Builds Tokyo to Wisconsin - JDM HDJ81 Build Thread (2 Viewers)

[WiscoPat]

Enjoyed a trip to Wyalusing State Park last weekend with some Tacomaworld buddies and my fiancée.

First trip out since I got the cruiser back from Torfab in November. Had the chance to test out the mods and new gear, including my Oztent RV5 tent - always good to try your gear before major trips. Really happy with the set up and take down process of the tent, especially compared to conventional tents made for more than one person.

 

[ClassyJalopy]

Enjoyed a trip to Wyalusing State Park last weekend with some Tacomaworld buddies and my fiancée.

First trip out since I got the cruiser back from Torfab in November. Had the chance to test out the mods and new gear, including my Oztent RV5 tent - always good to try your gear before major trips. Really happy with the set up and take down process of the tent, especially compared to conventional tents made for more than one person.

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Wyalusing is a pretty special place! Hope it wasn't too cold or windy. How was the star gazing?

 

[WiscoPat]

Wyalusing is a pretty special place! Hope it wasn't too cold or windy. How was the star gazing?

Agreed!

It got down to 34 degrees F during night one, but having a buddy heater helped quite a bit (minimal condensation, too). Cloudy overnight, so not much star gazing, but it was a great time.

 

[WiscoPat]

As I'm prepping for Alaska, I want organized storage. Everything should have a home and be secure.

Two brands I've really liked are Kelmatt, an Aussie company, and Adventure Trail Gear, a Canadian company, making a whole bunch of vinyl products. High quality and the USD exchange rate is favorable. I'm not affiliated in any way with these brands but, if you're looking for bags/storage options, check them out!

Also, I finally have a 12v fridge. I've been camping since I was 6 years old (34 now) and I've only ever packed away my food/drink in coolers. I'll post up my wiring/power solution once I have everything laid out over the next few weeks, for those who might be interested.

 

[WiscoPat]

Simple but cool mod today.

Since I'm not using the rear seats anymore, I wanted to somehow take advantage of the 14mm seat belt bolt in the C pillar. The supplied bracket/mount and fire extinguisher from H3R are a perfect fit. The mount has holes that need to be drilled out to accomodate the larger 14mm (I wallowed out the top one). There are rubber pads on the mount to eliminate noise, and it's a quick release. Plus, there's no impact to grabbing things from the rear door while also being very fast to reach.

Cheers!

 

[WiscoPat]

First time wiring up power to a 12v fridge/generator and it was a fun process.

My setup combines a few things. First, I installed some gull wing rear window replacements from Explore Glazing in the Netherlands. High quality kit and no drilling required. Also, precisely zero rust along the window frames, which I was beyond thrilled to see.

Next, I put in some @Delta VS panels to go with the gull wings. I dig their built-in shelf and the offset from the windows for mounting stuff to the inside and outside of the panels. My only critique would be to make these universal molle vs a proprietary pattern, but they still work well with molle-related gear.

The star of the show was the DC to DC Charger One from Bluetti (no affiliation), mounted to the back of one of the Delta panels with some spare plywood and hardware I had. The kit it comes with has good quality 6 gauge wire with terminals, a breaker, MPPT output connection, and simple enough instructions. The 6 gauge wire could have been a little longer, but not a big deal. I ran the wire through a grommet in the driver's side firewall to the battery and then under the carpet along the OEM wires to the rear.

I really like the ability to monitor and adjust the voltage input via Bluetooth, as well as view the output. I set it to the lowest setting of 15v draw, which equates to 145W of charging. This means it's only drawing about 12 amps from the alternator/battery when running, which will help preserve the longevity of the alternator.

The goal of this set up was to provide customized charging to the Anker C1000 in the back, which in turn will run the Engel MT35 (34 quart) fridge/freezer and any camp-related stuff, from headlamps to fans to phones. The Bluetti charger or portable solar panels will recharge the Anker generator, which will have enough capacity to power the fridge for 3-4 days before it's depleted.

The MT35 is really sweet - it barely sips power and was able to go from 66 degrees F to 36 degrees F in 20 minutes.

I need to clean everything up, but overall very pleased with how things have come together.

Oh, and I found this under the carpet. The 80 is already paying for itself.