Spencer for Hire
Active member
Thanks. I have an order in from VO but I am on East Coast. I needed the full size but for the time being Alu doesn't offer one.
AlumEscapes AluCab Canopy Build Thread
- Thread starter 2012Taco
- Start date
Thanks. I have an order in from VO but I am on East Coast. I needed the full size but for the time being Alu doesn't offer one.
2012Taco
AlumEscape
Those look pretty neat but I'm likely going to something more permanent attached to the bottoms of the awning arms so they just get packed away with the awning. I've done similar in the last on the ARB bag awnings but I'll have to give options some consideration.
2012Taco
AlumEscape
Misc. Lighting and Wiring:
You can never have too many lights, right?
I plan on adding some LED strip lighting to the underside of the awning bars but those would only be usable when the awning is deployed. I stumbled across these (https://www.superbrightleds.com/mor...porch-and-utility-light-700-lumen/5568/12478/) and figured they'd do nicely for side lighting other than headlamp when getting things setup or packed up.
Wanting to avoid unprotected holes into the dry portion of the canopy I decided to mount these up front taking advantage of the AluCab slot profile and filler panel - a few holes later and the light was roughed in. Wiring followed later but I used a cable gland seal to run into the canopy on the underside of the overhang and drilled and installed a booted toggle for power in the same area. I figure it's out of prying eyes and again is well protected from the elements.
Next up I circled back to the Rigid pods and brake/turn/reverse lights. Again, cable gland seals were used for each hole and the holes were tucked up as high as possible behind the Molle plates for added protection. Boy, punching that first ¾" hole hurt.. I also used Deutsch style connectors, a 2 pin for the pods and 6 pin for the brake/turn/reverse lights.
While working on the Molle panels I added the base plates for my Rotopax as well.
Last up for lighting right now was adding some switched lighting to the underside of the bed platform. While the National Luna red/white lights are very nice it's annoying to have to cycle through the three levels of brightness just to turn the light on/off. Combine that with the fact you actually need to climb into the back of the truck to reach the switch and I had to find another solution. Since I plan on adding my electrical panel and switch setup just inside the back door I decided that was as good a place as any to put the switch for my added lights. I selected a pair of these (https://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/rigid-light-bars/linear-led-light-bar-fixture/3277/7284/) in 18" lengths to mount on each side of the bed platform. Being a stickler for clean installations it was a bear fishing those wires through the bed framing but worth it in the end.
Next update will include the door swing change!
You can never have too many lights, right?
I plan on adding some LED strip lighting to the underside of the awning bars but those would only be usable when the awning is deployed. I stumbled across these (https://www.superbrightleds.com/mor...porch-and-utility-light-700-lumen/5568/12478/) and figured they'd do nicely for side lighting other than headlamp when getting things setup or packed up.
Wanting to avoid unprotected holes into the dry portion of the canopy I decided to mount these up front taking advantage of the AluCab slot profile and filler panel - a few holes later and the light was roughed in. Wiring followed later but I used a cable gland seal to run into the canopy on the underside of the overhang and drilled and installed a booted toggle for power in the same area. I figure it's out of prying eyes and again is well protected from the elements.
Next up I circled back to the Rigid pods and brake/turn/reverse lights. Again, cable gland seals were used for each hole and the holes were tucked up as high as possible behind the Molle plates for added protection. Boy, punching that first ¾" hole hurt.. I also used Deutsch style connectors, a 2 pin for the pods and 6 pin for the brake/turn/reverse lights.
While working on the Molle panels I added the base plates for my Rotopax as well.
Last up for lighting right now was adding some switched lighting to the underside of the bed platform. While the National Luna red/white lights are very nice it's annoying to have to cycle through the three levels of brightness just to turn the light on/off. Combine that with the fact you actually need to climb into the back of the truck to reach the switch and I had to find another solution. Since I plan on adding my electrical panel and switch setup just inside the back door I decided that was as good a place as any to put the switch for my added lights. I selected a pair of these (https://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/rigid-light-bars/linear-led-light-bar-fixture/3277/7284/) in 18" lengths to mount on each side of the bed platform. Being a stickler for clean installations it was a bear fishing those wires through the bed framing but worth it in the end.
Next update will include the door swing change!
2012Taco
AlumEscape
I picked it up through https://cruiserbrothers.com/ who were the US distributors back in the summer of 2018. I think they moved to https://longrangeamerica.com/.
I felt it was a game changer when I was towing the trailer as it finally put me back in the 300+ mile/tank range versus the ~200 mile range I had before. At the time they were marketed as access cab and double cab short bed only but I had no issues with my double cab long bed - only thing needed was an extension for the front tank bracket to reach the cross member. I believe LRA offers that in their kits now?
I removed my bed to make life easier for running the hoses without risk of kinks. Lining up some of the brackets were a pain but overall not too bad.
I do have the issue of the tank sometimes burping fuel back up the filler and spilling out like some others have experienced. They redesigned the valve at the bottom of the filler neck once already but swapping that in didn't solve my issue 100% of the time. I have a Scangage that tracks fuel usage so I've just gotten used to filling using that as a guide and topping off by hand rather than relying on the pump auto-shutoff. There's more info from other users here (https://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/outback-proven-long-range-fuel-tank-for-tacoma.94727/). Some report the same issues as me. I've found that using the slow pump speed versus high pump speed at the gas station tends to help. Overall, it's pricey and not perfect, but I'd buy it again.
Last edited:
2012Taco
AlumEscape
Thanks!
Not sure about weight rating but they are ~1/8" think and secured to the body using 8 bolts I think? While they are light and have quite a few holes punched in them the fact that they are bent in three direction (top and both sides) then welded makes them inherently rigid. They secure to the same type of channel extrusion that holds the camper to the truck so I wouldn't be too worried about that side of it either.
2012Taco
AlumEscape
Hopefully I'll get the electrical cabinet done by then so things actually work hahaLooking great. Can't wait to see it in another month.
-
Flyguy0101
Member
Really like the added rear lights on the molle panels- think i might borrow that idea, have found that with the bike rack on back that the stock ones are obstructed a little. By chance have a link to the ones you found online? thanks
2012Taco
AlumEscape
Thanks man, I felt the same about rear visibility once I started hanging stuff back there. I used these https://www.amazon.com/MICTUNING-Tr...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=72901VCNAXT0FHQKBPZG
So far, so good but I did order spares just in case.
2012Taco
AlumEscape
Door Swing and Tire Carrier Hacks:
My biggest pet peeve with the AluCab is the door swing. When ordering I was told that the door couldn't be reversed because of the Molle panels but I didn't believe that to be true. It turns out that the door swing can be reversed which is ideal for my planned setup overall. With the right side awning I did not want the door (or my right side All-Pro tire swing) wasting space under my awning. I also hoped to install my propane cylinder on the right side under the Molle plate as that's the side I plan to cook from to compliment the fridge mounted up front in the bed. After some measuring and a beer I got to work..
Fortunately the camper side of my door hinges and latches were not glued on, can't say if that's typical or not. Unbolting and door removal is straight forward once the hydraulic cylinder is pulled along with the limit strap. Next was fishing out the nuts from the door frame extrusions and swapping them to the opposing sides in roughly the right locations. This was a bit of a pain but I found that the nuts can be easily held in the right location using a small ball of butyl tape sealant stuck in the extrusion under each nut.
Once the fasteners were reversed I hung the door back on to line everything up and snug everything down. No Molle panel interference - sweet!
All that was left now was addressing the light on the door (which was now too low) and the hydraulic cylinder and limit strap. The bracket for the hydraulic cylinder is made in a way that can't easily be reversed to the top driver side corner. I debated remaking one out of steel but after looking at how I planned on how I was going to do my interior cabinets I realized that I could just install the OEM bracket in the lower driver side corner and it'd be plenty out of the way. This also allowed me to use the OEM riv-nuts in the door for the opposing end of the cylinder - win-win.
Drilling out the rivets was a bit of a pain due to the limited access but not too bad. The bracket is glued on too. I was able to use a plastic putty knife to work it loose then just gave it a good yank. After cleaning up the area I enlarger the holes slightly and tapped them for stainless ¼"-20 screws and installed which allows the door to be put back to OE later if desired.
Next I lined up the bracket in the lower left corner and drilled and tapped four holes there to hold the bracket. I didn't want the limit strap hanging out the bottom of the door so I moved it to the top left side with a couple more drilled and tapped holes.
The last real chore was moving the bumper/shim thing on the frame from the left side to the right side. Again, drill the rivet and pry free of the glue and line up on the opposing side. I had some countersunk ¼"-20 stainless hardware lying around that worked great for filling the original rivet hole and securing the bumper on the right side.
The light move was easy as well only requiring a few more drilled holes and some wire extensions. While drilling I figured I'd move my license plate to the back door so I could free up my hitch for towing. I used to mount the plate either there on on my tire carrier but it would be covered by the trasharoo...
I'm still using the OE shipping container style door lock but plan to remove that soon for what I believe is a better setup. I plan to use a locking paddle latch like this (https://www.industrialhwe.com/locki...rd-4901-single-point-locking-paddle-latch.asp) and a bear claw automotive style latch (https://www.industrialhwe.com/rotary-latches/trimark-rotary-latch-two-rotor-right-hand.asp) to replace the whole setup. Hopefully there will be more to come on this latch setup in the next few weeks but the next update will be modifing my tire carrier swingout and propane carrier to work with the planned setup!
My biggest pet peeve with the AluCab is the door swing. When ordering I was told that the door couldn't be reversed because of the Molle panels but I didn't believe that to be true. It turns out that the door swing can be reversed which is ideal for my planned setup overall. With the right side awning I did not want the door (or my right side All-Pro tire swing) wasting space under my awning. I also hoped to install my propane cylinder on the right side under the Molle plate as that's the side I plan to cook from to compliment the fridge mounted up front in the bed. After some measuring and a beer I got to work..
Fortunately the camper side of my door hinges and latches were not glued on, can't say if that's typical or not. Unbolting and door removal is straight forward once the hydraulic cylinder is pulled along with the limit strap. Next was fishing out the nuts from the door frame extrusions and swapping them to the opposing sides in roughly the right locations. This was a bit of a pain but I found that the nuts can be easily held in the right location using a small ball of butyl tape sealant stuck in the extrusion under each nut.
Once the fasteners were reversed I hung the door back on to line everything up and snug everything down. No Molle panel interference - sweet!
All that was left now was addressing the light on the door (which was now too low) and the hydraulic cylinder and limit strap. The bracket for the hydraulic cylinder is made in a way that can't easily be reversed to the top driver side corner. I debated remaking one out of steel but after looking at how I planned on how I was going to do my interior cabinets I realized that I could just install the OEM bracket in the lower driver side corner and it'd be plenty out of the way. This also allowed me to use the OEM riv-nuts in the door for the opposing end of the cylinder - win-win.
Drilling out the rivets was a bit of a pain due to the limited access but not too bad. The bracket is glued on too. I was able to use a plastic putty knife to work it loose then just gave it a good yank. After cleaning up the area I enlarger the holes slightly and tapped them for stainless ¼"-20 screws and installed which allows the door to be put back to OE later if desired.
Next I lined up the bracket in the lower left corner and drilled and tapped four holes there to hold the bracket. I didn't want the limit strap hanging out the bottom of the door so I moved it to the top left side with a couple more drilled and tapped holes.
The last real chore was moving the bumper/shim thing on the frame from the left side to the right side. Again, drill the rivet and pry free of the glue and line up on the opposing side. I had some countersunk ¼"-20 stainless hardware lying around that worked great for filling the original rivet hole and securing the bumper on the right side.
The light move was easy as well only requiring a few more drilled holes and some wire extensions. While drilling I figured I'd move my license plate to the back door so I could free up my hitch for towing. I used to mount the plate either there on on my tire carrier but it would be covered by the trasharoo...
I'm still using the OE shipping container style door lock but plan to remove that soon for what I believe is a better setup. I plan to use a locking paddle latch like this (https://www.industrialhwe.com/locki...rd-4901-single-point-locking-paddle-latch.asp) and a bear claw automotive style latch (https://www.industrialhwe.com/rotary-latches/trimark-rotary-latch-two-rotor-right-hand.asp) to replace the whole setup. Hopefully there will be more to come on this latch setup in the next few weeks but the next update will be modifing my tire carrier swingout and propane carrier to work with the planned setup!
rino
Supporting Sponsor - OK4WD
Wild! Coming together nicely Matt, especially the taillight addition dig that. ?
For the latch, I still have a few extras of nearly the same latches here at the shop if you would like a few. This is the latch we ran on the Khaya campers from about 2018-2019, should work well if not adding load to the door like the spare tire, etc. The biggest lesson we learned was the linkage, threaded rod had too great defection and ultimately we laser cut flat adjustable linkage and it was a great solution.
Here is the instructions for the latch retro kit for the earlier plastic latch campers pre- 2018, hope it helps and feel free to bounce ideas if I can assist!
www.dropbox.com
For the latch, I still have a few extras of nearly the same latches here at the shop if you would like a few. This is the latch we ran on the Khaya campers from about 2018-2019, should work well if not adding load to the door like the spare tire, etc. The biggest lesson we learned was the linkage, threaded rod had too great defection and ultimately we laser cut flat adjustable linkage and it was a great solution.
Here is the instructions for the latch retro kit for the earlier plastic latch campers pre- 2018, hope it helps and feel free to bounce ideas if I can assist!
Dropbox
www.dropbox.com
2012Taco
AlumEscape
Wild! Coming together nicely Matt, especially the taillight addition dig that. ?
For the latch, I still have a few extras of nearly the same latches here at the shop if you would like a few. This is the latch we ran on the Khaya campers from about 2018-2019, should work well if not adding load to the door like the spare tire, etc. The biggest lesson we learned was the linkage, threaded rod had too great defection and ultimately we laser cut flat adjustable linkage and it was a great solution.
Here is the instructions for the latch retro kit for the earlier plastic latch campers pre- 2018, hope it helps and feel free to bounce ideas if I can assist!
Dropbox
Thanks Rin, I might take you up on that offer!