Stan H
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Your easily maxed out in thatHere was a bagged moment and a WDH. (Emergency towed him back from Elk hunting out in the bush about 40 miles his died.)
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Freems
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Yep, it handled it well.Your easily maxed out in that
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JTdiRtyD
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- #63
Finally have a good solution for an awning!
I want a 270 awning, but almost all of them on the market are around 8 ft long, so that means they have to be mounted high so they can extend over the cab. I didn't want this, so I've been hunting for a shorter option that I can still keep tucked behind the cab. I eventually found the OVS 270 LTE which comes in at roughly 65 inches long. Problem one solved.
Next was how do I mount it on a half rack with a clamshell tent? Instead of mounting to the rack, I decided to mount to the tent, so I fired up Fusion360 and went to work. This is what I came up with.
I do have to make some changes. Well, I don't HAVE to, it will work as is, but there are things I can change to make it work better. I need to shorten the brackets on the awning side because when deployed they hang too low and interfere with my access panel door on the enclosure. Thats an easy fix. I really want to store the cross brace inside the brackets, but that will take some redesign of the cross brace to gain enough clearance for mounting bolts. I would also like to leave one end of the cross brace permanently attached to the tent side so it just pivots out when you need to set it up.
The great thing about this, I can deploy the awing with or without the tent deployed, and I can deploy the tent without needing to put the awning out.
After I was half ways through this project I found someone online that makes something similar, but instead of using the cross brace they just use a pin to lock it in place. I like the cross brace design better, I feel it's going to be far more sturdy, and gives the option of multiple angles.
I want a 270 awning, but almost all of them on the market are around 8 ft long, so that means they have to be mounted high so they can extend over the cab. I didn't want this, so I've been hunting for a shorter option that I can still keep tucked behind the cab. I eventually found the OVS 270 LTE which comes in at roughly 65 inches long. Problem one solved.
Next was how do I mount it on a half rack with a clamshell tent? Instead of mounting to the rack, I decided to mount to the tent, so I fired up Fusion360 and went to work. This is what I came up with.
I do have to make some changes. Well, I don't HAVE to, it will work as is, but there are things I can change to make it work better. I need to shorten the brackets on the awning side because when deployed they hang too low and interfere with my access panel door on the enclosure. Thats an easy fix. I really want to store the cross brace inside the brackets, but that will take some redesign of the cross brace to gain enough clearance for mounting bolts. I would also like to leave one end of the cross brace permanently attached to the tent side so it just pivots out when you need to set it up.
The great thing about this, I can deploy the awing with or without the tent deployed, and I can deploy the tent without needing to put the awning out.
After I was half ways through this project I found someone online that makes something similar, but instead of using the cross brace they just use a pin to lock it in place. I like the cross brace design better, I feel it's going to be far more sturdy, and gives the option of multiple angles.
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JTdiRtyD
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- #64
Wow, I've been slacking. I thought I had posted about our Utah trip, but I guess not. I'm a federal worker, so this whole shutdown has my brain distracted with still working but not getting paid, so I've been forgetting a lot this month (anniversary, appts, etc).
Anywho, every year my buddy and podcast co-host take a overlanding trip somewhere. Last year, and again this year, we went to Utah. Normally I would do a big long story recap of the trip, but I'm tired this morning and just not in the right creative mindset, so I'll do a small photo-dump, and if you want to know how the trip went we have a podcast episode about it. Links to our pod are in my signature below.
This was a good full solo shakedown of the setup so far. Heres my notes (some updated from Colorado):
Suspension:
Very happy with the suspension. I was concerned after Colorado that it was going to be too rough on trails, but I found it was just fine and rode pretty good. Some "dirt roads" really sucked, but they would have sucked in any vehicle simply because it was nothing but rocks.
Tent:
Overall it worked great. A couple things to address, I'd like a way to keep the side window awning above the cab always closed and secured. It's not difficult to set up the awning, it's just time consuming since I have to crawl inside to set it up and it's something thats just not needed. The other window is easy and I can reach it from outside, so thats a non-issue. It does have ties so you can roll the awning up and secure it, but I'm concerned it will trap water in the rolled fabric, and that water will make it's way through exposed zippers, so I'd rather it be secured in the down position.
The other thing about the tent is wind, you really have to pay attention to the direction the wind is coming from otherwise the entry becomes a big wind sail, and I need to address straps and areas that flap.
Awning:
The brackets worked great the ONE time I used the awning... This is actually one of my conflicts with awnings, they are great when you can use them, but I rarely use them. They are very much a fair weather, or "fairest" weather feature. Great for getting some shade, great for staying out of the rain, but if its too windy you can't really use them, and it seems like it's always windy. But the brackets worked great and I was able to stay out of the rain when needed.
Bed Slide:
I had already determined this was a fail after our Colorado trip, and this Utah trip really solidified that. The locks eventually stopped working and I had to wedge a piece of wood between the slide and the tailgate otherwise it would slide back and forth and either slam into the gate or the front bed wall.
I also determined that living out of totes sucks. They are convenient, but not efficient. I very quickly become sick of emptying out the entire bed every time I needed something. I tried rearranging things but it always resulted in the same thing, emptying the entire bed.
To address the bed slide I have decided that I'm building drawers into the bed. Yes, I had a Decked and sold it, but the Decked was too much wasted space because of the design. By building drawers I can maximize space and organization. Two drawers, one side will be gear, the other side will be kitchen. I'm going to swap from my Eureka stove that takes up way too much space to a Jetboil Genesis or similar that folds up and packs away small. I will be able to easily pack away the stove and all cooking items, and add a large dry storage area into the drawer for food. I then plan to "seal" the kitchen drawer to try and mitigate as much smell as I can. I have a thread about that Here.
On top of the drawers I will make version 2 of my bed slide to items like chairs, diesel heater, fire pit, etc. This version of the bed slide will use steel tubing for the framing to strengthen the platform and mitigate sagging in the middle, and instead of relying on locks in the slides I'll add a manual bar lock. It won't be support nearly as much weight as it does now, so I "hope" it will work out fine.
I have the whole bed setup designed in Fusion360 and in theory it's going to work great. I'll be picking up the wood tonight after work and I have a 4 day weekend to knock out a lot of it.
I'll also be redesigning the half height enclosure, as I've talked about previoulsy, and adding side opening doors with storage inside thats blocked off from the rest of the bed. I'll install my battery system and air comp on the passenger side, and quick access items into the drivers side. This will allow me to lower the deck height of my rear seat delete platform by no longer haivng the battery under it and gain some storage height in the back seat.
Speaking of back seat, I used a hammock style net across the rear roll bars for pillow and sleeping bag storage. This worked great, but I want to expand that space a little bit to make it easier to stuff those items in there. The plan is to get a rear window molle panel (was already planned for storage for trauma kits, lights, fire extinguisher, etc), and then use that panel to mount a shelf in place of where that hammock netting is. I also saw a friend use those plastic 3-drawer systems in the back seat for clothing and misc items, so I'm thinking about maybe doing that instead of digging through bags all the time.
Our "camping" season is coming to an end here in MN, so I have some time to knock all this out before spring. We are thinking of tackling the Wyoming BDR late spring 2026, so hopefully I'll have all this ready to test out by then, address anything that needs improvement over the summer and fall, and then hopefully have things really dialed in for a month or so long Alaska trip we are planning for 2027.
Anywho, every year my buddy and podcast co-host take a overlanding trip somewhere. Last year, and again this year, we went to Utah. Normally I would do a big long story recap of the trip, but I'm tired this morning and just not in the right creative mindset, so I'll do a small photo-dump, and if you want to know how the trip went we have a podcast episode about it. Links to our pod are in my signature below.
This was a good full solo shakedown of the setup so far. Heres my notes (some updated from Colorado):
Suspension:
Very happy with the suspension. I was concerned after Colorado that it was going to be too rough on trails, but I found it was just fine and rode pretty good. Some "dirt roads" really sucked, but they would have sucked in any vehicle simply because it was nothing but rocks.
Tent:
Overall it worked great. A couple things to address, I'd like a way to keep the side window awning above the cab always closed and secured. It's not difficult to set up the awning, it's just time consuming since I have to crawl inside to set it up and it's something thats just not needed. The other window is easy and I can reach it from outside, so thats a non-issue. It does have ties so you can roll the awning up and secure it, but I'm concerned it will trap water in the rolled fabric, and that water will make it's way through exposed zippers, so I'd rather it be secured in the down position.
The other thing about the tent is wind, you really have to pay attention to the direction the wind is coming from otherwise the entry becomes a big wind sail, and I need to address straps and areas that flap.
Awning:
The brackets worked great the ONE time I used the awning... This is actually one of my conflicts with awnings, they are great when you can use them, but I rarely use them. They are very much a fair weather, or "fairest" weather feature. Great for getting some shade, great for staying out of the rain, but if its too windy you can't really use them, and it seems like it's always windy. But the brackets worked great and I was able to stay out of the rain when needed.
Bed Slide:
I had already determined this was a fail after our Colorado trip, and this Utah trip really solidified that. The locks eventually stopped working and I had to wedge a piece of wood between the slide and the tailgate otherwise it would slide back and forth and either slam into the gate or the front bed wall.
I also determined that living out of totes sucks. They are convenient, but not efficient. I very quickly become sick of emptying out the entire bed every time I needed something. I tried rearranging things but it always resulted in the same thing, emptying the entire bed.
To address the bed slide I have decided that I'm building drawers into the bed. Yes, I had a Decked and sold it, but the Decked was too much wasted space because of the design. By building drawers I can maximize space and organization. Two drawers, one side will be gear, the other side will be kitchen. I'm going to swap from my Eureka stove that takes up way too much space to a Jetboil Genesis or similar that folds up and packs away small. I will be able to easily pack away the stove and all cooking items, and add a large dry storage area into the drawer for food. I then plan to "seal" the kitchen drawer to try and mitigate as much smell as I can. I have a thread about that Here.
On top of the drawers I will make version 2 of my bed slide to items like chairs, diesel heater, fire pit, etc. This version of the bed slide will use steel tubing for the framing to strengthen the platform and mitigate sagging in the middle, and instead of relying on locks in the slides I'll add a manual bar lock. It won't be support nearly as much weight as it does now, so I "hope" it will work out fine.
I have the whole bed setup designed in Fusion360 and in theory it's going to work great. I'll be picking up the wood tonight after work and I have a 4 day weekend to knock out a lot of it.
I'll also be redesigning the half height enclosure, as I've talked about previoulsy, and adding side opening doors with storage inside thats blocked off from the rest of the bed. I'll install my battery system and air comp on the passenger side, and quick access items into the drivers side. This will allow me to lower the deck height of my rear seat delete platform by no longer haivng the battery under it and gain some storage height in the back seat.
Speaking of back seat, I used a hammock style net across the rear roll bars for pillow and sleeping bag storage. This worked great, but I want to expand that space a little bit to make it easier to stuff those items in there. The plan is to get a rear window molle panel (was already planned for storage for trauma kits, lights, fire extinguisher, etc), and then use that panel to mount a shelf in place of where that hammock netting is. I also saw a friend use those plastic 3-drawer systems in the back seat for clothing and misc items, so I'm thinking about maybe doing that instead of digging through bags all the time.
Our "camping" season is coming to an end here in MN, so I have some time to knock all this out before spring. We are thinking of tackling the Wyoming BDR late spring 2026, so hopefully I'll have all this ready to test out by then, address anything that needs improvement over the summer and fall, and then hopefully have things really dialed in for a month or so long Alaska trip we are planning for 2027.
RudeJeepin
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Dangnabbit, get out of my head.
Your drawer system with slider for the bed had been rolling around in my mind. I haven't fully fleshed it out, cause I don't have the half height canopy that would be needed.
Can't wait to see what you come up with.
Your drawer system with slider for the bed had been rolling around in my mind. I haven't fully fleshed it out, cause I don't have the half height canopy that would be needed.
Can't wait to see what you come up with.
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JTdiRtyD
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- #66
We bought a thing!
Just picked up our new 2025 Encore ROG 12RK!
Our current home built camper has been great to us, but it was time for something bigger and with more amenities. We don't want a big travel trailer as we still want to get to remote places that might be a little tight. This is roughly 15ft long hitch to bumper, which is a little longer than I was looking for, but the Mrs really liked the kitchen so... gotta keep her happy.
Just shy of 1800lbs empty. The ol EcoD barely noticed it and still managed 16mpg average on the drive home with some cross/head wind, so I suspect we won't see much change compared to our old trailer that was a few hundred pounds lighter.
Over the winter I'll be adding 400ah of lithium battery, 400w solar with DC-DC charging capability, 2000w inverter, outdoor shower, and a few other small things. Might remove the decals and add my own, and add the podcast logo to the rear doors.
Just picked up our new 2025 Encore ROG 12RK!
Our current home built camper has been great to us, but it was time for something bigger and with more amenities. We don't want a big travel trailer as we still want to get to remote places that might be a little tight. This is roughly 15ft long hitch to bumper, which is a little longer than I was looking for, but the Mrs really liked the kitchen so... gotta keep her happy.
Just shy of 1800lbs empty. The ol EcoD barely noticed it and still managed 16mpg average on the drive home with some cross/head wind, so I suspect we won't see much change compared to our old trailer that was a few hundred pounds lighter.
Over the winter I'll be adding 400ah of lithium battery, 400w solar with DC-DC charging capability, 2000w inverter, outdoor shower, and a few other small things. Might remove the decals and add my own, and add the podcast logo to the rear doors.
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JTdiRtyD
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During my week of being furloughed I got a couple things done;
1) I taped everything I could think of in the truck to try and pinpoint where my damn whistle noise is coming from, and I STILL HAVEN"T FOUND IT!!!!! I taped the doors, door windows, freedom panels, hard top, various holes in the cab from bolts that aren't being used.... everything I could find. The only thing I didn't tape off was the rear window because the cap and tent are blocking access. My rear window leaks so I did the silicone hose trick to stop it, but I'm now wondering if I'm getting enough air leak through the window seal that it's causing the whistle?
2) I build my proof of concept drawer system in the bed to test out. The drawers themselves are pretty much done, I need to add a couple dividers once I dial in how I want them packed, and work on sealing one side for kitchen items. The drawer box/frame is temporarily built out of 1/2 BCX plywood so I can test fit and determine how I really want it, and then I'll build the final product out of 3/4 Birch.
I found that the slides for the bedslide still function as they should, I just need to tweak placement to get them to function properly. But I'll rebuild that using steel tube framing and diamond plate decking.
I've got a short trip to Missouri next weekend to test it out. Not that theres really much to "test", really I just want to see if theres anything that annoys me about it before building the final version.
1) I taped everything I could think of in the truck to try and pinpoint where my damn whistle noise is coming from, and I STILL HAVEN"T FOUND IT!!!!! I taped the doors, door windows, freedom panels, hard top, various holes in the cab from bolts that aren't being used.... everything I could find. The only thing I didn't tape off was the rear window because the cap and tent are blocking access. My rear window leaks so I did the silicone hose trick to stop it, but I'm now wondering if I'm getting enough air leak through the window seal that it's causing the whistle?
2) I build my proof of concept drawer system in the bed to test out. The drawers themselves are pretty much done, I need to add a couple dividers once I dial in how I want them packed, and work on sealing one side for kitchen items. The drawer box/frame is temporarily built out of 1/2 BCX plywood so I can test fit and determine how I really want it, and then I'll build the final product out of 3/4 Birch.
I found that the slides for the bedslide still function as they should, I just need to tweak placement to get them to function properly. But I'll rebuild that using steel tube framing and diamond plate decking.
I've got a short trip to Missouri next weekend to test it out. Not that theres really much to "test", really I just want to see if theres anything that annoys me about it before building the final version.
RudeJeepin
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That looks slick.During my week of being furloughed I got a couple things done;
1) I taped everything I could think of in the truck to try and pinpoint where my damn whistle noise is coming from, and I STILL HAVEN"T FOUND IT!!!!! I taped the doors, door windows, freedom panels, hard top, various holes in the cab from bolts that aren't being used.... everything I could find. The only thing I didn't tape off was the rear window because the cap and tent are blocking access. My rear window leaks so I did the silicone hose trick to stop it, but I'm now wondering if I'm getting enough air leak through the window seal that it's causing the whistle?
2) I build my proof of concept drawer system in the bed to test out. The drawers themselves are pretty much done, I need to add a couple dividers once I dial in how I want them packed, and work on sealing one side for kitchen items. The drawer box/frame is temporarily built out of 1/2 BCX plywood so I can test fit and determine how I really want it, and then I'll build the final product out of 3/4 Birch.
I found that the slides for the bedslide still function as they should, I just need to tweak placement to get them to function properly. But I'll rebuild that using steel tube framing and diamond plate decking.
I've got a short trip to Missouri next weekend to test it out. Not that theres really much to "test", really I just want to see if theres anything that annoys me about it before building the final version.
If you were closer, I'd come take it off your hands, so you could build the final version.
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JTdiRtyD
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- #69
Whew, it's been a minute!
Not much for updates on the truck. I did remove the rear seat platform for a redesign, but I haven't gotten anywhere with it. I bought a Rough Country bed molle panel for a Tacoma to use in the rear window. I couldn't get onboard with paying $300 for a kit from JCR, but I found the RC panel dimensions were about perfect. More to come on that another day.
I did get some work done on the new camper. This camper has both 110v and 12v power built in, with everything minus the A/C and 110v outlets running on the 12v system. Since we rarely find ourselves anyplace with 30a hookups, I wanted to be able to power the 110v outlets through an inverter when needed. I also wanted to make sure we had plenty of power and plenty of solar to hopefully never have to worry while one trips. I think I got that covered now...
Installed:
400w Renogy Shadowflux panels
40a Renogy MPPT charge controller
2000w Renogy inverter
314ah Wattcycle lithium battery
30a Renogy power transfer switch
32" Insignia TV
Raspberry Pi5 running Kodi as a media player
Wolfbox camera
Not installed yet:
60a Renogy DC-DC charger (hence unused breaker in photos)
If you're a podcast listener and you've listened to our latest episode, you'll know this trailer didn't fit through my 7ft garage door. Oops. The crossbars were originally mounted on top of the uprights, and while the bars themselves would clear, the bolt heads and bolt caps did not, thus ripping my garage door seal trim off. So I removed the bars, cut them down shorter so I could flip them and mount them to the bottom of the uprights. Now I have about an inch of clearance to the solar panels.
Traditional solar panels don't work if any portion of the panel has a shadow. This became a big issue at Overland of America where, while we still saw a decent amount of sun, there was shadows throughout the day hitting parts of the panels and we got pretty low on power. These Shadowflux panels are supposed to still work even if half the panel has a shadow over it. 400w should get me around 28-30amps in perfect conditions, so I suspect 20 amps on average. But if we ever find ourselves struggling for solar, the 60a DC-DC should get us back to 100% pretty easily.
The Mrs requested.... no, she insisted she be able to run a coffee pot, so I needed 110v power while off-grid, hence the power transfer switch. Power transfer switch allows inverter to power the outlets by default, but then switches to shore power when we connect to a 30a service. I tested brewing a pot on inverter power and all went well. Pulled about 575-625 watts for the few minutes it ran and barely dented the battery. Nothing caught on fire or got hot. Inverter fans didn't even spin up from the load. Success!
TV and Raspberry Pi also run on 110v (Pi can run off USB if needed). I originally bought a media player off Amazon, but the remote interfered with the TV so I ended up going with the Pi5 and Kodi. So far that system works, but I don't like it yet. The TV is cheap and laggy, and I don't like how far it sticks out of the TV cabinet with this mount (locking swing out RV mount), so I think I'll sell this TV and get a better quality one and then fab my own mount that will keep it inside the cabinet more. I'll have to relocate the Pi, but that should be easy enough.
My wiring OCD doesn't like how the battery compartment looks, so at some point I'll re-do that to be cleaner, but for now it will work.
First big shakedown test is coming up in less than 2 weeks when we head to Arkansas for Jasper Jeep Jam.
Not much for updates on the truck. I did remove the rear seat platform for a redesign, but I haven't gotten anywhere with it. I bought a Rough Country bed molle panel for a Tacoma to use in the rear window. I couldn't get onboard with paying $300 for a kit from JCR, but I found the RC panel dimensions were about perfect. More to come on that another day.
I did get some work done on the new camper. This camper has both 110v and 12v power built in, with everything minus the A/C and 110v outlets running on the 12v system. Since we rarely find ourselves anyplace with 30a hookups, I wanted to be able to power the 110v outlets through an inverter when needed. I also wanted to make sure we had plenty of power and plenty of solar to hopefully never have to worry while one trips. I think I got that covered now...
Installed:
400w Renogy Shadowflux panels
40a Renogy MPPT charge controller
2000w Renogy inverter
314ah Wattcycle lithium battery
30a Renogy power transfer switch
32" Insignia TV
Raspberry Pi5 running Kodi as a media player
Wolfbox camera
Not installed yet:
60a Renogy DC-DC charger (hence unused breaker in photos)
If you're a podcast listener and you've listened to our latest episode, you'll know this trailer didn't fit through my 7ft garage door. Oops. The crossbars were originally mounted on top of the uprights, and while the bars themselves would clear, the bolt heads and bolt caps did not, thus ripping my garage door seal trim off. So I removed the bars, cut them down shorter so I could flip them and mount them to the bottom of the uprights. Now I have about an inch of clearance to the solar panels.
Traditional solar panels don't work if any portion of the panel has a shadow. This became a big issue at Overland of America where, while we still saw a decent amount of sun, there was shadows throughout the day hitting parts of the panels and we got pretty low on power. These Shadowflux panels are supposed to still work even if half the panel has a shadow over it. 400w should get me around 28-30amps in perfect conditions, so I suspect 20 amps on average. But if we ever find ourselves struggling for solar, the 60a DC-DC should get us back to 100% pretty easily.
The Mrs requested.... no, she insisted she be able to run a coffee pot, so I needed 110v power while off-grid, hence the power transfer switch. Power transfer switch allows inverter to power the outlets by default, but then switches to shore power when we connect to a 30a service. I tested brewing a pot on inverter power and all went well. Pulled about 575-625 watts for the few minutes it ran and barely dented the battery. Nothing caught on fire or got hot. Inverter fans didn't even spin up from the load. Success!
TV and Raspberry Pi also run on 110v (Pi can run off USB if needed). I originally bought a media player off Amazon, but the remote interfered with the TV so I ended up going with the Pi5 and Kodi. So far that system works, but I don't like it yet. The TV is cheap and laggy, and I don't like how far it sticks out of the TV cabinet with this mount (locking swing out RV mount), so I think I'll sell this TV and get a better quality one and then fab my own mount that will keep it inside the cabinet more. I'll have to relocate the Pi, but that should be easy enough.
My wiring OCD doesn't like how the battery compartment looks, so at some point I'll re-do that to be cleaner, but for now it will work.
First big shakedown test is coming up in less than 2 weeks when we head to Arkansas for Jasper Jeep Jam.
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JTdiRtyD
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- #70
Reworking the rear seat delete. Removed the doors in the platform as I never used them. Great idea in concept, but once you load crap onto the platform you've gotta remove everything to access the doors. I'm also building a rear wall that will house all of the onboard power stuffs, and will have a molle panel for attaching things. New fridge and fridge slide is on the way as well.
I also upsized to 37inch Mickey Baja Boss AT. Now that I finally have ride height with 37s figured out I have a good idea of how tall the rear cap can be in order to fit in the garage, so I can start working on that soon.
And cleaned the MAP sensor. It was much needed. I'm also going to be looking into a catch can now.
I also upsized to 37inch Mickey Baja Boss AT. Now that I finally have ride height with 37s figured out I have a good idea of how tall the rear cap can be in order to fit in the garage, so I can start working on that soon.
And cleaned the MAP sensor. It was much needed. I'm also going to be looking into a catch can now.
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JTdiRtyD
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Finally got some progress on the new rear seat delete. This would technically be version 4...
So lets see...
v1 - had doors in the platform to access underneath
v2 - I removed the doors in the platform, and I was going to use a molle panel from a Tacoma and mount it in front of the rear window. Plan was to add some uprights off the platform and mount the molle to those. I also wanted to move all of my on board power stuff out from under the platform and place it all behind a wall built between the two uprights. I found that the uprights for the molle panel weren't as sturdy as I hoped and would wobble and make noise while driving.
v3 - I decided to scratch the idea about using the Tacoma molle panel and just shell out the cash for the JCR rear window molle panel. This allowed me to do away with the tall uprights that were wobbly, but I still kept the rear wall that I built to hide all of the battery system stuffs. I got all of that finished up and moved onto the fridge. I was going to run my fridge on a slide out through the drivers rear door. Because of the shape of our doors I found I was needing to raise the fridge so much that I could no longer easily reach inside. I then decided to scrap the slideout and I'd just static mount the fridge behind the rear seat, but because the platform was built a little higher to have more room underneath I found the fridge was still a little high. Not only was it still tall, but fitting the battery behind the wall took up a lot of room and now it was a tight squeeze to fit the fridge. Ugh.
v4 - I started over. First I dropped the platform all the way down to the level of where the rear seats bolt up. This lowers the fridge so I can actually reach inside and still leaves enough room underneath to store some stuff like the Devos light, folding camp tables (the ones that roll up), anything thats under 6 inches or so of height. I also removed the rear wall plastic panel (of course breaking it), this gave me another 4 or 5 inches of room to push the battery farther back, which gave me more room for the fridge between the seat and the wall. Now I have more depth, so I was able top add in some decent sized storage spots on top of the rear wall where I can charge electronics. Once done everything was sprayed with Herculiner. I really like how the rattle can Herculiner lays down and coats, and once it dries it's quite durable. Downside is the cab of the truck stinks for a little while.
So far this v4 is looking to be a great setup. Lots of storage room in the rear even with the fridge in there. I still need to install the T-track and run the power for the fridge, but I think it's safe to say the rear seat area is "complete".
Next on the list of things to do:
Install front and rear track bars, rear brake lines, and SteerSmarts brace
Fix/finish rear drawer system by rebuilding the external box out of 3/4 cabinet grade ply
Relocate GMRS antenna to rear rack and onto a folding mount for clearance
I don't have photos of v2 or v3, but here is v4.
So lets see...
v1 - had doors in the platform to access underneath
v2 - I removed the doors in the platform, and I was going to use a molle panel from a Tacoma and mount it in front of the rear window. Plan was to add some uprights off the platform and mount the molle to those. I also wanted to move all of my on board power stuff out from under the platform and place it all behind a wall built between the two uprights. I found that the uprights for the molle panel weren't as sturdy as I hoped and would wobble and make noise while driving.
v3 - I decided to scratch the idea about using the Tacoma molle panel and just shell out the cash for the JCR rear window molle panel. This allowed me to do away with the tall uprights that were wobbly, but I still kept the rear wall that I built to hide all of the battery system stuffs. I got all of that finished up and moved onto the fridge. I was going to run my fridge on a slide out through the drivers rear door. Because of the shape of our doors I found I was needing to raise the fridge so much that I could no longer easily reach inside. I then decided to scrap the slideout and I'd just static mount the fridge behind the rear seat, but because the platform was built a little higher to have more room underneath I found the fridge was still a little high. Not only was it still tall, but fitting the battery behind the wall took up a lot of room and now it was a tight squeeze to fit the fridge. Ugh.
v4 - I started over. First I dropped the platform all the way down to the level of where the rear seats bolt up. This lowers the fridge so I can actually reach inside and still leaves enough room underneath to store some stuff like the Devos light, folding camp tables (the ones that roll up), anything thats under 6 inches or so of height. I also removed the rear wall plastic panel (of course breaking it), this gave me another 4 or 5 inches of room to push the battery farther back, which gave me more room for the fridge between the seat and the wall. Now I have more depth, so I was able top add in some decent sized storage spots on top of the rear wall where I can charge electronics. Once done everything was sprayed with Herculiner. I really like how the rattle can Herculiner lays down and coats, and once it dries it's quite durable. Downside is the cab of the truck stinks for a little while.
So far this v4 is looking to be a great setup. Lots of storage room in the rear even with the fridge in there. I still need to install the T-track and run the power for the fridge, but I think it's safe to say the rear seat area is "complete".
Next on the list of things to do:
Install front and rear track bars, rear brake lines, and SteerSmarts brace
Fix/finish rear drawer system by rebuilding the external box out of 3/4 cabinet grade ply
Relocate GMRS antenna to rear rack and onto a folding mount for clearance
I don't have photos of v2 or v3, but here is v4.
OP
OP
JTdiRtyD
Well-Known Member
- Thread starter
- #72
Not an update of my truck, but I finished up the cap build I did for my buddies gladi. He will finish up the wiring when he gets power ran into the bed, and will be mounting a RTT to the top soon.
I've also decided I don't enjoy building these. This is my second full build, third if you count the partial build on my truck. I'd probably enjoy it more if I was better at welding. I can make two pieces of steel stick together, but I can't always make it pretty and I don't understand heat application enough to prevent warping. We ended up with a little sag in the middle, maybe 3/16 inch at its worst. Not enough to really cause an issue, but enough to frustrate me.
I've also decided I don't enjoy building these. This is my second full build, third if you count the partial build on my truck. I'd probably enjoy it more if I was better at welding. I can make two pieces of steel stick together, but I can't always make it pretty and I don't understand heat application enough to prevent warping. We ended up with a little sag in the middle, maybe 3/16 inch at its worst. Not enough to really cause an issue, but enough to frustrate me.
RudeJeepin
Well-Known Member
- First Name
- Carl
- Joined
- May 6, 2022
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- 5
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- 1,490
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- 2,355
- Location
- Washington
- Vehicle(s)
- 2022 JTRD
- Build Thread
- Link
Looks good...I'd let you build me one.I've also decided I don't enjoy building these. This is my second full build, third if you count the partial build on my truck. I'd probably enjoy it more if I was better at welding. I can make two pieces of steel stick together, but I can't always make it I don't understand heat application enough to prevent warping. We ended up with a little sag in the middle, maybe 3/16 inch at its worst. Not enough to really cause an issue, but enough to frustrate me.
I'd like to add a cap, but waffle on size. Part of me wants 3/4 height with a RTT, so it doesn't cause much wind drag. Part of me says, just get full height and get one of those cap enclosures. I probably wouldn't use it enough to justify either setup at current market prices.
OP
OP
JTdiRtyD
Well-Known Member
- Thread starter
- #75
Yeah aluminum for the panels went up almost $400 in the past 6 months since I last had some made. I'd really like to make the frame out of extruded aluminum so it's adjustable, but the cost is insane.
Really what I need to do is get a pop-up RTT setup like a GoFast or Lonepeak and then figure out how to store my truck when not being used. That's the end goal, that way you have some space to fairly comfortably escape the elements without having to hide away in your tent.
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