A new hope ... (build journal and component reviews)

[HooliganActual]

Phew…a lot to unpack there but I’ll leave it alone.

Your mention of using developed campsites and electric services makes more sense. If that’s what I was doing I might be more open to AC systems onboard.

Side note: sounds like you need a better propane stove. Mine is nowhere near as awful as what you’re describing.

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[cug]

we would just position the vehicle to act as our wind block and that worked fantastically.

I like those windblocks ... ;-)

 

[cug]

Phew…a lot to unpack there but I’ll leave it alone.

Your mention of using developed campsites and electric services makes more sense. If that’s what I was doing I might be more open to AC systems onboard.

Side note: sounds like you need a better propane stove. Mine is nowhere near as awful as what you’re describing.

There is a lot in there that, on the electrical side, is not fully tested, I admit that, although I have used induction cooking while camping (again, friend's setup), but have not used one as much as camping gas (the cartridges) or white gas which we've been using for about 30 years, or the propane, which we've been using for about a year and a half. Seeing and using (for a few times) the induction cooktop on the last trip has been a revelation in how easy cooking on such a trip should be. None of the campsites had hookups. Friend has a 300Ah setup, but he runs a much larger fridge as well as other electrical stuff, even a coffee machine, through his setup.

Regarding developed campsites: it's rare for us here in the US, more so in Europe, where wild camping is mostly illegal in the western parts, again we stay wherever possible in Northern Africa or Eastern Europe. Have not done South America, Australia, or Southern Africa.

It's totally possible that our gas stove is not good, although we of course did put the vehicle up as a windblock, did put all the screening we had around the stove, it was still HORRIBLE to use a few weeks ago in Death Valley. Wind gusts were forecasted at around 50mph, constant wind at my own estimate was between 20 and 40mph depending on location and time of day and while it had a predominat direction, there were still some wild swings.

 

[cug]

One correction as well:

The Battleborn 100Ah battery is 31lbs, so more than I stated above, same for 100Ah Victron batteries. Not sure where I saw the one at 23lbs, might have misremembered this.

Update: the Renogy is about 29lbs, really I don't know where my number came from, need to update my weight sheet.

And one more thing: the electrical setup is massively more expensive, due to more batteries, inverter, more and higher output solar, and higher output chargers need. There is no question about this and it may or may not be worth it for others.

 

[cug]

we would just position the vehicle to act as our wind block and that worked fantastically.

Also curious about this comment, I've never been to Patagonia, but I recall a couple crossing some of the high plains on motorcycles in the late 80s, who rigged their motorcycles together and attached a sail to it. That to me sounds like the direction and strength of the wind is relatively steady, is that accurate?

When we were out a few weeks ago, we did position the vehicle (and the trailer) so that it was blocking quite a lot of the wind, but it only helped marginally. The wind was scattering around, we were in hilly areas, while there was a predominant direction, it was still shifting around a lot. Maybe it was one of the worst case scenarios that could happen where one might still consider cooking outdoors at all.

 

[smlobx]

@cug yes using your vehicle(s) as a wind block is a common practice where these winds are well know and relentless.
In addition to Patagonia we did an Expedition crossing the “Forbidden Zone” in Namibia Several years ago. It was a pretty big deal as we had to get Governmental approval and even take a sobriety test the morning of departure. There were a total of 6, 79 Series trucks that were fully outfitted. One night the wind was horrendous and seemed to be swirling around from almost every direction. What we ended up doing was to park two trucks parallel to each other about 20 feet apart and across the back of the vehicles we ran a large tarp to act a a wind block from that direction. Was it perfect? Hell no but it allowed us to crank up the stoves and have a great dinner In the U shape alcove. Now sleeping in our RTT that night was another matter!

 

[cug]

Now sleeping in our RTT that night was another matter!

Yup, been there, done that. Not necessarily rooftop tent, but the tent of our Patriot X1 is similar to a softshell rootop tent. I prefer my ground tunnel tent for something like this. Much more stable and easier to secure.

I'm off the build for about two months now, we'll be away for that time. I will spend time planning and organizing though – and using a 79 during part of that time ...

 

[cug]

Quick update to this thread ...

Don't think I forgot all about this here, there have been some decisions made, but actions will only happen when we get back to the US.

We are currently traveling in Southern Europe, Portugal to be precise, it's been fun and quite a bit of learning experience, as always. We will keep a lot of this in mind for our Gladiator build. There will be news in July and August.

There have been quite a few surprising offroad challenges, one where I reluctantly turned around because it was plain too dangerous to drive down a very steep hill with massive undulations. With all that weight high on the back, I didn't think it was a good idea to keep going, especially since there was a different way to get to our destination. But, so far so good.

While waiting to continue our Gladiator build I have a question for folks here:

Are there any special tools you take on your trips?

I have the usual, e.g. an assortment of metric sockets (1/2" and 1/4" drive), the usual wrenches, pliers, hammer, tire repair kit, JB Weld, Gaffers tape, WD40, etc.

This question is about things I might not think about that people have used to make trail repairs. I'd like the chance to get these while in Europe, since I can get the quality I prefer at a more reasonable price.

 

[cug]

So, back in the US for a week now and been working on small things:

Oracle LED Tail Lights

Received a set, ordered via Amazon, from a retailer. Build batch from last year, the metal clip that is supposed to take the OEM screw to hold the lights doesn't fit. They also seemed to have been a previous return, so I returned them.

Due to a cross-communication, a second set of these were ordered from Quadratec, they arrived today, shipped directly from Oracle – same problem.

So, I'm not going into details, Oracle support tried to help and they were responsive and super friendly, but I'm done with these.

I'm going to install a full set of OEM LED lights, at least there's a chance I can fit them ... and yes, I could have made the Oracle lights work, but when I spend this kind of money I expect things to "just work". Overall a rather disappointing experience.

Now investigating which parts I need to get full OEM LED lights (front, fog, tail ...).

Not giving the lights any review rating, it's highly likely that they are great lights and if I was in a better mood without jet lag and being annoyed by too many things not fitting the way they should, I might have kept them.

Blue Ridge Overland Gear Attic

I bet there is a better way of attaching these than with the included straps. I got them installed relatively easily, but they are hard to adjust and get the tension right since the strap tensioning happens just about between rool bar and roof. The instructions are a black and white copy, it would have helped to see the photos in better quality, but really, it was easy enough to understand.

The shape is a bit weird, I'll see whether stuff stays in okay, it droops down a bit in the back, might have to losen the front straps a bit so it hangs level when there is more stuff in it. Right now, it's just a few hats, and a light jacket.

Rating 4 out of 5 – Would buy again.

 

[cug]

RAM Tough Track System

I also have re-visited this one:

Rating: 3/5 – could use a better flexible mount option, track should be metal, should be better fit

Rating still stands at 3 out of 5, but with some caveats. Due to the RAM balls sitting relatively high above the track, the arms, angled all the way down, do not touch the dashboard. That might be desired, but doesn't work well when there is a heavier clamp with a phone attached to it. The phone bounces around quite a bit and it does feel all that "tough".

With the ProClip USA phone holder, which is completely plastic, this wasn't too bad, but their holders have really gone down in quality, from felt covered plastic pieces that seemed okay quality, to cheap feeling all plastic things. Plus my wife and I have different phones and we both use the car, so a generic clamp was in order.

I got the Tackform 25MAXX phone holder which has a RAM ball on the rear and is machine aluminum – WAY thicker and heavier than needed for this application. I does seem to hold the phone reasonably well (the light version doesn't, phone slides through over time), but due to the added weight, the RAM arm now bounces around quite a bit more. Can't blame the tough track for this, just as an FYI for anyone reading this, here are my lessons learned:

1. Don't expect the RAM tough track to support heavier devices without wobbling and/or additional support. This is on the standard length arm.
2. The Tackform 25LITE does not hold a phone securely. Even normal road potholes will let the phone slide through the clamp (iPhone 13 Mini without case). It might work with a grippy case, but I prefer my phone without the extra bulk.
3. The Tackform 25MAXX seems to work.

Overall, I'm going to try out a different mount system, will post information once that is installed and tested.

 

[smlobx]

Regarding the BROG attic.
I used to live close to them and when the Gladiator came out I went up there and talked to Matt about designing an attic for us but he is a Toyota fan boy and had absolutely no interest in my suggestion (this was 3 years ago) I saw that they recently came out with a version but it is not nearly as well designed as what I did... sad.

 

[cug]

but it is not nearly as well designed as what I did... sad.

Do you mind going into your ideas a bit? The one they have probably will do the job reasonably well (not much better or worse than the one I had in the 4Runner). I just feel there is missed opportunity, at least in terms of mounting, maybe more. I'll really have to see whether it works in day to day life though.

 

[cug]

And to circle back to induction cooking:

We've been using an induction plate here in the house attached to a Kill-A-Watt meter and so far the results look promising. So far:

• Boiling water for two coffees or two cups of tea takes about 5Ah.
• Scrambled eggs with a good helping of veggies (onions, mushrooms, peppers, tomato) take about 20Ah, quite a bit, mostly due to the mushrooms which I like to cook on high heat for a bit to let them surface caramelize a bit.
• Noodles with pre-made sauce – 15Ah.

Most of the things we cook as the main meal of the day will therefore stay under 30Ah, add to that three times two coffees (or teas) for another 15Ah, plus another 15Ah for various other cooking needs.

That means 60Ah (cooking) and maybe another 10Ah for various other electrical needs to be re-charged per day, which should be simple enough via DC and solar charging. 200Ah capacity should also still be more than enough, I'll leave room for a third battery in the compartment though, just in case.

Also, a whole bunch of electrical odds and ends have arrived, I'm setting up a project board to plan layout and wiring in the next few days. Still waiting for some of the components though, might get started on this next week when the truck is at TinyRig anyways.

 

[cug]

More thoughts on our water system, if you have input, feel free to chime in:

• At this point, we are not planning anything for hot water. This might change, but right now, I haven't seen a solution that fits our overall setup, which means going low tech on that for the time being (Geyser or Nemo Helio).
• We do plan the interior with a "seating side" and a "kitchen counter side". The kitchen counter might get a small sink and running water supplied via a 12V water pump from the Alu Cab tank. "Grey water" to go into a Scepter canister under the sink.

I've been researching available water filter systems, but I have very little personal experience with these. We've been using a LifeSaver can for drinking water for a while, but it's just cumbersome to always man-handle a 20L can when you want a small amount of water for coffee or to brush teeth.

Any opinions here on UV treatment? Or just standard charcoal filtering? 5 micron or 0.5 micron? What do you use and why?

I like this one here, but it feels like complete overkill (especially price):

https://www.guzzleh2o.com/collections/summer-favorites/products/stealth-flex

 

[smlobx]

Do you mind going into your ideas a bit? The one they have probably will do the job reasonably well (not much better or worse than the one I had in the 4Runner). I just feel there is missed opportunity, at least in terms of mounting, maybe more. I'll really have to see whether it works in day to day life though.

Happy to ?

This is the attic I bought.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B094MZ73NS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The back attaches pretty straight forward to the back of the roll bar but the front would hang down too far for my liking. I found these rings that I was able to attach to the screws that hold the padding onto the rollbar and it allowed me to keep the front of the attic higher to keep things high up near the ceiling.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08P73WM8C/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

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