Another Around the World Tacoma

Not at this time. The build has to have a limit somewhere, and a larger gas tank is over that limit currently. I'll reassess after I spend some time traveling around the Western US.

 

Watching all the work Expedition Overland did to upfit their trucks with bigger tanks made my mind spin lol

 

Awesome, with 16mpg what is your typical range right now? I average around 300-310 miles with my bone stock 2019 TRD Off Road DCLB...

 

https://longrangeamerica.com/vehicle/toyota-3g-tacoma-late-dual-cab-long-bed-2018-2021/

This is the one I've seen installed before. Would push a typical Tacoma to over 500 miles range...

 

Nice! Following this thread. Interested in the build and your journey. Are you going to post on youtube too?

 

I love the idea of that. I could never afford it and I definitely don’t have any use for it though lol

 

I drink far too much coffee on road trips to not be stopping every 150-200 miles...

 

Hopping in the truck after filling up, my dash tells me I have a range of 306 miles.

Offroad, in and out of 4hi/4lo and at 12 psi? Probably 190 or so.

My 2016, when bone stock, used to say 400+ miles after a fillup. Found it was pretty accurate over time.

 

I think I might need an intervention on my driving style then... been watching too much F1, WEC, and WRC.

 

Thank you.

At this time, I do not have any concrete plans to do that. I have very amateur photography skills, no videography skills, and most importantly, no editing software or skills whatsoever. Haha

Hell, even deciding to start this build thread was not an easy decision.

But, if it feels natural while I am out there, I'll start something. I'll certainly experiment on my own, but a polished product for the internet is something else IMO.

 

I drive so incredibly slow in this thing. It is not built for speed.

My soon to be completed, 1000hp M3 on the other hand, that's going to be the speed demon!

LM7 Installed by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

M3 Reloaded by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

 

Damn... I guess i need a project car to get my need for speed out in.

 

I'll say, trying to fund both of them at the same time is next to impossible. Haha

 

Sounds good. I will try and come out and check out the car event and your truck on the 26th.

 

yess!!! where do i go to sub to that thread haha! Very cool man, my other project is a track e46m3

 

Awesome!

 

Fantastic. An E46 M3 has been on my list since I was a teenager. The E36 holds a special place in my heart. The angular body lines are gorgeous to me. This Estoril is my fifth one.

Ask, and you shall receive:

https://www.mforum.net/forum/member-journals/3553-the-mr-e30-project-thread-97-m3-2-edition

 

A bit more progress has been made since the last update:

It was time to add solar to the camper, making all of the work put into the power command center more worthwhile.

I went with (2) Renogy 100W rigid panels, their mounting brackets, a 2-into-1 MC-4 connector, 50A Anderson Plug, and MC-4 leads to get the panels installed.

I went with rigid panels due to their toughness and longer lifespan. They are heavy, and higher profile, but the truck is what it is, a heavy beast that gets few mpg's. Just have to embrace that fact.

Onto the install. The ACCC has two tracks built into the roof, so I used these to mount the panels.

Laid them out to get a feel for positioning and orientation:

200w Solar on ACCC by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

The Renogy mounts worked well for the drivers side of the truck, as I was able to mount them to the panels channel and then directly to the track on top of the ACCC.

I did modify the Renogy mount to use two bolts per mount to the panel, as opposed to the one that it was originally designed for.

I went with all M8x1.25 hardware, to match every other camper bolt that I've installed thus far. 13mm tools will be duplicated in my tool roll!

The panels aren't quite as wide as the tracks, so I made some one-off plates to attach the passenger side of the the panels to the track.

It is simple 18 gauge sheet metal, 2.5" x 7". Sprayed them gloss black and then clear coated them to help protect against rust.

Solar Panels Installed by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

I didn't center the panels, as that would mean that I would have to make (8) plate mounts. I don't have sophisticated metal working tools, so my errors would be compounded by making twice the cuts. Decided to just have them off-center with fewer crudely made plates.

Tested the integrity of the mounts by opening the tent. Thankfully they held!

Solar Panels Installed by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

I connected in the 50A Anderson connector (can find these on Amazon under the PowerWerks brand) to the leads coming off of the 2-into-1 MC-4 connector. This 50A connector is what is required to connect into the pre-wired solar on the ACCC.

I finished the wiring of the panels into the camper and into the power command center. Black wire went onto the common ground and the red power wire went to the Renogy 50A charge controller.

As before, the system worked flawlessly on the first go around. I am now harnessing the sun!

One final photo of how they look from a distance:

Solar Panels Installed by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

The panels do influence the way the tent opens. It has no problem staying up or raising to the open position, but I do need to push the tent up an extra ~6 inches compared to before to get it to open. They also influenced the 'balance point' between open and closed, important to know when closing the tent, as I hop onto the rear bumper and make sure all the fabric is inside the perimeter of the tent. Again, not a big deal, just a small change to how I use it to do it effectively.

Another system completed. I now need to shift my focus on to getting my stove mounted to the rear door, and finishing the kitchen portion of the build.

A portion of my Archive Garage Hammer Hanger setup arrived. The pieces look gorgeous. Excited to install it all once the cross brace arrives.

Off to camp and mountain bike (and maybe wheel at Broken Arrow) in Sedona this weekend. Will be nice to see how the entire system performs on the ~200 miles we will do over the weekend.

Still enjoying the suspension upgrades. The ride is still very comfortable, even at 48 psi in the Cooper's. Sharp bumps are still noticeable, obviously, but everything else just gets gobbled up with ease. I've become used to the lack of the front swaybar as well.

Until next time!

 

Random alucab tip, tuck the closing handle strap underneath the elastic band that keeps the tent fabric in. Ever since I started doing that I've never had an issue with fabric poking out the sides when closing.

Even alucab approved
https://www.instagram.com/tv/CWGDjxtI9s_/

Also, hell yeah solar, looks good

 

Oh wow, this is a literal top level tip. I can't believe I didn't think of that, but this is fantastic!