Building the FUDRNR for 50 state trip

[Prototype_X9]

Great job getting the 4Runner built in such a short period of time! Will be following your cross-country adventure!

Thanks [MENTION=214852]zoomzoom[/MENTION]!! Tho most of the credit goes to Karnage Motorsports in Miami. They do amazing work and really helped do a lot of the major parts of this build. I do prefer to do all my own wrenching but I am a chef and I have been working a ton of hours and didnt have the time or space. Tho I have swapped many suspensions, engines, trans, gears, blowers, turbos in my history. I worked with them as closely as i could, since I will be taking care of it from now on, and on the road. Sidenote: Living in south beach sucks for car guys. No space anywhere close to work. No such thing as a garage. Luckily I have since quit my job and we are ready to start our adventure. :banana:

Tho I have become very adept at doing major mods in parking lots... Im hoping to meet David frieburger along the way and have him sign the rear bumper. #roadkill

 

[thinkviv]

Can you give any details on your dual battery setup? Did you get that done at Karnage as well? I'm also in Miami and will be starting a cross country road trip fairly soon as well, small world!

 

[Prototype_X9]

Can you give any details on your dual battery setup? Did you get that done at Karnage as well? I'm also in Miami and will be starting a cross country road trip fairly soon as well, small world!

I used the off grid engineering kit, as it was really the only kit available at the time. Expenaive, yeah i know. You could build one cheaper and i qould have if i had time and space. The kit comes with two battery trays, the blue sea connector, fuses, and pre cut battery wires. It is an easy kit to put on and there are good vids on youtube. I put all the accessory lights and air pump and arb fridge on the second battery, while the winch was ran off the main battery.

Ive been running the fridge everyday so far and no power issues. I also, wired in fitting for a solar suit case for qhen we wont start the car for a while. Pics and write up soon.

 

[Shwell11]

This has been great to follow. Sorry to see you skip AK for this trip, it is one of the most beautiful places I have lived and visited in my life.

 

[Prototype_X9]

This has been great to follow. Sorry to see you skip AK for this trip, it is one of the most beautiful places I have lived and visited in my life.

We are going to visit hawaii and alaska on this trip but we might find ways to go without the Fudrnr. Boats or planes...etc. id be ok with a ferry to alaska.

We have currently driven the first 2000ish miles mostly on pavement....so sad. We went to ohio to meet some family for July 4th and we just needed to get here on time. Its almost inpossible for the whole family to be off work at the same time.

Im working with some shoddy wifi and back woods campgrounds. Flikr app on a phone wont embed on this forum at all. Need a better photo gosting site.

 

[Prototype_X9]

Well we finally stopped and found decent wifi to upload photos. Our first stop was Hunters Island in South Carolina.We were able to do our initial camp setup and start working out the kinks.

Peace Miami!!! See you later
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The car looks great and we get into fun conversations at every stop. People are always asking questions and talking about cool trucks that they used to own. Its always entertaining to talk to the Venezuelan and Argentinian guys in my gringo spanish.
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The initial camp setup wasnt without its flaws. Our positioning of the batwing awning needs to be adjusted so it clears the rear hatch and rack a bit better. It wont wrap all the way around the truck. But we made it work well and you can see we just didnt set up the awning all the way.
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Does anyone know where we should head out next?

 

[Prototype_X9]

I am working with a local welder to cut and extend the awning bracket further out an inch ir two. Should allow for all the clearance i need. Pics to follow

 

[3wbdriver]

Well we finally stopped and found decent wifi to upload photos. Our first stop was Hunters Island in South Carolina.We were able to do our initial camp setup and start working out the kinks.

The initial camp setup wasnt without its flaws. Our positioning of the batwing awning needs to be adjusted so it clears the rear hatch and rack a bit better. It wont wrap all the way around the truck. But we made it work well and you can see we just didnt set up the awning all the way.

Does anyone know where we should head out next?

I fear that Batwing is going to become a major pain in the butt over the course of your trip. I've wanted one for 2 years but never could figure out how to make it work with the hatch without raising it to a ridiculous height on the rack. I ended up using an ARB 2500 instead. I hope you figure out a workaround during your trip. Your best short term fix would probably be to use some 550 cord to make short lanyards so the hatch doesn't open all the way and stops just below the awning. You would still have access to the drawer system and fridge but will have to duck under the hatch to get at them. Maybe get a roll up yoga pad to place between the hatch and awning when in use also.

I made a 4 week, 26 state trip back in 2015. You may find it helpful to post a loose itinerary for your planned route each week. My trip was greatly aided by suggestions from members on this forum for places to visit along my route. Probably half of the places I stopped at were suggested in here and I would never have thought of them without the assist. I will be following this thread with my morning coffee, so post up lots of pics. Good luck and have a great trip!

 

[Prototype_X9]

I fear that Batwing is going too become a major pain in the butt over the course of your trip. I've wanted one for 2 years but never could figure out how to make it work with the hatch without raising it to a ridiculous height on the rack. I ended up using an ARB 2500 instead. I hope you figure out a workaround during your trip. Your best short term fix would probably be to use some 550 cord to make short lanyards so the hatch doesn't open all the way and stops just below the awning. You would still have access to the drawer system and fridge but will have to duck under the hatch to get at them. Maybe get a roll up yoga pad to place between the hatch and awning when in use also.

I made a 4 week, 26 state trip back in 2015. You may find it helpful to post a loose itinerary for your planned route each week. My trip was greatly aided by suggestions from members on this forum for places to visit along my route. Probably half of the places I stopped at were suggested in here and I would never have thought of them without the assist. I will be following this thread with my morning coffee, so post up lots of pics. Good luck and have a great trip!

It is certainky being a pain in my ass. Just gave the awning mounts to my welder to extend them 2 inches. They need to clear the tent better.

Next after ohio, we are goung to drive towards chicago. We have sone things to do in the city, but i could certainly use advice for things to for long the way. Looking at traiks and national forests along the way.

 

[WallyT4R]

Man I am jealous. Hope you have a great trip and keep posting so we can join in....

Could you use a rope or paracord attached to the tie down on the right side and then to the pull cord on the hatch to limit how far the rear hatch goes up???

 

[3wbdriver]

Next after ohio, we are goung to drive towards chicago. We have sone things to do in the city, but i could certainly use advice for things to for long the way. Looking at traiks and national forests along the way.

The only thing that springs to mind along the way would be the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum. And of course the US Air Force museum is in Dayton, Ohio, and a history buff like me can't drive by there without stopping. But you better plan at least a half day to do that one.

 

[Prototype_X9]

Man I am jealous. Hope you have a great trip and keep posting so we can join in....

Could you use a rope or paracord attached to the tie down on the right side and then to the pull cord on the hatch to limit how far the rear hatch goes up???

Man my welder did a great job extending these brackets. This should allow us to flip the brackets higher, and have them clear the tentand the rear hatch in height and width.

 

[Prototype_X9]

Here are the updated Rinorack brackets. I had it cut and added a 2 inch extension between the body mount and the awning mount. We added some gussets and supports to the sides to support the weight obviously. It was a little overbuilt but it should hold forever. The great thing now is that the awning can be mounted higher above the body of the rack, but wont interfere with the RTT. The mount was a disaster to put on/off before, but now we got the awning mounted in about 10 minutes with 8 easy to access bolts.

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Damn wind kept knocking that last leg down. finally hammered it down and tied it down later. Sidnote: Ohio farm land is an absolutely wonderful place to sit on a newly built deck and relax.

 

[Prototype_X9]

i think I need more lights on the sides. Definitely, need a lower light bar....etc. God im becoming that guy, aren't I. I do love this photo tho. makes me happy. and yes the hood is bright, i know. Yes I have been adjusting them.

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[Prototype_X9]

I got alot accomplished today tho. Repackaged the entire car, and reorganized all the gear. Started attaching everything to the rago panels, got the tablet mounts setup, and we are all ready to continue our adventure.
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The only fail for the day was the SSO rear camera relocation kit. Apparently I just suck at this kit, but I just cant get it done. instructions unclear i guess. I am going to go a different route. I will mount a new camera to the bumper and run the wires under the car and mount directly to the radio head unit. Seems like an easier way to go.

ONWARD TO INDIANA!!!!!

 

[Kenny Powers]

Awesome thread Chef!

Hope you guys have an amazing trip, you deserve it for hustling on the line for so long. Best wishes.

 

[ctran013]

I got alot accomplished today tho. Repackaged the entire car, and reorganized all the gear. Started attaching everything to the rago panels, got the tablet mounts setup, and we are all ready to continue our adventure.
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The only fail for the day was the SSO rear camera relocation kit. Apparently I just suck at this kit, but I just cant get it done. instructions unclear i guess. I am going to go a different route. I will mount a new camera to the bumper and run the wires under the car and mount directly to the radio head unit. Seems like an easier way to go.

ONWARD TO INDIANA!!!!!

man you built your 4runner so nicely in such a short period of time.

How do you like that renogy suitcase panel? I've been eyeing it but wasn't sure how fast/effective it can charge.

 

[Prototype_X9]

man you built your 4runner so nicely in such a short period of time.

How do you like that renogy suitcase panel? I've been eyeing it but wasn't sure how fast/effective it can charge.

I have like it alot. The main benefit is that i dont have to hard mount it to the top of our RTT. Also, we van just park the truck in yhe shade and then run the panel out into the sun, and then we can turn the panel throughout the day to ensure full power production.

We needed to modify the witing some to make it work for my application. Nothing major but it wouldnt connect to my battery system.

 

[Prototype_X9]

What do i do in chicago????

 

[Prototype_X9]

[MENTION=222791]ctran013[/MENTION] The renogy 100w panel charges very well. I guess ill say that in normal sun it can produce 6amps at 12v. which for me has kept my second battery full this entire trip. I bought an Odyssey group 31 battery to work as our aux battery and I have tested that this battery will run my ARB for around 2.5 days without starting the car. We have been getting in the habit to always set it out when we park for eve a couple hours. Setup is 5 minutes or less.

You will need to visit the panel every few hours to turn the entire unit, to ensure ou are getting the best sun possible. That is the other reason I didnt mount the panel to my truck as you would very rarely ever be good light. The sun is not directly overhead very often. Of course, it would always be drawing some electricity, no matter how small.

I will probably mount an RV 100w panel to the rack whenever I decide that I am done with the RTT for a while.