Another Around the World Tacoma

Time for another round of updates!

I added a pivoting/swinging mirror to the inside of the drivers hatch. (2) M5 nutserts and (2) existing holes in the mirror mounting bracket and it is on. It has a built in light, and a 1x and a 10x lens. Very helpful when putting my contacts in in the morning. You can tighten the bolts at the pivot points, which I did, so it stays up and in place while driving. Takes a bit of effort to move it around, but that's what I wanted.

7-30-22 Weekend by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

The lady and I took the truck out for a relaxing weekend by ourselves. More biking and rain and cool temperatures.

In the high 50's at night, the tent is so warm the two of us don't need any blankets, just a single sheet.

7-30-22 Weekend by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

That same weekend my Radflos were finally ready for me. I bought them, gently used, from my great friend. They are leaning up against a 37" tire, so they're massive. Another friend is replacing the seals to fix a small leak. He will also weld in my Archive Garage rear shock towers when he is ready.

Rear Radflos - 12” Travel, 2.5” body, 7/8” shaft, res with clickers by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Overkill, but I want the towers as they allow you to tie your bed into the frame at the top of the wheel well. Also, with such beefy shocks, the hope is that they never get worked too hard, so they never fatigue or start performing poorly. Or, at least that's what I tell myself when I decided to do the upgrade!

The next item was to add a slide out cutting board to the underside of my stove. I purchased a bamboo cutting board online and got to cutting it up.

Kitchen Upgrades by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

The nubs on either side are the hard stops for full extension.

The block glued to the top helps keep the board from pivoting down when it is extended and pressed into.

Kitchen Upgrades by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Two pieces of angle aluminum were cut and drilled. They attach to the bottom of the stove via M8 nutserts. The cutting board is .71" thick, so I spaced the angle away from the base of the stove that same distance. It took a combination of lock washers, drilled out nuts, and non-drilled nuts to get it just right.

Kitchen Upgrades by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

The angle has since been painted black. I also added another bolt and nut setup, along with a bent piece of steel, to create a spring 'lock' when the board is fully retracted. It 'snaps' into place with some authority, and the board takes a tiny bit of pulling to extend, so I doubt it will slide around while driving.

More Upgrades by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

I made it a tight fit because that same tightness is what keeps the board from drooping when it is extended. The bottom of the board pushes into the angle while the top of that block pushes into the underside of the stove. It is remarkably sturdy for being created with no serious toolage.

I need to modify the gas inlet tubing so that it takes up less space. I am not sure how it's attached, but I'll do some research. I've sweated a lot of pipes together, so I'm familiar with and have the tools to do that, if that's how it was built.

More Upgrades by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

That photo also shows the Version 2 of the kitchen utensil storage. I took an idea out of Dan Grec's book (The Road Chose Me, great guy) and used elastic strap to make utensil access a breeze. I am not sure if there won't be a version 3 one day, but I'll vet this setup for now.

It's a thin piece of aluminum, cut to fit, with holes for M5 bolts into nutserts that I installed in the frame of the rear door. No protrusions through the exterior of the camper, a necessity for me.

More M5 nutserts were installed and I used those to mount the elastic straps. Commonly used items, like the spatula and ladle, are a bit looser, while other items, like the can opener, are more tightly strapped in.

I still need to add a few small pouches for spice storage, but it's nice to have the entire kitchen just on the backdoor.

I added a self cinching towel hanger, and two fold down cup holders. Excited to put all of that to good use as well. I seriously love having 'places' for everything. I also added another self cinching towel hanger over by the spigot for washing hands.

I upgraded the water feed and spray portion of the water system. I used to have two couplers, and I would have to unscrew and swap the fill/spray hose from one coupler to the other to either fill or drain the tank. A friend mentioned I should just add another valve and avoid unscrewing the hose each time. Great idea!

More Upgrades by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Much easier now.

One final water upgrade is in the works. I want another spigot at the rear of the truck, closer to the kitchen. I will be installing a T and running a small 3/8" line to the drivers rear of the truck, and I'll install a small spigot centered and low in this empty cubby, just above the rear bumper.

More Upgrades by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Finally, I received a great email. My P9000 furnace is finally on its way to me! I am very excited to install that. I already have the mounting kit, but I need to order a 2.5" hole saw. Doing that now.

There are tentative plans to camp with some friends this weekend, so I'm hoping that that comes together so I can test all of this stuff out and see if anything needs to be improved.

Until next time.

 

Stacy and I went out this past weekend to put the updated kitchen through its paces.

We drove north, and then east, to put ourselves right around ~7,000 ft in elevation. It was raining hard when we arrived, so the temperatures were in the low 60's, a pleasant change from the 105 we left that afternoon.

It was the first time cooking outdoors in heavy rain. I deployed the awning to keep us dry, and the entire cooking operation was not uncomfortable at all. No rain on the stove or any of the backdoor at all.

Clear Creek - 8-13 Weekend by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

We did some hiking the following morning while we waited for some friends to arrive. We were looking for another way to access Clear Creek, deep in the canyon below, but were unsuccessful. We didn't bring any canyoneering gear, as flash floods are too risky this time of year, so we couldn't rappel down.

Clear Creek - 8-13 Weekend by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

We usually do a lot of activities while camping, but we used this weekend to see what hanging around camp would feel like. It was pleasant, but with how much we work during the week we will still plan on packing in activities while we are camping. When we live out of the truck and aren't shackled to work 5 days a week we will more easily spend days doing nothing.

It wasn't long before some friends arrived, some old, one new, and we spent the rest of the day lounging in chairs and chatting with one another. Our favorite topic was our upcoming 10 day trip to The Maze in Canyonlands NP. A trip we began planning almost one year ago. We do a big 'expedition' once a year, and this one is highly anticipated!

Clear Creek - 8-13 Weekend by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Clear Creek - 8-13 Weekend by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Clear Creek - 8-13 Weekend by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

With camping done for the weekend it was time to head back home and take care of something Stacy has been waiting for for over half a year now.

The all-to-expensive heating device, retrofitted into the ACCC, which will easily keep us toasty while camping in the cold weather.

Fireplace! by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

This thing was an absolute pain to install. Mainly due to the modifications you need to make to the chimney cap. To Dickinson's credit, they don't skimp on the quality and thickness of the chimney material. But man, does it make it hard to take apart!

You have to remove an outer tube, and one level of the cap, in order for the chimney cap to work with the GP Factor mounting kit. There are three hidden tack welds up inside the cap that need to be ground apart to remove the outer sleeve. I worked with a Dremel for an hour to no avail. I finally ended up cutting the outer tube with a pair of tin snips, bending it out of the way and then taking a small chisel and cutting through the tack welds that way. If I ever had to do it again I would just do this from the start.

This furnace is 100% safe to run indoors, as that is how it was designed. The chimney has a pipe inside of a pipe, so fresh air is drawn from the outside while the exhaust gas is also expelled outside. It has safety features such as automatically cutting off the supply of LPG if the flame goes out. I will install a Co2 monitor just to be extra safe.

Anyways, long story short, I got it installed. The GP Factor directions were well done.

My oh my, this things is beautiful!

Fireplace! by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Fireplace! by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

And the all too cool chimney cap sticking out of the back.

Fireplace! by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

The truck is certainly looking ridiculous now!

Just two tasks remain: wire the 12v fan to the DC fuse block. This part will be easy.

And to choose and fit a propane tank to the truck, and then assemble the hoses and regulators that will feed the fireplace and stove. This part will be a bit trickier, as I have some learning to do.

Until next time.

 

Any thoughts about a shield to keep the heat form the fireplace exhaust away from the tent?

 

I thought about it for a little bit, but I doubt I'll need it.

The exterior pipe is the air in pipe, the exhaust pipe is nested inside of that one.

If it's cold enough to run the furnace, then my thoughts are that it is cold enough that the tent fabric won't care.

I'll test this out with a thermometer when I first test out the furnace. If it gets way too hot I'll look into a solution.

 

probably able to make simple shield out of some flashing that could be riveted on, or rivnut and two small M5s. since the outer is the intake.

 

Awesome thread and an even better build! Appreciate you putting an effort and posting your build, definitely giving me some ideas. Sub'd and respect another BMW enthusiast I have a 88' e30 vert with 67k orignal miles needs some TLC belonged to my father.

 

Thanks!

Give that E30 the TLC it needs. I've had 12 of them, but never a convertible.

 

Man the truck is looking awesome!! Glad you finally got your furnace.
Love the canyoning pictures!!

 

Thanks Chris. The weather will be cooling down soon, so we can start heading back out into the canyons again.

Carrying and using our mountain bikes, which are 100% coming with us when we live out of the truck, was always a pain.

I needed a hitch extension to clear the spare tire, so the locking cam on the Kuat was basically pointless, as the hitch extension did not have this feature, causing the rack to sway back and forth. When we got to camp, unless we removed the bike rack entirely, we couldn't use the back door!

I ended up figuring out that Kuat made a thing that would solve all of my problems, and it wasn't even that expensive. So I bought it and it arrived.

The Kuat Pivot 2. Good for 250 lb and can hold a 4 bike bike rack. It locks in the closed position with authority, has a 90 degree setting and a 120 degree setting. It has the same locking cam as the bike rack, so you can tighten the Pivot into the hitch to remove sway. It also spaces the rack out just right, alleviating my need to use a hitch extension to clear the spare tire!

Kuat Pivot 2 and NV 2.0 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

'Closed' - This rack has a built-in bike holding bar that you can use to service your bikes. It can only be used when the rack is in the upright position, so I'm glad it clears the spare tire.

Kuat Pivot 2 and NV 2.0 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

With the bikes loaded up, no issues.

Kuat Pivot 2 and NV 2.0 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Opened to 90 degrees. It is very easy to maneuver. The rear door can be fully opened like this, but accessing the Trasharoo is a bit tricky.

Kuat Pivot 2 and NV 2.0 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

At 120 degrees, accessing the garbage is a bit easier. Not as easy as before, but that's a tradeoff I am more than happy to make.

Kuat Pivot 2 and NV 2.0 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

It is really robust, and doesn't droop or sway at all. I am really impressed. I hope it can hold up offroad!

With the bike rack swung away, and the rear door open, the Pivot actually makes a nice step up and into the bed. We will just have to be careful about getting out.

With the stove folded down, as if I was cooking, the protrusion from the hitch is not in the way at all, which is nice. I'm sure I'll catch my shin on it once or twice, but at least it won't be a daily occurrence.

All the supplies finally arrived for the rear water spigot installation.

I decided to have access to water at the rear of the truck, for convenience primarily, so I drilled a hole in the exterior panel of the drivers side rear cubby.

I found a 1/4 turn spigot at Home Depot. I couldn't figure out how to successfully incorporate a drinking water spout like I have at the front of the camper. It would have stuck out too much and been too easily damaged. So I went with this.

*I will need to add a small 3/8" barbed connector to the end of the spigot. The way it works is at low flow it spews out water in all directions, while I want it more controlled and stream like. It shoots out straighter at full blast, but I want to try to design to conserve water, so this is the solution I will chase.

Rear Water Spigot Install by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

I made the hole just the right size, so the spigot actually threads into it. The 90 degree elbow on the backside actually tightens against the back of the panel, so the spigot is very rigid. I added Sikaflex (damn this crap is so messy) around the spigot, even though the interior of the cubby is not watertight. It just helps it blend in better? I don't know.

I penetrated through the rear of the cubby, into the watertight interior, with a waterproof bulkhead penetration device. I decided to put it at the top for three reasons. One, it's a straight shot from the back side of the cubby to the underside of the rail on the bedside, and two, in the rare event that we are camping below freezing, I can drain the water from near the spigot by simply opening it and letting it drain out. The inside will be kept warm enough by the furnace to avoid freezing the water, but I wasn't sure of the cubby. Finally, one day soon I will be installing a pair of chase and reverse lights into the panel the spigot is attached to. With the bulkhead penetration up high, and the spigot down low I will have the room required to flush mount the faces of the lights with the panel.

Rear Water Spigot Install by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

The 3/8" tubing comes inside, and gets tucked up against the underside of the bedrail. I use pipe clamps and M5 nutserts to secure the tubing up and out of the way.

Rear Water Spigot Install by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

I added a "T" to the underside of the drinking water spout and tied into the water system there. All in all, the tubing in the rear is well out of the way, and is unlikely to catch or to snag on anything.

I couldn't find a rotating 90 degree 1/2" to 3/8" connector, so I added a 1/2" to 3/8" reducer. Two more connections to worry about leaking, but I cranked the hose clamps down tight, and two hours at full pressure yielded zero leaks.

There is a bit of extra tubing in there, making it a bit more convenient to remove the panel, if I ever have to in the future.

Rear Water Spigot Install by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Unassuming, enough, I suppose. We discussed an idea of a removable tub/drainless sink in this area, so I am cooking up something for that in the near future. Something quick to attach, and quick to stow inside.

Rear Water Spigot Install by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

One final thing, I was tired of using a small collapsible Gerber shovel to dig poo holes, so I bought a few sets of rubber quick clamps to secure a larger shovel to the outside of the truck. Our primary Number Two solution will be digging holes (where appropriate) so having a larger shovel that is easy to access, and can live outside, is a must.

I'm not a huge fan of things on the outside of the camper, but at some point that space will have to be utilized, so I might as well embrace it.

Rear Water Spigot Install by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

I had to install it towards the outside because of the spare tires location when the back door is opened. It will not be outside of the trucks profile when the rotopax are installed, so that's nice. I can also buy an extension or two to make the shovel easier to use (and it wouldn't interfere with the taillight), but it's leagues better than what I am used to.

We will be mountain bike riding the 56 miles of the Prescott Circle Trail this weekend. We get to camp again and test out the bike rack setup. Looking forward to that!

Preparations for our Maze trip are well underway. There is really just food left. And I should probably swap the other COM10 bearing before hand as well.

I found two photos a friend took, of my Tacoma in action out in the Mojave Preserve, so I'll wrap up this wordy post with those.

Lefty - Tacoma - Mojave - 1 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Lefty - Tacoma - Mojave - 2 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

 

Some more work, and more adventures have occurred.

Replaced the COM10 bearing on the drivers side. It went smoothly. Probably did not need to be replaced, but it felt good to do it anyways.

More Work by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

I purchased some 1" 80/20 and some corner brackets to create the frame of my bed storage area. It is easily cut in a chop saw, so I used that to cut it to length.

I created a small cube that is in the middle of the truck, towards the water tank, to hold the full size propane tank we will have with us on our adventures.

I set the top of the 80/20 to just below the height of the fridge, so that it is more or less the same height across the back half of the truck bed once I add the 1/4" to 1/2" thick top to the frame.

This jives nicely with the height of a standard propane tank.

I added two lower bars to the back corner. These will be used to secure the tank in place. I also ordered a 12" square, 3/16" thick chunk of rubber to place at the base of the tank. Propane tanks have a ring around the bottom to keep them upright, so I added a bit of extra protection to help prevent it from wearing through the bed rug.

More Work by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

The top will be removable with a few screws. The goal is secure, centralized storage, while being moderately accessible so the tank can be swapped out when it runs dry. There won't be any internal panels, so our soft goods like clothes and jackets will be stored against the tank. I am trying to keep weight down, and space to a maximum.

I increased the size of the hole in the corner brackets with a drill. Lo and behold, an M8 bolt fits perfectly inside of the bracket. Just like I planned. Haha

More Work by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

I have (7) penetrations through the bottom of the bed. I cut out the chunks of the bed mat that correspond to the tie down brackets, but kept the carpet underneath the 80/20. I used fender washers and lock washers and nylon nuts, installed from underneath the truck, to attach the frame to the truck. It is remarkably rigid. The bolt fits in the corner bracket just right, so I was able to install everything by myself, which was nice.

More Work by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

I used blue Loctite for all of the connections, hoping they won't rattle loose too quickly.

As the frame sits, for now. The frame is not the extent of the storage space. It will continue all the way to the side of the bed. There was just no convenient way to get the framing over there, so the wood will be cantilevered a bit, but nothing crazy.

More Work by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

The portion over the propane tank will be mounted in place. On that piece of wood I will hard mount an electric water kettle (we drink a lot of tea) and my small blender. This will keep our two daily use electrical kitchen items in the same spot.

A small piece of wood will be mounted to the frame underneath the electrical panel. This piece also will not move, unless unscrewed.

The rest of the top will be one piece, and it will hinge along the fridge side, with two struts to help hold it in the open position.

While affixing the frame underneath the truck I decided to remove the spare tire hoist mechanism. Even with a couple zip ties strapping the chain in place I could still hear the center part banging around while driving, so I removed it to remove the noise.

We filled our Labor Day weekend with camping, the entire time, heading up to the North Rim to relax.

It was really beautiful due to all of the rain and cooler temperatures our state had been experiencing. We camped near Locust Point and hiked the Rainbow Rim Trail during the day.

Outside of Flagstaff

Labor Day Weekend 2022 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

North Rim

Labor Day Weekend 2022 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Labor Day Weekend 2022 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Labor Day Weekend 2022 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Labor Day Weekend 2022 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Vermillion Cliffs

Labor Day Weekend 2022 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

We were invited to the top of the tallest active fire watchtower in the Southwest US (perhaps the entire country) according to the guy at the top. ~160 feet in the air sits the tiny, 7' by 7' room they work in. It was awesome to learn about how they handle bad weather, the height, the loneliness, etc.

Labor Day Weekend 2022 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Labor Day Weekend 2022 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

On our recent trip, we decided to upgrade our situation a bit, so yesterday I ordered another exterior accessory for the ACCC. It will arrive this Saturday and I'll get it installed on Sunday. Which is convenient, because in just two Fridays we will be setting off on our Maze trip!

I want more things done to the interior of the camper before we embark on this long trip, but I don't want to rush the process either. So we will see how far I can get in the next several days.

I am really looking forward to pushing this setup a bit, seeing how it fairs under ten days of constant use. It has been bulletproof thus far, and I don't expect that to change, but you never know!

 

This is a fantastic build and diary. As someone who just celebrated their 30th year together which started out as dreamy eyed kids, the sacrifice of a bit of time is worth it for the payback of supreme companionship.

Now I need to get back up to the Kaibab to take a look at this tower! Spent a bunch of time in Halsey Nat'l Forest lookout as a kid - they still have the dreamy lifestyle in my mind!

 

great stuff!

 

So glad I found this thread!! Your build is phenomenal. I recently got my wife amped up about the Pan-American and am planning to rebuild the bed to be more comfortable for long term living, and your build is really close to what I want.

I wanted to address your concerns about drawing the battery down. Are you talking about the trucks starting battery, or the lithium house battery? That is true that you should minimize the amount of cycles you draw a lead acid or agm battery below 80% charge, but not true for the lithium. The lithium battery can discharge to nearly zero without causing damage, and will still give you approximately 3k-8k cycles. ~3k if you are constantly drawing beyond 50% discharge, and ~5k-8k if you are only discharging 20%. You would be totally good getting a dual zone fridge and running it constantly.

 

Very cool! What setup are you running? A cap on your DCLB? Or going up to an AluCab?

I was talking about the lithium iron phosphate house battery located in the truck bed.

Your statement is directly contradictory to what was presented to me in the users manual that came with my Renogy LiFePO 4 battery. Not sure where the difference is, but I'll air on the side of caution, as 5,000 cycles is 13.7 years worth of daily charges!

 

Interesting. Yeah definitely follow the manufacturers recommendation, but everything I've read about lithium batteries says they are safe to discharge deeper than lead acids and agms. Otherwise, whats the point of the extra expense?

I've been planning to get a Battleborn as our power source and their website states: "Most lead acid batteries experience a significantly reduced cycle life if they are discharged more than 50%. That can result in less than 300 total cycles. Conversely, LiFePO4 (Lithium Iron Phosphate) batteries can be continually discharged to 100% and there is no long-term effect. You can expect to easily get 3000 – 5000 cycles at this depth of discharge."
Maybe Renogy is just erring on the side of caution to max the battery life.

Right now we are running a leer 180 with some drawers built in as a sleeping platform, but we want to get into a cap or a slide in. looking at the AluCab, GFC, FWC, Topo, and OVRLND. Something with more space and the ability to stand up or cook in would be awesome.

 

Agreed. I do like how they supply constant voltage through most of their capacity, and their ability to be mounted in any orientation, which fit better into my build.

Sounds like you have plenty of options! Slide-ins are great, complete campers, but they aren't super good on space, and they are heavy as all get out. Not to mention expensive!

 

Excellent write up and build. Good job. A friendly word of warning though...
A few weeks ago a friend of mine called to ride a trail out to where a Jeep Gladiator had rolled to see if we could help. Easy trail, just rutted but dry. We got out there and. Rubicon Gladiator was on it's side. There were plenty of people "helping" so I just sat back and watched. Once it was back on four wheels it was easy to see why it rolled... It had all kinds of stuff on top. It had a aluminum camper, lift, winch, kayaks, mtn bikes on back, a roof top tent, awning, shower and all the stuff needed to exist off the grid. Except, he had raised his CG so high it would have tumbled going off a curb.
On a stock truck the CG is about at the bottom door crease of your front door. Anything you add above that line, including lifting, will raise the CG point and make it easier to roll.
So making it back country camping worthy does not make it better off road. It makes it worse off road. Just a friendly reminder and go have fun! Don't flop it lol.

 

Thank you for the compliment and information!

These concepts are not a mystery to me. Like you, I'm educated; degrees in mathematics and ME, and now a practicing SE. I'm well aware of what's going on.

If I hadn't just spent 8 days in The Maze in Canyonlands, doing the hardest wheeling the truck will ever do, I may be more concerned. Fully encumbered, with 40 gallons of additional fuel and water, I had no issues following right behind a DCSB 3rd gen on 35's and LT. In some sections, the DCLB was way less dramatic (one climb was more dramatic as I needed rear locker due to spacing of ledge matching the wheelbase of the DCLB). 30 degrees on the roll meter happened numerous times. It's obviously unsettling, but the truck was highly composed. It never felt like it was going to ruin my day.

I'll never push the truck that hard when I am traveling as a lone vehicle.

 

Yea we tested it pretty good on this trip.

 

Time for another update:

A bit of before and after our 8-Day Maze Trip. The truck performed flawlessly the entire time. Everything was just awesome. I am patiently waiting for a friend to upload his photos so that I can share them here, as he takes way better photos than I do.

I gave the truck a good, solid bath prior to heading out on the big yearly trip. I used a foam cannon, which I really like.

Tacoma Progress by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Tacoma Progress by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

The final addition that I mentioned earlier, arrived before the trip.

It is the AluCab Shower Cube, which is basically an overpriced shower curtain. But, it does mount to the ACCC in a cool fashion, so to hell with the price!

It mounts through the main portion of the frame of the tent. M8 bolts and lock washers and nyloc nuts secure the two brackets to the tent, and then the cube gets mounted to the mounts.

I used Sikaflex to seal the brackets to the frame.

Tacoma Progress by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

The cube sticks out just right. When the fabric is hanging down it falls directly next to the slider.

Tacoma Progress by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

It has weighted rods at the bottom, which do a great job of keeping the fabric off of your body while you're inside. In wind it needs to be staked down. It has zippered access from two sides. The upper arms swing out and lock into place really well. It basically deploys by itself, and the cover has plenty of excess space in it, so it is easy to roll up and stash away.

The fabric is designed to be quick drying, and it does a pretty good job of that. We took several baths in it while out in The Maze, and it works great. I am happy with the purchase.

I will be sewing in two or three pouches to the inside of the cube to hold our soap and sponges for washing. Dragging over a chair to set that stuff on was not ideal.

We also had a large 6' x 6' sand free mat that we used to stand on while bathing. It did a great job of keeping dirty water from being on our feet. It was drastically oversized, so I cut out a 3' x 3' section that I rolled up and stored inside of the cover for the Shower Cube. The goal is to, as often as possible, keep things right where they are going to be used. That just makes things so much more convenient.

All in all, it is a great addition to the truck and the setup. I will brainstorm on adding some sort of Geyser-esque watered sponge attachment to the water system, so that showers can be even more convenient.

Alright, moving on:

I have scheduled the installation of my Archive Garage Rear Shock Tower Relocate for the 15th of this month, with my friend up in Flagstaff who has done all of the welding related projects to the truck.

In preparation of that install I assembled a handful of parts:

I ordered extended rear brake lines from DMZ Fabrication. These will keep the rear soft lines from being stressed during maximum articulation. They appear to be ~6 inches longer than stock. I ordered a set of brake line wrenches so that I can avoid stripping out the OEM nuts. Those will arrive tomorrow, and I'll get the longer lines installed then.

While on the trip I also saw, and subsequently decided, to order a pair of Archive Garage Rear ABS Sensor Skids. Probably not needed, but I can only imagine the havoc a broken or missing ABS sensor would have on the truck and its ability to operate correctly, so these are a bit of piece of mind.

Install was easy and straight forward. The product is beautiful, and packaged well, like all of the AG stuff I buy.

Tacoma Progress by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

While I was under there I noticed that my two lowest leafs on the passenger side had been rotated out of position. They rotated so far that the bushings slid off of the underside of the upper leaf, not allowing me to reposition it with my rubber mallet, even with no weight on the rear tire. I tried prying down with a crowbar to no avail.

Tacoma Progress by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

I'll have to pull the tire, loosen the U-Bolts, and then reposition it. I'll take care of that in a day or two.

Other than that I purchased a variety of limit strap hardware. The sound of my front shocks bottoming out is never pleasant, and it even caused a subtle leak on my front passenger shock, so while Ryan is welding on the frame already, I'll ask him to weld on the limit strap tabs at the same time. I also ordered limit strap mounts for the rear, just because. With this relocate upgrade it will have some decent travel, might as well keep it in check if I can.

I also ordered (4) weld-on 2.5" resi mount pieces, with stainless clamps, for my new rear shocks. They are small bent pieces of steel that get welded to the frame.

Here is a random photo from a ~2 hour dust storm at home

Tacoma Progress by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Here is a random photo at a gas station in Kayenta while on my way to Hanksville, UT.

Tacoma Progress by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

I think that's everything for now.