Poindexter's 2015 build

Nothing super fancy.

I need to be able to tow a full cord of green wet wood, so weight distribution hitch and big trailer later, Goodyear RideRights on the way from Amazon now. The wife is looking at small camping trailers too. Having a mattress and a small propane stove will make camping much more attractive.

I got the heavy duty thingamajig coming from birddawg, the one that can hold 6 RAM balls. I got a bluetooth dongle coming, Torque light is already on my phone.

As soon as my Prodigy P3 gets here I am going to see if I can get it to lay in or hang from an X mount up where I can reach it easily. If i can't, I know where I am going to chop the dash.

I need to hurry sometimes through moose country in the dark, I have a pair of 7" lightforce and a pair of 9" lightforce in the garage already, N-fab is building a bar for me in the next week or two.

If I need it, I will probably add an air tank first to be filled at the gas station for a while, on board air compressor I kinda hope I don't ever need to spend the money for. If I have to pick I would rather have onboard 110VAC to run the foodsaver system on when the wife and I are out salmon fishing.

I do have tube steps coming, the wife is under 5 feet.

Also hardwiring both a mini and a micro USB charger, one for my standalone GPS, the other for my smart phone. That'll free up both 12vdc power outlets. I keep a lot of office gear in the center console when working, and my wife needs both outlets when we are vacationing, so win-win there. Those are gonna come out nice.

Oh yes, I ordered mirror brackets from ImMrYo and Birddawg both. I'll _probably_ put the birddawg one with the RAM ball on it up for sale local and run the smaller one, but I just have to have them both in my hand to pick.

Mostly I am going to reference so and so's thread and just post about what I do/did differently to meet my needs, lots of really good info up here already.

Hang on tight, I got one success, and one problem already, look forward to y'alls input.

 

I spent a fair amount of time looking for a good quality 6VDC supply that I could mount in the dash and hang however many USBs chargers off it I might ever need.

I am sure somewhere in Germany an orderly workmanlike professional is hand building these things in his garage, but I haven't found him with a lot of trying.

Instead of buying expensive MiC stuff, I am going with replaceable MiC, as pictured below. When this circuit board breaks down, replacing it should be under 20 minutes. I left enough wire on it to get at the connectors, so when it goes I can check the fuse, if that's not the problem, bang, four connectors, resolder the hot and ground into the replacement, deal with two bell wire connections, wad everything back up under the dash and drive off.

I should mention my Garmin standalone GPS does not "do" traffic up here. There is one elementary school on the main highway down near Anchorage that hits the traffic rcvr in my LMT Garmin. I keep the factory power cord with traffic receiver inside my heated house, take it and the GPS with me to Hawaii in the winter. Up here, I just need to keep the battery charged.

If I were to move to the lower 48 tomorrow (it would take an act of God), I would probably temp wire a 12VDC outlet into the cubby to the right of the steering column to see if the traffic rcvr would work from there.



I am going to have the business end of the coiled wire coming out of the switch blank two over from the fog light switch, the GPS is on a RAM ball on the A pillar, like in this thread of awesomeness: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/mod-a-pillar-ram-mount-gps-phone-holder.372250/

FWIW I ahve had the truck since March, got to know my needs, the dash is coming apart once.

 

So i am putting in a subpanel for my circuitry. Lots of good ideas in this thread:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/show-off-your-aux-fuse-panels.308677/

Except most of those pictured would cover up a second smaller box of relays behind the main fuse box if I put one in my truck.

I feel OK about putting in a standalone panel, vertical, using the two bolt holes for the clutch fluid reservoir that my auto tranny truck has empty.

I got a distribution block from NAPA rated for 95amps with 6 circuits fed from the main post, eight bucks. I am using two of those six for the apocalypse lights, but spare room to add OBA or a big inverter later if I need to.

The plan is to run 8AWG from the hot post of the battery, through a 50a fuse to the distribution block. Each pair of Lightforces (2 bulbs at 100W each) will be pulling from the distribution block through a 20 (maybe 25?) amp fuse. Should be fine, not planning to run the future inverter or OBA with the apocalypse lights lit.

Where to put the darn fuse? I got a inline connector from NAPA that only has 12" of 8awg on it, I got 36" of 8awg and a 8ga fuse holder from the boutique today. I can't find a good place to put the fuse holder, I want the fuse as close to the red post on the batt as possible.

If anyone knows where I can find a 8awg loop like the 12 inch NAPA only 24 inches or longer I would be much obliged....



I was doing good until I figured out where the bolt holes have to go...

EDIT: If I can find a local vendor it appears switching to an HMID form factor fuse will allow me to run a 50a fuse inline on the 8ga wire without having to mount the fuse holder to a solid surface. Shopping, shopping.

Oh Sweet, one my local NAPA stores has both BK7821146 and BK7821144, should be a MIDI style fuse holder rated to 100a, and a MIDI style fuse @ 50a. Looks like I am rolling again.

 

This would be a fine place to mount the standalone fuse holder until I blow my first fuse in the factory box...

 

NB: I do have three relays laid out for two pair of lights.

#2 and #3 will each run a pair of lights. The plan for relay #1 is to provide an ignition hot to 86, a high beam hot to 30, and then have 87 on solenoid 1 provide a hot to pin 86 on both 2 and 3 when both the high beams are lit AND the ignition key is turned on. So switching from hi to lo beams with the truck running will turn the big lights out.

If I leave the lights on and take the key out, the lights stay on until I open the door to get out. But if I get in the truck, and turn on the lights with no key they will run a pretty long time without turning off.

EDIT: In reading up on where to tap the high beams, some folks are drawing enough current out of the high beams running relays that they are blowing fuses. I am going to modify the plan above for relay #1. I am going to tap the fuse box in the cab, run that line through the switch on the dash, and feed that current to pin 30 on relay one. That way when the hi beams come on, the current triggering relays 2 and 3 will be coming through my dash switch, rather than out of the hi beam circuit.

 

Working left to right and top to bottom through the dash I found an easy way into the upper switch bank, and what appears to be the connector for the 110vac system. Fishing cable from the upper row down to the fuse panel is not bad.

 

Nice!

 

Thanks. I did run two 18ga wires through the firewall tonight. One for the lights going in now, the other for if I do on board air or whatever later. Both will start at the cabin fuse box, through switches, so both lines can eventually become switched low amperage hots. I put some heat shrink over each as a bit of armor, right now they will both reach the subpanel and are minimally protected through the firewall. I figure the heat shrink might help keep cold air out too, I had to punch through with coat hanger wire.

 

Finished the dash to the left of the steering wheel today. Hardwired mini USB for nav, factory 110vac connector behind middle switch, upper row. White wire leads through firewall to sub panel for lights. Hot and ground for hardwired micro USB phone charger are in.

 

With the dash back together I turned to fabbing the sub panel I have planned. The bolts are M 8 x 1.25 x 25mm long. I can run them in to the heads against the paint without denting the fender.

But they aren't square. Darn right I grabbed my bevel gauge.

 

And I got my paper cutout and stuff all laid out. I am going to be able to fit five relays on there someday. Fwiw I hate sheet metal work, Imma go get this done and clean up again before I go back to wiring.

 

Got my sheet metal de-greased and buffed. Cut and bend lines are down, through holes to mark bend lines in, paper pattern glued down, next to center punch all mounting holes and fire up the jig saw, I am working 16ga sheet steel from Lowes-Depot

 

That wasn't so bad...

 

Pre drilled for five relays and one distribution block

 

ImMrYo mirror bracket came in the mail today

 

Home made crimper for 8ga

 

I think the subpanel is ready to be stripped and painted. Switched hot and high beam input go on the left, 4 light bulbs come off the right pair of relays.

 

Subpanel is ready to bolt in. Remaining connections are all fuses, switched power from dash switch already run, hot lines to bulbs and ground lines back to ground.

 

Coming along quite nicely, got more pics of your entire rig itself!?