Another Around the World Tacoma

Much appreciated, thanks.

 

@MR E30
In 1983 when I was a USAFA cadet, I got to putz around Beale afb for a week in a program, and see the SR71. It was all super secret, still hiding tail #s etc, but got to touch it while refueling and see the gas leaking out. Then I fot to ride in a tanker while sr71s refueled, and peek out through the bottom rear refueling boom window as they joined up and got on the boom. It was pretty cool.

 

@Roadkill69

Dave,

I am beginning the process of finding a solid induction cooktop for the truck, and I keep seeing your handle on various sites around the internet in regards to induction/electric cooking, so I wanted to see if you had any input for my situation.

I want the new cooktop/food prep area to take up the entire lower half of the backdoor of the CC . Here is an old photo for reference. We will be filling the entire width, up to the underside of that pull bar. I will be removing the lower red latch thing to get it out of the way:

Stove on Rear Door by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

I am going to have Send Cut Send make me a professional looking full down setup to hold the new stove, and I will fill the rest of the space with a little prep surface of some kind. The goal is for the entire fold down table to be flat, at one level, to make it as useful as possible for holding stuff and cooking food.

I have 33 inches in width and 16 inches in height, and ~3-4 inches in depth to work with.

Here are my questions:

- (1) or (2) burner cooktop? I know that the (2) burner option usually (or maybe always) still has an 1800w max draw, so if using both burners at once you only get 900w to each one, which is fine by me.
- If a (2) burner cooktop, do you see any issues with using the second burner (say we habitually use the left burner for 90% of our cooking) area as a little prep area? Maybe chopping potatoes/carrots/inions/etc. right on the glass? The (2) burner options seem to be about as large as the entire space I have to work with on the rear door. We have the Alu-Cab table, but the stove height on the rear door is way more conducive for my height to work on prepping food.
- I know you use the Duxtop LS9600, but what brands do you recommend? I'm looking for reliability and toughness, with a thin profile. Willing to pay more for the right cooktop.

Thanks for your help.

 

I watched a hundred review and comparison videos, and overland use videos. Very few had any real comparisons or data you'd accept as an engineer. Here is the basic problem: misleading marketing, mostly concerning hotspot size and power. They most all say "8 in magnetic ring", and the mag coil may be 8" diameter, but that produces a 4" hotspot only.

I read all the reviews, 1 star and up, literally many thousands. Issues are a high putch whining noise unbearable to some, small hotspot, and overly sensitive controls that trigger from any brush or capacitance sensing.

I recommend against the round one that starts with N. I liked the duxtop ratings and reviews best. I am satisfied with my duxtop, only one Ive tried, but I have zero of the common issues.

Durability and strength, glass tops are sollid with zero issues. No cracking from 4 wheeling, ever.

Cutting board or counter surface use: absolutely. A 2 burner would work well, they don't ger hot at all except for heat transfer from pan. A bamboo cutting board could easily sit on top half and make a great counter. Awesome to clean, strong, this is a good idea.

Controls-- many many have issues when they get wet, which they do. The flex button ones can have problems. Duxtop rated well. The 9600LS was picked based on no whining, and the best control config, sensor type that is, with few complaints. The angled front touch controls in particular.

If you get a 2 burner, yes they share 1800W, or 1 1800 other 1000 when used alone. Thats fine. 1800W directly into pan runs my med thickness wok as well as my normal large gas burner on home stove.

I recommend this one, it is the 2 burner version of my 9600LS with the correct controls and no whining, lowish fan noise:
Duxtop LCD Portable Double Induction Cooktop 1800W Digital Electric Countertop Burner Sensor Touch Stove, 9620LS/BT-350DZ

$232 Duxtop LCD Portable Double Induction Cooktop 1800W Digital Electric Countertop Burner Sensor Touch Stove, 9620LS/BT-350DZ

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GB149V7

1 vs 2 burner. I'm kinda a home chef, I cook 3 or 4 complex dishes a day. Like pad thai, or kung pao shrimp, etc. Italian, French too. However, 95% of meals I'd ever do camping, require just 1 burner. I lean towards wok style or fry pan meals, or soup/stew meals. One pot, easy clean up, no wasted time, or reheatings. While I might make meat, veg, starch, and sauce in 4 pans at home... I can make the same meal in one pan mostly, on in sequence on one burner. I have hundreds of good dishes I can do camping on one burner, so that's enough for me. And it's just $90 if you're wrong and end up wanting the $250 double burner.

But I'm weekend 3 or 4 day camping, I have 20 vac sealed meals in my fridge all cooked for reheat. Your past posts said you tend to cook and eat that way too... a big cook day, then store meals to reheat and eat. However, if you wanted more complex ability, or do meat one pan, and reheat frozen veggies or rice in pot on other, there is litle to no downside on getting the double and using it as your shelf.

Shelf use... you don't need to get a wood counter and inset one of these. I thought I would, got the version you can inset OR st on counter... sitting on anything is fine. You can use it as your counter prep area, with a thin plastic on top, then cook on it. If you got the double, it alone would make a fine counter, no inset or other needed. Just hinge it.

I did a meal yesterday: pulled pork from instantpot stored in fridge. Fry with carnitas spices to reheat and crisp up w onions. Toast tortilla, melt cheese on them. Done, off heat. 125 Watt-hrs. This is representative of your style... you don't want raw meat stored, more pathogens etc. Cook it then store in fridge for later spicing and use. Pork shoulder classic, can be tacos, carnitas, pulled pork, sandwiches, breakfast hash w taters, etc.

I have a 2 burner propane coleman, and 2 single burner coleman dual-fuel sportsters. They're fun for camping. But the 1 burner induction with a 12" wok easily replaces them as well as frypans and pots. I will always carry a small coleman sportster as my backup or if needed for complex cooking.

Looking at your area, I would just get that duxtop 2 burner, mount it so it hinges and folds up to store. Use it as counter. Get a half size thin bamboo board, and a full coverage one to use as counter. Will work fine.

 

@MR E30 I recently had the Marlin Crawler lower frame brace kit installed, and it is beefy. My buddy had to trim the skids slightly to clear the braces, but the alignment is pretty stout now. The kit does req a bit of welding, but it ties the frame and cam tab supports in. That summer trip looked amazing by the way!

 

Dave,

Thank you for your detailed response. I appreciate you sharing the results of all of that research that you did!

I kept researching after making my post yesterday, and I came to the same conclusion, that Duxtop was the way to go, and Stacy and I pondered the (1) or (2) burner option last evening over dinner. Glad to see that we came to the same result.

I went ahead and ordered the

$232 9620LS /BT-350DZ

9620LS this morning, and it should arrive this Friday.

Having two burners isn't always necessary for us, but we do encounter scenarios where it is worth having. We are finding that our ideal adventuring temperature is right around 65 degrees, which results in cooler mornings and nights, and having a second burner to keep something warm will be nice. I am not a huge fan of eating cold food that would be better warm/hot. Haha

Now to look into pans!

As an update:

- We removed the Dickinson Fireplace from the camper and I listed it for sale. We closed the (4) lower holes with M8 bolts, nuts, and washers, sealed in place with black siliconized caulk. We covered the larger upper hole and (4) upper holes with (2) 5" by 4.5" plates, again caulked in place after being painted black to blend in with the camper.

- We removed the fireplace wiring from the upper channel.

- We removed the large propane tank and hose that fed the stove.

- I removed the lower interior door latch, as we never use it, and it will interfere with the new cooktop, so I pulled it out and set it aside.

- I began the design of the fold down 'table' for the cooktop on the back door. I can only make 2D CAD files with the software that I have, so I will find someone to convert it into a .dxf or .step file so that I can have it manufactured.

 

Hey, thanks for this information!

Yeah, after this cooktop upgrade I need to research this type of upgrade.

Can you explain or show me where the skids needed to be trimmed? I can't tell from your picture.

Do you have the dual shear UCA plates installed? What are your thoughts on that upgrade?

I don't know why my alignment is off (truck still tracks straight, but the steering wheel is off center in the clockwise direction), as all my alignment tabs are Vibra-tited, and nothing shifted. Dual shear steering upgrade and gusseted spindles definitely didn't bend. Lol

 

The skids had to be trimmed for the aft LCA mount support plates(about 1/2in trim on fwd skid and trans skid), so very minimal trimming required(i have RCI skids, others have said they didn’t req trimming with different skid configurations). I do not have spindle gussets yet(RC fab has some that fully box the spindle and clear stock wheel backspace, although the weld work would be around $800 by itself(in the futures for me)), and haven’t done the dual shear upgrade for the UCAs. Those are the few remaining upgrades i still have to do, but my steering is having play so ill have to replace/upgrade that rack first(tundra upgrade looks good, but it significantly reduces turning radius). Almost forgot to add a photo!

 

@MR E30

Just to round things out, here is the microwave water boil power test. For smallest microwave, for overland cooking.
https://youtu.be/oCxMW7luUoo

Energy to boil 500ml water, about 2c, in Watt-hrs. Compared to Induction with small pot, and electric kettle. This is useful for people using battery power when cooking, either camping or during power outage, or overlanding.
Folks need to be able to estimate normal energy usage for cooking and other tasks, so they can calculate how many Watt-hrs they need of battery in a day, or to last several days without solar or recharge.
This is the physically smallest GE microwave in their 0.7 cu ft linup, and was also rated as the best small countertop microwave by numerous professional appliance testers.

I bought this for my truck camper, for overlandlanding and camping, to allow quick meal reheat. Reduces mess, cleanup, and water usage, compared to a gas stove or induction setup.

new 2024 version with childlock door, can be easily permanently deactivated with 3 button presses.
GE GCST07N1WSS Microwave Oven,...

$105 GE GCST07N1WSS Microwave Oven, 700-watt 6 Auto Cooking Settings, Child-Lock Technology, Kitchen Essentials for The Countertop, Dorm Room or Apartment, 0.7 Cu. Ft, Stainless Steel

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D294MHR5?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

Old version without childlock, buy whichever is cheaper
GE JES1072SHSS
Countertop Microwave Oven, Compact 0.7 Cubic Ft., 700-watt Capacity, 6 Auto Cooking Settings, Kitchen Essentials for the Countertop, Dorm Room or Apartment, Stainless Steel

$174 GE Countertop Microwave Oven, Compact 0.7 Cubic Ft., 700-watt Capacity, 6 Auto Cooking Settings, Kitchen Essentials for the Countertop, Dorm Room or Apartment, Stainless Steel

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B010RX8GVY

Item Weight 21 Pounds
Capacity 0.7 Cubic Feet
Item Dimensions D x W x H 12.75"D x 17.31"W x 10.19"H

 

Probably skipped a tooth in the rack. Easy to do.

 

Ah damn, guess that's what happens when you play a bit too hard. Haha

 

Microwaves where it's at!! How big of an inverter are you using to power it?

 

Max power on this one is 1170W, giving 700W magnetron power. Not an inverter microwave, I was preaching about them but after watching real world testing, I decided the way I've been using my microwave for 50 years, 99% +30sec button, was fine for camp meal reheats. Anyways, a 1500W inverter would run it. Mine on my powerstation is 2200W.

Oh, @MR E30 , forgot to add this in your battery thread, your 2000W inverter is probably fine for the induction.I think you wanted to boost up to be sure excess capacity for starlink etc though.

 

After all this induction top talk, tinkerer's adventure video and a general curiosity, I decided to jump into the induction top cooking realm - Duxtop 9600LS. Have cooked several different meals over the last 2 weeks, general impression? Crazy cats' it's fast on the heat up. All of my cooking for the last two weeks has been using the power mode, not the temp mode, and always have started at the default 5.0. 830-850 watts (kill-a-watt power meter as my measurement device). Haven't needed to go higher than that for general cooking.

Home equipment baseline: Electric coil burner stove, 8" Calphalon stainless steel omelet pan, 10" All-Clad stainless saute pan, 10.5 Lodge cast iron griddle, 6 qt Emeril/All-Clad stock pot (9.25" diameter).

I like lentils and eggs for breakfast, usually using an 8" Calphalon stainless omelet pan. First time, it was browning the butter before I had the eggs mixed - so now I turn it on when mixing the eggs and it is ready.

Veggie stir fry in the sauce pan is the usual evening meal. Grill chicken or beef (or goat - haha!) and add to the spiced veggies. Frozen green beans often, collard greens from the garden, onions, celery, carrots, sweet potatoes using spice mixes I have made - Caribbean Jerk, Cajun, Vindaloo curry add ins. Bring the veggies to saute then simmer awhile. Power mode 5.0 then down to 2.5 where it goes from ~840 watts continuous to 830 watts on a PWM cycle.

Stew/soup cooking, the pot works very well, although during the PWM simmer, the boiling starts and stops with the induction coil. Didn't seem to negatively affect the cooking/texture of lentils or brown rice.

Pancakes on the cast iron - definitely a weakness. The center of the griddle heats up way hotter than the edges. We generally pour a set of 3 pancakes, 4ish inches in diameter on the griddle, the coil stove works great. The induction top heat at power 3.0 is too hot in the center, not enough on the edges to evenly do the pancakes. Higher power is too much heat. Cast iron with it's lower thermal conductivity lets me down.

3 qt chicken and rice stew from sautéing the celery to simmering the brown rice was 660 wh in the Emeril pot with the lid on for most of the cooking - approximately 60 min cooking time.

(edit) single scrambled egg in the omelet pan - 25 wh

It's a fun unit, I'll be using it way more at home, especially during summer to try and reduce the load on the ac.

Next thing to do is the wok like @Roadkill69 suggests. I have a 10" flat bottom carbon steel wok and a bamboo steamer I use on the compact Coleman propane - should be about perfect for this thing. I'll update as I do more.

 

Nice explanation, thanks Dave!

 

Update time after some work has been done.

I kicked off some changes to the truck by first removing the omni-directional antenna that we used with our ATT Sim Card to get internet access via the cell network. TBH we rarely used this, the only time we used it for more than a few hours was out on Gooseberry Mesa in southern Utah. The truth is that cell signal is often times too weak where we are, and Starlink is simply too effective, for us to continue to use it. So, I pulled it off of the truck, sealing up the end of the wire and stashing it under the rearmost solar panel, for the time being. We may revisit readding it back to the truck at some point in the future, but for now it can be stashed away in safe keeping.

Random by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

I did notice that the sun had started to degrade the sealant placed between the protective cone and then base of the antenna.

Random by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

I have decided to install and experiment with this Dakota Lithium battery. I will begin by simply lacing it under the hood and using it to do nothing other than starting the truck and driving around for a while. As my confidence builds in it, and I can trust it more, I will look into incorporating it into my house battery system, or at least the trucks power system, in some way.

There are a variety of reasons for this upgrade, but two main reasons stick out. One is the lighter weight of this battery, which is nice, especially with the OEM battery tray being known to fracture/split/tear from frequent offroad use. Hopefully this will cut down on that happening. The second is an additional 135ah for no extra space.

In order to sync up the battery and the Victron Smart Shunt, the battery needs to be at 100% charge, so I am using the included 10A charger to top it off.

Random by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

I will touch more on this process further along in this post.

It is finally getting cold enough to need the warmth from the diesel heater, so I went ahead and bought some diesel to get the lines primed and ready for action. I had drained the lines and tank at the beginning of summer to avoid any issues with stale diesel.

There is a gas station a mile or so down the road, so I tried out this recently acquired e-bike and trailer for this errand.

28 mph feels pretty slow on a road (speed limit 25), but it's nice to just hop on and get something done without too much fanfare.

Random by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Diesel acquired, and lines primed, I fired up the diesel heater and crossed my fingers.

It took (4) attempts at starting up to get the fuel to the heater itself (the closest place I have to prime the line with a bulb is at the fuel filter, which is ~10 inches from the unit itself), but after it got there it came to life and that sweet, sweet hot air started to flow. We used it this morning (30 degrees out) and man was it pleasant. Glad to see that it survived the summer and is ready to warm us this winter.

A while ago I got duped and purchased what I thought was a decent sized pencil holder for the shelf near the fridge.

It was always too small to be useful, so we upgraded to this 10" x 5" x 5" rectangular basket, and after installing it it is just what I envisioned all those days ago. It gives us a place to put things that are being charged, and to store taller items that I simply had to tuck in various places (usually besides and behind the fridge).

Temp Sensors by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Back to the Lithium battery:

Before I install this upgraded starter battery I want to get some baseline information.

There are (2) primary areas of concern, as far as I can tell, from my research:

The first involves the engine bay temperature and the impact that will have on the lithium (LifePO4) battery itself. This battery has an internal BMS cutoff for charging at 167F, which is a lot higher than other non UL-certified LifePO4 batteries (120F typically).

The second is the potential increase in temperature of the alternator, as it works extra hard to charge up both the battery bank (25A max) and the starter battery (85A max), potentially at the same time.

To combat these unknowns, I decided to start collecting some data.

The truck itself will tell me the outside air temp via the dash display, and (3) Govee Temp/Humidity sensors will relay the under hood, battery, and alternator temperatures to me, wirelessly, via BT.
These little devices are very cool so far.

A bit bigger than your thumb, they are super precise (plus/minus .54F) and very responsive (temp updates in the app within 2 seconds). They are battery powered (they claim they last 2 years), and have (2) small openings on the side, visible in the picture below.

Temp Sensors by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

I labeled and placed this first one, to measure the underhood temperatures, here in the engine bay on the main wiring harness to the ECU. For this sensor I left the two openings facing down, so that they record the air temperature itself.

Temp Sensors by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Connecting it to the app was super easy and also very, very quick.

It stores a variety of data, offers a few settings, and has a variety of things you can do with said data.

Temp Sensors by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

I wanted to place the next sensor directly on the battery itself. I oriented this sensor so that the (2) openings are facing the battery casing, directly touching it, as that is the thing I want the sensor to measure the temperature of. I placed it on the backside of the battery, between the battery and the fuse box, by ziptieing the sensor to the rod that holds the battery down.

Temp Sensors by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

For this sensor, I went into the app and turned on the 'High Temperature Alarm' feature, which through a push notification, will alert me if the battery ever exceeds 140F (the highest value allowed in the app). In my preliminary research online, I have found battery temps to get to 120F in more extreme environments, and these were people with full front ends on their trucks, not cut up plastic for aftermarket front bumper installation. So, time will tell and we will see. Underhood temps always seem a bit like a mystery, so having some relevant data will be nice.

The final sensor was the hardest to place, as the alternator framework is not conducive to having a sensor stuck to it.

I almost had a great spot underneath, right against the casing, but there wasn't enough space to get a ziptie around it to secure it to a bolt sticking out down there.

I eventually (after almost giving up) settled on mounting it to the support bracket just above the alternator.

This isn't ideal, but I can make it work. I will use a radar temp gun to see what temp the alternator actually is, and then compare that to the sensor temperature so that I can understand the difference between actual alternator temp and measured temp. For this sensor I also had the (2) small openings directed towards the metal itself.

Temp Sensors by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

I will begin collecting data and relaying it here in this thread. I plan to do this for a month or so to gain a solid baseline before dropping in this upgraded battery. I will keep the old SLA battery on hand, just in case this doesn't end up working out, though I currently don't see any reason why it won't, as others have been using this for quite some time now without issue.

Outside of the truck itself, I spent some time hand sifting and transporting ~50,000 lb. of sand for a volleyball court here on this property. We have family arriving for Thanksgiving, so having more stuff to do is always nice. Plus I enjoy the back breaking labor.

Temp Sensors by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

All that is left is to affix mounting points for the net to the poles (I'll have an adult sized height, and a kid friendly height option on the poles), install (2) set bolts at the base of each pole, and to stake down the perimeter lining. Oh, and bring over some more AB to even out the outside of the court, so that it is more level and nicer to place a chair on for spectators.

Ah, one final thing! A few nights ago, our second Exped Megamat Duo LW bit the dust. Well, almost. We have another huge bubble forming (the first one in this mattress), as the outer air tight layer has become delaminated from the interior foam once again. I bought my first one of these in January of 2020, and received a warranty replacement of it over a year and a half ago, and the replacement mattress has suffered the same fate. 4 years and ten months for (2) of these is surprising, given their cost.

Either way, this has pushed me all the way to ditching the air mattress route and buying a Hest foam mattress. A friend told me that Hest usually has good Black Friday deals, so we will deal with a giant bubble between us (the mattress is still mostly usable), until then.

Thanks for reading!

 

I’m interested to hear your findings on the Dakota Lithium battery. I have the Genesis 4x4 dual battery kit that I just had converted to dual lithium batteries with a Redarc battery controller on the Dakota Lithium house battery. The starter battery is an Anti-Gravity lithium battery that has a built in restart function.

 

Nice, do you have any photos you can share?

 

Very nicely done!

Thank you for sharing.