AlumEscape Expo Build

You've got to get out to Rausch with us... I'd love to see that on the trails.

 

Went ahead and made some adjustments to the suspension now that the bumper is mounted up - I ditched the DIY 1/4" thick shims I had installed between the Dakars and perches and stuffed in the OME

$77 D29XL Leaf Spring

D29XL's. The truck was still fairly level with the bumper and cargo mounted up but I knew when towing I'd have the bro-lean which just won't work for me. The install was pretty straight forward and I left the overload leaves on. Overall, both sides gained an 1" of lift over where I was with the Dakars and 1/4" spacer.





Figured while in there I'd do some more frame cleanup and shoot on some more VHT satin black chassis paint. Like new!



After getting the leaves in I decided the front needed just a bit more lift so I put in the Toytec 1/4" shims I had lying in the shop. Forgot to take photos as I went but after the install my CV angles are still in check.



I think the end result looks pretty good but I'd still like a bit more height in the back so I don't get the nose up when towing. I may look at putting the 1/4" shims back under the leaf pack after things settle in a bit.


Tomorrow will be some more work on and in the canopy and some lighting on the awning so stay tuned!

 

Soon I hope, I'll be sticking to the greens and blues though - I've seen some of the shenanigans of the tri-state guys here

 

Today was officially and electrical day - Added some much needed battery monitoring in the bed area so I can keep tabs on the aux battery when running loads like the fridge or compressor. Install was pretty easy and the bedside provides a great and accessible location for the display and on/off switch.


No turning back now!


Like a glove!



Bingo!


I've also been getting some leaks again at my front window of the topper and think they are coming from the rivets in the lower hinge. Some flowable silicone will hopefully do the trick.


Also added some limit ties to the side windoor at the awning so it stops hitting the awning when open. Worked good so far and the o-rings keep the paracord from wading up between the window and seal when closing up camp.



I also finished up the white awning LED's from @mattgecko which light the awning area nicely.



@mattgecko is sending me over some red LED strips too. The plan is to install them here also and swap out the current switch to a SPDT so I can use the red's to preserve the night eyes (I think they draw less bugs too).

 

I'm doing awning lights soon also. Good call on the colored LEDS.. I already have a spool of clear so I want to see if it's as bright as yours before ordering more leds. I'd like Amber if I could find it. Currently waiting on replacement parts from ARB for the awning, in August a big gust of wind came and flipped my awning upside down over the the truck. Broke 2 rivets on the back board track and bent the legs beyond further use. Just so happens the legs are on back order till the end of the month, hopefully coming soon! Then the light project will continue just in for striper beach fishing.

 

Ouch, at least ARB customer support is top notch to work with. I've had a few issues in the past with some of my ARB stuff, the most recent being the foglights in my bullbar, and upon emailing them photos and my original invoice they had a brand new pair shipped to my door in about a week with no questions asked. Know what I know now, I'll gladly spend a few more dollars here or there to work with any company who stands behind a product like that.

Anyway, I digress haha. Was your awning tied out when it happened? I haven't tied mine out other than when I was doing the light install in the yard. I haven't had any issues yet but I haven't had it out in the wind yet either.

Amber LED's may be a good idea too. I tested the red's in the shop today and I'm not sure they are going to have the light output I think I need for where I was going to put them. Not a fault of the LED's but I may need to stick in more than one strip or install them firing down instead of up like I did the whites. Smart call says test before sticking them down but we'll see how many beers in I'll be when I get to it this weekend

 

what brand of VHT chassis paint are you using and where are you getting it?

have you thought about using green? doesn't it preserve night vision too? It'll probably look too ricer IMO

 

I have awning lights like yours, and another strip out at the end of the awning. Makes a HUGE difference. Just white LEDs.

 

And they kick ass Josh.

 

Green didn't cross my mind - I know it's used in a lot of night based equipment but I think it's for the contrast against dark background which is needed with low resolution night equipment. I don't think it has the same preservation characteristics as red but I'm not an expert lol

 

Sweet, I wanted to do the same but got a bit stumped on how I could cleanly wire them back to the truck. I did pick up a 10' length of coiled stretchy wire like a old phone cord kind of deal and was going to wrap it around one of the poles but I haven't tested if it'll fit back in the extrusion with it on there.

How'd you run yours?

 

I wanted to try to find some coiled wire like that but was unsuccessful. So I found some 18 gauge 2 wire (like speaker wire) and put a quick connect on the end of it and wired it to the lights furthest from the truck. I just wrap it around the pole a few times and plug it in to the wire where the lights closest to the truck are mounted. Then I have a length of more 18 gauge 2 wire with a 12v plug on it that I plug into the truck when I need it.

That way no wires are permanently mounted, and it really only takes a second to plug it into an always on 12v outlet in the cab. I do the same thing with my lights in my roof top tent except I have an inline switch in the tent.

Oh and when I pack up the awning I wrap the wire around my hand to make a small coil and just tuck it in when I zip the awning cover closed.

 

Just read through all 154 posts. Amazing build! I do have 2 questions:How did the view change with the rear camera mounted low in the bumper? And have you had a chance to weigh your rig recently?

I'm going for an Expo/jack-of-all kind of build as well, though I'm a bit stunted due to being stationed in the UK. Makes getting certain things shipped over here a pain in the ass.

 

Can't knock what works! I'm probably going to do some more staring at it this weekend when I mock up the red LED's. I'd like to run a strip of those on both extrusions for sure just because they don't throw as much light as my white ones. I may have to do some more digging online for some coiled 3-way wire since to run the reds and whites on the outside extrusion I'll need a hot for each and can share the ground.

hmmm....

 

Thanks man, I appreciate it! I didn't post them up in the build but I did stick a few shots in the All-Pro thread with my camera view (see here). From what I understand the newer units may have a different camera mounting method but I'm getting by with mine without any issue. That said, next time I need to freshen up the paint on it I may cut the camera hole a bit and move and re-weld the camera bracket to stick it out of the bumper slightly and point it down a bit more.

As far as weight goes, last time I took scrap to the recycler this summer the Taco and trailer were weighed at 6760lb on the way out. My utility trailer weight was 950lb back when I built it and had it registered so the Taco was just over 5800lb at the time. I've since put the All-Pro bumper on so I'd say it's just under 6000lb right now.

 

My thought exactly with no permanent wire to the awning, I may take it off for winter. I plan to wire the leds in the awning and run a 12v extension wire to the awning lights with a quick connect as well. Tonight I started the process of putting two 12v hot outlets in the bed

 

Same here Chux, I still wanted to be able to pull the awning if needed perhaps to mount on the trailer or just for the winter too. I'm pretty @n@l about the wiring so I ran the power wires through a sealed bulkhead fitting I punched into the cap then through a multi-pin plug sealed in heat shrink. When the time comes to pull the awning I'll just cut the heat shrink off, unplug and pull the awning. Tape off the truck end of the cord on the PrInSu and bingo - set to go.

 

Damn that's clean. I was waiting to see how you get power to the awning.

 

Thanks, I was really apprehensive about punching another hole in the top of the shell but figured it's easy enough to monitor for leaks and fix as needed. The fitting itself is rated for outdoor use so that made me feel better and LEER build quality had already made me redo all of the Thule hardware/seals this summer haha.

 

Your builds are impressive! That trailer is just awesome. subbed.