What have you done to your 1st gen Tundra today?

Another mow man eh? Pretty nice. Did you do your own thing or work for someone?

It's been that heatwave all this week and we just drink more fluids and keep going. I don't like working in such heat and humidity but today I had plenty of energy and even with my sore arm, I did all the weedeating. 8 yards done today.

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Today I tried out the "Shift L" button and she went into first gear just fine. I drove her a few feet in that then took it out.

Today I pulled the small trailer and we did 6 yards. My wife had to go so I did 2 more alone. She finished her work and helped me weedeat that last yard. The Tundra is humming along just fine and I am so thankful to have her.

Tomorrow we'll pull the long trailer.

 

I attached 2 100W flexible solar panels to my Softopper and connected them to a Victron MPPT controller. Keeps my battery topped up and has an auxiliary load output that I can connect additional devices to like our fridge/freezer for camping. The solar panels have 15' long cables so I can take them off the truck and set them on the ground pointed more precisely at the sun.





The Bluetooth interface on this charge controller is really impressive too. Keeps perpetual logs on solar performance, battery health/condition, allows you to set charge profiles for different battery types and chemistries, adjust custom behaviors for the auxiliary load output, and a lot more.

 

I think i have that exact Victron charge controller as well. It works really well and I love the BT capability that lets you monitor your battery and panels.

Did you velcro your panels to your soft topper? Or how are they removable? I have one 200watt panel mounted on my camper. Works great for fridge, lights, fans and charging phones and stuff.

 

I used 1.5" wide Velcro brand hook and loop and then added 1/8" vinyl coated steel cable as a failsafe/anti-theft measure. If I ever need more capacity, there's room for 2 more panels (1 on the Softopper and 1 on the roof) and the charge controller should easily handle them all in series (100V/20A).

 

I like it. I have portables like you, and need to figure out some sort of velcro on my camper shell to attach them to. I made small frames for mine to put them on the ground and angle them towards the sun, but otherwise I just throw them on top of the camper shell during the middle of the day. With my driving habits, I think the portable is a better call than a hard-mounted rigid one, even if they're slightly less efficient.

 

I need to pick a way to hang mine off the side of my cap, shade the side window as a bonus.when i had mine standing sideways on my roof (on concrete) i could pit the truck in neutral & push it a few feet every couple hours (with the steering turned about halfway to lock) to ‘track’ the sun. Both panels can increase battery voltage over time, but just a 100w panel could only maintain voltage.

i do wish my charge controller had some bluetooth, but it shows about 14a in full sun.

 

I've also done magnets with eye hooks/ caribiners on the cab, put a piece of cloth in between the magnet and the cab as to not scratch the paint. Works with shade cloth if you have a strong enough magnet. Obviously doesn't work on the cap or for what you're trying to do, but yeah.

 

Yea, still havent epoxied in my magnets yet. Its in the plans.

 

That’s an awesome setup! We love seeing how people adapt their Softopper to fit their needs—this is a great example of making the most of your gear. Always cool to see creative solutions like this in action.

 

Let's see the whole truck. I've never seen a DC with a Softopper

 

Swing out version two

 

Just another day pulling. 18 foot trailer with two zero tuns then 12 foot trailer with one zero turn.

Hope to take tomorrow off!

 

You pull em with separate trucks or alternate using your tundra?

If the former, what's the second truck? Also a tundra?

 

Anyone got tips on getting the LCA bolt alignment holes to line up with the mounting points? It's looking like the bushings are ever so slightly too thick to get in there for me to get the bolt through. I force one end in partially so ONE bushing is captured but not both bushings are captured, but then the other side is off by 2-3mm on the edge of the bushing.






The brown stuff is copper anti seize per Solo Motorsport's instructions.

where Im at now:





safe to trim the LCA bushings or is there a trick to forcing them in?

 

Got a crescent wrench and rubber mallet?
Twist the crescent til it's tight enough to slide snug onto the part of the frame with the alignment holes and pull it gently out as necessary, checking clearance often, so you don't over do it.
Should slide right in then.
If the bushings are still snug but going on evenly on all four sides, give it some love taps with the mallet.

That's what Casey and I did when we installed my Solos.

 

Good old fashioned force. Assdogs truck had some crossmember damage so we had to bend the ears out a bit with a wrench.

almost jinx.

 

A couple hammer taps to spread them and then tighten the bolts to bring them home. I seem to remember doing that with my oem LCA replacements.

 

Ball joints on the blue one today.

Passenger was gritty, lumpy, and non OEM. Casting, zerk, and the (4) bolts gave it away.

Driver was OEM and hard to remove. Not sure why they got mismatched or if the driver was original..

My buddy's Blue has 141k and my gray has 145k. Both 06 DCs.