Corey's 2007 FJ Cruiser Build-Up Thread

[Corey]

First I had the fridge on top of the cargobox, then I moved it to behind the drivers seat as seen above in a previous update. It is much easier to get to the contents of the fridge now, but I still could not lift the lid up all the way, and I had to hold it open with one hand. On my trip to Mt. Rainier in August, it was a PITA to have to hold the lid open with one hand, and move the contents with the other hand. Awhile back I came upon a thread on IH8MUDs forum about relocating the hinges so the lid will open from the side. The creator of the thread ended up putting together a kit so one does not have to hunt around for the parts. The kit arrived today, and I could not wait to dig in on another project. Total time was around a half hour or so. While the instructions do not call for drilling a pilot hole for the self tapping screws supplied, I did drill a small 7/64th pilot hole. I was careful to not drill into far. I first put the hinge in place, and I went back in 1.5" from each end of the fridge to center the hinges. I marked one hole with a felt pen, then drilled it. I then put the hinge in place and used the 18v drill to put in the new screw. Once it was in and tight, I then drilled one hole at a time and repeated with the self tapping screws. So in other words, I did not drill all four pilot holes at once. Once the hinges were in place, I then took out the top screws I had just put in and took the lid all the way off. You then have to remove the stock hardware from the lid and the fridge for the stock hinges. Once you have done that, you reuse the stock bolts (these are not screws) to fill in the holes. I put the lid back on again and put back in the upper screws for the new hinges. I then snapped close the stock latch, and all is very tight. I did not opt to install the new clasp/lock supplied in Kevin's kit, as the stock hinge worked out fine in its original position. Plus I will not have to modify the thermal bag by cutting a hole in it for a new clasp/lock. Picture one below shows me holding the lid open with the fridge in the rig. The lid hits the ceiling and will not raise up all the way. Picture two shows the hinge on with three screws in place and a pilot hole ready for the fourth screw. Picture three shows the new hinges in place and the lid open. Note that the lid stays open too. It has an adjustment screw you tighten to cause friction in the hinge, thus allowing the lid to stay open in any position. Way cool man Picture four shows the new hinges in place and the lid off ready for me to take off its hardware and the fridges hardware for the stock hinges. Picture five shows the fridge back in its native environment, and the lid open as if I was going to access it for grub. The lid clears the ceiling just fine too. This retrofit will make an ARB or Engel fridge that more enjoyable to access the interior of it. This kit gets the two thumbs award Click here for the instructions and to order the kit. The thread on IH8MUD that started it all.

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[Corey]

I am like a kid on Christmas morning.
As soon as UPS dropped off my package from Expedition Exchange, I tore into it and got out the camera.

First off I really dig my ARB fridge/freezer.
No ice to mess with, low battery draw, and you can pack enough food for a week or more into it.

When I took my vacation to Mt. Rainier in August of 2008 I ate really good
Problem is you still have to move around a lot of the grub as it is just one big deep carnivorous well that swallows whatever you can throw at it.

One problem I solved keeping the lid open on the fridge by itself, and not having the lid hit the roof of the FJ was solved in a prior post in my buildup thread.
So once again the fridge is undergoing another mod, it is being transformed into a basket case...

I saw a thread on Expedition Portal that led me to the TwoZone Basket Set sold by Sierra Expeditions.
They are two different sized baskets that hook onto the stock basket in an ARB or Engel 42 qt fridge.
Here is a little info from Sierra's website:

The TwoZone Suspended Basket Set is compatible with most ARB, Engel, Norcold, and Waeco fridge/freezers.

The larger basket measures 11.5" from suspension tab to tab, and the basket is 10.4 wide, 9.5" long and 4" deep.

The smaller basket measures 11.5" from suspension tab to tab, and the basket is 10.4 wide, 5" long and 4" deep.

This will allow you to pack your vegetables and fruits on top without the worry of them getting bruised and turned into mush by heavier items that may bump up against them.

You can also load up a basket with your snacks, eggs, dip, whatever you do not want buried.
Below the two baskets you still have room to store stuff you might want to keep a little colder such as meats, frozen burritos, milk, orange juice, whatever beverages you are into

So if you are looking for a great solution to keeping your trail/overlanding grub well organized, look no further, these baskets are a great addition to your fridge.

Here are a few pictures showing the size on my laptop for comparison, and some out in the fridge loaded up.
You can easily access the food below by taking out one basket.





TwoZone Basket Set sold by Sierra Expeditions

[Corey]

This HAM radio setup will be taken in steps as it is very labor intensive, and I am taking my time on it also, as I am still working on my license.

I have all the gear on tap, and here is what I have.
Yaesu 857D HF/VHF/UHF mobile transceiver
YSK-857 Separation Kit to remote mount the faceplate of the radio
Diamond GLP58 mounting group to mount an antenna to the ARB front bumper
Diamond NR770HA 2 meter and 440 MHz (70 cm) mobile antenna (Will be getting an all band Yaesu ATAS-120a antenna in the future)
Valor VS4 Big Mouth mobile extension speaker (Got two, going to replace my present one for my CB radio)
Diamond MX62M duplexer (Allows two antennas or one ATAS-120a antenna to be used with the 857Ds two antenna connection on the radio)
And various small parts such as fuses and RG58U coax

I installed the antenna back on 10-29-2008, here are some pictures of the install.
This antenna is only for 2 meter and the 70 centimeter bands, hence why I will switch out later to the Yaesu ATAS-120a antenna.

I had to pick up some step drills from Harbor Freight to drill out the antenna hole on the ARB bumper, as the Diamond mounts stud is bigger than a CB antenna stud.
You pop out the plastic cap on the bumper by tapping it from below with a hammer.

Installed the Diamond mount and screwed the antenna to the base.
I still have to have the coax soldered at both ends for the antenna mount and the plug that goes to the back of the radio.
That will come another day.

The antenna is very stealth.
The Yaesu ATAS-120a antenna I will get later however is not so stealth.





Installed the remote faceplate of the radio today.
I used an existing mount in the rig which was for an iPod, cell phone, or GPS.
http://www.yotatech.com/50362018-post78.html

I took off the grip pod part of it, and much to my delight, the Yaesu faceplate kits holes line up perfectly with the holes in the Panavice mount.
I can even move it around for different configurations, and the holes still align up.

Picture one shows the Panavice mount only with the grip pod off of it.
Picture two shows the Yaesu remote faceplate mount bolted to the Panavice mount.
Picture three shows the Yaesu 857D faceplate mounted to the remote mount.
It is a perfect reach for me to reach out to adjust the radio.



The next phase will bet getting the the two external speakers mounted, and hopefully taking out the passenger seat to install the radio underneath of it and get the power hooked up to it, and the cables from the remote faceplate ran down to the radio.

[aviator]

Looks good corey, but why not go for an aussie style overhead mount for the radio controls?

[Corey]

Problem with those is you have look up at your headliner.
This is much safer IMO with it right in front of me.

[Corey]

Actually I installed it a few weeks back, but both brackets were not the correct ones, and new ones arrived to those of us who bought the first five ladders.
The new parts arrived 2-27-2009.

Saw the ladder mentioned over on FJ Cruiser forums website.
Very nice looking ladder, and this will allow me to undo the rear latch to my Autohome Maggiolina AirLand roof top tent much easier than jumping up on a rear tire.
Plus the ladder looks cool too

When the ladder was installed a few weeks prior to this buildup entry, the bottom clamp would not work, and they redesigned both the top and bottom clamps like the original one for their FJ Cruiser.

Installing it is pretty straight forward.
Below are some pictures of the install and finished product.

Tools needed:
13 mm Gear wrench and open end wrench on one end for the top bracket.
14 mm Gear wrench and open end wrench for the bottom bracket.
Assortment of Allen wrenches.

Pictures one through four show the ladder by itself, the new clamps, and the top and bottom clamps installed.



Pictures five through eight show the reason why my rig is filthy during the winter, two old growth fir trees I park under, ladder installed without spare tire, top of the ladder crooked after spare tire is on, and a shot with ladder and tire on.



Pictures nine through eleven show another ladder shot with the rear door closed, spare tire clearance, and a shot of the top bracket again.



If you have a bigger than stock size spare tire, you must pull the tire off the mount.
That top bracket is indeed on straight and flush with the door.
It appears the ladder became crooked though apparently after tightening up the spare tire.
I could hear the ladder creaking some as I tightened down the three lugnuts to the spare tire.
I can not figure out how it is crooked though, as the bolts are not bent, everything appears normal.
I am not going to fret over it though, the ladder is strong and secure.
I climbed up on it and even stood on the spare tire to examine the nice garden I have growing up on top of my tent.

I should have snagged a picture of that.
That will be cleaned off when warmer weather gets here and I break out my rigwashing supplies.

Links:
BajaRack
The FJ Cruiser ladder

[Corey]

Update on the ladder.
It appears the two holes at the top of the ladder are out of alignment, thus causing the way it looks when you look at the top bracket.

Sergio owner of BajaRack's is sending out a replacement ladder to me to fix this.

[BT17R]

I'm sort of glad to hear that, Corey, but it doesn't do credit to the manufacturer to ship out two defective units to a VIP. BTW, what is the load limit of the door hinges? The tire/wheel must weight well over OEM and combined with ? users weight, at some point won't the hinges or their mounting points deform and possibly warp the door allowing a leak or difficulty closing?

[Corey]

I have been having a lot of trouble with this ladder for some reason.
I am just curious if the other four who ordered when I did got the holes mixed up too.

This guy on the FJ site did not.
Here is mine again
Notice how his is straight, and holes are in alignment



Oh well, hopefully the new one will ship out next week.
The updated parts were two day UPS, so I would imagine I would get the ladder pretty fast too.

Not sure about the load limit on the door Bob, but when the door is closed, it looks like it can handle quite a bit of weight.
Plus this is like the racks on rigs.
When going down the road, you have a weight limit of around 150 lb on your roof which includes the rack, the tent, and anything else on it.
However when you are parked, you can have around 600 lb on the roof with no problem when still, and the load is distributed via the crossbars.

[aviator]

Originally Posted by BT17R

I'm sort of glad to hear that, Corey, but it doesn't do credit to the manufacturer to ship out two defective units to a VIP. BTW, what is the load limit of the door hinges? The tire/wheel must weight well over OEM and combined with ? users weight, at some point won't the hinges or their mounting points deform and possibly warp the door allowing a leak or difficulty closing?

I would say little problems like this are to be expected early in the life of a new product... it is to his credit that he is making it right promptly...
as for the hinges I would say that it is still within the design load of the hinges, at most the bushings will wear faster... and no one [in there right mind anyway] is going to climb the ladder with the door open. When it is closed there is very little stress on the hinges.
or are you saying our leader needs to hit the gym more often?

[BT17R]

Heh, I'm the one who need more cardio work.

Just something strange looking about those tabs on top where you'd expect a 180° bend instead. IMO it looks rough and unfinished and clearly either wasn't well thought out or something went wrong during manufacture, a big oversight for an item with potentially large liability.

[Corey]

OK, there was definitely something wrong with my first ladder as the holes drilled on top of the ladder where not aligned correctly.
Plus my bottom bracket kept popping off and also knocking off the doors shock that holds it in the open position.

Ladder number two arrived Friday the 20th of March, and I dug into it this morning.
I hope this is the last time I have to take off my spare tire now for the ladder.

The new ladders upper part has the holes drilled correctly, and there is a new surprise, the bottom bracket has been totally redesigned with a hook that ties the bottom bracket and the bottom ladder together to keep them both tight and to prevent the bottom bracket from popping off the door.

I have not had time to take it fir a road test yet to see if any flex pops off the doors shock again, but I will know by Sunday when I go grocery shopping.

Onto the new installation.

Tools needed:
13 mm Gear wrench and open end wrench on one end for the top bracket.
14 mm Gear wrench and open end wrench for the bottom bracket.
Assortment of Allen wrenches.

Pictures one and two show the ladder fresh out of the box and the brackets.
Note the new bolt that ties in the bottom bracket and the bottom of the ladder flange.

Picture three shows the new and improved ear above the wrench that now lets you get a ratchet wrench on.
Before for just that bolt I had to use the open end of the wrench.

Picture four shows the bottom bracket and the new bolt that ties it and the ladder together.



Picture five shows a different angle of the bottom bracket bolt.
Picture six shows where I lined up my top bracket in relation to the top of the door.
Picture seven shows indeed the holes are aligned correctly, not out of alignment like my first ladder was.
Picture eight shows the bottom bracket from the inside view with it tightened down.



Picture nine shows an outside view of the bottom bracket and ladder now tied in with that new bolt flange system that was revised for the new ladder I received.
Picture ten a view of the ladder in place without the spare tire.
Picture eleven shows the clearance with the spare tire on.
It is barely up against the 285x70x17 tire.
Picture twelve shows the spare tire back in place.



Overall it seems to fit better than the old ladder since it has the holes drilled correctly on top, and with the newly designed bottom bracket holding the ladder and it more securely together.

Links:
BajaRack
The FJ Cruiser ladder

[scuba]

Looks great corey, Have you tried climbing on it yet...?

[aviator]

Looks good Corey
In pic 10 it looks like you have some creeping surface rust starting along the top of the plastic at the bottom of the door under the tire.
It also appears that your wheel is crushing the ladder against the door.
It looks like the mfg. could shift the bottom mount about 2" left and "flare" the ladder around the wheel area a little more. This would allow for a better foot/hand hold when climbing/descending the ladder and also perhaps the addition of a "clip" on jerry can rack.
Finally I would hit the nuts/bolts with a coat of clear to help stop rust which will happen fast particularly to that bottom mount clip.

edit: taking the tire off and on is good exercise for you you should do it more often to prevent bolt seizure {and heart seizure lol}

[Corey]

Originally Posted by scuba

Looks great corey, Have you tried climbing on it yet...?

Not yet, but I did the first one, and not a creak came from it.

Originally Posted by aviator

Looks good Corey
In pic 10 it looks like you have some creeping surface rust starting along the top of the plastic at the bottom of the door under the tire.
It also appears that your wheel is crushing the ladder against the door.
It looks like the mfg. could shift the bottom mount about 2" left and "flare" the ladder around the wheel area a little more. This would allow for a better foot/hand hold when climbing/descending the ladder and also perhaps the addition of a "clip" on jerry can rack.
Finally I would hit the nuts/bolts with a coat of clear to help stop rust which will happen fast particularly to that bottom mount clip.

edit: taking the tire off and on is good exercise for you you should do it more often to prevent bolt seizure {and heart seizure lol}

Paul, no rust on my rig at all, not even here in soggy WA. state.
What you see is the result of this puppy.
That is tree spooge from a pair of old growth fir trees.
It comes from the rig not having a proper bath since last September.
The tree emits a combo of pitch, pollen, dirt, ect when mixed with rain water creates that film.
You should see the top of my tent, as I was not able to wash that a month back when I hit up the coin op to wash the rest of the rig.
That will be solved though (its in another thread) as I bought a RV wash brush with flo through water to clean the tent with.
A few more weeks if it warms up here, I will be back to hand washing again, and all that stuff comes right off and stays off until I quit washing it again next fall.

The tire is not pressing very hard on the ladder, but it does contact it.
They designed this for a stock 265x70x17 tire, and I think they should have had some more bend it to accommodate a 33" tire like mine.
Most ditch the stock size tires in favor of the 285x70x17s.

I do wish the flat washer they provided with the new bottom bracket bolt was black, everything else is.
I will hit that with some flat black paint at a later (warmer) date.

[aviator]

Nothing that can't be fixed easily then lol...
You should mention that tire size thing to the mfg. though... they seem to be trying hard to perfect their product...
did you remember some thread locker on the nuts? I see they are ny-lok/metal lok-ers but some 242/262 would make sure they don't seize so you can take the ladder off more easily if you ever have to.

[Corey]

Originally Posted by aviator

Nothing that can't be fixed easily then lol...
You should mention that tire size thing to the mfg. though... they seem to be trying hard to perfect their product...
did you remember some thread locker on the nuts? I see they are ny-lok/metal lok-ers but some 242/262 would make sure they don't seize so you can take the ladder off more easily if you ever have to.

I do not even own thread locker if you mean that Loctite stuff.
Never ever used that stuff in my life.

ARB used it though when they installed my snorkel at their headquarters November of 2007.

[aviator]

thats the stuff loctite 242 and 262... best stuff in the world I use it all the time on my truck... never had a nut/bolt seize or back out on anything I've installed...

[Corey]

Normally I would post the installation of a mod like this in this ongoing buildup thread here, but I felt the addition of the solar panel was worthy of its own thread.
Here is a link to the installation of the solar panel.
http://www.yotatech.com/f172/solar-p...2009-a-185362/

[Corey]

Two mods today, been busy all morning.

First up is the new Engel Wireless Thermometer that I bought from Wil at Sierra Expeditions.

First pictures shows the transmitter next to the receiver for size comparison.
Second picture shows the transmitter sitting in the fridge.
I did not use the supplied Velcro to attach it anywhere, as I want the option of putting it where I want once the grub is packed inside the fridge.
Third picture shows the receiver that can display the time, outside temperature, and the fridge temperature.

It is off by a few degrees (higher on the Engel unit) compared to the readout that comes stock on the ARB fridge.
Not sure which is the more accurate, I guess I could get one of these dial gauge thermometers and set it inside to check it out.

I find the range on this though is not eighty feet like they claim, in fact when I had the receiver up on my dash it would not pick up the temp of the fridge, it showed the old temp from when sitting in my home.
These need to be real close, hence why I used the Velcro and stuck the receiver onto the fridge.



Links:
Engel Wireless Thermometer

Next up is the "Bjorno Maggiolina roof top tent mod.

Saw a thread over on fjcruiserforums.com by Bjorno who has the exact same tent model I do, the AutoHome Maggiolina AirLand medium.

I found camping in mine last year there is no storage space in the tent, and having a shelf like this is nice to put your shows up on.
The shelf is to small to put my BadBags duffel on, and way to heavy too.
But it can be used to store other stuff besides shoes/boots.

I was gong to try and install mine without cutting out the thirteen ribs like he did, but I would have had to tie the shelf with something to the lifting mechanism of the tent, and that would be kind of a pain.

His method worked out pretty good.
I cut the thirteen ribs out, and set the 16" arms along the tenth inward support rib.
This puts it at an almost level position.

Pretty simple to do, you just bend the tabs over with some adjustable pliers so they will anchor into the top of the roof top tents area which is made that way to hold the custom pockets that AutoHome sells (comes stock on the higher priced Maggiolina models) to put up there to use as pockets to hold stuff in.

Before I put my dirty shoes into a dishpan and stored it on the bed.
Kind of in the way while I slept, this will be nicer not bumping into it during the night.

I can put my Cabelas LED lantern up there, a box of nosewipes, flashlight, or other stuff up there that normally lays on the bed and gets kicked around.

Here are a few pictures of the installation.





Links:
Bjorno's thread on how he made the shelf
ClosetMaid shelf model 51041 from Lowe's
Bjorno's was a different part number, but it appears to be the exact same one as his.

[aviator]

The metal in the ARB probably attenuates the signal transmission which is why the rec. needs to be closer.

just make sure any footwear is dry and mud free... other wise there will be some sloppy rain indoors all night... you might not mind but that sort of thing annoys the ladies as you well know...