Chipskip's Taco & Treehouse (We got HAM and Bikes too)!

01-04 Tail Lights
April 22nd, 2013



I have been planing to upgrade my tail lights for a while. However, do to a failed mod, that day came sooner than planned. I was trying to install some 1156 LED spot bulbs, but the socket was to deep to get the new bulb in. I cut out the stock socket and installed an aftermarket one. The bulb didn’t work, mainly because my backup switch is bad (I now know), but the epoxy wouldn’t hold either.



The new tail lights “bolted” right on. The plug was a tight fix, but it works. Also had to rewire the trailer plug. It was originally connected to the tail light housing wires, so I moved them to the truck side.

 

Tacoma Big Brake Mod (Tundra Brakes)
May 10th, 2013



One of the biggest mods I have been looking forward to was upgrading my front brakes. I hauled a 14’ trailer loaded with a Polaris and 3 dirt bikes to Bonneville two years ago, man oh man, the truck did it, but the brakes were not really up to par. I found many post and descriptions for swapping the 1st gen tacoma’s rotor and caliper with 1st gen Tundra parts.

I will add the part numbers here later. Working on scanning in all my sales receipts for my truck (including the ones the previous owner gave me).

First I found a great price for a set of used calipers on TW, someone had planned on doing this mod, but sold their truck before getting to it. They had a lot of surface rust and junk on them.



I started by sanding all the rust of and getting them down to almost bare metal. I used a wire drill brush and small hand brushes. I worked on them almost ever night for over two months, maybe a total of 10 hours (I went a little beyondwhat I needed to). I took them apart to get to the small areas between the pistons. Then bought some silver caliper, brush on, paint. After three coats they really looked good.



After putting them back together, I started to rebuild them. The kit I got from Toyota included new new internal piston seals, boot covers, boot retaining clips, and grease for the seals.



I used my CO2 air tank to blow air through the hydraulic port to pop out each piston. One popped out first and then I I had to use clamps to secure that one, then another one popped out, I clamped it, etc. etc. I cleaned ever piston, used a small zip tie to get the internal seal out, so as to not scratch the internal wall. If you damage the internal wall… game over. If you damage the pistons… game over. So be careful!

After everything was back together I could start the swap. I removed the wheel, spacer, old caliper, rotor, and stock brake line. I could have reused the stock brake line, but I would have had to drill out the port and that was a little more than I wanted to deal with. Plus, those rubber lines had 230k miles on them. Also, I have lifted the front, so added some length to the brake lines was recommended.

The driver side brake line didn’t want to come off, so I had to to remove the steel line it connected to and that one broke. I had to go down to the local auto parts store and buy a 10” steel line and bend it to fit. This wasn’t hard, just added time and increased the amount of colorful language used in this project.

The Tundra rotors slide right on and once I bolted thespacers back on everythingstaid in place. I had bought new pads and hardware for the calipers, so once I had those installed, everything bolted right on.



I did need to cut the dust plate to get the calipers to fit, also needed to bend to cover back all the way around to clear the larger rotors. This was all very basic, it went like a normal brake job.

I decided to bleed the entire bake system and I am glad I did. The old brake fluid coming out was BLACK!!! This is were I employed a helper. Bleed the front and then the back brakes.

Test drive time…. DAMN, this is awesome… I have brakes. I can’t image driving my truck with the old brakes again. I did notice that I had some metal on metal rubbing. I had not bent the dust cover back far enough in two places. A quick adjustment and I was all good. Not only do they look good, but the performance is amazing.

Parts List: I used a 2001 Toyota Tundra as reference for parts.

13WL Toyota Calipers…. $85 used for set

Brake Pads, Toyota 04465-35290… $63.18

Rotors, Toyota 43512-0C011… $81.79 ea

Caliper Rebuild Kit, Toyota 04479-0C020… $12.50

Extended Brake Line Set, Wheeler’s… $72.50


***16” Rims or bigger are required for this mod***


I bought new caliper mounting bolts and a brake hardware kit, but those we only a couple of bucks and I don’t have the part numbers and prices readily available. Also bought the Duplicolor caliper paint kit, I think that was $30ish. I think I listed the main stuff. As much for my future reference as it is for anyone else.



EDIT April 9th, 2013:

When I dropped the boy off at school, I noticed a shutter and banging noise when braking. I decided to go home and ride the bike to work. As I pulled into my driveway, the passenger wheel locked up. I was afraid I had seized a wheel bearing. When I was finally able to get the wheel off and get a good look, I was relieved to find out it was a loose caliper. The top bolt on the passenger side had come out causing the caliper to swing forward and hit the wheel. I was able to get the bolt from Toyota for $1.47 and was back on the road. I have checked all the bolts to make sure they are properly torqued and will do so again in 100 miles.

 

Gas Pipeline trail – Video
July 20th, 2013

https://youtu.be/iM4cow0IoWw

4x4ham.com night run on the Gas Pipeline trail, North of Phoenix, AZ. This is the last major obstacle. Bill and Michael “Chip” (N7MCS) in a 98 Tacoma.

 

September 24th, 2013



When I decided to start doing major work on my truck I needed to start using air tools. The most obvious solution would have been to buy an air compressor for the garage. However, I don’t have any spare room in my house for an air compressor, plus the noise might wake one of the kids…. or worse the wife.

So, I decided to go with a CO2 tank, 15 lbs!!! Best part is that it is portable. Air tools on the trail FTW!

The kit I bought came with a mount. Decent mount, almost two small for a 15 lbs tank, but it works. Initially I raised the mount up off the bed with wood to be able to use the first set of mounting wholes with the track system and some t nuts.



This raised a few issues. First, the cheap wood I had laying around the garage didn’t handle the weather very well. Second, without the base being secured to the bed, the vibrations in the mount were bad and left it prone to wiggling the top bolts loose and possible causing damage to the bed, mount, tank etc.

So, it came time to reengineer this. I decided to go with two steel straps bolted to the mount and track system and then having the mount bolted to the floor of the bed. I got a 36” piece of 1/4” think and 1-1/2” wide. I cut it down to two 14’ long pieces and using a drill press measured and made 4 3/8” holes in each.



After the test fit, primed and painted the straps flat black.

For the bottom screws, I got 2 1/4” screws and jack nuts. The jack nuts will allow me to easily remove the mount without having to worry about the nut on the bottom. These are there for major support, but to prevent the mount from hopping, taking some possible stress off the track system.





This mount isn’t going anywhere. I have a simple locking pin holding the tank in place and use a cable lock to secure the tank. I wouldn’t want to drive around like this all the time, but for securing it when its needed, it works.

I may look into a tank lock, something to prevent someone from opening the tank and dumping it, there are THOSE kind of people out there. Also, if this mount shows signs of failing I will buy a beefer mount designed for a large tank like this. But until the need arises, what I have will work just fine.

 

Goodies came in the mail!
October 30th, 2013

A new Kenwood TH-D72a
&
AvMap GeoSat 6

 

Bed bar
November 22nd, 2013

I got a new bed bar! (well, new to me).

I want to once again thank the Tacoma World community! One of them found the bed bar on Ttora and let me know about it. Then another one was willing to pick it up for me when they were in Vegas. That is the awesomeness that is Tacoma owners (most of them).

I removed the yakima removable bar and it’s hardware, then installed the bed bar. The Hi-lift fits snuggly, but fits. I need to get the neoprene cover for it and figure out how to lock it into place. I did need to relocate the CO2 tank mount to the rear of the the bed.

I plan to install a Ham 2m/70cm antenna and a CB antenna (I think I need to get a CB first), in the middle I will mount a bed/rear light. I have a couple of 6-LED lights laying around, just need some fun switches and a fuse panel. Thats a whole bigger project, I want to get the blue sea fuse panel and start wiring it all up. right now my gps and ht are just using the cigarette lighter plugs, once I can get everything wired, I will run independent power just for them. But enough of that… on to the pics!















EDIT: Sold Bar in October 2015 after buying the shell

 

Birthday Presents
November 29, 2013

I completed the birthday present buy this week. My APRS setup is complete (for now).

I added a Diamond NR770HB antenna to the truck (for the FT-8800). A Diamond SRH77CA, rubber ducky antenna, for the d72a, and got a Comet HB05 adaptor so the d72a can now connect to the mag mount antenna.







This is an awesome step closer to having it exactly like I want it. Remember, last month I got some of my birthdays gifts early, the Kenwood d72a and AvMap G6.

 

APRS install complete
November 29th, 2013



Finally got the radio and GPS were I want them. Cables are in a good spot too. If it all works out than I may find a way to more better way run the cables.

 

TW Secret Santa
December 13th, 2013

I want to say a BIG thank you to Chris from TacomaWorld.com He sent me an awesome GearPod set. Includes the First Aid and Survival kits. I will be adding on to these in the future. I hope I don’t ever need them, but I will be glad if I do.

 

Wish List (Updates: 12/2013)
December 16th, 2013

Bear with me as I have been updating this blog. Trying to fill int he gaps on a few things I have done over the last year. I am a dumbass for not doing this right after I did the projected. At least I usually remember to take pics during the project to put up here.

So, this post is my wish list. I will update the date as I add and remove things from this list. The main purpose of this is to put it all in one place. Thanks to TW, I am always finding new things to do to my truck. New mods and completely different ideas for doing something. So hopefully this will help me remember what it is that I want to do.


Lights:

2001- 2004 rear tail lights

LED lights all around (rear brake lights already done)

Flashing 3rd brake light

LED strips in the bed

Projector headlights (I don’t know, I keep going back and forth on this one)

BAMF behind the grill light bar

LED interior floor lights (Red)


Suspension/Brakes:

Tundra Front Brake Mod

Braided brake lines front/rear

Blistein 5100s rear

1.5-2” shackles

Air bags


Interior/Exterior:

Ham radio (Yaesu FT-8800R)

CB radio

2001-2004 center console

2001-2004 side mirrors

2001-2004 tail lights <— Ordered

Weathertech floor mats

Soft Topper

Bug deflector

Elite Off-Road front bumper

Rear plate bumper with swing out tire mount

Box Rocket’s Bed Rack

2nd Gen Track System rails

BushWacker’s Cut-Out fender flares



Engine:

Oil Catch can

Amsoil Bypass Filter system

Extra fuse block



Misc:

Recovery kit

Fill up my ammo can truck tool box

Jumper cables

Metal gas cans

2nd Gen bed rails

Rite in the Rain Kit

Steeling wheel column holster

Gear Pods (I have first aid & Survival)


I know there is more that I just can’t think of right now. But this is a dynamic, living, and breathing list. It will change. Also, it is helpful to my wife, whom never remembers what I say I want. Love you dear!

 

Weekend with my two loves
February 16, 2014

Time for an update on my truck. It hasn’t been that I have been lacking on posting, it’s that life has been in the way of doing anything to my truck, plus, she hasn’t needed much other than the daily TLC. I do think I am getting close to an oil change….hmmmm.

Thursday, my wife and I celebrated our anniversary by taking the truck up to Sedona were we honeymooned.

Friday, I had several honey-do items to knock out, but I did get a little time with my truck. I moved the Ultragauge from it’s windshield mount to the dash. I really don’t like anything on top of my dash. It had been nicely tucked away in the left corner, but it’s time had come.



Saturday/Sunday- I got decided to take the new switch panel I got in the mail from a wonderful TW guy and go crazy.



I have been wanting to move the face plate for my ham radio (FT-8800) from the floor mount to the roof. This would also requiring running a cable to remotely move the mic plug. I spent most of Saturday trying several different places to mount it. I finally got a wild hair and decided to try and use the lamp/review mirror mount to hold the face plate. I tried several methods with velcro, but they just were not stable enough. I found two very small screws (M3 x .5) that hold the switches into place. The gut wrenching part was drilling two holes through the lamp cover. I ran down to my local Ace hardware and got two M3 x 2″ screws and a couple of washers. Using an bracket I found on a light that I still need to install, I will deal with it’s time to install it.

Once I had the location figured out, I needed to run some cables. One between the face and the head unit and one for the mic’s remote plug. The first was easy, the second required finding the proper place and and method for mounting the plug for the mic. I decided to use my new switch plate for this project. I ran a cat5 cable from the face plate to the new switch plate below the radio. I picked up a rj45 plug and modular mount. A little paint and the switch plate and modular unit were black.



I had to drop the ceiling, remove the sun roof, and almost all of the interior trim. This was easy and gave me a chance to clean them in the sink before reinstalling them. Once all the wires were run properly and secured. I buttoned it all back up. Surprisingly, I didn’t have any spare pieces or screws. I am very pleased with the out come of this all. I knew that the O’shit handles’ screws would not survive the removal process, so I already had replacements from CBT on hand. I was right and had to use my screw extractor kit to remove two of them.



Oh, while I had everything torn apart, I moved the hotelink from the sun visor to the ceiling. That was a challenge all in it’s self. Installing it took much longer than it should have. Rerunning the wires wasn’t that big of a deal, but getting the buttons to connect and stay in place was a PITA! The liner was just thick enough to allow then to connect to the base unit, but it kept wanting to pop off. I solved this by compressing the padded lining around the mount and placing some spacers on top of the base unit. That was if I need to reconnect the buttons, the base unit can’t just push it’s way up into the void. Eventually, it worked out perfectly.

I also moved the stereo’s mic to the edge of the sunroof, hopefully this will give it better sound. That is if I get a new stereo were the bluetooth will work with iOS7. Damn you Kenwood for not releasing an update and instead just blaming Apple.



All while doing this, the family road bikes, played in the driveway. The kids took several opportunities to help or distract me, not sure which one they were shooting for, but I bet you can guess which one the accomplished.

After all that, Peyton helped me wash the truck and the Flex.

It was a good weekend.

I do need to install some lights, relays, and switches. But before I can do that, I need to add an aux fuse panel. That is a big project that is next on my list, once I save up a little. Also, I need to give the old girl some serious TLC on the paint. I think a weekend of rubbing compound and wax is in our near future.

 

More Power
February 19th, 2014

Today started out like any other day, Amy and I did our morning routine and Then I left for work. That was as far as normal would take me. Right after I got on the freeway, headed to work, the voltage warning light came on. I briefly remembered noticing it coming on as I pulled into the driveway the night before. I quickly turned the UltraGauge to the page with the volt meter… 7.14 volts. Not good. Then the truck started to stutter and lag, so I quickly exited. I was lucky that this exit had a QT. When the light turned green to cross over to the QT, the truck did not want to go. However, it is a Toyota, so it made it across. I pulled into a pump and filled up, I needed to anyways. The truck wouldn’t start, so I started making calls to get someone to come help. After letting the engine cool, I gave it one more try, it fired up. Yeah! But the output was only 8.3 volts, not good, but enough to get me the 2 miles home.

A few tests and I verified that the battery was good and that it had to be the alternator. While waiting for the auto parts stores to open I decided to do some research into the larger output alternators. The forums were full of people that have done them, mainly for rigs with tons of lights, wenches, and/or large stereo systems. I only have a few lights (a few yet to install too) and my ham radio equipment. However, I am always looking into the future. The best writeup I found is . I am going to run you through what I went through, I hope it helps, it will defiantly help me in the future if I have to replace it.

Step one, get some stuff out the way. Remove the battery and front skid plate, you will want the arm room.

Step two remove the old alternator. Loosen the top bolt and the bottom bolt. Then release the tensioner screw, once it is loose enough it will slide up and out. You can prop the alternator on the frame and remove the connectors. This will be your first PITA. The battery connection will come off easily, but the connection will not, at least if it is the original and the dialectic grease will have dried out and hardened like a glue. When the obscenities stop and you have accomplished this task you can move on to the next part.

Step three, buy a new alternator, pigtail for the new alternator, another power steering pump belt, and a few electrical connections (mentioned later). For the alternator I went with a 1995 Cadillac Deville 4.9 V8 *insert Tim Allen grunts* *more power*!

Duralast part#: Alternator DL1496-6-1 & Pigtail #237

Some pics of the old and new:



As you can see the is a significant difference in size, but don’t worry it is all power and will fit. The pulley is for a 6 rib belt, were the Toyota is a 4 rib. This isn’t a big deal, but if I had had time I would have bought a new pulley to put on. I also reclocked the alternator so the plug would be in a more convent location.

Step four, the pigtail. It has three wires: brown, black, and red. Crimp a large electrical ring on the red wire (I also soldered it), and connect it to the the battery post on the alternator. The brown wire needs to be connected to the yellow wire on the factory plug. For this I used a tap connection, that way I don’t have to mess with the factory plug. The brown wire and the rest of the factory plug wires are not needed. Don’t worry, the brown wire tapped on the yellow gives the ECU all it needs to know. You will also need to enlarge the factory battery connection for the alternator, the new alternator’s terminal is larger.



Step five, Install the new alternator. This was another PITA, but I am going to try and save you some issues. There is a large bundle of wires running up the side of the truck, I suggest disconnecting them from mounting brackets so you can work around them. Also, loosen up the bottom mounting bracket for the alternator, but don’t completely disconnect it. Set the alternator on the frame and connect the wires. Then slide the alternator into place and insert the top bolt, but not all the way. You will have a gap and need to fill it in with some washers. I think there were five 7/16 washers I got at auto zone. I suggest taping them together to make it easier to manage. Once you have the top bolt and washers in, then go ahead and put the bottom bolt into place and hand tighten the tensioner screw.

Step six, belts, belts belts. Yes, there are three of them and one no longer fits. If you can’t remember when you last replaced your belts, replace them all now! One AC, and two – PS belts. That is the nice thing about the distance, you have an emergency backup alternator belt. The alt belt is in the very back, so you will need to remove the other two first. The tensioner screw for the PS can be gotten to from the passenger wheel well. The AC belt’s idler pulley’s tensioner screw is directly under it. No need to remove the fan, just work the PS and alternator bets around it.

step seven, out it back. Once you have the belts replaced and the bolts all tightened down, put it all back together. The truck fired right up for me. 14.08 volts at start up.

Some people claimed to have better response off the line. I didn’t notice anything in my test drive, but I will update with a performance report in a week or two. I am happy to twice the power. The factory alternator was rated to 70 amps max and 25 at idle. The new one is 140 amps max and idles at 75 amps. My new idle is higher than my old max *Tim Allen grunt* *More Power*!

 

Harper’s 1st 4wheelin trip
June 21st, 2014



My buddy Neil wanted to test out his new truck’s 4 wheel drive. You know I am always up for a wheeling trip, so I grabbed Chloe (can’t go without her), and Harper and headed out. Now Harper has never been wheeling with me, so she was super excited. She loves riding with me in my truck. We were out the door at 0530 to meet up with Neil and his crew (Tracy and his son Stephen). We headed up to Black Canyon City to jump on the Gas pipeline trail back towards Table Mesa Rd. After a painful lesson, which resulted in Neil’s truck getting a few beauty marks, we had a great trip. Neil’s truck is stock so he decided to bypass a few parts that I took on, but everyone had a great time. We finished up before it got too hot, but it was getting close. Harper took a cat nap on the way home. Hopefully, I can get the rest of my family out with me soon.

 

Gas Pipeline Trail – Family Edition
July 1st, 2014



So I got the whole family out on the trail… well, that’s not true. Miss Gwendolyn spent a very special day with Grandma. I promise that I have a seatbelt on order, so I can’t guarantee that all three kids (and Chloe) will be on the next run, but very, very soon.

Mister Bill and I planned a trip to get us all out on the trail, unfortunately his kid’s dance card filled up very quickly for the weekend. So he came out all alone, which worked out well for Peyton. He got out of my cramped truck and got to ride with Mr Bill. This also allowed the cooler to be moved from the front passenger floor to the back for the actual run, giving Amy some leg room. Yes, I have a small truck and there are a few things we have to figure out in the whole space/cargo/passengers department. Right now I am working on getting everyone into the truck, next will be figuring out the cargo situation.

As usual, the kiddos had a fun time, they ran and played and got dirty and dirty (C02 tank works great for dusting them off)(I may need another tank). Chloe ran and ran and got dirty too, luckily she already had an appointment to get cleaned up later that day. Amy was an awesome shotgun as normal, she trekked up hills and sat in the corners to get some awesome photos of us guys playing with our trucks.

Plans are in the works for another run next month, most likely a different trail. Also, late fall might see a “Ladies Drive” run. I don’t know who will more nervous on that run, the women driving or their husbands riding shotgun.

We may get around to adding captions to some of these pics, but I wouldn’t hold my breath. Just noticed there are close to 100 photos! WOW! Amy went picture crazy… luckily we live in the age of digital photography, I think she took over 200 pics in total, but seeing this isn’t Bill’s blog, his truck only shows up a few times. We sent him all the others.

 

Anti-Dark & Para-Wheel
July 6th, 2014



Confused yet? Today my wife, Amy, helped me wrap my steering wheel in para-cord (550 cord); while I installed my engine lights from Anti-Dark.


The Easy one first: Anti-Dark.

This guy came up with a kit to install an LED light strip on your hood to help you see in the engine bay. Why didn’t I think of this? Well, we won’t go down that road, but this guy on TW did and he sells the kits at a very reasonable price. I think the hardest part was cleaning the hood so the tape would actually stick to metal. Any way, it looks great!

Now on to the bigger project: Steering Wheel wrap.

First, Amy is awesome, she did this on a 104º day, with 55% humidity in a garage with no extra circulation. There are many reasons to do this mod. I went with the plan and simple, it’s cheap. There are always good reasons to have close to a 100ft of 550 cord and your disposal, but no need to go down that road. If you are curious as to the other reasons, or how to do this.. Google is your friend.

My old steering wheel cover, came on the truck when I bought it used, was really looking bad. It needed replacing, however I didn’t realize how bad the actual wheel was under the cover.



One thing I would do different right of the bat, find a local shop and see the colors before you buy them. I went off Amazon, and although I am not unhappy with the colors, they are a little different than I thought. 100ft was like $6 shipped, so I am not worried about it.



Amy practiced on a hula-hoop in the comfort of our living room for the week leading up to actually do it. This is good for you to learn the knot you want to use, but also experiment with patterns and zig-zaggin the knots, things like that. She started out and worked on it for about two hours this morning and then another 45 after the kids went to bed. The morning session to longer as she was having to figure out how to do it without being able to move the wheel. She did a great job.

 

Power Upgrade
September 15th, 2014



Since the day I bought my truck, I knew I wanted to add several electrical components, from lights to ham radios. I also knew that I wanted to add a fuse block to keep the wires clean(ish) and protect the items I was going to install. For the last three years, I have only installed what I needed to and piled other stuff up on the shelf until that day I got around to installing the fuse block. I have spent the last year looking into every possible way to add a fuse block. My biggest disadvantage over some other trucks of my style, is that I have everything, Vacuum canister, ABS and cruise control. This leaves me with very little room to install it. I have seen some installs that are very interesting and worked for others, but not for me. I also noticed that almost every install I ran across was a s statement that they bought the stuff and then a pic of it installed. Nothing of the process. After I post pics of my install, I was inundated with PMs asking for details about my install, so here it is.

I decided to go with Blue Sea’s 12-port fuse block and Bussman’s 100-amp breaker. Do you need a fuse breaker? Well, you don’t need one, but you don’t need a seatbelt either. You can find these at different prices at all of the off-road/electrical sites. Don’t exclude eBay from your price checking, I saved over $20 buying from eBay (the guy at 2k+ rating at 100% and it wasn’t a one-off auction, it was a buy it now with like 8 of 20 left). I also order my switches and relays at the same time. Not going crazy, just wiring up the few things I had wanted to get done right away. I do suggest just order as much as you can from one major supplier, and if you don’t know you have enough of something, order more you can always use it in another project.



The first step is to mock-up the location for the fuse and circuit breaker. I decided on putting them on top of the charcoal canister. It doesn’t look like there is room, but there is. I have seen pics of guys doing this, so I was pretty sure it would work.

I made a cardboard mock-up, tested closing the lid at least half a dozen times.



I bought a 22-gauge steel plate from Ace (it’s the place), and bent, drilled, and painted it.



Then I bolted everything up.



he plate sits right on the VSC (or is it VCS?) charcoal canister and everything clears with the hood. I tested this another 6-8 times after mounting it up. I bought the screws for mounting it from Ace, they are metric/stainless steel. I can’t remember the sizes, I just took the fuse block and breaker in with me.

For the wiring, well, I could have done it myself, but I decided to go down to a local audio/stereo install place and just pay them to do it. Don’t they do pretty work?



The next thing that needed to be done was relays. Do you need a relay for everything? Nope. So many people will argue that LED light especially don’t need a relay. They are mostly correct, but I love me some relays. They are cheap and easy enough to wire up. Now, where the hell am I going to put them in my truck?. . . I finally settled on the the fender well next to the battery. There is enough space and I will be able to add or replace one without removing the battery. I took some of that left-over steel and cut a 9″x3″ strip. I measured out the spacing for my relays, drilled the mounting holes every 1.5″ so I would have space to mount five, I think I could have condensed that and gotten 7 on there, but at that point I was thinking about aesthetics more than anything else. Also, I don’t see myself needing more than 5 relays. I took some M6 stainless steel bolts and secured them to the plate for mounting the relays, then I added a locking nut to secure the relay down. This will allow for easily adding future relays. Lesson learned, as this works pretty decent, I would add lock tight or a locking washer or a second nut for securing the bolt, as the locking nut tends to loosen the mounting bolt.



And then . . . (re)wiring everything, I even had new battery terminals. I knew that once I started this, I would have to go until it was finished. Some things just won’t work if they aren’t powered/grounded. I already had a factory fog light switch for my front bumper lights (and a relay that I left alone). So for that one, I just moved the power and ground to the fuse block. Along with my ham radio and hood/engine lights (I did move the wiring for those into the hood to avoid any possible conflict with the fuse block).



This last step included adding two switches, one for my bed bar, and one for the Aux power I have run to the center console. Once again, I went the path of overkill to make life easier in the future. Instead of just crimping the wires on to individual connectors and sliding them on to each terminal of the switches, I paid the extra $1 (maybe $2) and got the blank plugs that slip onto the switch, does that make sense? For the constant power, ground, and dimmer light connections I tapped of the radio’s supply. Short, easy run to the first switch, where I daisy-chained over to the second switch – I even remembered to leave a few tails for the next switch(s) I installed. Now at this point I forgot to take any pictures, sorry.

So here is the finished product, the “Beer” switch turns on the bed light bar light (so you can see into the cooler to get a beer).



I hope this helps someone in the future that plans to do this, feel free to ask me anything in regards to this.

 

Mogollon Monster 2014
September 29th, 2014



Another Ham service season is in full effect. One of my favorite events is the Mogollon Monster 100, it is… Well I’ll let them tell you what they think it is.

The race covers roughly 106 miles climbing the Rim in four separate locations spending a lot of miles along the Rim, on top of the Rim and the challenging climbs up and down with climbs and descents at 30-45% grades at a some points. Expect to climb a total of about 21-23,000 feet along the way, never below 5,200 feet and never above 8,000 feet in elevation. While other races are certainly at higher elevations, and/or with more climbing, they certainly do not contain as rugged a terrain that is found on this course. This is a VERY technical course in many areas, specifically the Highline Trail, Donahue and the soon to be revered, Myrtle Trail. In fact, I’ll go so far as to say this is THE MOST technical 100 miler out there.
To any “normal” person, these people are just simply crazy. If you ask them, they will say they are way more crazier than “just simply crazy”.

To support this type of behavior, the Hams with Maricopa County Emergency Communications Group (MCECG) steps up and deploys dozens of hams all over the Mogollon Rim. Seeing the Race starts at 0600 Saturday morning and ends at 1800 on Sunday evening, there are usually a couple of Hams at each location to help cover the Aid Stations, as many of them see the runners twice during the course.

I take this opportunity to go up early and camp out in the beautiful country that is Eastern Arizona. As always, Chloe T. Dog would accompany me. To my surprise and excitement, my beautiful wife decided this would be a great chance to get away from it all and see what it is I do at these things (usually unsupervised). This was to be our first camping trip together. Oh, I almost forgot, Amy was able to recruit our wonderful nanny, Becca, to house/kid sit for us while we were camping. That meant the whole weekend was sans kids, woot!

Friday morning we loaded up the truck, and got out of Phoenix about 1000. It was a nice drive to Payson, then on 260 to Tonto Village, where we left pavement on the Control Road. Now the Control road is well maintained so it wasn’t really roughing it yet. 18 miles in on the Control Road, we found Forrest Road 144 (FR-144), The Entrance to Hell’s Gate in Hell’s Canyon ( 34.365092, -111.217239). All of the comm briefings had warned that this road was not maintained and should only be terraced by experienced offroaders in 4×4, high clearance vehicles. Even the other ham I was working the station with suggested I wait to meet him Saturday afternoon and take the road on the buddy system. Being the adventurers we are, we took heed of the warning, but still decided to forge ahead on our own. The road wasn’t bad, did 95% of it in two-wheel drive, mostly it was rocky, but there was one part that had seen it’s fair share of water flow and the road was washed out a bit. As we reached the end of the road and the bottom of the rim, our efforts had been rewarded with the beauty and solitude that only a place like this could offer.

Amy and I quickly got to work setting up camp, while Chloe started her perimeter checks. It took us about an hour to get camp setup, including moving the fire pit. This time was blessed with partly cloudy skies and a slight breeze. We quickly settled in to doing nothing. I mean it, we sat around and talked and watched birds and just did nothing for little over an hour.



We had been forewarned that a slight chance of showers was possible for Friday evening, but that there shouldn’t be enough daylight to truly bring any storms, at least not until Saturday afternoon. Weather forecasting is nothing more than hours betting, no matter what method you use to judge the steeds, you are doing nothing more than gambling. The skies quickly started turning on us and we stepped into action, getting the rain fly on the tent and getting the camp fire going before the wood got wet. While Amy was cooking dinner, a light sprinkle started with thunder and lightening off in the distance. So we enjoyed our dinner in the tent while watching the storm, surely it will pass soon. I kept going out and keeping the camp fire going. After about an hour of that, I decided to let the fire do it’s own thing. Amy broke out the games we had brought, one of which we got as a Christmas present last year and haven’t had time to play.



As the night continued on, so did the storm. Eventually the lightening and thunder were right over us. This was some of the longest thunder I have ever heard, I mean one boom went on and on. I think I now know how my dad feels when he is at anchor in a new spot, a nervous sleep as any change, any new noise, wakes you, begging to be investigated. The rain never let up that first night, it only changing from headache inducing pounding to a relaxing, calming pitter-patter, and everything else in between.

https://youtu.be/EviuE4-ArLQ

Storms do not usually upset Chloe, but after running around in the rain for a while, she had had enough and spent the evening covered up in the corner of the tent.



Saturday morning awake us with, the now strange to us, sound of silence. We quickly jumped on this moment to get our morning started. By the time the kettle was hot, it had started again. We ate breakfast under the shelter of the easy-up while Chloe ran and ran and ran around the meadow beside our camp. The Elk were singing as if no one had intruded onto their valley. Shortly after breakfast the sun decided to grace us with it’s presence. It was in and out of the clouds, but the dry spell was much appreciated. Amy and I took this chance to do nothing. She did study for a little bit, before deciding to take a nap. While I sat in a chair watched the world around me. It would not be long before the whole reason we were there would start.

The race had started on time, and I was monitoring the progress on the new radio setup I was testing out for the first time. I had bought a used Diamond x50a vertical diploid antenna from a 4x4ham.com member a few weeks ago. I had fun building a PVC tube for safely transporting it. With the antenna came a free tripod and pole. I used ratchet straps to secure it to the bed of my truck, giving me a ten foot plus antenna. I also made a mount for my FT-8800 face plate and an external speaker, that connects them to the side of the truck bed. This setup gives me a great outside setup for working these types of events.



About noon on Saturday Tom, KE7TM, showed up to help me (or me to help him) work the Hell’s Gate Aid Station. The volunteers showed up around 1400 and we helped them get setup. We were all having a good time when the QST for all stations came across the speaker. The message was to drop all antennas and prepare for a major storm to hit all locations shortly. The initial warning said the heavy rains would last approximately an hour. We quickly made preparations and secured the antenna and everything else not staked down.



It didn’t take as long as predicted for the storm to hit. Lightening was all around and the rain was heavy. Some stations even reported hail. About 30 mins into the storm, it was clear it was not even close to being over. Someone had forgot to tell Mother Nature that the storm was only supposed to last an hour. At this point, sunset was very close, although it was hard to tell as we had not seen the sun in some time. The Event staff had a hard choice to make, but one I think everyone agreed with, the race was called due to weather. They were going to allow runners on the course to either drop at the aid station they were coming into or continue on to the Washington Park Aid Station (the most central station). We were notified that four runners had made it out of Washington Park before the race was called. They were headed right for us.

Within half an hour the first of the four runners came into our station. We were surprised that he had a pacer with him, but we were just glad that they had safely arrived. Runner two wasn’t very far behind him. The Aid Station workers quickly got them fed and warmed up. Because no member of the aid/support team gets out of helping, Chloe provided body heat warmth to one of the runners as she curled up around his feet and legs and didn’t move until it was time to transport the runner out of Hell’s Gate. As the rest of the Net worked on coordinating getting runners off the rim and back to Pine, we stood in the pouring rain trying to see our remaining two runners come around the mountain. It took about 2 hours before we saw our third and then our final runner. We had a ride waiting at the Control Road to shuttle these last few runners back to Pine, but we still had to get them down FR-144. The two vehicles the volunteers had were used to shuttle the five racers to the Control Road, Tom, KE7TM, accompanied them down. It was much safer to take this road as a group, the continuing rain and pitch black conditions had made it a little unnerving. The volunteers got everyone down and came back to load up their supplies. Amy and I had already made the decision to ride out the storm another night and pray for better weather when we needed to break camp. So we helped the volunteers load up, stood around in the rain to toast one another and then retreated to the dryness of our tent. Just as I was clearing ourselves from the net, I heard that all runners had been safely relocated to Pine and that only the event staff and Hams that intended to stay were left. In our book, that is what made it a successful event, everyone “home” safely.

Did I mention that by now Chloe T. Dog was more like Chloe T. Mop? She was a happy dog.

The rain continued throughout the night and into the morning. The local bands of coyotes and elk had graciously offered their services to act as an alarm clock. We had just finished our coffee and oatmeal when the rain stopped. We could actually see blue on the horizon. We quickly divided up the duties and got to work breaking camp. About an hour later we were loaded up and ready to head down the mountain. We were just in time, we could see the next wave of storms approaching. Prepared for the worst, we found FR-144 to not be too bad. I am still much happier that I didn’t try it the night before.



The drive home was peaceful, Amy even took a nap. The kids were as glad to see us as we were to see them. I think Becca was the happiest to see us. 48 hours straight with our girls was a little more than she expected. She loves them to death, but is quite happy to hand them off after 8. The girls helped us get all the camping gear cleaned and most of it stowed. I am home from work today to give Becca one day of much earned rest. Harper and Gwenie will help me get all the laundry and such done; just a fun day off with daddy play time.

As for camping, Amy has declared it a success. We do have another trip planned in three weeks, this time we will take Peyton and Harper, Gwenie will stay and take care of Grandma. If that trip is a success, I think we can start planning 4-5 camping trips a year, any escape from Phoenix is a good one.

 

Well, that is everything copied over from my other build. Big gap between then and now. I have a bunch of updates to do. Unfortunately they won't be as detailed as these, but maybe, once the gap is filled the future ones will be.

 

Nice looking build man! Can't wait to see what you do next!

 

Going through my old pictures on my phone trying to find the things I have done and not done a write up on. These won't be as detailed as some of the other posts (past or future). But they will help fill in the blanks from were I left off to where I am today.

OIL Changes
If you do not have a vacuum pump for changing your oil, you are crazy. They make changing your oil stupid easy. And clean! A lot of the high end car dealerships use them. I bought mine from West Marine for about $40. I think it holds 7 qrts. Pull the dip stick, put the tube in the dipstick and pump a dozen times or so. Then open a beer and wait for it to suck the oil out. This is how they change the oil on boat engines. The container holds they oil until I get to an auto parts store to recycle it.