Boonie's Black Bomber Build

[Boonie Buster]

After installing the rack this year, we heard about an open house event at Mule Expedition Outfitters in Issaquah, Wa. We had a great BBQ lunch and met with a lot of the crew and other folks at the shop that day. Super cool! It was a nice sunny day and by the time we got home to install it, it was raining like crazy, but it HAD to be installed and it HAD to be used, THAT NIGHT! So we set to work in the horse barn to get it installed and then set it all up in the backyard for the first night of testing.

What better way to test than in the rain!

In the barn...



Out of the barn and into the light!...errr.....rain.......



The morning after. Survived the night, nice and dry.





An aerial view from our other project....



And here are some pictures from our short trip to Idaho.

Somewhere outside of Cle Elum, Wa.



Farragut State Park, Idaho

 

[Boonie Buster]

Well, a small update, about a month ago I noticed a leak around my canopy front fold-down window. I had to take it into the dealer I bought it from and they tried to reseal it, but it leaked again. Now i'm having a new window installed as it seems to be an issue with the window and not the seal around the canopy. It's going to be covered under warranty, thankfully the dealer I have been working with is VERY understanding and has been willing to go above and beyond for me. I'm a little bummed that it would have a leak after only 1 year, but happy it's getting resolved.

 

[Boonie Buster]

Took the truck in Saturday and had the front canopy window replaced. Now to make sure it doesn't leak, we need some more rain! Big thanks to Truck Builders LLC for doing this for me!

 

[Boonie Buster]

Oh, and while loading plywood into the truck on Sunday, I felt the tail light needed a better venting system. So I fixed that problem...

 

[Boonie Buster]

So We recently purchased an ARB 50qt fridge and ARB 1250 awning for the truck. I used rkfoote on TacomaWorld instructions for doing a 12v system in the bed, since I'm not yet decided on a dual battery system and would rather build a SPOD style unit for in the engine bay.

The parts I used were from Powerwerx, I got a 4.2 amp USB charger and an anderson powerpole dual plug for the ARB, I will eventually put a switch in for the USB charger so it doesn't drain the battery.
Parts List:

-25’ Black and Red Wire w/ 30amp inline fuse.

-50’ 16awg “zip-cord” style black/red wire
https://powerwerx.com/red-black-bonded-zip-cord

-PP15/30/45 Loose Piece Powerpole Colored Housing
I bought 25 each black and red.
https://powerwerx.com/anderson-powerpole-colored-housings

-PP30 Loose Piece 30 Amp Powerpole Contact 1331
I bought an equal amount of these to match the housings as well as some 15 amp contacts to accept 16-18awg wire
https://powerwerx.com/anderson-1331-powerpole-contact-pp30

-Powerwerx PanelPole
https://powerwerx.com/panelpole-panel-mount-powerpole-housing

-Powerwerx Panel Mount Dual USB 4.2A Device Charger for 12/24V Systems
https://powerwerx.com/panel-mount-dual-usb-device-charger-high-output

-Two Hole Panel Mounting Plate
https://powerwerx.com/two-hole-panel-mounting-plate

-Blue Sea 5025 6 Circuit Blade Fuse Block with Cover and Negative Bus
https://powerwerx.com/blue-sea-5025-6-circuit-fuse-block

So I started by making a 25ft wire loom form 10awg wire, I went from the battery around the back of the firewall and down the pass frame rail following the 110v bed outlet wiring to the back.


Main power wired to the box.


There are two drain holes in the back of the box, I enlarged the one to get the wire loom through and attached a zip tie so it would fall back through.

Checking behind the side wall, there is a structural rib about ¾” from the storage bin opening, so I aligned the top of the panel with the top of storage bin and located the new panel over 2 ½” to the outside edge of it. I have allowed room for future expansion of items below the two that are currently installed. The only issue with mounting the panel vertically is the plugs are installed sideways to allow use of the covers.



Here is the USB charger wire loom ready to be installed, I drilled holes in the side of the storage bin for the wire looms to come through. And zip tied then on the inside as well so they would fall back through.


Wire loom through the side.


This is looking up into the area behind the rear tire and fender area where the box is located.


And the Final Product:







Thanks go out to rkfoote for his write-up and all the others who I have gleaned info from.

Next up, Awning brackets…

 

[Boonie Buster]

So I finished up mounting the ARB 1250 Awning on Saturday. I had started making them last weekend but ran out of daylight, Smores were more important...

The brackets are made of 3/16” x 2” flat bar, the long side is 6” and the short side which will be vertical is 4”.



Below is the list of bolts used for mounting the brackets to the Prinsu bars. The ARB awning came with hardware for 4 holes, I doubled that to 8 for overkill purposes and to hopefully slow down those who are dishonest.
8 – 1/4”-20 stop nuts
8 - 1/4” x 3/4” long carriage bolts
8 – 1/4” flat washers



I first slid all of my carriage bolts into place, they actually went on the outboard side of the RTT rails for added stability of the awning.



Here the brackets are still lightly bolted down ready for the awning to be attached.



Closer View:



I put a little electrical tape on either side of the bolts to keep them from sliding out when I went to mount the awning to the bracket. It’s definitely a bit harder to line up 8 bolts, but I feel it’s a little added security.



And through the miracle of TV magic, it’s on!



Behind the curtain look:



And KaBoom! Instant shade! After a few setups and takedowns, it’s pretty quick to get some cover from the elements!



And after a good cleaning of the truck inside and out, it was time to air out the tent.

 

[Boonie Buster]

Once I was done with that project I had another minor one to work on, the noise from the rack bars, I ordered some track inserts to hopefully remedy the whistling noise at higher speeds (60+) So they arrived during the week and it was time to cut and test some pieced inserted in to the first bar.

Here is a link to the product: $1.85/ea.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EZVOZYC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

They come in 72.5” lengths, so cutting them to just under 47” for the bar length, you have some odd length pieces left over, just use them around tie downs or on the underside of the bars.



Up close shot:



They installed very solid and will take some effort to remove, but I think they also help protect the main bars from getting scratched up. Now to test them out at highway speeds.

 

[Boonie Buster]

Haven't had time to update lately, but a list of things happened before out Yellowstone trip in mid August:

-265/75r16 Goodyear Duratracs installed
-Firestone Air Bags installed
-ARB 50qt fridge purchased (still need to mount it better)
-Relentless fab quick fist/hi-lift mount installed
-4 Maxtrax Mounted
-2 Two gallon Rotopacks installed
-One-Up two bike hitch mount installed

A More detailed install of these will follow...eventually!

 

[screwball48]

Have the inserts helped any with the rack noise at highway speed?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Boonie Buster]

Have the inserts helped any with the rack noise at highway speed?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I haven't noticed a significant difference. I have the first two bars fully covered on all sides and the tops of a few more back. I think a good portion of noise comes from the cutout in the windscreen portion. I also didn't get much testing without a bunch of other stuff on the rack yet either. So I can't say 100% if they have helped enough to be worth it.