was fine and I figured the truck was a budget build so why not use as much 'free' stuff as I could. Even the tubing I added to the truck was just left over tubing from other projects.



I've said it 100 times... Band Saw is probably the most used tool in my garage. Best $100 I've ever spent



Yes... Looks kind of goofy here. But I had a vision. I wanted the bumper to be very useable in case I had to push someone with the truck. I also wanted the front bumper far enough out so that I could get a light bar or lights on there and they would be somewhat protected. Lastly the side tubes I wanted flush with the front of the fenders. Soooo.... It now started to take shape.



Added some support tubes and she was ready for her first trip. I actually ended up using the bumper a little to pull someone out on the trip.




Then It was time to add some lights I had sitting around the garage.

Oh shit... what is the meth?



Decided to leave that shit in there to tackle another day and just wire up the lights to the factory fog lamp switch.

2 x Baja XL80s are plenty of light for this slow truck.

 

[theycallmeWALLY]

The bumper served me well for a few trips to the dirt but it was time to clean it up and finish it. I capped off the tubes and added in the last supports. It got super rusty from the rains so a quick prep on the metal was needed along with a few coats of paint.



First I painted the tubing a gloss black. But then I painted over the gloss black with some 'midnight glitter'. The bumper has a little texture to it now and that perfect bass boat look!



I also found some allen bolts that fit the skid plate in the parts bin so I recessed the holes and bam... #cleaninstallsonly



Just need to put the lights back on and she's done for now.

 

[theycallmeWALLY]

Also started to clean up the interior a little with the carpet/floor that came from the Red Ranger. This should hold up better and also not smell like the old one... I need to give it a good clean but it should easily wipe down.




Also I made a kid seat mount in the back. It's not finished in this picture but it's done now and works well. It mounts to the factory seat belt bolts up front and then in the rear it is jut rivnut mounted to the floor with 1/2" bolts.

 

[theycallmeWALLY]

I’ve been meaning to clean up the back of this bed since day one.

It never really had good tie down points for 2 spares. The 2 x 4gal rotopax kind of just slid around. Lastly, the jack never had a good spot and would always come loose. With all of that said the top picture is the ‘done’ picture and everything below is the work that went into it. I think it actually came out pretty great IMOP.

This is a budget truck so I'm trying to reuse anything I can or use anything that was free. Hence that beautiful jack...



First thing was to figure how to mount the free jack I got from @sdecurti . I decided to just add a plate and mount it with some rivnuts to the bed. The plate would work better in the sand and it allowed me to put the rivnuts in an easier spot to undo the bolts when I needed it.



Tig welded the jack to the plate. I tig pretty much anything I can because it's just more fun to weld and I need more practice.




A piece of reclaimed tubing from the original turtle trucks interior cage. This tubing would help lock the rotopax in place.



And then I made some fancy tie down points for the Y-Strap I also repurposed from the original Turtle Truck. I copied Kibbetechs super cool CNC ones.

I used an old leaf spring sleeve and some solid stock I cut down on the lathe.



Now it was time to pull the bed so I could cut off old shit and weld on new shit.



2 grinders save time.



No idea why anyone would cut shit off and just leave a mess like this. You literally have a grinder in your hand... just finish her up. Took about 1 min per old tab they left behind. I think there was like 8.

 

[theycallmeWALLY]

Remember She's a budget build... this comes with money and time haha.

So paint prep was weak. Add some rustoleum and hope for the best!



Welded on tabs




My dumb ass had a brain fart and I welded the front tabs on at slightly the wrong angle. They still work so that's all that matters.



I just used a little piece of angle iron as a stopper for the front of the rotopax.






I added 2 pieces of 2x4 under the ice chest. This got it up high enough so I could swing up the ice chest top without it hitting the tail gate.

 

[Klever]

Such a good setup Wally! That truck works great too!

 

[KaiserJ]

This thing is beyond cool. following for inspiration lol

 

[Baconcreekmetal]

Budget builds are the best. Tight budgets make the builder be more creative to get the result he needs.

 

[Dirt Yota]

Looks like a fun truck and looks like you use it too!!! Following for the budget build with big fun runs!

 

[theycallmeWALLY]

Looks like a fun truck and looks like you use it too!!! Following for the budget build with big fun runs!

Thanks dude.

Truck has been a little bit of work to get it to where it's at today but dang is it fun... The last trip we did on the Mojave trail was a blast. Just a solid cruiser. I was holding up the back of the pack all day but super comfortable and capable enough to get you into trouble

 

[theycallmeWALLY]

Looks like a fun truck and looks like you use it too!!! Following for the budget build with big fun runs!

Absolutely. The creative process is the best part. It also teaches you that less is more. Just get out and have fun driving the thing

 

[theycallmeWALLY]

Took the truck out on the forums first official Forum Run put together by @the bodj .

I had to show up a day late on Friday night because of work. picked up Billy and headed East to where they were camped.

This was my 3 time ever sleeping in the GFC tent. Super stoked on it. Easy to set up and as I've said before... it's so nice having my blanket and pillow stowed away in the tent and clean.

Last fill up in Baker.



Rocked the BLGT Flag @sdecurti hooked us up with most of the trip just because.



The boy's decided to stop for a little send-it action and I just couldn't help myself. Wasn't a ruff landing but that's all she's got. Used every inch of travel.



Then it was time for a little flexy flexy action. Pretty surreal feeling when the truck stays mostly straight and the suspension is putting in work.



I tried going up it in 2wd but it was too much to ask for with the factory 8.8 limited slip. Put her in 4x4 and she went right up.



Overall the truck did great. Had zero issues and just cruised around the desert and then to home.

 

[UR_Mawm69]

why haven't you taken the stupid fucking fender flares off on the bedsides?

i probably know the answer actually.
its probably some logistically smart answer that makes total sense, protects this and that and keeps all of this and that in the right spot, and blah blah that i have no fucking clue of any of it since i do the whole "looks over function" thing (and it does NOT do me well but im stubborn as shit. haha).

 

[theycallmeWALLY]

why haven't you taken the stupid fucking fender flares off on the bedsides?

i probably know the answer actually.
its probably some logistically smart answer that makes total sense, protects this and that and keeps all of this and that in the right spot, and blah blah that i have no fucking clue of any of it since i do the whole "looks over function" thing (and it does NOT do me well but im stubborn as shit. haha).

I just like the way they look. Is that a good enough answer?

 

[UR_Mawm69]

I just like the way they look. Is that a good enough answer?

not at all what I was expecting, haha.
but, yes sir. good enough!

 

[dwphoto]

@dustysummit with some epic shots and another killer write up!

Budget Ranger Prelander - race-deZert.com

We had a chance to link up with Wally Walford of Bad Lines Good Times to check out his 1994 Ford Ranger Prerunner (Prelander)

www.race-dezert.com

 

[theycallmeWALLY]

AHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

So Stoked!

I've always been a budget guy so it's nice to get the notoriety for it haha!