Builds empty80's “Nearly” Complete Build (1 Viewer)

[eatSleepWoof]

I always appreciate the actual user experience and feedback. That is excellent! There's so many factors that it is hard to take plan it all straight away. We have a 17 month old, and decided that up and down a ladder in the middle of the night is not the best idea. To take things further, with an RTT, if he were to have a diaper blowout or wet the bed, everyone's bed is soiled. At least with ground camping, we can shuffle some equipment and bedding, and everyone is still in a comfortable place.

The one thing I've come to truly believe is that there's no ideal setup; everything is a compromise.

When I got my trailer with the FSR M60 RTT, I decided it was the best middle ground and sold the (at that point my second!) RV4. This winter, I regretted selling it. While the quicker setup-and-sleep RTT option is great in good weather and for on-the-move trips, the RV4 would have been much nicer for a winter basecamp. I miss that tent.

I'm not going to buy it a third time...
I'm not going to buy it a third time...
I'm not going to buy it a third time...
I'm not going to buy it a third time...
I'm not going to buy it a third time...
...

 

[empty80]

I've added a paragraph in the main post to address the upcoming National Luna Dual Battery Kit!

 

[empty80]

So far and without a doubt, my favorite modification!

 

[empty80]

I now have an electrical gremlin.

Electrical gremlin was the sPOD. It was still under warranty, and the best I can discern is they replaced the module itself. Also, I can now program the Bluetooth switch feature. I thought it was me, but apparently not.

Also, my dual battery set up is mostly in place. I just haven’t had the time to run the wiring, and make the adjustments to the on board systems yet.

 

[empty80]

After a pretty satisfying day of tinkering, the National Luna dual battery is wired up. Next weekend’s project will be reorganizing the content of my drawers, and shifting my rear auxiliary power off the starter battery.

 

[KLF]

After a pretty satisfying day of tinkering, the dual battery is wired up. Next weekend’s project will be reorganizing the content of my drawers, and shifting my rear auxiliary power off the starter battery.

Suggestion: stop by Home Depot and pick up a roll of cheap carpeting, cut it to fit in the bottoms of the drawers. I had some left over from another project, so as I was packing for my last road trip I suddenly had an "ah ha!" moment while I had the drawers empty. Easy quick to slap some in the bottom of the drawers, but it does quiet things down and stuff doesn't slide around as much.

 

[empty80]

Suggestion: stop by Home Depot and pick up a roll of cheap carpeting, cut it to fit in the bottoms of the drawers. I had some left over from another project, so as I was packing for my last road trip I suddenly had an "ah ha!" moment while I had the drawers empty. Easy quick to slap some in the bottom of the drawers, but it does quiet things down and stuff doesn't slide around as much.

I knew there was a legitimate reason I was holding on to some scraps! Thank you for the excellent idea!

 

[eatSleepWoof]

Electrical gremlin was the sPOD. It was still under warranty, and the best I can discern is they replaced the module itself. Also, I can now program the Bluetooth switch feature. I thought it was me, but apparently not.

Suggest you get rid of the sPOD. Buddy of mine has had nothing but problems with his. One warranty replacement after another. They're very convenient, but problematic, and difficult/impossible to DIY service. A Bussman style relay block and normal switches will be more work up front, but more reliable and way more serviceable.

 

[empty80]

Over the weekend, I upgraded my fridge tie-downs. Major concerns were strength and not having straps occupying a ton of space. 1 1/4" bolts work best for the ARB roller floor drawers.

Anchor Plate Assembly - 4 Pack

Add a tie down hard points anywhere with the VersaTie Anchor Assembly. Each anchor in this 4-pack is designed to a 3000lb Minimum Breaking Strength in...

www.macscustomtiedowns.com

 

[empty80]

In the last week, I have made a ton of adjustments to my suspension setup. I have had what seems like a suspension imbalance that felt like a soft valving issue in the rear passenger corner of the truck. This has been prevalent since the suspension work was done. I have slowly worked through little issues one at a time, from balancing load, to reservoir pressures, spring location and KDSS resets. I assumed the Timbren SES was causing an uneven rebound, but I ran for a couple days without the Timbrens, and still it persisted. I had run out of other issues to tackle, so it was time to get after this little nag.

I reached out to Ben at Filthy Motorsports, to inquire about the viability of my setup. In addition, I also hit the books to educate myself of the intricacies of valving and pressurizing the system, essentially tuning. Ben had some novel wisdom to share, and FWIW, apparently the King 200-series OEM systems are spec'd for the international models, leading them to be undersprung for U.S. models. Ben recommended at least 650lb springs for the front. He also said he could do complete evaluation of the suspension components. Eureka!!! I started taking measurements. It turns out, the front passenger side coilover had an extra three turns of pre-load on the coil. Why? I don't know if there was logic behind it, or what that logic could have been other than leveling the truck. I reduced the preload on that coilover. It did nothing to hub-to-fender measurements on either side. I also conducted a KDSS reset at the same time. Additionally, I upgraded to the 2724 springs. The Timbren SES stops definitively interfered with the seating of the 2724 on the driver side, so off they went. I am putting the factory stops back on it, and hoping for the best. I am now in the process of dialing in my setup to satisfy the butt dyno. So far, so good!

Also in the process, I misinterpreted some torque specs, and snapped one of the rear axle sway bar bracket bolts. As I was torquing, I thought to myself, "This doesn't feel right. It feels like the bolt is *SNAP* stretching." Luckily, I was at a hobby shop that had a wall of take-off hardware. The proper bolt from Toyota arrives today.

 

[empty80]

I received my nitrogen regulator today! It’s time for some social distancing!

I plan on rotating tires, adding one turn of preload to the coils and tuning reservoir pressures in the next day or two! I’ll try to get some pictures because no one likes words!

 

[fullybalanced]

Thanks for such an informative review of your build!

 

[empty80]

I got an action shot while tuning the rear passenger shock. This shock has not been holding pressure (200psi), and has caused me to learn more and more about shocks and shock tuning.

I didn’t get the preload on the coils done because I don’t have enough jack...err...length...uhhh. I can’t get full droop in the front in the garage.

If anyone would like some solid procedures on how to go about nitrogen tuning, let me know. It can be a little cumbersome bleeding the lines, which knobs to turn when, and how to close the reservoir.

 

[empty80]

I got after a little project today. I have ran my National Luna dual battery solenoid in the engine bay hook and looped to a fuse box while making up my mind what I want to do for a permanent install. While checking out Slee’s e-commerce website, I stumbled across their Redarc BCDC1240 bracket for the auxiliary battery tray. I saw this as a good start, and a bit of future-proofing should I decide to go BCDC at a later date.

For this application, I installed the plate 180 degrees from the original install direction due to the size of the power steering reservoir and solenoid. I also had to install the bracket as far towards the rear of the auxiliary battery tray as I could. I was sure to run a couple of test fits as application evolved. I still need a couple of spacers to finish up the mounting surface between the plexi mounting plate and Slee bracket.

 

[empty80]

I’ve added a section related to the mass of the truck, and a couple of new notes in the build post.

HKB Diode- Yeah, so their websites note that the diode works through MY2016. My truck is a 2017, so I decided to roll the dice anyway. Turns out, the ALT-S fuse is linked somehow to the throttle body sensor. I’m still head-scratching over this one, but I can definitively say, the HKB Diode causes problems on my 2017.

Weight-
Parameters: 7/12/2020- Daily driving with an empty 24 gal aux tank.

Front Axle- 3440 lbs
Rear Axle-4040 lbs
Combined-7480 lbs

I immediately found 50 lbs worth useless and redundant object in the drawers and removed it. Theoretically, I’m down to 3990 lbs in the rear, with a combined weight of 7430 lbs with an empty aux tank, 7575 ish (4135 lbs rear axle) with a full aux tank.

RANT- This became important because I am still not getting the performance out of the suspension that I expect. It has become so frustrating that I have, once again, approached the point of taking the Kings off, and going with BP-51. I went with Kings because the local Toyota shop can rebuild in house, so theoretically, I could get the support I need locally. That was a HUGE factor in my decision. They have also demonstrated to me that the only truck that gets any sort of thought is the owners, and you get talked down to when you point out something clearly isn’t right or question their philosophy...say your KDSS is the only aspect of the rear of the truck pretending to be a shock absorber. This has been incredibly frustrating, but I see the light at the end of the tunnel. RANT COMPLETE.

Once I got beyond the pathos of having an ungodly expensive vehicle that felt like a 1970 Ford LTD with marshmallows for suspension, I applied some logos! I ordered a set of properly valved OME NitroCharger shocks (61030) for the rear to assist in determining whether or not it is a shock problem. Seemed like a yes or no solution, and BEHOLD! A $250 set of shocks valved properly feels way better than the Kings with the clicker doodads! Now the Kings will be sent off to Filthy for a complete rebuild and revalve! *Note- I was going to revalve in the garage, but after riding excessively overweight on significantly undervalved shocks for more than a year, I believe it is in my best interest to make sure there isn’t a ton of internal damage. $250 to save $3,000. Also, it will be nice to have a spare set of shocks on the shelves for the rebuild intervals, so I really solved another problem too!

The family and I won’t be participating in LCDC this year. I took a new job back and May, and started grad school in June. Not that I have a ton of time to dwell on and mope about not attending, but I will miss the community fellowship.

 

[OregonOverlande]

Hey
pretty cool. I just bought a rig built like yours

 

[OregonOverlande]

This goes the 8” to the BCDC for the solar panel I ordered

 

[empty80]

Hey
pretty cool. I just bought a rig built like yours

Awesome! You’re gonna love it!

 

[empty80]

I got my rear shocks back from Filthy Motorsports this week, and put them on this morning. Ben & Co know what they are doing! The revalve is a HUGE improvement, and spot on with my preference!

The communication and customer service was amazing!

 

[empty80]

Here’s a bit of information lots of folks look for when consideringbuilding their truck. Over a year’s worth of data, and nearly 10k. The big dip in economy was LCDC 5, specifically, Imogene Pass, IIRC.