Ares - Build Thread

[TheHops]

A huge addition to the build showed up yesterday: My RSI Smartcap! Check out the video below for a walkaround and my impressions.



Assembly wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Having said that, it still took about 3 hours from start to finish, then another 30 minutes to figure out how to lift this beast up on to my bed. I have a bunch of pictures from the installation, and may edit this post as a sort of "guide" or step-by-step at a later time, but honestly the instructions were very detailed and helpful, so it's kind of dummy-proof. To make a long story short though: It showed up as one shipment, in two separate boxes. One box contained 5 smaller boxes: The hardware kit, the left wall, the right wall, the front flange and the rear flange. The other box contained the roof panel, in which the other 4 components snap in to and/or bolt on to. It is essentially a large, very expensive, very heavy lego set.

This piece of kit was critical to my build though, and it's now creeping up to "completion" (is it ever really complete though?). The main things that I have left to do now are mount Frontrunner racks up top, install the satellite lighting and wire everything up. After that, I'm (my definition of) expedition ready.

Bottom line on the RSI Smartcap: Absolutely blown away. It exceeded my every expectation. Time will tell how it holds up. I expect it will be just fine, considered it is made out of steel.

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[kdfhuey]

Today was a big day. I completed a huge priority mod towards my build...

That's right! It's the Genesis Offroad dual battery kit. The two Odyssey 25 series batteries I used are rated at 850 CCA and 65 ah each. I've been wanting to install a dual battery system in my last two vehicles, but there were no kits readily available for what I drove, and I never got around to drawing up my own plans. This will go a long way towards making sure that my food stays fresh, my devices stay charged, and that I don't get stranded due to a dead battery while off grid. With the solar setup that I'm piecing together as well, I should never be left needing more power.

Install was surprisingly easy, though a bit time consuming. It's hard to say exactly how long the process should be, as I was purposely killing time installing the kit while waiting for the FedEx guy to show up with my batteries, but all in I'd estimate it would have taken me 2.5 to 3 hours straight through. I do however have a lot of wires in my engine bay that I took the opportunity to reroute/clean up to optimize space, so YMMV.

I didn't really take detailed pictures or notes on the install, as the Genesis Offroad JL how-to video is more than sufficient for the JT install. Their instructions are very well done. I did take some pictures at key points though just to show what I was working with. This was my starting point:

After yanking the tray, stock battery, auto stop/start battery, fuse box and air box:

Cables everywhere there. I'm not going to lie, it was kind of nerve-wracking. I genuinely hate messing with vehicle electrical systems, as it's pretty easy to jack things up, but the detailed and easy to follow instructions from Genesis Offroad gave me a lot of confidence throughout the process.

Here's the new battery tray bolted in:

Great built quality, and the powder coating was flawless. This thing is rock solid, and supported 100 pounds of battery without complaint.

A few pictures of me slowly getting things back together; routing wires and replacing the fuse box and sPOD:

Once the batteries showed up, it was just a matter of dropping them in and tightening things down. I did spend a fair bit of extra time rerouting wires, crimping new terminals, adding extra wire loom and just generally trying to clean things up. It certainly doesn't look flawless, but everything is manageable and most importantly, done safely. I will however continue to play with the setup in order to improve the overall look as time goes on.

Pictured at lower left under the red rubber boot is the positive bus bar. I ran both of my positive leads for the air compressor here, with their 40a online fuses tucked between the air box and battery box. Also, I ran the sPOD positive wire here, and the positive wire for my inverter/12v port combo, from their circuit breakers mounted behind the engine on the right side of the picture. Here's the final few pictures before taking it for a test drive:

No dash lights, no issues, and no fire! All in all, I'm incredibly pleased with the product. I spent about 5 hours under the hood by the time all was said and done. This definitely wasn't the cheapest mod, but I have no doubt it'll keep on benefiting me for years to come.

So what's next? Who knows. I've stopped trying to predict it at this point. But one thing is for sure...there will be more. Stay tuned!

Dude this journal is fantastic!! Thanks for being so detailed. Keep up the great work!

 

[TheHops]

Dude this journal is fantastic!! Thanks for being so detailed. Keep up the great work!

Thanks! Glad you're enjoying. I always told myself that one day I'd actually follow through with a detailed build thread, and so far this has turned out to be the vehicle for it! There will definitely be more to come, so stay posted if you're interested!

 

[TheHops]

Just an update: I made a purchase for a full BuiltRight bed setup--rails, and molle panels all around. Once those come in, I will rewire my in-cab 12v fridge port to the bed (now that it is covered with the RSI cap) and that will more or less finish up my bed setup. Aside from figuring out how best to install my fridge slide, but that's a luxury.

Once the panels are in, it's just a matter of figuring out how I want to set it up. I may move all of my recovery gear from beneath my rear seat (straps, chains, snatch blocks) back there, and repurpose that area. Perhaps for a small onboard water setup? Or I may just leave it as is, I'm honestly undecided. Either way, in the back, I do eventually plan to have my maxtrax flat mounted against the bulkhead, along with my axe, hatchet, shovel, and (on the current dream sheet) a Pro Eagle jack somewhere along the sides. I'll also toss a dedicated breaker bar in there for wheel/tire swaps. And probably another fire extinguisher to complement the one in the cab. As you can see, I have big plans for the bed. There's so much utility to be had back there with all of the unutilized space that BuiltRight's products open up.

Anyway, I said all of that to say: If you're looking at BuiltRight products, now is the time to buy. They run one sale a year for black friday, and it's live right now. I easily saved over $100 between the sale pricing and temporary free shipping. Check them out if you're interested.

 

[EWP]

I have a Smartcap on order and would like to do the BuiltRight panels as well. My concern is the cap clamps interfering with the panel mounting points in the rail. I take it you don’t see an interference issue?

 

[TheHops]

I have a Smartcap on order and would like to do the BuiltRight panels as well. My concern is the cap clamps interfering with the panel mounting points in the rail. I take it you don’t see an interference issue?

I did at first, but now that I have the cap installed, I don't. Though there are 3 specific recommended clamp locations per side, they could easily be moved to accommodate the panels, if the panels do actually interfere.

 

[EWP]

Thank you.

 

[TheHops]

Frontrunner rack is up and running on my SmartCap. Fitment is perfect.

Be advised that the RSI channels are narrower than other manufacturers. Frontrunner makes RSI specific brackets for the mounting feet that aren't available on their site, so be sure to call or chat with them if any of you plan on going a similar route. I also went with the tall foot kit, to provide clearance for the RSI vent and Frontrunner wind fairing.

Up next is mounting my RTT brackets and test fitting the ikamper. I have a plan in place for the roof rack lighting, but I likely won't execute that until the front roof rack is on as well. I should have that in place, hopefully, by mid-Dec.


Once I have everything on the cap, I'll probably put together a quick video to recap the configuration and my impressions on it.

 

[kdfhuey]

Frontrunner rack is up and running on my SmartCap. Fitment is perfect.

Be advised that the RSI channels are narrower than other manufacturers. Frontrunner makes RSI specific brackets for the mounting feet that aren't available on their site, so be sure to call or chat with them if any of you plan on going a similar route. I also went with the tall foot kit, to provide clearance for the RSI vent and Frontrunner wind fairing.

Up next is mounting my RTT brackets and test fitting the ikamper. I have a plan in place for the roof rack lighting, but I likely won't execute that until the front roof rack is on as well. I should have that in place, hopefully, by mid-Dec.


Once I have everything on the cap, I'll probably put together a quick video to recap the configuration and my impressions on it.

Omg that cap is insanely nice!! Crazy expensive though. What are the benefits of that cap over the ARE fiberglass kind?

 

[TheHops]

Omg that cap is insanely nice!! Crazy expensive though. What are the benefits of that cap over the ARE fiberglass kind?

Thanks! And, you're telling me. It was physically painful pressing that order button, but I couldn't be happier with it.

The main difference is the weight capacity and durability. The ARE Classic can only hold up to a recommended 150 pounds or so; the HD around 550, while the RSI can hold 770, which isn't even the highest capacity of the metal caps. Granted, I'll never use that (likely capping out around 500lb) but the decision point for me between the RSI and the CX HD was the roof mounting solution: In order to achieve the 550lb capacity on the A.R.E. CX HD, you must use their rack system, and that rack system didn't work for my plans at all, so I had to go metal.

Also, fiberglass is obviously much more fragile, prone to cracking etc, when subjected to off road conditions. For me personally, RSI was the natural choice, and the price point between RSI and the CX HD was only about $100 different as customized.

 

[kdfhuey]

Thanks! And, you're telling me. It was physically painful pressing that order button, but I couldn't be happier with it.

The main difference is the weight capacity and durability. The ARE Classic can only hold up to a recommended 150 pounds or so; the HD around 550, while the RSI can hold 770, which isn't even the highest capacity of the metal caps. Granted, I'll never use that (likely capping out around 500lb) but the decision point for me between the RSI and the CX HD was the roof mounting solution: In order to achieve the 550lb capacity on the A.R.E. CX HD, you must use their rack system, and that rack system didn't work for my plans at all, so I had to go metal.

Also, fiberglass is obviously much more fragile, prone to cracking etc, when subjected to off road conditions. For me personally, RSI was the natural choice, and the price point between RSI and the CX HD was only about $100 different as customized.

Wow yeah that’s a no brained then for the price difference. That cap will last forever too. Great choice and wow does it look sharp

 

[stickshifter]

Great looking truck, and awesome job with the mods! I think you made the right choice going Gladiator over Tacoma!

 

[TheHops]

Great looking truck, and awesome job with the mods! I think you made the right choice going Gladiator over Tacoma!

Thanks! Definitely no regrets on going this route vs the Tacoma.

The core of my build is just about done! I'm sure I'll have small additions and refinements though as I figure out what I do and don't need based off of trip experiences.

 

[TheHops]

My sleep system is finalized!

I managed to get the iKamper up top today for a test fit. I used the opportunity to do a solo-mount test, and managed to do it using a lot of blankets for padding on the ground, tailgate, and back of the cap, and a tire flip method up and over the tailgate. Some day, I'll have a garage that is high enough to accommodate my vehicles so I can simply hoist and lower the tent on to the rack, but until then I work with what I've got!

The Frontrunner quick-release tent mounts work great. Four latches, and the tent is secure/ready to remove. No more fiddling with hardware. Luckily, I measured like 8 times prior to mounting, and my measurements ended up being accurate, so the mounts on the bottom of the tent slotted in to place perfectly with the mounts on the top of the roof rack.

Admittedly, the tent does sit a bit higher than I'd like, but it is what it is. I had to match the height of the taller rack that will eventually go over the cab, so it was a necessary evil to have a taller rack in the rear. It also provides plenty of clearance for the RSI rooftop vent, so it was likely necessary anyway.

Everything came together exactly like I envisioned, and I couldn't be happier with how the build is working out. My final "major" modification is going to be the matching Frontrunner rack over the front. On trips, that will house miscellaneous gear, 10-20 gallons of spare fuel, and the underslung solar panels. Once that is up, I'll be wiring all of my satellite lighting (amber/red running lights for visibility, and four side-firing LED bars, all wired to the sPOD), and installing the solar panel setup. That's going to be a lot of work to bring together, but it'll be worth it in the end.

For those of you that continue to follow along: Thanks! I hope you're entertained, or are finding some ideas that may work for your build as well. I'm going to try to post up a brief update video of the shell/rack/tent this weekend or next week, so keep an eye out for that if interested.

 

[TheHops]

I put together a new video about the rooftop setup! Feel free to check it out:

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