Reefry's 1st Gen Tundra

dyogim

Explorer
With the panels in the basket, are you able to load things on top of it? what about mounting the panels over the cab using roof rack bars? That way the basket can be utilize.

Great look and setup of the truck! If I decide to go with a second battery, I want to use solar panels. Rather than using the alternator to charge it.
 

Reefry

Observer
With the panels in the basket, are you able to load things on top of it? what about mounting the panels over the cab using roof rack bars? That way the basket can be utilize.

Great look and setup of the truck! If I decide to go with a second battery, I want to use solar panels. Rather than using the alternator to charge it.

Thank you! And as long as the weight is distributed evenly over a large surface area I see these panels having no problem upholding light-medium cargo. I would not risk anything too heavy. The only uses I have had for it so far are my surfboards which lay directly over the panels and rest on the rails. I haven't thrown out the idea of a cab mounted rack though, I just don't have enough toys to put anything up there yet

You should definitely start looking into solar! But beware it does get very addicting with all of the easily accessible upgrades out there. Hands down the most fun and handy modification I've done on my truck so far.
 

FJR Colorado

Explorer
You should definitely start looking into solar! But beware it does get very addicting with all of the easily accessible upgrades out there. Hands down the most fun and handy modification I've done on my truck so far.

Very true...

My latest solar experiment involves HEATING the interior of the ARB fridge so stuff will not freeze in frigid conditions.... info coming to my build thread soon...
 

Reefry

Observer
Have any better pictures of your rear bumper?

Sure do.

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Very true...

My latest solar experiment involves HEATING the interior of the ARB fridge so stuff will not freeze in frigid conditions.... info coming to my build thread soon...

Do ARB's have a heating feature? I'll definitely check out your thread!
 

FJR Colorado

Explorer
Do ARB's have a heating feature? I'll definitely check out your thread!

No. I wish they did. But making a temp regulated 12v outlet is a breeze. And there are a myriad of things you can use as a heat source. Right now, for me, it's a $25 heated seat pad. I may tweak that over time.
 

wrenchMonkey_

Adventurer
Great looking truck. Rear bumper gives me some good ideas. Jelly of your LT.

Did you pull your rear bedsides? Any plans for the rear suspension wise?

Love the angle cut on your bed.
 

Reefry

Observer
Great looking truck. Rear bumper gives me some good ideas. Jelly of your LT.

Did you pull your rear bedsides? Any plans for the rear suspension wise?

Love the angle cut on your bed.

Thank you for the compliments! The bedsides are stock for now but I am buying fiberglass sometime this month. For the rear suspension I plan on running something simple like this to hold me over.

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Then after I relocate my spare tire I'll start saving my pennies for a cantilever kit.
 

Reefry

Observer
Hey guys its been a while since I've had an update! I finally have some progress to show off. So I've been doing some serious thinking about my life and I what I want to do with it. This past year I saw myself in a bad spot and I decided to do something about it. Basically for the past year I have been working two separate jobs clocking in almost 60 hours a week to fuel my expensive hobby of building an offroad vehicle while trying to make a living here in costly California. I hated my full time job, which made me hate my life, but I loved building my truck which is what kept me going. But I wasn't sure if this was really what I wanted.

What I want is to travel! Explore! Adventure! And Live! So I halted all the truck mods and stopped buying useless things that didn't pertain to my goal. That goal is now an obsession I have to follow through with the trip of a lifetime. I have been scheming up a possibly 3 month long road trip across the U.S. From sunny Southern California all the way up the coast to Canada. Then I will loop around through Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, and Arizona to get back home.

So with all the money I had saved up for a used long travel kit, fiberglass parts, paint jobs, and other mods I decided to tuck it all away. I then toughed it out a couple more months and nearly doubled my savings. As soon as I felt like I had enough for the trip I quit my job. My last day was a few weeks ago and every day I wake up knowing I don't have to go back to that hell hole just makes me ecstatic. I picked up more hours at my part time job to live off of until I leave in June. Now I'm pretty happy with my life at the moment.

So for the trip I'm doing a very budget friendly run through meaning no hotels, and hardly eating out. For accommodation I will be mostly camping and staying in hostels with the occasional stealth camp here and there. Luckily for me my dad is a proud owner of a Thousand Trails membership and since I am his son and under the age of 23 that means I also have a membership! I get to stay at any of their nationwide campsites for free. As for food I will be cooking most of my meals out of my fridge powered by solar panels and my new Coleman Triton camp stove so that cuts out expensive fast food. As for activities that will be the one thing I will try not to budget too much. I hope to never give up a once in a lifetime opportunity because I was too cheap to buy in.

Now for the updates! My old coworker, who is a carpenter, busted out this amazing sleeping platform! It'll be a huge factor for the trip keeping everything organized and easily accessible.

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I've also removed my backseats so that I can get on Rickashay's level and make myself a nice kicthen area like this.

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Then after I complete that I would like to look into options for water storage. So far the Road Shower looks like the best bet for my needs but I will have to rig up a mount for it on my roof rack. Then I'll need a bed. I was thinking of either a futon mattress or a foam mattress topper. I would like to keep the head room so a blow up mattress is out of the picture. Anyone with a foam mattress please chime in with your experiences.

Thats it for now. I plan on creating a trip report when the time comes but you can also check out my progress on my Instagram page @Reefry. Tell me what you guys think so far. If you have any ideas for my build or destinations to visit on my route I am all ears.

Thanks for Reading.
 

TwoTrack

Buy Once, Cry Once
That storage setup looks awesome! I think something like a Thermarest would be perfect. Very comfortable, doesn't take much space, easily moves out of the way if you need to haul something.
 

jnelson4x4taco

Adventurer
Awesome build! Just got a 05 double cab and love it! Im looking into solar for a camper build im working on, how do you have it wired up to run the fridge? Does the solar charge a battery, then battery runs fridge, or does the fridge run directly off the panels? Any schematics of how you have it set up?

Very cool to see you taking steps toward doing something you are passionate about, thats a hard thing for a lot of people to do. Enjoy the hell out of that trip, looking forward to trip updates.
 

Reefry

Observer
That storage setup looks awesome! I think something like a Thermarest would be perfect. Very comfortable, doesn't take much space, easily moves out of the way if you need to haul something.

Thank you! And Yeah I'm looking for something that can easily flop over to get into my storage. I was thinking maybe a 3 inch thick one would work.

Awesome build! Just got a 05 double cab and love it! Im looking into solar for a camper build im working on, how do you have it wired up to run the fridge? Does the solar charge a battery, then battery runs fridge, or does the fridge run directly off the panels? Any schematics of how you have it set up?

Very cool to see you taking steps toward doing something you are passionate about, thats a hard thing for a lot of people to do. Enjoy the hell out of that trip, looking forward to trip updates.

Man I wish I had a double cab! The extra space and roll down rear window looks so useful. I'll have to check out your build.

As for the solar setup the panels run to a battery and the fridge runs on an inverter which is connected to the battery. I'll post up some pictures to give you a better idea! Let me know if you need any help with anything.

I'm definitely looking towards the trip too I cant wait to hit the road!


Love the bed storage. Very clean


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Thank you!
 

toyotech

Expedition Leader
I did a 3 or 4 inch memory foam topper that I cut to the size I wanted.


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Gunner207

Observer
Go to Ikea and buy a twin size foam mattress, 7 inches thick, 200 bucks, and you will sleep much better. Foam toppers simply are not designed to properly support you body. I had one shipped to me in Afghanistan and it made sleeping in a metal shipping container a real joy, honestly.

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