AirspeedX's Build / Trips
- Thread starter AirspeedX
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AirspeedX
New member
Local Trail
This was a very random trip. Started off on a local trail that turned narrower and narrower. Terrain was easy, a bit of mud here and there but the overgrown brush was a PITA. I got a couple good pinstripes that need attention. I also knocked off the magnetic CB antenna (write-up to come) without knowing, which scraped the crap out of my roof.
She's turning more and more into a used Runner - that's for sure!
Bit of a predicament here. If I continued forward, the rear tire would drop in and I'd likely scrape the body on the log. I ended up reversing off the log, dragged it away (a winch would have been nice here) and then continued on.
This got the heart ticking pretty good. The trail was eroding away and sloping towards the edge. Plus it was slick. There would be no recovery if we slipped in. Probably not my brightest idea to continue, but we did...
All in all, it was nice to have the extra 3" of clearance with the new OME setup. It makes crossing the lower areas of the trail with deep tire ruts so much easier. Overhead branches, not so much. The Baja rack can take the beating though.
This was a very random trip. Started off on a local trail that turned narrower and narrower. Terrain was easy, a bit of mud here and there but the overgrown brush was a PITA. I got a couple good pinstripes that need attention. I also knocked off the magnetic CB antenna (write-up to come) without knowing, which scraped the crap out of my roof.
She's turning more and more into a used Runner - that's for sure!
Bit of a predicament here. If I continued forward, the rear tire would drop in and I'd likely scrape the body on the log. I ended up reversing off the log, dragged it away (a winch would have been nice here) and then continued on.
This got the heart ticking pretty good. The trail was eroding away and sloping towards the edge. Plus it was slick. There would be no recovery if we slipped in. Probably not my brightest idea to continue, but we did...
All in all, it was nice to have the extra 3" of clearance with the new OME setup. It makes crossing the lower areas of the trail with deep tire ruts so much easier. Overhead branches, not so much. The Baja rack can take the beating though.
AirspeedX
New member
3 more mods!
Within the last week, I decided to focus more on electrical and finished up three more smaller mods.
1 - Independent Fog Lights (on/off whenever I want). I elected to wire them up so that they can be left on when the ignition is off. I may be playing with fire here, but the main reason was so that I could use them for night time camp setups. Thanks to [MENTION=65614]Antman[/MENTION] for his detailed write-up on this mod in his build thread.
2 - Constant power to the DC socket up front beside the Aux port. I just tapped the green wire into another constant 12v circuit (fogs). Pretty easy.
3 - LED Interior Light swap. Bought a kit on eBay for $20. Some bulbs only have 6 LEDs max and I see other kits with 12. I didn't realize this at the time of purchase. However, I tested them out last night and they were still very bright. I really wouldn't want anything brighter up front for the map and vanity lights. That being said, the rear hatch lights could never be bright enough. I may look into getting a couple led's that have the 12 led's per bulb in the future. Very easy to install.
Follow this video for LED Interior installation
I found that the center dome light was a real PITA! My bulb was 1-2 mm too long. I ended up grinding the ends down a touch. Then, I took one end right off (heated it up with a solder gun). Grinded the base of that end down another mm. Resoldered it on and made a pointy tip with another blob of solder. After that, it slipped right in. I guess that's what you get for a cheap eBay kit. You'd never know now.
Within the last week, I decided to focus more on electrical and finished up three more smaller mods.
1 - Independent Fog Lights (on/off whenever I want). I elected to wire them up so that they can be left on when the ignition is off. I may be playing with fire here, but the main reason was so that I could use them for night time camp setups. Thanks to [MENTION=65614]Antman[/MENTION] for his detailed write-up on this mod in his build thread.
2 - Constant power to the DC socket up front beside the Aux port. I just tapped the green wire into another constant 12v circuit (fogs). Pretty easy.
3 - LED Interior Light swap. Bought a kit on eBay for $20. Some bulbs only have 6 LEDs max and I see other kits with 12. I didn't realize this at the time of purchase. However, I tested them out last night and they were still very bright. I really wouldn't want anything brighter up front for the map and vanity lights. That being said, the rear hatch lights could never be bright enough. I may look into getting a couple led's that have the 12 led's per bulb in the future. Very easy to install.
Follow this video for LED Interior installation
I found that the center dome light was a real PITA! My bulb was 1-2 mm too long. I ended up grinding the ends down a touch. Then, I took one end right off (heated it up with a solder gun). Grinded the base of that end down another mm. Resoldered it on and made a pointy tip with another blob of solder. After that, it slipped right in. I guess that's what you get for a cheap eBay kit. You'd never know now.
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AirspeedX
New member
CB Part 1
I have also been working on getting my CB installed. I bought a Midland radio about 5 years ago, used it for one trip (driving from Ontario to Alberta) and it's been sitting on the shelf since. Time to change that!
For the cleanest power, I ran a line straight from the battery terminal (fused) to the box. I will be installing a BlueSea fuse block in the future.
I decided to stuff the CB Radio in the centre console. I used a couple 90 degree wall brackets for this and attached them to the plastic divider that we all have. Pretty straight forward. I grinded some length off one end of each bracket, lined everything up, marked and drilled. A couple bolts in and done! This is nice because the CB can slide out to make plugging in the antenna and ext audio cord easy. See pics below.
I seemed to have lost my other pictures of this install to date.
The + and - wires were run through the bottom of the centre console (drilled a hole) and forward past the shifter and behind the centre dash. I grounded to the frame and the positive continued through the firewall to the battery. The External speaker 3.5mm cord was run the same way. Drilled a hole in the small storage shelf in the centre of our dash and ran the cable through that and plugged it into the aux port.
Right now, I'm running a magnetic antenna. This is very temporary. 3' Firestik II is on it's way in. I'll be mounting this by the rear hatch.
More pics to come in a couple weeks when the parts all arrive.
I have also been working on getting my CB installed. I bought a Midland radio about 5 years ago, used it for one trip (driving from Ontario to Alberta) and it's been sitting on the shelf since. Time to change that!
For the cleanest power, I ran a line straight from the battery terminal (fused) to the box. I will be installing a BlueSea fuse block in the future.
I decided to stuff the CB Radio in the centre console. I used a couple 90 degree wall brackets for this and attached them to the plastic divider that we all have. Pretty straight forward. I grinded some length off one end of each bracket, lined everything up, marked and drilled. A couple bolts in and done! This is nice because the CB can slide out to make plugging in the antenna and ext audio cord easy. See pics below.
I seemed to have lost my other pictures of this install to date.
The + and - wires were run through the bottom of the centre console (drilled a hole) and forward past the shifter and behind the centre dash. I grounded to the frame and the positive continued through the firewall to the battery. The External speaker 3.5mm cord was run the same way. Drilled a hole in the small storage shelf in the centre of our dash and ran the cable through that and plugged it into the aux port.
Right now, I'm running a magnetic antenna. This is very temporary. 3' Firestik II is on it's way in. I'll be mounting this by the rear hatch.
More pics to come in a couple weeks when the parts all arrive.
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AirspeedX
New member
Well I haven't disappeared. Time for some updates in the next few days.
To finish off the CB project of this thread, I had purchased the Firestik II from Northridge 4x4 in Edmonton (along with some nice Staun tire deflators).
Running the wire from the rear hatch to the front was a pita. Not a huge deal but I'd rather be wrenching than dealing with electronics in any form. Anyways, it's all installed. The Firestik quick disconnect is a must for driving into the garage or leaving the Runner in a public area for any time. Off and on in seconds. To be perfectly honest, not sure if this was a mod worth doing. Haven't even used the cb yet! Nobody is my local off-road group runs one. May come in handy one day...
To finish off the CB project of this thread, I had purchased the Firestik II from Northridge 4x4 in Edmonton (along with some nice Staun tire deflators).
Running the wire from the rear hatch to the front was a pita. Not a huge deal but I'd rather be wrenching than dealing with electronics in any form. Anyways, it's all installed. The Firestik quick disconnect is a must for driving into the garage or leaving the Runner in a public area for any time. Off and on in seconds. To be perfectly honest, not sure if this was a mod worth doing. Haven't even used the cb yet! Nobody is my local off-road group runs one. May come in handy one day...
AirspeedX
New member
Aurora 20" lightbar installed.
Drilled and tapped into the aluminum crash bar. This thing is bright! Very happy with it for the night runs we do.
I'll soon need to be removing this lightbar and relocating it. It's going to be in the way... I kept the lower grille out so I have easy access to slip the plastic cover on when it's not being used. Protects it from rocks that get thrown at me constantly over here and I like the 'out of sight out of mind' saying... Legalities and thieves.
Drilled and tapped into the aluminum crash bar. This thing is bright! Very happy with it for the night runs we do.
I'll soon need to be removing this lightbar and relocating it. It's going to be in the way... I kept the lower grille out so I have easy access to slip the plastic cover on when it's not being used. Protects it from rocks that get thrown at me constantly over here and I like the 'out of sight out of mind' saying... Legalities and thieves.
AirspeedX
New member
Went out to help rescue a Jeep and while reversing out of an off-camber trail, my front end slid into some trees.
Serious scratches, rear pax door dented pretty hard (although I was able to pull most of it out). Worst trail rash yet but I'm finally over it.
I've been meaning to re-paint this rig and now that is definitely on the to-do list this summer. Stay tuned...
Side note - I didn't have my sliders installed. Although, I'm not sure if they would have kept the door panel off the tree as it was on such an angle. Either way, I wish I had them on!
Most of the scratches came out after a good handbuff with Mother's Scratch Remover (or whatever it's called).
Oh - and as for the bumper - well that was coming off anyway. I'm fabbing up a new one.
Serious scratches, rear pax door dented pretty hard (although I was able to pull most of it out). Worst trail rash yet but I'm finally over it.
I've been meaning to re-paint this rig and now that is definitely on the to-do list this summer. Stay tuned...
Side note - I didn't have my sliders installed. Although, I'm not sure if they would have kept the door panel off the tree as it was on such an angle. Either way, I wish I had them on!
Most of the scratches came out after a good handbuff with Mother's Scratch Remover (or whatever it's called).
Oh - and as for the bumper - well that was coming off anyway. I'm fabbing up a new one.
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Diver Deuce
New member
Windshield washer reservoir relocated. Thought a bit outside the box on this one but it works!
Just need to build a bracket for it.
Ghettofabulous but functional....
AirspeedX
New member
I wasn't about to pay a ton of money on a mod so simple. I was looking all over town for a coolant overflow tank or washer reservoir but none were going to fit very well. Then this idea came and I went for it.
Just get a holesaw and drill 1 1/4" holes, sand them smooth and extend your pump wire harness by about 2 1/2-3 feet. I didn't bother shortening the fluid hoses.
FactoryRide
New member
May have to steal you cost effective solution to relocating the windshield washer bottle!
I see a bumper in your avatar, but nothing on your build thread? Any updates?
I see a bumper in your avatar, but nothing on your build thread? Any updates?
rochmpr
Senior Member
At least you still have the function. Nothing like diving to Moab and squinting to see between the bug splatter accumulated between fill-ups.
Dirty Brigade
New member
Nice thread. I love the use of the gas can!
FactoryRide
New member
I just keep a spray bottle within reach. I still haven't perfected the technique but it works.
rochmpr
Senior Member
At 75 mph, that method just is inadequate, except for making the matter worse. 250 miles between gas worked. But hey, better than having a VW bus with non functioning wipers in the rain and snow and reaching out with a squeegee while being wet, cold and 4" of snow inside the bus.
