rideexileex
Senior Member
What are you using for a heater??
A.Wilson013's Build Thread
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A.Wilson013
New member
I just have one of these... Portable Buddy Heater with the hose to attach a big propane tank to it. We set it up down in the annex and leave the door to the sleeping area open. On high this thing makes it WARM in the tent. Like I said, I woke up sweating. On low it makes it right on the edge of comfortable. My arms and head get a little chilly when they're outside of the bag.
The new buddy heaters are "indoor safe" but I still keep the tank outside... makes me feel better. They also have a feature that turns them off if the heater falls over, or if it senses an oxygen level below a certain number. I toyed with it a bit and it actually turns off if you lean it back or forward about 15 degrees. I plan to build a little stand for it, but haven't gotten around to it yet. Thinking just a 2x4 square with a pretty wide base, and a spot for bungee cords to hold it to the frame.
The big buddy w/ 2 heating panels is a monster and puts out some serious heat. However, it's a LOT bigger. We use one when hunting and it heats a very large trailer very quickly.
If I were to do it again I think I'd get the "hunting buddy". That silent electric ignition would be awesome as sometimes it takes 50+ "clicks" to ignite the pilot on my heater. It's obnoxious. The hunting buddy also puts out 6000btu on low, where the portable buddy I have puts out 4000btu on low. On high the hunting buddy puts out 12000, while mine does 9000...
Thanks man =)
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Dephcon
New member
Lol, Country Restrictions CANADA... I guess the border guards aren't up to date on heater restrictions lol.
MillerPKA
New member
Looks great man! We are actually heading up to Whistler at the end of the month - can't wait!
I've been out snow camping twice with the RTT setup. The first time was low to mid 20s. No heat supply, just layers of blankets. It was bearable but would have liked some other source of heat. The second time was -5, and we were so freaking cold by the time we got to camp that none of us wanted to even get out to set up the tent. We all slept in our seats haha.
Too bad the rig won't be joining me in Whistler because I would love to explore with it up there, but that's a little out of my driving range right now. And with a round trip flight for $320 I couldn't say no.
I'll be joining the rear bumper/tire carrier club early next month. Every time I see a picture of it I get a little more ready for it. Excited to see what you have coming up man!
I've been out snow camping twice with the RTT setup. The first time was low to mid 20s. No heat supply, just layers of blankets. It was bearable but would have liked some other source of heat. The second time was -5, and we were so freaking cold by the time we got to camp that none of us wanted to even get out to set up the tent. We all slept in our seats haha.
Too bad the rig won't be joining me in Whistler because I would love to explore with it up there, but that's a little out of my driving range right now. And with a round trip flight for $320 I couldn't say no.
I'll be joining the rear bumper/tire carrier club early next month. Every time I see a picture of it I get a little more ready for it. Excited to see what you have coming up man!
A.Wilson013
New member
Yeah, I don't know what that's about. The model numbers are the same?? Mine has a little CSA certified sticker on it, so maybe that's why it made it through? Who knows. I wonder what the difference is.
You need to get yourself a better sleeping bag! We have slept in ours with single digit temps and it wasn't bad at all with just some 20 degree bags and a comforter on top. The heat makes it enjoyable, haha.
The snow was TERRIFIC up above where the first timers were riding. Up at the top of blackcomb was incredible. About a foot of dry powder EVERYWHERE. The rest of the mountain was pretty "meh", but it was still awesome.
The heater is AWESOME, but really only works if you have the annex set up. That's kinda a pain unless you're staying for a few days. If you're hanging out for awhile though it's a great space to dry clothes, escape the elements, etc. Pretty spacious.
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BigBluePile
New member
Nice man, sweet!
A.Wilson013
New member
Roof rack platform
Last night I was reading through [MENTION=44220]BigFishAllDay[/MENTION]'s build for the 1000th time and drooling over his rack for the 1000000th time. It was late, I was bored, so I drew a little something up in AutoCad and am having it made tomorrow...
So far I am in to it for $111 after buying the steel and having it cut. I didn't buy any mesh flooring for it at this time. I want to see how the "base" turns out before I do any of that stuff.
Here's what I have going on... If it works out I'll post dimensions and what not.
For the front mounts I am just going to have the fabricator get creative. I look at it, got confused, stopped looking at it.
Last night I was reading through [MENTION=44220]BigFishAllDay[/MENTION]'s build for the 1000th time and drooling over his rack for the 1000000th time. It was late, I was bored, so I drew a little something up in AutoCad and am having it made tomorrow...
So far I am in to it for $111 after buying the steel and having it cut. I didn't buy any mesh flooring for it at this time. I want to see how the "base" turns out before I do any of that stuff.
Here's what I have going on... If it works out I'll post dimensions and what not.
For the front mounts I am just going to have the fabricator get creative. I look at it, got confused, stopped looking at it.
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rideexileex
Senior Member
Do you have a tube bender?? or how are you doing the corners??
A.Wilson013
New member
Right? I am pretty happy with it.
I don't, but apparently the guy who is welding for me does. With that and a tool to notch the square tube he should make quick work of it. He said, "a couple hours- maybe a few". At 1/2 the price of local fab shops, I'll give him a shot.
rideexileex
Senior Member
Are you selling your WMW?
BigFishAllDay
New member
I'll be keeping an eye on the thread to see what you come up with. I replied to your PM, but let me know if you come up with other questions. I'm glad to see someone else take this idea and do something with it.
A.Wilson013
New member
Kinda funny... Minutes after Slee offroad liked my progress picture on Instagram they posted a picture pimping the FrontRunner rack on a 3rd gen and how it's the best rack for the money hands down. I ain't ballin' like that!
Here are some iPhone progress shots from yesterday... I took more on my camera, but they'll have to wait until it's complete.
Done.
I was THINKING black, but that's so played out. I wanted to go for a more "Navidad" look, with a subtle shoutout to the Seachickens.Interesting color combo that you're going for with that rack.
:behindsofa:
Uh oh.
I am stoked on the design- it's turning out really well. Just need to knock out the front feet today.
Here are some iPhone progress shots from yesterday... I took more on my camera, but they'll have to wait until it's complete.
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A.Wilson013
New member
He has a big ship wheel looking bender thing, but that was not my intent. I unfortunately don't often carry things that are shaped like my 4Runner's roof =) My goal was a perfectly level platform from front to back. I don't know if it's PERFECTLY level, but it's close.
My thoughts...
I am very excited about how the rack turned out and am looking forward to sharing completed pictures, and showing it off to anyone in person. I was skeptical about finding a welder/fabricator on craigslist, but right when I met this guy I knew he wasn't some tweaker selling his scraps for meth money. That's a big plus in my book. When I asked if I could hang out for a bit since I had nowhere else to go he was fine with it, and I actually ended up staying there and bs'ing with him throughout the project while he worked. In retrospect, I am sure that he could have completed it more quickly without me there chatting, but I think we both had a good time. In addition to that I think my being there with the 4Runner and being able to offer my input whenever a question came up was pretty valuable. In the end every piece of the rack is exactly how I wanted it. No more, and no less. I got exactly what I paid for and within 48 hours of my concept.
Here's the rack all finished up before it went off to get powder coated...
DSC_0318 by Alex Wilson, on FlickrAnd some randoms from along the way...
DSC_0219 by Alex Wilson, on Flickr
DSC_0273 by Alex Wilson, on Flickr
DSC_0224 by Alex Wilson, on Flickr
DSC_0229 by Alex Wilson, on Flickr
DSC_0250 by Alex Wilson, on Flickr
DSC_0246 by Alex Wilson, on Flickr
DSC_0276 by Alex Wilson, on Flickr
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