Lights and wiring!

This was a huge undertaking, I have a ton of lights and electrical equipment.

I installed the stock battery out of the 4Runner, but I would like to upgrade to a Die Hard Platinum down the road.





I picked up a stainless steel box for free, so I used it as my electrical control box. Here is the front of the control box; switches w/ waterproof boots, indicator lights, shore plug and digital voltmeter.



Shore plug in use, it connects to the batter charger/maintainer



Back side of the front panel



Inside the control box



Spare fuse block and master on-off switch/circuit breaker



Voltmeter

I figured if the 4Runner has rock lights, the trailer might as well have them too. They are one watt LED flood lights and there will be a three-position switch on the trailer that controls the lights:

Truck ON – The lights will turn on when I turn on the 4Runner’s rock lights, they will feed off the trucks electrical system. Great for night wheeling to camp, and situating the trailer in a good spot after dark.

OFF – Enough said

Trailer ON – The lights turn on, feeding off the trailer’s electrical system. Great for setting up camp, finding stuff under trailer, and making people think there’s a UFO hanging out in the woods.

The HID reverse light works the same way.

I'm still working on it, but it's getting close. I'll let you know when it's ready.

Is all that wiring done by your hand?

Yes, all from scratch. I don't know how much time I have in wiring the trailer but it's got to be at least 40 hours, probably a lot more. All the wiring exposed to the elements is double heat shrunk and loomed. There's two different electrical systems that come into play; the truck, and the trailer. Some accessories have the ability to be switched between the two.

And here are a couple pictures of it out on the trail

I guess that pretty much gets everyone up to speed on the trailer (basically a crash course), I skipped a lot of details so if you have a question just let me know.

I have a lot of little stuff that I want to complete, or change around on the trailer, and some larger projects too. Updates might be a little slow, the trailer is really just a hobby and I'm really busy this time of year.

That's really impressive, most people don't even attempt wiring something like that. If you don't mind me asking what is that you do for a living and where did you learn about electricity and how to weld like that?

I love the Tepui tent! It makes camping so nice!

Here's some pictures of the tent and trailer set up in Moab. The trailer does not normally set so tall, I stacked rocks/wood to level it and the stabilizer bars unweight the suspension which makes it taller.







And some night shots

I followed your build on YotaTech and I didn't think your trailer could get any better...but you have truly outdone yourself. The trailer looks amazing! I am especially impressed with the wiring, I can't even begin to imagine how difficult that was and how long it must have taken you. Very nice work man!

Thanks for the pics, those are great.

When are you taking orders...because my wife just peeked over my shoulder and said "how come we don't camp like that?" Great trailer.

Thank you Kurtis. My day job is fleet maintenance, mainly working on Ford Econoline vans. I'm in charge of 70 plus vehicles with one other mechanic, it keeps me really busy! As for the wiring and welding, I taught myself. We didn't have shop or welding classes at my school. So I bought a welder when I was 18, read a couple books and practiced.

For the wiring, I was always into loud car stereo's and lights in high school. I did hack jobs on my first couple cars, but I learned and the quality got better.

Building my last four rigs, and two trailers, has been the best practice I could ask for. Reading though other peoples builds on the internet is also a huge resource! This trailer has really made me step up in my metal fabrication and wiring, there is no choice when your building something from scratch. Thanks again!

Thanks man, it's nice to see you over here! I really appreciate the kind words, it's been a huge project but it's worth it. It gets a lot of attention when it's out on the road, trail and even the gas station!

Thanks! Haha, my wife thinks it's ridiculous, she says "You know, we could just put a tent on the ground, do we really need a trailer on 35's?". I beg to differ, why wouldn't you want this!