Toyotie, part 10: Taking Stock

So… I’ve had Toyotie for a couple of months now. It came to me with a few key mods already in place. Since then, I’ve installed the ARB front bumper and Warn VR12000 winch, replaced the interior lights with LEDs, gotten the Sirius XM sat radio working, installed the RAM Mount for the iPad 2, and replaced the anemic stock horns with aftermarket ones that sound normal. And a few other things here and there.

I’ve also worked on some associated projects. I’m slowly picking up bits and pieces for the camp kitchen, putting together an updated tool kit, and updating my recovery gear.

For the near future, there are other mods that require multiple parts, or are really multiple modifications that I plan to do at the same time. The radios – CB and ham – are a good example. Each consists of a radio, external speaker, antenna cable, antenna and mount, and all of the associated wiring. I’ve gathered up the parts for a couple of these projects and have others on the way. Still others will be ordered when my budget allows.

With the auxiliary fuel tank in place, it’s now time to take a step back and consider how the next puzzle pieces should fit together, and in what order. And I may as well write a blog post out of this, because it’s going to help me think things out and get it all written down. Key the 200-yard stare and absent-minded tapping of a pencil on my desk…

There are several smaller things that will get done, but they can be done at any point, really. The planing is most needed for two more involved projects:

Project #1: Roof Rack

The roof rack forms the basis of this project. The rack itself is a custom one, and while it’s good overall it does need some attention. First, it has small gaps in some of the welds. Jeff, my Jeep shop guy, actually snickered when I mentioned these. Those welds need to be cleaned up to prevent cracks/breaks and to keep water out of the interior of the steel tubing.

Next, the current rack floorboards are made of marine-grade plastic slats and they really have to go, because they suck. A replacement floorplate or slats needs to be put in place, preferably one that doesn’t block my beloved moon roof. Tabs for lights in the front will also be added, and the whole rack should be powder-coated in lieu of the current spray paint.

Next, the CB and ham radio antennas need to be wired and mounted to the back of the rack. I also plan to move the excellent Land Rover work light off the back of the Jeep’s roof rack, to a comparable spot on the Land Cruiser’s rack. Up front, driving/spot lights will be mounted. All of the lights will need to be wired in properly, with switches installed on the dash.

A couple of sets of Quick-Fists will probably wrap up the roof rack project.

Project #2: Power

This project involves setting up the dual-battery system and a six-terminal block under the hood. The second battery tray (and prerequisite relocation of the washer bottle) come in the form of two kits from Slee Offroad. Then the second battery (exact battery TBD – perhaps my spare Odyssey) goes in and the IBS dual-battery setup is installed.

In the meantime, the 6-terminal block is also installed somewhere under the hood, and it provides the wiring destination for all those lights and the ham radio in that other project. That means that while some of the work can obviously be done in parallel, really this power project is ideally done as a prerequisite to the big roof rack project.

There are other modifications to be done – the intake snorkel, dealing with the cargo area, axle breather extensions, mounts for a fire extinguisher and the PowerTank, installation of an ARB compressor, etc. But the two projects above comprise the remaining two confirmed big projects I have in mind for Toyotie. I’m hoping that after those, I’ll only have small mods remaining, and I can concentrate on completing the camp kitchen project.