SCCRMUM- a Lexus Mountain Goat

a quick teaser from the Utah trip. So many photos. would be a bit of derail from the build to post them all here but I might.

 

Doesn't work

 

Do you have a you tube link?

 

Well fuck a duck

Will fix after work

You mean like a general link to my YouTube account?

 

Oh I thought you were uploading a video! Nvm.

 

fixed, I think/hope

 

Pretty!

 

Post all the pictures...for science

 

I'll probably wait off a little and see what my lady compiles in the near future from her (literally) 1000+ photos so I can do one photo dump story post together. Currently I just have a stash from what @MooseTracks took

 

still no luck for a trip photo dump from Sarah but here's some build related stuffs.

On Saturday I decided to walk out and drill holes in my bumper skin for my KC RZR reverse lights in the most feasible spot I could muster for fitting them between the skin and the frame crossmember/swing out structure. once that was done, I routed out the foam core with a drill and dremel because I didnt want to take the skin off out of lazyness to do it with a cutting tool.

Then @MooseTracks Helped me wire up my License plate lights and finish the install of the RZRs. We wired both sets of lights off the trailer 7 pin harness. We did it on the 6" Socket harness that goes from the seperate 4 and 3 pin connectors on the chassis harness. That way it's replaceable if I ever need to change, which I might to get a longer reach so I can flush mount the 7pin in the bumper skin at some point. Or I may just run a 5th wheel extension off the existing stock socket. Right now I have to keep the 7 pin zip tied up under the frame since I removed the factory receiver hitch that the stock socket bolted to.

I fit the RZR lights as tight as I could to the frame, outboard of the frame rails. The driver side swing out structure that is welded to the frame was smaller so I could squeeze the light (barely). The passenger side swing out structure is larger to support the spindle so the RZR wouldn't fit nicely between the skin and the structure, outboard of the frame rail. I had to chop off about 1/2-3/4" of all the cooling fins on the back side of the light using a cut off wheel. The lights are hardwired back up lights so duty cycle is low and I don't think heat will be an issue. Now, my biggest complaint of these RZR lights is that the wire harness exits out the back of the light. Considering these were designed as back up lights, and flush mount, presumably inside bumper skins, it seems like an oversight to have the harness exit out the back where interference is most likely to occur with a frame or body structure behind bumper skins. I think it would be a much better design to have the harness exit the bottom of the light, where the removable bracket mount is on the light. Being a symetrical square, one could then rotate the light so that the harness exited any which of 4 direction that fit the application best. I haven't been able to think of a situation where this would be more limiting than the back exit harness. Because of the rear exit harness, I had to drill/wollow a 1/2" vertical slot so that the harness could recess into the swing out structure tube, make a loop inside, and then exit back out the slot bellow the light where it a tiny bit of clearance.

Both RZRs are touching back against the swing out structure. If I didn't have the swing out, the lights would have just barely fit where they are but would have had no interferences since they are outboard of frame rails (Like inside edge is essentially laying against the outboard face of the frame rails).

Anyways, end novel. Especially since I'm lacking decent photo documentation of the process or middle steps. sorry :/ Here are some finished pics of the lights. The license plate bolt light wires I had planned to run my milspec mesh wire loom and seal the Y junction and ends at the bolts with self sealing silicone harness tape. I left the mesh loom in a friends truck which is now in texas and I didn't feel like waiting for Amazon to deliver more to me. I wrapped my own loom using the self sealing silicone tape- which is crazy. The tape feels like silicone. Kind of rubbery, not sticky at all on your hands or surfaces. It's stetchy though and it sticks to itself and never lets go. I tried to candy cane wrap as tight as I could on those little wires to make a half way decent loom. The tape is actually triangle shaped so that it doesn't bunch up while doing candy cane wraps but I had trouble getting the wraps tight enough on the little 22 gauge wires so it's meh. The tape cures at room temp in 24hrs but is accelerated cure time with some heat. not the prettiest, but fairly hidden and should still be water proof which is all that matters.

Now I won't get a ticket for no license plate lights and the KC RZR lights are plenty bright with a great flood beam that really does...well...flood light everywhere. There is no directional hot spot at all. The frosted diffuse lense does a wonderful job, MUCH better than most LED pod/cubes I see as back up lights. I'll have to snag a night pic at some point soon.

 

Sweet tilting photo on the back side of Mt. Lemmon.

 

Very nice build. Love the rear swing out. Been debating to sale my taco for one of these for awhile. Had both the GX and Taco at one point. sold the gx now thinking maybe get one back and sale the taco.

 

I've sucked at staying up to date but here's a little piccy dump from Mojave Road over New Year's. I have to replace my screaming serpentine tensioner pulley thanks to this crossing lol

 

@NudeLobster Sweet bow wave

 

Saw some sweet Soccer Mum booty on my way to work yesterday

Alvernon, 7:10AM.

 

hey that's me!

 

Outside Bisbee this past weekend trying out the new tent after taking the better part of two weeks to tear down the front end of the engine, remove cams, replace camshaft seals, and assemble with new TB, WP, TB pulleys, fan bracket, serp belt, serp tensioner pulley...

 

Do you have any pictures of the awning extended out? I might be getting one for the wife's secretly slow build

 

Minutes before the wind bent the poles (use the guy wires!)