Hodakaguy's Overland Tacoma Builds - On to new adventures!

[Hodakaguy]

Continued from above......


Weather was awesome so I decided to snap some better pictures of the setup.

Batwing Awning deployed. Love the coverage of this awning! There are 3 legs that drop down so you can brace the awning for wind. Takes about 30 seconds to deploy.

Top up. Takes under 2 minutes to pop the top. The awning can go out with the top up or down.

Interior. Our interior has two beds (one up and the bottom couch rolls over into a bed as well). There is a forced air furnace, two batteries, LED lighting, forced ceiling fan, storage under the seat and in several cubby holes. We will install an ARB Fridge on the drivers side as well.

Nice and comfy!

Lower bed folded down. You can sleep here with the top down if you want to stealth camp.

Upper bed slid out to make a Queen size bed. I usually sleep sideways without sliding it out.

Beautiful day out!

Rear.

Batwing

More to come....

Hodakaguy

 

[codename607]

I think the bat wing is next on my list. As always...nice work bro!

 

[Ghost65]

When I grow up I wanna be this (these?) build(s).

I think a lot of the problems the world is facing these days could be solved with some time in the garage with dad.

Great quote...forum gold sir... :ylsmoke:

Oh...and I will be...



...to this thread.

 

[Space Wrangler]

Awesome shot of Hood

 

[Hodakaguy]

I think the bat wing is next on my list. As always...nice work bro!

Thanks, the Batwing is a slick unit. Deploys in about 30 seconds and offers a ton of coverage.

Hodakaguy

 

[Hodakaguy]

Awesome shot of Hood

Yeah the weather was just perfect...I should have swapped lenses and snapped a few more pics while we were there.

Hodakaguy

 

[Hodakaguy]

Testing the ARB fridge for fit in the camper. The ledge in the shell model is a perfect fit for the ARB!

ARB Compressor Fridge/Freezer. These units are awesome, very efficient and keeps items cold or frozen if needed. You also loose less cool air when you open the lid compared to a standard fridge with the door on the side.

This is the area in the camper where the stove and sink would be if you ordered the full camper model. Since we ordered the Shell model the kitchen was left out and this empty bench is left. The ARB makes a better fridge and we found we didn't use the water system in our VW Syncro so the shell model works perfect for us. I will use backpack camping gear for cooking etc.

And fridge in place. Fit's perfectly on the shelf. I will make a tie down attachment point to anchor the fridge in place.

Hodakaguy

 

[patoz]

I like the chest type freezer/fridge also, and it's what I'll be using in my ambulance/camper trailer. As much as I like the Isotherm two drawer units, I just don't have the room for one.

Beside keeping the cold air in when you open the door, the chest type can be moved to the outside or to another vehicle if need be. When it comes time to sell the camper you have, you can opt to keep the fridge if you want to, and use it in your new one. And...it provides a seat for the last person to the party!

 

[jgatliff]

AWESOME thread. Will you come build out my 4runner for me?

 

[Hodakaguy]

AWESOME thread. Will you come build out my 4runner for me?

If I had the time....but I already have about 100,000 more things to do lol

Hodakaguy

 

[Hodakaguy]

Our second SSO Bumper showed up and we opened it up for inspection.

The hoop on this one was straight so no having to cut and repair on the hoop like we did the first one......BUT. The welds holding the hoop on are terrible, I can't believe they allowed this to leave the factory this way. The rest of the welds on the bumper were OK but the ones on the hoop look bad and need to be fixed. The packaging was also terrible with very little padding in the box resulting in one of the sharp bottom corners becoming bent/cracked in shipping.

We didn't want to wait weeks for a new one so time to fix it so we can get the unit installed.

Bumper as it arrived.

Bent Corner

Factory SSO Welds on the hoop. Man I would be embarrassed to let this go out the door.

Going over the factory welds to clean them up. Not as pretty as starting with bare metal but a BIG improvement. Now it won't bug me to look at the bumper every time I walk by the truck

Straightening out the corner bend, welding it up and blending it back down again.

After welding we tweaked the sheet metal back to level above the light bar opening with a piece of wood and some wedges.

Now to get the bumpers primed, painted and installed.

More to come soon....

Hodakaguy

 

[Hodakaguy]

Update on the SSO Bumper. Kevin (Owner at SSO) posted on my FB post regarding the factory welds...here's his comment: " Tom, you're right. That weld is not acceptable. Had I seen it personally, it would have been re done. You are clearly a skilled craftsman and I wish all of my employees had you talents.

We have had our share of issues these past few months as we expand and hire new employees. I will be showing these photos and comments to my guys fist thing Monday morning so they understand the importance of their work. I'll also be personally reviewing our qc process to ensure this type of issue never happens again.

I've also initiated a refund for one of your bumpers because of the defects."

I appreciate Kevin reaching out and wanting to ensure these issues are fixed before sending out any more orders, shows that he cares about the reputation of his company and the quality of the product that he is putting out the door. Thanks Kevin.

Hodakguy

 

[Hodakaguy]

Time to get the bumpers coated in Primer.

LOTS of sanding and cleaning. These pics were taken before cleaning all the welds with a wire wheel.

Getting ready for Primer.

And 2K Epoxy bare metal primer applied. Now to let it dry and get the top coat applied.

More to come....

Hodakaguy

 

[patoz]

Man, your Dad is an artist with that welder!!

Have you contacted the bumper manufacturer yet, or are you planning to? If it was me, I would figure out how much time and materials I had invested in repairing them, based on the going labor rate, show them the before and after photos, and then demand a partial refund for that amount.

I'm sure those bumpers were not cheap, and there is no excuse for shoddy work like that!

 

[Hodakaguy]

See a couple posts above...the owner of the company actually replied to me on FB.

Hodakaguy