SoTxAg06
Active member
Ha, I was thinking the same thing.
The camera on my 18 has glitched out once. After slamming the tailgate hard, and it hasn’t happened again.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Bought a Power Wagon, Attempting to Document
- Thread starter DirtRoads
- Start date
Ha, I was thinking the same thing.
The camera on my 18 has glitched out once. After slamming the tailgate hard, and it hasn’t happened again.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Here's a picture of what my backup camera was doing. The dealership is throwing a new camera at it, hopefully that takes care of it.
In the meantime, rocking the FJ62 around town. It's an 88 with about 280k on it. I bought it non-running and neglected for $350 USD (not a typo) and have been bringing it back to life over the last few years. DD for about the last 1.5 years. Just got a fresh Tough Dog suspension on it this month and haven't had it out much since buying the new truck. It's not Domestic Full Size and Other, but my thread my rules.
vs day 1
In the meantime, rocking the FJ62 around town. It's an 88 with about 280k on it. I bought it non-running and neglected for $350 USD (not a typo) and have been bringing it back to life over the last few years. DD for about the last 1.5 years. Just got a fresh Tough Dog suspension on it this month and haven't had it out much since buying the new truck. It's not Domestic Full Size and Other, but my thread my rules.
vs day 1
So I have gotten some more mileage on the truck and have a few things to show. The backup camera issue was resolved by the dealer with a fresh camera. No biggie. They also replaced the shift solenoids in the trans as part of a recall, so that's cool. Upon leaving the dealership, a traction light was illuminated and I got a message saying "Service Electronic Braking System." The dealer looked at it and needed more time with the truck, I went ahead and took it for a week or so then returned it. Turns out the ABS module was bad. Replaced under warranty. Weird, but whatever.
So after a few weeks of uneventful daily driving, I loaded it up to haul my Land Cruiser to Eastern Kentucky to run some of the Kentucky Adventure Tour with some friends. I elected to tow the LC because it is pretty gutless, has a probably untouched 280k automatic transmission, and I have this awesome new truck to take advantage of. Pic below:
Well as luck would have it, I blew a trailer tire like 30 minutes from home. I didn't have a second spare, had like 400 miles to go, and I had a deadline for my arrival time. This was most unfortunate because the truck was working so well and comfortably, I was just enjoying the ride. So, I decided to 180 the whole rig and come back to Memphis. I dropped the PW and trailer off at a friend's and hit the road in the LC. Sketch level went to max, but the LC did great on the entire trip. Honestly that trip is worthy of its own thread, but I'll drop some pics here because I do what I want.
So after a few weeks of uneventful daily driving, I loaded it up to haul my Land Cruiser to Eastern Kentucky to run some of the Kentucky Adventure Tour with some friends. I elected to tow the LC because it is pretty gutless, has a probably untouched 280k automatic transmission, and I have this awesome new truck to take advantage of. Pic below:
Well as luck would have it, I blew a trailer tire like 30 minutes from home. I didn't have a second spare, had like 400 miles to go, and I had a deadline for my arrival time. This was most unfortunate because the truck was working so well and comfortably, I was just enjoying the ride. So, I decided to 180 the whole rig and come back to Memphis. I dropped the PW and trailer off at a friend's and hit the road in the LC. Sketch level went to max, but the LC did great on the entire trip. Honestly that trip is worthy of its own thread, but I'll drop some pics here because I do what I want.
So upon returning, I got a call that my ARE CXHD is finally ready. Delivery was right at 4 weeks. I went with the sportsman windows that both tilt and have sliding vent windows, a headliner, and a roof rack. This is the HD model that has the extruded aluminum skeleton inside making your roof rack capable of holding like 500lbs. Pricing including paint was like 2800, a number that you will not ever find without contacting a dealer.
I'm not big on youtube style gear reviews, but I'll include some pics and impressions below:
Installation at the ARE dealer was quick and relatively painless. That was a $50 fee that they don't really let you out of, but whatever. They forklifted the junt onto my truck and clamped it down. Wiring was left exposed and scotch-locked into the factory harness. I'm not crazy about that at all but it's an easy fix. It works for now and that's fine, I'm going to wire it up with some interior lighting and will take care of that then. Windows were ops checked good, paint matched great, fitment to the cab and bed are good. There is some wind noise with the roof rack but if that bothers you, find a different hobby.
Notice the little scoop at the bottom of the rear window to cover the tailgate lip. This seems to do a good job of making the windoor seal well. It's plastic but it seems sturdy, installed with pop rivets. If it ever gets wobbly I'll just shoot some cherry-max rivets into it.
The interior structure cuts down on headroom slightly on the outboard sections of the unit. Not a major deal considering the tradeoffs. I was more concerned with space along the sides near the walls. While the HD structure does cut down on that, it won't affect me. The entire extrusions are made to accept T-nuts, so you could put mounting points in the railing wherever you want. I'm not sure how to go about getting the T-nuts into the channel, but I'll get there some day. My interior lighting will be adhesive backed LED strips stuck to these rails. I'll mount a switch box to the rail somewhere and some sort of QD plug so that the wiring/switches go with the topper and the power/ground stay with the truck. If I ever remove the topper, that should make things easy.
I'm not big on youtube style gear reviews, but I'll include some pics and impressions below:
Installation at the ARE dealer was quick and relatively painless. That was a $50 fee that they don't really let you out of, but whatever. They forklifted the junt onto my truck and clamped it down. Wiring was left exposed and scotch-locked into the factory harness. I'm not crazy about that at all but it's an easy fix. It works for now and that's fine, I'm going to wire it up with some interior lighting and will take care of that then. Windows were ops checked good, paint matched great, fitment to the cab and bed are good. There is some wind noise with the roof rack but if that bothers you, find a different hobby.
Notice the little scoop at the bottom of the rear window to cover the tailgate lip. This seems to do a good job of making the windoor seal well. It's plastic but it seems sturdy, installed with pop rivets. If it ever gets wobbly I'll just shoot some cherry-max rivets into it.
The interior structure cuts down on headroom slightly on the outboard sections of the unit. Not a major deal considering the tradeoffs. I was more concerned with space along the sides near the walls. While the HD structure does cut down on that, it won't affect me. The entire extrusions are made to accept T-nuts, so you could put mounting points in the railing wherever you want. I'm not sure how to go about getting the T-nuts into the channel, but I'll get there some day. My interior lighting will be adhesive backed LED strips stuck to these rails. I'll mount a switch box to the rail somewhere and some sort of QD plug so that the wiring/switches go with the topper and the power/ground stay with the truck. If I ever remove the topper, that should make things easy.
Last edited:
The sleep/storage platform build has begun. Keep in mind, I am no carpenter. I can bend wrenches with the best of them but something about working with organic material destined to rot does not compute with my brain. I have essentially copied another member's build (going to look up who and edit this post) because of his modular and lightweight design with maximum available headroom (I'm about 6'3".). Headroom thus far is comparable to what I had in my F350 with the high topper, being able to just sit up inside. Honestly I could use more but I'm as low to the wheel wells as possible without going between them. With that build I had to put my 35x12.5 spare under the platform or build a swingout, not ideal either way. I learned a lot from that build that I am trying to factor into this one.
Going with sanded plywood for a good smooth finish, the outdoor plywood of the previous build was stout but rough. 3/4" for the top deck because it doesn't cost much more and it's a 3/4 ton truck.. or something.
Gotta start somewhere
Longitudinal outboard pieces that will bolt to the lateral 2x6 pieces. I'm either going with bolts and lock nuts or T-nuts, not sure which. And either recessed into a hole cut with a spade bit or those pronged nuts used for furniture, not sure which. Attempting to minimize gaps along the bed while maximizing space.
Central member completed. Making it hard on myself by attempting to not have any screw heads showing from above. Laminated 3/4 plywood, 2x6, 3x4 plywood. This will hopefully be quite strong and resistant to moving side to side as it is only going to be secured on the one end. It sandwiches the center 2x6, the bottom piece of plywood is much wider than the top so that I can keep my hatches large but still install a large number of bolts.
Hatches are going to have lift off hinges also so that they are easily removable. Hopefully the hardware install will also allow for a quick install.
That's as far as I have gotten for now. Hopefully just one overpriced piece of plywood away from having hatches and a forward center support.
Going with sanded plywood for a good smooth finish, the outdoor plywood of the previous build was stout but rough. 3/4" for the top deck because it doesn't cost much more and it's a 3/4 ton truck.. or something.
Gotta start somewhere
Longitudinal outboard pieces that will bolt to the lateral 2x6 pieces. I'm either going with bolts and lock nuts or T-nuts, not sure which. And either recessed into a hole cut with a spade bit or those pronged nuts used for furniture, not sure which. Attempting to minimize gaps along the bed while maximizing space.
Central member completed. Making it hard on myself by attempting to not have any screw heads showing from above. Laminated 3/4 plywood, 2x6, 3x4 plywood. This will hopefully be quite strong and resistant to moving side to side as it is only going to be secured on the one end. It sandwiches the center 2x6, the bottom piece of plywood is much wider than the top so that I can keep my hatches large but still install a large number of bolts.
Hatches are going to have lift off hinges also so that they are easily removable. Hopefully the hardware install will also allow for a quick install.
That's as far as I have gotten for now. Hopefully just one overpriced piece of plywood away from having hatches and a forward center support.
Definitely lame. Once the scotch locks are gone it won't ever matter, but when I saw them come out I cringed.
I'm terrified to cut the factory harness with the way the CanBus measures amperage and will throw a code if anything is off.
Ok.......so what's the stock gears and current tire size then?
4.10 and 37s
Yeah, that's a fact. We'll see what happens.
On a related note, I found some bad wiring on my car hauler. My other truck wasn't sensitive enough to have a problem, but it blew a 20A fuse on this one. Dealer only, had to go to two dealers to find one. New trucks are an adjustment.
