Wikid's Tundra

My friend Ken (in AK) used to cough out fine saw dust a lot. Mostly from his planer. He would train new guys all the time to help because he needed a break. He was never satisfied. Actually very over bearing. (a lot) Hard work keeps you alive longer as long as it is something you want to do when you wake up each morning and look forward to it.
I still like calibrating things. Still enjoy it, but??

 

Today
I went to Joe, at GMG fabrication. We made some progress on the platform that will house the battery, Switch-Pro's, Dual battery controller, relay for the compressor and the compressor
Here is the battery box and rest of frame, actually attached to the bed.
The center section will be the electronic and to the right , we are thinking of mounting the air tank, over the compressor . Then it will be skinned and finished of course


Battery box will have a mated cover .

It doesn't look like much right now, but it will come together quickly, now that we have the idea. We will probably make one on the other side for recovery equipment etc.



Left from the fabricator. Picked up the spacers from 4Wheel Parts
Thanks Mark
Went home and installed the rear bumper. A few things are not complete. License plate lights need to be wired in. Baja Designs Squadron sport wide driving lights will be installed in the pockets, for uber bright, reverse lights Reverse sensors need to be drilled in too

The big scratch your head moment is that I no longer have blind spot monitors. The way they work in the stock bumper is there is actually a box, or module at fits against the tupperware trim piece on each corner. Since this one is steel, I bet it wont work through it . I may have to do something custom here, but my thought is to try and get them to work as designed. We will see what I can come up with for that

I love the look of the bumper . It mates to the body lines really well.




USPS dropped off a box from Factor 55
Now I have everything I need for the winch install

 

Looking good. Where is money tree located?

 

Thanks. Lots of hard work is getting this done

I did manage to make a little progress today
I installed the Squadron Sports with spacing to center them. Then began wiring them . This will be wired to the second battery, with a relay, then a trigger wire, to the reverse circuit . I don't see the need to also have them come on independently , since I will have a whole array of lights, on the roof rack


Added the wheel spacers. It made a complete difference on the stance and how everything looks together. With the fender flares, spacers were needed. Absolutely no rub either. Which means I can weld up the Body mount chop I did last week. Now it needs suspension, to complete the look

before


after

 

Nice!

 

Thanks

Yesterday and today was all about the roof rack. I only had a few hours to start working on it yesterday, so I used that time for the measuring. Blue tape was my friend
As anything you are trying to install its all about finding center

I needed to be outside the waffled section of the roof in the center, so I picked a spot just outside the LED strips, then found a roof crease to use as my straight line



After I marked everything it was time to get a backing plate for the inside of the cap . I found this aluminum boxed channel 1.5x.75x1/8th . I figured with it being boxed it would add a little rigidity to the whole system .

The piece on the right, was after I turned it over, so I could counter sink the nuts and bolts on the inside



I drilled the roof rails and the backing plate together, then drilled the roof with the rail in place, then added the backing plate with 1/4x20 SS screws washers and nuts. I used rtv to seal it up when I dropped the screws in. I used to get nervous drilling through roofs, but now I just measure twice and go for it



I'm not going to lie, this was lots of work and a few trips to the hardware store for stuff





Last task, at hand was trying to figure out how to hoist the 80# roof rack, without causing any damage. I never seem to be able to find anyone to help, when I need to do crap like this. I pulled the cushions out of my camper and used them as a slide . tailgate down, hoist it to the tailgate, position the cushions so they protect the back, carefully slide it up. The second set of cushions were strategically placed forward so I could jimmy it on them as I went forward



Made a few adjustments and tightened things up. I have to mess with a few legs yet, but it actually is sturdy and can be driven, I didn't notice any noise on the highway either. I may adjust the height, but it will require reworking the mounts a bit





Next up , placing and mounting the Baja Designs S2's 3 on each side and probably a 20" stealth in amber, for the back. Then of course, pre wiring the rack

 

At first, scrolling through the photos I thought you drilled the holes in the cab.

 

Drilling through the roof of the truck isn't as big of a deal as it seems. I wouldn't be afraid to do so if I needed to. If anything it would be patch and paint. But no, it was just the cap

 

New arrivals from Brown, get me that much closer, to getting my electrical system in shape. This is one, of two Switch Pro's, that will get me lighting up the night.

 

Here comes the tedious part. It makes it all worth while, when you can flip the switches and they all work. I have separated my wire runs into 3 sections
First section will be the front harness
Chicken scratch, to map it all out.

I will actually created a laminated wiring diagram, so I can refer back. I relied on memory and (this is the way I also run wires, on my FJ) Each build I try to add another element, that makes life easier in the long run

I picked up some 8 conductor 12gauge cable for these runs, along with convoluted tubing, to protect the cable, so it will have to extra layers. This one worked out just right. I have a grounding bus for the engine compartment and the bed to make my grounds nice too .


Second drawing is the roof rack.
I may even split the circuits on the side lights. Since I have strobe abilities , this would also add some more flash, when I want to . Otherwise it will also give me the ability to pick and choose if I don't want as much light in the sides



The third section is for rock lights and under hood lights . No drawing for that one yet

Here is the harness I am wiring in

The pins/wires are numbered, so I just need to know how to count







The front harness is done on the Switch-Pro end. I still need to do a small wire run inside the truck, to get the switch harness and ignition trigger wire, to the correct place, but that means pulling rear seats, trim panels, fishing the harness through the headliner and the other through the center console. I will complete the rear harness and run both of these together
Switch Pros - Home



While I was still working in the rear, I decided to run the 1gauge, dual battery cable. I had it ran already, but decided to keep the dual battery controller in the back, so I needed to pull it back out and run both the cables to the rear. 25" more cable was needed of course
Nationa Luna Intelligent Solenoid



I hooked it up to test everything out. It works !! . Its all set to finish up the fab work on the cargo area .




Tomorrow, I will wire in the second harness and work on mounting the roof lights

 

Most of the major wiring is complete. The two large plugs to the right, are the Switch-Pro harnesses. . Each of these branch off to different sections . The front takes up an entire Switch-Pro and that harness is in the engine bay already. The looped red/black 12 is set aside for the compressor. I still need to run one more open circuit for the train horn.



The two harnesses you see looped in the battery box are
Roof rear lighting and light bar with 6 lights, (3) separate circuits. To make it simple, I used a 8 conductor 12 gauge , then just marked a plus and minus conductor for each circuit. I have four actual circuits for each cable pull. I actually have 2 extra circuits off the second Switch-Pro



All this will be mounted and tucked, inside or behind the actual box. The goal is for it to be neat, trouble free and easy to access for changes and trouble shooting . This represents 3 days of wiring.

Here's what took up the rest of my time last evening.
I fished the switch harnesses them self, through the access floor floor plug on the passenger side. after removing the seat and large pre-formed floor section. Then fished them up the B-pillar. Using a piece of cable I removed the upper console and fished the cable through the ceiling, above the air bags, to the console. It was painful, but now they are in the locations they will be mounted to.

I may carefully carve a hole in the stupid money clip area to flush mount, the switch panel . The space is literally open above it


I was going to mount this one inside the sun glass bay, but may consider flush mounting it to the face of the sun glass bay. I think having both switch plates up there in view would look good illuminated, it will be a great place to access controls of everything too . If you use the sun glass compartment, you still may be able to use it with the switches installed in the door . It may depend on how much pressure the switches take, to activate. They seems pretty easy to push, but i don't want the door opening , when I push a switch :|



This is the controller for the National Luna dual battery system . It may be pushed into the center console, so its out of sight , but accessible for me to monitor it, or combine batteries, the extra wires are the trigger wire and illumination wire for the Switch-Pro's

http://www.equipt1.com/item/dual-battery-monitor-surface-mount



I pulled up the rug, so you could see where the wires came into the cab. Passenger side, between the seat rails, to the access hole. The two harnesses you see are the Switch -Pro, Switch cables

 

Looking good Don, you sure are ambitious. Where abouts in AZ are you, I'm in Gilbert. Wouldn't mind meeting up with you sometime.

 

Robert
I'm in North Mesa Not so far from Gilbert
Yes we should meet up sometime


Here are a few pictures of the next task .
Who needs a paper clip overhead when you can have 8 switches



i popped the sun glass door off and parts went flying. I hope to find said parts before I re install the door . Just the stuff you deal with when you haven't taken something off before

I will be frenching in the other switch panel in the door. The actual sun glass case should still work, if I have it figured right.

 

I need to find something clean to trim it out with then clean the plastic surfaces, score them and glue the tabs inside with 2 part epoxy. I don't want to have any screws coming through the other side. Hopefully it looks almost factory when its backlit.
As I thought , the switch panel is so thin, the sun glass holder, still fully functional



Joe, from GMG Fabrication test fitting the control box. He has been a trooper and done a great job, creating something from nothing



I just took a shot with both boxes and the air tank in place (kind of)



Most of the electronics were put in their proper place. Now its all removed, from the truck , so I can make the mount for the compressor, mount the tank and paint it all . Then it gets installed . I hope to have this phase of the project complete, by this weekend.

The Bedslide arrived today, so that will go in, right after this is all put together

 

Since next week is suspension install week, I wanted to be sure most of the weight was in the truck. Better to set up the suspension to more like actual weight.

It's been a little hectic, trying to get this stuff done, but here it goes
The Bedslide was delivered, Wednesday, which took up a large portion of my work area, so that had to get put in , first thing this morning.
It's not bolted down yet, but it's not like it's going to move


Work area cleared out and the next project is the winch
Like everything else, its not just a "drop it in and fire it up", scenario.
Pulled the bumper.

I was worried about the clearance, to the inner cooler pump, but it cleared by 3/4 of an inch. I had to divorce the solenoid, because that absolutely would not fit in the space. Then, I needed to clock the drive gear, so the engaqe handle, would be up top. Since the winch actually mounts to the inner face of the bumper. Re installed the bumper and here is the result



I think cover plates would make this install clean, so I will fab some up at some point.




I will need to run new winch cables, to the engine bay, where the solenoid will be mounted.

Next up is the lighting.
Had a friend help me pull the roof rack and turn it upside down, on a set of horses . The way this rack is set up, has made my wiring life so much easier
Mounting the lights, were a breeze , since I used the same mounting system, the rest of the rack is designed with
Here are a few step by step, tasks done

These slots have a place, where you can insert bolts, that can slide and be captured to mount stuff


I had to change the mounting hardware and expand the bracket hole. Another trip to the hardware store, of course. I told them I would buy them out, one bag of bolts, at a time



Old bolt in back. I also used a nylon spacer/washer, so I could swivel the lights. Nylocks, will just keep them in place



Presto. one light done in just a few minutes, with the really cool mounting system



(3) of these per side should light up the camp area. They are 2150 lumens each and all of them are in flood pattern


All six lights are installed. Tomorrow, will be "roof rack pre wire", day. Hidden wiring and Delphi connectors, will be all set.

The rear light that hasn't arrived yet, is the 20" S8 amber light, still in development. it will have a backlit feature, plus a combo pattern. When you are on a real dusty trail, the trucks behind you, love that they have a guiding light

 

Well done . Way beyond very good. Very impressive. Clearly of lot of thought and TIME put into this. It's great you are documenting this and sharing this here.

 

Thanks
I hope some can pick up some tips from mistakes I make ;-)

I was able to almost complete the roof rack pre wire.
3 runs of 2 conductor 18 gauge, for each light and brought to a central location, to meet the harness, inside the cap. I ran out of 2 conductor Delphi connectors, so I have 2 yet to crimp on. The roof rack is perfect for hiding wires and making everything look neat and tidy
Everything is sheath and heat wrapped. .

One extra wire run of 12/2 was ran from the central location to the rear of the rack, for the 20 inch bar.







I made these brackets to keep the harness from drooping. Again using the fastening system built right into the rack



and the connectors.
When this is flipped over, all you should see is a small length of pigtail and possibly the connector. That's it

 

Yes, I have run these for many years. They just get better and better.!!

Today was all about getting the frame done to the point where it can be painted and installed.
All the shiny metal is what I added.


Presto.. it all fits !!


Cleaned up the compressor and just situated everything for install


First box


Second box with most of the stuff installed




The air tank is just sitting on top. I think I'll clean iot and repainted it before install


The only thing left will be the trim piece I put where all the wiring runs are . Probably easily removable, for access


This was the idea I had to make a tire mount, but it will also sit flat, so I just don't know yet


I put the frig in and pulled the Bedslide out to the first stop point. You can actually pull it out 1/3rd more, but it still needs to be bolted down yet. Accessing the frig and things in the bed will be so much easier . None of the electronics interfere with the slide, so it worked out, just how it was designed

 

I do have a fab guy. I want see what he comes up with. I will just have to brainstorm with him. Thanks for the thought, for sure

 

I took some time today to remote mount the winch Solenoid in the engine bay behind the, air box. I will need to fab an actual mount there, for now it is wire tied to the fuse box. I wanted to make the winch operational, so I could wind in the rope and put the Factor 55 thimble on.



My next informational post, will be post suspension install. Doing a road trip out to Total Chaos tomorrow. Drop the truck off and pick it up either Friday Evening, or Saturday. "FINALLY" I normally do all of my own installs, but this one is different. TC will be filming the entire install. I definitely trust them to do it all right. They know their business well

 

Dropped off the truck. Within 2 hours, they had the rear done.


Then comes the phone call with a potentially big problem
The backspace for the Rock Warrior Wheels, worked well to stuff 35's under the truck stock, but with the new suspension, the bypasses would be in the way, at full lock. They are better than 6.5 inches backspace, even with the wheel spacers, they are still too deep Luckily I had a contact for Method Wheels and made the call. They will be sending 5 new wheels the (Meshed Machined) 17/4.75/9 , to TC, in the morning. They may have someone that can mount them , if not I will be picking them up for mounting. The plan is to go out to the desert, by the King Of the Hammers, to do a little filming and romping on Saturday afternoon.
More to follow

 

Lovin it. What's the chance of possibly having you and your fab guy coming up with the same bed mount battery/compressor frames for sale? Maybe for DC 6.5ft beds too! Just a thought. I know I would be interested. (You might want to apply for a patent. Just sayin.)

 

He actually made CAD drawing of it. I think it would just be an adjustment on the drawing. You would actually get more room in it too.

 

I thinking there is a market. Especially with the "overlanders" and off the grid types too. You guys did all the work, why not try to profit off your labor and brainstorming. Just make sure we get a forum discount. heh heh.

 

Thanks
I actually feel obligated to post progress. When I decided to build a Tundra, the first thing I did, was started to pour over all the cool builds I see here and elsewhere. That's what makes it work. We all add to everyone's thoughts. Some of my initial ideas have been changed because of the replies I received and then rethought about