The Getaway...Crom's build and adventures

I'm in for this one

 

Today I finished bolting in a long section of L-Track in the rear of the truck bed.

I used some duck tape to hold down the track, I carefully drilled 5/64" pilot holes through the center of each bolt hole, being very careful not to apply too much pressure and break the bit. There is sheet steel under this section of the bed so I had to get through the composite bed and this piece of steel. After the pilot holes were drilled I removed the track and drilled the holes to 1/4". I used one of my daughters small thin paint brushes and some rustoleum paint to paint the drilled sheet steel from below. Maybe overkill, but I hate rust and don't like taking chances with unplanned maintenance down the road.

Hole pattern transferred and drilled:


I held the nuts with a wrench from below and my wonderful helpful wife turned the screws with a ratchet. I used a bit of silicone under the track to form a gasket, as I didn't want any dust or debris between track and truck bed.




I will trim the rubber mat, as it's a tad too long.


Test fitting one of our camping totes.



I had to bend the backing washers a little bit in a vice to get proper alignment with the bolt holes as I was up against the edge.



Overall I couldn't be happier with the way it turned out.

 

Today I flushed the transmission using a chemical sprayer.

 

Did a pad swap, and rear brake clean and adjust.

55,106 miles, had 4mm left on original factory pads.



Why the f*** did Toyota use a paper gasket on the rear drum? Rust it out faster?

 

Yes. Of course.

No it wont do that.

My plan is this: If I have to bridge my batteries, I'll bust out my jumper cables and jump myself.

Thankfully, in almost 6 years of ownership I've never needed a jump.

It disconnects the starter battery and the axillary battery a few moments after vehicle alternator is stopped; so it only protects the starting battery from discharge.

My auxiliary battery is connected to a 6-curcuit fuse block. My fridge has an adjustable integrated low voltage cut off switch, all other accessories draw from connected fuse block as needed. The nice thing about my setup is the full time solar usually keeps up with all my loads, so I never have to worry about managing the batteries.

The only time I've had an issue was in 95*F weather and truck was sitting for three days in sun and I didn't have a vent in my truck cap, so thermonuclear heat made the fridge run a lot. After 3 days the voltage was down to 11 volts.

I've metered the Ctek D250S charging my aux battery at 21 Amps, and thats through 20' of 10 AWG pure copper. It works very, very well. I did not pull a spec sheet for my Everstart MAXX marine battery, but I presume that ~20A is probably near the max charge rate of the battery anyways.

The SmartPass device is very useful for applications where a low voltage cut off switch is necessary, AND where you have a bank of aux batteries (two or more). Since the SmartPass device can deliver 80A of charging current.

So the bottom line is, SmartPass is probably overkill for the Tacoma, but great for RV applications.

For monitoring my auxiliary battery, I can do this from the cab, or from the rear of the truck bed. I put this on the wall, and it runs full time, only draws about 10 milliamps and very cheap! Love it!

 

That's a great product. I've got the 6 circuit version. IMO, the only way to make it better is it were offered in a more compact version with the smaller fuses that our truck uses. It's a niggle, I know. Great product, and I do recommend them.

Thx!

 

I'm totally going to steal some of your ideas. Been wanting to put in bed tie down points and you just showed me how to do it.

 

Sounds like a good plan. I think I got mine from Amazon, but I can't remember.

Glad to help!

 

Dont buy into the big name meters. You can order a cheap volt/amp meter that works great and rated up to 100A for less than $10 off ebay.

I've used something like this before for a second battery system in my old truck, it will just require you to put it into some sort of box or enclosure.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-100V-10...271?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19eec96097

 

Btw, glad you finally put together a build thread Crom. The direction you've taken your truck is pretty close to what I have in mind for my own, although mine will be the limo version because I own a long box. I'm skipping the tent and building a sleeping platform for the back.

I'm most likely heading up to Whitehorse, YK in two weeks for work. (Still haven't gotten confirmation if we have the project or not.) I'll be there for a month rewiring a Starbucks of all things, (I'm an Electrician). Before I leave I'm going to order myself an ARE MX series with fold-down front window, sliding windoors and carpeted interior so that its ready at the dealer to be put on my truck when I return.

I'm in the process of acquiring all of the electrical components to run a second battery in the bed. I still need a fuse block and I'm probably going to go with the Blue Sea 6cct w/ Negative bus. I'm going to build a custom switch panel/enclosure for controls of LED lights, Small Computer Fan Controls, as well as a larger Fantastic Endless Breeze box fan, USB Charging outlets, and 12V Outlets (One for a future Fridge/Freezer). I have a few 36AH AGM Deep Cycle batteries I've gotten through work for free that i'm going to put in parallel. They are near the end of their life though so I might upgrade to a single +/- 100AH Sealed AGM Deep Cycle Battery. Luckily I can get wholesale prices on batteries through my work as we order them in all the time for Emergency Lighting systems, UPS, and Fire Alarm systems.

I really like the CTEK Dual, however the price tag is pretty steep. I'd like to go the solar panel route with my truck as well but I'm not really sure the CTEK is needed because the Solar Panels themselves should be able to keep up with the demand of my system until I get myself a Fridge/Freezer, in which case wiring in a CTEK should be no problem. So I might just buy a cheap Solar Regulator for now.

I like what you've done with your Bajarack Flat Ultility rack, but I've been eyeing up the basket version myself. I think it would work better for me because there is more mounting options for lights, Hi-Lift, Etc, on the sides. I also think it would line up better with the ARE MX Series. I wonder if Bajarack makes them with the mesh floor like yours or If I could custom order one like that. I might also get someone to fab up a custom rack that bolts onto the Bajarack that would take half the load of my 12' Aluminum boat with the rest sitting on the cap.

Anyways, sick truck and I'll definitely be following this one for future modifications.

 

That would work well too. While not really as necessary as a volt meter I like one that displays amps as well though. Its nice to see what you're system is drawing.

 

Yeah, I'll be starting my own build thread once I actually start putting things together. Still just in the process of deciding on which direction I want to go and ordering and receiving everything.

I live in Canada so I'm fairly limited to the stuff I can order online unless I get it shipped to a US PO box across the border and drive it across. Canadian Dollar is in the shits right now compared to US so I might be better off finding a local CTEK dealer.

I looked at ordering some Blue Sea 12V sockets, but I couldn't justify the price of them compared to some of the cheaper knock-offs I found online. I picked up some of these for less than half what I could find some Blue Sea ones for.

I also ordered a USB charging socket to charge my Phone and USB devices. It came with an extra 12V socket and a mounting face plate. They separate from the face plate so I can mount them individually.

 

For in the cab battery monitoring I use a Watt meter. I own two. Sometimes, I'll put one inline with the solar panels and the charger to see how much power I'm collecting from the sun. Other times I'll put the meter inline between fridge and power to see how much power the fridge is using. Other times, I'll just use it to monitor voltage. It's a really nice product.

 

I've been spending a lot of time trying to decide what I want to do for the suspension.

The truck is almost six (6) years old, with 55K miles, my suspension in the rear has gone negative. Full time the truck carries Shell (+150), Fridge (+45), Aux Battery (+54), Tools (+25), Misc. crap (+26), full time... That's 300 lbs.

I almost bought the OME kit last week with LR UCA, but I'm pausing because I wanted to look at shackle flip kit option first...

I think I'll post some threads in Suspension section first.

 

^You're welcome. You have documented your build really well. It's helpful. I love what you have done with suspension. Inverting the Timbren is smart.

I really like what Nate did with his ATO shackle flip.

 

I really like that watt meter. I'm curious as to what kind of numbers your solar panels put out. Obviously the output changes depending on weather and cloud cover and even the orientation of your truck. I know you said you have them strapped in mounted flat and don't want the hassle of managing the panels but have you tried setting them up on a angle facing the sun while camped out for a few days? Is this even necessary or do you find that the panels keep up with the draw on your battery or do you find yourself having to run the truck and charge with the CTEK to keep your voltage up after being parked for multiple days?

I'll probably end up with a single 50w panel myself. It would be nice to have some sort of mounting bracket that would allow you to tilt and rotate the panel while keeping it locked in the down position when travelling. Somebody's got to sell something like that. I'll have to dig online.

 

I don't know the right length shocks for shackle flip yet. I know longer ones will be needed though... I'm still doing a lot of reading trying to sort through others' experience and reports. I'm trying to decide if it's worth the time to invest in, or simply bolt on OME and be done with it.

Time is my struggle. There is not enough time.

It's a complex subject really, and warrants it's own thread. I used to have notes on measurements I took, but I seem to have lost them over the years... I want to say my setup will put back 4.5 Amps @ 12v DC per hour. When you assemble a solar system, you'll have to make a choice on which kind of solar controller you go with. There is MPPT and PWM. The CTEK I have is MPPT, which is a more efficient controller.

The short answer is, the solar keeps up, so I don't have to worry about it.

Long answer:

The panels collect energy all day, even though they are flat and the sun is at a wide angle (sunrise or sunset), they are just less efficient.

My philosophy is this: When I go camp, I want to enjoy the beauty of the outside world, swim in a lake, do photography, cook. Etc. The very last thing I want to do is play with, and manage solar panel orientation. This goes for all gear really, less is more.

For the amount of work involved, it just doesn't make sense to me to dismount a panel to put it in the sun? Why? If in a campground, then you have to worry about tripping over wires, security (theft), Etc. For people who move to a new camp each day, solar is a waste of time and money. Generally speaking, it really only makes sense if there is a load (i.e. fridge), AND truck is sitting for extended periods of time (3+ days).

Search around for reports of folks who have a fridge and only one battery, they can usually get 2-3 days of juice for a fridge and still start their rigs just fine.

Search over on ExpedtionPortal.com There are some designs and installs which use systems precisely like that.

 

I can agree with that philosophy. Keep it simple, stupid.
Thanks for the info once again Crom. I'm actually pretty impressed with the numbers you get from your solar system. Don't think I'll be needing a CTEK. I'll stop bugging ya in your build thread and search around more on TW and head over to ExPo.

 

No sweat, you can always PM.

 

In December of 2014 I got fed up with the sh*tty factory soft chrome sleeved lug nuts and bought some all steel one piece lug nuts on e b a y and they have been good. Prior to this, I've had to hammer on a socket to remove some deformed lug nuts and was replacing them as needed. I'm not doing that anymore.





My daughters helped me swap the lug nuts. One at a time.