Green LX470 building for adventure (1 Viewer)

[neilsen100]

CB Install con't

Line up the mic hang clip and mark where the two screws will go in. I used a small drill bit to make pilot holes for the two screws.

The hang clip is designed to mount to a flat surface and the panel has a slight curve. I just tightened carefully and it worked out fine.

back side of panel showing mounting screws.

Panel reinstalled in truck. Just snaps back into place.

CB hanging on the mount.

 

[neilsen100]

Accessory Plugs Always On

In order to give constant power to the CB radio but still provide the flexibility to easily install/remove the CB I followed the instructions provided by RobRed on his site. Straight forward modification.

In the under hood fuse box is the ACC(accessory) relay. Removed the factory relay.

Creating a jumper with 1/4" male terminal crimps and 2 inches of 10 gauge wire I already had. Since the crimps I had were enclosed, I trimmed back the cover to allow the terminal to fit into the fuse box.

Jumper made.

Jumper installed. Now the three 12v plugs are always on and my CB won't turn off when I turn the truck off. Have to remember to turn the CB off at the end of trail days.

 

[neilsen100]

Firewall Pass Through Passenger Side

Last piece of setting up the new CB was rerouting the antennae cable. Previously I had the antennae mounted on the driver side on a bracket closer to the A pillar. This mount had been banged up and bent from parking under low hanging trees (I wasn't driving). Instead I wanted to mount the FireStick to the front bumper. I looked at putting this on the driver side but found it more distracting than on the passenger side. This required a new firewall pass through on the passenger side.

I couldn't find anyone that had done this with the AHC reservoir, but @savirc did figured out a way on his truck which doesn't have AHC - Running wires through the firewall. Thanks to his work I felt much more comfortable drilling "blind" into the firewall.

First step for me was to move the AHC reservoir. The bracket is held on by one bolt accessed from the engine bay and three nuts accessed from the wheel well.

Three nuts which thread into studs of the AHC mount.

Here you can see the AHC easily moved out of the way. Green arrow shows where mounting bolt is accessed from the engine bay. Purple circle shows the target place for the pass through.

 

[neilsen100]

Firewall Pass Through Passenger Side con't

First step was cutting out a hole from the first layer of cardboard like insulation. This exposes the metal firewall I drilled through.

Starting with a small drill bit which gave me more control. It also let me push the drill bit through and then from the inside I reached up behind the glove box and blower fan to feel how much clearance there was. There is enough room to run a hole saw through, but it is close so go carefully. Looking from the engine bay I could have moved the hole farther to the left (fender side) which would have given a bit more clearance from the blower fan.

Hole saw straight through. Past the metal firewall is a thicker foam insulation layer which is flexible. I cut this by gently applying pressure with the hole saw, careful not to push with full pressure as the foam would have easily flexed into the blower fan.

Firewall boot installed with the CB antennae cable installed. I did paint the newly cut hole and used RTV on the firewall boot as further insurance against rust.

Here you can see the firewall boot flexed against the AHC reservoir when everything is completely put back. Plenty of room and in many ways easier to do this side than the driver side.

 

[neilsen100]

ComeUp 9.5rs Winch Install

Ahead of HIH 9 was looking for some additional self sufficient recovery gear. Opted for the ComeUp 9.5rs which I found during a Fourth of July sale.

Winch came with the synthetic line already wound on the drum.

Assembly on the Dissent first gen front bumper was very straight forward thanks to Ben's module design. After the wings are removed, the center section is unbolted from the mounting arms. Only having to lift the center section makes the whole process very manageable for a single person.

First thing is to install the fairlead, then the winch. ComeUp supplied winch mounting hardware which consisted of four M10 Grade 10.9 bolts with lock washers and square nuts that slid into the winch feet. Blue thread lock on all bolts and torqued to 44 Nm.

Winch installed and center section of bumper remounted. I choose not to change the orientation of the clutch handle. In stock position the bumper provides enough room to lift and turn the handle.

 

[yotasavg]

Awesome job on the cb install. I'm planning a setup exactly like that.

 

[neilsen100]

ComeUp 9.5rs Winch Install con't

Mounting the control box was a bit trickier. Ben has redesigned his bumper to include a place for mounting the control box, but the first generation bumper doesn't have this. The ComeUp supplied wires are not long enough to move the control box into the engine bay. I did not want to mount the box on top of the bumper as I plan to put a light bar in that place.

There is not much room between the radiator and the grill on the LX. After numerous tries, and removing the bumper a second time, I was able to fit the control box on the far passenger side behind the grill. Just needed to make a bracket.

A very unsophisticated bracket made from aluminum angle. This will bolt to the lower grill support which has a slight curve. The angle cut allows clearing the curve. Black marker is from marking the bracket while in place, letting me know where to drill the second mounting point.

Bracket in place and control box mounted. Green circles are the M6 bolts holding the bracket to the grill support. ComeUp control box has T channel on the back and supplied hardware for creative mounting. The box direction points back towards the radiator.

Top view of the control box with access to the wired controller plug.

 

[neilsen100]

Sound Deadening

In preparation for adding ceramic window tint through the truck I had removed the fridge assembly from the back. Since most of the back was out I took the opportunity to add sound deadening material to the entire cargo bay. The truck was significantly louder without anything in the cargo area and adding this made a huge difference. Once the wood and fridge were reinstalled, the effects were a bit more muted but I think there is still a positive difference.

After reading about the various manufacturers and materials used I choose to go with the FatMat Mega Mat Butyl. I'm very happy with this choice. Absolutely no bad smells from asphalt ingredients. Installation was simple and cost direct from the manufacturer was around $130.

Kit included one solid roll 18 inches wide, a knife and small roller.

Based on other's feedback it is my understanding that the greatest gains are from covering wheel wells and outer side panels behind the trim. For this I removed the subwoofer to gain better access.

Cut manageable sized sheets that reached as far up and down as my fat fingers would allow.

Larger sheets were used across whole cargo area. I did this mid morning when it was about 65 degrees outside. Great temperature for this process.

Worked methodically to ensure I cut out all the various mounting points which were then reinstalled.

 

[neilsen100]

Sound Deadening con't

Any place that had an access hole I removed the cover before placing the mat down.

Peeling back the plastic sheet off the adhesive side about 1-2 inches at a time and pressing the mat into the various shapes of the sheet metal.

Mat is laid over the access hole. Then using the supplied knife I cut out the hole. I used the same method for the threaded mounting points of seatbelts, seat brackets, etc.

Factory plastic cap now fits back in place perfectly.

The mat which I cut out was adhered to the plastic cap mostly for consistency. I don't imagine it makes any real difference in sound or temperature insulation.

 

[neilsen100]

Sound Deadening con't

Moving to the front of the truck I removed the passenger seat. My wife has complained about the passenger foot well being cold in the winter. Toyota puts in a great deal of insulation beneath the carpet but I figured some more can't hurt. (Not shown)

After lining the passenger area I moved to the center consul. To lift the center consul first unscrew the transfer case nob (purple circle) then lift the whole thing to release the four plastic clips (green arrows). I found it easiest to pull straight up on the transfer case leather. Once a little loose I could then get a finger under the shifter surround. Final step requires moving shifter into D position. I had parking brake on, wheels chocked and foot on brake pedal for this. Once the cover is off, shift back to P.

Unplug AHC control, PWR/2ND buttons, and seat heater control. Then lots of cleaning. I used rags and alcohol to cleanup the decades of coffee and soda that had spilled down there. Same process for layering in sound mat. Hopefully this helps keep my drinks from heating up in the cup holders.

I also disassembled and cleaned the switches. The PWR/2ND switch was too far gone from what looked like soda spilling in there. The buttons have never depressed for me and cleaning didn't do the trick. New switch was installed, part number 84720-60120.

Before reinstalling the cover I added new felt tape to all the plastic clips. Eliminating squeaks and rattles one at a time on a 20 year old vehicle.

Trim and carpet reinstalled, ready for seats and fridge to go back in.

 

[neilsen100]

Scepter MWC Dispenser

We've been happy with the Scepter MWC for our camping trips. They are reasonably priced and hold all the water we need for multi night adventures. The one hardship has been pouring the water out of them when they are full. 20 liters of water is just about 45 pounds which means my wife could not easily do this herself, certainly not from the Dissent jerry can holder.

I've seen a few solutions out there but I wanted to avoid cutting into the can itself. We regularly travel with two cans and I wanted one solution that would work for either one. I also wanted to avoid anything that required lifting the can or used electricity. The solution was to have an additional top modified to take an RV hand pump.

Started with an extra Scepter top and used a hacksaw to roughly cut off the pour spout as well as the mounting ring.

Valterra RP800 hand pump and 3/8" ID food grade tubing.

I used a 2 inch hole saw in the cap, then installed the hand pump using stainless screws. RTV was liberally used to prevent dust and dirt creeping in.

View from backside. Alignment of the 2 inch hole is critical to ensure mounting screws have something to bite into. I didn't do a perfect job but it has worked without issue.

Dispenser cap in use during camping. Makes filling our water bottles and cooking pots incredibly easy and the jerry cans never have to leave the holder. Wife says this is in the top three modifications to the LX, along with the window tint and RTT.

 

[neilsen100]

Holden's First Camp Trip

The week before HIH 9 we headed into the Uintas with some friends. Had a fantastic time at Pyramid Lake with hikes, fly fishing, swimming and some amazing food. This was Holden's first camping trip and he did great. Slept in the RTT with us, cried a bit like babies do, but otherwise just had fun.

Also nice to hit some mild trail and make sure everything on the truck worked well prior to HIH.

Catching up on Toyota Trails

He loves flying

Afternoon swim

Breakfast scramble coming together.

 

[Kabanstva]

Nice work man. I've Dynamatte'd a few cars, it's a decent amount of work. Just a tip, you can pretty easily cut this stuff with a plastic razor blade so there's zero chance of you cutting the paint on your floor.

By the way, where did you get the felt tape to install on random areas to minimize rattling? That's a great idea!

 

[neilsen100]

Nice work man. I've Dynamatte'd a few cars, it's a decent amount of work. Just a tip, you can pretty easily cut this stuff with a plastic razor blade so there's zero chance of you cutting the paint on your floor.

By the way, where did you get the felt tape to install on random areas to minimize rattling? That's a great idea!

Thanks @Kabanstva for the advise. I cut everything off the car except a few of the bolt holes or access holes. In those cases the knife didn't touch the paint since I was cutting into a hole. But great call out to be concerned about nicking paint.

As for the felt tape, that was a mixture of influences. Toyota uses it in various spots from the factory but it gets worn down over the years and looses its effectiveness. Also seen others use it in wiring projects behind the dash so I ordered a big role and stick it on almost everything now.

 

[neilsen100]

HIH 9

After coming out of HIH 8 with almost no pictures I was set on bringing my SLR and using it. Glad I did.

Trip started out like it usually does, many check lists, load the night before and take off in the morning. A bit calmer this year coming from UT instead of CA, love living in the mountains.

Fridge full of Utah beer to share with old and new friends.

Packed up with an additional North Face duffle this year

Extra duffle is for this guy. Five months old and going to his first HIH!

Fully loaded...

...and loaded fully. Swung by the scales in Heber on the way out. Omph, she's a bit heavy.

 

[neilsen100]

HIH 9 Day 1 - Stoney Pass to Kite Lake

Due to all the remaining snow a number of the regular trails were closed. Black Bear and Poughkeepsie Gulch remained closed. Imogene was reachable from the Ouray side but was not open for through traffic to Telluride. Our only scheduled run, Ophir to Telluride, that wasn't closed due to snow was the mild day we picked so I could join the mountain biking day.

In the end missing out on the trails we wanted to do matter not one bit. HIH has fantastic trails, led be great folks. But it is the great folks that really make HIH special, not the trails. Since our trail selection got moved around we saw trails new to us and some absolutely amazing scenery. Could not have been better.

Climbing up Stoney Pass with our trail leader Stan

There are two river crossings on this route. It was incredible to me how they changed throughout the day, getting deeper and a bit faster as the sun melted more snow. Nothing a 100 series can't handle.

The second crossing has the greater photo opportunity. As always, Stan (@paflytyer) jumps ahead and grabs amazing shots for everyone.

While we all took a quick water/pee break, Holden went down to dip his toes in the river crossing. It was cold and he let us know it.

 

[neilsen100]

HIH 9 Day 1 - Stoney Pass to Kite Lake con't

These amazing mountains are lined with expansive meadows. Our trail went through a few and provided and epic backdrop to our trail run.

As well as life everywhere. Marmots were especially present...

...and we were high enough to see the Columbine, state flower of Colorado

The trail climbed up towards Kite Lake, offering some mildly technical switchbacks.

And for about 300 yards the trail runs through the water coming off Kite Lake.

 

[neilsen100]

HIH 9 Day 1 - Stoney Pass to Kite Lake con't

Kite Lake is rather tight. Only about 8-10 trucks can be at the trail end and still have room to turn around. We stayed on the front side of the lake and took pictures instead.

I love how heading down a trail gives a different perspective and makes it like a completely new trail

One thing which stood out was all the Pine Beetle damage. Nearly everywhere we went the forest was decimated by this.

Heading back down to Silverton at the end of a wonderful day

 

[neilsen100]

HIH 9 Day 2 - Stoney Pass to Kite Lake again

As mentioned before, our regularly scheduled trail was closed and we ended up on Stoney Pass again. It was fantastic and I'm glad we did it again.

Chris leading the group

We were regularly asked how Holden "Moose Magoo" was doing. He had a blast. When Uncle Stan held him he'd get the biggest smile ever. Special thanks to his Uncle Stan, Uncle Chris and Uncle Bobby for his new nick name, Moose Magoo.

In the truck Holden was happy as long as we were moving and on trail. Every time we hit pavement, he cried. I mentioned this to Chris and Stan and they both have the same reaction

Katie even got behind the wheel for one of the river crossings.

 

[neilsen100]

HIH 9 Day 2 - Stoney Pass to Kite Lake again con't

She did great getting through the river but left me on the wrong side so...

...I had to catch a ride with Uncle Bobby

Once across I was in position to grab what is my favorite shot from HIH 9. Both Stan and Chris in one photo on the trail, pretty rare.