Bandit Runner's Build Thread

[Bandit Runner]

A couple of miscellaneous scenery pics:

Here's a crazy right angle tree we came across in the woods:

 

[Bandit Runner]

Miscellaneous truck pics from the trip:

And this is what a weeks worth of fun looks like:

It took my 3 days to clean the truck up, inside and out. But it was worth it.

 

[Bandit Runner]

I always enjoy checking out your build thread! Top notch work!

That's a lot of gear you hauled (3 kayaks, 3 bikes, firewood, etc.)

*Good times with the family is what it's all about- :nicethread:

Thanks man! The firewood, we cut once we got there. We didn't haul it up there, but it was still quite a load with the kayaks, bikes and all our camping gear.

 

[Bandit Runner]

One night while camping we were driving around looking for deer and other animals. At about 1:00am, we decided to stop in the middle of a desolate dirt road and take pics of all my lights.

35 watt HID projector TRS retrofit headlights, low beam:

35 watt HID projector TRS retrofit headlights, high beam:

Pair of Rigid Industries Dually D2 amber fog lights inside front bumper:

Pair of Ebay 60 watt round LED long distance offroad lights and pair of Rigid Industries SR-Q spotlights on top of front bumper:

Pair of Rigid Industries SR-Q spotlights and pair of Ebay 24 watt 3x3” cube ditch lights (there is more light at about 45 degrees outward from the truck that doesn’t show up in the picture):

Pair of Rigid Industries 6” single row spot lights on roof rack:

All front lights on:

Rock lights (18 total):

All lights on:

Stood up through the sun roof and took these next three pics. Looking forward:

Looking backward:

Looking directly to the side:

Switches all lit up:

I was extremely happy with the light setup. We could see animals on the road or off to the side of the road long before we got close to them. Also, we could shine deer with only the truck lights, in front, behind or on either side of the truck. We didn’t even have to use our hand held spot light. I also like having several small lights that I can aim at different angles, rather than having one large lightbar aimed in only one direction. In addition I like having each set of lights on a different switch, and being able to turn on-off any combination of lights for the necessary situation.

 

[zgensler31]

Man that is sick. Seriously, theres so many lights....

 

[Bandit Runner]

So my wife asked me last night how many lights I have added to my truck. I got to thinking about it and started adding them up:

Front bumper:
Fog lights = 2
Offroad/long distance lights= 4
Ditch lights = 4

Roof rack:
Front lights = 2
Side lights = 16
Rear lights = 2

Rear bumper lights = 2

Rock lights = 18

Under hood lights = 4

Rear hatch lights = 3

For a grand total of 57 lights I’ve added to the truck! I have a real problem. My wife just laughed at me. :becky:

 

[Dirtyfingers]

Nice man, it's always cool being able to see your truck in action.

 

[cdrewferd]

Very cool pictures of the lights. Look like they are all working very well.

 

[Bandit Runner]

Nice man, it's always cool being able to see your truck in action.

Very cool pictures of the lights. Look like they are all working very well.

Thanks guys!

 

[tyr0981]

A while back I posted about the small LED lights I bought to use for rock lights:

So are these things water tight on there own? or did you build a housing for them when you put them under your rig?

looks great man! :thumb:

 

[MStudt]

So are these things water tight on there own? or did you build a housing for them when you put them under your rig?

looks great man! :thumb:

They're water tight out of the box. There is a guy on Pirate 4x4 that sells these in kits for rock light, or anything you can think of using them for. You can buy just the lights stung together, and you can also purchase water tight connectors as well. I had them on my Jeep before I sold it and switched to a Toyota.

Pirate 4x4
Under-Glow

 

[tyr0981]

They're water tight out of the box. There is a guy on Pirate 4x4 that sells these in kits for rock light, or anything you can think of using them for. You can buy just the lights stung together, and you can also purchase water tight connectors as well. I had them on my Jeep before I sold it and switched to a Toyota.

Pirate 4x4
Under-Glow

EPIC! thank you for the links too!

 

[Bandit Runner]

So are these things water tight on there own? or did you build a housing for them when you put them under your rig?

looks great man! :thumb:

EPIC! thank you for the links too!

[MENTION=98153]MStudt[/MENTION] beat me to it. Thanks.

As he said, they are supposed to be waterproof. The circuit boards are completely encased in epoxy. I think there is even a picture of them submerged in a bucket of water while lit up, on the website somewhere.

I'm really happy with them, and they put out a ton of light.

 

[Bandit Runner]

Last fall I mentioned that I was building a set of racks to mount to my roof rack to hold our 3 kayaks. I realized I never followed up with a few pics of the finished product. The purpose of this project was to be able to hold 3 kayaks. We have a set of store bought “J” hooks that only allow us to mount two kayaks to my roof rack.

Anyway I made the racks from some 1.5” square steel tubing I had left over from another project. The kayaks fit snugly between the vertical bars and stand vertically on their sides, instead of setting at an angle like with the J-hooks. Thus allowing extra room for the third kayak. I covered the racks with some foam rubber to protect the kayaks too.

The racks:

Here is how they look on the roof rack:

This is how they are held on to the roof rack (with 2 U-bolts per corner):

I can now mount all three kayaks:

Or just 2:

The mounts are very strong, and I don’t have to worry about something ripping apart if the kayaks catch some wind on the highway. Much more sturdy than the store bought J-hooks. I just wrap 2 ratchet straps around the kayaks to hold them in place. It looks somewhat complex, but I can attach the racks, throw the kayaks up there, and strap them down in just under 25 minutes. Not bad at all.

After using them a few times, I have started thinking about adding some quick fist clamps to the sides of the racks to mount the paddles up there too. I might even add a bracket to hold the step stool I use to get the kayaks up there. Future projects I guess.

 

[Bandit Runner]

Been doing a little painting...

Preview:

 

[Bandit Runner]

I finally finished changing my accent color to green. I'm pretty happy with the results.
Grille, hood scoop insert and shackles:

Wheel rings, center caps and sport badges:

Rear emblems and shackles:

 

[Bandit Runner]

Well I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, “I suck at taking pictures”. I went to the park today to take some pictures to put in the 2015 calendar thread or the desktop background thread. Unfortunately they didn’t turn out good enough, so I’ll just post them here.

 

[TheArkMaster]

I've been eyeing those rock lights for a while now. How do you like them? Do you think they provide enough light? Would you be open to posting pics of how you mounted them? Please and thank you!

 

[Bandit Runner]

I've been eyeing those rock lights for a while now. How do you like them? Do you think they provide enough light? Would you be open to posting pics of how you mounted them? Please and thank you!

I am very happy with the light output on these rock lights. They are very bright, and the light output is very wide, like 180 degrees, so they light up a large area.

Here's a post where I talked about how I mounted them:
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/70298-bandit-runners-build-thread-23.html#post1749520

I still need to get a few pics of the mounting. I'll see what I can do.

 

[cdrewferd]

Man, I like the green. Looks very sharp.