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

The FWC Campers are great, we love it! I'm not running any protection on the winch circuit but was careful with the routing, the winch can pull really high loads and you would need a monster fuse.

Hodakaguy

 

I would like to but your looking at about $1800 for a 34 gallon on board tank....$1800 for 10 extra gallons of fuel. I will find a way to carry a couple 5 gallon cans along.

Hodakaguy

 

Lots of work done today....

Time for the truck to get a breath of fresh air.

ARB Snorkel arrived. Time to get invasive again on the truck.

ARB Snorkel Available here: CLICK HERE




Removing the inner fender liner. I decided to do this while leaving the fender flares in place, didn't want to snap any tabs on the flares. Managed to get all but 4 of the retaining clips holding the inner liner out in one piece (They are a pain).






Air box removed.




Setting up the template and marking locations for the required holes.




Pilot holes drilled






Bolt holes drilled to proper size.




Preparing to cut the large hole using a small air saw. Installing painters tape to protect the paint during the cutting process.








All bare surfaces coated in primer.




And top coated with two coats of Blitz black paint.




Removing the alignment tabs on the outlet of the air box so the new rubber boot fits/seals properly.






Installing the new air boot through the fender.






The vertical portion of the snorkel attaches to the A pillar with a small bracket and 3 bolts, the instructions tell you to mark it out and drill 3 holes in the A pillar where you will bolt the bracket in place. I don't mind drilling holes in the fender but won't do it in the cab if I don't have to. Instead of using bolts I'll be attaching the bracket to the A pillar with 3M VHB tape, this tape is ultra strong and will hold the Snorkel secure without requiring holes. I've used this tape on past vehicles in similar situations and it's held up very well.

This is where the bracket attaches to the snorkel and to the A pillar.




Bracket with tape applied.






And attached to the truck....rock solid!...and no holes!






Intake tubing connected. Inner fender liner re-installed right after this step.




Air box going back in. I always grease the seal on the filter with a good waterproof grease to ensure no fine dust makes it's way around the filter and into the engine.






The quality and fit of the ARB unit is VERY good!








Playing with ART mode on the camera.




Time to work on my fathers truck and get it caught up to mine. First up install the Hypertech speedo calibrator and TPAM mount.

First the Hypertech unit going in. About a ten minute job.








Installing the TPAM mount. I found it easier on mine to remove the entire radio unit and AC controls.






Tying the USB power on the TPAM into the factory accessory plug. On mine the wire they gave me was about 1" short and I really had a problem making it reach. This time I extended the harness to make sure I had enough play.






TPAM installed. Haven't mounted the RAM accessories yet.






Not a lot of pics but we installed the Sliders on my fathers truck today.








Last on the list for today is to install the onboard charger in the camper. I'll be installing the charger in the battery compartment, I know that's not an ideal location but space is limited for these kind of mods in the shell model. The battery compartment has two outside vents and the batteries are sealed. I'll monitor the temperature on the charger unit and if it's getting to warm I'll install a small 12v fan on one of the vents to pull in fresh cool air when charging.

The IOTA 15A onboard charger with IQ AGM Module. This charger will provide proper voltages for the 3 stages of charge on the AGM batts and bring the batts up to 14.7V for a proper bulk charge.

IOTA 15A Charger available here: CLICK HERE
IOTA IQ AGM module available here: CLICK HERE






Marking the bolt locations. The charger will be mounted on the roof of the battery compartment with flush mounted SS through bolts.




Flush mounted hardware.






Charger mounted and wired.




Plugged in and charging the batts

Hodakaguy

 

I just came across these batteries made me think of all the Aux batteries your adding. I wonder if they are worth the money.
https://4xspower.com/shop/product-category/lithium/

 

man, this is such a treat to read...especially for someone like me who knows nothing about any of this. with that said, when can I come over and you and your dad can help me with my truck? lol

 

A couple high quality AGM's are WAYYYYYY cheaper and probably more reliable in the long run.

Hodakaguy

 

If you were closer I'd be happy to lend a hand on some mods.

Hodakaguy

 

Today's task....Wiring up the Switch-Pro unit.

Getting ready to run the wire from the Switch-Pro unit to the interior switch assy. There is a rubber plug on the drivers side next to the brake booster that allows easy access to the interior through the firewall. The hole is just big enough that you don't need to remove the electrical connector to get the wiring through. I cut a hole the size of the wire in the middle of the plug and re-installed the plug once the wire was through.








Removing the factory switch holder and storage pocket. This will be replaced with a SDHQ Switch-Pro mount.






The factory switch holder on the left and the SDHQ unit on the right....Quality piece!




OEM switches transferred over to the SDHQ holder.




Getting ready to install the switch assy. Using Loctite 243 to anchor the studs into the rear of the assy. Note: Don't assemble the unit out of the dash plastic or you won't be able to get the whole assembly back in the dash in one piece, the unit needs to be assembled in the dash plastic.




The Switch-Pro harness is very long, I coiled the excess up under the dash and secured it hidden and out of the way.




Unit assembled in the dash plastic.




And installed. The quality and fit of the SDHQ holder is awesome, looks factory!




Wiring as it enters the truck through the firewall, it's way up high and out of the way.




Terminating the power wires to the Switch-Pro. Marine grade heat shrink terminals work great, coupled with some marine grade heat shrink tubing it makes for tidy wiring. I think down the road I will make a cover for the unit to protect the positive terminals and keep any moisture off the unit.








Making up a harness for the Baja Designs S8 light bar that's installed in the bumper.










Light bar wiring terminated and labeled.






Connecting the trigger wiring to the fuse panel. There are three wires that get connected to the fuse panel, one for ignition so that the Switch Pro knows when the truck is running, one for lights (used to auto dim the face and also as a trigger wire if desired and a third wire that is a trigger wire you can connect to your choosing depending on desired application.




The mini add a fuse holder. This is a super clean way of tapping into your factory harness without compromising the factory wiring in any way.




And trigger wires connected. I ran the white wire to the low beam headlights circuit, the light blue ignition wire to the AC circuit and the pink trigger wire to the high beam circuit.








Wiring enters in the corner of the fuse box up from the bottom and heat shrink tubing on the wiring makes a good seal.




Starting to add the labeling on the switch panel, even more factory looking.




Wiring finished.






Now to download the Bluetooth app and program the Switch-Pro unit. This thing is slick!



EDIT: Add a Circuit Fuse Holders

The Switch-Pro kit came with one Add a Circuit fuse holder assembly that accepts Mini fuses. I purchased two more identical Add a Circuit fuse holders to use on the remaining two trigger wires (I don't like to cut factory wiring if not needed). When I pulled the OEM fuses I noticed they are using Mini-Low Profile fuses and not the standard Mini fuse that came with the Switch-Pro. The Mini Add a Circuits fit ok but seemed to have a tad looser fit than I like, although I'm sure it would work fine in the long run. I installed what I had and yesterday picked up a few Add a Circuit units that are designed for the Mini Low Profile fuses.

A standard Mini fuse on the left and a Mini Low Profile fuse on the right. Notice the plastic is thicker between the connectors on the Mini low Profile, this makes for a snug fit in the fuse panel.




Here are the Add a Circuit Fuse Holders....again Mini on the left and Low Profile on the right. The bottom fuse is for the factory circuit and you need to match whatever was in the factory location. The top fuse protects the circuit your adding, I'll be running 5 amp fuses on the trigger wires.






I replaced two of the three Add A Circuits with the low profile units. Because of where I chose to connect for my trigger wiring one location wouldn't properly accept a low profile Add a Circuit. At the High Beam fuse location there is a square fuse that sticks up a bit and prevents the low profile unit from fully engaging the fuse panel, the taller standard Mini Add a Circuit fit in this location with the extra clearance it provides. I swapped out the Ignition trigger and the Low beam trigger with the Low Clearance units and kept the Standard mini on the High Beam trigger. Note: I replaced the snap tie attached to the factory wiring bundle in this picture with tape to prevent and future chaffing on the factory wiring.



Hodakaguy

 

Went out this morning to try out the 30" S8 light bar. Pics were taken on the same manual settings for each shot. This baby throws some good usable light!

I love the daylight color spectrum of the Baja Designs lights, no weird blue or purple tint.

Baja Designs 30" S8 Bar in the SSO Hybrid Bumper.




The low and High beams are the stock bulbs .

Low Beams...




High Beams




High Beams and Light Bar




In these shots I zoomed in a ways down the road to better see how far each beam is throwing.

Low Beams




High Beams




High Beams and Light Bar




Hodakaguy

 

Some camper mods and a review of the cooking gear we carry.

Custom floor mats on the cheap! I picked up a $20 foam backed kitchen mat for the entry of the camper. A little trimming is in order to make it fit perfectly.

Getting ready to trim the mat to size.




I used a socket and a razor blade to round the corners for a factory finished look.






And installed in the camper. The fit is perfect and the foam backing feels great on bare feet. I'll purchase a couple more mats and custom fit the rest of the camper out.




Next up a storage location for our cooking supplies. Storage space in a small camper is at a premium so we need to utilize any available space. This box will go in the open area under the bench seat.

This wood box is light weight, fits the open space perfectly, it's durable and only $17! It also matches the campers interior very nicely.




Adding adhesive backed felt pads to the sides and rear of the box to prevent any wood to wood contact/scratching. Rounded the corners with the socket and razor blade.








Test fitting in the camper....spot on.






Ultra light weight/compact cooking gear review....Our cooking setup in our SWIFT.

With small campers weight is everything and space is a premium, the lighter the overall weight the more enjoyable the trip. Over years of long distance off road motorcycle travel and camping with our past FWC we have refined our light weight cooking gear set. This entire lot of gear fit's nicely into the small light weight wooden storage box and stows perfectly in the open space under the bench seat.




And unloaded.




JetBoil stove: This stove gets used heavily. It's compact and the whole unit stores inside it's own cook pot. It will boil a pot of water in 2 minutes! We use this every day to make coffee in the morning, for anything that needs hot water and you can also cook soup etc in the Pot. The cook pot has a heat sleeve around it and as soon as the water is boiling you can remove the pot from the stove, snap the plastic lid back onto the metal bottom area (Protects you from the hot pot) and hold the pot comfortably in your hand to eat out of if needed. The fuel canister lasts a surprisingly long time, love this piece of kit.

Jetboil Flash available here: CLICK HERE










BioLite Wood Stove: This is a very efficient and compact wood burning stove. It will run on any type of wood that you can stick into the burner, I carry pre-cut chunks of Hickory to cook with and can easily restock on the road with bags of BBQ smoking wood chunks available at most stores . There is a small internal electric fan that creates a swirl chamber inside the burner pot for smoke free operation. Once the stove is up and running the TEG (Thermo Electric Generator) produces electricity from the heat and charges it's own internal battery, runs the fan and will even charge a cell phone from a USB port. There are multiple fan speeds to control heat output. The optional grill attachment is awesome, we cook steaks, chicken, hot dogs etc almost nightly with this unit. You can open the lid on the grill and feed the burner without removing the grill. The setup makes for a VERY compact and efficient BBQ!

Biolite 2 Wood Stove available here: CLICK HERE
Biolite Grill available here: CLICK HERE






The TEG Unit.




And grill attached.




Folding Bucket: This is a super light and compact bucket that folds up into a little square pouch. Once deployed it's very durable and self supporting once filled with water. We use this for washing dishes, fetching water to put out a camp fire etc. Very handy.








Primus Fuel Stove: This is a ultra compact stove that screws onto the same bottles of fuel that the JetBoil uses. We use this with the small folding handle pan and have cooked many meals for the three of us with this setup. It's very stable once set up, weights almost nothing and takes up very little space.

Handheld lighter/torch: This is a small extendable handheld lighter that puts out a nice intense flame. Great for lighting the BioLite stove, camp fires etc. There is a small adapter I carry (Pictured) that allows refilling the lighter from the Jetboil fuel containers.




Cooking gear loaded into the camper.






Hodakaguy

 

Truck is coming along great Tom, very nice job.

 

What size spare are you running? I just copied your mod and I'm running a 285/70/16 BFG KO2 and the tire's sidewall is just below the hitch receiver. Did you do any other mod to tuck the spare up a little higher or are you running a different size? I also hammered the two metal guides as far up as they go.

 

I’m running 285/75-R16. I’ll try and snap some pics of my spare showing how’s it sitting and post them up. I know different brand tires run slights different heights etc even when they are labeled the same.

Hodakaguy

 

Where about in Washington are you at? I would say central if I had to guess. I am up at Lake Wenatchee. we have very similar builds mine has just taken the last 6 years.

 

I’m on Kennewick WA. Be fun to get the rigs together some time and compare notes.

Hodakaguy

 

Hey man. How is your highway performance with the weight you have and 4.88s? Mainly speaking of the 70mph range or higher. Does it fight to stay in 4th gear? Or can you cruise at high speeds and drop it to 5 and 6? Mine stays in 4th, running at 3,000-3,500 rpms. Thinking of making the switch to 4.88s

 

DIdn't want to clog the 9100 thread... but any chance you can post a picture with the BD S8 backlight ambers on (just those, not the whole bar). There's a hole in the internet showing only the backlights on on this bar.

 

Highway performance with the camper and 4.88's is really good. The truck will use 6th on the flats, 5th on minor hills and sometimes drop to 4th on bigger grades. If it's a long grade or twisty I'll bump the shifter over into manual 4th and go as fast as needed, just bump it back over into auto at the top. I love the 4.88's!

Hodakaguy

 

I'll snap a pic and get it posted up

Hodakaguy

 

What accessories do you plan on controlling through the switch-pro?