Chipskip's Taco & Treehouse (We got HAM and Bikes too)!

I'll be following your progress. Just purchased a new to me 1998 Tacoma.

 

T4R2 got a new headlight switch today. Order it from eBay for $35. The cap on the old one kept coming off. I was going to glue it or use sugru to keep it in place, but life got busy and I didn't get around to until. Then the other day, I noticed the cap had a few holes in it, because my wife would remember that it came off and it kept getting dropped on the ground.

New one looks brand new and took 5 mins to install and test. I think I will sell the old one for like $10. It functions perfectly, so if someone has a bad one, they could switch it out and put their original cap on it.


Pic includes new (installed) and the old without its cap (I still have it).

 

Shhhh.... don't tell my wife but I just took advantage of the Relentless Fab 15% Labor Day sale.

Rampage flush mount flood led lights are on order for the bumper.

 

Ok, so a problem with getting new lights is the need for a new switch. The switch isn't the problem, finding room for it is. I think I have figured out a solution: Move my ham radio handset remote plug and use that space. In the future I may need to add the switch plate were the ashtray is, but for now my change has a home.

I think this will work for putting the handset plug in place of one of the 12v plugs.

 

New camping gear!!

Kid's Disc-o-bed!

 

Truck loaded for camping! Love my AP Expo Springs! I leave for work on Wednesday morning fully loaded. I get to go find and setup camp on Thursday, go to work on Friday and my wife and kids will take over the camp site Friday evening. Then I will join them Saturday morning after I get off work.

Didn't have to over load the truck, my wife is bringing the clothes bags, kids, and coolers with food. T4R's first trip camping!

Also it is Gwennie's first camping trip, she is just over 3.

I scored a new, to me, REI 6 man tent from my brother. I had to get one of the poles fixed, but that was cheap compared to a new tent. Also got a kid's Disc-O-Bed bunk bed for the kids to sleep on. 2 adults, 3 kids, and a dog need a ton of room when camping.



Made a water pressure tank for showers and doing dishes.

 

cots look great!

 

I like your shower idea man! How long does the water flow last on a few pumps?

 

With about 3 psi it should push out the whole can. The pressure gets even weaker after a minute or so. You can easily add a few more pumps or even hook up an electric compressor.

My parents use to fill a high wing airplane with fuel from a 50 gal drum, using this method.

 

Camping trip was a success. I got to enjoy a day by myself and then the rest of the family got to enjoy me in a better mood for having that time.



I am still surprised how easy it is for one person to put up the REI Kingdom 6 tent. I would say it is easy than my other tent, a REI Habitat 4. The Disc-o-bed bunk bed, was one of the best things we have ever bought. The kids loved it and the couch mode was awesome for them to use to play and get dressed.

Kids explored and played. The we did a mile hike down the Highland trail, looking for a creek, but only found dried up beds. Enjoyed a nice picnic and then hiked out.



Made s'mores cones (ice cream cone with marshmallows and chocolate chips inside then placed in the fire until melted).

Took a nap in the hammock. Owned it for years but this was the first time I have really gotten to use it in the wild.




Camp shower worked out great. Need to order the wrench for the lid, make it easier to add a kettle full of boiling water. once it had about 5 psi in it, was able to get a full shower out of it. rinse, turn off valve, soap up, open valve and rinse. Need to figure something else out other than the milk crate, kids said it hurt their feet. Thinking of making a mini pallet out of the recycled wood stuff. Light weight and will withstand the test of time. Did 6 showers and the jug was still half full. required and extra pump or two after each shower. For $20, it was really worth it.

Planned on staying until Monday morning, but Sunday morning the littlest one woke up with a fever. So we decided to pack up a day early and head home.

The project manager in my wife has decided we need to have check lists for each box & bag so we don't forget anything.

 

Was this a plug and play installation?

 

Yes it is.

http://www.ultra-gauge.com/ultragauge/

 

Picked up a few case from @L3Goullon for camping.
One will be dry goods/food storage, not sure about the other one. Ditching the foam inserts and may add dividers.

 

In prepping for my bumper w/ lights, I needed to free up a switch location. So I decided to move the remoter mic plug for my ham radio. I also decided to upgrade/repurpose my 3 12volt plugs. The main became the new mic plug, while the two lower got a dual 4.8 amp USB port and a matching 12v plug.

 

It has arrived

 

Hell yeah!

 

Woohoo! Armored rear end time!

 

Relentless Wrap around bumper with Tire & Jerry Can Carriers installed. I primed and painted it myself. 3 coatings of Self Etching Primer and 2 coatings of Bedliner spray-on.

My thoughts:
-Awesome bumper and well worth the 7 months & 1 week I waited from it.

-The dude that packed this for shipping... DAMN, they know what the are doing. OverKill at it's finest, my hat is off to you sir!

-I think there is room to attach my Hi-lift behind the jerry can holder. Maybe an add-on that @RelentlessFab can figure out and make a little money on. (seeing it's my idea, I think I should get a free one )

-The Jerry can holder:
--Only fits fuel cans, my water cans are two tall. I think RF should specify this on their website. I still have my CBI dual Jerry can holder, may have to swap them, as I carry water more than I ever carry fuel.
--The way it mounts to the swing puts the top's hinges up tight against the mounting plate. This causes fitment and operations issues. I was able to use a few washers to push the top out far enough for normal operations. Not a deal breaker or anything like that, just surprised that RF overlooked this detail as every other part of this bumper is so well built.

-The bolts that mount the bumper are heavy duty and I have complete faith in them. They provided 4 (with nuts and the perfect amount of washer for proper spacing), I have at least two more holes that are lined up, I plan to get the hardware to utilizes those spots too. Because Overkill FTW!

I have a license plate flip-up kit on order, yes I know other companies provide them, but I like that I saved the $20 from RF to get the one I wanted. Also, need to figure out were to mount the trailer plug.

Still need to wire up the lights. I want to have them come on with the reverse lights and by switch. Need to figure out how exactly to wire it up. Tried tapping into the reverse lights, but they didn't come on. Didn't really have enough time to play with it as my girls were getting restless (kept running off with my tools).

I am very happy with this bumper, glad I chose @RelentlessFab and plan to get my sliders and front bumper from them when I have the cash.




Update:
1- So, RF describes their can mount as a "Jerry Can" mount and I saw Specter Can. So that is my bad for being confused.
2- The mount bolts, they presume that you are removing the factor bumper and will reuse those bolts. They give you the ones for the receiver, not presuming you have one. My bumper bolts were so bad, I couldn't reuse them (one broke). I am going to swing by CBT and get new bolts. Should be only a few bucks.

 

I think I need to get some stencil and do "TacomaWorld.com" on the tire cover.