Categories
Outdoors Tech Vehicles

Camp Bug I gets a few new accessories

Getting ready for a few camping trips I decided to update a several items on the trailer.

The first was to install a door for a little more storage space and so I can check on the batter charge condition without having to open the top and remove the inside shelf.  I was able to find the correct size hatch on Ebay for a reasonable price.

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I also installed an outdoor shower box for rinsing off and the occasional shower. I also have a shower enclosure and use the solar shower bag. I like using the bag because it prevents any one from over using the water. The shower will be plumbed into the lines going to the sink in the rear.

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I also wanted to add propane bottle bracket. I kept looking (as others have) for the correct solution for my trailer. I was going to use the XL Quick Fists as they have and extremely high rating, but I decided I wanted the primary tank on the tongue rather than against the box. I ended up bending some 2″x 3/16″ strap on my harbor freight bender. Making 90* bends is about all I use it for and it does the job well. I made a 1/4 cage crossed with a full cage that is hinged on the top and uses a heavy locking clasp. It is bolted to the tongue.

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For the spare tank I used the XL quick fist straps. They are just big enough for the smaller tanks and hold it quite well.

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The last thing I did before the trip is the installation of the under body water tank and gray water tank. This opened up considerable storage space and lower the COG even more, as well as move the water weight centered over the axle.

The water tank is just a basic unbaffled 20 gallon tank. All fittings are customizable. I just put a vent, drain and fill fitting.

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The tank was fitted up for marking holes then temporarily strapped up with plastic plumbers tape.

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For the waste tank I decided to use a standard RV drain valve. Time will tell if this was a good idea. It sits pretty tight up to the frame behind the spring shackle. This tank came pre-molded with a 3″ drain and is tapered at the back, just enough to tuck up to the rear frame member. I had a 1 1/4″ fill and 3/4 vent fitting added. I got a 3″-1 1/2″ adapter and the valve at the local RV repair store and the ABS fittings at the hardware store.

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For the tank straps I used some 1/8 x 1.5 bar, added some bends for soft corners and bolted it up to the frame using the same Rivnuts I used in the decking. This is how my Land cruiser gas tank is mount so I think it will be adequate for the trailer.

There is just about the same amount of room between the bump stops and the springs as there is between the axle tube and the tank. I may add a little aluminum skid shield to protect the hoses and fittings. This would be attached to the tank straps.

Here are a few pictures of  the tank straps. Turned out pretty well. No sign of failure yet but the center of the water tank may need a little more support.

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I was able to gain a lot of space in the trailer by moving the water tank underneath. I rearranged the batteries to help maximize this space.

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Here are a few of the trailer in action on a recent camping trip to the Naches Ranger district.

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Categories
Outdoors Overland travel

Trailer Tent – Camp Bug I

After a long search, many nights messaging back and forth with a tent maker in China and a little work to put it all together I finally have the tent I have wanted for my Off-road tent trailer.  The tent is of the basic design used in much of Australia.  I had a few different requirements for mine as well as features the US market may want.  This first tent was also a good learning experience for international trade, ocean shipping and importation.

Camp Bug, this is the name to the entire tent trailer project by my son.  He has heard the story and seen the pictures of the boat I build with my father when I was about 10.  It was a remake of an older boat my siblings had used.  The boats original name Sea Bug and we christened the newly built boat the Sea Bug II.  Here are a few pictures of the Sea Bug II.

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Back to the Tent and Camp Bug I.  After much work, a little retrofitting and a little beefing up I was able to attach the tent to the trailer.  It uses three hinges to hold it to the trailer.  It has two left handed and one right handed lift off hinges.  The right handed hinge is in the center and acts as the lock.  Half of the center hinge is bolted to the trailer.  The rest of the hinges are welded to the trailer and tent base.  This makes it possible to remove the tent from the trailer if need be.  To hold the folded tent up while loading I started out with two 120 lbs gas lift struts.  This works once the base is completely extended, but does nothing to help lift it.  With the tent and base weighing in and near 350 lbs I think I need a little help.  I will try a pair of 200 or 250 lbs struts and see if that does the job.

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The tent wasn’t difficult for me to set up by my self the first time, but two people will be helpful.  I started by removing the cover, removing and setting aside all the poles, guide lines, stakes and awning (annex) walls.  Next I pulled the tent off the trailer spreading the PVC floor out as tight as I could.  This also pulled the two ground length internal poles off the trailer.

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Once the floor is staked down, I went inside and put the ground length poles into their pockets in the walls.  The poles are extended until the roof is tight.  The two poles that are attached to the base also need to be extended.

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The annex uses it’s own set of poles. Setting this up was the hardest part of the setup. It helps to have a second person to hold one of the poles as you attached the rest of the structure. Four poles attach through the tent wall to the inside pole structure.

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The tent comes with a ladder to get up onto the bed.  The bed consist of a 3″ thick foam pad roughly the size of a queen sized bed.  Under the bed are two hatches for easy access to items that are stored inside the trailer.

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The walls for the annex are as simple as attaching the three panels together and to the tent with their Velcro strips.   Fully deployed, the tent has two windows with rain covers and six windows that can role up.  All windows as well as the two doors have mosquito netting to keep bugs out.

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The Kitchen slides out through the opening in the tent panel at the back of the trailer.

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The roof vents, there is one in each outer end of the tent.

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And the tent stakes. There is a set of the standard size metal stakes as well as an extra heavy duty style that is about 3/8″ thick.

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The tent can be mounted on most any trailer smaller than 90″ long x 66″ wide.  A custom mounting frame may be needed.  For questions or more information on the trailer tent, please contact me or submit a post on the East Olympia Cruisers website or download the [download id=”2″].

Categories
Outdoors Overland travel Tech

Off-road Tent Trailer Build, Part3

The trailer tent has arrived. I set it up quickly or some pictures and get a first impression. Of course it was raining so I had to set it up in the shop. I was not able to open the annex and install the walls but the main tent fit (just barely) and I like what I see so far. Well made with heavy sippers and double seams. I have some questions on the travel cover but everything else looks pretty good. Now I just have to figure out how I’m going to mount it to the trailer. I think a bit of extra bracketry is required and will have to pack the tent back up and flip it over to get a better idea.  I will get more pictures one I get it permanently mounted and can set it up outside.

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My minimum order is 10, so I think 5 people and I will have to nearly full price. If I can get 8 or more, I will be able to give about 20% discount I think.  If you are interested in being part of the initial order please let me know by using the contact form.

Still waiting on ocean shipping rates. Also looking into the need for fire retardant fabric before I announce a price.

The size of the tent closed is 90″ (~7.5′) long, 66″ (5.5′) wide and between 6″-12″ tall. The width was selected because that is the width of my trailer outside fender to outside fender. I believe the M416 is roughly the same. The base is designed to sit 54″ off the ground. Open, the tent is 17′ wide and 15′ long (7.5′ each for main room and awning). The peak is 8′. The tent fabric is 10oz rip stop poly cotton canvas and the floor is 13oz PVC. Polls and ladder are steel. The base is 3/4″ marine grade plywood with a metal frame under for added support. There are two hatch doors in the base for easy access to trailer storage once setup. There is a 3″ foam mattress. The entire tent weighs roughly 350 lbs.

I am still working on the mounting. I am thinking of offering a mounting frame at additional expense or having the customer provide their own mounting method. The frame would fit customers trailer and have hinges, latches and struts.

Categories
Tech

FJ60 Heater Core Replacement.

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Having to install a heater core in the FJ60 Land Cruiser can be one of the worse jobs we have to do. It doesn’t sound bad, but as you start looking into all the steps it becomes apparent this isn’t just a simple operation, or is it. The FSM calls for the dash to be removed, then to remove the A/C evaporator module (if equipped) then the heater core module.

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The heater core is held in its case by a bracket across the top and little clamps over the tubes. The tubes are held in the heater core with little clips. With the tubes attached there will not be enough clearance to remove the heater core with the case in the vehicle.

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While you will still need to remove the entire dash and heater ducts. If you remove the tubes first, pull the cases away from the firewall you will be able to remove the heater core without disconnection the A/C. I used a pair of screw drivers to pry the somewhat stuck heater core out of the case. Once out I made sure to clean out any old coolant that was sitting in the bottom of the case. The new heater core did not come with any of the foam that is used to seal the core in the case. All that my local parts store had was camper tape and appears to work just fine. The new core also didn’t come with new o-rings. Having an assortment on hand is always handy and I was able to find two of the proper size.

With the new heater core installed and tubes mounted in place the dash was reassembled, hoses connected at the fire wall and the coolant refilled. It may be advisable to attach the hoses and refill the cooling system before finishing the dash work to spot any leaks.

Categories
Tech

Toyota FJ60 Land Cruiser Seat Upgrade

I have been less impressed with the seats in my ’87 FJ60 since I bought it. They are thinly padded with a weak frame (for someone of my size). I installed seats from a Volvo 240 wagon a few years ago and this was a huge improvement. Better padding, solid frame, just not that adjustable. I regularly pursue the local wrecking yards in search of a better seat that will fit. I have looked at other Toyota seats, BMW, mini-van and others as well. I have never found seats that I thought would both fit, and meet my needs. During a visit to my neighbor hood wrecking yard last summer I came across a Mercedes M350 that had been badly wrecked. They looked like they would fit and both the drivers seat and the passenger had 8 way adjustable power as well as seat heaters.

I never did a write up of the Volvo seats but I will include a few pictures before continuing onto the Mercedes seats.

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The factory slider was removed and a bracket was made to fit the Toyota slider to the seats.

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I am 6’6″ and the first bracket made the seat sit too high. This left my head in the headliner with the seat back at a comfortable position. I figured I could lower the seat another 1.5″ and modified the drivers bracket to fit this.

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This bracket was pretty tight to the slide and it was difficult to adjust when slid all the way back.

Now for the Mercedes seats. This was a much easier bracket to make. Instead of welding angle, all I had to do was bend up some 2″x.25″ bar stock purchased from Lowe’s. To bend the bar I used a little bender from Harbor Freight. This was the max size the bender could handle but it was adequate.

I drew up a sketch in Google Sketchup with measurements from the truck floor. Now, the floor pan on the ’86 and ’87 trucks is different than the earlier trucks. The earlier trucks have a higher raised spot that the sliders attach to. This may be enough that these seats would not fit for tall people.

Once I had my brackets I drill the floor mounting holes and loosely bolted them to the floor. I then set the drivers seat in the truck to get an idea of location. Once selected, I marked the brackets for drilling the seat mounting holes. Brackets bolted to the seats it was time for test fit. I got lucky on this one and the seats fit. They still sit a little high in the back and I have to have the rear adjusted all the way down with the front all the way up. I have room to lower the back of the bracket about 2″. I will add photos to this article once I have reworked the brackets.

Now for the wiring. There are two types of seats in the ML350, power with memory and just power. I ended up with the power with memory. The power only may have been a little easier to wire but this is what I had. On the power with memory seats, each seat has a power seat module (PSM). This is a little relay/computer box that is attached to the bottom of the seats. All of the motors and motor sensor connect to this box as well as input from the vehicles extended activity module (EAM). My seats came with the PSMs (be sure to get the harness from the car to the PSM). The EAM performers many functions in the car none of which are needed here except power to the PSM.

It was a little confusing at first but I figured out the wiring. There is two power inputs to the PSM, 12v+ 30amp to the seat functions and 12v+ 20amp for the seat heaters. There is also a ground wire, and two wires to the heated seat switch. There are two positions for the seat heaters, regular and rapid heat (hi). This again had me confused for a while as I kept trying to apply 12V+ to the wires with no action from the relays. After looking at the wiring for a 4th or 5th time, going to the computer to do some additional research, it dawned on me that the heater relays may be controlled with 12v-. After a few tests I had completely functioning power heated seats.

Is it worth it? I think both the Volvo seats and the Mercedes seats are a great improvement. Not only do they look good (leather), but the are more comfortable and have a much more rigid frame. I think with the ease that the Mercedes brackets were made and how nicely they fit in the 60, the would be my preference every time. They may be much harder to find though.