Car Camping / Trip Reports / Photos / Buildouts / “Overland” / Expedition Rigs Area (homeless?)

If your bed is longer and your tent positioned further back I don't see why it can't work.

But soft toppers aren't all they're cracked up to be. I hated mine. Especially on the windy highway. Like dragging a parachute for no reason ha.

 

ahh missed this. interesting, I know seems like every time I camped in my soft topper, I had wind at night that would have caused serious issue with the soft topper just laid on the cab.

 

Fridges is where I found myself (there was a GB on some about a month ago and I got in on it. )

Extremely happy with my choice. Built a slide for it and got a battery box powered by a solar panel to keep it topped off when it's in use. I took it out for about 4 days and just threw my eggs, milk, meat, water and forgot about it. No more ice is def under rated and with a 51L capacity I've got more than enough space for a 3-5 day trip that I normally go on.

 

Looking good @ChamYota, I was curious to how you're fridge slide ended up working out.

I got in on the same group buy as @ChamYota, Indel B TB51A. We (the GF and I) sleep in the back of my canopy so I removed the rear passenger side seat and turned it into a fridge slide.



It's a great fridge, it's been a complete game changer for me and my GF.

We spent two weeks last summer living out of my truck. We went to a music festival which required you to camp for a week and then we spent the week after camping and exploring different hot springs in the Kootenay Region of BC. It was an amazing trip but doing it with just a cooler was a huge pain in the ass. I swore I'd buy myself a fridge before doing another similar trip. I don't even want to know the amount of money we spent on ice and the amount of food that got wasted from being soggy and water logged.

I'm in the process today of upgrading my dual battery system to help keep up with the fridge and create a truly maintenance free battery setup. I've purchased a CTEK D250s Dual DC-DC charger and MPPT Solar Regulator. I plan on getting it installed later today.



It's a pretty pricey unit but I think it's worth every penny considering what it does and it's benefits.

The features of the CTEK D250s Dual are as follows:

• Multi-step 20A DC-DC smart charger (hooked up to starting battery/alternator)
• Battery separator that eliminates diodes, VSR's, and allows charging between two dissimilar battery types (wet cell starting battery and a AGM deep cycle auxiliary battery)
• Maintenance charge of starter battery from solar panel once auxillary battery is fully charged.
• Two power source inputs (alternator and solar panel).
• Solar panel regulator with Maximum Power Point Tracking, which can be hooked up for synchronised charging with the alternator input if required.

With this unit I won't have to worry about setting up my solar panel all of the time to maintain a charged battery. I plan on eventually hard mounting solar to my truck but until then It will make sure my battery is fully charged without having to set up solar or remove it from the truck and put it on my bench charger. This unit will also more efficiently charge my battery from my solar panel as it is a MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking) solar regulator versus the cheap PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) solar regulator that I currently use.

 

I hear you on the wasted waterlogged shit. The last few years I have converted to vacuum sealing everything and it works awesome. Takes a little more prep time but damn it comes in handy. I plan out my meals and vacuum seal each meal. I've even experimented with pre mixing things like eggs and veggies for omelets and pan cake mix etc. Makes it so easy to just cut open a bag and dump in a pan at camp.

A fridge is my ultimate goal when I build a trailer but for now the vacuum seal is my go to.

 

so i am getting tired of my chain saw just bouncing around in the back of the truck on wheeling trips. any one have a mount on their truck for a chain saw? going to probably start dinking around with building a mount here soon but wanted to see if any one else had one.

 

My uncle has one for his hunting pickup. took a case and bolted it to the side of the bed (inner wall obviously)... then just slides the saw in and out when he needs it

 

Make something to hold the bar and secure it to the bed rails. Then bungee the saw to the bar holder to keep it in the holder.

 

Bend a plate to secure the main body and use a strap to keep it secured. Bolt the plate to something. Think battery tray with edges folded up to keep it from moving side to side and the strap to keep it from bouncing around.

 

Thanks guys. Have any picture of the saw mounted?

 

Kinna dumb question but the cable that attach to the unit wondering where you connect it to?

 

I've taken a rectangular milk crate and just cut a slot in one of the corners for the bar to stick out. Then bungee/strap the crate to a tie down. I did lay some pig mat on the bottom to soak up any oil that leaks out.

 

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=chainsaw+mounts

 

The cable connected to the unit is the auxiliary battery temperature probe. It prevents damage to the battery if it overheats and also changes the smart chargers charging mode depending on the temperature (different charging cycles for colder weather, etc)

 

So if your using 12v battery's as a auxiliary. where do you connet it to? - or + ? Any picture?

 

It doesn't get connected to the negative or positive post, it just sits in contact with the battery case. I'm going to just zip tie or sticky back mine to the battery case.

Here's a wiring diagram.



I'll have a full write up in my build page of my install in the next coming days. All I've had the chance to do so far is run the positive wire from my alternator (starter battery) to where I want to mount my CTEK in my bed beneath my sleeping platform.

 

Thanks very kind of you sir. Sweet build by the way

 

Has anyone boxed their frames to help with the additional weight of all this gear. I had my truck on a lift a couple weeks ago swapping clutches and transmission and the gap at the bed and cab opened significantly. Of course I put a spin jack under the rear but still made me nervous. I'll be boxing mine shortly. I got to weigh it this weekend.... Access cab, loaded for daily driving, with me an 1/3 tank of fuel... 6050lbs