Sorich's Humble Build Thread....

[sorich]

Think you could grab some pictures of the bottom of your rtt (maybe with a tape measure) and then how it mounts? I have been watching for pictures like these but haven't found much floating around. I am sure they mount up really simple, but, I am planning on building my own roofrack here pretty soon, and I need to see what sort of mounting options I need to incorporate

Sure thing! For reference, this is the tent I went with.

 

[PabloCruise]

Well I spent a few hours up in Windsor, CO with Mike at Bump It Offroad and got a set of his sliders and a new prototype roof rack installed. The new roof rack is made of steel brackets and braces, but extruded aluminum crossmembers with the t-slots that I’ve seen being used in a lot of the higher end racks these days. It took some trial and error to get the wind deflector cut and reinforced correctly, but the result is a rack that contributes to no meaningful increase in road/wind noise when cruising at 80mph. Impressive. Oh, and the sliders are beefy...

Here are some shots from the process.

Before:
View attachment 1668434

View attachment 1668435

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After:
View attachment 1668437

View attachment 1668438

Very cool! Glad you are pleased with everything!

Let us know how your AHC pressures are. I was really glad I went with the King springs in the rear.

Do you have TechStream?

 

[sorich]

Very cool! Glad you are please with everything!
Let us know how your AHC pressures are. I was really glad I went with the King springs in the rear.
Do you have TechStream?

Planning to check/normalize pressures today after work (I have TechStream), and then if all goes well will put the tent on tonight and check pressures again. My assumption is that I'll need the King springs in the rear to handle the tent which is nearly 300 lbs. I also think I'll need to get a set of globes sooner than later, but hoping I can defer that until later this year and get another season out of them.

 

[PabloCruise]

Wow, 300 lbs up high... I will be curious how she handles after that.

 

[sorich]

Wow, 300 lbs up high... I will be curious how she handles after that.

I'm guessing really poorly!! Yeah.... I already have slight buyers remorse. I kind of wish I went with a slightly smaller and non-ruggedized version. This may end up being 260-280lbs when mounted... The annex and all the other stuff I think is included in the 300lb weight.

If I had gotten the same one that wasn't ruggedized it would have been around 220 lbs.

 

[sorich]

AHC Update: I haven’t checked pressures since August, and then they were 6.9 in front and 6.4 in rear. Now that the roof rack and sliders are on (plus a few more tools in the back, air compressor, etc.), I’m at 7.3 and 6.9. I did three cranks on each t-bar and now I’m at 6.6 and 7.1.

A bit high in the rear, and on the low end of spec in front. Let’s see what that tent does to it.

 

[sorich]

Rooftop Tent is mounted. Pressures now read 7.1 in front, 8.5 in the rear (up from 6.6 and 7.1).

At what point will my AHC drop to low because of too high of pressures?

Pressures are good in front but high in rear. Normal rear range is 5.6-6.7.

EDIT: What do you think, @PADDO - Am I making a big mistake by taking my truck on a 1,700 mile road trip with rear pressures this high? I plan to get those King springs installed in the next month, and new globes later this year.

 

[PabloCruise]

Tent is up. Pressures now read 7.1 in front, 8.5 in the rear (up from 6.6 and 7.1).

At what point will my AHC drop to low because of too high of pressures?

Pressures are good in front but high in rear. Normal rear range is 5.6-6.7.

I am not sure, but I wouldn't make the system work out of spec any longer than you have to!

 

[BillZ260]

You already have the heavier kings on right? might have to go with some air bags for support.

 

[sorich]

You already have the heavier kings on right? might have to go with some air bags for support.

Not yet. I will be ordering them very shortly.

 

[PabloCruise]

Rooftop Tent is mounted. Pressures now read 7.1 in front, 8.5 in the rear (up from 6.6 and 7.1).

At what point will my AHC drop to low because of too high of pressures?

Pressures are good in front but high in rear. Normal rear range is 5.6-6.7.

EDIT: What do you think, @PADDO - Am I making a big mistake by taking my truck on a 1,700 mile road trip with rear pressures this high? I plan to get those King springs installed in the next month, and new globes later this year.

Ideal F pressure is 6.9. I finally got a reading on my AHC system w/ the King rear springs, rear pressure was 5.8 Mpa. That is w/ a BIO rear bumper, BIO sliders, full tank of fuel, no 3rd row seats.

 

[sorich]

Ideal F pressure is 6.9. I finally got a reading on my AHC system w/ the King rear springs, rear pressure was 5.8 Mpa. That is w/ a BIO rear bumper, BIO sliders, full tank of fuel, no 3rd row seats.

Thanks for the data point! I will get a set of those Kings in my truck and report back, but it probably won’t be for a few weeks until they are installed.

Back from the family road trip. We clocked about 1,800 Miles this past week. The rear pressures were high (as reported) with just the sliders, rack and tent. I was afraid to see how bad the truck was after I loaded it up for the trip, but ultimately decided to throw caution to the wind and do it anyways. Family of 5 and a completely full cargo area added, and the truck handled it like a champ! Did a good amount of off-roading a few of the days in Sedona area and Moab, and it handled the nasty stuff in high mode and low gearing like a champ!

After using the tent, I’m almost certain I will keep it mounted for the season, which means those king springs need to be installed ASAP. After that I’ll check pressures and normalize before trying the sensor lift and assessing if I will need spacers in the back or not. Hoping I don’t need them. Later this year I will upgrade the accumulator globes to those heavier duty ones from the U.K.

 

[PabloCruise]

Trying to remember, did you change out the AHC fluid in your system?

 

[sorich]

Trying to remember, did you change out the AHC fluid in your system?

Yup! Fluids swapped when I first got it, baselined everything and normalized pressures and heights front (left and right) and rear. Everything was in spec and performing well prior to installing the sliders, rod rack, and tent. I even had fresh Lexus coils on it! Thought I’d get more time on them

 

[sorich]

Grinding metal sound from the rear started a few days ago.... Visual inspection shows the rear brake pads are nearly gone with the brake pad shims rubbing on the rear discs.... New Toyota pads are going on tonight, and hopefully that takes care of the noise.

Also ordered those King springs today. Hoping they will be delivered and I can get them installed in time before HIH8.

 

[atnolan94]

How is it doing with the wight of the tent up top? Is the handling noticeably different?

See you at HIH!

 

[sorich]

How is it doing with the wight of the tent up top? Is the handling noticeably different?

See you at HIH!

Noticeable difference in handling, but not horrible. I used to be really impressed with the AHC's ability to keep the truck flat while cornering hard, and it's ability to dampen the little bumps and stay stable. All of those qualities have been diminished now that I have the rack, sliders, and RTT installed, but it's not horrible. I'd say that when I first got the truck and tuned up the AHC, I was blown away with how well it drove - Being bale to corner and remain stable in various situations while still having a plush ride. Now, I think it handles the way I previously expected it to (like a big heavy truck) rather than it behaving like it's nimble but plush self. I'm hoping to get 80% of it back after doing the rear springs and adjustments to pressures. I also plan to replace the accumulators on all 4 corners later this year.

 

[sorich]

Brake pads installed, and the squeak/grind from the rear is gone. Bad news is the drivers rear rotor had some scoring on the inside surface that I wasn't bale to see until I had the caliper off, so I'll probably need to pull it off and have it turned after this weekends trip. Good enough for the weekend, but I don't want to keep it like that.

King Springs should be in around July 1st, which should give me plenty of time to get them installed before HIH. I still need to get a CB for the event as well.

 

[starclassic]

King Springs should be in around July 1st, which should give me plenty of time to get them installed before HIH. I still need to get a CB for the event as well.

Looking forward to some photos of the King install and your latest travels! I will be starting a build thread soon: will be nagging you with questions for the foreseeable future!

 

[sorich]

Looking forward to some photos of the King install and your latest travels! I will be starting a build thread soon: will be nagging you with questions for the foreseeable future!

Excellent. Bring it on!

Our family of 5 is heading to HIH8 tomorrow morning. In preparation for this, I swapped most of my major fluids, installed the rear King springs, and also recently did rear brakes. The truck is running great and I hope it is ready for the trails this weekend!

CB is getting set up tomorrow morning before we set off. I went with a magnetic antenna and a Midland handset.