Jlemmonds 06' GX470 "The Adventure Wagon" build, bs and trip report thread.

it’s just little nit picky OCD bullshit that I would change. The dimensions and the frame construction IMHO is the right way. Literally can’t be any stronger. Eliminates any chance of racking or fatigue from vibration or lateral movement stress.

 

Got my oil changed a while back. Mobil 1 full synthetic. Current mileage was 276,189 and the OCI was just short of 12k miles

 

After enjoying the EB3A from BLUETTI I feel like I def found its limitations. As long as you access to solar your GTG, otherwise you will kill it in about 12hrs.

I’ve been looking for a Lifepo battery for a while and caught a LiTime G24 with Bluetooth on Amazon for a decent deal. Picked up a 20A 110v charger with an Anderson plug as part of the deal however a 100w Renogy solar panel and charger will soon follow.

The LiTime app is basic but provides the essential information that you need to manage state of charge and both incoming and outgoing voltage.



I was able to get the battery placement figured out as well as mount a 12v cig and USB A/C charging port. Just waiting on larger ring connections to get that wired up.







This isn’t the cleanest or most expensive 12v setup but it will be more than usable and easily removable and serviceable should the need arise. With the backseats up in the normal position the battery is more than secure and easily accessible.
Overall I’m very happy with the way it turned out.

 

The Renogy solar kit showed up that included a 100w panel and 30a charger and was able to get it all in stalled today.

Installation was pretty straightforward and Renogy’s instructions are very clear and simple. I attached the provided brackets to the panel, having already pre measured my roof rack cross bars and got them mounted up with the provided hardware from Renogy.







Next came arguably the hardest part, not in terms of skill but balls. In order to get the MC4 cables from the roof to inside the cab I chose to go the gland nut route. 2 half inch holes and 2 12mm gland nuts followed up with some silicone around the gland for the warm fuzzies.



I routed the cables down the D pillar and along the side of my drawer system to the Solar Controller. Clean enough and simple.

 

You sir have bigger balls than me drilling through the roof!

 

Next up was mounting and wiring the Solar Controller. Again, Renogy’s instructions are very clear and easy to follow. The cables are high quality and easy to work with. Just make sure you mount the Controller vertically and wire the controller to the battery first before wiring in the solar panel.




Once that was taken care I mounted the blue tooth module using 3m double sided tape and plugged it in. Your basically done and install took me around 2 hours taking my sweet time.



Here are some screenshots from the Renogy app. Very simple and clear to understand. I look forward to now having a self contained and virtually maintenance free 12v system.





Keep in mind this was from a relatively cloudy day. Par for the course as I’ve seen from experience with the BLUETTI panels and my EB3A.

 

I’ve already put a 4 inch hole in the fender …

 

Yeah, but you can replace the fender I still need to borrow that 4” holesaw. Mod day?

 

I'm down.

 

Packing up for a quick overnight and first time I’ve been able to really use the drawer system I built and I’m sold. So much useable space and keep in mind in these pictures the drawer beneath the fridge is full of tools/recovery/air compressor type things so no camping gear was stowed in it.

The main thing pictured is about 100lbs of wood. 7gal of water. Ignik propane bottle and the EB3A for shits and giggles. Chairs, tent, tables, sleeping bags on top of the deck. I’m genuinely blown away.

 

fo real, sheeesh

 

Drawers are looking good!

 

Last trip of the year. Shitty weather and a soggy pack up. Still a good time.

 

Today’s quick project was a little LED lighting. This was a “ truck bed led lighting kit “. Wiring was simple and complete. Definitely more than enough light.