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Discussion starter · #22 ·
ALASHA said:
Thanks for the info Pat :beer:

How well does it do with your 43s?

(Sorry to detract from your build)
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No worries. Drives really well. I've had it up to 100mph. Stable, no vibration, no bump steer, no wobble. The 43's made a big difference on belly clearance. So with a 4" lift on 43's I could do the Rock Pile in Pritchett without bottoming. With 4" lift and 41" I bottomed a lot. I'm liking where it's at. That TnT suspension, and steering setup work well.

We drove Rex a couple hundred miles to and from trails last week. He works.
 
#24 ·
Killer rig! Rex has always been of particular interest to me because of your involvement with TNT Customs. I like their gear and work and they are only a few hours away. However I never knew they worked with aluminum, what custom work they offered, what they were capable of, etc.....because their web site sucks in the worst kind of way. I may have to consider some of their aluminum stuff!

Can you detail some of the weight reduction process that happened? What Rex had, what was changed to what, weight savings, etc? Lighter weight rigs are becoming of much greater interest to me as of late.
 
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Discussion starter · #25 · (Edited)
X-Defector said:
Can you detail some of the weight reduction process that happened? What Rex had, what was changed to what, weight savings, etc? Lighter weight rigs are becoming of much greater interest to me as of late.
Click to expand...
When TnT got it, it had a broken Terraflex 6" lift with 41's (The rear control arms broke off the frame. Bob from TnT found me on the trail and told be he could build something that I can't break, then he had folk from his shop come down to Wheeler Lake trail head area and they hauled my jeep to his shop while my kids and I went wheeling with him and the folks from JKCrawlers for the weekend.), a Poison Spider front bumper, a HD Customs Switchblade (i was doing testing for Jarrett) with a 41" IROK on it, a full set of rock hard belly armor, fab four sliders, a tuffy security drawer, a full rear seat. Overall weight: about 7200 lbs empty. I was breaking stuff right and left. Also my hemi would get wicked hot running up steep grades. Also the DD ride was not good. Bump steer, sway, etc.

Along comes Bob: "Cut the weight--put it on a diet. I'll make part out of aluminum. It'll hold up." "My Y-Link front arms, and three link rear arms solve the fundamental problem of binding that four links have...it's drive better and wont bind on itself causing structural failures" "You rig is stupid tall, got to lower it"

So, he started on it. They have been making it "Pat-proof". I only kinda laugh. As I said at the beginning of this thread I had three goals: a) Must drive well on highways both too and from trails and around town---yes even with big tires, b) Must be able to crawl extreme trails without breaking (because I drive back home), and c) I want to be able to drive really fast on offroad trails (like desert racing).

Notice how clean the underside is? Very little hanging down below the skids and axles. Minimizes hangups. The sliders are about an inch wider than the Fab Fours. This is useful because a 121" wheelbase is kind of long (but great for approach, departure, and big ledges).

So, Rex is what I get back. Goals accomplished. Total weight 6000lbs. Drives better, rides better, crawls better. Last week were were out with buggies. They trailered it back to Grand Junction after hitting Rangely. I drove the 90+ miles after wheeling right there with them. I am totally impressed with the aluminum. Bob's a friggin genius. I can't help but be pleased.
 
#27 · (Edited)
Nice....I'm absolutely convinced at this point that going as lightweight as possible is the only way to roll. I removed about 400 pounds from my 2-dr and the difference is pretty remarkable. I can only imagine 1200 pounds! :beer:

I'll have to keep those guys in mind in the future. Sounds like good chit.

Wheeler Lake did ya in, eh? Good thing you weren't trying to climb Cleveland Rock or something, it woulda been a bitch to get you out of there. There is something about Wheeler though....something stupid breaks every time I go there. For me last time, I broke a Poly shock. I'm kinda surprised I haven't twisted off a rear UCA mount yet myself.
 
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Discussion starter · #30 ·
rballman said:
maybe the answer is to just drive better :thefinger:


what an awesome rig/setup...T&T did some awesome work! :beer:
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Truth on both counts. I like to go fast in rocks. TnT: "Pat Proof" :bounce:
 
#31 ·
Thanks for finally sharing rex with us. I keep catching glimpses of it here and there in other threads but was anxiously waiting to get some more in depth detail about the build specs. rex is absolutely killer, I think it takes the cake for my favorite 4 door on this site.
 
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#33 ·
That thing is sweet. I have no idea why the yellow cage looks cool with the rescue green, but it does for some reason. Its kinda mardi gras colors, yellow, purple, and green. Very cool.
 
Discussion starter · #37 ·
Thanks all.:beer:

Few other things in response to questions:

That is a TMD hood
The gears are Superior 5.13's
The t-case is an Atlas 2 speed 5:1
 
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