[ARCowboy]

All,

Obligatory not affiliated with 589fab, I bought all of this myself, none of it was provided to me, etc...

Time required: 20-30mins
Tools used:
Rhino Ramps (makes life much easier)
Gearwrench 15mm impact socket
Dewalt 1/2 impact wrench
Cheap rubber mallet
Simple Green
PB Blaster or WD40

Very simple install; probably so straightforward nobody has bothered to post pictures before. For those unfamiliar the 589Fab support bracket encloses a fairly thin mounting point for the stock steering skid that is prone to bending (thankfully mine was not).

It comes with 3 extended bolts of the same pitch/size to replace the stock ones which will be too short.

Step 1:
Remove the two 15mm bolts holding the splashguard or your skid

Step2: Remove the three 15mm bolts holding the stock steering skid on.

Step3 (optional): Clean and PB blaster/WD40 steering skid bracket and steering skid. Since I degreased mine and have almost a full case of PB blaster, I gave it a light coating.

Step 4: Coax support bracket on with rubber mallet. Notice it does not have any bolts security it. I would describe it's fit as snug, and precise. I didn't have to obnoxiously bang on it with a hammer, just a few medium-gentle taps on each side. Bolt holes lined up perfectly.

Step 5: Reinstall steering skid using the included longer 15mm bolts

Step 6: Reinstall splashguard/skid using original 15mm hardware

 

[tex2018]

Public Service Announcement ..
To anyone considering this product .. install it before ever going off road . If your OEM bracket gets knocked .. it will crumple rather easy and the getting this product on will involve pry bars, BFH and cuss words

 

[ARCowboy]

Public Service Announcement ..
To anyone considering this product .. install it before ever going off road . If your OEM bracket gets knocked .. it will crumple rather easy and the getting this product on will involve pry bars, BFH and cuss words

I consider myself lucky (or maybe I just don't wheel "hard" [into hard objects at high speeds... ?]) that mine was not bent. This is part of my effort to make the truck survive my mistakes offroading. I read some of the stories on here a couple weeks ago and immediately ordered this. I'm going on a primitive camping trip on the beach fairly soon and am even worried about the weight of the truck crushing it if I were to bury the axles. It is that thin for some reason.

 

[tex2018]

I consider myself lucky (or maybe I just don't wheel "hard" [into hard objects at high speeds... ?]) that mine was not bent. This is part of my effort to make the truck survive my mistakes offroading. I read some of the stories on here a couple weeks ago and immediately ordered this. I'm going on a primitive camping trip on the beach fairly soon and am even worried about the weight of the truck crushing it if I were to bury the axles. It is that thin for some reason.

Good luck. Our vehicles are more capable than many other vehicles / trucks you will see on the beach but keep a set of traction boards with you . I've self recovered from being buried upto the axles insome deep soft sand with just those ( 4 lo, traction nannies off)

 

[Quik]

I consider myself lucky (or maybe I just don't wheel "hard" [into hard objects at high speeds... ?]) that mine was not bent. This is part of my effort to make the truck survive my mistakes offroading. I read some of the stories on here a couple weeks ago and immediately ordered this. I'm going on a primitive camping trip on the beach fairly soon and am even worried about the weight of the truck crushing it if I were to bury the axles. It is that thin for some reason.

Better one BFH instead of 2 or more.. I keep a sawed off sledge in my shop, it’s mostly sees action for hammering off stuck rotors.

I took mine down on the National Sea Shore in Corpus a few weeks back and it barely left tracks. And that was with 3 adults and 3 kids (8 and under) in the cab plus the bed fully loaded with grilling gear, an Orca 75 packed out, canopy, beach gear etc. In fact, the only place I even bothered with 4x4 was a stretch was shallow, but really loose sand. Factory duratrac’s didn’t even bat an eye.

And thanks. You guys just added another mod to my already ridiculously long list of stuff to do

 

[dadsafrantic]

i just installed mine last weekend along with the aev diff skid. both were very easy to install. i have a constantly shrinking/growing list of mods.

 

[ARCowboy]

Good luck. Our vehicles are more capable than many other vehicles / trucks you will see on the beach but keep a set of traction boards with you . I've self recovered from being buried upto the axles insome deep soft sand with just those ( 4 lo, traction nannies off)

That's comforting. I've bought 4 of these XBull traction boards from Amazon when they were $65/set (20% the cost of maxtrax... I've only played with these in my driveway but they haven't cracked. We'll see), a 9k WLL snatchblock, a 30' strap/hitch recovery point, and an 8' strap/tree saver. Hopefully between those, my winch, and 2 trucks we can find our way out of any trouble we get into.

Better one BFH instead of 2 or more.. I keep a sawed off sledge in my shop, it’s mostly sees action for hammering off stuck rotors.

I took mine down on the National Sea Shore in Corpus a few weeks back and it barely left tracks. And that was with 3 adults and 3 kids (8 and under) in the cab plus the bed fully loaded with grilling gear, an Orca 75 packed out, canopy, beach gear etc. In fact, the only place I even bothered with 4x4 was a stretch was shallow, but really loose sand. Factory duratrac’s didn’t even bat an eye.

And thanks. You guys just added another mod to my already ridiculously long list of stuff to do

Glad to hear about the truck. i'll definitely be at max GVWR loaded down. And haha you're welcome. Only fair since this forum is where most of my mod ideas have come from. And stealing from tacomaworld.

i just installed mine last weekend along with the aev diff skid. both were very easy to install. i have a constantly shrinking/growing list of mods.

haha same

 

[tex2018]

That's comforting. I've bought 4 of these XBull traction boards from Amazon when they were $65/set (20% the cost of maxtrax... I've only played with these in my driveway but they haven't cracked. We'll see), a 9k WLL snatchblock, a 30' strap/hitch recovery point, and an 8' strap/tree saver. Hopefully between those, my winch, and 2 trucks we can find our way out of any trouble we get into.



Glad to hear about the truck. i'll definitely be at max GVWR loaded down. And haha you're welcome. Only fair since this forum is where most of my mod ideas have come from. And stealing from tacomaworld.



haha same

One more thing. If you do get stuck and use traction boards , go easy on the throttle till you get the tires to establish traction on the boards else you might wear them down rather quickly. Found this out the hard way

 

[dadsafrantic]

That's comforting. I've bought 4 of these XBull traction boards from Amazon when they were $65/set (20% the cost of maxtrax... I've only played with these in my driveway but they haven't cracked. We'll see), a 9k WLL snatchblock, a 30' strap/hitch recovery point, and an 8' strap/tree saver. Hopefully between those, my winch, and 2 trucks we can find our way out of any trouble we get into.



Glad to hear about the truck. i'll definitely be at max GVWR loaded down. And haha you're welcome. Only fair since this forum is where most of my mod ideas have come from. And stealing from tacomaworld.



haha same

just be careful with the recovery strap. it is not a kinetic strap but a tow strap. snatching with it will be slightly less jarring than a chain. it a great thing to have but you may want to consider adding a kinetic rope to your kit. i have also added 2 more snatch blocks to my kit as my prior vehicle could only winch from behind. with 3 blocks you can actually pull forward from the rear end.

 

[ARCowboy]

One more thing. If you do get stuck and use traction boards , go easy on the throttle till you get the tires to establish traction on the boards else you might wear them down rather quickly. Found this out the hard way

Thanks. I've never used traction boards before, so as soon as we got camp setup, the next morning we buried my truck to the axles on purpose and used the traction boards to climb out a couple times. Actually took effort to get stuck that badly. Am very happy with how the truck performed.

Practicing self recovery after intentionally burying the front of the truck

just be careful with the recovery strap. it is not a kinetic strap but a tow strap. snatching with it will be slightly less jarring than a chain. it a great thing to have but you may want to consider adding a kinetic rope to your kit. i have also added 2 more snatch blocks to my kit as my prior vehicle could only winch from behind. with 3 blocks you can actually pull forward from the rear end.

Thanks for the heads up. I'm not a huge fan of kinetic straps after some incidents during two different offroad driving schools where parts of vehicles were torn off, but I understand they have their place. The straps are mainly designed with self winch recovery in mind. I went out with a buddy on this trip but don't always. I'll definitely look into adding a couple more snatch blocks. I currently have two, but have never had to winch myself backwards to possibly a better to have it and not need it kinda thing... Thanks !

 

[tex2018]

Thanks. I've never used traction boards before, so as soon as we got camp setup, the next morning we buried my truck to the axles on purpose and used the traction boards to climb out a couple times. Actually took effort to get stuck that badly. Am very happy with how the truck performed.

View attachment 416140
Practicing self recovery after intentionally burying the front of the truck



Thanks for the heads up. I'm not a huge fan of kinetic straps after some incidents during two different offroad driving schools where parts of vehicles were torn off, but I understand they have their place. The straps are mainly designed with self winch recovery in mind. I went out with a buddy on this trip but don't always. I'll definitely look into adding a couple more snatch blocks. I currently have two, but have never had to winch myself backwards to possibly a better to have it and not need it kinda thing... Thanks !

A common place to get stuck in beach sand are areas that other (typically RWD) vehicles have previously got stuck and churned up the sand in an an attempt to escape.

Beach access 6 at South Padre Island is an infamous example of this
Here's a random video of the daily comedy that occurs at this location

 

[ARCowboy]

A common place to get stuck in beach sand are areas that other (typically RWD) vehicles have previously got stuck and churned up the sand in an an attempt to escape.

Beach access 6 at South Padre Island is an infamous example of this
Here's a random video of the daily comedy that occurs at this location

Watched a couple RWD only vehicles, or people who didn't know how to put their freaking Jeep Wrangler in 4wd, get stuck right off the ferry to the island. Sad, but comical. Airing down to 20PSI worked like a champ for me as well. No bead issues, even after hitting some unseen sand dune edges decently hard.