2015 Titan Pro 4X Build

[Ovrlnd Rd]

I got the house battery installed today. I want to again emphasize that this is a temporary arrangement just to get me through the Big Bend trip in 2 weeks and will change once I get a permanent dual battery setup. I decided to go with just 2 LEDs for now and have them both tied into 1 fuse so instead of a dedicated switch that I would wind up moving later I'll just pull the fuse when I want the lights off and put it back in when I want the lights on. I'll also pull the fuse for the cigar ports as the extension I have for the tent has a constant draw for illumination around the plug. One drawback to running the inverter when driving is the radio noise it causes. Luckily you can't get much on the radio in Big Bend so if I want to listen to something I'll just use the CD player.

 

[Ovrlnd Rd]

Put the annex on today just to see how it all fit together. This will stay in the drawer unless I'm going to be in the same spot for a couple of days. Too much of a PITA to do by yourself (although I did).

 

[Ovrlnd Rd]

Well we made it to Big Bend National Park and I finally got to do some technical trail driving. The truck handled great and I only had 1 incident and that put a fairly good sized dent in the fuel tank skid plate but it did what it was supposed to do and saved the tank.

A couple of things that were confirmed:

1) I need on-board air. Things would have definitely been better if I had been able to air down for the majority of the unimproved roads.
2) I need a bigger step ladder. Getting the RTT set up required some gymnastics and that's not really good for a person with Multiple Sclerosis (technically I'm not supposed to be on a ladder either).
3) I need a permanent solution to the 2nd battery. While it worked the way it was intended to work I'd prefer it was out of the way.
4) I need a way to mount fuel cans that won't have fumes going into the RTT. I didn't take any extra fuel this trip because of that issue and it was $2.82 a gallon inside the park.

As you can see from the list I'm very needy. I'll have most of those taken care of before the Idaho Back Roads trip next year.

 

[docsimple]

I have mostly given up on the RTT. I bought a cap and built a deck. Less for storage then getting up off the floor. Rains like crazy here and didn't like a wet sleeping bag. I'm pushing 50 with medical issues and it's easier to climb in the bed. Creates some space issues for the porty fridge but it's damn comfortable. I mostly use contained candles to heat inside. They are in glass and brass holders that pretty much can't start a fire but a little extra heat would be nice.

Anyway, nice rig. Always happy to see another Titan rigged up

 

[Ovrlnd Rd]

Having lived in the PNW I know what you mean about rain. The Decked system pretty much protects everything in them but they are limited in the size of stuff you can store there. Since we don't have anyone other than the 2 of us on trips the backseat area, outside what the dog takes up, is free as well.

I had to think about the RTT with the balance and strength issues of MS but really hate trying to set up a ground tent in any kind of weather. The wife hates toppers because she associates them with grandparent types and doesn't want the reminder that she's getting old (she turns 50 tomorrow though so I'm in for a bad day)

 

[docsimple]

lol, good luck with the birthday! I'm pretty sure when we can no longer climb into the bed we will start talking about a small trailer. Not having to climb out to take a whizz would be nice

 

[Ovrlnd Rd]

Dodged a bullet prepping for Overland Expo West. I was testing my Luminoodle so had to turn the ignition key on to get power to the accessory plug and after doing so walked off with the ignition still on. I came back about an hour later to a battery that was 10.3v. Luckily I have a NOCO jump pack under the seat (I was really excited as this was the 1st chance to try it in the year I've had it) and hooked it up and the truck fired up no problem. I then went to town and back without shutting the truck off so had things charging for about 2 hours. When I got home I shut the truck down and re-started it and it was slow to fire but did start. At that point I pulled my NOCO Genius 7200 charger out (I really like NOCO products) and put a full charge on the battery. Even then I was only able to get it a little above 11v. I then used the "repair" function on the Genius and still couldn't get it to an acceptable voltage.

Since we're going to be camping out in the Gila National Forest on the way over I decided I didn't want chancing a dead battery 50 miles from a main road let alone a town where I could get a new battery so just went to Wally World and got a new one. I think $87 is a fair price for the wife's peace of mind. Had it just been me I'd have taken the risk but I didn't want to be stuck in the woods listen to "I told you to get a new one" for however long it would have taken to get out of there.

 

[Ovrlnd Rd]

One more item off the check list today (well mostly). After camping on the way to, and at, Overland Expo West 2018 we decided a fridge/freezer was the next major purchase that needed made. I'm heading out for the Idaho Backcountry Discovery Route trip next month and dealing with a cooler and distance between ice refills seemed like a major headache and we found a pretty good deal on a 63qt ARB at Expo so pulled the trigger.

One of the things that had to be determined was where it was going to go. I hate giving up storage in the backseat or the ability to carry more people should we decide to leave camp set up and head to town with 1 vehicle instead of several but the only real place where it would be easily accessible was in the cab. Deciding that, I still wanted to make sure I could use at least one of the rear seats.

I started out needing to make everything level so took a piece of 3/4" Baltic Birch plywood and checked the fit. It worked but needed a little bit of a foot on the outboard end to level it with the transmission hump. A couple of 2x4s handled that so then it was just a matter of getting something sturdy enough that in a rollover the fridge would stay connected to the mount. I took a couple of pieces of angle iron for the top and connected them to a piece of flat stock on the bottom with some 3/8" bolts. Then I took the ARB strap mounts and bolted them through the angle iron. For added slide prevention I drilled some recesses with a Forstner bit so the feet of the fridge set down in pockets. I covered the wood with a piece of black denim material then secured the mount to the truck with a ratcheting tie-down hooked to the seat bases.

I still have the wiring to finish but it's too danged hot to do it today.

 

[llamalander]

If the new fridge is keeping you from using those 2 seats, you might think about taking them out.
They probably have 4 bolts and the seatbelts have a few more. They take up a couple of cubic feet and might make up for the storage you're missing-
Mine go back in with about 10 minutes of work when I need them.

 

[Ovrlnd Rd]

If the new fridge is keeping you from using those 2 seats, you might think about taking them out.
They probably have 4 bolts and the seatbelts have a few more. They take up a couple of cubic feet and might make up for the storage you're missing-
Mine go back in with about 10 minutes of work when I need them.

I can still use the left side, which is what I wanted, and I don't really want to pack anything around the side of the fridge that would reduce air circulation so I think leaving them both in will work for now.

 

[Ovrlnd Rd]

Finished wiring (what there is) yesterday and plugged everything in for a test run. Currently I'm running off the trucks AC inverter in the back seat while driving then switching to the temp (yep still running that) house battery when it's stopped. I simply ran the DC plug wire through the rear slider and then put some pipe insulation over the edge of the window and wire then rolled it most of the way back up. My hope is that's enough to keep the dust out. I plugged it in to the battery power yesterday afternoon when it was in the upper 90s at about 4pm. When I checked this morning the fridge was at 36° and the battery charge had dropped from 13.4v to 12.5v. I started the truck, unplugged the DC fridge connection, then charged the house battery from the bed inverter with my NOCO Genius while I was driving around. Not the most efficient system but it works and I should have no problem keeping everything going on the IDBDR next month.

 

[Ovrlnd Rd]

Got back from the ID BDR last week. Total of 5495 miles from San Antonio to the Canadian border and back. Two on-trail modifications that I made was an adjustment to the passenger side step brackets, instead of being straight going out from the body they now have a lovely swooping angle to the rear (courtesy of the Burnt Knob Lookout Road on the Magruder Corridor portion of the route). I also blew the front shocks somewhere along the way. The truck now drives like the SS Minnow and is scheduled for some Bilstein 5100s on Friday. Still, it was an AWESOME trip.