Tacoma Habitat AT

What does 1L / 2L mean? Was talking about mounting to the 'top' of the habitat for lightwhen it's open.

 

first floor vs 2nd floor. like the top outside? or inside?

 

Ahh gotcha. Like the top outside, on the underside of the bed when open.

I went with the LEDs in the bed of the truck from AT, and have a luminaid supernova I throw in the netting above the bed for light on the second floor, so good on interior lighting for now.

 

On the top, outside, would be above the tent. If that's the case, then I have LED xmas lights that I can throw on top to be festive for photos of the exterior, and I guess I could put some random lights up there like a luminoodle to signal my location.

The underside of the bed, I use rock lights from Amazon,

$22 SUNPIE 6 Pods White LED Rock Lights 6000K Pure White Underglow Light Wheel Wheel Well Lights Fender Lights for Off Road Trucks Sedans Car ATV UTV SUV Golf Cart Trailer Motorcycles

6-pack for $40

 

I cook by boiling water based food (soup, food in foil pouches, hot drinks, etc.) in a tent only, especially if snow camping.

 

Cool, thats what i'm thinking of doing as well. So they're permanently mounted on the underside of the bed? How did you do the wiring? Any pics?

 

Nothing on hand right now since I haven't actually wired them yet. lmao

Rock lights will be setup for cab control because I count them as navigation/trail lighting and tied to the vehicle battery. I wouldn't normally use them in a camp setting since that's what lanterns and other exterior lighting is for, and I don't really need to crawl around under my truck if I'm camping in a single spot. When I finally setup the aux battery properly, I'll have accessory lighting like this available to turn on with an RF relay in case I ever need to work on stuff on the trail like replace a prop shaft or the mounting bolts for my leaf springs.

 

@kalieaire we were talking about mounting rock lights under topper that provides the "built in awning" so the lights would be pointing straight up when habitat was not deployed, then when it flips over they would be pointing @ ground behind truck.... I think your talking about mounting them under the bed of the truck.

 

Oh that's easy. Just run airline track on either side and seal with silicone.

Then just use any standard airline track quick release or

$44 Aluminum Load Track Mounting Kit w/Stud Nut, Tiedown 12-Pack

studs and string up some standard Goal Zero LALs.

 

Oh, another "Fancy" choice would be to glue some stainless steel plate to the bottom of the habitat to maintain a low profile and also provide separation (to prevent galvanic effect). Then just use those OXYLED Strip lights from Amazon. The only downside w/ this model is you'll need a

$17 DC 12v Step up to 24v Converter Regulator 5A 120W Power Supply Adapter for Motor Car Truck Vehicle Boat Solar System etc.(Accept DC9-20V Inputs)

12v to 24v voltage boost converter and wiring it up, but if you have a little bit of wiring experience, it's exceedingly easy.

 

Just ordered to do the same. The tembo tusk truck has them and they are slick.

 

Yeah just checked it out, trying to figure out how the wiring works. Probably a switch inside the habitat, which I don't have.

I have L-track on the 'roof' of my Habitat, and have some D-ring studs on there I use to tie bags down, so may just hang some luminAID packlights for outside lighting, and mount the dome lights under the truck.

 

The challenge with wiring up the roof is the movement. As we all know, wires don't like being continually bent/twisted etc. This makes it difficult for permanent solutions.

The Baja Designs lights have their own individual light switches which makes them easy to turn off and on. But then you'd have to either poke a hole in the base to run wires internally and then down the wiring pillar, hopefully to an internal switch to prevent the lights from turning on when the setup is closed.

 

Anyone have any tips/ideas/recommendations for building out internal storage in the Habitat? I think I will eventually cave ($$$$) and go the Goose Gear route, but want to get some cheaper storage options going in the meantime.

Thanks!

 

I've been looking at goose gear stuff trying to figure out the details on how they are constructed, to try to build something similar myself. The frame is just T-slot aluminum but I don't have a good idea on the rest.

 

I want a combo slide with the stove from AT, also i'd like to get a molle panel for the side walls to put pouches on. For bulk storage, totes of whichever manufacturer you prefer work well for gear, I use

Plano Sportsman Trunk, OD Green, Small, Lockable Storage Box, Airline Approved Sportsman Trunk, Hunting Gear and Ammunition Bin, Heavy-Duty Containers for Camping, 56-Quart

plano. Drawers would be slick, but I am at an impasse on built in system convenience versus the ease of moving totes about. Check out this build, super slick ideas and great to follow.

The goose gear system is slick, but the last thing I would spend money on personally, need to finish suspension, dual battery, fridge, stove, etc.

Good luck on your build sir. Be sure to send pics.

As far as tips or tricks, measure everything. Every inch of your gear. I've built a couple chuck box camp kitchen type things over the years and there is really 2 approaches. Build it to hold anything, or build it to hold exactly your stuff that you like today. This dramatically changes the build. do you want future flexibility or are you set on the gear and stuff you have today? If your coleman stove is the one you intend to use for eternity, build a spot on a shelf or drawer for it, otherwise plan for what you might buy down the road and find the happy medium. I tend to believe, you'll have a better system if you build it for what you need, not what someone else wanted.

 

They use L brackets for a lot of the mounts. In some instances on the T slot you can drill and tap into the aluminum framing directly. In the X style with a slot on each of the 4 sides, you can use a nut inside and screw in the L Bracket that way so you have a modicum of adjustability. For the bed plate, just standard line-X'd baltic birch mounted to the frame. If you just bought a bunch of bulk frame, and and made your own bed plate, you can start framing up stuff and just cut off what you need with an angle grinder. You can use SketchUp for free to make your first design and then adjust everything as needed.

 

Excellent advice.

 

In lieu of cabinetry, I've been using front runner bins. They're not water proof, they're not the deepest, longest, or even super amazing, but they have performed relatively well strapped down. I usually have 2 stacks of cub packs stacked 4 high side by side closest to the cab strapped down with a single ratcheting cargo strap and they've never moved.