One of the first things I did as well.
The Grey Mouser: Reboot
- Thread starter Haggis
- Start date
Scott B.
Adventurist
But will get you a hot chick in your classic muscle car...
I ran Crager S/S wheels back in the day.
Got a plan, got some parts, ain’t go much time available.
Things to do before the GFC.
>Add bed stiffeners.
>Swap out new factory bed rail covers. Mine are a bit scruffy from the cap.
>Seal underside of bed rails for dust and water intrusion.
Things to do whenever.
>Mount up under hood air compressor.
>Add skidplates.
>Replace rusting factory bumper.
>Go places.
Sitting in the garage is a Slee under hood compressor kit.
Now that we don’t have the cap tool boxes to store our portable compressor we didn’t want it eating up space in the floor of the camper or filling up a storage box. So we’ll move a compressor into an out of the way location so it’s available but not using real estate. I didn’t want one under the seat either. Since we don’t air up and down a lot or plan on an air locker we went with the single stage compressor. The portable unit will switch between the other Taco and the Subie.
Also got some bed stiffeners to shore up the bed sides. I went with the Total Chaos flavor as the don’t have that tall flange that extends across the bed floor Like many brands. More wiggle room therefore to arrange gear and one less thing to trip over.
Now to find time that doesn’t require me to labor for The Man so I can get these things off the shelf and on the truck.
Things to do before the GFC.
>Add bed stiffeners.
>Swap out new factory bed rail covers. Mine are a bit scruffy from the cap.
>Seal underside of bed rails for dust and water intrusion.
Things to do whenever.
>Mount up under hood air compressor.
>Add skidplates.
>Replace rusting factory bumper.
>Go places.
Sitting in the garage is a Slee under hood compressor kit.
Now that we don’t have the cap tool boxes to store our portable compressor we didn’t want it eating up space in the floor of the camper or filling up a storage box. So we’ll move a compressor into an out of the way location so it’s available but not using real estate. I didn’t want one under the seat either. Since we don’t air up and down a lot or plan on an air locker we went with the single stage compressor. The portable unit will switch between the other Taco and the Subie.
Also got some bed stiffeners to shore up the bed sides. I went with the Total Chaos flavor as the don’t have that tall flange that extends across the bed floor Like many brands. More wiggle room therefore to arrange gear and one less thing to trip over.
Now to find time that doesn’t require me to labor for The Man so I can get these things off the shelf and on the truck.
Got the Total Chaos stiffeners mounted up. Easy job unless you live in the rust belt and half your taillight bolts snap. Luckily I had enough metric mounting flange bolts left over from other projects to replace the broken ones. I did have to make a run into town and surprisingly found replacement long metric clips for the taillights.
Slee mount and ARB air compressor are also installed, just need to get the wiring done. It got hot and humid so I’ll wait till it cools down to get the electron transfer apparatus figured out.
Slee mount and ARB air compressor are also installed, just need to get the wiring done. It got hot and humid so I’ll wait till it cools down to get the electron transfer apparatus figured out.
Holy hell, I got a Saturday off. So today became a Tacoma tool day.
First thing, the trusty Diehard Platinum 31 series AGM (rebadged Odyssey) that has been in three vehicles for 11 years has bit the dust. Originally I planed on just forking over the cash for a new Odyssey but the new 31s have much larger cases and flipped terminals so figment was going to involve modifications I didn’t really want to do. Bunch of researching later I settled on an X2 Power sold by Battery + stores but made by Northstar. Both had very good reviews. The X2 31 series was still to big so I settled on the the 27F made for Tacoma’s. Unit cost $339 after core deposit plus It was on sale for an addition 10% off. Battery comes with a 5 year warranty as well.
Lost a little cold cranking amps and the reserve capacity dropped from 205 on the Odyssey to 195 on the X2 so just under 5% drop there. Shouldn’t be an issue the way we utilize the truck. Install was easy.
Battery sorted it was time to work on Tanner, the new Taco. It got a Martin Off-road Foundation rack so boats could ride along without taking up bed space.
Install was easy except the cab drip railings need drilled for pedestal. Those came as uncoated steel so I gave them a coat of self etching primer and several coats of satin black Rustoleum. Rack is darn sturdy, looks acceptable and being aluminum rust won’t be a problem. Very light wind noise at highway speeds is evident but you have to listen for it.
Boat hauls just fine…
First thing, the trusty Diehard Platinum 31 series AGM (rebadged Odyssey) that has been in three vehicles for 11 years has bit the dust. Originally I planed on just forking over the cash for a new Odyssey but the new 31s have much larger cases and flipped terminals so figment was going to involve modifications I didn’t really want to do. Bunch of researching later I settled on an X2 Power sold by Battery + stores but made by Northstar. Both had very good reviews. The X2 31 series was still to big so I settled on the the 27F made for Tacoma’s. Unit cost $339 after core deposit plus It was on sale for an addition 10% off. Battery comes with a 5 year warranty as well.
Lost a little cold cranking amps and the reserve capacity dropped from 205 on the Odyssey to 195 on the X2 so just under 5% drop there. Shouldn’t be an issue the way we utilize the truck. Install was easy.
Battery sorted it was time to work on Tanner, the new Taco. It got a Martin Off-road Foundation rack so boats could ride along without taking up bed space.
Install was easy except the cab drip railings need drilled for pedestal. Those came as uncoated steel so I gave them a coat of self etching primer and several coats of satin black Rustoleum. Rack is darn sturdy, looks acceptable and being aluminum rust won’t be a problem. Very light wind noise at highway speeds is evident but you have to listen for it.
Boat hauls just fine…
Got the notice that our GFC build is ready to begin. Just selected our options…black camper, stone tent with side doors, front and rear windows…and paid the invoice. Now we wait to hear back and establish a build and pick up date.
Cant wait to get the Mouser into full camp rig mode again. Not having the cap and Maggie on has been annoying, more so than I thought it would be.
Cant wait to get the Mouser into full camp rig mode again. Not having the cap and Maggie on has been annoying, more so than I thought it would be.
Looking forward to this. I think the new version GFC is the ONLY other route I’d consider in the future. It will be interesting to see how it holds up, and how you like it.
We researched them all. And despite some issues, settling on the GFC was all based on weight, bulk and value for the dollar. There’s nicer campers out there but they’re a lot more mass to haul around and are a damn sight more costly. I’m looking at you AlumaCab with your useless barn door only configuration.
Now the wait begins again as build and install dates get firmed up. I’d be surprised if we get it before late October or early November.
We decided to go with the tent side doors to add some versatility, giving us the option of entering the tent from inside or by ladder from the outside. An extra cost but we feel between varied entries and a more open view well worth the extra cost. As for cost here’s the total invoice though you need to add on the original $500 deposit.
So a grand total of $7875.
Ouch…my frugality mendula in my brain just spasmed. It’s going to be Okay, just breathe…
Somebody is going to Montana mid October…
From first deposit to install will be just over 8 months. We went into this knowing the timetable and GFC has been good to work with. We’re like a couple of kids waiting for Christmas to come two months too early.
From first deposit to install will be just over 8 months. We went into this knowing the timetable and GFC has been good to work with. We’re like a couple of kids waiting for Christmas to come two months too early.
Took a couple of days off…from work, from responsibilities and from demands. Michelle, especially needed a breather and some spoiling. We headed up north into the Finger Lakes region of New York to find some waterfalls. As there is no real dispersed camping we had the BaseCamper trailer tag along and just staged up in a state campground.
Nice, relaxing touristy jaunt. Found some waterfalls, checked out some museums, hung around in hammocks.
Travelling with the trailer again made us really miss the cap and Maggie and wishing we had the GFC already. Towing sucks.
Nice, relaxing touristy jaunt. Found some waterfalls, checked out some museums, hung around in hammocks.
Travelling with the trailer again made us really miss the cap and Maggie and wishing we had the GFC already. Towing sucks.
Steve & Deb
Adventurist
Lots of water! Whenever we've been up that way it is usually much drier.
The Corning Glass Museum is pretty cool, too! Hopefully you tried their cafeteria. They have (or at least had) some top shelf chef there.
And, I could have stayed all day in the Rockwell Museum! As a lover of old westerns, Im a long time fan of the art. I was also ready to camp out inside the art portion of the Buffalo Bill museum in Cody.
The Corning Glass Museum is pretty cool, too! Hopefully you tried their cafeteria. They have (or at least had) some top shelf chef there.
And, I could have stayed all day in the Rockwell Museum! As a lover of old westerns, Im a long time fan of the art. I was also ready to camp out inside the art portion of the Buffalo Bill museum in Cody.
Timbren-Industries
Adventurist
Have you done any upgrades to the truck to assist with towing like our SES kit? Looks like it was a great trip and you got some awesome pictures!
Yes, truck is equipped with OME Heavy Duty Springs but the real add on are the Firestone airbags with the Daystar cradles.
Exciting new mod! Not really but GFC preparations continue, this time sealing under the factory bed caps to prevent dust and water from working under the caps. The originals were a bit rough from all the years under the weight of the cap so I elected to replace them with a new set.
Popping the old caps off revealed some wear and rust so I got on it. Sanding, rust reformer and a top coat first…
Than I applied a layer of waterproof insulation tape to cover the open holes and after that a thick bead of black RTV around the perimeter.
Caps snapped on tightly and snuggly and look much better.
One more thing checked off the list.
Popping the old caps off revealed some wear and rust so I got on it. Sanding, rust reformer and a top coat first…
Than I applied a layer of waterproof insulation tape to cover the open holes and after that a thick bead of black RTV around the perimeter.
Caps snapped on tightly and snuggly and look much better.
One more thing checked off the list.