AdventureTaco - turbodb's build and adventures

You have too much on your plate or somethine? You need to remember everything I do man.

I got black because I'm not a flashy dude. Wish I could have gotten black for the StrongFlex LCAs - I cringe every time I see them.

Didn't know that. Well, I do hate the squeaks, so that's a good thing. Not that I'd hear the rack squeaking over every other freaking bushing on the truck these days. Oye, what a f**king racket riding down the road. Best part of sound deadening the cab ever! hahahaha

 

My bad, i'll put more effort into memorizing your ways of life again


okay yea Id still do the TC ones. I was not impressed with the ES bushings I received. Super soft compared to my TC ones.Next go around I'd seriously recommend getting those.

Flashy from the LCA bushings? That just means you spend too much time under the truck now

 

Perfect. Now remind me of your name again?

Interesting about the TC vs ES. Will keep that in mind for the next set. Thanks.

 

Turbodb, throwback to your solar build. I'm putting together a an almost identical system and found your post, its been really helpful, thanks!!

I've got one question for you - because of the length, I'm looking at using 10awg for my extension cord between the panel and controller. I'm building my own cables, but there are lots of commercially available cables and accessories for solar using 10awg, but nothing that gets from 10awg to a barrel (5.5mmx2.1mm) connector which is needed for most panels. I'm learning that barrel connectors are rated for low amperage, usually 5A or less so the lack of 10awg->barrel makes sense. The type of connector you're using is typically rated between 2A and 5A from what I'm seeing and your panel can theoretically hit 5A. Have you had any issues with that connector getting hot? There are some reviews on Amazon where it started to melt.

I must be missing something but I'm not understanding how barrel connectors work for solar.

 

So... 10awg is going to be way overkill for you, unless you're building a 100ft cable. I'd highly recommend 12ga as the largest you go for the cable between the panels and controller.

That out of the way, I did have problems with the connectors I used, but not due to power draw - rather, the problem was keeping the ends of the wire secured in the connectors - the little screws are really terrible and the ends of the wires end up working their way out as the cable is twisted, etc. in use.

Since building the setup, the only thing I have changed are those connectors. I purchased a few of these (5.5MM x 2.1MM Male Plug to 16 AWG wire connector) and cut off all but about 3-4" of the pigtail. So, that gives me 30' of 12ga wire, and 3" of 16ga, which is totally fine for the ~5A that's running through when the panels are at full power, esp. given that the transition from barrel-to-wire is now part of the manufacturing process, rather than some janky connection I made in the garage.

Oh, and I also changed my 30' extension to have power pole connectors on both ends, and then made a power pole - barrel adapter that was like 6" long. That allows me to use the adapter with all manner of power pole extensions (of which I have a 10' and 30' now).

I actually updated it on my web site to point to the correct connectors, but forgot to update here (which I've done now, with the link above; thank you for the reminder!).

Running that setup, everything is fabulous. Shout if you have questions.

 

FYI:
Most boat stores sell all cable gauges and will crimp any connector on the cables or rent you the big crimper tool.
Amazon and others also sell many cables complete with the ends you order.

 

Harbor Freight sells a hydro crimp
Tool.

 

Again, no offense, but I'm not sure what that has to do with the types of connectors we're discussing... Are there crimpable versions of these 2.1mm 5.5mm connectors?



Most of the hydro crimp tools are for large-gauge (battery-or-fuse block-lug size) wiring. I have this one: 16 Ton Hydraulic Wire Battery Cable Lug Terminal Crimper Crimping Tool 11 Dies

 

A bit farther back, some discussion of heavier gauge wire was being discussed. It looks like I wrongly assumed that’s what you wanted to crimp. Hence the recommendation.

I haven’t seen crimp connectors for those small connectors.

 

This connector pair (plug and jack) seems to be crimp on the plug side but not the jack side.
https://www.parts-express.com/DC-Twist-Lock-Coax-Plug-Jack-Connector-Set-2.5-x-5.5mm-090-5029
The description shows 2.5mm but it seems compatible with 2.1mm.
EDIT: Never mind, I missed the context for this. But in fact these 2.5mm connectors may be better for this application than 2.1, if they are mechanically suitable, because they are rated for higher current. My folding solar panel uses the time-tested SAE type connector. Not elegant but pretty sturdy and decent current rating.

 

Thanks for the info! It looks like a great set up. 10awg is overkill but I have 50ft+ of it laying around so I may as well use it for the long extension, ~25-30ft

That's good to know on the barrel connector. I ended up finding a few on mouser.com that can be soldered on and are rated for 6-7A so I'm going to give that a shot.

I'm planning on having a splitter at the controller for the panel connection. I'll have one branch run to the cowl and be able to connect my long extension there, and I'll have one running under the dash, thinking I could place the panel inside the windshield like a window shade. I do a lot of long hikes, that way I don't have to worry about it getting swiped and can hopefully catch a little sun while I'm out.

I've got a fridge and am planning on building my own 12V heated shower, so the idea is to come back to cold beer and a hot shower We'll see how it works out...

 

I'd try to find a way to keep the back of the panel from laying flat on the dash. The back of my panels gets hot. Seems like minimizing contact point with the dash would be beneficial.

How hot you may ask? Well, I've never measured it. Maybe I will next time I use them. That said, I had the "brilliant" idea to lay them flat on the grass one day so that I wouldn't have to move them to follow the sun throughout the day. I didn't figure it would have any harm on the grass....shading it for a day ....but it got hot enough to burn the ends and I had a couple rectangle "yellow" spots for a week until it grew back out and got cut.

 

Nuts! Ok so maybe the idea of having the panel inside the windshield isn't going to work. Bummer! I was also planning on laying it on the hood or roof occasionally, but that doesn't sound like a good idea either. Are you using the same panel?

Turbod, I do have one other question - what's the range you're seeing on the bluetooth for the controller? I'm wondering if I can mount it under the hood and connect my phone while I'm in the camper.

 

I put my panel on the roof (though I have the OEM sunroof option) and on the outside of the windshield all the time. It certainly heats up, but never to the point where it's a problem - either for the panel, or in current generation. Even had it on the windshield for some 95°F days, while we were out on a 17 mile hike.

As for the bluetooth range - I'd say it's about 10-15 feet. It's certainly not very far. I'd also caution against putting the victron controller in the engine compartment - it doesn't appear (to me) to be water resistant.

 

On the Road Again - Temporarily Patching the Rear Axle Housing

It seems like it's been a lot longer, but it was only a couple of weeks ago that I noticed my rear axle housing was leaking at the passenger side leaf spring perch. On my way home from surveying the Aftermath of the Creek and Dixie Fires, I knew that this was not some maintenance item that I could just put off until there were no trips on the horizon. Nope, this is something that I needed to deal with right away.

​

After several fruitful discussions with my buddies on TacomaWorld, I immediately set about lining up the long-term fix - acquisition of a new axle housing - by contacting the good folks (Brian) at Diamond Axles (aka Front Range Off Road) to discussion my options and get a housing ordered.

And now, I have six weeks to wait for my new housing to show up. Oh, and then I have to finish fabrication of all the attached bits, install it.

Clearly, that's not going to work for me from a trip perspective - I'm already feeling antsy and with the weather changing, I've already missed a couple places I wanted to visit this fall - at least until next year.

So - as a stop-gap measure - I'm going to patch up the axle housing and hope that it holds long enough for the new housing to arrive!

​

Credit for this solution - at least, as far as my use of it - goes 100% to Ryan @Reh5108, who has already performed this fix on his truck with great success. The idea is to both weld the existing crack in the housing, and also weld a patch over the housing in order to reinforce that area.

Day 1 - Hoping for the Best, with Bits from the Trash

I got started by heading to the local steel yard to find a six inch long piece of 3" ID tubing that I could use for the patch. I was hoping for something in the 3/16" wall thickness range, but it turned out that they had no 3" ID round tube in stock at all! The could special order me a 20-foot long stick, but at $340, that was a little more than I was looking for.

I dug around a bit in the remnant bin, and was bummed to not find what I was looking for there, either. There were, however, four, forty-five-degree cut-offs that were 3" OD with 1/8" wall that seemed to be reasonably cleanly cut, and I figured that at a measly $4.94, I could at least give them a shot.

I have no idea if this will work, but it's not going to cost me much money! I started by cleaning everything with mineral spirits.​

The idea - good or bad, I'm not sure - was to weld two of these pieces together, creating a single six-inch-long piece of tubing that I could then cut in half to sandwich the axle. And, I had enough for two sandwiches, in case - or for when - I messed the first one up.

Joints bevelled and polished, tubes aligned and taped for tacking.​

I started with two tacks - and then four - to make sure that everything remained aligned. I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised that everything did stay aligned, the interior seam hard to discern by feel. And so, I started welding.

Pretty sparks dancing in long exposure.​

The welding went... fine, I suppose. There were a couple places where things got hot and I nearly burned through the tube, but most of the seam was properly glued together - I think. I broke out the grinder and set to work cleaning things up, and to my delight, I ended up with two straight lengths of 1/8" wall, 3" OD pipe!

A block of wood with a 45-degree groove makes for a good tube holder while grinding.​

A bit of marking and some more grinding, and soon I had four pieces of half-pipe. Or half-tube, I suppose - ready for final sizing and shaping to sandwich the axle housing.

They almost look like they started as 6" pieces of tube.​

Flush with success, I mostly called it a day. I'd deal with prepping the axle housing - a chore I was not looking forward to - later. So I removed the drain bolt on the rear diff and figured that a good 12 hours to drain would help to get as much out as possible before I started welding on the housing.

Oil looks pretty good for having been in service for ~30K miles.​

Day 2 - I Really Hope this Works

I got started early the following day - or at least earlier. I'd left the rear diff with the oil draining overnight and so my first order of business was to get the truck up on jack stands and the wheel removed. A pretty standard operation, the difference this time was that I scooted the truck as far to one side of the garage as possible to give myself some room to work - since it was suppossed to rain all day, and just in case I wasn't able to finish the job for some reason.

Up on jack stands, in the most cramped garage ever.​

Next, I started removing everything from the passenger side of the rear axle. Brake lines, shocks, ABS sensors - all came off. And then it was time for the leaf spring. I always hate removing the leafs because it always seems hard to get everything to line up again. But, with no choice, I used the Milwaukee M18 mid-torque impact wrench to ugga-dugga them off.

Well then, that explains all the squeaking from the rear end! ​

Front eye certainly doesn't look any better. ​

With the leafs removed, I finally had access to the troublesome perch. It's the welds between this bit of steel and the axle housing that crack, so I was going to need to chop it off before I could continue on.

Gear oil apparently attracts dirt.​

I wanted to make sure I got the orientation right when I burned on the new perch, so I checked the alignment of the original before continuing on.​

Zip.​

Zip.​

Zip.​

Boom.​

No turning back now, I commenced grinding. I'll always remember when Zane @Speedytech7 looked at me like I was crazy for using a grinding disc when we were relocating my rear shocks. Even though they were significantly more expensive, he helped me to realize that both the speed and surface finish left by a flap disc was well worth the extra cost.

Shiny! And you can already see a crack if you look closely.​

With the axle cleaned up, before I could put everything back together, I needed to fix the crack as well as I could. Drilling the ends - to prevent further cracking - and grooving the crack itself were the next step. Using my phone to magnify the surface, I found that there wasn't just one crack running around the housing, but there was another crack starting along the front of the leaf perch.

Crack ends marked for drilling.​

Ends drilled, and old-eye-assist for grooving.​

Ready to weld up, I used a torch to burn as much of the gear oil out of the crack as possible. A recommendation from Ryan. Thanks Ryan!​

With the axle prepped, it was time for final shaping of the patches I'd created the day before. I measured - and cut - for length, and then also trimmed the corners. A bit of noodling - just a bit, too much makes my brain hurt - and I also decided to drill some holes in the top patch to add some rosette welds for additional strength.

Patch plates ready to go. Only the top plate has rosettes, since that's where the new leaf perch will attach. Since the patches are only 1/8" thick, I didn't want to rip the patch itself!​

Looks like it'll work.​

Ready for welding.​

Was I ready for welding? No. Was the next step in the project welding? Certainly, yes. So, I pulled up my little boy pants and reminded myself that if everything went south, I could grind everything off and use the two additional plates that I'd purchased just in case. Assuming - that is - that I didn't totally screw up the axle housing.

I was actually most nervous that the housing would get too hot and ruin the axle seals as I welded on the plates.​

Looking at these, I'm definitely not a welder. I'm more of a grinder. ​

Soon enough, the plates were on, and after a bit of grinding to get the surfaces smooth where the new leaf perch would sit, I used the metal-gluing gun to zip the perch on.

Almost looks like it was meant to be there.​

The last step - well, before reinstalling everything I'd removed - was to give the whole situation a spritz of paint. Some primer, and then a bit of black, made it look - almost - like nothing had happened.

This might actually work.​

My hope - as I reinstalled everything a half-hour later, the paint having dried quickly since the axle housing was still warm when I sprayed it - is that I'll get several months out of this repair. I don't need it to last forever, since I've already ordered a Diamond Axle, but I do want to start heading down to the desert as fall progresses. Death Valley, Owens Valley, and the wide open expanses are calling!



Update: Oct. 26, two weeks later
The first trip - to the Nevada/California border between Walker Lake and Mono Lake - is in the books. So far, the patch seems to be holding up well! The wheel didn't fall off, and I haven't seen any cracking or oil evident at the perch location. Fingers crossed that my success holds!

 

I do have a spot picked out for the controller under the dash but was thinking that closer to the battery would be better. Thanks, I'll reconsider...

 

I actually think you'd be fine if you had it setup the proper way. I think windshields have a degree of UV protection built in, so I'm not sure how (if at all) that would impact the charging ability. If you had a panel that had a rigid back as opposed to a flexible one, you could get it to only make contact on the edge and it wouldn't have as much heat transfer to the dash. Maybe have a towel to put along the edge where it makes contact with the dash and figure out a way to support or suspend the top so that it stays in-line with the windshield. I think that could potentially work as a windshield visor or whatever those reflective things are that are designed to keep the heat of the sun out of the cab.

FWIW, my panels burning the grass were in the middle of summer in Georgia, so 90+ degrees and relatively humid. I charged my Jackery yesterday and while the backs of the panels were "warm" to the touch, they weren't hot enough that I even felt like I should get out the infrared thermometer. That tells me that the ambient temperature has something to do with it. I was pleasantly surprised at how "not hot" the backs of the panels were with highs in the low to mid 70s.

Nice work! Did you replace, or at least order replacement, bushings for the leafs? I kind of assume that is inevitable, but saw no mention.

 

Looked like they were brand new to me, j/k .

I do have a spare set of bushings, but I held off on replacing them until the new axle housing arrives, since I was only taking one side of the truck apart for this repair, and surely the driver side bushings are just as bad. I figure another trip or two won't hurt things much more than they already are... though of course there will be that incessant squeaking.

 

Thanks I appreciate the info. I checked yesterday and the panel fits almost too snug in the windshield and hardly touches the dash or much else so it might be ok. I'll definitely test it out a bunch though.