Builds eatSleepWoof's '14 LX (3 Viewers)

[eatSleepWoof]

Speaking of Scepter cans...

This pump arrived in the mail today. (Amazon.ca link)

Direct fit onto the Scepter. Just undo the original cap and slide this pump overtop. Press the button, get running water. Press the button again, it shuts off.

The 1800mAh battery is supposed to last for around 4-5 full 20L Scepters, and it is USB rechargeable. Onboard running water could not be simpler, cleaner, or cheaper than this.

Here is a very similar product on Amazon.com.

 

[eatSleepWoof]

Stealing this idea for mounting!

FYI, with the thickness of the top plate and the nuts, the top of the nut does sit about 1/4" above the floor of the cargo area. I put 1/4" plywood spacers on the bottom of my plywood platform to get rid of most of the gap.

A slightly better solution would be to make your own (thinner) top plates from flat stock of your choosing.

 

[afgman786]

Speaking of Scepter cans...

This pump arrived in the mail today. (Amazon.ca link)

Direct fit onto the Scepter. Just undo the original cap and slide this pump overtop. Press the button, get running water. Press the button again, it shuts off.

The 1800mAh battery is supposed to last for around 4-5 full 20L Scepters, and it is USB rechargeable. Onboard running water could not be simpler, cleaner, or cheaper than this.

Here is a very similar product on Amazon.com.

Thanks for sharing that! I've been putting off cutting a whole to tap a spout in mine.

 

[eatSleepWoof]

So the AluCab mattress initially seemed very comfortable, but upon trying it for the one night, I found it to be incredibly stiff. I couldn't sleep half the night.

Granted, I'm used to a very soft, luxurious mattress at home, so there's that.

As it happened I had a brand new Exped Megamat DUO 10LW on hand (warranty replacement), and I decided to try it out in the tent. Happy to discover it is a virtually perfect fit!

Camp sleep just got a million times more comfortable!

I now have the following in the tent:

- CVT anti-condensation mat
- Exped Megamat Duo 10LW (4" thick); inflated
- 100% down comforter
- Two small (Teton sports) pillows

The tent still closes, but does take significantly more effort than before. Still a one-man job, though.

I suspect I'll probably end up slightly deflating the mattress in between uses, simply to make sure it doesn't pop from heating up and (air) expanding.

 

[eatSleepWoof]

Picked up these window covers for bug-proofing the interior, while keeping the windows open in camp. Great fit!

 

[SharpeCat]

So the AluCab mattress initially seemed very comfortable, but upon trying it for the one night, I found it to be incredibly stiff. I couldn't sleep half the night.

Granted, I'm used to a very soft, luxurious mattress at home, so there's that.

As it happened I had a brand new Exped Megamat DUO 10LW on hand (warranty replacement), and I decided to try it out in the tent. Happy to discover it is a virtually perfect fit!

Camp sleep just got a million times more comfortable!

I now have the following in the tent:

- CVT anti-condensation mat
- Exped Megamat Duo 10LW (4" thick); inflated
- 100% down comforter
- Two small (Teton sports) pillows

The tent still closes, but does take significantly more effort than before. Still a one-man job, though.

I suspect I'll probably end up slightly deflating the mattress in between uses, simply to make sure it doesn't pop from heating up and (air) expanding.

Danggg! Looks hella comfy nicely done brother. And I had those window mosquito nets as well and lost them lol, it worked great! Even bought a set for my friend and he lost them too lol.

 

[eatSleepWoof]

Replaced most of the tent's metal zip-pulls with plastic & paracord ones to ensure there's no rattling during any winds. Bought a pack of 20 thinking it would be plenty, turns out I need 24! Another order for the same pulls placed...

Also cut down some overly-long, stainless M8 carriage bolts such that they would be the right length for FrontRunner M8 rings, and slid those into the channels on top of the tent. Then positioned the MaxTrax for a tight fit, put the MaxTrax back into their Blue Ridge Overland case, and jammed them in between the rings. Finished it off with a few Front Runner stratchits.

I basically never carry MaxTrax because they take up so much space, but there are times I wished I had them. This will let me have them with me without them being in the way. I have the case from when I used to carry them inside the Tacoma - it doesn't really make sense to buy the case when transporting them outside, but I already had the case, so why not. It does cut down on the 'overland AF' look, which I like.

 

[pwag]

So the AluCab mattress initially seemed very comfortable, but upon trying it for the one night, I found it to be incredibly stiff. I couldn't sleep half the night.

Granted, I'm used to a very soft, luxurious mattress at home, so there's that.

As it happened I had a brand new Exped Megamat DUO 10LW on hand (warranty replacement), and I decided to try it out in the tent. Happy to discover it is a virtually perfect fit!

Camp sleep just got a million times more comfortable!

I now have the following in the tent:

- CVT anti-condensation mat
- Exped Megamat Duo 10LW (4" thick); inflated
- 100% down comforter
- Two small (Teton sports) pillows

The tent still closes, but does take significantly more effort than before. Still a one-man job, though.

I suspect I'll probably end up slightly deflating the mattress in between uses, simply to make sure it doesn't pop from heating up and (air) expanding.

Nice choice. Glad to hear I'm not alone on the Megamat. Stock RTT mattresses are bleak, esp for side-sleepers. Even with hundreds of backpacking nights under my belt, zero interest in roughing it in a RTT. Last year, I immediately swapped out for (3) Exped Megamat 10's in our Skycamp 2.0 for wife, 2 young girls & myself. After 35ish nights, we absolutely love them. Another benefit is you sleep much warmer with the 8.5-10 Rvalue. Often find myself covered with just a std cotton microfiber top sheet down to 45-50F outside. To deflate, I quickly fold expeds in three, compress with knees/body weight, and reseal. No need for the full rolled tight deflation. When I pop the RTT, immediately open inflate valves and the pads are ready to be topped off with 7-10 hand pumps when I come back 5mins later. You only have one, will take you all of 30secs. It's quite nice keeping all the down sleeping bags/down blankets, pillows and top sheets up in the tent.

 

[eatSleepWoof]

I've been meaning to add an always-hot 12v socket in the rear for quite some time, and finally got around to starting this project last night.

I wanted to do this once and ensure I have all the wire I'd ever need, so I wanted 4ga or 2ga wire to go from the battery to the trunk. Since I only had enough length of 2ga on hand, that's what I used. This will allow me to use a fridge, or anything else I may want to do in the future.

The 2ga hot will connect to the existing 80amp circuit breaker that I already have under the hood on the passenger side. That CB protects an aftermarket fuse box I installed there, and will now serve all aftermarket needs. I highly doubt I'll ever draw more than ~15 amps at a time, so the single CB is plenty for all my needs both in the front and rear of the vehicle.

I fed the 2ga through the firewall grommet on the passenger side, and down from there:

Through the front door sill:

Through the b-pillar (what a nightmare this was!):

... and eventually into the jack compartment.

I piggy backed off an existing, OEM ground location for the 2ga ground wire:

And then mounted my sockets, along with a BlueSea fuse box on the jack-compartment's door:

Still have a lot of work to do in order to finish this off. I would normally add physical protection for the hot wire, but space is incredibly tight and I don't think I'd be able to fish it through with so much as an extra millimeter of wire thickness. I will, however, add protection for the "exposed" parts of the wire in the jack-compartment section, and also in the engine bay.

In other news, I've got another drawer build on the way (spent all weekend working on it). Will share photos after I've installed it!

 

[eatSleepWoof]

Finished the sockets mod...

And also installed a new drawer setup: a single, narrow drawer alongside the dog's crate, with a separate, removable top-platform covering the wheel arch.

On 40" drawer slides, finished in Herculiner. Installed a dozen or so D-rings, which lets me independently tie-down each of the following: four 20L scepter cans, 5lb propane tank, 35QT cooler.

 

[spooltime]

Good stuff! @eatSleepWoof ! Finally read this in detail. That AHC fiasco sounds almost like some KDSS problems I had. Love all your ingenuity!
Based on your review, I wound up doing the same high beams and low beams. Went with the Philips Unitron for the fogs, easier for me. Thanks!

 

[PDoyle]

Hey, did you get the chance to add new low beam headlights? Did you use Hikari's again?

 

[eatSleepWoof]

Hey, did you get the chance to add new low beam headlights? Did you use Hikari's again?

I used Phillips Xtreme Vision (or something like that) bulbs. It's buried somewhere in this thread . Quite happy with them.

 

[eatSleepWoof]

I made a hoist setup to get this ~250lbs on/off my roof in 10 minutes flat. All I need to dis/connect is a single M6 bolt in each of the six feet.

The hoist is from Princess Auto. Rated for 660lb single line, double that with double line & pulley. It is mounted to a plywood base (glued and screwed) that is mounted to studs w/ 5" structural bolts.

The pulleys are mounted to joists through those 2x6 boards. Rope is from Home Depot, rated for 260lbs.

 

[PDoyle]

I used Phillips Xtreme Vision (or something like that) bulbs. It's buried somewhere in this thread . Quite happy with them.

Thanks. I'll have to look again. I bought a set of the Hikari's this week and will be replacing my high beams. Any tips on the install. or are they just plug and play?

 

[eatSleepWoof]

Thanks. I'll have to look again. I bought a set of the Hikari's this week and will be replacing my high beams. Any tips on the install. or are they just plug and play?

As far as I recall, everything was plug and play, but getting into the driver's side bulbs was a pain due to very, very tight space. I might have had to remove the battery... can't remember to be honest.

 

[PDoyle]

Quite alright, I'm removing the battery to get another anyway. Thanks.

 

[HFDPNL]

Thanks. I'll have to look again. I bought a set of the Hikari's this week and will be replacing my high beams. Any tips on the install. or are they just plug and play?

I had issues getting them to pattern correctly, but it was a clocking or seating issue...pulling and reinstalling resulted in a clean pattern and crisp cutoff

 

[eatSleepWoof]

I had issues getting them to pattern correctly, but it was a clocking or seating issue...pulling and reinstalling resulted in a clean pattern and crisp cutoff

Come to think of it, I vaguely recall a similar problem. I think I had the bulb upside down.

 

[eatSleepWoof]

Installed three new Rhino Rack Vortex (54") cross bars on another set of RCH6 feet. These will be used when I'm not using the tent (for kayaks, lumber, etc.), and will come off before tent re-install.

Also spent a few hours washing, polishing and waxing the exterior: