The Wanderer - My Build and (mis)Adventures.

Had a little off road fun, and brought home a little trail scar. Repairable, but maybe it's time for a steel bumper?

 

Starting to plan a fall trip. Big Bend, one of a few stops, here we come!

 

Subbed!

 

Edut: Forgot the words. Duh.

Replaced the Flipster after some approach angle disagreement with an obstacle. Also contacting Cascadia to see if they have one that would fit my bumper before I start modding this one. I have to mount it upside down because it's too tall.

 

My poor neglected build page. Work and Covid pulled me from the updates, but not the work in the truck. Updates to come.

Found the pic that envisioned what I saw for my build. I think I came pretty close.

 

This part of the project started way back with the Ford upfitter switches put in for the lights. I don't think I posted a completed a pic, so here it is. Blue Sea stuff, some Amazon relays, and a Powertrays power tray. Number 6 is cleaned up and working with the amber / white strobes I put on. I'll have to find a pic of those.

 

Cab mount chop to stuff the KO2's in. Done by a local shop who said they were under market price. They weren't. I haven't been back. I also did the pinch welds

 

Got any mods for the upcoming trip?

 

If by mods you mean a new outer tie rod and winch controller, yes. And new map lights. Going all out.

 

Those are wise mods

 

I have (had) a Harbor Frieght air compressor in the truck since the first trail run back in 2018. It's seen a fair amount of use, but I thought it could work a little better with a bigger hose. So off to Lowe's for a few parts and the silly little yellow air tub was gone.

 

I have (had) a Harbor Freight air compressor in the truck since the first trail run back in 2018. It's seen a fair amount of use, but I thought it could work a little better with a bigger hose. So off to Lowe's for a few parts and the silly little yellow air tube was gone.


Then I took a trail ride with a new friend and of course, the HF compressor died. Fortunately, we had another air compressor and we were able to air up.

I went home and started looking for something a little better. And bought this:


Thor's Lightning Dual air compressor with dual hoses to fill two tires at once. I read some reviews and they were all positive, on and off the company site. And they were on sale. It is quick. I can air up my KO2's between 12-20 pounds each in about 10 minutes, including setting up. Last time out, I also did a couple of 35's on another truck. It's a nice little set and forget machine. Link below, not sponsored or paid to post it.

https://thorslightningairsystems.com/products/thors-lightning-bolt-true-dual-air-compressor

 

So on a road trip out to the Grand Canyon and other places, my wife said it would be great if the truck had a loft or someplace to stash a light weight jacket or the travel pillows to make them easy to reach. I took that as permission to get a gear loft for the truck.

I found Raingler Nets & Barriers. They had several options and custom touches available and I liked that I could get the larger cargo net with the mesh screen so stuff wasn't falling through the larger openings.

Install was fairly straight forward. Two anchors behind the plastic trim on the "B" pillars, straps for the grab handles and the coat hangers at the rear of the cab.



I wasn't completely happy with the way this mounted to the coat hangers at the back. While the net didn't fall off, it seemed like it could pretty easily.


Mod time. I took the hooks off and mounted a plastic cable anchor to the coat hook by drilling through the front of it. Now the straps go though the loop and are much more secure.





The only two things I'm not crazy about after having it in for a year of more, it that the mesh has stretched a bit and hangs low. For most people it shouldn't be an issue, but I'm a little taller than most at 6'6" and it can block part of view out the rear window. The other, that should be an easy fix, is the net is a little too far forward. I'm going loosen the front straps, pull the rear of the net back as far as I can, and pull the side straps on the grab handles back and use a zip tie to anchor it. If this doesn't work, then I'll try to reverse the coat hook and put the anchor to the rear. That should move the back of the net back a few inches.

Overall, I'm happy with the purchase and it servers its purpose.

Update.

I went with the first plan and was able to pull the loft back a bit. Also took a little more slack out of the lines and brought it up a little more. Much better, still recommend it.

 

Comms. While prepping for the Grand Canyon trip, I wanted to get a better radio incase we needed a longer range communication. (Spoiler, we didn't.) I went to Amazon and purchased a Midland Watt GMRS MicroMobile® Two-Way Radio. I wanted an over head mount, but the height issue came into play again. Simple solution was to mount it in the middle console (that wasn't being used anyway.) I remove it, did some cutting and drilling and wiring, and done. It is out of sight, which I am a huge proponent of. I ran the power to the upfitter switch in the over head console to turn it on and off. The antennae is currently mounted to the front of the bed rack, but will be moved to the roof rack before the tent goes on.

 

Meso sequential turn signals with amber DRL. Not many pics as it was hot and muggy day and I wasn't very confident starting this one off. So I paid more attention to the directions than the camera. It was a little easier than I thought, but still took me a bit. A lot of what I've done, most of what I've done with this truck, has been the first time for me doing any of this.

 

Tessa update. 2.5 years young, still plays like a puppy and loves belly rubs. And snacks. And sleeping in the backseat of the truck.



She is also a pretty good foremen / supervisor. Here's her work on our deck rebuild.

 

Some of the fun with the truck.

 

Firstly, Rah! Secondly, truck looks dope man. Glad to see it’s getting put to good use. I dig the bed rack. I have a LEER shell right now but I’ve been debating getting something like what you have so I can install/remove my tent easier when I’m not using it.

 

Thanks for looking, and Semper Fi!

If I'd had a long bed, I'd have the cap. The rack is from Rago Fabrications. It's not on their website, but I found it here if you're interested.

https://evergreenoffroad.com/products/2nd-3rd-gen-tacoma-endeavor-bed-rack-by-rago-fab