Corey

iTrader: (1)

Is there a place locally to pick on of these up?

Which Yakima tower did you use, and what length of crossbars?

Probably would not work with my Hi-Lift mounts and the axe/shovel mounts where they are now.

apache

Oh wow!!! I wish we could get these in the UK. That looks fantastic! I've seen a few in the time I've been out here and slowly been falling in love with them.Roll on the time when the japs start exporting them cheap to the UK, then I can give my 2nd gen to the wife and get myself an FJ

KD7NAC_07FJ

They are the Lowrider towers with the 58" crossbars. No they will not work with anything over 1" above the top of the factory rack.

That is why I will be fabricating a HiLift mount for the front of my bumper so it will sit above the fairlead and below the bull bar. But that is a mod for another day

Oh and you have to order them. There is a reseller in Washington but they just order them, tack on a handling charge and drop ship them to you. I just went to AutoHome and ordered mine and they shipped it directly to me. They do come from Italy so if they are out it could take 30 days to get one. It was worth the wait for me but you'll have to decide that for yourself.

KD7NAC_07FJ

So - someone was asking about the powder coated factory skid plate.

Here is the gap from the front;


From the side;


And looking directly up at it;


I'm happy with it with one exception. I will be trimming off the corners so the factroy anchor points can be used from the side;

KD7NAC_07FJ

Like so many others I want to be able to turn off my DRLs. Eventually I will be moving the DRL circuit to separate lights on the bumper but for now to keep the gate guards happy I added a switch using the OEM "Auxiliary" light switch (fog light switch) from Man-a-fre and built a harness from the four pigtails.

The two Yellow wires are spliced together and are the switched power leads.
The Black is ground for the LED
The White is the power feed lead.

My intention was to have the switch light up when the lights were on but the switch is set up to be lighted when the dash lights are on so the way I have it wired now the light is very dim. There is a power drop off when the DRL circuit energizes and its constant current isn't enough to light the LED fully. I may just end up wiring the switch's LED to the dash lights but I'm still thinking on that one.

Behind the left light assembly is where the DRL Resistor is located.

You can see in this picture the blue/grey and white/grey wires and the plug that plugs into the resister just behind it. If you wanted to disable the DRLs entirely all you would really need to do is disconnect this plug.



I cut the blue wire (no the FJ didn't explode ) and spliced in the new switch harness. The white wire goes to the blue/grey side coming from the FJ. The yellow wire goes to the blue/grey side coming from the resistor plug.

After pulling the wires, soldering/heat shrinking all connections and looming the harness back to the firewall I ended up with this;



The new harness is on top of the wire cutters shown in the picture and the old harness is below them.

And the switch takes up the blank off to the right of the clutch start cancel switch like this;



Now I can switch my DRLs on and off at will

What I still need to find is the little vinyl letters someone had used here. Then I can put "DRL" on the switch.

Corey

iTrader: (1)

Very cool Wayne.
Same switch I have for the foglamps.

That will come in handy,
There are times when I really do not want my DRLs on.

2WDoffroadx

Are there factory lockers on the blue FJ?

Corey

iTrader: (1)

FJ Cruisers come from the factory with a rear locker only if you order the e locker.

Here are the specs and options when ordering.
https://www.yotatech.com/wiki_pics/fjc/fj_specs.pdf

faubrunner64

"They call it a, high hide, it takes you up high in the trees and gets you out of harms way!....." "actualy it puts you in convenient biting range!"
-jurassic park, the lost world

that immediatly popped into my head when i saw that, its a prety neat idea.

KD7NAC_07FJ

It sure does make is comfortable and convenient for camping at the top of the 4x trail.

Teotwaki

Dirty Parts in Culver City http://www.dirtyparts.com/index-old.asp has a very complete Dual Battery setup or you can buy the parts from Wrangler. Use this tray from the Chevy kit for Optima batteries http://www.wranglernw.com/pc-6348-79...1996-1999.aspx

91muddog

this would have to be, my dream car.

KD7NAC_07FJ

Teo - there are a lot of battery boxes out there but the piece that is missing is how to mount it up in the corner. In fact I bought the BTF Optima battery box and fabbed a mounting bracket. The mounting bracket is what Corey is asking about.

Thanks appreciate the complement

FJCruzn

But... A bunch of us ARE hams and would like to see your radio install! I've done most of the Painless install based on your and others experience but I am pondering on where to put the radio(s).

I keep looking at the space above the visors and wishing for a shelf, but so far, I haven't tackled that...

73,

dale de W5WI

FJCruzn

Did you add the Yakima towers, etc. to the OEM roof rack to mount your tent?

We are looking to buy a roof top tent and your install looks very practical.

Did it affect your mileage in highway driving?

thanks

dale

KD7NAC_07FJ

I don't have any real pics of the radio body install but it is in the right rear quarter panel with the inverter. There is a spot for it in the rack that the inverter mounts in. I added a couple pieces of high density styrofoam to make sure the base unit would not rattle at all.

The head unit is mounted on a bracket that I made. It sits just below the shifters (Manual Trans).

I put the small Radio Shack external speaker just behind the mirror (there is a pic posted earlier). It was a simple matter to fish the cable up the right A post and it is light enough that it is just screwed to the headliner with a couple of sheet metal screws with quick clips behind them.

You do have to buy the Yakima bars and towers or some other equivalent but the mounting system for the tent is pretty universal so it will mount on any crossbar system. My only condition was that it sat height enough that is cleared my lights. No problem there, about an inch clearance.

The Airland is specifically designed to be their most aerodynamic model and I did not notice any change in mileage or noise for that matter. It only weighs 150 pounds so it is less the cargo I typically carry around

KD7NAC_07FJ

A few updates

I got my grab handles installed and did some interior trim black-out work

KD7NAC_07FJ

Swapped out the factory sliders for a set of All Pros

KD7NAC_07FJ

Finally reworked the wiring diagram and put in my in-cab winch controls



In/Out switch


Master Arm Switch

Corey

iTrader: (1)

Very nice, I have thought about getting a set from Joel.

Looks great, if I ever have to replace my currents ones, I will try the APs.

Will be looking forward to checking this out next weekend as well Wayne.