Where Form Meets Function. Steveo27’s Bolt-on Thread (Camping/Fishing/Weekend Exploring Build)

Morimoto D2S is the way to go. No complaints after 6 or 7 years of having em on the truck.


Another little update -

I was looking for a way to upgrade the house battery on the cheap without having to redo my whole system.

A 100a LiFePo4 battery would be ideal, but I didn’t want to have to change everything else out and rewire the whole system. Adding a second 50a deep cycle would have worked as well, but I’m running out of space for stuff….

The solution, more solar panels.

The truck has a fixed 175w panel on the camper shell, the output is ok but since it’s mounted flat, it doesn’t produce a ton of amperage, especially on cloudy days.



The panel cant keep up with battery use if I use my diesel heater all weekend when it’s cloudy. I have to run the truck to charge the house battery. Not a huge pain, but also not ideal.

I picked up 2 portable 100w solar panels for a little bit more than what it would cost me to add a 2 second 50a house battery.



I ran a Y off the charge controller to an SAE plug at the grille, so I can simply plug/unplug the 2 panel. From the SAE plug, I have a 20ft lead that Ys into the 2 panels so I can move them pretty easily.

The 175w panel alone -



The 175w panel + the two 100w panels (375w total) -



I essentially tripled the amperage and wattage without having to move the truck just by adding the two panels that I can adjust the tilt on.

Now on the really dreary days that the main panel was only producing ~1 amp, I should be able to at least double that output now.

 

Update -

Picked up a used 12v fridge on marketplace.

Same interior cu.in. as my Rtic soft cooler with the ice packs in it. Gonna use this for food for camping instead of the cooler.



Time to over engineer a platform for it.









Only lost a little bit of storage. Super happy with how it turned out.

Next up - make an insulated cover.

 

Fridge cover done -

Reflectix and material














Had some material left over, made a propane tank cover too. Had a spare heated seat pad laying around, so I sewed that into it as well to use as a bottle warmer while winter camping.

 

Worked on a few other projects as well.

Finally fab’d a fairing for the solar panel. With the cab rack off the truck, there’s nothing to deflect the wind over the panel. So I whipped this up with a piece of scrap aluminum.









I cleaned the bed and I finally figured out a good way to seal the gap at the tailgate and still use my homemade Trasharoo -

 

LOL

It finally happened.







I knew that the bumper and hitch were rusty, but holy shit I didn’t expect it to eject itself from the truck out fuckin around in the woods.





It’s funny cause the rest of the truck is spotless underneath.


I ordered a new hitch and factory bumper to replace it because I don’t need a steel rear bumper.

 

eject-o seat-o cuz!

 

How did you mount the pod lights by the "behind the bumper grille light"? I want to do something similar since my horns are in the way of mounting lights behind the grille with my mount

 

I bolted them to the mounts that held the other light bar with L shaped brackets.

I know this is a shitty vague description, and I have no pictures, but it is what it is

 

Nah, that makes sense actually.

 

New hitch and bumper are on.





Replaced the rusty ass running boards as well with a set from a double cab.





And I took a picture.

 

Did some more stuff.

Reworked the OBA. Added 3 new ports - one at the rear bumper, one at the grille, and one in the bed.
















I redid the fridge platform to space the fridge a little further away from the seat back. Seems to run a little more efficient with the extra air space around the vent on the fridge.




I noticed the Daystar cradles getting loose and making noise. The spacer cups were digging into the mounts. so I replaced all the rusty hardware and reinstalled everything.

 

Pulled the wheels and tires off. Scrubbed everything. Ceramic coated the wheels. Dressed the tires.

Before -



After -



The PPF on the hood was looking rough so I replaced that

Before -



After -




Redid the PPF on the bed sides and flares as well.



Redid the factory 7 pin.

Updated it to a 4/7 pin combo by repinning the factory harness then I relocated it.









And I sorted out the Schrader valves for the air bags in the new bumper

 

Do you have a link for those air chuck covers?

 

$18 Dixon Valve K4DC Nitrile ISO-A Interchange Hydraulic Fitting, Dust Cap, 1/2" Coupling, Black

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00DE8V4G4?ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

 

Detailed the exterior



Detailed under the hood

 

No one cares but here’s a couple pictures from putzing around in the woods on Sunday

 

Tweaked my shower tote to be a little more user friendly.

Instead of constantly having to set it up and take it down to use, it now just hangs off of one of the camper shell cross bars.







This will make it even more convenient to use.

 

Runnin out of things to do.

I made a cover for my traction boards.

When I bought them, the came with a bag, but since I bolted them to the bed side, I never used the bag.

I figured out a way to finally utilize the bag.

 

Tinted the tails.

Before -



During -





After -







I think I dig em. Not 100% sold though.

Changed the oil again the other day.