Another Around the World Tacoma

Yes sir! You are welcome! I am finally caught up on this novel of a thread and have to say I'm thoroughly impressed. I am sure I'll continue following along and live vicariously through your adventures.

PS, as a fellow engineer, there were multiple times throughout your posts that I would read a certain word or statement you made and think "only an engineer would say something like that" LOL

 

Update time, as it has been a little while.

I have been hands off from the Tacoma for a while now, work and some house projects have kept my hands busy.

The magnets I added to the base of the hot water kettle have been great. Even on very bumpy rocky roads, it stays in place. I don't envision needing to strap it down like in my original idea, under any circumstance.

My water pump all of a sudden failed to build pressure, so I took it off to investigate. I disassembled it, cleaned it, and put it back together, to no avail. It runs, but it won't build pressure. I went to Amazon to contact the manufacturer, but the link through My Orders leads me to a different company, and they won't warranty the pump. I'll have to buy a new one here soon. Some reviews say the pumps last for years, other reviews state that they last for 6-12 months. Lame.

One weekend we took the truck to the Grand Canyon so that we could hike down into the canyon for some exercise.

GC and Bridge by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

It was the first time sleeping in the ACCC with snow actively falling throughout the night. The fireplace kept it cozy inside the camper. It also caused a ton of snow to melt which then ran down the sloped tent top and then dripped down and froze to the side of the truck. Not ideal, but not detrimental either. It was surprisingly hard to close the tent when it was that cold out, but we got it done.

The second National Park for the Tacoma. We want to visit all of them on our travels, as well as all of the National Monuments, etc. so it is fun to keep track of them.

January Trips by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

A nice hike/jog down The Bright Angel Trail in preparation of our second Rim to Rim to Rim hike this upcoming March. We did 13 miles on foot.

Aravaipa/GC/Sheep by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

The following weekend we took the truck to the Aravaipa Wilderness area to hike along/in Aravaipa Canyon. We hiked for 11 miles along the river.

We spent two nights just outside of the wilderness area (permit required for access, and no camping at the TH) at a tiny piece of BLM land a few miles away. This area is absolutely stunning, and everything around it is State Trust Land that has been sold off to folks to live on. It is pretty remote, the nearest town a ways away, and it is hardly more than a gas station. With the river nearby, even flowing through some peoples properties, this would be quite the place to settle down.

Anyways, the campsite was flat, spacious for just a single vehicle, and had a pit toilet that was surrounded by walls only, no roof. It was very dark out there, so our final bathroom break before bed was pretty cool.

January Trips by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

You get to drive over a small, one-lane bridge, to get out here. Bad photo, but you get the idea. I personally like bridges like this, way out in the middle of nowhere.

GC and Bridge by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Arizona is a beautiful state.

Aravaipa/GC/Sheep by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Aravaipa/GC/Sheep by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

The next weekend we went out to Sheep Bridge, which is only about 55 miles from our house. This is a very popular area for people to visit, despite the final 12 miles of atrocious road to get to the bridge itself. It took 3.5 hours to travel the 55 miles, so it's close, but far at the same time.

We came across a vehicle that wasn't suited for these types of roads, broken down right in the center of the road. No one was around, so I couldn't offer any assistance.

Sheep by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

An old foundation makes for a level place to park for camp.

Sheep by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

The main draw here is the hot springs, but at 100 degrees they feel great when you first get in, but then get tepid in just a few minutes. They are buried in these thick reeds which do a great job of tucking you away from everything.

We got here on a Thursday night and we had the place to ourselves. On Friday we went on a 17 mile hike across the bridge to a spring. It was a long hike spanning two national forests, and the spring was interesting but not fascinating.

Aravaipa/GC/Sheep by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

After we got back from our hike, even with it being cold out here this time of year, the place was pretty busy. People camping and visiting the hot springs on a Friday night.

All in all, glad to have gone and checked it out, but this is not a place I will be venturing to again. The drive out there simply isn't worth it to me.

One thing I'd like to add is how convenient this camper is becoming. Over time we have added things to it, little by little, and the pouches I added have been instrumental in transforming this thing into an easy-to-use space. Little things are just where they need to be. We always have almost everything we need right on hand. It makes prepping for shorter camping trips really easy. I'm really enjoying it. With the gears and the suspension doing their thing, I have to constantly remind myself that there is a house back there, because it literally disappears as I am driving along.

Adventuring aside, it was time for some maintenance.

Engine oil and filter change at 19,683 miles on 1/29/2023 at 2:30 pm.

I opted to drain my front and rear diffs as well. This was done at 1005.1 miles after reinstallation after having the gears swapped to 5.29's, at the same mileage as the engine oil change.

I was curious about the condition of the oil, and I also wanted to step down from 85-140 to 75-90 based on a recommendation from the guy who did my gears.

No surprise, the gear oil had no metal flakes or specks of any kind. The 85-140 came out like molasses though, and some people claimed swapping back to 75-90 got them an MPG or two back, which I have noticed myself already.

1005.1 mile Gear Oil Change by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

The Flex Fill bags of gear oil made refilling the front diff a breeze. New crush washers were installed throughout, on the oil pan as well.

It was finally time to attempt the install of something that had been sitting in my garage for a while. The AluCab table slide and aluminum table.

According to AluCab and all of their installers, this cannot be installed with the camper mounted to the truck. Mm-hmm I said. Let's see about that. They say it can only be installed up on the top of the tent, which makes accessing it very impractical.

Stacy helped out, holding one side, as I used an impact with a low-profile 90 degree attachment, and a shortened drill bit, to get the holes drilled for the rivets.

It was a tight squeeze, with two of the rivets being an absolute nightmare to install. The space is only 4.125" tall, and the hand riveter just barely fits in there. Squeezing it, on the other hand, took all of the strength I could muster.

But it's in. And now we have a pretty decently sized table, conveniently accessed, whenever we need it. It is held in place with a single lever, which can be locked. It is light enough for one person to load/unload with ease, and the pair of table legs pop out thanks to gas struts and are non-adjustable, so unloading it and setting it up literally takes 20 seconds.

It can be done.

Table Slide Installed by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

I have heard no rattling yet, a common complaint from others who have installed it, but I will keep an ear out into the future.

That's it for now. I have to finish up some house projects and do some traveling for work, so I probably won't dive back into the truck with any fervor until early March I think.

 

Is that an Alu-Cab exclusive table and mount?

 

Yes, to my knowledge it is made by AluCab exclusively for the Canopy and Khaya Campers.

I am sure you could add it to your Overland Camper, if the underside of the overhand portion is high enough above the cab, wide enough, and sturdy enough, for the rivets.

Even if it doesn't fit, finding some way to add something like this to your camper would be well worth the trouble.

 

It's been a while, but here are a few things for record keeping:

Canyon Lake near Tortilla Flat for some hiking and canyoneering.

Tacoma Work by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Tacoma Work by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

The 5.29's are still worth every penny. They make freeway driving, and all other driving, so much easier than the OEM gears.

We took a whole bunch of trips in the truck, spending quite a few nights (25+) in the truck since the end of January. I am still so happy with this setup. Being tucked in up in the bed with it being really cold outside is just so awesome. We love camping out of the truck.

Other than using it, I haven't been doing too much work to the truck.

I took a 4 day trip out to the Kofa Wilderness Area with a few friends.

The best photo from the trip:

_MG_4720-Enhanced-NR by Brent Prater, on Flickr

This trip wasn't one full of picturesque locations that lend themselves to good photos of the trucks. I'm glad that I went out there, but most of the Area was just alright for me. The location around Skull Rock was excellent, as well as one other section that had a cave and a dam, which we explored.

My take of the photo above. I need to increase my editing capabilities to match Brent's! I am really happy with my new D7500 setup though, it shoots incredible photos. I'm working on getting decent at shooting Manual mode too. Loads more work to do.

AATWT - KofA - 4/23 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Stacy and I found a few additional ways to improve the inside of the camper while we were out on this trip.

Unfortunately for me, disaster struck on the final night of your trip.

While I was getting dinner prepped I heard a slight hissing sound from the front end. Upon further investigation I discovered that some green fluid was bubbling out of my ac condenser. Drats.

After a quick discussion with the guys, it was clear that my repositioned power steering cooler had rubbed a small hole in my ac systems drier (which is affixed to the condenser itself). No more ac, and the Phoenix summer was quickly rolling in.

Stacy and I decided to hang out for a little while longer, but would eventually take off on this final night just so we wouldn't have to drive home (a couple of hours) during the day without any ac.

When I got home I ordered a new condenser, which I would install myself. $300 and a few days later and I had a new condenser in hand.

Tacoma Work by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

The removal of the old and the installation of the new was very straightforward. It would be a lot easier if I didn't have a winch and aftermarket bumper, but it still wasn't too bad. The worst part was the inability to remove the front grill due to the aftermarket steel bumper.

Tacoma Work by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Tacoma Work by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

You do have to loosen the two upper bolts for the radiator, and completely remove the two lower mounts, in order to pivot it out of the way, as the condenser needs to come out at an angle to clear the front core support.

I did reposition the power steering cooler by bending one of the mounts, so that this would not happen again. Now it has more than a fingers width space between the cooler and condenser.

Part number for reference (though I hope I never need to replace this again!)

Tacoma Work by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

I had the system recharged by Bell Road Toyota. Terrible experience. Quoted me one price and charged me another. The system wasn't purged as it should be. All-in-all I will never go back there. I don't care what tool I have to buy, but I am doing the work myself.

Stacy and I worked on adding an outdoor sink/tub, which we think will come in handy in the future when we are cooking more sophisticated meals.

We added two little rings to the hardware that holds the rear panel on. We built two small cables, and added 4 little carabiners. The one edge of the tub rests/wedges against the camper itself, and the other end is suspended by the cables.

The rear water spigot spills directly into the tub too. I am happy with this so far.

Tacoma Work by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

One of the things we wanted to rectify was a plastic bin we were using to hold sauces and Ziplocs. It required that bottles be laid down in the bin, and one of them had a slight leak, which was annoying to deal with.

So I pulled out the sewing kit and got to making a new set of pouches.

I modified how I made these, so the bottom of the pouch is flat, which allows each pouch to hold a bit more.

I am really happy with this one. I have it mounted to the 2020 extrusion at the top, and then I have some bar magnets in the lower pouch to hold it to the steel panel. I may add a few more magnets in the upper pouches to really hold it in place.

Tacoma Work by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

I am continuing on with the pouches, I am currently making two sets that will go in the clothes storage to hold our smaller items (underwear/socks).

On a side note, a friend photoshopped the new 4th gen with the ACCC on the rear. I'm a big fan of the 4th gen already. It'll be exciting to see them out on the streets in the near future.

Tacoma Work by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Speaking of the 4th gen, after seeing the Trailhunter and the fact that it has the exhaust dump out right by the rear diff, I decided to do that to my exhaust.

The rear portion of the exhaust would actually hinder full flex of the rear axle. The passenger leaf would stretch the rubber mount on the rear of the frame, as it pulled down on the entire exhaust. This can't be good long-term, so I opted to remove it.

Cut it with a Sawzall and ground the edge smooth to avoid cutting myself if I am ever working in this area.

My spare is not down here, and I have two friends who run their exhaust like that with no issues.

Tacoma Work by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

One final bit of work done was to straighten out my bent transfer case skid. I took a nasty hit back in The Maze, and I started to hear some subtle rattling a week or so ago. I guess some dirt/rocks worked their way in between the exhaust and skid.

I removed it, set it on 4 landscaping blocks, and smashed the edge back down with a 3 lb. sledge.

Tacoma Xfer Skid Straightening by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

I am not regretting not getting the flat tcase skid. Yet. I'll see how many more times this thing gets bumped.

I found a thread here on TW about at-home alignments, so I am going to do that to the truck this week.

Another trip this weekend.

Until next time.

 

F***ing finally someone did it. I knew that table could be installed with the camper mounted.

Time to bite the bullet and do the same

 

Well worth it. I have heard no rattling as of today, even with a bunch of dirt road miles since the install.

The table is still ridiculously convenient. One of the best additions to the entire truck.

 

We took the truck out to Central AZ over Memorial Day weekend to do two canyons.

We camped near West Clear Creek the first night. There were lots of people out already (on a Thursday night even) but I built this truck to accomplish certain things, one of which is getting far back onto poorly maintained roads. We were able to get far enough away from the main thoroughfare to avoid hearing any noise, apart from some subtle exhaust sounds from SxS's.

Memorial Day Weekend by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

The next morning we pushed on further down the trail to get to the start of the canyon.

A recently downed tree blocked the trail, and people had begun to create a new road around it, and I'm not a fan of that.

The tree was very dry, so moving all of the smaller pieces was fairly easy, as they were light and easy to break into smaller pieces. Also, when the tree fell, it basically exploded, so we were able to hand clear everything but the main chunk of the tree.

Memorial Day Weekend by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

We grabbed a soft shackle, tree saver strap, and a dynamic recovery rope for this task.

We got the tree connected to the truck and Stacy got clear of the area. She relayed info to me about what was going on as the tree began to move. I used 4Lo to get the job done. I started out by tugging gently, and the tree would move and the truck would slide to the side. At the very end we needed to loosen the rope and give it a slight bump to get the tree 100% off of the trail.

Memorial Day Weekend by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

All done, and now people don't have to drive around the fallen tree anymore.

Memorial Day Weekend by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

This situation got me thinking about needing a chainsaw, but I ultimately decided against it (for now) as I have a sawzall on-board already, so I'll see how that handles the downed trees that we come across.

Memorial Day Weekend by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

We had a lot of fun in Wilbur Canyon. Its remoteness and lack of descents makes it pretty fun. Wetsuits were mandatory, and even with them the final two slot pools were bone chilling.

Wilbur Canyon - 2023 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

We camped again on Friday night.

Memorial Day Weekend by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Enough adventure, time to get some work done.

I upgraded the passenger side hatch struts on the ACCC to the 55 lb 17.2" struts so that I can mount (2) black Maxtrax to that panel. This is a common upgrade when adding weight to the side hatch. I'll be securing the traction boards to the hatch with (4) of their proprietary lockable pin mounts. The hatch is the best place I can think of to mount these. The Rotopax behind it will already ruin any aero around the side of the camper (not that there necessarily is any) so this was not a concern. I can't do the roof rack as I don't have quite enough space up there. I don't want to do the roof of the camper due to accessibility, and I don't want to overcrowd the rear of the truck with things, so I'll opt to not strap it to the spare tire.

I finished the set of pouches that I installed inside of our clothing area. These pouches will hold underwear/bras/socks and other small clothing items. I like the way it turned out. My sewing has improved greatly since I first started, so I am excited to rework the overhead panel based on what I know now.

Clothes Storage by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

We also used JB Weld to secure the spare tire carrier studs into their mount. They are a gnarled press fit, but their fitment wasn't quite tight enough to avoid accidentally banging one out when installing the rear tire, which is tough to do. So a bit of epoxy and now they are locked in place.

I started to build out my ATC tool roll as well. I was unable to find a comprehensive list of tools that folks carry, and the ones I did find didn't have that "I am not in the US and not near sophisticated service centers" vibe, so I will simply do all of the maintenance and upgrades to the truck out of tools in the tool roll for now. I am adding things as I find that I need them. I will also climb under the truck and make sure I can service everything down there with the tools I have on hand. It will be heavy, but having tools is a non-negotiable for sure.

I talked with a group of friends smarter than me and I have determined all of the exterior lighting, front and rear, that I want to add to the Tacoma. I am 90% sure I have my light control system picked out as well. I'll get on ordering those things soon.

I researched Starlink, and decided to go with the Roam with Global service to keep us connected so that we can work remotely out of the truck. We originally thought about going all out on their mobility panel, but ultimately decided against it (for now) because I don't want to have to park in the sun all of the time, which means the dish will have to get placed away from the truck to get internet. I found a great writeup by an educated guy, so I'll be following his advice on mounting, wiring, etc. That will get ordered in the near term as well.

All that aside, it was time to do something I have been thinking about for a while. The rear seat storage.

I basically wanted to create a shelf that separates the lower half from the upper half.

The lower half will hold our hammock and our two backpacking backpacks. The upper half will hold our med kit, rope bags, harnesses, day packs, etc., all of the rest of the gear we need that we don't want to have to contend with in the camper itself.

So I pulled the (4) mounts that connect the pivoting seat bottoms to truck. I connected a piece of 2020 to the mounts.

Rear Seat Area Storage Framing by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

In doing this I realized I would need to remove the lids for the under seat storage, so I pulled those and then ultimately decided to remove the entire plastic bin. I am glad that I did, as this freed up a lot of space. I was able to get a lot of stuff tucked into just one side of the driveshaft hump, where before it filled up the entire bin. I'm not worried about noise either, as we will always have thick, filled backpacks in the way of any noise. Driving around town while it's empty back there has not caused any issues either.

I cut things to roughly match the cubbies in the plastic rear wall pieces, so the passenger side is longer/larger relative to the drivers side.

I boxed out the front.

Rear Seat Area Storage Framing by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Then built a single legged 'T' to support the rear of the wooden panel I will be installing on top. I cut this shorter than the front so that this shelf slopes back towards the rear wall of the cab. Hopefully this will help keep bags in place.

Rear Seat Area Storage Framing by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

I opted to keep the rear plastic pieces due to the vents back there. I didn't want an errant strap to end up somewhere it didn't belong, causing issues, so I left these two panels in place.

I need to be able to slide the hammock in, against the front of those cubbies, so that's why I have the leg end inside the cubby itself.

I added some heat/noise insulation to the bottom of the leg to help keep it from wearing into the plastic.

Rear Seat Area Storage Framing by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

I repeated the same for the passenger side, using (2) rear legs this time for added stability, as this is the larger panel.

Rear Seat Area Storage Framing by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

I picked up (2) 2' x 4' 1/2" thick Sandal Plywood sheets (same I used in the camper) and got to cutting and sanding. This stuff is resilient enough to sit/stand on (at the spans I have it installed at) but it is ridiculously easy to work with. It cuts and sands so easily it makes fitting it well enough very pleasing.

Rear Storage Topper by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

I rounded the edge using one of our bowls as an outline. I secured the wood to the 2020 with (5) M5 bolts and fender washers to distribute the clamping force to the wood.

Rear Storage Topper by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Rinse and repeat for the passenger side.

Rear Storage Topper by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

They aren't lined up perfectly, but they are definitely close enough.

Our fully stuffed backpacking bags are 10" tall when laid down, so I made this space 11" tall just to be safe.

Rear Storage Topper by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

This is the clearance to the closed door (typical both sides) which is what I was aiming for.

Rear Storage Topper by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

All in all I am really happy with this. It came out beautifully and it is strong and functional.

I now have an easy to mount to surface if I need to add ways to secure bags in place, or add hooks/clamps, etc. I'm excited to get this loaded up and see how else it can be improved. I am not entirely sure on keeping the seat back pouches, but time will tell!

Thanks for looking.

 

I love looking at your build, I need to figure out how to build mine out when the time comes.

 

Thanks Bob!

 

Exterior lighting installation time!

When researching what lights to add I initially overshot what I needed, but thankfully I had some close friends who helped guide me to a more appropriate amount of lights.

I wanted to add sufficient light in the front of the truck for offroad driving purposes. I don't like to drive at night, and I'll make it a mantra to avoid it at all costs, but if I ever do have to do it I want to have a lot more available light than the headlights can provide.

I already have (4) Baja Designs Squadron Sports in the front bumper. (2) towards the center are Amber, with Combo light pattern and (2) towards the outside that are Amber, Wide Cornering light pattern. I currently only have the center two powered. I wired them into the OEM fog light wiring so they can be controlled by the light stalk inside the truck.

With just these two lights, there is already a marked improvement in available light in front of the truck. So it will be exciting to see what the other two Squadrons, and these two behemoths, can do when they all get wired into the lighting controller.

I went with BD LP6, Amber, Driving/Combo lights to finish up the front end lighting.

They are beautiful. Very expensive, but they feel, and look, worth the money.

BD Lights Added by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

My bumper already had (2) LP6's mounted in it by the previous owner. So it already has two holes drilled in it that I can mount these to.

The bracket can be installed in (2) orientations, with one orientation tucking the headlights very close to the grill, while the other spaces them away a decent amount.

These things will throw off some serious heat, so I opted to install the bracket in the orientation that pushes the LP6 away from the front grill.

I installed the 3/8" nut and bolt into the hole previously drilled into the bumper and drilled two additional holes to use the 1/4" nut and bolts to really lock the bracket into place.

Getting the actual lights into the bracket was a bit more challenging than anticipated. Just positioning washers and getting the bolts started, as the bolts thread into the light housing itself, there is no nut.

But in short order I got it done. I used a small level to orient the lights perpendicular to the ground, for now, and I will see how that works once I get off pavement in the dark in the future.

I am really a big fan of these already, and I haven't even turned them on yet!

BD Lights Added by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Tucked as close as I could to the main hoop, to keep them out of the way of the PCS sensor. No issues after driving it around this morning.

BD Lights Added by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

For the rear/camper area of the truck I wanted two things. First was a pair of dust/chase lights. For those I ordered BD flush mounted S2 Pros, in Amber, with Spot lenses.

I mounted these up high, as high as I could basically, in the rear molle panels on the camper. BD gives you a template that you can trace and use to cut out an appropriately sized hole for the S2. My only complaint is that the mounting hole is so close to the edge of the cutout for the light that you have to be incredibly precise to avoid cutting away too much. I used a jigsaw and some metal files to get this done, and that was a good approach imo. I wasn't able to fully flush mount these to the molle panels as the spacing wasn't quite right, and I didn't want the wiring to be jammed against the back of the camper, potentially causing an issue. So I spaced the lights out with (2) M5 nuts to create the appropriate amount of room on the backside of the lights. It's hard to notice in pictures/at a quick glance, but that's how I solved that problem.

The second set of lights I wanted to add were area lights around the entire camper. The camper has semi-bright lights built into it from AluCab, but these don't accomplish what I want to accomplish.

I want these for a few reasons. First was to have adequate light in case I need to be doing something in the dark, like a trailside repair or self-recovery. It will be less stressful if I can see well while in a stressful situation. Second was to just have a significant amount of light around the camper, just because. If we set off on a hike or a trail run in the late afternoon/early evening, it will be nice to simply flip these (4) lights on to give us something to look for as we are returning in the fading light/dark. And third, I wanted these just in case I hear some noise outside of the tent while I am sleeping/up in the camper. With all of the windows shut I can't see anything outside, so being able to quickly flip a switch and light up the area around the truck, I can hopefully spook off some curious animals without much hassle.

With all that said, I decided to go with BD S2 Sports, in Amber, with Work/Scene lenses.

I mounted (2) of these on the top of the rear molle panels, oriented out at an angle, and (2) of these towards the front of the camper, underneath the overhang over the cab. On the drivers side I had to position the light a bit lower so that we can still access the table, but on the passenger side I tucked it up nice and tight to the overhang.

I am really happy with the placement of all of these lights, and time will tell if they are adequate for what I am intending.

BD Lights Added by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

BD Lights Added by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

BD Lights Added by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

BD Lights Added by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

I also did a lot of research on switch/light controllers, and I ultimately went with the SwitchPros SP9100. There were ~5 or so contenders to choose from, and this one came out on top. I went with it because it has an actual control panel, as I want quick/instant access to the lights at the front of the truck. I don't want to grab my phone to turn these on, as I will use them basically exclusively while driving, and I want to be able to flip them on and off quickly. This was not accomplished during install. Working on a work-around now.

It has 8 circuits, 4 at 35A and 4 at 18A, which beat out a lot of the competitors. It has a bunch of cool features as well. I'll talk more on it when it arrives and I get my hands on it.

For now I need to run wiring for all of these to the Power Command Center, as that's where the controller will be mounted. I want all of these powered off of the house battery so I don't have to worry about draining my starter battery if I leave the area lighting on for a couple hours at night.

I'll have a slew of updates coming in the near future as I am prioritizing getting the truck into 'final' shape. I have a big trip coming up in September, and I'd like the truck to be as done as it can be before then.

Until next time.

 

This is a serious build and it looks like you are well-prepared for a weekend of fun with a lot of lights. While building your setup was all amber lights on your truck goal-oriented or is this just something that you wanted to continue on this build after the front bumper lighting? All and all this looks and sounds like it is going to perform great during the day and at night. Thank you for supporting Baja Designs and if you have any questions about the products you purchased feel free to reach out directly at brandonk@bajadesigns.com.
Best,
Brandon

 

Thanks Brandon. The truck is outfitted the way it is because it will actually be a permanent residence for two people. Life on the road is calling. I can't think of a better way to live my life.

I am unsure of the exact reason for the amber, I suppose I just wanted to match the lights I already have. I also like the amber as it is easier to look into for longer periods of time. My camper has both white and red LED's already, and I rarely use the white light, it's just too bright.

Happy to run Baja Designs products on my Tacoma. Only the best.

 

Thanks for the replay @MR E30. I fully understand the trend and reasoning behind the full amber package as I built my truck with the same mindset (or maybe it's OCD ). I have also heard the amber lights cut down on attracting bugs but I have yet to test this myself. Love the goal behind this and your build. Looking forward to seeing where this truck takes you.
Best,
Brandon

 

SwitchPro SP9100 Install:

I watched a couple of install videos for this controller, and it seemed fairly straightforward, so I got right to it.

First order of business was to mount the unit itself. This thing is rather small (5" x 3"), and it could fit a variety of places, but I opted to mount it on the underside of the plywood shelving, underneath the inverter. I did this because the SP simply has a bundle of wires coming out of it, 16 of them to be precise. Other controllers have you connect wires like you would on a BlueSea DC block, but SP wants crimped and heat shrunk connectors for wiring connections, due to increased life expectancy in adverse conditions.

SwitchPro SP9100 Install by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Two M5 nuts and bolts and it was mounted. It's a simple unit, with a stud for power, a larger connector for all of the wiring (lights/fridge/etc.) and one smaller connector that runs to the control panel. The unit is solid-state, so it is dense and compact. I like it.

I chose this location because it is near the house battery, (the kit comes with a 24" long fused 4 gauge battery cable) and the little space above the battery is kind of a catch all for extraneous wiring, so all of this will fit in just fine.

Next step was to ground it. They require grounding directly to the battery, no exceptions.

SwitchPro SP9100 Install by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

The third step was a bit more difficult to figure out. Most people install this controller on their main battery, and use the Ignition and Lights (backlight for control panel) wires to let the unit know when it's time to turn on.

Well, I am not installing it in a traditional manner, so I grouped the Ign and Lights wires together, and stuck them into the BlueSea. This means the control panel is always lit, but that doesn't bother me. It is fused, so I can power it down if I need to.

SwitchPro SP9100 Install by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Reference info for the future:

SwitchPro SP9100 Install by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

SwitchPro SP9100 Install by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

SwitchPro SP9100 Install by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

While working on wiring this up I noticed that the top of my PCC panel had cracked at the bolt, tearing the metal ~2 inches.

This happened at the bottom of the same panel, and I remedied it by clamping a flat bar in between the sheet and camper, so I will repeat this same strategy again. If I ever redesign this the clamping pieces need to be standard from the start.

SwitchPro SP9100 Install by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

With these wires connected I could now connect the control panel. One problem. The cable is not long enough to get the panel into the cab, next to the steering wheel. SP also explicitly states that this cable is not to be cut. Damn. Alright, for now, let's get it mounted in the camper itself, as close to the drivers seat as possible.

I decided to stick it to the toiletries panel, above my toiletries bag. This is not ideal, but I am going to email SP to see if I can order a second panel, a splitter, and a longer comm cable so I can have my panel inside, like I wanted. For now, I will use the app in the truck if I don't feel like stopping to engage the lights with the control panel.

After all of that I could finally attach the module to the battery.

I powered down my entire setup, and disconnected the solar panels at the connector on the roof, so I could add the power cable to the battery.

It went perfectly, and the module lit up the corresponding LED's stating that it had power and that the control panel was connected. Success.

Now it was time to get all of the lights attached to the wiring that comes out of the module.

Some cutting, crimping, and heat shrinking and they were done. I routed the wires down the bundle of wires that are on the right side of the PCC panel.

The (4) area lights went to switch one (an 18A circuit) and the two chase/dust lights went to switch two (another 18A circuit).

The moment of truth arrived. Do I understand very basic wiring principles?

I'd say so. They all lit up at the push of a button!

SwitchPro SP9100 Install by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Area light and control panel mounting location.

SwitchPro SP9100 Install by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Success!

The wiring for the two sets of front lights arrive tomorrow, but I won't have time to get to them until next week, so no LP6's yet, but soon.

I was worried a tiny bit that the panel being backlit would slowly drain the house battery, but it is of no concern.

Even with the panel, a clock, and an O2 monitor running 24/7, I still see a 0A draw on the system with it all just sitting there.

SwitchPro SP9100 Install by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

With all (6) lights on in the back there is a current draw of 6.4A.

I am excited to see how well these light the area around the truck. I'll check tonight after the sun goes down.

One final note, there is a Trigger wire option, that allows me, at the push of one button, to activate up to (4) circuits, in any manner that I want (that they have a feature for). So, I will wire the (4) area lights, (2) chase lights, and (2) front bumper lights to this trigger wire, and set it so that they strobe when the trigger is activated. This will definitely help with scaring off curious animals. At least I think it will.

I need to dive into the app and get it organized, but I'll get to that soon.

 

I lied to you all when I said that I wouldn't be able to wire up the front lights until early this week.

The wiring arrived early enough on Thursday that I was able to get the remaining front bumper lights wired up before the day ended. I just couldn't help myself it seems.

For the LP6's I created my own harness between the two lights, using 14g wiring from the connectors at the back of the light to the junction of the two lights, and then 12g wiring (all BD recommendations) back along the frame, following the 4g wire from the main battery to the charge controller, and to switch 5 on the light controller.

I did the same for the outside Squadrons in the front bumper, except with 18g wiring throughout, wired to switch 3. The junction between each of the pair of lights occurs behind the front grill, ziptied to wiring that is already back there.

I grounded both sets of lights up near the main battery, as those wires don't need to go back to the SP.

The wires were slid inside of a wiring sleeve and I used Tesa fabric tape everywhere else. Another waterproof bulkhead penetrator got the wiring into the camper in a satisfactory manner.

They fired right up at the push of a button. Excellent.

Front Lights Wired by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

No nighttime photos yet.

I met up with some smart friends this past weekend and they informed me that I can definitely get a second control panel, and connector and harness, so I can run a secondary panel in the cab. They communicate between each other so that everything functions as it should.

This is actually awesome for me, and I'm glad the harness that comes with the

$659 SP9100 Switch Pros SP-9100 8-Switch Panel Power System With Concealed Mounting Hardware

SP9100 wasn't long enough to get the panel into the cab. At camp I rarely go into the truck, while the camper is almost always open. So having access to the lighting control in two places is ideal. More expensive, but that's alright.

The Maxtrax arrive today, so I'll work on getting those installed soon.

It's definitely more official than it has been, so I suppose it's time to share:

Work on the truck has increased recently because the truck life starts in 74 days. Stacy's work presented her with an opportunity, so we seized it. We will both still have to work, temporarily, but we decided it's time. No more Phoenix. Our adventure awaits. The two of us are both excited and nervous at the same time.

I need to go and update the OP.

Until next time.

 

We tackled a lot this past weekend. We put the adventures on hold and simply focused on the truck itself.

We started by finally replacing the UCA ball joints with Camburg's X-Joints, which I had bought maybe a year ago now. We rented the tool from AutoZone to make the job easier. The dual shear steering upgrade also makes this easy, as disconnecting the spindle from the rack is very straightforward.

The old ball joints definitely showed their age, as there was a tiny bit of play in each of them. The UCA's came off of the truck easily (I already swapped the UCA bolt to the opposite orientation from stock, so no cutting or bending sheet metal was required, just slightly moving the hard brake lines).

The old ball joints came out easily. I anticipated a fight, but it wasn't so. At this point we disassembled the entire UCA and cleaned and inspected the bushings. Everything in this area is in excellent shape.

The X-Joints went in easily. They are slightly different than the old Moog style BJ's, but they fit together all the same.

Reinstallation was a breeze. A bit of Loctite on the UCA bolt and torqued to spec. Cotter pin added to X-Joint after it was torqued.

While doing this I found both of my lower shock mount bolts to be loose. The threads had been beat up, so I ordered three new bolts from Toyota Parts Deal to get this issue sorted out. I have torque striped the rear of the truck, but I hadn't done the front end for some reason. It appears that I should have. No harm, but I'll keep the truck parked until the new bolts arrive. I'll also use a bit of Loctite on them and torque them to spec (which I always do with every bolt, not sure how these came loose, maybe they have been installed and removed too many times, who knows) to keep this from happening in the future.

The Maxtrax and their proprietary pins had arrived, so I got to mounting the pair to the passenger side ACCC hatch. The mounting location was predicated on the required spacing of the pins and the internal bracing inside of the hatch. I also wanted to mount the boards closer to the hinge, as that relieves the amount of weight the struts have to lift.

I used large fender washers on the inside and the outside to help distribute the forces into the aluminum. I also sealed each bolt hole with caulk on the inside and the outside.

I added (2) cable locks for security. The struts easily lift the hatch with both boards installed.

Pre-Departure Checklist Work by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

The hole saw for my 1-1/2" cleanout finally arrived, so I added the 'easy-mode' option for adding water to the tank. If I am getting water from a safe source I don't want to have to suck it into the tank via the pump. I just want to be able to pump it in. That's why I added this. I glued it in with epoxy made for these types of plastic. I can fill the tank as much as I can through this hole, and then top off the tank with the pump, saving myself a lot of time.

Pre-Departure Checklist Work by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

I also cut, drilled, and painted the piece of aluminum that supports the top left corner of the PCC where it had torn. So that is all nice and repaired now.

I finished the last two pouches that I had on my to-do list.

Pre-Departure Checklist Work by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Sorry for the crappy photo

Pre-Departure Checklist Work by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

These hold our workout equipment (resistance bands) and will hold a variety of small kitchen related things. The outdoor sink/useful tub is stashed behind the pouches on the back wall by the door. The pouch keeps it wedged in their so it doesn't fly around.

I also went around and built out my tool roll. I found the tools that I needed for every nut/bolt on the underside of the truck. I also gathered all of the tools to work on the various things inside of the camper, and the camper itself. Then I gathered all of the tools to work on the truck interior, and the engine (within reason).

I will continue to modify this until departure, as I now do all of the work on the truck from the tool roll itself, and I add tools that I find that I need. I am going to swap the hammer for a 3 lb. mini sledge as the hammer doesn't quite have what you need in many situations.

It still fits in the tool roll with room to spare. It weighs in at 24.8 lb. currently, so not too bad. I also have an 'Electrical bag' full of many things, and a 'Misc. bag' as well, full of random things I may need (bailing wire, etc.). I will also carry a 3/8" torque wrench good to 80 ft*lb. and a 1/2" torque wrench good to 250 ft*lb.

Pre-Departure Checklist Work by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Pre-Departure Checklist Work by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Stacy figured out a way to make the Shower Cube more efficient, by adding two small bags that can hold our toiletries while we are in there.

We have been purchasing myriad smaller things that we need (cutting boards, socks, outdoor pants, etc.) as well.

Starlink landed, so I am now in the research phase of learning how to make the system run on 12v DC, instead of having to plug the setup into my inverter to get it to function. This thing will have to run almost all day, so I want it to be as energy efficient as possible. We have family who runs a Starlink off of a 50Ah battery, all day, every day, and they have no issues, but I want to be extra sure I am being as efficient as possible. There are a lot of writeups on how to do this online, so I'll find one and mimic it here shortly.

We also did a trial run test fit of all of our stuff into the Tacoma. I have to say, I am impressed with how much space we still have. The cab of the truck simply stores so much. Even with everything back there, we are maybe only 60% full. This is very good news, as we will be able to keep a lot of things inside the cab that I thought we might have to keep in the camper (cold weather gear, power tools, etc.), so I am excited about this.

And finally, I was testing out my winch a few weeks ago, and I found that it would not function/operate.

This past weekend I went through the troubleshooting steps provided by Warn. I was able to figure out that the control module fails to deliver adequate power to the winch motor (~5v instead of the required 12v) and that I could not get the winch motor to spin in either direction (jumper two of the three posts on winch itself and then apply 12v directly to third terminal, bypassing controller).

I am not the original purchaser of this winch, so I can't claim the warranty. The warranty would probably exclude the winch anyways, as it is fairly old at this point.

Plus this winch might be suitable for a stock Tacoma, but I'm getting heavy now, so I ordered a Warn VR Evo 12S to swap out for my old Warn Zeon 8S.

I wasn't anticipating pulling the front bumper prior to departure, but it is what it is. A winch can be a literal lifesaver, so it has to function flawlessly at all times. Seems like these things tend to age out unfortunately, a fact that I will keep in mind as time goes on.

Sorry for the lack of pictures, there was a lot going on.

I don't know exactly how many days are left until we hit the road (can be as early as August 1st, but as late as September 1st, pending a few things), but the excitement is palpable at this time. We are both simply so ready to get on with things!

Until next time.

 

Love following this thread and doing a bit of vicarious daydreaming.

Out of curiosity, how much $ do you think you have in this build all-in? I wouldn't be surprised to hear you're in to 6 figures.

 

Are you still planning on getting tune?

On my stock '22 OR the truck became a totally different truck. Smooth shifting, torque coming in at much lower RPM, just a much more enjoyable truck to drive.

I would wager your truck could really benefit from a proper tune.

 

Great read and love the attention to detail... Will be following your travels