Tag: build

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DIY: The Ultimate Headlamp (Or Practically Anywhere Lamp)

LIGHTBULB MOMENT:

Inspiration comes at the most random times, and in the most random of places.  At the 2017 SEMA show, I was talking to the crew at Baja Designs when I noticed that one of the guys had built a battery powered Squadron light, and it got me thinking.  What if I could take a small Baja Designs light like the S2 Pro, and 3D-print a mount for it that would make the light work with the GoPro ecosystem of mounts?

This way I could mount the light on my helmet, or any place a GoPro mount could be used, including the magnetic mounts we covered in our meet the maker series of articles.  The S2 Pro’s 2,450 Lumens of light mounted on a helmet, bike, or in any dark place would make a huge difference in visibility and safety (in being able to see further at night), and the compact size and minimal power consumption meant that running the light off a battery would not require lugging a car battery around.  I could power the S2 with some of the dozens of LiPo batteries I have (Drone pilot problems) and any 9-30V DC power source.  With this bright idea in my head, I fired up Solidworks, and started raiding my various parts bins in the shop for materials.  Here’s what I came up with:

First off, I reverse engineered the metal S2 mounting bracket to create a bracket that is GoPro compatible.  Then I pulled the factory WeatherPak connector off of the S2 and swapped in a XT60 connector and added on another foot of wire. This way, the light can be mounted on the top of a helmet and the connector will come to the wearer’s shoulder.  On the wearer’s shoulder I placed a switch so that turning the light on and off is as easy as flicking a switch, as opposed to having to find a connection to pull apart.  From the switch, I made a meter-long XT60 extension cable so that the wearer could carry a battery in the bottom of their backpack.

This system allows the light to be configured minimally as a light and a power source (battery), or with the switch and extension cable for a slick setup that works great for a number of pursuits.  I’ve also found myself using the light while working on vehicles at night, and I’ve even taken the light on a Grand Canyon River Trip – because good light is quite helpful when setting up camp in the dark.  I have no doubt that as time goes on, I’ll continue to find more uses for this light – so without further adieu, here’s how you make your own:

SHOPPING LIST:

  • Baja Designs S2 Pro.  I recommend the Combo lens for dirtbiking, mountain biking and most sports.  If you’re going to build a dedicated camp light, I would get a wide lens instead.
  • XT60 connectors.  I chose to use XT60 because I have so many batteries and power supplies that use this connector, but any quality connector will work.
  • Wire.  A couple of meters of quality multi strand copper wire.  18 gauge is plenty large enough.
  • Wire sleeving.  Helpful for keeping things clean and organized.
  • Switch.  I used these switches since they’re rated for the DC current in this circuit.
  • 3D Printed S2 GoPro Mount.  Download an STL part file here.

TOOLS REQUIRED:

  • Wire cutters
  • Wire strippers
  • Soldering Iron and electrical solder (get the good stuff with silver)
  • Heat Shrink Tubing
  • Hot Glue Gun and Glue Sticks
  • Electrical Tape (Get the good stuff, Super 88)
  • Multimeter (Helpful for figuring out poles on your switch)

DIRECTIONS:

Step one is to obtain a mounting bracket for the S2 Pro.  We’ve posted the file HERE where you can download it, so print it yourself, borrow a buddy’s printer, use a local maker space, or use an online printing service.  The factory hardware will carry over to the new bracket.

Step two is all about wiring.  Disassemble the weatherpak connector on the end of the S2, and solder on an extension to suit your needs.  I used 18-2 security wire, as it’s a multi strand copper wire with two conductors and a second sleeve providing extra durability.  Make sure to note the polarity of the S2, and ensure that you have the polarity correct (!) before soldering on a XT60 connector to the end of your extended wire.

If you want to add a switch to your system you’ll need a male XT60 connector, a female XT60 connector, a few inches of wire, and a switch that can handle at least two Amps at 12V DC.  The switch I used is a single pole switch, so I tied the ground from both XT60 connectors to the ground pole on the switch (silver wire in photos.  I then wired the male XT60 (The male connector has the male gold parts inside the yellow plastic.) to the input on the switch and a female XT60 to the output of the switch.  I designed and printed a simple box to encase all of these parts, but some careful wrapping with electrical tape or any other method you have at your disposal to create a solid switch assembly will work.

Lastly, I created a one meter extension cable to allow me to carry a battery in my backpack, have the switch strapped to my shoulder strap of my pack, and have the light on my helmet.  I used two 1 meter long pieces of “wet noodle” silicone wire I had and soldered a Male XT60 connector to one end of the wires.  I then slid the wires into a length of expandable sleeving to protect the wires and create a single cable.  I covered the end of the sleeving at the connector with a piece of appropriately sized heat-shrink.  I then repeated the process at the other end of the cable, except I used a Female XT60.

The S2 Pro will work with DC current from 9-30 volts, which makes all of the 4 cell Lithium Polymer (LiPo) batteries that I have great options for powering the light.  To calculate runtime for a given battery simply take the S2’s power consumption of 21 watts at 12V and divide 21/12 to get 1.75Amps of current required to run the light.  I have a few 10,000 miliamp-hour (mAh) 4 cell LiPo batteries that I opted to use, so if we take 80% of the batteries’ capacity (80% is the safe useable capacity of LiPo chemistry batteries) we get 8000 mAh, or 8 Amp Hours.  Divide 8 Amp hours by our Amps (1.75) and we get 4.5 or 4 and a half hours of safe runtime off of a full battery charge.  To determine runtime for a given battery you may have on hand, swap in the capacity and voltage of your battery in place of the numbers in my example. Easy.

The S2 can also be powered from an AC-DC inverter capable of putting out sufficient DC current and DC volts.  This inverter is used to power a small LiPo battery charger, and happens to put out 3A at 12VDC, which makes it a perfect choice for powering the S2 from the grid or a large solar battery pack, like a Goal Zero Yeti.

The S2 Pro can literally be powered by anything outputting the correct voltage and current.  Hard wiring a plug into your dirtbike, UTV, or other powersports machine would be an easy way to give your light a limitless supply of power – so I encourage you to use this article as a starting point to make this light exactly the tool that will suit your needs.

The above two images were taken on a tripod with the same exposure settings.  The shot on the left is the stock headlight on a KTM 300 XC and the shot on the right is with the S2 Pro mounted on the helmet switched on.

If you’ve ever tried to ride your dirtbike at night, chances are you’ve felt like you were outrunning your lights unless you were idling along in first gear.  Never mind the additional challenge that comes from only being able to see where your front tire and headlight are pointed.  Yet, with an S2 on your helmet, you can confidently navigate at night with plenty of light that is always pointed in the same direction that you’re looking.  Having this light is a huge comfort and confidence boost that will help you find your way and safely navigate the trail, road, or wherever you happen to be riding – being able to see is critical if you choose to play outside at night.

When you make it back to your truck, you can swap the S2 over to a different mount in a matter of seconds and have ample light to make the process of loading your bike in the dark as easy as doing it in the daytime.  This GoPro compatable S2 Pro has become something I find myself using constantly – from the obvious uses of sports at night, to working around camp and the shop, having powerful light that I can truly mount anywhere is invaluable. Do yourself a favor a make one of these lights.

Full Disclosure:  Baja Designs provided the S2 Pro used in this article at no charge to American Adventurist or the author.  All other equipment, tools, and parts used to build this light were purchased by the author.

Disclaimer:  You’re responsible for yourself and your actions, so if you blow up a battery, melt your hand with a soldering iron, or do anything bad as a result of reading this article – that’s on you.  American Adventurist, Chad de Alva, and Baja Designs can’t be held responsible.  Only you can prevent stupid.

 

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Big Meats on a Taco

The Toyota Tacoma is one of the most commonly used overland vehicles out there with a huge following worldwide. The reason is simple, they just work and require very little if any in the way of custom fabrication. I have owned my Gen 2 Tacoma for five years and have it setup just right, with one exception. I’d prefer bigger tires. Don’t get me wrong, my 33” Falken Wildpeak MTs have always pulled off exactly what I wanted to and in some occasions more than what others thought possible. With the truck hitting 100,000 miles and parts starting to fail due to sheer mileage the opportunity presented itself to go to 35” tires.

We had just returned from Overland Expo and there were several problems that needed addressing. First, we lacked power because of the sheer weight of the truck, and I averaged a mere 10mpg to Phoenix and from Flagstaff. I had known that my best solution to fix this issue was to re-gear it. Then I noticed that one of my CV axle boots burped grease everywhere. It hadn’t failed but with 100,000 miles on the odometer it was time for some preventative maintenance. With re-gearing and new axles on the table it was a no-brainer to just take it one step further and go to the 35” tires as well.

I did what everyone else does when about to tackle a new project, started surfing the internet in search of all the information I could find. Who else has done it, how did they do it, what worked and what didn’t was what I was after. What I found was that there was a lot of information out there, yet almost none of this info was complete or organized. So I decided it was time to pick the brains of the industry professionals I know. Industry professionals like Eric Hansen of Yotamasters and Tyler Pelfrey of Pelfreybilt. The reason I chose these individuals is because Eric is a wheeler through and through and runs one of the best Toyota specific shops I know of. I approached Tyler because he had already done exactly what I wanted to do and is a good friend whose opinion I trust. If Tyler’s done it you can bet every aspect of the situation was heavily researched and done right, he’s just that meticulous.

Eric and I had a good conversation about what gears to go with. I posed the question of re gearing with the truck as is with the possible potential of going to 35 inch tires in the future. Eric described the gears like riding a bicycle. Picture riding the bike where you pedal hard to make power or easy to make the same power and your engine is getting winded, re gearing in essence is going to prolong the life of your drivetrain. I asked if we should do 4.56 or 4.88s from the stock 3.70 gears. I told him I average 70-75 on the freeway and rarely if ever drive over 75mph. He explained that the gearing difference between the two was very minimal and that if I didn’t really drive over 75 then he would recommend the 4.88s, if I was more of a lead foot and wasn’t sure if I was going to 35 inch tires than 4.56s would be better. I opted for the 4.88s.

The next phase of the research was what companies parts do I go with? I ended up going to East Coast Gear Supply for their assembled differentials. They had some improvements over the OEM differential setups I wanted plus the idea of just having assembled diffs sent to me and sending my cores right back was extremely appealing. One of the upgrades that East Coast Gear Supply has is a replacement sleeve for the needle bearing in the driver side font clamshell. The needle bearing is known to fail on the Tacoma clamshell, so the upgrade was a must. The process for ordering was simple, I called them up and talked to one of their knowledgeable reps, told them what vehicle I had and answered their questions and viola new diffs were ordered.

The next item to be ordered were new axles. Most aftermarket axles were not the way to go due to poor quality control. I had great experience with my OEM Toyota CV axles so I wanted to just stick with what was working, that is until I saw the price tag that Toyota was charging. After more googlefu and interwebs reading I found CVJ Axles. They specialized in refurbished OEM Toyota Axles that you could get as stock replacements or with upgrades. I told Stephen at CVJ Axles what I was doing with the truck and he recommended using their high angle boots.

The final step was choosing the tires and what path I would use for clearancing the fenders. I had been running Falken Wildpeak MTs in the 33 (285/75R16) variety for over a year and can honestly say I was blown away by them. I have ran various other brand tires for all kinds of other driving, whether it was desert racing, overlanding or more technical rock work but the Falkens seemed to perform well everywhere to include on road, they where actually quiet for a MT!

I opted to go with the Wildpeak MTs again for the 35” tires (315/75R16) but fitting those big ole meats on the Tacoma would require cutting my fenders first. That was fun!

With the fenders neatly trimmed to clear the 35’s, I needed a way to make the truck look good afterwards and that was an easy choice, Bushwacker Fender Flares.

These flares took a while to get all of them on because we were busy actually getting out on trips, but the proof of concept was achieved as it all came together in Colorado on Engineer Pass!

Once all the flares were on it had the fully finished look I was seeking as well as some additional coverage – overall I am very happy with how all of these modifications turned out.

Full build thread on the truck can be found HERE on our Forum at American Adventurist.

Photos by Cifaldi Photography and Chad de Alva.

 

Full Disclosure: Tires, flares, gears and CV’s were provided at no or reduced cost to Brett or American Adventurist.