Builds 2008 LX Live Camera Car and Overlanding Build.

[CSteppe82]

Thanks for the kind words brother, i very much appreciate it! And you can't miss me, as i am the only guy in the area with a Window AC sticking out his window XD! I've gotten a lot of compliments, and even had 2 sheriffs pull up to me in downtown raleigh to let me know how clever it was. Most of the time it is people who want to do something similar, as in take on an adventure and live on the road for a bit, who stop to compliment the setup.

And i did think about the RV route for a while, but the truth is i haven't began my travels for other reasons that are now delayed by the COVID. I was supposed to graduate a week after stay-at-home orders, and i was supposed to get off probation in March for my DWI from 3.5 years ago. In addition to that they revoked my license because of hand sanitizer triggering my interlock device (i quit drinking over 3 years ago). I am able to drive only because i documented the process and can prove to the officers that my license was wrongly revoked, and that i never got a window for appeal because of mail arriving weeks late. Now everything keeps getting delayed and i am stuck in limbo. I'm about to start documenting my journey to deal with all of this, and if it fails i will at least have documentation to prove that it is the fault of the State and not mine. Then i would just go even if they don't give me my license back/let me off probation. I'm tired of waiting for courts to reopen and waiting on the DMV commissioner office to wait on the Governer's office to wait on another office to grant permission down the line, so that they can simply extend my appeals window and let me document the hand sanitizer incidents that lead to this.

Anyways, my point is that when i REALLY begin traveling, that people will see why it HAD to be an LC. Just keep an eye on where i go, and after 3 years you tell me if there is any other car that could've reliably gotten me to the same places and back, for the same costs. The fact that it only takes up half a container for shipping, saves me quite a bit when crossing several oceans!

I also want to sleep on mountain tops, at the edge of the water, and occasionally pave my own paths. I also want something i can fix myself, and something that i can get parts for when traveling outside of the US, if needed. To me the LC/LX won due to Global Reliability, as well as for capability without spending a fortune (AHC/Low LX Prices FTW). In the US i can drive anything and get it fixed, but when traveling across several continents, it has to be a Toyota unless i want to wait weeks/months for parts.

Damn !!

 

[SharpeCat]

Christmas came early this year!!

Thanks to @grinchy , I now have a way to air down and up, as well as a way to check Tire pressure. It’s time for the TPMS sensor light to go!!

The Grinchmeister also sent me non locking nuts for my wheels, so I can get rid of the locking nuts for good! I’ve been riding on 4 nuts on front right wheel for like 2 weeks. Next time I need to swap a tire, I won’t need to wait on someone to bring me a 19 mm to get the locking nut out (I broke my key when I did brakes).

So yeah I’m feeling really blessed today, I really appreciate it brother.

Also, @CSteppe82, package coming your way!

Thanks again boys.

 

[SharpeCat]

Short car stream today - Removing locking nuts (without key), replacing them with normal lug nuts, and hopefully get rid of the TPMS light as well.

Thanks again @grinchy, the air compressor is perfect size! And so are the lug nuts lol. Noob question, i assume i can just hook it up to my car battery to power it and i assume i need to have car on because old battery? I'm probably going to look in the hood for a place to mount it, unless someone already knows of a spot? Picture of compressor is in post above. Will be live within 30 mins, and using the perspective of Tofu our camera truck today (missing 1 driveshaft but still works great, will add pan & tilt servos soon to control camera direction using RC remote).

 

[grinchy]

i assume i can just hook it up to my car battery to power it and i assume i need to have car on because old battery?

yes, direct to battery. Yes, car should be on, even with a new battery. I think that little compressor is something like 15 or 20 amps. 5 psi on one tire wouldn't be an issue, a full air up from 17 to 33 on four tires definitely have car running.

 

[jrmudder92]

Someone spotted you on the Facebook.

 

[SharpeCat]

Someone spotted you on the Facebook.

View attachment 2412285

LOL. Yep they caught me, can't mistake that!

Still waiting on someone to approve my request to join the ih8mud page from months ago though. FB name is Tiger Cat Dang (Tiger has a fb but i don't at the moment, so i am using his to lurk). @Romer any idea who i ask to be let into FB page?

 

[SharpeCat]

Need to summon the big brains for a second.

You boys have much more experience flexing your rigs, so I will pass along the question I posed on the IceCo group buy thread:

How do I do this without flipping my beloved LX? Or should I bail and throw this into the “I got too stoned again” pile. No winch available or I would just hook up a winch to side being raised to keep it from tipping over.

Another idea is to recruit the help of a local Mudders with a built rig/more flex, and see if they want to try it with theirs instead. I’d like to try it with mine to knock out 2 birds with 1 stone; to show how sturdy fridge is and how capable a Stock LX is (sensor lift done but have not done .8” lift in tech stream).

Full disclosure: I ran out of pot last night so everyone, this is really me talking.

Pic for reference.

 

[BigMF]

View attachment 2336148

Not sure if you purchased this yet but you may want to think again. They obviously don't know what they are doing if they think you'd refrigerate red wine (or red wind). Everyone knows you chill white wines and not red! Just kidding. I don't know enough about your project, this fridge, or wine for that matter, to contribute anything of REAL use. I just love catching typos or mistranslations on Amazon. They can be quite humorous.

 

[SharpeCat]

My old desktop from work is just laying on the floor at Princess; I figured it would have been reassigned to someone else by now since it is one of the higher performance systems in the building. If no one wants it... I could make really good use of it. I specced it out for graphic design and gaming, and having a dual-computer setup allows me to use laptop as a dedicated encoding/streaming machine, while using desktop for running editing software and games that require a lot of system resources (RAM CPU & GPU). I then just output the desktop to the laptop so that the viewers can see what I’m doing on the desktop, even though I’m streaming from the laptop; i can even show both at the same time! Adding my old desktop to the mix will help prevent future "Encoding/System Resources Overloaded" issues, as well as allow me to play more demanding games.

So I have all of that figured out, now I just need to figure out how i'm going to mount a monitor (or TV with high refresh rate) to the ceiling in the third row area. I think for the desktop i will just hook it up each time for now, and then unplug and wrap it in the blankets when i'm moving around/not using it. I'm just not sure which mount and where i can drill/find previously drilled holes to secure a folding mount to. Would be nice to get one that can rotate, so i can view the monitor from outside while looking into the back.

Generic folding mount for reference:

Ematic 17 in.- 32 in. TV Ceiling Mount Kit EMW222 - The Home Depot

Add this innovative breakthrough in comfort and support to your home with the addition of this Ematic TV Ceiling Mount Kit.

www.homedepot.com

 

[SharpeCat]

Making room for desktop and monitor.

Everything going well minus the Attach-Monitor (mounted on window in pic) went to crap on me. It’s got the streaks/cracked screen effect and is no good. It’s also outside of amazons return period and I’m not expecting a replacement but figured I’d try their customer service anyways. Fingers crossed.

Other than that I plan on trying a few different spots and mounting locations before I bolt anything down. I have a few ideas but so far I really like this spot; I see potential for great views to my right and a nice cold fridge/air conditioning and tiger to my left! Also really like the second monitor (for monitoring live feed and chat) being in the window behind the main monitor.

 

[SharpeCat]

Seems like a good spot to mount a monitor for the desktop. Any advice on securing the mount using the factory holes?

Also, to remove that you just have to push in the 5 tabs (pictured) and then pull it away from the hatch.

 

[SharpeCat]

Anyone removed the trim in that corner before and have a picture of what it looks like behind it? I’m trying to figure out where to put the screws if I go with a wall mount instead of ceiling mount. I might have to remove that to take a peek inside. Thanks in advance!

Pic again for reference but I am thinking a corner wall mounted monitor and a window mounted one in same location would work great. Maybe raise it so fridge can sit there and still be able to open lid, and so that I can have a bigger surface for mouse and keyboard. Maybe the fridge can help keep the PC cool as well!

There is also a bonus in that running 2 computers can generate a good amount of heat, so this plus a little buddy heater will keep me nice and warm while gaming/working this winter.

 

[grinchy]

The hatch arm and motor are on the US passenger /right side. Not a load of room if I recall. You could floor mount in the Area behind the door for the floor jack. Some bosses and possible bolt locations there. Or you can use a seatbelt bolt from third row seat to mount.

 

[robmobile73]

Powergrip suction mounts are super strong and a good way to mount things inside or outside a vehicle, especially when there is nothing solid nearby to bolt too. Do not confuse the quality/durability/strength of these with some made in china cellphone holder.

Amazon product ASIN B00BMDY30C

 

[SharpeCat]

The hatch arm and motor are on the US passenger /right side. Not a load of room if I recall. You could floor mount in the Area behind the door for the floor jack. Some bosses and possible bolt locations there. Or you can use a seatbelt bolt from third row seat to mount.

Just saw this but I’m all finished with first monitor now. I really like the idea of using seat belt anchor points for future mounting though. Wish I thought of that before I put it where I did!

@robmobile73 funny how my dad just recommended that too and then I get on and see your post! will look into getting some for the window monitor.

Thanks for the solid advice boys.

I also decided to line one of the 3 rd row window with that really strong Velcro my dad has. Will make a nice “storage” area and will post pic when done. Also provides privacy in 3rd row. Might even line the top of my dash with it to hold things like my phone and camera batteries/usb charging bases and etc.

Anyways, Here is how I decided to mount the corner monitor.

The screw is off center because there is already a hole in the metal there behind the plastic On top, and it is off center. For bottom I just screwed into the plastic and made sure area behind it is clear for screw to go in. Both top and bottom clears the entire screw.

 

[grinchy]

Look at your all fancy with a torque wrench

 

[SharpeCat]

Look at your all fancy with a torque wrench

That’s actually the only one I could find and ended up not needing it lol.

But yeah I’m super happy with how this turned out, it already feels more like home in here! Time to go get some dinner then get my game on! It’s been a while and man it’s so nice to be back on my gaming keyboard! I type almost twice as fast now!

 

[SharpeCat]

The more I look at it the more I like @grinchy ’s idea. Will post pictures once I’m done mounting second one, just need to pick up another mount; good thing they’re only 20 bucks!

 

[SharpeCat]

Help! I butchered this.

how do I remove this trim piece without further destruction?

 

[robmobile73]

I would strongly suggest you be extremely careful working around airbags. I also strongly suggest you don't mount anything over an airbag that will become a projectile when the airbag explosively activates in a crash...................In my former job we once launched a manican 35feet into the air by activating a airbag underneath it. We used this as a "safety film" to warn guys when working around airbags.