Hodakaguy's Overland Tacoma Builds - On to new adventures!

[Hodakaguy]

What about under the box? Shouldn't it have a couple of runners also?

BTW, is that a very large piston that vise is mounted on?

Under the box has a mat protecting the floor so it’s good there.

Yep that’s a piston from a 6 cylinder IR KVS engine, bare piston weighs 400lbs. I’ve worked on these engines for years, fun stuff! 1000hp at 330RPM. Makes a great Vise stand



Hodakaguy

 

[patoz]

Somehow when I think of a 6 cylinder, that is not what comes to mind! ?

That engine is definitely impressive!

 

[Hodakaguy]

Solar issues and wiring the Air Compressor....

The morning after I wired the controller I noticed that although the controller was showing amps in/out it wasn't actually going into charge mode and connecting to the batteries. After some troubleshooting with a meter I found that the factory red power wire going to the solar roof plug was shorted to ground......Ugggg. If I was running an older PWM style charge controller it wouldn't be that big of a deal since I could swap the ground wire over to be power and let the red wire stay shorted/grounded, with a PWM controller the PV and Batt ground can be common. But...I'm running a newer style MPPT controller that is more efficient and requires a separate PV and Battery ground to function correctly.

Factory power wire shorted to ground. Time to get searching for the culprit, at this point I'm suspecting a screw in a wire somewhere or a stray frogs hair.

I connected the meter to the wire and started chasing the wire up to the front lift panel where it goes into the roof looking for a short. I was really hoping the short wasn't up in the roof itself. After a bit I found the short right at the end of the bed, there is a loop in the wire that is tucked back into the campers side where the wire transitions and goes vertical. A staple had been shot directly into the wire at this point during construction. Soon the wire was fixed and panels were back in place.

Almost back together in this pic, just need to apply a new strip of Velcro to secure the Arctic liner back in place.

Yesterday evening I pulled the truck out of the shop to test the panel. Everything is working great! This shot shows the advantage of a MPPT controller, it will take the higher voltage of the solar panel and convert it into extra amperage going into the batteries. The older PWM controllers basically draw down the PV voltage to batt voltage and you only get what is coming into the controller from the PV.

6.1 amps coming into the controller from the 175W panel (with late afternoon light) and the controller is outputting 8.1 amps out to the battery....nice!

Time to wire up the air compressor and hook up the front locker.

The Supplied ARB wiring harness. The quality looks really good, will have to extend the pressure switch and control/trigger wires.

Draining the washer fluid out to remove the bottle, makes access a lot easier.

Pressure switch wires extended, will install loom on the wiring once it's in the truck.

Running the switch wiring and air tubing for the front locker.

Wiring and tubing tucked away in loom and ran across the firewall.

Electrical and air tubing connected to the compressor. I installed the relay close by on an existing stud. I have a plastic cap installed over the air fitting for now to keep nasties out until my purchased cap shows up.

The compressor is a tight fit in this area but works out really well with the limited under hood space.

Connections made to the SwitchPro.

All tested and the Air Compressor and Locker are working great

More to come....

Hodakaguy

 

[slowtwitch]

I have had the same bag/cradle combo for a number of years on my Tundra DC. I too had the valves holding on the license plate, but just recently ponied up for the compressor and in cab switch/gauge.. huge upgrade imo. I prefer having the psi equalized, checking the psi with the license plate mounts and airing them was a pita in the long term. it's a 'busy' spot on a truck with tailgates, hitch racks, etc, and inevitably, the system starts not holding psi quite so well... a lot nicer to just read a gauge in the cab, and hit a switch to make things right.. not to mention psi adjustments while going down the road/trail. Negatives are cost and additional hose runs.

No dielectric grease on the batteries?

Got some good tips.. need to go shopping tomorrow for some must have tools!
''

 

[Hodakaguy]

I have had the same bag/cradle combo for a number of years on my Tundra DC. I too had the valves holding on the license plate, but just recently ponied up for the compressor and in cab switch/gauge.. huge upgrade imo. I prefer having the psi equalized, checking the psi with the license plate mounts and airing them was a pita in the long term. it's a 'busy' spot on a truck with tailgates, hitch racks, etc, and inevitably, the system starts not holding psi quite so well... a lot nicer to just read a gauge in the cab, and hit a switch to make things right.. not to mention psi adjustments while going down the road/trail. Negatives are cost and additional hose runs.

No dielectric grease on the batteries?

Got some good tips.. need to go shopping tomorrow for some must have tools!
''

I ran the same split system with license plate fill points on our last two campers and it worked pretty well for us, I like the simplicity of the setup and being able to level the load side to side with the split system. I can see the advantages of the onboard compressor as well though.

On batteries I like to use Battery Corrosion guard instead of DiElectric grease, I've used it for years and love this stuff. I have a coat on mating surfaces of the terminals right now, after I build the protective guards for the terminals I will apply the Corrosion guard to the whole terminal.

Here's a link: http://batterycorrosionguard.com/

Hodakaguy

 

[Hodakaguy]

Solar and ACR’s. I’m running a total of 4 batteries on our truck/camper. Two AGM deep cycle batts in the camper and two AGM batts in the truck. I have an ACR (Automatic Combining Relay) under the hood that ties the truck battery and Aux battery together when the alternator is charging and the FWC has its own ACR that connects the camper batteries to the truck AUX batt when the alternator/truck is charging.

Both of the ACR’s are dual voltage sensing so when the solar charge controller starts bringing the voltage up in the camper batteries the camper ACR pulls in and starts charging the trucks AUX battery. When the trucks AUX batt starts charging the trucks ACR pulls in and starts charging the trucks starting batt. Now all 4 batts are charging off the solar controller.

With AGM batteries requiring a higher bulk charge voltage than standard lead acid batteries this setup allows the solar controller to bring all 4 batts up to proper charge of 14.7 volts, important for a full charge and longer battery life on AGM Batteries..

I’m going to add a switch on the campers ACR to give me the ability to turn off the ACR for times when I want the solar to just charge the camper batts ( days with limited sun when your not driving, this ensures the best charge of the camper batteries since everything the solar panel produces will go only to the camper batteries).

Charge controller in action.

The trucks drivers side Aux battery, the camper's ACR is pulled in and the Aux battery is charging. You can see the trucks ACR (located on top of the battery) pulled in as well and providing power to the trucks passenger side starting battery.

Passenger side starting battery charging.

Hodakaguy

 

[Hodakaguy]

Installed the SSO Slimline Hybrid bumper on my fathers truck on Friday.

I'll post a couple pictures of the install here but I typed up a complete How-To article on installing the Bumper/Winch over at TacomaWorld. For full install details and pics click here: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...nstall-guide-how-to-article-with-tips.545427/

Getting the bumper, winch and light bar ready for installation on the truck.

Truck trimmed to accept the bumper . We did the same modifications to the factory lower bracing that we did on my build to allow clearance for the WARN ZEON winch, more details in the link at the top of this post.

And the bumper installed. I really like the looks of this bumper on the truck, looks very factory and clean.

So yesterday I was running around town and stopped at REI to look for a hat. When I pulled into the parking lot I saw my fathers truck already there so I parked next to him and went inside. My father was already inside.....looking at hats LOL.

Identical twins (Minus the camper/canopy)

Hodakaguy

 

[speyside]

I removed the temporary red fuse holder that connected the Aux batt to the Four Wheel Camper. The wiring is re-routed to the Blue Sea fuse panel. I'll be using printed heat shrink wire labels to identify all wiring and make future troubleshooting and identification easier.

The wire label machine.

Awesome work... Are those wires charging the batteries in the camper? I have read lots of mixed things about required wire sizes and voltage loss... Looks like 10ga? Are you getting a good charge from the truck?

 

[Hodakaguy]

Awesome work... Are those wires charging the batteries in the camper? I have read lots of mixed things about required wire sizes and voltage loss... Looks like 10ga? Are you getting a good charge from the truck?

The wires going back to the camper from the truck are #10. They work fine but the larger the wires the less voltage drop. I'm finding my current setup to work good, with smaller amp loads voltage drop isn't much of a concern, the solar charger is bringing all 4 batteries up to 14.7v easily. If you discharged the camper batts way down you might see some temporary voltage drop while the alternator charges the batts back up and there is higher amperage going back to the camper.

Assuming 13.8V with #10 wire and a load of 5 amps I would see a .1V drop between the camper and the truck, at 50 amps it would be 1 Volt. Now upsize wire from #10 to 8 awg and using the same 13.8V we see a voltage drop with a load of 5 amps of .063V and with a 50 amp load a voltage drop of .63V. If you run all the way up to 1/0 wire you can get the voltage drop down to .098V at 50 amps but that wire is huge and will add a lot of weight to the truck.

Hodakaguy

 

[Hodakaguy]

Let’s talk radio knobs. Installed a new set of machined aluminum radio knobs today, these things are the ticket!! These knobs sticks out further than stock (about double), have a knurled grip on the sides and they look factory! They also eliminate the super annoying trait of accidentally changing the radio station when you try and adjust the volume with the stock radio knob, by pushing the knob out further your fingers can grip the knob without bumping the touch screen.

Available on TacomaWorld by sending a PM to “Tacowiede”. They cost $29 a set and are totally worth it to me. Quality is a 10 out of 10.

Link here: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/new-option-for-radio-knobs.543100/

Stock next to the new aluminum knobs.

Stock

And new knobs.

Hodakaguy

 

[Hodakaguy]

Spent the weekend up in Troy Montana, very cool country up there. My mother is building a cabin outside of Troy and I went up to install the HVAC system, it's now up and running and keeping the cabin nice and toasty . With the heat pump work out of the way we had a little time to explore around the area. Went up to Libby and checked out some local sites as well. Will explore more in this area this summer.

Cooking up some lunch on the BioLite stove. This stove has been great, we use it almost daily on our trips and it makes a great way to carry a super compact BBQ.

Crossing a cool old bridge in Troy. This is the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Bridge, opened in 1912.

Just up the river we stopped to check out this cool swinging bridge over the Kootenai river. If your traveling through this area this is a must stop.

My son and wife crossing the bridge.

Picture of my ugly mug checking out the Kootenai Falls.

Playing with a ND filter, forgot the tripod so had to make do with a rock.

On the way back home another Tacoma/FWC was chasing us down the highway

Hodakaguy

 

[lactic]

I see that will be moving from the “fab skills/garage envy” stage into the “trip report/photog skills envy” stage of this thread...

As always, keep ‘em coming!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Vinz Clortho]

This wood box is light weight, fits the open space perfectly, it's durable and only $17! It also matches the campers interior very nicely.

I’m loving the build thread. Would you mind sharing where you picked up the crate?

 

[Hodakaguy]

This wood box is light weight, fits the open space perfectly, it's durable and only $17! It also matches the campers interior very nicely.


I’m loving the build thread. Would you mind sharing where you picked up the crate?

I believe my wife picked this up at Target.

Hodakaguy

 

[Hodakaguy]

Quick after work upgrade. On our last outing I noticed that the USB charge ports in the camper charged my phone and tablet very slowly, there is no rating printed on the factory USB units so I assume they are cheap low amperage chargers.

Time to upgrade!

Here's the factory USB chargers, taken as I'm removing them from the camper.

I'll be installing two Blue Sea 4.8A chargers. I've used these before and they work great.

The new Blue Sea charger next to the removed factory unit.

Marine heat shrink terminals installed on the factory wiring and new chargers going in.

And all installed...ready to charge up our gadgets while we travel.

Hodakaguy