Pongo, my 2016 TRDOR, it's life stages, and travels

I can measure the heights with/without.

The bumper is very nice, and ARB has spent a lot of time making a really clean setup that looks as factory as you can get with a non-OEM part.
The pictures make length of the bumper more exaggerated than it looks in real life. It's a quality piece.

 

We were now, less than 2 months away from our July 16' trip west from North Carolina, and the clock was ticking.[/QUOTE]


If you don't mind me asking, what do you do for a living and how can you overland so much?

 

If you don't mind me asking, what do you do for a living and how can you overland so much?[/QUOTE]

I'm work at a Toyota dealership in central NC as the service manager. I usually take my vacation, and personal days in one lump when we go on the 2+ week trips.
I also will have workers who need to trade off, and have someone cover for them on a Saturday, so I'll fill in for them. The time they would normally get off
during the week for that Saturday worked, I'll save and use for my time off.

 

You have details on the solar strip?

 

I'm work at a Toyota dealership in central NC as the service manager. I usually take my vacation, and personal days in one lump when we go on the 2+ week trips.
I also will have workers who need to trade off, and have someone cover for them on a Saturday, so I'll fill in for them. The time they would normally get off
during the week for that Saturday worked, I'll save and use for my time off.[/QUOTE]
Thank you for your response.

 

Thank you Sir!

I occasionally have to take my truck into the city and the only parking is parking garages. Full size vehicles like tahoes, suburbans and F-150s fit so not sure if a lifted Tacoma will.

 

Awesome wheel and tire combo

 

@dorton - Did you ever have time to grab a picture of the wiring for the clearance light on the bumpers? I'm looking to tie the white light on the bumpers into the L-bar LED DRL in the headlight, but I'm not sure which wires are hot. It doesn't look like any particular plug or set of wires goes to the DRL bars.

I did however get the turn signals figured out!

Thank you!

 

http://www.swps.com/22670.html
It's a panel I purchased over a year ago but wasn't sure how long I would keep the FJ cruiser so I didn't install it. It's only 14 watts, but it should be able to extend times between needing to run the truck to regenerate the battery for the fridge.

The total heigh is 75" to the top of the rack, the rack adds 3.5" to the cab height. The tie down loops add 1.75" over that

I don't have good pics of it(not much room for a pic. I just used a digital multi meter to determine + and -. Then just tapped in, and tested to verify.

 

Thanks to a couple members input, I think I finally figured it out in this post here: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/3rd-gen-arb-turn-signal-help.456220/page-2#post-13721441

There are 3 wires that go to the LED relay: black, red, and yellow. Black is probably ground and thanks to a wiring diagram seen there, it looks like the red wire is the correct wire to tap into. Any idea if you remember if the wire is the red or yellow?

Picture for help:

 

dual battery set up planned at all?

 

Been loving following this build on Instagram. Kudos! Thinking about going with the same All-Pro Pack Rack because I love my Softopper but as time goes on, I end up with more and more things I want to store in the bed. Thinking a lockable drawer system and tailgate lock mod might do the trick. How do you handle keeping your stuff safe from sticky fingers?

 

Much appreciated!

 

Not sure yet. It would be helpful when charging cameras, drone, laptops etc. First will be
a NorthStar battery, and then strong possibility of a 2nd.

Thanks! For security, I have a storage platform that runs from the tailgate to the cab, and to the bedrails on both sides. At that point, all I have to do is make sure the tailgate is locked.

 

Sub'd. Fantastic ride

 

Thanks! For security, I have a storage platform that runs from the tailgate to the cab, and to the bedrails on both sides. At that point, all I have to do is make sure the tailgate is locked.[/QUOTE]

Seems like that's the way to go. Keep up the great work

 

nevermind

 

Such a clean, and well executed build. Really enjoy the short videos.

 

I've had some questions on the radio setup, and APRS in particular

We are ham radio operators, and being such one of the early on mods was installing my Kenwood TM-D710G UHF/VHF dual band radio.
It's equipped with GPS and we regularly employ it for APRS duties while out and about on the trails or while traveling.


Automatic Reporting System, commonly referred to as APRS, is one of many tools amateur radio operators can use to communicate
locally and globally. Developed by Bob Bruninga (WB4APR), APRS is not only useful for relaying location data, but also supports a
short-message format similar to the Short Message Service (SMS) format that's used for texting on mobile phones. It can interface
with mapping software and provide street-level maps linked to your position in real time by ham radio, can be used to contribute to a
real-time automated weather tracking network, and is often used by race organizers to track distant competitors.
The RCO Team uses the common APRS frequency 144.390 MHz.

Here is a screenshot from running APRS while traveling, being displayed via the website APRS.FI


Here are some links to info on APRS:
http://www.aprs.org
http://www.arrl.org/position-reporting-with-aprs
And the mapping source I typically use. It's neat to check your area, to see what APRS using hams may be traveling through your area.
http://www.aprs.fi
Here's the radio I'm using:
http://www.kenwood.com/usa/com/amateur/tm-d710ga/
But there are quite a few options out there.
For example:
http://www.yaesu.com/indexVS.cfm?cm...49&encProdID=227201D29C822AEFF8482F3367495319
http://www.yaesu.com/indexVS.cfm?cm...3F343581B53E9FAB40&DivisionID=65&isArchived=0
http://www.kenwood.com/usa/com/amateur/th-d72a/
There are even options that allow you to purchase an inexpensive handheld, and by using an adapter cable to a smartphone you can use it for APRS.
This will do a similar function, but uses a different protocol.
http://www.icomamerica.com/en/products/amateur/dstar/ID5100A/default.aspx

And...a couple more scenic shots

 

Thanks for the write up @dorton. Even though I know all about it, I love reading about other people's setups. How do you like the Kenwood for use in dual band operation? What made you choose it over the Yaesu?

KC1FYK