Builds 2008 LX Live Camera Car and Overlanding Build.

[D21FJ60]

is there any concern in regards to potential theft or water damage mounting the monitor and having the tower right next to the rear hatch?

 

[SharpeCat]

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.

Good point and not something I’ve thought about, thank you for bringing it up. So my next question is, how do I disable the airbags in the locations where I mount something near/in front of it. I don’t plan on putting the seats back; it’s tigers house now. Hopefully it’s as simple as cutting/disconnecting a wire.

 

[SharpeCat]

is there any concern in regards to potential theft or water damage mounting the monitor and having the tower right next to the rear hatch?

Water damage in that area is not something I’ve thought of. The desktop is only fired up when I’m in camp mode have generator out; if raining I put it all
Under awning and run Power cables through awning side 2nd row window.

I gave up on theft a while ago, chances are low and it would cost me more in time and money to try and prevent it, only to lose in the end to someone with a strong enough will anyways. It’s like how I view the locking nuts - as in it costs more and will likely get in your way/become a liability/keep you out, way before it stops another person from getting in.

I have slept with all windows down and hatch open plenty of times and no one has taken anything out of my car, even when in public parking lots. Even the homeless folks around here are more likely to put something in the car to help me (like snacks) than to take something from someone who they know needs it. There is such a thing as honor amongst thieves, and it doesn’t take long for someone to realize that I am not someone they should steal from and be able to sleep good at night. I don’t even put up privacy panels anymore, as my fears of things like that are pretty much nonexistent. I have officers checking in on me quite often as well, and I’m very grateful for that. When in civilization I try to park where cops are nearby and in public parking lots with cameras and etc. I have an idea of safe places to park.

When out of civilization I don’t worry about those things.

 

[Sac Cerevisiae]

This is one of the more interesting builds here.

I have to ask, since it seems like you are mostly camping in a single location for extended periods, why didn’t you just build out a sprinter van? I don’t see how you’ll get the most use out of a Land Cruiser with all your modifications.

 

[HGB]

If you're taking on the adventure of living out of the LC while traveling. Looking at your camp site, and your dog I see chiggers, ticks, and fleas in your near future. Eventually they will be laying eggs inside your Toyota. Rocky mountain spotted fever and lymes disease are carried by ticks can be deadly. Fleas and chiggers are just annoying. Permethrin is probably the best to prevent this. It is a broad based insect repellant and it kills them as well. Concentrate can be bought at tractor supply: Gordon's Permethrin 10 Livestock and Premise Spray, 32 oz. at Tractor Supply Co. It will not smell after it is dry. I have sprayed carpet with no stains or damage, but you should do a spot test before spraying on your interior/upholstery. There will be mixing instructions to include low concentration mixes for spraying on animals. The military sprays permethrin on uniforms. It is relatively safe, but not tested for/recomended for spraying on peoples skin. After treating the car with a higher concentration(by the instructions) keep a trigger bottle with a lower concentration to spray the grass at your campsite. You'll be able to wear shorts and sandles without being eaten alive by chiggers, mosquitos, gnats etc.. Spray it on the grass and weeds directly around your vehicle before you start setting up camp.

Since it’s not recommended for skin, do you think it’s safe to sleep on surfaces it touches? It sounds safer than DEET though. I may make the mixture (though the stronger solution) and spray the grass with it wherever I camp.

 

[SharpeCat]

This is one of the more interesting builds here.

I have to ask, since it seems like you are mostly camping in a single location for extended periods, why didn’t you just build out a sprinter van? I don’t see how you’ll get the most use out of a Land Cruiser with all your modifications.

Thanks bro! It’s really a camera car/live-streaming build first and living space second. I’m a simple guy and can sleep just about anywhere.

That’s because I haven’t started traveling yet. Stuck here waiting for court to reopen to get off probation (was supposed to get off on March) before I’m legally allowed to leave the state. While I’m here I am working out minor kinks like strengthening cellular connections so I can livestream from remote locations and share the wonders of the world with the folks back home. One of my Goals is to remind people there is a beautiful world and a life to live out there, and not to lock themselves up and go crazy at home. If you insist on falling for the COVID crap and believe in our corrupt private-interest media, then You’re actually less at risk from COVID when traveling to remote locations with less people, to yourself as well as others.

I also want to capture content of Tiger roaming freely and exploring his heart out, as I realize future me will be grateful once Tiger is gone. He is coming up on 10 so I am blessed to still have him and in good health.

And as far as the LC, I’d much rather camp off the pavement at least half the time. Also, I got this baby for 18k and a sprinter is quite a bit more even without 4x4. Also more expensive to ship a sprinter across the ocean, as a Lc fits in half a container so it will be half the cost to ship. Right now not everything is secured down so it’s not ready for trails, but I hope to work on that over time.

 

[SharpeCat]

Rejoice, hideous Roof Bag is gone! I’m still sorting through stuff to figure out necessities. Only one of these fridges will stay, but I have them both for reviewing and testing reasons (IceCo sent them to me as a gift for organizing the Group Buys, along with the GoPro shown on TOFU).

I like the flexibility of not having drawers installed, so I have been having second thoughts about drawers. Also, Tofu the RC truck got a GoPro upgrade! Also working on a bigger and faster prototype RC camera truck that can hit about 70.

 

[SharpeCat]

A quality sealed lead acid 27F. Plenty here (including me) are wishing that we didn't experiment with AGM. You can put a larger battery in there, but you're going the solar gen/lion route, so no need.
And one dead event isn't necessarily the end, three or four, yeah.

We are past 100 dead events now, and sometimes I need to use the Noco after only 30 mins parked. Still starts within a few seconds with the booster though. Not sure if it’s bad to boost a battery this many times but this Noco booster is the reason I haven’t rushed to replace it.

So I installed a WeBoost cell signal booster and it will only work through the cars cig port and not other sources like the Jackery’s AC and DC ports; not sure why. Relying on battery won’t work because the current battery drains completely so fast. Now Is time to replace battery so I can use the cell booster unless I can figure out why the weBoost only comes on when plugged into the cars DC port.

Not sure what “quality” one is, but I think I do want the biggest one/highest capacity that will drop in without modifications. Anyone Have a recommendation? I’d prefer one that is available for in store pickup in 27560 zip code area, but for the right deal I can look at online ones. Thanks in advance!

Also, I am looking for a trickle charger to top off battery with generator or shore power, so I can Use the 12V from the car for really extended periods Without draining and boosting each time (as that is bad for battery life from what I understand). Since I have had such a good experience with the Noco Boosters, I think I will try one of their smart chargers as well; just not sure how many amps (they offer 1-4). I plan on using the ARB led strip a lot which is 11-22ws, in addition to cell booster which I am unsure of How many watts. I’m thinking at least 3 amps?

 

[SharpeCat]

My brother got a nail in his tire, time to invest in a plug kit and see if I can fix it for him. I assume the nail will come right out if I let it deflate.

Also, thanks to Grinchy I have a one of a kind compressor with a light-switch mod - which is much easier to toggle on with your foot. 10/10 mod.

 

[SharpeCat]

25% off with coupon so this is what i am contemplating for a battery charger. I like that it's an on-board charger. Then i'll just get a small Noco Booster (GB50?) later down the road when they come back on sale, for the occasions when i need to just boost it and go; rather than wait for a slow charge to get back up to starting voltage. Booster is nice to have handy in case others need a jump as well, as i don't plan on carrying cables (they take up as much space as a small booster).

 

[grinchy]

I can’t see how the weboost knows one 12v source from another? Lots of people have them hardwired. I would think the 12v from a jackery would be fine.

 

[SharpeCat]

I can’t see how the weboost knows one 12v source from another? Lots of people have them hardwired. I would think the 12v from a jackery would be fine.

Yeah I’m bogged on that one and can’t figure it out either; tried a AC to DC adapter going to power strip and didn’t work either; but it comes on via car cig port every time. The Jackery has powered my fridge and laptop at once before so I know it’s capable of outputting enough watts.

So I thought the battery has went out completely when I couldn’t start it after 5 mins parked. Turns out this thing has at least another another leg or two. I hooked up a cheap 8a charger from Walmart overnight, and it is saying charged/maintaining. Its nice to be able to start it on the fly again. I’m also running air compressor with engine off.

I was going to pick up this battery today, but i guess I’ll wait! It’s one of the Exide rebrand, seems really good specs for the price and available for local pickup.

Nautilus 31 Deep Cycle Marine Battery 31MDC - The Home Depot

Exide Nautilus Marine / RV Deep Cycle batteries are designed to provide continuous operating time to run trolling motors, live wells, inverters, depth/fish finders, etc. They can be discharged and recharged

www.homedepot.com

 

[SharpeCat]

Decided to return my 8 amp charger to Walmart; although a good deal, I decided the original plan of a Noco g15000 is better for my needs. It’s a buy once cry once charger that is strong enough to boost as well. If the specs on grainger.com is correct, this thing has 1000A of boosting power at 12V. The Noco GB150 Booster I’m currently using (a loaner) is 4000 amps, and it’s way beyond what I’ll need for vast majority of the time; I don’t have any small trains to jump nor any electric cars missing a battery.

15a is a good bit of charging, but since this is a buy once solution for both charger/maintainer and booster, that I decided to wait and save up another 50 bucks and go for the g26000, the 26-amp version; so less than 4 hours to charge a completely dead 100ah battery. 26 amps at 12V is a little over 300 watts continuously, so I can run just about everything for the stream off the car while the Noco is plugged in. It basically turns my car into a power strip with 12V and 100w/110v outputs.

Looks like I’ll have a little excess power from the charger, so time to look into adding a couple extra DC ports to make use of all 26 amps while I’m plugged in.

https://www.grainger.com/mobile/product/NOCO-Automatic-Manual-Battery-Charger-417Y59

The 25% off coupon is good on advance auto if you sign up for email, and 20% if you don’t.

 

[SharpeCat]

I finally used the very last leg on the battery with all these jump starts. Max voltage even at full charge is 10.5, and after I unplug the booster it drops to 4.5 within a few seconds.

I’m at Home Depot picking up a deep cycle battery, and I’m going by recommendations from mud in choosing a group 31 size. I hope it fits!

Nautilus 31 Deep Cycle Marine Battery 31MDC - The Home Depot

Exide Nautilus Marine / RV Deep Cycle batteries are designed to provide continuous operating time to run trolling motors, live wells, inverters, depth/fish finders, etc. They can be discharged and recharged

www.homedepot.com

OEM is an interstate battery, not a deep cycle. For reference:

00544-MF27F-710 - Genuine Lexus INTERST.GR27FBATTERY

LexusPartsNow.com offers the best deal for genuine Lexus parts, 00544MF27F710. INTERST.GR27FBATTERY for $134.20. All parts are backed by the Lexus's warranty.

www.lexuspartsnow.com

 

[SharpeCat]

Minor issues trying to secure the Group 31 Marine/RV Battery.

1: need longer terminal to reach the posts located in center (ome battery has posts closer to the side).

2: need longer bolt to secure the metal Bar thing on top that helps holds battery in place. This is because of it being taller than a group 27 OEM.

3: the battery extends past the tray but I don’t think that’s going to be a problem once secured from the top.

Going to advance auto/lowes to look for a longer piece to reach the battery post, and a longer bolt to secure it down.

 

[grinchy]

Minor issues trying to secure the Group 31 Marine/RV Battery.

1: need longer terminal to reach the posts located in center (ome battery has posts closer to the side).

2: need longer bolt to secure the metal Bar thing on top that helps holds battery in place. This is because of it being taller than a group 27 OEM.

3: the battery extends past the tray but I don’t think that’s going to be a problem once secured from the top.

Going to advance auto/lowes to look for a longer piece to reach the battery post, and a longer bolt to secure it down.

View attachment 2459472

View attachment 2459484

View attachment 2459485

Yep. Slee has the longer terminals but they are shipping

 

[radman]

@TeCKis300 crimped up some little extensions for his battery upgrade. Should be easy to find his thread...

 

[TeCKis300]

Here you go...

Homebrew Single Group 31 Battery Install

Took a cue from this thread and ordered a high quality Deka 1131PMF battery. It's a flooded lead acid which has the advantage of full compatibility with the stock smart alternator charging profile (and longest life prospects). With often sought features of AGM including: - Spill proof - Heavy...

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[SharpeCat]

Thanks fellas. Man I thought it would be easy to find a premade solution but they are boggled at the auto parts store, and recommended replacing battery cables to a longer length. Id like to keep it simple so that’s not an option.

Other option I considered was swapping for a 31DC with the posts closer to the side, but then ran into another issue of the positive being on the wrong side; I’m at the store and judging from picture earlier I don’t think my positive will reach that far.

Likely will be following Teckis300’s lead after one last look. I considered that deka too by the way, but couldn’t find it local. Seems like a solid deal!

 

[grinchy]

Just get a 27f. It is isn’t that big a deal. A big lithium bank is likely in your future, right?

remember you can only use 1/2 the capacity of a sla.