Building My Overland Tacoma: Plans, Progress, Perplexions

[Overland Hadley]

 

[daverami]

Oh no! Not another aux battery thread! But ... if you're still building a sleeping platform, now might be a good time to think about installing an aux battery system if you think you'll ever need one. I really like the convenience of having surplus power for camp lighting and convenience items for those 'late stop/quick camp' nights. I put a deep-cycle battery under the platform at center-forward in my truck bed to put the weight in the right place. I ran DC and AC outlets (from additional inverters) to the back of the bed and up into the cab. Both batteries are isolated and both charge off the truck's heavy duty alternator. Nothing I use for camping, airing up, convenience items, etc draws off my starter battery, and they can be cross-connected if I need to jump start the truck some morning (really the main purpose for installing it!).

A design note: On the bed platform, I designed the rear section to flip up to allow me to carry gas cans, water jugs, etc in the back part. The whole platform can be unloaded and completely removed in about 1:20, including the cap.

The AGM batteries aren't supposed to off-gas, but if some failure causes you to overcharge the aux battery in the hot desert (my normal haunt) it theoretically could. For that reason, I chose the Optima D31T, which has a sealed vent port that I routed outside the shell for safety. The entire set-up is fully fused and protected from shorts and overload.

In-process photos available if you'd like to see more details. Good luck on your truck -- it's looking nice!

Michael,

Do you have a writeup on your battery install. Really looks good.

 

[Overland Hadley]

Wet Okole HI Seat Covers

Here they are, waterproof Wet Okole HI seat covers!

Summer sees a lot of "wet butt" time in the truck, and I quickly found out that the Tacoma seats leaves a lot to be desired when they get wet. And if you have ever had a gallon of milk spilled on your seats, you will start to think that seat covers are an even better idea. (These seat covers cost just a little more than it cost to clean up the milk, and the car still smells rotten, literally.)

I bought them from Wet Okole. (Link Here) But I have since found out that Sierra Expeditions carries them. (Link Here)

I do not have any pictures of putting them on, because the temperature was hovering right around 0 F. This was much better than the previous few days, where the wind chill was 50 below 0. But it was still plenty cold.

They are something of a pain to get on. The first seat took over two hours to complete, and the second seat was only slightly better at an hour and a half. It is definitely necessary to have a female friend helping, as there was no way that I could have gotten my hands way under the seat to work with the buckles.

The only issue I had when putting them on is: I had to cut the straps holding the upholstery flap that covers the back bottom of the seat. Wet Okole said they could just get unsnapped, but it's more of a grommet than a snap holding it on, and there was no way to get it off without cutting it.

Overall I am very pleased with the covers. Fit looks almost factory and they are super comfortable. The cover for the center console could use some better design work, but that is of little matter.

Here are the pictures.

 

[Streakerfreak]

Looks good! They are a pain in the butt to put on. I had to put one side on a Jeep before at the shop and it took me about an hour. I'm glad I get paid hourly. The covers work really well though.

 

[richard cabesa]

Your truck is looking very good. Lots of useful mods :thumb

Have you had ANY trouble with the Thule rack bases stayin put on the cab of the truck?

My dealer here that sells both Thule and Yakima said that he has seen both brands fail and come off the cab in the rough stuff. :Wow1:

 

[Streakerfreak]

Your truck is looking very good. Lots of useful mods :thumb

Have you had ANY trouble with the Thule rack bases stayin put on the cab of the truck?

My dealer here that sells both Thule and Yakima said that he has seen both brands fail and come off the cab in the rough stuff. :Wow1:

I have a similar base set up as him (Tracker II) and I have had no problems in rough stuff even holding two sea kayaks and other gear. You have to wonder if the people who came back with broken bases is, were they overloading the bars.

 

[richard cabesa]

Not broken bases. they pulled the clips from the door jamb. I'm sure overloading was the cause but just wondering if anyone is seeing any movement there.

Good to know you are not haveing problems with yours. Although kayaks are not excessively heavy, they do have a fare bit of leverage due to their lenght.

 

[Overland Hadley]

Your truck is looking very good. Lots of useful mods :thumb

Have you had ANY trouble with the Thule rack bases stayin put on the cab of the truck?

My dealer here that sells both Thule and Yakima said that he has seen both brands fail and come off the cab in the rough stuff.

After more than a decade of using Thule bars on vehicles, I have never had any problems. And I have used them a lot. I have routinely loaded one set up with about 400 pounds of sea kayaks, thats a lot of weight and a lot of length. I also worked at a store that sold Thule and never had anybody come back with any problems. Just check them from time to time to make sure they are fitting tight, and make sure you install them correctly.

That said, they do have their limits. (And that limit is well below the 400 pounds mentioned above) Like anything, if you exceed the recommended limits, and bash away at them, I am sure they will have problems. But I have never had any problems with them.

 

[richard cabesa]

Good info, Thanks

 

[Overland Hadley]

I finished my sleeping platform-storage area the other night. It came together nicely. I will take some pictures of my design, and post a write up in the next day or two.

 

[viatierra]

Hey those covers look awesome. I wonder if something like this is available heated.

 

[Overland Hadley]

Hey those covers look awesome. I wonder if something like this is available heated.

Heated seats would be nice, nothing like them when it gets really cold.

 

[Overland Hadley]

I took out the rear seats, because I did not like the space they took up when they were folded down. Not only was it a waste of good storage space, but the folded seats then kept the front seats from sliding all the way back. However, I carry some large Pelican Cases and needed a long and wide area for them to sit.

So here is what I built. It gives a flat space for the cases, allows the seat to go all the way back, and is perfect storage for canned food.

 

[richard cabesa]

Looking good, nice and simple. I'm working on mine now as well


I should take a lessom

 

[rovingowl]

nice looking covers. looking forward to your sleeping platform write-up