Steve's 2016 TEP Modification and Adventure Travel Thread
- Thread starter Ohio_Steve
- Start date
Following along as I am building something similar for weekend backcountry adventures. Thanks for sharing all the detail of your upgrades.
How do you like the OPT7 Light Bar, but haven't heard much about this brand? I haven't heard of them and was looking for a more economical substitute for the $500~$600 Rigids, Baja Designs, etc. Do get any glare off the hood with them mounted that far back from the front of your roof? Can you pls tell me how you ran the wires to power the roof LED? Cheers.
How do you like the OPT7 Light Bar, but haven't heard much about this brand? I haven't heard of them and was looking for a more economical substitute for the $500~$600 Rigids, Baja Designs, etc. Do get any glare off the hood with them mounted that far back from the front of your roof? Can you pls tell me how you ran the wires to power the roof LED? Cheers.
XenonDepot
New member
[MENTION=135421]Ohio_Steve[/MENTION] - Great pictures! Thank you for sharing. I hope that you're happy with your purchase.
Steve
Steve
Ohio_Steve
New member
Steve,
I'm very please with the product! Knowing that the 4Runner didn't offer HIDs on the Trail model, I bought the kit on a sale you had going on in March, almost two months before my 4Runner arrived!
My wife has had Xenon and bi-Xenon headlights on her cars since 1999, and wouldn't get anything else. I'm very pleased, and hope they last as long as my halogen bulbs have on previous vehicles.
Thanks,
Steve
catastrofe
New member
Thank you for such a great lighting comparison!
Ohio_Steve
New member
I bought the OPT7 light bar last September before we left on our six-week cross-country trip. At that time, it was mounted on my Subaru Outback, in the same way; on the front of the LoadWarrior basket, behind the fairing.
This far back:
There was no problem with glare on it, even with the hood scoop.
This was the photo from last night. The camera was sitting on top of the steering wheel, so pretty much in my normal line of sight. There's no glare on the hood, but there is some reflection back from the trees illuminated above the road.
As for quality, It's been on the Outback for 12,000 miles without any problems. The plugs are the waterproof sealed type, and the harness is pretty heavy duty. I got it from Amazon for $200, and some people have replaced the switch with a better quality one. I have an Air On Board switch to use when I wire it permanently. Right now, it is wired to the battery using the included relay and fuse, but the wires are laying across the windscreen and roof.
I hope that helps,
Steve
Ohio_Steve
New member
Before my 4Runner arrived, I had ordered a set of [MENTION=135198]Dane2992[/MENTION]'s LED under hood light kits.
This kit arrived today, I installed it this afternoon, and just went outside to take photos in the dark. I am extremely pleased with the results! There is even light across the entire engine bay, without any overly bright areas.
I chose "warm white" as the color for my set of lights, and I'm glad I did. Some of the photos of other kits appeared almost bluish to me, but the warm white "seems" to me to be just a natural daylight color.
Thank you, Dane!
Steve
This kit arrived today, I installed it this afternoon, and just went outside to take photos in the dark. I am extremely pleased with the results! There is even light across the entire engine bay, without any overly bright areas.
I chose "warm white" as the color for my set of lights, and I'm glad I did. Some of the photos of other kits appeared almost bluish to me, but the warm white "seems" to me to be just a natural daylight color.
Thank you, Dane!
Steve
Ryan1975
New member
Optimum no rinse wash and wax (ONR) from Amazon. 1 gallon of water from the apt and you're off to the races.
Ohio_Steve
New member
SOLD, today, pending funds! That's gonna make a dent in the 4Runner's outstanding balance! I had two solid buyers, and two interested in addition to some low ball offers. That was all inside of 48 hours on various Subaru forums and Facebook groups. It is gonna end up in Portland, Oregon.
Ohio_Steve
New member
I haven't been doing much with the 4Runner lately other than enjoying driving it. Yesterday I tore out the center stack and added the rear camera override dongle. Now I can have the rear camera on at any time, not just when in reverse. The harness I used has further options to add a switcher and switch between rear, front, and side cameras, which I may add at some point.
I've used one month of my free three month Sirius Radio subscription, so I've started fiddling with how to wire in my Sirius Sportster 5 radio from the Outback. I'm doing this instead of using the built in Sirius because I have a lifetime subscription tied to the Sportster. A couple pieces are on their way from Amazon, and then I'll post some photos.
Also soon to be on its way is a pair of C4 Fabrication Rock Sliders. I got in on the group buy, and they will be delivered directly to a local powder coating business. Photos to come on those in a couple of weeks, too.
I've used one month of my free three month Sirius Radio subscription, so I've started fiddling with how to wire in my Sirius Sportster 5 radio from the Outback. I'm doing this instead of using the built in Sirius because I have a lifetime subscription tied to the Sportster. A couple pieces are on their way from Amazon, and then I'll post some photos.
Also soon to be on its way is a pair of C4 Fabrication Rock Sliders. I got in on the group buy, and they will be delivered directly to a local powder coating business. Photos to come on those in a couple of weeks, too.
Ohio_Steve
New member
This is way overdue, but here are some photos with the Baja Design Squadron-R Pro Wide Cornering Amber aimed lower than the previous test.
Baja Designs Squadron-R Pro Wide Cornering Amber Fogs only
Xenon Depot HID Low Beams Only
Xenon Depot HID Low Beams and Baja Designs Squadron-R Pro Wide Cornering Amber Fogs
Stock High Beams and Xenon Depot HID Low Beams
Stock High Beams, Xenon Depot HID Low Beams, and Baja Designs Squadron-R Pro Wide Cornering Amber Fogs
Baja Designs Squadron-R Pro Wide Cornering Amber Fogs only
Xenon Depot HID Low Beams Only
Xenon Depot HID Low Beams and Baja Designs Squadron-R Pro Wide Cornering Amber Fogs
Stock High Beams and Xenon Depot HID Low Beams
Stock High Beams, Xenon Depot HID Low Beams, and Baja Designs Squadron-R Pro Wide Cornering Amber Fogs
Chsbrgr
New member
Steve, Congratulations on your 4R finally getting here. It was fun watching you post in anticipation of it arriving.
I too have a Sirius lifetime and Sportster plug and play. Mine is just mounted in the front cupholder for now. It works fine. I'll mount it better when I take my interior apart (hopefully just once) to install the Sirius, GPS, Ham, CB, and whatever else I end up with.
I know you will post pictures of your Sportster mount. Just thought I would add some pressure to your mount decision.:heh:
I too have a Sirius lifetime and Sportster plug and play. Mine is just mounted in the front cupholder for now. It works fine. I'll mount it better when I take my interior apart (hopefully just once) to install the Sirius, GPS, Ham, CB, and whatever else I end up with.
I know you will post pictures of your Sportster mount. Just thought I would add some pressure to your mount decision.:heh:
Ohio_Steve
New member
Today I permanently wired my SiriusXM Sportster 5 radio. I moved the AUX and USB outlets behind the cubby and drilled through the back to feed the wires. I'm using this instead of the built in XM radio because I have a lifetime subscription for the Sportster.
I mounted the puck antenna on the rear roof, halfway between the sharkfin antenna and the roof rail. I could have tied into the sharkfin, but at the cost of a $59 adapter cable. You can't see the puck from ground level, and I've had great reception with it on my Outback for the past eight years.
I mounted the puck antenna on the rear roof, halfway between the sharkfin antenna and the roof rail. I could have tied into the sharkfin, but at the cost of a $59 adapter cable. You can't see the puck from ground level, and I've had great reception with it on my Outback for the past eight years.
XenonDepot
New member
[MENTION=135421]Ohio_Steve[/MENTION] - Thanks for taking the time to post up the pics of our XenonDepot Xtreme HID kit! The pictures turned out great.
Steve
Steve
Gone2vegas
New member
Hi Steve, do you have any pics or info on the attic netting? Curious to see how it's installed in the 4Runner. Thanks!
Ohio_Steve
New member
Sorry, haven't been on here in forever! I had the attic net in the Outback, but it didn't fit in the 4runner. If you found something, I'd be interested.
Steve
Ohio_Steve
New member
[MENTION=139465]Ohio Hawk[/MENTION] and I installed my [MENTION=131444]C4 Fabrication[/MENTION] rock sliders the other day. They look great!
C4 Fabrication
New member
Thanks for sharing pics Steve! They look great!
Ohio_Steve
New member
Well, I sure didn't get everything done that I wanted to on the 4Runner this summer. But it is time for us to leave on this year's cross-country trip, so what's left to do will just get done later.
I never did figure out how to best wire the light bar on the front of the basket. I have the switch wire going through the cabin grommet, and connected to an Air on Board switch. But in the end, I just did the external wiring in the same Mickey Mouse fashion as I did on the Outback: I put some 3M zip tie pads along the edge of the windscreen and along the roof filler back to the basket, and zip tied the wire into place. Not pretty, but I'll get to use the light when needed.
I bought a CB radio for this trip, too. This is the first CB I've had in 40 years! The airwaves are quite a bit different now. A license was required back in the '70s, and swearing wasn't tolerated. Now it seems to be required in every sentence... There's a lot less radio traffic now, too. Back then, CB was the social network of the day, like SnapChat without pictures. Now it is pretty quiet.
I bought a Cobra 29 LX, and a 4 foot no ground plane FireStik, which is mounted on the roof basket. I'd tried a Lil Wil magnetic mount, but it didn't like sticking up through the bars of the basket, and I got an antenna error. Didn't work well on the little space forward of the sunroof, either. I mounted the radio to a board that I've bungie-corded to the rear of the console for now. Big radio, and not really anywhere to mount it in the 4Runner, so this will do for now.
Yesterday I took out the driver's side rear seat bottom so that I have access to the floor storage on our trip. After we drop our daughter off at college, I'll tumble the passenger rear seat forward, but that blocks access to the rear 12v outlets.
Heading out, we'll use the same RoofBag we used last year for her suitcase of school clothes, and then store it for our exploration. That worked great last year on the Outback, giving us good dry storage that could later be tucked away. I don't think we'll need to use the hitch-mounted basket we used last year, as she stored most of her stuff in Seattle.
Looking back through this thread, I see that my photos liked to Facebook don't show up any longer. I just created the account before last year's trip, so I am unfamiliar with Facebook having links expire. I'll fix those after we get back.
For those of you who want to follow along, see the Instagram and Facebook links in my sig. I post on Instagram, and they get forwarded to Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr. I try to respond to any comments or questions on all of those platforms, and then occasionally post photos on various forums. So the most up to date info is on those social media accounts.
Like last year, we will leave from the Cleveland, Ohio area (this year leaving on Saturday, September 10) and heading west. Unlike last year, we won't be making the trip to Seattle in four days of mind-numbing interstate driving. Our daughter saw all the great places we explored on our return trip last year, and asked if we could leave earlier so she could see some this time.
We will most likely head across Iowa again, but continue west across Nebraska instead of up to Sioux Falls and across South Dakota like last time. Then wander our way northwestward to take in several state and national parks.
This will be a road trip, not an overlanding expedition. We don't have room for camping gear, and will be staying at motels. We usually stop someplace for lunch where we can relax in the camp chairs and make a light lunch. Sometimes, well roll out the awning for some shade, but last year was unseasonably cool, so we welcomed the sun for warmth. And while we are road-tripping, we will still try to explore out of the way places, and hit some forest roads and gravel where we can find them.
I hope you enjoy riding along, and I'll drop in now and then with updates,
Steve
I never did figure out how to best wire the light bar on the front of the basket. I have the switch wire going through the cabin grommet, and connected to an Air on Board switch. But in the end, I just did the external wiring in the same Mickey Mouse fashion as I did on the Outback: I put some 3M zip tie pads along the edge of the windscreen and along the roof filler back to the basket, and zip tied the wire into place. Not pretty, but I'll get to use the light when needed.
I bought a CB radio for this trip, too. This is the first CB I've had in 40 years! The airwaves are quite a bit different now. A license was required back in the '70s, and swearing wasn't tolerated. Now it seems to be required in every sentence... There's a lot less radio traffic now, too. Back then, CB was the social network of the day, like SnapChat without pictures. Now it is pretty quiet.
I bought a Cobra 29 LX, and a 4 foot no ground plane FireStik, which is mounted on the roof basket. I'd tried a Lil Wil magnetic mount, but it didn't like sticking up through the bars of the basket, and I got an antenna error. Didn't work well on the little space forward of the sunroof, either. I mounted the radio to a board that I've bungie-corded to the rear of the console for now. Big radio, and not really anywhere to mount it in the 4Runner, so this will do for now.
Yesterday I took out the driver's side rear seat bottom so that I have access to the floor storage on our trip. After we drop our daughter off at college, I'll tumble the passenger rear seat forward, but that blocks access to the rear 12v outlets.
Heading out, we'll use the same RoofBag we used last year for her suitcase of school clothes, and then store it for our exploration. That worked great last year on the Outback, giving us good dry storage that could later be tucked away. I don't think we'll need to use the hitch-mounted basket we used last year, as she stored most of her stuff in Seattle.
Looking back through this thread, I see that my photos liked to Facebook don't show up any longer. I just created the account before last year's trip, so I am unfamiliar with Facebook having links expire. I'll fix those after we get back.
For those of you who want to follow along, see the Instagram and Facebook links in my sig. I post on Instagram, and they get forwarded to Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr. I try to respond to any comments or questions on all of those platforms, and then occasionally post photos on various forums. So the most up to date info is on those social media accounts.
Like last year, we will leave from the Cleveland, Ohio area (this year leaving on Saturday, September 10) and heading west. Unlike last year, we won't be making the trip to Seattle in four days of mind-numbing interstate driving. Our daughter saw all the great places we explored on our return trip last year, and asked if we could leave earlier so she could see some this time.
We will most likely head across Iowa again, but continue west across Nebraska instead of up to Sioux Falls and across South Dakota like last time. Then wander our way northwestward to take in several state and national parks.
This will be a road trip, not an overlanding expedition. We don't have room for camping gear, and will be staying at motels. We usually stop someplace for lunch where we can relax in the camp chairs and make a light lunch. Sometimes, well roll out the awning for some shade, but last year was unseasonably cool, so we welcomed the sun for warmth. And while we are road-tripping, we will still try to explore out of the way places, and hit some forest roads and gravel where we can find them.
I hope you enjoy riding along, and I'll drop in now and then with updates,
Steve
