Sheptastic 2015 GX460 Build

[sheptastic]

Just got some beverage line to make the new Dometic water faucet more functional. I picked up the faucet before our last trip and it worked great for us. It's pricy for sure, but it's got some good build quality. I tried a cheap one initially, but the water tasted horrible. I'm hoping the Dometic internals are far closer to food grade. The bottom-facing light seemed gimmicky, but worked really well in the dark.

 

[r2m]

If the water is tasting a little funky, try cleaning the lines the same way as a new water can. Here are a couple of methods, but basically the same. Although you may forgo the rice since you want to run the soapy water, bleach/vinegar through your system and out the faucet a few times:

https://www.hunker.com/12404915/how-to-clean-a-five-gallon-water-cooler

How to Clean a 5 Gallon Water Jug in 4 Ways - Tidying Mama

You can clean a 5 water gallon jug and other water bottles in many way. This article highlights 4 reliable methods . Ideally, your method of choice should depend

tidyingmama.com

I did this with my Scepter water jerry cans when I first got them and never had a foul taste since.

 

[sheptastic]

If the water is tasting a little funky, try cleaning the lines the same way as a new water can.

I've cleaned everything before use and keep it clean. In this case it was very much the $20 faucet/pump I got on Amazon. Even after cleaning, the water had a strong chemical/plastic taste. I'm guessing they used materials I don't want in contact with my drinking water. I've had no issues with the Dometic and my current setup.

 

[McDuff123]

I've had no issues with the Dometic and my current setup.

We also have the Dometic pump (and their “jug”). Camping with it currently on the Metolius in Central Oregon.
Zero “weird taste” effect. I use it for drinking water even when bottled water is available…this was a “luxury item” for my wife at a recent Overland Expo and I initially poo-poo’ed the idea but I’ll admit, it’s pretty handy.

 

[sheptastic]

It's been a while since I posted an update. I have all of my electrical pretty much finished, so I thought I'd detail that here.

I got an Interstate 24F AGM battery for a good price at Costco. I planned to add a diode inline with a fuse to boost the alternator output voltage (like so many do with Odyssey batteries and the like). However, I haven't been able to come across any specific charging voltages for the Interstates. I have one ready to go, but haven't installed it yet. Essentially, I took an add-a-fuse, inserted a Littelfuse diode in the additional spot, soldered in an inline fuse holder I had laying around onto the pigtail, and ran that into the accessory leg of the add-a-fuse. This retains a 7.5A fuse and the diode drops the voltage by ~0.5V between the legs of the add-a-fuse.

I took my compressor, ditch lights, and wiring for the distribution to the way back off of the battery terminals and cleaned that up. I now have a single 4ga wire on each battery terminal feeding everything. There's still room for jumper cables/booster pack if needed and it's not a huge PITA to remove everything. I mounted a 100A breaker, 40A breaker, and a fused 6-terminal panel to an old Coleman cutting board I had laying around. I used a couple M6 coupling nuts to attach it to the stock battery tie down J-bolts. Everything is secure and easy to access, including the stock fuse and relay box. I just need to do some wire management and hook the compressor and ditch lights back up.

I needed more light and plan to eventually put a light bar in a new front bumper that I don't have. For now, I got some aluminum ditch light brackets from NashFabCo (Lexus | NashFabCo - https://www.nashfabco.com/lexus), which are awesome. Turned out to be a local company too. And, I got some Cali Raised ditch lights on sale. They work...they're OK.

I now have 5 additional 12V sockets in the GX. Two that are always on, but with a manual switch in the way back. And, three that are ignition controlled - one in the dash for my wireless phone charger, one below the heat/AC controls in the second row, and one under the armrest that has my GMRS radio charger plugged into it.

Electrical is done for now. I've been really happy with my cooler setup so far, but couldn't resist the 45% off, Super Early Bird deal on Anker's new battery-powered fridge (anker-everfrost-powered-coolereverlasting-coolness-anywhere/description). I think this'll be perfect for me. I can just charge up the integrated battery when I'm driving or by solar and not have to worry about draining my starter battery or dealing with any supplemental batteries. I'm excited to get that in a couple months. Fingers crossed it ships on time.

 

[sheptastic]

I finally got both of my Expedition One rocker guards installed (Lexus GX 460 Rocker Guards | Expedition One - https://www.exp-one.com/products/lexus-gx-460-rocker-guards/). They went on fairly easily. There were a couple bolt holes that didn't quite line up and working around the KDSS lines on the driver's side was a bit of a pain. The cut pattern they sent for the trim was off. I ended up cutting 0.5"-1" lower (less material) than they specified. It's nice to have the channel in the rocker guard to cover the cut end of the trim. All in all, they're solid, have a nice tread plate, and give 3"-4" more clearance than stock.

 

[r2m]

I finally got both of my Expedition One rocker guards installed (Lexus GX 460 Rocker Guards | Expedition One - https://www.exp-one.com/products/lexus-gx-460-rocker-guards/). They went on fairly easily. There were a couple bolt holes that didn't quite line up and working around the KDSS lines on the driver's side was a bit of a pain. The cut pattern they sent for the trim was off. I ended up cutting 0.5"-1" lower (less material) than they specified. It's nice to have the channel in the rocker guard to cover the cut end of the trim. All in all, they're solid, have a nice tread plate, and give 3"-4" more clearance than stock.

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It actually looks like it give it an "up-scale" effect. Like you see on some of the Benz.

 

[sheptastic]

It actually looks like it give it an "up-scale" effect. Like you see on some of the Benz.

They remind me of the Mercedes running boards too. I’d been eyeing Slee’s sliders, but they’re never in stock. I like how these go all the way to the wheel well. Form and function.

 

[r2m]

I like how these go all the way to the wheel well. Form and function.

I agree! Don't know why most of the tube rocker sliders are about 3" - 4" from both the front and rear wheel wells. I'd prefer them to be full length also.
If these vendors were selling tens of thousands of these sliders, I'd understand from a manufacturing point of view if you can save 3" or 4" on each end of material, that allows to make more product with less waste. But that's not the case with small niche businesses.

 

[sheptastic]

I haven't posted any of my mods in a while, so I figured I'd get back into it with the XT60 port I added for my Anker Everfrost Cooler. I'm currently waiting on a couple more parts to finish my fridge slide.

I added a XT60 port to my power distribution in the way back. I wired it through a SPDT switch and a relay with an ignition feed from the front fuse panel (under the dash). I used an add-a-fuse from an ignition controlled circuit to run a relay trigger wire. Position 1 on the switch runs power through the relay when the ignition is on (charging the cooler when the GX is running). Position 2 on the switch runs power from the GX battery continuously (charging the cooler all the time). There's a low voltage detection feature on the cooler, so in theory it won't run my starter battery all the way down. Being able to switch my power to ignition only makes sure it won't.

 

[r2m]

I haven't posted any of my mods in a while, so I figured I'd get back into it with the XT60 port I added for my Anker Everfrost Cooler. I'm currently waiting on a couple more parts to finish my fridge slide.

I added a XT60 port to my power distribution in the way back. I wired it through a SPDT switch and a relay with an ignition feed from the front fuse panel (under the dash). I used an add-a-fuse from an ignition controlled circuit to run a relay trigger wire. Position 1 on the switch runs power through the relay when the ignition is on (charging the cooler when the GX is running). Position 2 on the switch runs power from the GX battery continuously (charging the cooler all the time). There's a low voltage detection feature on the cooler, so in theory it won't run my starter battery all the way down. Being able to switch my power to ignition only makes sure it won't.

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Curious why the XT60 port and not just use the 12 VDC cigarette port? Does your fridge not have that option?

 

[sheptastic]

Curious why the XT60 port and not just use the 12 VDC cigarette port? Does your fridge not have that option?

The fridge/cooler can be charged two ways, from a port type I'm not familiar with (looks like a IEC power port - typically used for 110V AC, but with 2 pins) and a XT60 port on the battery itself. It also came with an adapter cable from XT60 to whatever the other port is. All inputs accept 12V DC. It came with a 110V AC to 12V DC power brick to charge from home/shore power.

I had been using one of the cigarette ports I have, but they're always on. I'd have to unplug it when I use 2 air pumps to inflate our paddleboards, or anytime I'd be parked for a while and didn't want to risk running down the starter battery. Since the cooler has its own battery, I just need to top it off occasionally. I used it on a weeklong trip and charged it as needed, which wasn't very often. It should work out just charging it when the GX is running and letting it run off its own battery in between. I wanted 2 cigarette sockets available and a separate/dedicated fridge/cooler outlet that I could switch between constant and ignition power. I could have added a 3rd cigarette port and it would have given me more flexibility in what I plug in, but the XT60 holds the connector more securely than a cigarette port in my experience. Also allowed me to use a dedicated XT60 to XT60 cable. Short answer is personal preference. I'm usually for flexibility and redundancy, but in this case I opted for a specific solution with a port and cables I'll only use with my cooler. It'd be easy enough to replace with a cigarette port if I decided to later.

 

[r2m]

... but the XT60 holds the connector more securely than a cigarette port in my experience.

Your right about the cig port. When I have my fridge plugged in using the rear 12 VDC port I installed, I always have to have something wedged against it to prevent it from popping out somewhere along a trip.

 

[sheptastic]

I've been pretty happy with my current setup and haven't done much to the GX in a while. With AK Fab's skid extender and bumper fill plates (Skid Plate Extension GX460 - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/skid-plate-extension-gx460.1354887/), I was motivated to cut the front bumper. Following my plan to modify the next thing that's in the way, I took care of most of the spot where a rock got in the way during a creek crossing last year.

I cut the bumper about an inch below the molded lines in the front and under the fog lights, connecting the two areas by what looked right. I left the factory brackets to mount the new skid plate and left the fender liners a bit long so I could trim them to fit the bumper fill plates. I cut everything with an oscillating tool, which left a pretty clean edge and didn't melt the plastic. I gave it a quick sand with some 100 grit and added some door edge molding. I'm happy with how it turned out, and like most people wish I had done it sooner...except I'm glad I waited for the AK Fab parts to be available so I could cut to fit and utilize the factory brackets.

 

[sheptastic]

I rounded the corners on the lip of the passenger side bumper fill plate since they were sharp, and put a few coats of bed liner on them. I'll leave the skid extender raw aluminum for now - matches my RCI fuel skid. I used m6 x 20mm button head allen machine screws (they were out of 25mm), 6- 1/4" x 1 1/4" fender washers (suggestions was 4, but I don't know how that'd work), m6 nylock nuts, and the bolts/washers/split washers that came with my Apex Overland recovery points. I'll get those installed soon. Shouldn't have to do much of any modification to the fill plates to get them to fit. There's a gap between the fill plates and the frame that's just about right. I decided to mount the angle brackets on the top of the plate. I think it looks cleaner. I held the plates in place with one m6 screw and drew a cut line on the fender liners. They tucked into the plates snugly and I don't think I'll need to secure them. They'll have a hard time working their way over the lip of the plates. It seems fine, but I'd probably go with a bigger machine screw to hold the bracket to the plate. The slots are really wide, unnecessarily so in my case. I didn't need much room for adjustment of any of the locations and smaller holes in the plate would rely less on the fender washers. That's a minor nitpick on otherwise great pieces.

Passenger side:

Driver's side:

 

[sheptastic]

I got the skid plate extension installed, after removing the broken screws that were stuck in the skid plate. In the back I used more M6x20mm button head allen machine screws and will replace the fender washers with 1/4"x1 1/4" stainless. In the front I used 2 of the OEM fasteners for the bumper brackets.

 

[r2m]

I got the skid plate extension installed, after removing the broken screws that were stuck in the skid plate. In the back I used more M6x20mm button head allen machine screws and will replace the fender washers with 1/4"x1 1/4" stainless. In the front I used 2 of the OEM fasteners for the bumper brackets.

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Do you think you may paint/powdercoat it? Black or gray or red or something?

 

[sheptastic]

Do you think you may paint/powdercoat it? Black or gray or red or something?

I don’t have any plans to. You kind of have to crouch down to see much of it and it matches my RCI fuel skid and the top of my rock sliders. If I need a change, I’ll probably just hit it with some bed liner. Scratches, etc. won’t be as visible if I don’t paint it.

I am going to swap the Allen screws with a couple more of the M6 fasteners that came off the bumper. That way I only need one tool to remove it, since I’ll have to pull it for each oil change.

 

[r2m]

I don’t have any plans to. You kind of have to crouch down to see much of it and it matches my RCI fuel skid and the top of my rock sliders. If I need a change, I’ll probably just hit it with some bed liner. Scratches, etc. won’t be as visible if I don’t paint it.

I am going to swap the Allen screws with a couple more of the M6 fasteners that came off the bumper. That way I only need one tool to remove it, since I’ll have to pull it for each oil change.

Maybe use m6 button hex socket screws. They won't be so apt to shear off.