2018 Taco TRD Offroad

Just something simple to make life easier. It's always been a PITA to crawl up into the bed of the truck to turn off the propane tank.

The chrome plated brass ball valve is rated for 200 psi, propane, butane, nitrogen, oxygen. The quick disconnect has its own internal shut off. Created quick disconnect hoses for my partner steel stove and for my buddy heater.

The propane tank is getting filled Monday so it's out of its cradle. Normally it sits vertically behind the the WaterPort in the gap.
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Solar on the hood is working as intended. Getting near a full charge just by sitting in the sun after not moving it for a week.

If you're wondering why it maxes out at or near 100 watts. The driveway is on the northeast side of the house. Truck is in the shade early in the day.

For 85 watt panel I can consistently get 47 to 48 watts on sunny days which isn't bad. Since I put in a new controller (Jan 9th) it's generated 3 kW.

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Little project today since I ain't going anywhere. I redesigned my camera mount. It arrived Monday last week. Big difference between 45° and 47°.

At 45°, the guidelines converge and do not follow perspective lines. The edge and seem lines in the concrete driveway are a good reference. The red line falls underneath the fuel can holder.
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At 47°, it's almost perfect. The red line falls just past the fuel can holder
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Why a Rooftop Tent? Going back to my original plan I had always intended the Tacoma to be part of my sleeping solution but the sum of the decisions just didn't work. First. I got the wrong cap. A taller one with a walk-in rear door would have been more suitable. The sleeping platform took up too much usable cargo space. While I wish I could say I planned it this way I can say I'm happy with the results. This view sure beats looking out the bed of the truck.

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Not that I planned to regularly sleep in my truck bed, I changed shells. The first one, cab height, was too low for me as well.

With my Hi-Liner, even with my platform, there is plenty of room in back.

Also, now that the door is higher when open, it makes a great rain cover. Most importantly, I don't hit my head on it anymore (I also almost poked an eye out.)

Yes, it was costly to swap, but worth every penny.
 
Scott B. said:
Not that I planned to regularly sleep in my truck bed, I changed shells. The first one, cab height, was too low for me as well.

With my Hi-Liner, even with my platform, there is plenty of room in back.

Also, now that the door is higher when open, it makes a great rain cover. Most importantly, I don't hit my head on it anymore (I also almost poked an eye out.)

Yes, it was costly to swap, but worth every penny.
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I'm thinking of doing something crazy like a Norweld Tray & Canopy.
 
Sad to say I'm not getting much of a response from SOS Concepts regarding this issue. There's a missing support from the mounting plate to the corner gusset on the hinge side that's causing the sag.

I'm past anger and into disappointment. It's a good product and mistakes happen. Critical parts are forgotten and not installed in software development too. Especially if you're working solo and don't have a second pair of eyes for QC. But everything is in the response to the mistake.

Getting this resolved is what prompted me to consider the Norweld tray and canopy. I'm looking at all the weight back there. The reinforcement that needs to be added to fix it. The idea of getting a taller canopy.

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Greg said:
Sad to say I'm not getting much of a response from SOS Concepts regarding this issue. There's a missing support from the mounting plate to the corner gusset on the hinge side that's causing the sag.

I'm past anger and into disappointment. It's a good product and mistakes happen. Critical parts are forgotten and not installed in software development too. Especially if you're working solo and don't have a second pair of eyes for QC. But everything is in the response to the mistake.

Getting this resolved is what prompted me to consider the Norweld tray and canopy. I'm looking at all the weight back there. The reinforcement that needs to be added to fix it. The idea of getting a taller canopy.

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I had a similar issue with my Pelfrybilt bumper. They put the pivots on the bumper, and I built the swingouts. Once the tire carrier was built, you could flex it and watch the bumper return move.

I cut a piece of flat bar and welded in a diagonal brace. Seems to have fixed the issue for me. I'm sure you will receive a similar brace.

Sure makes you wonder though - did they miss any other supports?
 
Scott B. said:
I had a similar issue with my Pelfrybilt bumper. They put the pivots on the bumper, and I built the swingouts. Once the tire carrier was built, you could flex it and watch the bumper return move.

I cut a piece of flat bar and welded in a diagonal brace. Seems to have fixed the issue for me. I'm sure you will receive a similar brace.

Sure makes you wonder though - did they miss any other supports?
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@Gallowbraid bought from SOS as well. When he get's back he's going to send me pic's. I'll compare and look for anything else missing as well as let him know if I have a brace where he doesn't.
 
That escalated quickly from “my rear bumper needs fixed” to “I’m gonna rip off the whole rear of my truck”. Greg does not mess around.

What’s the availability of those trays?
 
Haggis said:
That escalated quickly from “my rear bumper needs fixed” to “I’m gonna rip off the whole rear of my truck”. Greg does not mess around.

What’s the availability of those trays?
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Four-wheel campers is the distributor. In addition to them. Mainline overland East Coast. Mule in the Pacific Northwest. AT overland in Arizona, and Equipt in Utah.

Yeah getting the bumper fixed got me thinking about the original plans I had for the Tacoma and some of the decisions I made that meandered away from the original plan.

Not getting side doors on the camper shell was a mistake. The first night I slept in the RTT I had to crawl over boxes to get to my sleeping bag. Not getting the taller camper shell was also a mistake. The nights I did sleep in the camper shell I'd get up and scrape my head on the raw fiberglass. New, taller, camper shell? The camper shell I have now weighs about 200 lbs.

The camper shell was always a temporary solution. The plan was always to go with something else in a few years. Something like a Habitat or GFC for the Tacoma. I really like how fast I can put up and take down the Solo though. Even that can be a little bit cumbersome getting the fabric tucked in. So in my head I picture trying to get all the fabric tucked into a Habitat while folding it up by myself.

I really like the rear bumper but it's a lot of weight stuck out at the end of the frame and the LRA tank makes the Jerry can holders redundant. Do I roll things back? With what? I sold all the plastic parts for the bumper. All I have is the trailer hitch. I could just take the swingarm off. Of course it will just end up sitting in my garage. Who's going to buy just a swingarm to a bumper they don't have?

Fix the bumper and sell it. Sell the camper shell too including the FrontRunner roof rack and the molle panels on the inside. I can recover some of the initial cost. The bed can be sold too.

The Norweld tray and canopy isn't a Habitat or GFC. Combined with the Terrapod Solo though it offers good trade offs. We're going to need another trip out to Utah so we can compare all the different options between everyone's trucks.
 
Everything’s a trade off. Even though we are switching to the GFC I know there’s gonna be issues we won’t like and things we will miss from the current set up. It’s all about getting the best fit with the least inconvenience.

How deep a rabbit hole is the tray system? Are there many additional mods that need to be done to accommodate its installation?
 
In addition to the OEM wire harness.
  • Remove the sliders. They will interfere with the undertray storage boxes. They're CBI bolt on's so they'll be put up for sale.
  • Camper shell, FrontRunner rack, and internal frame molle panels to be sold as a single unit.
  • Rear bumper to be taken off and the OEM trailer hitch back on. Rear bumper up for sale.
  • I'll lose the inverter in the bed. Never used it anyway. Getting to it was a pain because of the camper shell and rear bumper. I may have a buyer for the bed already.
  • Reuse the solution I came up with for the backup camera for the canopy and tray.
  • Undo the breather relocation for the rear diff.
  • Remove the CB and HAM antennas. Also the flexible wire conduit I ran from the cab to the bed. Fill the hole with a rubber plug
All the wiring I added uses OEM plugs to create jumpers and taps rather than direct taps into the harness. Including the backup camera. I just have to unplug stuff to disconnect.

From what I've been reading. The tray system uses the existing bed mounts. Why reinvent the wheel? Assembly and wiring the system up takes the most labor.

I'm just getting the basic tray with storage. Not loading up with the drawer system and 40L undertray water tank.
 
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