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MallCrl 2.0 - '21 SX Double Cab Build

Discussion in '2.5 Gen Builds (2014-2021)' started by Mallcrl, Jan 30, 2021.

  1. Mar 12, 2021 at 6:51 AM
    #31
    khunk

    khunk Tundra Fan

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    :popcorn:
    You mentioned steel bumpers? Have you decided what bumpers you're planning to install?

    :popcorn:
     
  2. Mar 12, 2021 at 6:56 AM
    #32
    Mallcrl

    Mallcrl [OP] New Member

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    Assuming they decide to develop them, they'll be from LFD Off Road. Their winch access is second to none and I've been absolutely thrilled by their rear dual swing on my 4Runner
     
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  3. Mar 12, 2021 at 3:44 PM
    #33
    100LL

    100LL smells better than Jet-A

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    Potatoes.
    You rich bastard. Is that the 46 gallon by TransferFlow? A bigger tank is definitely on the list!
     
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  4. Mar 13, 2021 at 7:31 PM
    #34
    Mallcrl

    Mallcrl [OP] New Member

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    It is the 46 gallon tank from Long Range America, from another thread on here I believe it doesn't hang quite as low as the Transferflow, and I was able to get a slight discount through Apex Overland/LRA as we ordered a tank for each truck, the Tacoma tank was out of stock and arrives in June. Rumor has it that this may have been the last Tundra tank they had in stock though.

    I can't speak to the actual difficulties of the install, but I can say that Apex knocked it out quickly (I was planning on working from their "lawn" for most of the day, but we were back on the road around lunch time). The first fill up of 45.109 gallons was a bit shocking (I showed up at Apex about 15 miles into "refuel" miles to empty to make removal of the OEM tank easier/less messy), but the fact that I drove from Apex (North of Greensboro, NC) to Uwharrie, did an afternoon of trails at OEX's Grand Overland property today, and drove the 6hrs home and still have >1/4 tank of fuel left is wonderful!!
     
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  5. Apr 19, 2021 at 12:33 PM
    #35
    Mallcrl

    Mallcrl [OP] New Member

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    It has been another lifetime since an update to this, and there have been some additions!

    I've filled the LRA tank 4 times as of this morning, and it was the first time the gas pump's auto shut-off engaged at a "normal" time (usually it flows up into the filler neck), so that was nice... I believe the trick is to take a slight pause at about the 32-33 gallon mark and then go slowly from there. "20 miles to empty" yields a 37-39 gallon refill it seems

    Additionally, since my last update to the thread I've added 10 KC Cyclone ground lights (2 under the front bumper, 1 under each cab door, 1 just ahead and behind each rear wheel), they are the diffused white version and are mounted using Profile Peak(TheRetrofitSource) magnetic mounts. They are wired to the Switch Pros and also externally triggered by the bed/cargo light output so they turn on when I unlock the truck or open a door, but can also be triggered (and dimmed) at any time either by the panel or the bluetooth app. Somehow it would appear that I haven't taken any photos of this, but I'll grab some this evening when it gets darker.

    The WeBoost Drive Reach was also finally installed. The antenna is mounted through the top hole on my bed stiffeners, and the main unit is under the passenger seat. Power is controlled by a SPDT switch in the center console that can either power it via switched or constant power, depending on the use case (generally it is always in the switched 12v position, as the switch also powers the on-board Teltonika LTE Wi-Fi). The internally antenna is currently on the center console as I was in a bit of a rush while installing it and didn't want to pop out the whole center stack of the dash. It will eventually get moved to the top of the dash.

    Finally, the BIG new addition! The LFD Off-Road Bed Rack!! This is currently a custom "7/8ths" height, but who knows it may be a normal production piece after this one. I wanted it slightly below cab height, yet tall enough to hold my ARB Elements fridge on top of the DECKED drawers. The rack is just as stout (more so probably) than their other roof rack products, and is also regularly available in a lower "mid" height. My setup includes 2 narrow longitudinal bars across the top, and 1 "wide" bar on either side, but I believe the normal iteration includes 4 narrow bars for the top, plus the 2 wide ones for the side. My rack will solely be carrying our CVT Mt Hood on top, so the extra bars weren't necessary for me. If you guys haven't seen their stuff, it's impressive, utilitarian, and definitely built to do what they are designed to do (their testing is, in a word, harsh). Their products are all built in house in North Carolina. They have a shop 2nd gen Tundra, so I would expect more products in the near future!

    [​IMG]
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    If anyone happens to be at the Overland Challenge in Uwharrie, NC this weekend, look around for us in the camping area, the Tundra will probably be the "base camp" for the weekend and we'll be cruising around in my GF's Tacoma. I would imagine we'll both be volunteering over in the Grand Overland District
     
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  6. Apr 19, 2021 at 12:54 PM
    #36
    blackoutt

    blackoutt YEAH BUDDY!

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    Builds looking good! Great attention to detail on the wiring/fusing. The ARB Twin makes me miss the one I sold on the last rig, I was cursing the little single this past weekend as it stood between us and cracker barrel Sunday morning rush. I'm loving the 38 gallon tank but 46 would be even better!

    Looking forward to seeing some more adventures with the Tundra getting dirty, we might even run into you as we occasionally hit Uwharrie and are planning an east coast/northeast states summer trip this year.
     
    Mallcrl[OP] likes this.
  7. Apr 19, 2021 at 2:04 PM
    #37
    300BLK

    300BLK New Member

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    Setup looks great! I just installed a Victory bed rack and run a similar setup with an ARB awning. I really like the utilization of the Decked system with this rack. I'm definitely considering going that route.
     
    khunk likes this.
  8. Apr 28, 2021 at 8:16 PM
    #38
    Mallcrl

    Mallcrl [OP] New Member

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    More stuff installed today!

    Finally got my DFG Off Road fridge slide installed.... I ordered it almost 4 months ago, it arrived about 2.5 months ago and has been sitting, awaiting the bed rack to be installed first, to make sure there was adequate clearance. What a fiasco this install was. The DECKED system affords almost no great mounting location for a slide of this size, too far to one side and some of the bolts won't go into anything, too far back and it won't clear the edge when it tilts; and when I thought I had it all good, I didn't.

    Long story short, of the 8 bolts, 5 are bolt/nut combos, 2 are nutserts, and 1 (well, 2, since I added another hole) are threaded into JBWeld plastic weld. The last bit of that was because where the corner of the slide is, was perfectly, and I mean absolutely dead on, the junction of two of the support braces under the top of the decked system. I happily learned about this after drilling the hole, and convincing my girlfriend to crawl into the space once occupied by a drawer to handle the sealant and flange nut application from the underside. I've operated the slide with the fridge probably 20-30 times already and it all seems to be holding alright. It's supposed to be raining tomorrow, so we'll see if the sealant actually keeps the water out of the drawers

    I'm also using an Anderson SB50 to ARB coiled power cable from Wits End, which seems to be working wonderfully.

    Also added 6 KC Cyclone LED's to the underside of the bed rack, 1 white diffused in each corner (4) and 1 amber diffused on each cross bar (2). I'll be adding the side/rear lighting this weekend hopefully (Diode Dynamics SSC2 on the sides, SSC2 rear dust, and some aux. brake lights).

    Now for the photos (it's what everyone wants to see)
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
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    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    If you made it down this far, you may see the girlfriend's Tacoma lurking on the street... While in NC for the week leading up to Overland Challenge (last weekend), we dropped her truck off at Apex Overland to adjust its altitude... Aluma 2.5 coilovers, SPC UCAs, diff drop, ECGS bushing, Aluma 2.0 IFP rear shocks, Toytec AAL, U-Bolt flip kit and front/rear durobumps bumpstops... Massive step up from the Billy 5100's she's had for about 3,000 miles, and with the added caster from the SPC's and ride height, no more rubbing. As expected, both trucks did great as our run-abouts around the Grand Overland District for Overland Challenge. If you or your lady-friends are interested and somewhat local, OEX is doing a Ladies Only 4WD 101 class next month with a few spots left, my GF is super excited for it and spreading the word every time she can (she's done the class twice already)
     
    Last edited: Apr 28, 2021
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  9. Apr 29, 2021 at 5:33 AM
    #39
    Terndrerrr

    Terndrerrr guzzling dealer repellent

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    What plate is that on your tailgate?
     
  10. Apr 29, 2021 at 6:00 AM
    #40
    Mallcrl

    Mallcrl [OP] New Member

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    Mountain Hatch
     
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  11. Apr 30, 2021 at 11:34 PM
    #41
    JJ_TNDRA20

    JJ_TNDRA20 JJ

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    *Wheels/Suspension -ReadyLIFT Plus 2 -ReadyLIFT skid plate adapter -Method MR701 18 x 8 + 25 -BFG KO2 305/70/18 *Exterior -BakFlip MX4 hard cover -Rigid Industries foglight caps *Audio -2 AudioMobile 10 in subs -Sealed dual 10 enclosure -Helix Class D 1 channel amp -Helix 4 channel amp -5 channel Line Out Converter -BLAM audio 6.5s/6x9s/tweeters
    amazing build...!! you got me thinking about a deck system now...
     
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  12. May 1, 2021 at 7:18 AM
    #42
    Mallcrl

    Mallcrl [OP] New Member

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    It really is a game changer... I thought we had "tons" of storage room in our 4Runner (aluminum shelf system that held 2 WolfPack and 2 CubPack boxes underneath, and fridge/more storage on top; then MOLLE panels on each rear side window that had pouches; stuff on either side of the shelf system, etc), and when I moved it all over to the DECKED drawers I realized I had a TON of unused space.... To carry even more stuff haha
     
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  13. May 4, 2021 at 2:09 PM
    #43
    Mallcrl

    Mallcrl [OP] New Member

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    Finally got the CVT Mt Hood swapped over to the Tundra. It fits and looks much more size appropriate on the Tundra than it did on the 4Runner. My GF originally didn't want to drive it home because of the "sway" it added to the 4Runner, but she was happy to report there's no added sway or wind noise, and in her words "if anything, it feels better". We positioned it far enough back to give some shade over the tailgate, we'll get to test it out this weekend, apparently it is going to rain again.

    [​IMG]
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    [​IMG]
     
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  14. May 12, 2021 at 4:34 PM
    #44
    Mallcrl

    Mallcrl [OP] New Member

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    The only thing I forget to update more than this thread is my social media...

    Couple additions over the past few days. I added Diode Dynamics SS3 Pro Flush Mount LEDs in the rear bumper as aux. rear lights (flood pattern), I finally installed my Diode Dynamics SS C2 Sport side lights (flood pattern as well, amber backlight), and installed a Strobes'N'More E6 V.2 dual color LED as an auxiliary 3rd brake light/dust light since the tent blocks the OEM one (the brake function overrides the dust light, and with the SwitchPros I can have it flash the dust light as well).

    Oh! And the awning is back on the tent. With the tent open and the rainfly poles in, it actually provides decent rain cover for the tailgate, this was tested last weekend while camping when it would. not. stop. raining. (in sporadic bursts).

    Stuff currently in the works is a front skid (should be arrive in a few weeks), sliders, and a front bumper/winch (2 months out?). Our first long (8,000-ish mile) trip of the summer should kick off in a little over a month, assuming everything pans out; just prior to that trip I'm planning on having the GenuineCoolingSystems.com trans cooler installed and the truck will get its first oil change. If all goes as planned we should be back for a few weeks after that trip and head out West again for another, more remote long distance trip.

    [​IMG]
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    Edit:Mixing the strobe and flash modes with the switch pros gets some serious rear recognition... That being said, the strobe is way too fast for a blocking pattern at a distance.
    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: May 12, 2021
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  15. Jun 9, 2021 at 7:59 PM
    #45
    YotaBro

    YotaBro This forum will make me broke

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    Lots of shenanigans.
    How're you liking your Mt. Hood? I'm looking at getting one but can't seem to find too many review on it.
     
  16. Jun 10, 2021 at 8:53 AM
    #46
    Mallcrl

    Mallcrl [OP] New Member

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    Here's a book....

    As a tent, I can't really complain about it. We ordered ours at the same time as a good friend ordered theirs, with plans of our trip this past January and took advantage of their (substantial) Black Friday sale. I'm a firm believer that nearly all RTTs are copies of each other and the vast majority only differ in their logos and colors (the near-replicas for the Mt Hood are the Roofnest Falcon XL, Hi-Viz Overland Hatch, and AreaBFE Black Series). We've probably got somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 nights in it since December (and another 15ish over the next month, and another 12-15 in August). We've camped in temps down to the mid/upper 20s and as warm as the mid 70s (as overnight lows) thus far and it's worked pretty well. I can't speak for the mattress that comes with it, as that came out before it was ever mounted on a truck; we replaced it with an Exped Megamat 10 Duo LW+ (we learned while ground tenting that this was the only mattress my GF could comfortably sleep on).

    In an effort to minimize what we have to pack, we keep the tent loaded and ready to go, and because the Exped deflates so well, we are able to leave our bedding in the tent. That being said, we moved away from sleeping bag(s) and to blankets sometime last year while ground tenting; and use either 2 or 3 Nemo/Rumpl blankets; we also use Nemo inflatable pillows, although my GF brings her Purple pillow from home on every trip now. The cold weather (below freezing) layout is a pair of 1 person Nemo Puffin blankets, with a 2 person Nemo Puffin on top and a 1 person Rumpl that finds its way where ever it needs to go; usually combined with 2 or 3 of the 18hr hand/body warmers tossed in a few hours before bed. Honestly, being such a small space, the tent stays fairly comfortable inside, although, one night in the mid-20s we did get some icing on the tent fabric. If the night time lows are above 40-45ºF, the blanket load gets reduced to 2 of the 1 person Nemos. For reference, we bring the same blanket combos when we ground tent in our Gazelle T4, although if it is below 40ºF with the Gazelle, we'll usually bring our Mr. Buddy heater and run that through the night with a fan hanging from the top because of how much air space there is.

    The tent is able to nearly black out all ambient light, enough so that sleeping well past sunrise isn't a problem at all (you'll get a little light leaking in from the upper vents and rear flap, but only enough to know it's light out, not enough to illuminate anything in the tent). One thing I miss from the Gazelle is the amount of airflow you have without opening any "windows" (the whole top of the Gazelle is mesh), we had a particularly sticky/humid evening last week in Maine, with absolutely no breeze at our camp site, and ended up sleeping with the rear flap propped out. It as super comfy, tons of airflow, but being in Maine in June, we were solidly awoken before 5AM as the sun came up. In a less humid, but still warm evening a few weeks ago, we unzipped the side doors about 1/3 of the way from the top (left the mesh up) and that provided plenty of cool airflow through the night. We'll have a number of undoubtedly warm nights coming up this summer as we have two trips planned to the West, so I'll have more to say about this by the end of the summer. That being said, since it is all black, it gets WARM in the sun, enough so that I ordered a roll of white vinyl to place on the roof of the tent before we leave next week.

    Issues we've had with the tent haven't been devastating. It arrived with a notable dent in the roof, that is about the size of a golf ball, after a few months of emails back and forth, CVT offered me a $200 voucher towards further purchases from them; we left the tent closed for ~6 weeks in February/March, and had a bit of mildew on the side panels when we opened it, as well as moisture all along the inside and under the anti-condensation mat. We've noticed that you have to make sure every bit of fabric is tucked for the seal to actually do anything, and this can be a bit tedious as the very bottom of the side fabric doesn't want to fold in. Additionally, where the tent fabric zips to the aluminum structure at the front there is a bit of a gap that you can pretty easily wiggle a finger through, not sure if some of the moisture is coming from this area. We apparently ordered our tent in that funny window where they were redesigning a number of aspects of it. Ours is the older "single row" style (we have one track to slide accessories/mounts in around the top and one around the bottom half), now the bottom half has 2 rows. When we ordered (maybe still?) their website stated that the cross bars were an additional fee, and that the latches come with keyed locks. When our tent arrived, it had cross bars (we didn't order), and totally different looking latches that are very much not locking. When I finally got an answer from them about this, they stated that they had made a design change, and the cross bars are now included, but the latches accept "your own lock" (I have yet to find a cable style lock that uses thin enough cable to pass through). A small ziptie would work through the latches, but even TSA-style locks meant to go through small zippers are too large. Finally, the spring rods for the rainfly.... They aren't great, and neither are their mounts that you install on the tent. My buddy who ordered his tent at the same time spent considerable time going back and forth with CVT, who gave him two different locations to secure the mounts on the tent, and then finally stated that he should just start cutting length off the spring rods until they fit correctly (there is a bit of a sag to the rain fly, enough that with rain or snow, it would fall off the sides instead of sliding off the rainfly towards the back). I left mine at their normal length, it isn't enough of an issue to really bother me.

    Other random considerations. If you camp in less than dry weather, you're going to get rain/snow in the tent when you are getting in/out (unless you only access it under the rear rainfly). I added a couple eye rings and bought a tarp/poles to cover the entry window/ladder, but haven't used it as of yet. Windy camping is totally doable, although, if you can face the truck into the wind, you'll sleep better. Not putting the spring rods in the rainfly and having any wind at night will cause a hellacious rustling of the tent fabric that will undoubtedly keep you awake (or wake up up as the breeze blows). If you are camping with two, there is definitely a dance of sorts that occurs while getting in/out or getting situated inside the tent, similar to using a backpacking style tent. To add to this, I'm 6' 240lbs, changing inside the tent while my GF (5'7") is in the tent looks like a fish out of water. She realized she can "stand" in the tent, bent over with her shoulders wedged into the upper corner, I'm not nearly flexible enough for that maneuver, but have learned how to maximize the space, assuming she isn't in there. This is the aspect of the Gazelle I miss the most, and combined with not being able to have a heater for nights in the 20s or below, and an interior "hang out" space, were the primary reasons we ordered the AT Atlas.

    I think I covered most of the thoughts on it, sorry about the length, but let me know if you have any other questions!
     
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  17. Jun 10, 2021 at 9:19 AM
    #47
    Cruzer

    Cruzer Wheeling Full Size

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    I keep telling myself to stop buying shit but damn that GMRS radio in there looks frickin dope! ------closing my eyes now and going to see a hypnotist to forget I ever saw this...damnit!
     
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  18. Jun 10, 2021 at 12:31 PM
    #48
    Mallcrl

    Mallcrl [OP] New Member

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    For what it's worth, there are other radios that have a slightly smaller faceplate (Icom's ID-4100A for one), but don't display two frequencies at once like the 2730A... Additionally, I'll be moving the connection for the mic from the side of the display to in-place of the SOS button in the near future so that I can flip the radio head back up into the console and still use it. With the positioning of the fridge in the bed and the sunglass holder flipped down the rear view mirror is essentially useless, and I'd like to get a bit of that view back (although, in a few short months it'll be gone completely)
     
  19. Jun 10, 2021 at 5:54 PM
    #49
    YotaBro

    YotaBro This forum will make me broke

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    Lots of shenanigans.
    Thank you so much for taking the time to make a thorough response! I really appreciate it! Was your buddy having similar issues like you were having? Also,it sounds like CVT's customer service isn't all that great. Does that check with you? So far, I haven't had any issues with responses with them.

    How long does it usually take to air out the tent? I live in the panhandle of FL so I have the opposite issue from you and live in warm humid environments. From your experience, do you think that this tent will be able to withstand this type of environment? Do you think that I will run into moisture issues when I am not using it?

    Also, I don't have much experience in camping in environments where it is super cold, except for oddball winter camping in the desert or so but do you see any issues with running heaters inside of the camp? As in, will it melt the fabric material (excuse me if this is a dumb question, like I said I don't camp in cold environments)
     
  20. Jun 10, 2021 at 8:59 PM
    #50
    Mallcrl

    Mallcrl [OP] New Member

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    He had the issues w/ the spring rods, and they were fairly quick getting back to him about it; however, in my case I emailed them, got a response about 3 weeks later that said "Just wanted to confirm someone got in touch with you and handled this", I replied that I hadn't heard from anyone, and then about 2-3 weeks after that I followed up again, a week or so later got a reply asking some more questions to which I replied within minutes, another week or 2 went by and I followed up again (as well as tagging them in some IG posts regarding the issues), at which point I was asked for photos (which were sent with the initial email), and a few days later was offered the $200 store credit. So I would concur that at least in my dealings with them, their customer service is horrible. I didn't have any issues communicating with them prior to the sale.

    Airing out the tent is usually a few hour process.... We'll generally pop it up as soon as we get to our desired camp location, and assuming it isn't <40ºF, leave the side windows open a little just for airflow (if it's cold, we'll leave it sealed to retain some heat). After a weekend or week of camping, when we get home I'll pop it open in the driveway for 3-4hrs (while washing/drying the blankets/pillows), and any moisture is gone. In the TX desert sun we went from a damp-ish tent (put away wet) to bone dry in probably an hour. To try to help with any moisture, I keep a few of the renewable silica packs in the tent at all times (and rotate them out every time we open it) and also have a small dehumidifier that plugs in to recharge (it's like a giant silica gel pack meant for small rooms/closets) that I'll toss up there if it's going to be more than a few weeks between uses or if we are doing multiple days of camping with rain in the forecast. If you're going to use it every few weeks, you should probably be fine leaving it on the truck. For what it's worth, my buddy takes his on/off his 4Runner every time it gets used (he uses the Front Runner Quick Connect tent mounts and a ceiling mounted hoist in his garage), and as far as I know, doesn't use any moisture absorbing items inside it, and left his closed for ~2 months with no issues. On the Tundra, it sits about 7" lower than the 4Runner, and it is super convenient/easy to just step up on the tire/bedside to climb in/out of the tent and I can open it from the ground; so if it's a nice day and we haven't camped in a few weeks, I'll just randomly open it up for an hour or two in the driveway.

    I can't say I would recommend running a traditional propane-style heater (Mr. Buddy) in the tent with how small the air space is (maybe the Junior Mr Buddy or whatever the tiny one is called would work, but you have to figure out how to keep it steady on the mattress). I'm not sure if the fabric would melt honestly, we use the Mr. Buddy in our Gazelle, with the heater on a small aluminum roll table (about 3-4" off the floor, and about 1' in from the walls) and most of its heat goes straight up, so the walls of the Gazelle get quite warm, but that is still a 3-4' travel distance before touching a tent wall, in the Mt Hood it would be much closer. We have a number of local guys who had CVT Mt Hood's and ran diesel heaters mounted on the ground with a heater hose running in, and had great results with that. That being said, if you're camping alone, that will probably be fine, but if you have another human in the tent with you, they will have the hose in some fairly close space to their body (unless maybe you unzip only the very top part of a window and run the hose in there?).
     
  21. Jun 11, 2021 at 7:48 AM
    #51
    YotaBro

    YotaBro This forum will make me broke

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    Lots of shenanigans.
    Ok, sweet. Thanks again for all of the info! Unfortunately it seems like more and more companies are pushing to poor customer service. They're always quick to take your money but not quick to fix anything.

    And good to know that the airing out doesn't take too long. Have you noticed a drastic difference on MPG with it on? I'm looking at a Leitner bed rack so it would sit a little higher than the cab.
     
  22. Jun 11, 2021 at 10:42 AM
    #52
    Mallcrl

    Mallcrl [OP] New Member

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    On the Tundra, not a bit of difference in wind noise or MPG with/without it... Honestly, it gets the same MPG (~14.5 75+mph highway cruising) now with ~900lbs in the bed as it did with just the lift, 35s, and empty drawers in it.

    That being said, the top of the OEM sharkfin is still higher than the tent
     
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  23. Jun 19, 2021 at 12:52 PM
    #53
    Mallcrl

    Mallcrl [OP] New Member

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    A few updates in the past week or so....

    Had Llumar/FormulaOne window film (tint) applied; overall look is similar to the 4Runner, which is Pinnacle 15 on the front windows; Pinnacle 40 on the rear door windows; Pinnacle 30 on the rear window; and Air Blue 80 on the windshield. The heat reduction given the Tundra's huge windshield is immense and I'm glad to not be living the "Fish Bowl" life anymore. For those keeping track, the Tacoma was also tinted, Pinnacle 30 on the front sides, Pinnacle 50 on the rear sides and rear window and Air Blue 80 on the windshield :p

    I also finally got around to installing the diff drop (Toytec, purely for peace of mind given the lift) and the GenuineCoolingSystems.com Trans cooler kit. I went with the MHX-514 cooler. The install was quite easy and stupidly straightforward. Including time spent rereading directions and watching the install video, I think my total time from getting the truck to sit level in my driveway to popping the grille back on was right at 2.5 hours. The biggest pain was getting the soft lines to/from the cooler itself onto the hardlines; other than that it was very easy!

    The proof that the cooler makes a massive difference is obvious. I don't tow, the only weight I "haul" is the ~800-900lbs in the bed (trip weight), which goes down to about 750-800 for daily driving, and there aren't any real hills or mountains in my area. Usually highway cruise speeds are 70-75. Before the cooler after 30-40 minutes of driving my pan temps would steady between 212-225F, if ambient temps are >80F seeing pan temps of 230 wasn't out of the norm. (with a maximum difference to TC temps of about 30-35 degrees, so max TC temps I've seen are around 260-265). Around town driving would see pan temps between 205-215F. After the cooler, and with >1,000mi of driving in the past 24 hours (including ambient temps into the low 90s), the highest pan temp I've seen is 198F, and the highest TC temp I've seen is about 225F. I would say it spends 90% of the time with a pan temp between 191-193F.

    Were my temps before "unsafe", not specifically. However, they were approaching the temperature where degradation of the fluid begins. I would solidly mark this in the "preventative maintenance" and "just in case" column, with absolutely no regrets.

    Over the next few weeks the truck should be seeing 10,000'+ mountain passes as well as SW desert heat, so if anything changes I'll update the thread
     
    Last edited: Jun 22, 2021
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  24. Jul 6, 2021 at 11:02 PM
    #54
    Mallcrl

    Mallcrl [OP] New Member

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    As an update, a little over 6,500mi since the trans cooler was installed, and it has seen ambient temps up to 109F, long up hills with the TC unlocked, and a little mix of everything. The highest I've seen the pan temp has been 206F with TC temps around 235F. As other people have said, monitoring ATF temps since installing the upgraded cooler is essentially useless. I only monitor them because the temps are on the same "dashboard" as my fuel % remaining and estimated distance-to-empty readings on OBDFusion.

    Also managed to average >15.5mpg on the last tank (Medford, OR to Crater Lake NP, then Lava Beds NM, Lassen Volcanic NP, and down to Chico, CA), not too shabby considering the amount of weight on the truck and the fact that I still drive it like a track car on twisty mountain roads. Totally forgot that Oregon was the West Coast's version of New Jersey with the other-people-pump-for-you rule, that was a fun experience
     
  25. Jul 24, 2021 at 3:46 PM
    #55
    Mallcrl

    Mallcrl [OP] New Member

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    Another update... We did something close to 11k miles in ~3.5 weeks (1 week of that being in one place), and I'll go so far as to say that the Tundra is the ultimate long trip truck, combined with the modifications, and it is a near pinnacle for the travel we do.

    I've got quite the list to knock out over the next week before our next trip, but was finally able to get the ARB Summit bumper and install it this past week. To make a really long story as short as possible, I ordered an ARB Summit bumper through <shudder> 4WheelParts as they were the only place showing it in stock and "Arrives at local store in 3-5 business days". I ordered it June 7th, with the expectation of having a week before our last trip to get it installed. After almost two weeks of waiting (and the day before we departed for the last trip), I got in touch with the store, who, after some substantial hold time and a call back, told me that they had checked with ARB and that it would be mid-July as "everything from ARB comes from Australia". When confronted with the fact that their own website still shows the bumper as in stock, further checks were made, and I was told "oh yea, I see one in stock... No idea why it hasn't been assigned to your order, but I've got no idea how long it will take to get here from our warehouse, maybe a few weeks?". I advised them that I'd be out of town for 3 weeks and as long as it was there when I got back, that'd be fine. While their system still shows (to this day) my order "in processing", it was luckily at the local store when we got back.

    Now on to the install! I'm working with a garage that the truck doesn't fit in, a sloped driveway, and not nearly the appropriate amount of tools. I would guesstimate I probably spent somewhere in the neighborhood of 14-16 hours on the bumper, stretched out across 4-5 days. Several of those hours were removing/reinstalling bumper parts as I didn't follow the instructions perfectly assuming "I'll do this later" (spoiler alert: For the vast majority of steps, the order exists for a reason!). The clevis that slides into the frame rail, there's a whole thread about the issues people had with it and the instructions being wrong. They definitely aren't wrong. When you slide the clevis in from the inboard side of the frame rail (the side facing the engine), the threaded hole goes first. There was no banging/grinding/etc, both sides slid right in and sat in place as they are supposed to.

    Other tidbits regarding the install for the ARB Summit bumper:
    • Have a ton of space. Notice how much space the bumper itself takes up, now triple it if you want to be able to walk around while doing the install; also if you can get the bumper onto a table/workbench it will make many of the steps easier, especially when combined with a stepstool. You'll want another table to lay out the hardware.
    • Having a lift would have made things easier under the truck
    • Having an engine hoist, fork lift, tractor with a bucket, lift table, etc. would have made the physical bumper lifting/install much easier. We tried a floor jack, but that wasn't stable at all. So the final solution was lifting the bumper onto an old office chair (the garage chair, it has no arms on it), and sliding it into place, and lifting the last 2-3" to align it manually.
    • The "packers" that center the bumper are both a genius idea, and a huge annoyance. I started with 3 on each side, which was fine for width, but I think to center it perfectly would have been 4 on the passenger side and 2 on the drivers side. That being said, I'm not removing the bumper to shift it only 2.5mm
    • When it tells you to have everything installed before mounting the bumper (except fog light housings), it's not lying. While people have said they installed the winch after the fact, that's going to be a MASSIVE pain. It is important to note that this bumper uses a forward mounted winch design only. I'm running the ComeUp Seal Gen2 12.5rs, which comes pre-setup for the forward mount
    • The Bushwacker flares have to be cut to fit, and don't offer a very finished look when looking at them from the front corners, but, it is what it is.
    • If you are using a hawse fairlead, there is a specific install/adapter kit that you need to order separately (ARB 3500600); this brings it out about 1.25-1.5" which will allow for angled winch pulls without catching the bumper. To add to that the Factor55 1.5" hawse fairlead doesn't fit in the bumper opening. Not even close. I'm not sure if their 1" thick fairlead is any narrower on overall width, but the ComeUp fairlead works perfectly.
    • There are a number of adapters for winch control box mounting, the ComeUp control box fits using the one bracket supplied with the Winch mounting kit (included with the bumper).
    • I encountered an issue where the winch mounting bolts that came with the bumper and the winch were both about 3-4mm too short and ended up ordering some Grade 10.9 M10x1.5x40mm bolts, which worked
    • Mounting other than ARB fog lights is a bit tricky. For the short term I used the included "OEM Toyota" fog light adapters which allowed me to mount my Diode Dynamics SS3's via one side. While this seems even more stable than the original bumper mounting method, I ordered some actual adapter mounts from Paranoid Fabrications. I also ordered a set of their Baja S2 mounts to attempt to replace the turn signal in the bumper with a set of Diode Dynamics SSC2s; they should arrive next week.
    The bumper is solid, well built, and ridiculously complete. Overall on my Toytec Aluma 2.5's I think I maybe lost 1/2" of ride height... maybe? The truck hasn't left the driveway yet, as I still need to drill 2 more of the holes for the pinning bolts and install the lower covers, that should be wrapped up tomorrow, and I'll get more pics then. OH! The ARB Solis v2 lights! Since the Diode 42" had to be removed, I wanted something else bright (stupidly bright?) at the front. I went with both as spot beam, and what they say is true, you do need their specific harness w/ the dimmer switch. Since I didn't want them to be high beam triggered and didn't want to run their dimmer into the interior, I tore apart the entire ARB harness, re-wired/re-loomed it. It gets it's power source from one of my Blue Sea panels and the trigger is from the SwitchPros (it's on a "low" amp circuit, and the two lights together draw ~25A). The ARB dimmer switch is sealed into a waterproofed project box and stuck to a dark corner of the engine bay, never to be touched again.

    [​IMG]
     
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  26. Jul 24, 2021 at 4:14 PM
    #56
    Punisher29073

    Punisher29073 New Member

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    Clearance lights, Light bar in front bumper, Ditch lights, CB Radio, AGM Battery, SLEE Sliders,
    Love that bumper. Heart breaking it doesn’t work with my TSS!

    Ryan
     
  27. Jul 24, 2021 at 4:20 PM
    #57
    Mallcrl

    Mallcrl [OP] New Member

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    Ahh that's what I forgot to mention! I had the '17 Pro grille and an AJT Designs TSS relocation on the truck, but that definitely would not have worked with the bumper; that puts it in basically the same place as the newer Pro Grille (of which I have one sitting in my garage as well). I'm still not 100% that it will work perfectly with my current bumper/light setup, but we'll find out soon enough... We'll be putting on another ~7,000mi of starting next weekend (and another 5,000mi to get the AT Atlas a few weeks after that)
     
  28. Jul 27, 2021 at 8:04 PM
    #58
    Mallcrl

    Mallcrl [OP] New Member

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    [​IMG]

    A few steps closer to being ready for the next trip...

    - Trimmed the OEM skid plate to allow the ARB center panel (the ARB panel sandwiches in between the crossmember and the skid, so you have to cut the 4 "hooks" off the OEM skid). This just needs to last until we return from the trip before my LFD Off Road skid plate gets installed
    - Installed a set of Diode Dynamics SS3 Max pods, in white, with the SAE Driving lenses to add some width to the ARB Solis spots. After a quick night time test, wow. The SS3s alone would have been great, but the ARB Solis lights offer, to play off of their name, Intensity.
    - Switched out the Diode SS C2 Sport (flood) side pods with SS C2 Pro's in the combo beam pattern. Only tried them out down the street this evening, but I'm not sure I'm sold on the "spot" side of the combo pattern for a side scene light use. I may end up switching the lenses out for flood lenses before we leave, but the brightness gained from the pro's vs. the sport's is impressive as well.
    - Ordered a Hi-Lift mount to put the hi-lift on top of the ARB bar, at least until I get a rear bumper where it can live

    In unrelated news, we've got an appointment for 8/30 to have the AT Atlas installed, so that's a little more than a little exciting! Also means we'll have a CVT Mt Hood tent, ARB 2000 awning, and LFD Off Road bed rack for sale in the next few weeks!
     
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  29. Jul 28, 2021 at 12:57 PM
    #59
    300BLK

    300BLK New Member

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    Looks great. I want an ARB bumper pretty badly but i think it'll be overkill since my rig is also a daily. Would love to see a night shot of the ARB lights, curious what the pattern and throw is like.
     
  30. Jul 28, 2021 at 2:38 PM
    #60
    Mallcrl

    Mallcrl [OP] New Member

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    I'll grab some night pics either tonight or tomorrow evening, and isolate each pair's light throw.... The mounts from Paranoid Fab showed up today, what a fine piece of work they are. Their fog brackets are an absolute perfect fit, and the then signal brackets I wrapped with some satin black I had (only spray paint I had would take 2hrs for handling time). They say they are for Baja S2s, but Diode SS C2s work quite well!

    20210728_172300.jpg
     
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