The Tactical Panda's Sometimes Funny Great White Money Pit Build and Observations on Life thread.

Congratulations on the deal.
Yeah, I get it. I sold me taco to get my new truck, mainly because I didn’t have the time to fix the front end and suspension. 145k was a good run and had no real issues.

Take a deep breath, grab a beer and enjoy the mamories

 

I went and installed a 2TPAM mounting system from Expedition Essentials today. When I first saw them last year I though they were ugly AF. Fit and Finish are import to me; a mod doesn't just have to be functional but it must look good too. Yeah, I'm anal. Sue me.

But times and opinions change and I needed something suitable to mount all my overlanding and expedition gear so you do what you have to do.

 

Picked up my new toy last Sunday in Sandusky, OH. Not the best pic but here I am on the Ohio/Pennsylvania Turnpike bringing it home. Better pics to follow.

I'm already in touch with a welder who is going to do some mods for me. Stay tuned.

 

Goat Armor!

 

More Goat Armor pictures.

 

Progress on the Overland Trailer is, uh, progressing. Got some welding done to add more cargo space on the tongue, a lid for the tub, and a 2" receiver to attach a Lock 'N' Roll hitch. Installed a tongue box which will house the electrical system. Construction of a slide-out camp kitchen has started. And got a good deal on a rooftop tent.

Stay tuned.

 

I have the Powah!

Today I 99% finished my Solar Generator project for my overland trailer. I had originally planned on getting a Jackery 1000. The upside is that all the parts except for solar panel are built into one neat little box. The downside is that the darn thing costs a $1000.

So after watching many YouTube videos on the subject I figured I could put a system together for about half that. And after some diligent Amazon shopping, I only had to spend $504 on the major components.

I installed everything in the trailer's driver's side tool box. I have not decided where to mount the solar panel, so for now I have decided not to mount it at all and just allow it to free-stand for now. Besides when you are in camp, the sun is constantly moving anyway so hard-mounting it where it will only face one way does not really make sense. I am, however, going to build a storage rack on top of the trailer box's lid to hold the panel while I'm traveling.

I have a 12V camp refrigerator on order which should be in this Tuesday. Stay tuned on that.







Major components list:

$200 Ampeak 2000W Power Inverter with Remote 3AC Outlets 6.2A USB Ports Inverter DC 12V to AC 110V 17 Protections Inverter for Vehicles

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07Y4WW9CV/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

$170 Weize Deep Cycle AGM 12 Volt 100Ah Battery, Maintenance-Free, 3% Self-Discharge Rate, 1150A Max Discharge Current, Perfect for RV, Solar, Trolling Motor, Wind, Marine, Camping and Off-Grid System

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07SW353M8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

$130 Renogy 100 Watt 12 Volt Solar Panel Starter Kit with 100W Monocrystalline Solar Panel + 30A PWM Charge Controller + Adaptor Kit + Tray Cables + Mounting Z Brackets for RV Boats Trailer Off-Grid System

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BFCNFRM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Looks awesome.

 

I wish someone had told me this when I was young.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQlJ3vOp6nI

 

You wouldn’t have believed it if they had. Wisdom is what you gain by experience. Generally, more wisdom is gained by worse experience.

 

Broken foot, Day 2.

I was able to hobble outside long enough to have a look at my roof-top tent on my trailer. It is probably ruined. I was unable to get it folded up before the rain hit yesterday and the interior is soaked because the window flaps were open from the night before.

Even if I could, I can't fold it up right now when it is wet because everything would turn to mildew and I cannot get up inside it to close the window flaps to keep it from getting worse and they are calling for thunderstorms this afternoon.

And I really don't have anyone to help me who is knowledgeable enough about these tents and how they work.

Barring a miracle, I'll probably have to write it off and look into getting a new one.

 

I will be down towards that area Saturday so let me know if you need me to swing by to help. I have a shopvac. We can find solutions so that it is not ruined.

Sorry to hear about the foot.

 

I am in Maine so not much help from this far away. Try putting a call out for help in the New England BS Thread. I bet you could get some traction there. No pun intended!

 

Thanks to everyone who offered to help.

One Tacoma bud who lives locally did come over to help. The interior was wet but not as bad as I feared. We took the mattress out and we laid it over the hood of my truck. I've been running the engine a little bit at a time to let the engine heat help to dry it out. It has a 3-inch Memory Foam mattress in addition to the factory padding and I don't want it to get too hot all at once and possibly melt.

It's been cloudy but the rain has held off and I may try again to get it all put back together this afternoon or tomorrow.

As far as the foot goes, I'm not having any pain right now. I'm wearing sort of this semi-cast thing that does allow some flexibility and I can move my foot up and down without hurting. I see an orthopedist this Wednesday and I'm hoping they can set me up with some kind of a lightweight orthotic boot with some kind of a hinge for the ankle that will allow me to operate a gas pedal.

Stay tuned.

 

This exhaust breather, how is it installed? Is there a link in the mod section like the one for the anytime fog thread

 

This, I like too. After a close examination ( on my phone) I see how the brackets/ support system is. Was it easy to do? Is it spendy? Looks like a very useful mod, thanks

 

Pretty straight forward. Just remove the dust cover, remove the factory filter and install this filter. If you plan on spending a lot of time on dusty roads you may want to re-install the dust cover.

 

It is installed under the hood near the windshield washer tank. I used something called a Slee Mount; it is available from an outfit called Slee Offroad. They are a bit behind the times; when I bought it they still still did not offer online ordering. I had to call their 800 number and order it that way.

By the time I completed the whole air horn project I had a about $1000 into the whole project.

 

Excellent, thanks! I was wondering where the cover was in the pic . . Did you get good results? Biggest problem I have is in winter months with dust from road salts and such

 

Man , your dog is lucky