Box Rocket 1995 FZJ80 Build

[Box Rocket]

What new bumper are you thinking Adam? Those wheels look good, almost as good as that fancy suspension in there.

Haven't decided on which bumper yet. Looking at a few different ones. I like the Slee Shortbus, but it's expensive. I also like the one from Costa Fabrications, the Binks Fab bumper is also nice and I like the Trail Tailor one too. I've even considered the Trail Gear low profile bumper. I really liked the TG bumper on my Tacoma.

 

[Box Rocket]

Installed some new control arms over the weekend. I've been running some HD ones from Trail Tailor, but switched them out for the Blackhawk arms that are part of the Slinky suspension. These are HD arms also but use Factory rubber bushings instead of poly bushings and Johnny Joints like the TT ones. Lowers are 11mm longer than stock (re-centers axle in the wheel well) and the uppers are adjustable to set proper pinion angle. This morning was the first drive with them. Ride is a bit smoother actually. Makes sense as the rubber bushes isolate some vibrations better than the Johhny Joints and poly bushes that are more solid. Looking to do some testing this weekend and see how they flex.
IMG_2118 by Adam Tolman, on Flickr
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IMG_2117 by Adam Tolman, on Flickr
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IMG_2116 by Adam Tolman, on Flickr
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Might be getting rid of the TT arms if someone is looking to upgrade. I've got them all cleaned up and repainted. They are about a year old. PM me if you're interested in them.
IMG_2123 by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

 

[SOAZ]

Nice, it looks great! More, less or equal weight than before?

 

[Box Rocket]

Nice, it looks great! More, less or equal weight than before?

similar. ARB was roughly 105lbs after the mods I had done to it. This one is 115lbs. Little heavier but definitely much stronger.

 

[BCzuk]

The bumper turned out great

 

[tennesseewj]

The fabricator did a great job nailing the styling cues of the Binks bumper - looks awesome

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

 

[Box Rocket]

Couple minor electronic updates this week. The original speakers have had enough over the past 20 years and may or may not work depending on the day. I replaced the 4 door speakers with these Rockford Fosgate 6.5" speakers. I needed to use a 3/4" spacer and they do contact the dash when the front doors close. But the doors still close. Sound quality is much improved. For a relatively inexpensive set of speakers I'm happy with them, but they aren't sound studio quality by any stretch.
IMG_2314 by Adam Tolman, on Flickr
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I've also been working on improving my navigation gear. I picked up a wifi only iPad mini last fall to use for nav in the truck. I've been running Gaia GPS and have really liked the App. I was trying to use my iPhone as a hotspot to connect to the iPad but it was way too laggy to be useful and I've just been running Gaia on my phone instead. Works great on the phone but I wanted to make the iPad useful so I picked up a Bad Elf GPS Pro receiver that connects via Bluetooth with the iPad. Made a small bracket to mount it to the shift console and leave it plugged in since I really only plan to use it in the truck. So far, it seems to solve the issues with the iPad running Gaia. Done some minor testing last night and this morning but plan to get out in the sticks soon for more testing to see how this works. Had good reviews for this exact use so I am hopeful.
IMG_2322 by Adam Tolman, on Flickr
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The Bad Elf receiver is just in front of the cup holder.
IMG_2325 by Adam Tolman, on Flickr
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IMG_2324 by Adam Tolman, on Flickr
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IMG_2323 by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

 

[pyrate]

I am very interested in how the bad elf works. I have a Garmin 60csx that I used when off road riding but I no longer have the bike and am looking for a bigger display, like my iPad and wondered if this works best or Garmin Glo. Are you doing any trips in the near future that you can test it out? Most of the threads talking about it are pretty old.

 

[Dances with Wolves]

Post up Bad Elf test results. I have an old iPad that's collecting dust and this would put it to good use. Does the Bad elf support Gaia? How do you have your pad mounted to the dash?

 

[Bretthn]

I love my bad Elf GPS. Been using it with an iPad in my Lx470 for several years now.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Box Rocket]

Post up Bad Elf test results. I have an old iPad that's collecting dust and this would put it to good use. Does the Bad elf support Gaia? How do you have your pad mounted to the dash?

The Bad Elf will support any app that uses the Apple location services, so yes, Gaia will work well with it.
My iPad is mounted using to magnetic mounts. Been really solid.

 

[Box Rocket]

I am very interested in how the bad elf works. I have a Garmin 60csx that I used when off road riding but I no longer have the bike and am looking for a bigger display, like my iPad and wondered if this works best or Garmin Glo. Are you doing any trips in the near future that you can test it out? Most of the threads talking about it are pretty old.

I am trying to get out on a trip over the 24th of March and do more testing of the Bad Elf. I'll report back afterward.

 

[Box Rocket]

Been a long time coming but I finally pulled the trigger on an awning. I've debated getting one for years since I just didn't know how much I'd actually use it. I guess we'll see how much it gets used now.
IMG_2420 by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

 

[jjohnny350]

Looks cool, I have thought about an awning for a while too. I have had the same concern. Which did you end up with and why? Or does Tepui have one?

 

[Box Rocket]

Looks cool, I have thought about an awning for a while too. I have had the same concern. Which did you end up with and why? Or does Tepui have one?

Tepui has a 6' wide awning and a 4' wide awning. I got the 6' Tepui awning.