Argonzero's 04 Double Cab Buildup

kcowyo

ExPo Original
Nicely built outfit. Some excellent details and photos from your build up.



Welcome to ExPo - :beer:
 

Willman

Active member
I like your rig!

Alots of great mods!

Great to have another DC on the ExPo!

Welcome!!!

Where are you from?

;)
 

Paul R

Adventurer
WOW!
That is a great setup I like the cover you integrated into your design it looks like it works great!
:26_7_2:
 

argonzero

New member
I'm located in Orange County, Southern California. Those are Korean Short Ribs, they sell them pre-marinated here and are about the best thing to BBQ on a trip. For the cooking challenged like myself, they're extremely easy to get right (I aim for between Raw and Burnt) and are a real crowd pleaser.

I actually took apart a DC/AC inverter and those outlets are from that unit. They clipped into the inverter, so all I did was un-clip it, extend the line, and took my time to make two square holes and one for the switch with a X-acto knife. I have some more pictures of that mod I can post up after work.

Thanks again Kurt for the help on the heat exchanger. If you recall, I had ordered one of the last ones with the old pricing. :)
 

cruiseroutfit

Supporting Sponsor: Cruiser Outfitters
argonzero said:
...I actually took apart a DC/AC inverter and those outlets are from that unit. They clipped into the inverter, so all I did was un-clip it, extend the line, and took my time to make two square holes and one for the switch with a X-acto knife. I have some more pictures of that mod I can post up after work.

Please do, that is extremely clean :cool:

argonzero said:
...Thanks again Kurt for the help on the heat exchanger. If you recall, I had ordered one of the last ones with the old pricing. :)

Glad to hear it is working out for you... the first time I used mine I figured it was worth it :D
 

4Rescue

Expedition Leader
Wow, that is a very very nicely built truck. Great Rig and great write-up.

Cheers

Dave :1888fbbd:
 

AFSOC

Explorer
My new favorite Taco

:bowdown: Brilliant! I love your build up. I am a big fan of well thought out and purposly fabricated projects. Very nice execution. I have so much admiration for your rig.
 

argonzero

New member
Thanks for everyone's kind words! It definitely made all those long days working on the truck worth while! Once again, Thank you very much. :)

I just got back from work and got some pictures of the inverter install I did. I just bought a 700 dollar peak inverter, cut, soldered, and shrink wrapped the connections. The mounting of the actual unit is not so great, its just under the front seat but it doesn't seem to have moved at all. The pictures should be much clearer.

1.jpg


2.jpg

I popped the actual receptacles out of the metal plate and then used it as a template to create the holes in the panel. If you are going to do this on a Tacoma, just be careful of the linkages of the shifter.

3.jpg


4.jpg


5,jpg


6.jpg

I can't remember the last time the carpet was this clean, lol.

7.jpg


8.jpg
 

argonzero

New member
Ah, one more thing I took quite a long time doing but am quite proud of is the solenoid box for the winch behind the grill. Its not very noticeable, but thats exactly how I wanted it to come out.

13.jpg
 

p1michaud

Expedition Leader
Gas spring/strut information.

argonzero said:
Until recently, I had to manually lift the upper portion of the rack then held it up with a metal stick. It didn’t work very well, and no one would dare put their hand into take anything out. The total weight at one side of the lifting rack was 85 lbs, and you had to hold it at a strange angle. To resolve the problem, I installed two 80 lb gas springs which I luckily found for a decent price. The entire top with rack, tent, shovel, and hi-lift jack is approximately 160-180 lbs. Once a single gas spring was installed, the rack held it self up. With both installed, it automatically lifts.

Can you post some information about your gas springs. Length extended and closed. Manufacturer, part number, etc... What did you use to mount it to your rack?

Cheers,
P
 

argonzero

New member
I bought the springs off of ebay. After searching the internet forever, and actually contacting a few places this was the only place that would sell individual springs at the length/pressure I needed.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...STRK:MEWA:IT&viewitem=&item=130209789399&rd=1

The only other place was here and was much more expensive. I'm not sure it comes with all the mounting hardware also.

http://www.ameritoolmfg.com/store.asp?pid=13456&catid=19738

When you buy it, specify with brackets you want to use. Once I got them in, I just used self tapping bolts and bolted into my rack. The only hard part is to figure out where to mount all of the springs so that you get the movement you desire. The top of my rack is approximately 160 lbs/ 80 lbs per side, so I opted for two 80 lbs springs (more then I technically need) because I knew that the rack was going to be held up with the springs at an angle at full extension. The end of the travel requires a little bit more force to start it compressing, so it holds the rack up securely until you give it a good tug down. Even with one spring attached, the rack stayed up. Once I put both of them on, it lifts automatically even when the gas springs are nearly horizontal (Very little percentage of the effective force pushing upwards). It was a total pain before to lift that rack, now it seems to just float, lol. 160 lbs of total force is a little overkill, though gas springs do lose their charge over time so this might offset that issue.

The closer you can mount your springs to the hinge, the more movement you will get, but since my tent hits the cab if I open the rack any further it was not an issue for me. I'm not sure my rack's structure could have handled the multiplied force of mounting the gas spring at 1/4 total length away from the hinge. I tried to mock it up in Google Sketch before I actually built it. Those gas springs are a life (and back) saver! Hope this helps, let me know if I'm unclear about anything.
 

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