Removable rear winda

[bloodyscrow]

well i posted up here a few moths back about this but couldnt find the thread so a new one it is.

Recap- my fat friend was in the back of my truck when i slammed on the brakes and his fatness busted out the rear window glass and i decided that i should come up with some sort of a mod or idea regaurding this.

temp. fix was to replace the broken peice of glass with plexi, until i could come up with an idea. well the i dea i came up with wa to try and figure out how to rig up a latch system of some sort so that the whole rear window was removeable on the fly,glass/frame and all so i would have a 4.5'x1.5' hole in the back of the truck for wheeling cause you know how hot it gets in colorado summers and driving down the highway would feel great with that hole in the back.

well since i didnt sleep last night i decided to think about this idea until i came up with something for the latches, and since i think best when im tired, it worked.

figure ill cut off the part of the window frame rubber seal that sits on the interior of the truck ( the part that actually keeps your window from falling out anytime you move the truck) and then afix about four of these cam type latches you would normally use to lock house windows.
http://www.menardsonlinecollections.com/UtilityHardware/ExteriorandUtility/SlidingWindow/PRD_4000158F2535-prod/CamType+Brass+Sash+Lock+11516+2+ea.jsp

now i figure these will hold the frame in place and also pull i tight against the body of the truck so that it seals fro when it rains and such.

now the only thing i have to do iis make it down to the local ace hardware store and see if i cant find some of these, buy four sets, go home and cut some rubber seals and pull out the screw gun and get to work, now seeing as how my truck is being punished i wont be able to do a real shake down to see if the window stays put but i guess i could role it onto a 6" block of wood and let i role so i can see a little bit of a g-force drop test to see if it stays, i bet it will.

if it works ill try and get some pictures of it for anyone who might be interested in attempting the same thing so long as its called The Scrow Mod lol

and the great thing about it is that should cost less than ten bucks to do so, cheap, useful (considering that it will help with heat control and the fact that it only takes a flat head screw driver and about 10 seconds to pop out the whole frame assembly, it will also make it nearly impossible to break in thru the rear window with out breaking glass) and something to do, so bored not haveing any money to spend on other stuff to wrench on so its also a boredom killer, YAY! i love "using" my brain lol

[bloodyscrow]

wow a lot of wordage for such a simple idea lol sleep deprived ramblings so much fun

[ike]

I personally would just go to a yard and pick up a sliding rear window. Way less work, cheap and you wont have to worry about leaks:2cents:

[bloodyscrow]

you dont know me that well do ya...i dont do things the easy way, ever hear of rube goldberg?? you sould see my "entertainment center" in my room muahahah

[ike]

That is scary once you start looking a suspension and brakes and such on the trail.

[bloodyscrow]

ok so i dont do things the hard way when i comes to the performance of my vehicles, i dont cheese out there i do it right,but when it comes to something as meaningless as a back windo i might as well have fun with it, remember what my truck looks like, hell its got "blue zebra" painted on both front fenders, i dont think i can make it look to much more silly lol

[bloodyscrow]

ok i think i missed out on the point of your comment ike, yeah a rube goldbergesk suspension and brake system would be scary but it would look entirely way to funny just imagine it

[trump]

This thread caught my eye and thought I would bring something up that no one has mentioned. My guess (could be wrong), is that the rear window of the cab provides a lot of rididity for the roof of the cab. Wheeling without the window assembly in could cause it to tweak, so that you wouldn't be able to put it back in. Same thing that some people have run into wheeling with the doors off. Something to think about.

[ike]

Dont think it is nearly as important as the doors. True it adds some rigidity, but i dont think it is anything substantial.

[trump]

One thing I didn't notice until after I posted, was the year of his truck. In the 80's Toyota still used metal instead of paper mache to make their frames :rolleyes: . I'm sure it'll do much better with the window out than our Tacoma's would.

[bloodyscrow]

yeah well if i want the window out im just gonna have to doi it the old fashioned way, and save the rubber seal, got in the truck and stared at it for about 45mins and then decided against trying to do this mod.

the part of the cab that the window rests on is raised out to much to fit a good latch assembly of any sort, its not flush with the window fram by like a little over a 1/4 inch.

so if i want the window out ill just take it out, and put it back in when i get home which takes about 10 mins and a 5 foot long length of insulated wire and its back in.

oh well it was a good idea but a pipe dream none the less... and having the window out of the truck dosent really affect the rigidity of the cab, i drove around for two weeks with out the window frame in it last summer, didnt notice a difference. i also sat on the roof to prove a point to my buddy

[packrat1]

Something else to consider is the possibllilty of exhaust fumes entering the cab from backdraft. If I had my slider open and there was dust or leaves in the back (when I had a bed back there) Id get it all inside the cab. I imagine with the whole window gone it would be worse.
And, slightly off thread.... Is my cab gonna tweak if I run with the doors off? do tube doors give enough support to prevent this?

[bloodyscrow]

on the fumes issue, i dont really thin it would be an issue for me, i only have about a foot of exhaust pipe after the cat, nothing else, so ive been dealing with the fumes a long timeand i dont mind them

and i think that as long as you build or buy tube doors that mount to the factory hing spots and latch spot it shouldnt tweak very much at all, ive ran my truck with out doors before, and i didnt notice any tweaking when putting them back on, but then again my cab is pretty much tweaked as much as it will go (was t-boned at like 35 mph before i bought it, frames straight as a brick wall though)

[packrat1]

i only have about a foot of exhaust pipe after the cat, nothing else, so ive been dealing with the fumes a long timeand i dont mind them

and i think that as long as you build or buy tube doors that mount to the factory hing spots and latch spot it shouldnt tweak very much at all,

Its tough for me to see that triangulating to the latch would offer more rigidity, though it is designed for side impact I'd imagine... engineers out there?

Now for the "fumes that you don't mind", with this I can speak with authority that those fumes are not good for you, short term, long term, small dose or big dose.... put a piece of pipe on that and push it out further man, you're killing yourself!

[bloodyscrow]

but its not as fun that way, and i think that me smoking is doing a bit more damage than the fumes lol

[ike]

Only way i see tube doors helping is if they latch in tight. If they jiggle around loose you might as well not have anything in there. Now i dont know that not haveing anything in there is going to have any adverse effects though.