Keeping your rig sounds like the thing to do. I don't know how you feel about the daily driver, I have a newer Chevy truck I drive everyday, but it is important to have that reliable transportation, if you didn't make it to work, you could loose the job, so then what good would the rock crawler be if you couldn't afford the gas?
If you work in a machine shop, or metal shop it sounds like, why don't you try to do some side work? Ive always found things I can do outside of work to make some extra cash. Hay, go mow some lawns, paint houses, or do some other thing I'm sure you know how to do. I cant believe someone who can build there own rock crawler doesn't know how to do something else, it takes lots of creativity to build their truck.
Anyway's, more props to you for getting out of the dark side when you did, I have peeked a bit overthere, but its a little on the scary side, just get in, read what you have to, then get out!!!
yea, I do work on the side, I build tubular rocksliders for 79-05 Toyota pick-ups, 4Runners & Tacomas. Build 'em out of 1.75" OD, DOM, .120 wall tubing, and sell them for $300, in which I also install them for that price. I also build cages, bumpers, shock hoops, and tube chassis; you can see the tube chassis I built at the bottom of my home page on my website:
www.tubewerx.com
