Builds The Fresh-Air-Ah GX 460 Build Thread (3 Viewers)

[alefer5]

Transmission Fluid Drain & Fill

Given that our OEM GX radiators also include a small transmission fluid cooler, the replacement of my radiator (described in Post #40) caused me to lose a bit of transmission fluid (~ 1/4 qt). Since the transmission fluid on my vehicle has not yet been addressed, I figured that I'd close out my cooling system maintenance with a single drain and fill.

After letting the car sit cold for a day, I drained and removed the transmission oil pan. Doing so generated just about 3 qts of fluid. Note that my 2-gallon graduated bucket from Home Depot was incredibly helpful for assessing the amount of fluid removed. Later, I also replaced the transmission filter, which contained roughly 2 its of fluid, bringing my total to about 5 qts.

Next, I cleaned the 4x magnets in the transmission oil pan, as they did have some metallic debris on them. I also spent a fair bit of time cleaning the transmission oil pan with brake cleaner, so that I was sure to have a solid seal at the gasket interface at the time of installation.

I then replaced the transmission oil strainer (and associated strainer O-Ring PN 9030131014). The torque on the 4x fasteners on the transmission oil strainer is 7 ft-lbs according to the FSM.

I then reinstalled the transmission oil pan with a new gasket and new seals on the fill, drain, and check plugs. I've compiled some of the useful information below for these items in the table below:

Transmission Fill Plug (24 mm Socket)	Transmission Drain Plug (14 mm Socket)	Transmission Check Plug (5mm Hex Bit)	Transmission Oil Pan Bolts (10 mm Socket)
O-Ring PN 90301-15004	Gasket PN 3517830010	Gasket PN 3517830010	Gasket PN 3516860010
29 ft-lbs	15 ft-lbs	15 ft-lbs	62 in-lbf

Once everything was installed, I used a fluid transfer pump to fill the transmission with 6 qts of World Standard ATF. I figured that I had 5 qts that drained out + 1/2 qt from the transmission fluid cooler in the radiator + 1/2 qt of extra for good measure. Once filled, I put the vehicle into *transmission fluid check mode*, got the vehicle to temp, and then drained the excess fluid out of the check plug on the transmission oil pan. All in all this was a relatively easy task, and after driving about 50 miles, I can say that it has made a positive difference!

A few helpful resources that assisted me in this project:

• Trans fluid replacement without scan tool
• Transmission fluid strainer replacement
• Transmission fluid cooler information
• Special thanks to @Acrad who has a wealth of transmission information on CL.

 

[Acrad]

Thank you sir!!!

Will definitely be referencing this as well when I drop the pan on future maintenance.

 

[alefer5]

Scan Gauge Install

I kicked off my new year by installing a Scan Gauge. To route the cable, I removed a majority of the interior trim surrounding the steering wheel and dash. This was relatively straightforward, as all of these panels use clips for fastening. A good set of plastic trim tools goes a long way here. After just a few minutes, I had sufficient access around the steering wheel.

With the trim out of the way, I tried a few different routing options for the Scan Gauge cable, but I ultimately settled on a path that had the cable exiting to the right side of the gauge, as this provided a large amount of clearance to the steering column. I ended up drilling a hole through the dash bezel and installed a grommet. I passed the cable (ethernet side up) through the dash and through the grommet to interface with the Scan Gauge.

I used 3M Dual-Lock velcro to secure the Scan Gauge to the steering wheel cover. Once installed, I added an "X-Gauge" to read transmission fluid temperature using the codes below:

After a spin around the block, it's pretty clear that having this info handy is going to be great! Plus, it's pretty neat that you can match the color of the Scan Gauge display to any RGB.

I'll probably add X-Gauges for TPMS, although it looks like I'll probably need to play around with the codes, as the Scan Gauge documentation lists several. Anyone have any experience with this and know which codes to use?

A few helpful resources that assisted me in this project:

• Scan Gauge Setup
• Scan Gauge Codes

 

[re_guderian]

Any more thoughts on the Kenda Klever tires? I've got a serious itching to get some 35x10.50s...

 

[alefer5]

Victory 4x4 Rear Table Install

Next up is the installation of the Victory 4x4 Rear Tailgate table. Pulling the trim off the rear door is relatively straightforward, starting with the center piece on the top and then the left and right side pieces. I broke a few of the plastic clips on the left and right pieces, so the lesson learned there is don't pull out perpendicular to the door, but rather pull along the direction of the door strut, towards the center of the door.

With the trim removed, I was able to drill the rear door with the Victory 4x4 provided drill bit, install the 2x Rivnuts, and get the table on per the Victory 4x4 instructional video. This proved to be a royal PIA, as one of my rivnuts did not fully seat, so when I assembled everything a few steps later, the fastener continued to spin the rivnut (in other words, the rivnut spun in the drilled hole). Essentially, I had to cut the fastener head off, pull the table and trim back off, and remove the rivnut with a chisel.I also removed the rear window latch mechanism, so I could get hold the backside of the rivnut and prevent it from falling into the door. I wish that I would have torqued a fastener into each rivnut before reassembling everything, so that I could have noticed that one was poorly installed. Doing this probably saves some time in the future.

With that finally remove and a new rivnut installed (and checked), the hard part was behind me - I was then able to reassemble the table and trim. After installation, I was thinking it would be great to have some magnetic hooks on the MOLLE so that I could hang utensils while cooking. However, the table is non-magnetic! I ended up using the 2x empty holes on the top of the table to bolt down another piece of 1/16" cable from the local hardware store, that I can hook my utensils on while cooking. This is going to be super handy, as I won't knock utensils with my knees.

All in all this is a great piece of equipment, and very well built. Looking forward to installing my future victory4x4 products!

Some helpful resources:

• GX Tailgate Table | 470 & 460 (03+) - Victory 4x4 - https://www.victory4x4.com/product/VGX-TAB.html

 

[alefer5]

Any more thoughts on the Kenda Klever tires? I've got a serious itching to get some 35x10.50s...

So far so good! To be honest, I don't have many miles on them off road just yet, but a few trips on them has shown that they have good grip and a strong sidewall. I've scrubbed the sidewall against a few rocks, and no issues - some of my prior tires (K02's, etc) had issues with sidewall punctures. On the highway, they aren't all that loud, but they have definitely had an impact on my fuel economy. Getting like ~12-15 now with mods, etc.

 

[alefer5]

Rear Cargo Light

With the rear tailgate table installed, I wanted lighting overhead, as I know I'll be using the table primarily for cooking. With that, I purchased the following items, and made an LED strip light:

• Diode Dynamics 100 cm RGBW light strip
• Diode Dynamics RGB controller
• SuperBrightLEDs LED Strip Channel
• SuperBrightLEDs Strip Channel End Caps
• Rivets for soft materials

With the top piece of trim removed from the rear door, I temporarily mounted the aluminum channel to the trim, marked the length, and cut the channel so that there was ~1/8" gap against the edges of the trim. Once cut, I marked a number of holes on the channel, and drilled through both the channel and the trim with an 1/8 bit.

After the holes were drilled, I riveted the channel to the trim with a handful of 1/8" pop-rivets. Note that I used a rivet specifically meant for plastic. These rivets split to form a large diameter, which is more effective than a traditional rivet, as there is more surface area to bear against when pulling the rivet.

With the channel riveted to the trim, I installed the LED strip so that the lead wire would exit on the left side of the door. Using an x-acto and file, I modified the channel end caps so that I could route the lead wire out of the channel. I potted everything with silicon adhesive to (1) prevent the end caps from falling off and (2) keep moisture out of the assembly (in case the light is on with the door open).

For routing the cable back into the vehicle, I needed to modify a number of the trim pieces so that they interface together with the cable in position. This was easily done with an x-acto knife and file. I ended up removing the rear door trim entirely so that I could pass the cable through the grommet / bundle of electrical harnesses and into the vehicle. After removing the AC power adapter panel, I was able to pull the cable into the rear cargo area. I'll eventually route this to the hood, but for now, this gets the cable in the vehicle. Stay tuned...

With the epoxy cured and the cable routed, I placed the light diffuser over the channel. The rivet heads were just small enough so that everything sat down nicely into the channel. A taller rivet or thicker LED strip may not yield similar results.

After playing around with the light for some time, it's clear that this will definitely be a frequently used accessory. It's great that it's RGB controlled via your cell phone, so I can dim, change the color to red, etc. Next up - Switch Pros install.

 

[alefer5]

Switch Pros - Control Panel (1 of 2)

Next up is the install of my Switch Pros control panel - I'll do a second post for the power module under the hood.

I wanted the control panel overhead, so that it was easily accessible when I wanted to engage a switch, but out of the way so that I wasn't accidentally hitting things. With that, I opted to put the control panel into the dropdown mirror / sunglass holder.

First, I removed the overhead console - there are a handful of clips and tabs, some of which took some considerable force to pull out. One thing to be aware of is the electrical harness that connects to the console. I disconnect this and remove the console from the vehicle.

I also removed the A-pillar grab handle on the driver side as well as the A-pillar trim. This was straightforward, just be cautious of the side airbag (I disconnected the negative terminal on the battery while doing this). With the trim removed, I routed the Switch Pros communication cable from the firewall, up the dash, along the A-pillar, into the headliner, and then into the center console cutout in the headliner. This took some finagling with a coat hanger, but there is plenty of room for the cable. I zip-tied the cable, and was careful not to interfere with the airbag.

With the console on the workbench, I removed the sunglass holder / mirror portion from the rest of the console. There are a few small pieces that keep the sunglass holder / mirror portion engaged to the console, but these parts were easily removable. I then cut the profile of the control panel into the bottom surface of the sunglass holder. I drilled 4x holes on each of the corners, and then "connected the dots" with a small handheld saw.

I bent some thin aluminum extrusion to span the width of the sunglass holder and drilled holes to align with the Switch Pros threaded interface. I drilled and riveted these aluminum pieces into the sunglass holder, which I then screwed into the Switch Pros control panel. There was a bit of cutting, drilling and filing needed to get everything to fit, so feel free to reach out if you want any more photos, etc. Ultimately, the control panel harness exits the console at the front.

I then potted the assembly with epoxy to (1) help hold the control unit to the console and (2) hide my poor cutting job.

With the control panel now installed in the vehicle, the next step is mounting the power module and connecting accessories. Feel free to reach out if you want any more info - I have photos detailing most of this process.

 

[alefer5]

Switch Pros - Power Module (2 of 2)

Next is the install of the Switch Pros power module under the hood. I purchased a Power Tray to mount the power module as well as an ARB single compressor. I'll hit the ARB compressor wiring in the next post.

First I removed the plastic protection cover near the brake fluid reservoir, as this gave me access to pull cable from underneath the dash. Note that in addition to removing the plastic panel, I also had to remove 2x metal brackets. The one on the battery tray I removed entirely, and the one that interfaces to the fender, I removed, modified, and later reinstalled. With the cover and brackets removed, I pulled the Switch Pros communication cable and another 3x 14 awg cables through a hole that I made in the firewall grommet. I sprayed some WD-40 on the cables, which made pulling them through the firewall grommet very easy. I then potted the grommet with silicon to maintain effectiveness.

I then installed 2x circuit breakers onto the cover of the relay and fuse panel. The 100A circuit breaker provides/interrupts power to the fuse bar, which is not connected to the Switch Pros. The concept here is that this connection is directly off the battery, so it is easy to hook up an accessory with a remote switch (like an under hood light, etc). The 120A circuit breaker provides/interrupts power to the Switch Pros and anything connected to the Switch Pros. The right terminal of each circuit breaker is a battery connection, while the left is the auxiliary connection. I installed the pre-made cables from Power Tray onto each Circuit Breaker. The photo below shows the arrangement of cables.

I then connected the colored leads on the Switch Pros Power Module to the bus bar that I had previously mounted onto the Power Tray. I cut everything to length, installed heat shrink, and then crimped the ring terminal connectors. I also printed some heat shrink labels with a label maker to denote that Channels 5-8 have a 35A max capability while channels 1-4 have a 20A max capability.

A few other considerations for wiring:

• I pulled 3x 14 awg wires through the firewall. These wires were housed within an individual cable, which I picked up from my local hardware store.
• On the back of the Switch Pros Power Module, I connectorized the pink, blue, white, and black leads to a 4-pin connector from Oreilly's. One pin was for the pink trigger wire, the blue ignition wire, the white lights wire, and then the black ground wire. I figured this was helpful if I wanted to remove the assembly, I could disconnect a few connectors and remove the power module entirely.
• I connected the blue ignition wire to the fuse 5th down from the top right side of the fuse panel beneath the steering wheel.
• I connected the white lights wire to the fuse on the bottom left side of the fuse panel beneath the steering wheel.
• I did not yet connect the pink trigger wire - this will be a project for another day
• The ground wire routed to the negative terminal on the battery

All in all, this setup was necessary as I prepare to mount the compressor, and install these items into the vehicle. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions - I have photos detailing most steps of this assembly / the necessary wiring.

Other helpful resources:

• Trail 4 Runner Guide

 

[alefer5]

ARB Compressor Install (1 of 2)

It's been a few months lacking posts, but I figured I'd update this thread to reflect the current status of the build. It's been busy, and a lot has transpired!

After the Switch Pros install, I installed my ARB (single) compressor onto my Power Trays mount. I did this off the car, and then I installed the entire thing into the engine bay. This seemed like the best way to do it, as there are a number of obstacles in the engine bay that would have made access difficult.

View attachment 3010707

According to the Switch Pros instruction manual, you are supposed to use relays if your current draw exceeds 80% of the channel maximum. Even with the ARB Compressor wired to one of the "high powered" 35A channels (channel numbers 5-8), I would have exceeded the current capability with the compressor draw. I called Switch Pros to confirm this assumption, and their (fantastic) customer service confirmed this, using the below diagram:

I ended up chopping up most of the ARB provided harness, and built the below harness. This harness preserved the pressure sensor cut-off, as well as the relays and in-line fuse. In the view below, the 8 AWG black and red wires ran directly to the battery terminals, and the smaller black and red wires were hooked into my terminal block on the Switch Pros.

I'll touch on the pneumatics configuration in a following post, as I ended up routing airlines to numerous locations around the car.

All in all, this installation was relatively straightforward, the main point of pause for me was whether or not to use relays, which I ultimately did. Final product turned out nicely!

View attachment 3010717

Other helpful resources:

• ARB / Switch-Pro PowerTray - 4RUNNER/ FJ CRUISER/ GX - https://www.powertrays.com/products/1-arb-single-compressor-powertray?_pos=12&_sid=ce3d462d2&_ss=r

 

[alefer5]

Third Row Rear Seat Removal

At this point, I was on the waiting list for a locally built drawer system, so I went ahead and pulled my third row seats. This not only prepped me for the day when I'd be at the top of the list, but it gave me much more room to work in the rear (which was very appreciated given the upcoming scope of work).

I had a power folding third row, but removing them is nearly identical to the process used to remove the non-powered variants. I followed the video from GXBOB (thanks!), and the whole process took about an hour or so.

Other Useful Resources:

 

[alefer5]

Umbilical Harness Routing (To Rear)

Before returning to the pneumatics on the compressor, I took a bit of a detour and ran an "umbilical" harness from the engine bay to the rear of the car. I knew that I wanted to have power and air in the trunk, so I figured I'd tackle this job before getting too much further with accessories. Out of all the things I have done so far on this build thread, this was by far the most time consuming. I built the harness, had to route it from the front of the car to the rear, and then connectorize everything.

With that, I built a 25' harness to support the following accessories:

• 2x wires for fridge power - 8 AWG
• 2x wires for backup lights- 16 AWG
• 2x wires for bluetooth controller (for overhead cargo light) - 16 AWG
• 2x wires for spare item - 16AWG
• 2x wires for spare item - 16 AWG
• ARB Air Fitting

I sized the wire gauge sizes with the below calculations:

I purchased all of my wire, wire loom, air tubing, and connector components from McMaster (part numbers are below):

• 8 AWG: 6948K89
• 16 AWG: 8624T6

All said and done, here is a picture of the final harness. This took me a few nights to put together (working with 25' of cable is cumbersome). There are 2x power cables for the fridge, as well as 4x (+) channels and 4x (-) channels for smaller current accessories. I could have kept a common ground, and removed 3 wires from the bundle, but I liked the idea of having additional lead wire for future accessories. The black tube at the top of the harness is the 1/4" OD and 3/16" ID air tube. I did an electrical tape overwrap over the wires, and then housed that bundle and the air tube in an abrasion resistant wire loom. Heat shrinking the 25' harness took me a quite a bit of time, so a high-power heat gun is a definite nice to have.

With the harness done, I routed the harness from the engine bay to the trunk. I opted to route through the chassis frame rails, as this provided a pretty straight shot to the trunk, and provided more protection from the elements. In the image below, you can see the wire loom behind the front shock / control arm on the driver's side of the vehicle. There's a little plastic cover that boxed out the tooling holes in the frame, which is easily removable. I used a wire puller, and pulled the umbilical harness through this entry point.

I was able to route this harness pretty far along the length using a borescope and a wire puller. The borescope was very helpful, as I could (loosely) navigate around obstacles (like bolts, etc) internal to the frame. I exited the frame right behind the rear door, before the frame rails jog upward to support the trunk. From there, I was able to tie the harness down to existing harnesses.

With the rear seats removed from the car, I brought the harness through the rubber pass-through on the left side of the trunk, and I brought the lead wires out through the compartment with the jack stand. In the image below, note the additional harnesses which are passing through the rubber grommet in the trunk floor.

From this point onward, it was a few days of connectorization and wire routing. Knowing that I had drawers going into the vehicle, I added a few other harnesses that I can tap into in the future:

1. One was a driver side - passenger side crossover harness that carried 4x 16 AWG wires from the driver side of the passenger side of the vehicle, and would be routed under the drawer system. This would allow me to carry signals from the left to the right of the vehicle without having to route anything after the drawers went in. One end of this cable is shown on the bottom left of the above image - it's the cable with the white wire cap.
2. The other cable was a top-bottom crossover harness that carried 3x 16 AWG wires from inside the car to outside the vehicle, and would be routed through the rubber grommet. This would allow me to take signals inside the vehicle and bring them outside the vehicle with minimal additional work. I basically have this configured so that there are spare connectors inside and outside of the car. The leads on this cable are shown below:

I was very happy with the final routing. the key was taking my time, labeling everything, and using DT style connectors, so I could pin connectors directly onto lead wires and avoid splicing anything intermediate. This post was basically the summary of a few weeks of work - I was working slowly, thinking things out, and trying to build in capability as I went along. Until next time...

 

[alefer5]

ARB Compressor (2 of 2)

With the Umbilical harness installed and the compressor wired, I moved on to finishing the installation of my ARB Compressor.

Learning lessons from past builds, I wanted to have air-chucks on the driver's side, passenger's side, and rear of the vehicle. I tried to install the driver side and passenger side fittings towards the middle of the vehicle, so that I could easily fill both the front and rear tires. I figured that the best way to do this was to mount the ARB couplings to my rock sliders, since this gave me a flat surface that I could easily install to.

The above photo shows the installed "remote coupling mount" from ARB. That kit included the coupling and bracket, but additional items are required to piece everything together. The fittings that are provided with the ARB kit are basically useless, as they are a JIC-37 flare, which doesn't easily interface with the nylon air tubing. I'll include a parts list in this post, but just know that other items can make this job much easier!

In any case, I match-drilled the ARB provided brackets onto the trailing side of the rock slider, so that any hits would be on the rock slider support, and not on the coupling itself. The photo is deceiving, but these are fairly well tucked up into the vehicle. If I'm hitting these, I've probably already hit something else of concern. I opted for 3/16" rivets, as I could easily make the connection from just one side. Plus, with rivets, there is no concern for lost preload due to vibration.

Before drilling, I was careful to test-fit the brackets against the required tool access for my rivet tool, as there is a close clearance (shown on the right side of the above image) against the Rock Slider Support bracket. I then went ahead and popped 4x rivets on each bracket. Pulling these down while working under the car was a royal pain in the ass...A big rivet tool or hydraulic puller would have been super handy, since these 3/16" steel rivet were no joke.

I repeated this process on the passenger side of the vehicle as well, so I now have hook-ups on both the left side and right side of the vehicle. Again, I was careful to place the coupling on the trailing side of the support bracket, so forward travel protects the hardware.

With the mechanical components installed, I then routed additional airline between the two couplers, and tucked that line above the fuel tank, which was also where I used a "Tee" fitting to split the left line from the right line. If you're following along with this build thread, I then tapped these lines into my Umbilical Harness, which routed from the engine bay all the way back to the trunk.

Speaking of the trunk, I routed my Umbilical bundle to the compartment on the left side of the trunk, above the jack compartment. I then made a hole using a knockout punch. This was necessary, as I couldn't get good drill access for the fitting. Basically the punch allows you to make the hole from one side - it's a cool tool, and was only a few bucks from harbor freight. In the below image, you can also see my blue tooth controller for my rear cargo lights.

With everything else in place (the compressor itself, the compressor wiring, and the umbilical bundle), this part of the install was straightforward. If I had any recommendations, it would be to take your time and plan out where you want the fittings and use a knockout punch tool when making holes in the interior compartment. I messed around with a small drill / hand file / Dremel for far too long, and the knockout punch tool will do everything you want + more. Also, if you are popping 3/16 rivets like I did, prepare to be sore, or buy a bigger rivet tool.

Other Helpful Resources:

• ARB Remote Hose Coupling Kit - https://www.northridge4x4.com/part/compressor-mounts-accessories/171314-arb-remote-hose-coupling-kit?gclid=CjwKCAjw7IeUBhBbEiwADhiEMWTi5CaRyiQ4pelyFMOIekO1fvmz03F_UI6h4u0V_qJmtiKOhzSm7RoCCLIQAvD_BwE
• ARB Hose Coupling Dust Cap - https://www.northridge4x4.com/part/compressor-mounts-accessories/0740113-arb-hose-coupling-dust-cap?gclid=CjwKCAjw7IeUBhBbEiwADhiEMcCQHp7lAmrIQCUwQJ64hvGwjLPfLNa4iOQmQTd2iMfA7syhGfz1bBoC60UQAvD_BwE
• 6506 - NPT to JIC | NPTF Female Pipe x 37 JIC Female Swivel Nut Adapter | HydraulicsDirect.com - https://www.hydraulicsdirect.com/NPTF-Female-Pipe-x-JIC-Female-Swivel-Nut-Adapter-p/6506.htm
• McMaster-Carr - https://www.mcmaster.com/5548K85/
• McMaster-Carr - https://www.mcmaster.com/5779K34/
• McMaster-Carr - https://www.mcmaster.com/catalog/128/227
• McMaster-Carr - https://www.mcmaster.com/97524A044/
• Knockout Punch Kit, 10 Pc. - https://www.harborfreight.com/knockout-punch-kit-10-pc-60575.html

 

[cgs2k2]

wow great work

 

[Bang Bang]

Awesome job documenting everything!

 

[NudeLobster]

I feel like I'm reading a report from a rocket scientist! One of the most detailed build threads I've seen in a long time. Shes looking great

 

[r2m]

Looks like all that "catching up" was worth it!
Looks great!

 

[alefer5]

Rear Drawer Install

In a Billy May's voice...but wait there's more!

Next on the list was the installation of my rear drawer system. Note that I was careful to complete all the described tasks up to this point prior to integrating the drawers, as I felt that once the drawers went in, they'd be a real hassle to get out. So, all the wires, air lines, etc were present and working before this step. This actually worked out pretty well, as I was on the waiting list for drawers for a few months.

I was initially thinking that I wanted to go with the Dobinson's drawer setup, but the integrated fridge slide would not accommodate a Dometic CFX3-75 DZ fridge, which I had my eyes on. So, with that decision basically made for me, I went with a locally built drawer system from Overlander Wood Works, who is in Santa Ana, CA.

Irwin, the owner and main fabricator over there was great to work with. I put my name on the list, a few months later he reached out, and off we went. Generally speaking, I opted for a drawer system with the following characteristics:

• Dual drawers with maximum extension
• Drawers built specifically to accommodate Sidio Half Size Crates
• Upgraded drawer sliders with 250 lb capacity (note that these are also locking)
• "Side wings" to close out the compartments on the side of the fridge
• Core Trax tie-down system installed on either side of the drawer system for cargo restraint

It was cool to work with a local guy on building these, as I had a tremendous amount of input on the final product. For instance, we shortened the overall height of the drawer system so that any cargo would sit lower in the car, to improve visibility, and bring mass lower. I also had Irwin build the drawers with the Sidio crates installed, so that I could easily remove gear from the car, pack in my house, and then return to the vehicle. By building the crates into the drawers, they wouldn't rattle as you drove down the road. I was really hoping to fit 2x Sidio crates deep in the drawer system, but doing this wasn't possible without drastic modifications.

After just a few days, this is what Irwin had put together:

Basically, the crates register in the drawer and there is divided space both behind the drawers, and on the left sides of the drawers. After the "box" was built, I went over to the OverLander Wood Works shop for installation. I don't have any great photos of the installed configuration, but here's what the final product looked like, prior to installing in the car. Note that the fridge mount and the Core Trax were in-place, but not fastened.

I opted for the Alu-Cab XL tilting fridge slide (ALUDS-TFS-80-B), which easily supports the Dometic CFX3-75DZ fridge. On the right side of the image, you can see the Core-Trax tie downs, which basically allow you to install a tie-down and slide it along the entire length of the track.

All in all, this was one of the biggest game changers for the vehicle. The ability to leave gear, locked in a drawer, in the car, in an organized fashion, makes prepping for trips take about half the time that it used to. This was a HUGE improvement to my previous gear arrangements.

Other Helpful Resources:

• Overlander Woodworks - DIY Single Drawer System 5th Gen 4Runner - https://trail4runner.com/2021/05/31/overlander-woodworks-single-drop-in-drawer-system/
• Alu-Cab Tilting Fridge Slide (XL) - https://ok4wd.com/alu-cab-tilting-fridge-slide-x-large-fridges
• Amazon product ASIN B00NUU4A3K
• Half Size SidioCrate - https://sidiocrate.com/collections/half-size-sidiocrate
• Login • Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/overlanderwoodworks/?hl=en

 

[alefer5]

Drawer Fine Tuning

After the drawer system was built and integrated into the car by OverLander Wood Works, I did some fine tuning, which included:

• Mounting of the fridge slide
• Mounting of the Core-Trax
• Installation of lights in the drawers

These were all things that could have been done by OverLander Wood Works, but I wanted to take my time and think through the layout before I committed to a permanent location on things. OverLander Wood Works has done a ton of different layouts, and can do anything custom. Check out his instagram page for more info on prior builds.

For the mounting of the fridge slide, I test fit everything with my Dometic CFX3-75DZ fridge installed into the Alu-Cab slide, and then placed that assembly onto the drawer system. With the fridge slide in position, I match drilled all of the mounting locations through the top piece of wood on the drawer system. Then, using super low profile fasteners, I bolted up through the fridge slide (nut side on-top / on the outside of the drawers). The low profile fasteners were critical here, as there was only about 0.125 - 0.25 inch of clearance between the top of the drawer, and the underside top of the drawer system.

With the fridge and drawer slide in-place, I then installed the Core Trax. For this, I just used low profile wood screws. With the Core Trax in place, I match drilled everything with a pilot drill bit, and then screwed the tracks (top-down) into the drawer system.

With the drawers removed, I then installed an LED strip from Diode Dynamics on the underside top of the drawer system, and routed the wire through a hole in the back of the drawer system, using sticky-back zip tie mounts. When building the drawers, I had specifically asked for 1" holes (one for each drawer), so that I could bring my lead wires out the back, and interface those to pre-existing wiring on the vehicle.

In the above photo, you see the LED strip, the wire tie-downs, as well as the low profile fasteners and washers. I'll include a BOM down below for what I used here. This is what the final product looked like:

Other Helpful Resources:

• McMaster-Carr - https://www.mcmaster.com/90358A029/
• McMaster-Carr - https://www.mcmaster.com/91455A612/
• FlexLight LED Strip - https://www.diodedynamics.com/flexlight-led-strip.html

 

[alefer5]

More (Fridge) Wiring

With the fridge now mounted, I wanted to have switched power coming so that I could control the fridge power from my Switch Pros. If you're following along with my build thread, I had previously routed an "Umbilical Bundle" from the engine bay to the rear of the car, which included 8 AWG leads for a fridge.

On the driver side of the vehicle, behind the second row seat, is a piece of trim that houses the third row seat controls. I removed this trim, drilled roughly a 1.0 inch hole in the trim piece, and then installed a Blue Sea 12V socket. I used some hot glue to "stake" the socket into the trim, as this would prevent things from rattling loose. The hot glue is nice, because you can easily remove it necessary.

From there, I built an intermediate wire harness to connect this socket and it's two spade terminals to the Umbilical Bundle that I had previously brought to the back of the vehicle. The only point of note here is that the terminals used to interface with the connections on the Blue Sea 12V socket could not support 8 AWG wire, so I had to build my harness with 10 AWG wire, and then splice the 10 AWG to 8 AWG wire that ran in the Umbilical Harness.

The below photo is showing everything installed, and was taken with the cup-holder removed from the driver side location in the third row. You see the back of the trim piece that was previously removed (right side of the image), and the left side of the image would be in the direction of the driver tail light. With the cup holder removed, you have just enough access to tie things down to the existing harnesses and zip tie it all cleanly.

Overall, this was a pretty simple installation. Things got a lot easier for me once I removed the cup holder from the interior trim, as that greatly improved my access and visibility. Here's the final product, which is now connected to my Switch Pros:

Other Helpful Resources:

• Amazon product ASIN B001U4ZZPK
• McMaster-Carr - https://www.mcmaster.com/7934K17/