Stealth Mod Journey

[Samuel Weber]

Whelp I’ve officially joined the herd and getting my first mod on the 200 grocery getter.

I’m starting with on board air. I’m in Maryland so I’m going with Extra Mile Performance.
Owner is a former Yota Master Technician.

Purpose of this thread is to share my journey.
As I can afford, I will be bolting on mods (I.e., dual battery, bcdc, LRA 24 gallon aux fuel) and will post about my experience and even lessons learned for those that come behind me…

I am not affiliated with EMP in any way but do believe in good karma and word of mouth for folks that deserve it.
Moderators, if this thread is out of place, please let me know.
Happy to show my receipts for work done
-Sam

 

[CharlieS]

Congratulations. Should be a fun project.

If you are at all interested in DIY, adding a compressor for OBA is a pretty easy way to start. A Slee compressor bracket and ARB compressor make it an easy job. To make it ultra easy, you can just hook up the + and - to the battery, and ignore all of the extra wiring in that harness for the lockers (a lot of people, like me, take the time to prune wires and eliminate the locker wires - if one doesn't plan on air lockers - but it is completely unnecessary).

Also, maybe think through what your goals are for dual batteries. They are "cool" and can be useful, but there are other ways to get a jump start or power to a fridge. I have dual batteries in my 200 that I carried over from my last 200 because the buyer didn't want it. At that point I had a lot of money into my system and figured I might as well carry it forward. If I were starting from scratch, I'd just carry a Noco jump pack and toss a portable power station like a Jackery in when I needed the power for the fridge on trips.

Post some pictures of your rig!

 

[Cincodemustache]

Good luck and looking forward to pictures.

For me, a stealth mod is one I can do without my wife noticing.

 

[Samuel Weber]

Xactley

 

[CT3]

Congratulations. Should be a fun project.

If you are at all interested in DIY, adding a compressor for OBA is a pretty easy way to start. A Slee compressor bracket and ARB compressor make it an easy job. To make it ultra easy, you can just hook up the + and - to the battery, and ignore all of the extra wiring in that harness for the lockers (a lot of people, like me, take the time to prune wires and eliminate the locker wires - if one doesn't plan on air lockers - but it is completely unnecessary).

Also, maybe think through what your goals are for dual batteries. They are "cool" and can be useful, but there are other ways to get a jump start or power to a fridge. I have dual batteries in my 200 that I carried over from my last 200 because the buyer didn't want it. At that point I had a lot of money into my system and figured I might as well carry it forward. If I were starting from scratch, I'd just carry a Noco jump pack and toss a portable power station like a Jackery in when I needed the power for the fridge on trips.

Post some pictures of your rig!

I’ll echo this sentiment. If you don’t have plans to run a fridge for a couple days at a time in a stationary camp setting where solar is unreliable or unavailable, you can likely accomplish the same thing with a much simpler setup. I have a dual battery in mine as well but if I were starting again I would do a Jackery or Goal Zero probably to power accessories

Looking forward to following along with your build!

 

[Samuel Weber]

Interesting to hear this and I’ll admit this exposes my ignorance with this domain.
I don’t currently have the use cases but as a planner, I’m definitely prone to building things that I might not need at the moment but give me the ability to scale into.

Maybe I delay that part and add the LRA fuel…

 

[TeCKis300]

As an avid camper, with a larger group of off-road campers, I'll also echo the sentiments above. Portable solar generators have other nice advantages including more power reserves, monitoring options, and flexibility of use that I find almost more important.

Definite yes on the LRA. Depending on your use and overall build out, the 12.5 LRA is also a good option as it has the advantage of keeping the spare in the original location. While providing a meaningfully large increase of fuel reserves, range, and less weight.

 

[CT3]

I’m investigating an LRA tank now myself and may do a 12.5gal even though I have my spare on a rear swingout. That much additional fuel should be enough for my use case and it also has two benefits:
-lower overall weight as pointed out above, and
-allows me to carry a second spare on longer trips

Would be curious if others have done that…(?)

 

[TeCKis300]

I’m investigating an LRA tank now myself and may do a 12.5gal even though I have my spare on a rear swingout. That much additional fuel should be enough for my use case and it also has two benefits:
-lower overall weight as pointed out above, and
-allows me to carry a second spare on longer trips

Would be curious if others have done that…(?)

I'll backup and say if you already have a rear swingout and re-located spare, go for the 24. Between the tank sizes, the difference in weight is probably less than 10lbs. You can always fill less.

 

[Slow Paddler]

Interesting to hear this and I’ll admit this exposes my ignorance with this domain.
I don’t currently have the use cases but as a planner, I’m definitely prone to building things that I might not need at the moment but give me the ability to scale into.

Maybe I delay that part and add the LRA fuel…

If you do end up going the "solar generator" route, look for units with LiFePO4 Lithium Iron Phosphate battery chemistry rather the Lithium Ion as used in Jackery, Goal Zero, etc. Although a bit more expensive, they have 7-10X the number of cycles before their usable capacity drops below 80%, and are safer than Li-ion batteries.

Dakota and Battleborn batteries are LiFePO4 chemistry, but only a few of the solar generators have moved that direction. We picked up a Bluetti EB70 and EB70S when they were released. 700/800W inverter and 716Wh capacity for less and similar price as the Jackery 500. Other companies are starting to use LiFePO4 now, too. We use one in the Cruiser for my National Luna 90 Twin fridge, and the other in the Hiker square back trailer.

I look forward to watching your stealth project!

 

[Samuel Weber]

Thanks slow Paddler.
I also have an 80 collectors edition (100% stock) that I should do something with.
Maybe bring back to showroom circa ‘97
One thing at a time though…

 

[Samuel Weber]

Update: EMP delivered first phase of build.
Twin ARB compressor with OEM toggle button actuator.
Very happy.
Just pinged that team to start on the next mod.
Likely roof rack and 270 awning.
LRA 24 gallon aux coming too…