0210 Crawls Starbucks

Over the last few weeks I sourced four 18W flood pod lights, switches, connectors, mounts and other goodies. Wired up each pod light with an inline switch (which I waterproofed myself) and a quick-disconnect connector, so they look like this:



Then I made a harness of sorts, mounted and wired them (two on each side of the truck):







Was supervised by the shop foreman the entire time:



The switches are all on the inside of the roof rack, within easy reach. Each light can be turned on/off independently of the others, and all four are on a single circuit w/ a 10amp fuse. Initial tests suggest these things may actually be too bright. Time will tell!

 

Got myself a license plate flip-up bracket. Doesn't fit if you orient it to flip up, but does fit when flipping down.





Made cut-outs on both sides to make sure the winch cable doesn't rub.



Mounted my hi-lift on the new rack. Three u-bolts hold it in place, and I added a voile strap just in case. A bit concerned about what will happen in case of an accident; hoping this will not go through and into the cab.



Also mounted a Plano waterproof box that has all my tools.









Tested out the hot water setup; everything fits well.



And all shower stuff fits into the plastic container that gets secured here:

 

Jesus, that is a heck of a lot of gear you carry mate!! Your making me have truck envy!!

Was in talking with Jason about your rig, he changed out my UCA, and dialled me in a bit more lift on the truck with the shocks, mentioned you got the relentless bumper, seems we have a very similar build idea. With regards to shocks, I'd highly recommend the Ironman foam cell pros for the truck, they have a fantastic warranty and the ride quality is great. I've had them since July I believe and have close to 30,000kms on them (lots of logging roads, construction sites, highway and city driving). Still solid as a rock but they soak up the bumps when needed and are meeting my needs and then some.

Steve

 

Good stuff, Steve.

I bought a replacement ICON shock to put in place of my leaking one (which I'll warranty after I come back from my upcoming trip), and installed it today. Same shock, but definitely an updated design. The remote reservoir hose is considerably longer. Don't know what else changed.

I've come to the conclusion that buying ICON/King/Fox/OME BP51/etc. is just not worth it in our northern climate. No matter how good those shocks are, they will not last through our salty winters, and unless you're able to do it yourself, rebuilding them is a tough and painful process. (I may actually look into rebuilding the ICONs myself post-warranty; it seems to be a reasonably easy process.)

Getting something like Ironman or simple Bilsteins is a better choice; servicing/warranty is easier due to the many local distributors, and the components are cheap enough to simply replace every couple years. Hindsight is 20/20...

 

BAM!

$56 Kidde Pro 210 2A:10-B:C Fire Extinguisher, Rechargeable, Multi-Purpose for Home & Office, 4 lbs., Mounting Bracket Included , Red

4lb Kidde Pro 210 fire extinguisher mounted.



BAM! Made some brackets to secure MaxTrax:



BAM! Mounted said MaxTrax:



BAM! Bought steel wiring (in sleeve), crimped it, locked the MaxTrax:



(Electrical tape covering the lock's opening to keep dirt/water out.)

The MaxTrax have less than an inch of clearance in the lowest point of my underground garage!

 

what'd you do for that fire extinguisher mount?
Mines currently behind one of the seats

 

Who makes those mounts you used to attach the 18w lights to your roof rack? Do you have a part number? Looking to do something similar, thank you. Truck looks awesome!

 

I bought this cradle:

$18 Kidde Fire Extinguisher Mount, Metal Strap Bracket, Heavy Duty, Compatible 5-Pound Fire Extinguishers, Black

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001U0PFIQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

And this mount:

$60 Car Fire Extinguisher Bracket | Universal Design Fits Most Vehicles

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B015G3QXMY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Works well once it's all setup, but honestly, the mount is stupidly expensive for what it is, and it's a bit of a pain to get it setup. The design of this accessory could have definitely been done better, and at half the retail cost.

I used FrontRunner's light mounts: https://www.frontrunneroutfitters.c...er-universal-roof-rack-spotlight-bracket.html . Very versatile and high quality (just like all other FrontRunner items).

 

Bought three Scepter water cans at a local store and set them up next to my gas can. There's a short (6") tie down track between the rightmost can and the propane tank that is used to secure both the cans and the propane tank with ratchet straps.

With the two other 20L water cans I already had, I can now carry 100L of water. I figure that with daily showers, water for dog, cooking and cleaning, this should give me 5-7 days worth of water. Will obviously refill at every opportunity.

 

What store and price? I'm trying to find the same ones

 

http://www.dstactical.com/index.php?cPath=16

They ship to the US (I confirmed w/ the owner when I was there yesterday), so Canada should be even easier.

 

Metal or plastic. The plastic scepter ones are cheaper on Amazon

 

Plastic. I haven't seen these for sale on Amazon. If you're thinking of these cans, they're different ones.

 

yep sorry you are correct those were the ones I was thinking of.

 

same ones at princess auto
http://www.princessauto.com/en/detail/20-litre-water-can/A-p8451429e ?

 

Nice. Didn't know PA carried these. More expensive than @ DS Tactical, though.

 

ya but depending on shipping could be.
I gotta buy other stuff first before i buy more water cans lol

 

Found a good local deal on a brand-new Pro grill in a sealed box, and decided to jump on it. Need some bling to balance out the practicality.



A huge difference for the front-end look!

 

I'm a pretty big fan of the TRD pro grills

 

Just did the 16,000km service. Also had them do a TSB software update for the head unit (mine freezes on start-up once every few months), ordered plugs for the LCA whistling TSB, and trimmed a bracket that was rubbing a coolant hose. Mounted the spare BFG KO2 I had on an OEM sport wheel and did a tire rotation, so now I have a matching spare and a five-wheel tire rotation. The Tacoma can only "know" about four wheel pressure sensors at a time, so the spare couldn't be programmed - it's always going to be the odd one in the group. Stupid Toyota cheapening out and making things a PITA again. Oh well.

Off to the Oregon Coast tomorrow, then down to Cali, Nevada, Utah, etc. Been a long time coming!