Hodakaguy's Overland Tacoma Builds - on to new adventures.

Update on the SSO Bumper. Kevin (Owner at SSO) posted on my FB post regarding the factory welds...here's his comment: " Tom, you're right. That weld is not acceptable. Had I seen it personally, it would have been re done. You are clearly a skilled craftsman and I wish all of my employees had you talents.

We have had our share of issues these past few months as we expand and hire new employees. I will be showing these photos and comments to my guys fist thing Monday morning so they understand the importance of their work. I'll also be personally reviewing our qc process to ensure this type of issue never happens again.

I've also initiated a refund for one of your bumpers because of the defects."

I appreciate Kevin reaching out and wanting to ensure these issues are fixed before sending out any more orders, shows that he cares about the reputation of his company and the quality of the product that he is putting out the door. Thanks Kevin.

Hodakguy

 

Time to get the bumpers coated in Primer.




LOTS of sanding and cleaning. These pics were taken before cleaning all the welds with a wire wheel.






Getting ready for Primer.






And 2K Epoxy bare metal primer applied. Now to let it dry and get the top coat applied.








More to come....

Hodakaguy

 

Ya, after 7 pages on this thread, I almost believe you....

 

LOL. Still have some building to go on both trucks.....Will be out exploring soon

Hodakaguy

 

Out cruising the back roads tonight and snapped a few pics.










Hodakaguy

 

Sexy re-welds. While I "can" weld, mine are not even in the same realm as yours. Well done.

Also glad SSO came through. That is the bumper I want and this customer service just helped solidified it.

 

with the camper, are the air bags being used at all?

 

Good to see you here Tom.

 

Good customer service; glad they made it right.

 

Hey Tom, could you post some pictures of the integrated storage within the Swift Shell? Thanks in advance.

 

I have about 45psi in the drivers side and 25psi passenger side. Camper is sitting nice and level and the ride is great!

Hodakaguy

 

Another Advrider..... Great to see you here as well.

Hodakaguy

 

Here's a few pics of the storage area under the couch. In such a small camper every little space is a premium. There is also a small amount of space under a flip up panel on the drivers side shelf (not pictured), and a small storage bin above the couch. Quite a bit can be stored behind the couch against the window, great place for bedding etc.








There is also a nice little open area under the end of the bench seat right as you enter the camper, I will be getting a small storage container that fits this spot to carry supplies.






I debated adding the stove or not and in the end decided I didn't want to give up the small storage tray above the heater unit...storage space is such a premium. The stove will be handy as well though, everything is a trade off. I'll use my backpack stove for cooking.

There is also some space in the battery compartment (wooden door) that I use to carry cleaning supplies, paper towels, Kleenex etc.






Ultra light backpacking gear is perfect for this yep of camping as it saves both space and weight. I have a good collection of gear from years of doing

Hodakaguy

 

I just wondered with the lift how much they were engaged. I have some on my stock suspension and love them, though I'm not sure if its because of the bellow design or I have a slow leak but I have to fill them up about once a week. I'm thinking it's the bellow design as if I don't have anything in the bed, they lose air faster (tried it just to see) just waiting for winter to be officially over here in CO so I can crawl under and double check everything.

enjoyed the Westfalla build, especially loved the Mog build, enjoying this one so far (hope to see some adventures as well)

 

@Blais03 this is that build i was referring to earlier

also...subbed for tool part number

 

the tool part number is in the pictures dude. THIS IS A SICK BUILD THO

 

Yeah that’s why I subbed lol

 

My bad. I thought you were like asking him for the part #

 

Installing the Solar Controller and Powerlet Connection.

I'm getting ready to install the solar panels on the roof and it's time to get the Solar charge controller installed. I'm going with a BlueSky Solar Boost 3000i MPPT Controller, I've used this controller in my Syncro and it worked great so decided to stick with what works

The factory provides a cut out for their controller right above the heater.




Removing the cover on the controller cutout.








The factory pre-wired the camper for a Solar Controller so install will be simple. The wiring is tucked up above the heater unit.






The 3000i charge controller....available here: CLICK HERE






The factory cut out is a little small for this controller so some cutting is in order.




Covered the heater unit with a garbage bag to keep the saw dust out of the important bits.




Front cut out and here I've marked a notch that needs to be cut for the rear of the unit.








Test fitting the controller.






Battery wiring is tucked against the far wall behind the batteries.




All the wires were marked from the factory making it easy to identify, I went ahead and verified everything with a meter before wiring everything up just to make sure.




I used Marine grade heat shrink crimps on all connection. I didn't get any pics but there is a fuse holder wired into the battery area.




Connecting the controller. I'll be fabricating a cover for the rear of the controller soon.






Time to install the power connection for the ARB Fridge. I absolutely hate US cigarette lighter connections, they always get loose and your constantly pushing the plug back in. I cut the factory cigarette lighter plug off the fridge harness and wired in a Powerlet connector instead, I'll keep the cut off end and make an adapter so I can also connect to a Cig lighter if needed. Powerlet connectors are great, they snap in place and won't get loose as you travel down the road.

Here is the fridge harness with the new Powerlet end installed.

Powerlet 90 deg plug available here: CLICK HERE
Powerlet Socket available here: CLICK HERE




Powerlet socket that will be installed in the camper. The depth of the socket isn't deep enough to pass through the wood on the camper so an adapter will need to be fabricated.




Fabricating the Powerlet adapter from a scrap piece of aluminum.




Holes drilled and socket test fit.






I drilled a hole in the heater unit just above the heater to install the Powerlet. The hole needed to be slightly bigger to clear the nut on the back of the socket.




Wiring completed for the Powerlet socket.




Controller and Powerlet installed, I painted the adapter black. Looks factory








Hodakaguy