Build/activities thread: 1989 Raider, 2010 Sequoia, and my other stuff.

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irish44j

Rank II

Enthusiast III

443
Fairfax County, VA, USA
First Name
Joshua
Last Name
Hickey
With no trips planned for a few weeks, still goofing around with little convenience items and other minor projects, as there's no end to trying to "find places to make things fit" in a truck this small. As with most 80s vehicles, there's very little OEM storage in them. The center console box on this is about big enough to fit a soda can, so not very useful, and the little under-radio pocket can fit a wallet (maybe). I like to have various things handy when I'm road-tripping....pack up gum, some handi-wipes, etc. At first I was just gonna put a pouch on the door, but not much space for that without blocking the window roll handle or stereo speaker (which is weak-sounding enough as it is). I picked up this two-zipper pouch thing at walmart (it was in the sporting goods section, with all the weights, and had a single shoulder strap so not sure what it's purpose it). In any case, it was a good size so I got it for 12 bucks, cut off the shoulder strap, and used some screws to mount it to the side of my armrest (which you may recall is actually hardwood under the upholstery). So that's a little convenience just for me.



Another issue I always have (in all my vehicles) on road trips is trash. Not big "campsite" trash loads, just the crap that ends up sitting on the passenger seat, or tossed behind the seat when traveling a lot....soda can, or fast food bag, or gum wrappers or whatever. Usually I just tie up a small plastic bag someplace and use that, but that's annoying and janky. Back to Amazon searching, and found this one for 25 bucks or something, figured it looked pretty neat and has the "Lusso" brand on it (not far off from Luso Overland, which builds Mitsubishi 4x4 stuff). I like that it has a little frame inside it to hold its shape, the canvas material feels surprisingly tough and looks good, and it has a separate waterproof linter that velcros out, so you can just rinse it in the sink or whatever. On a big SUV wuld just hang this from the back of a seat or something. On this little thing, found a different place for it (with the strap holding it in position nicely using the seat frame bar). Plus a passenger can sit there fine without it being in the way (not that I usually have passengers in this truck). Anyhow, it's a fancy trash bin lol...



 

irish44j

Rank II

Enthusiast III

443
Fairfax County, VA, USA
First Name
Joshua
Last Name
Hickey
Not specific to a particular vehicle, but I'll probably use it on both the Raider and the Sequoia depending on the trip. Anyhow, tonight I picked up a secondhand Hardigg Case off marketplace for a couple of Jacksons. Not bad, since it's probably military surplus and I'm sure DoD paid like $800 for it based on prices I've seen, lol. Anyhow, these cases are basically indestructible and totally weatherproof. I found this one after a lot of searching for a specific size that would fit: my ARB/Ironman awning room (bulky), my car-camping roll-up mattress (bulky), as well as my camping cot, sleeping bag, and tent. Right now I just pile all this stuff inside the truck but it takes up a lot of space (especially in the little Raider). I have a couple Thule roof boxes, but while they have high volume they're not really tall enough to easily (or at all) get the Room and mattress inside (and neither of them fit the Raider roof anyhow). So I knew my measurements needed and searched around until I came upon this box.





The twist-lock latches are pretty trick and really cinch the lid down to seal it from any water intrusion



And it fits all the required stuff with ease and closes without having to smush any of it down



I'm probably going to try to paint it, though I know HPDE is pretty tough to paint, so I'll do some research on what might work. I'd prefer it to be a lighter color to keep heat down (and for looks). Unsure if I'll do drill-through rack mounts or just use straps so I can switch it between the trucks more easily.
 

DintDobbs

Rank V

Advocate III

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Personally, I'd use straps. The top of that box is perfect for straps, and you can stow some extra straps inside with the other items, in case you should ever happen to need them.
 

irish44j

Rank II

Enthusiast III

443
Fairfax County, VA, USA
First Name
Joshua
Last Name
Hickey
Yeah, that's what I 'm thinking as well. Though after putting it on the Raider, it's probably too big for my weekend camping trips, so I switched the smaller Pelican boxes off the Sequoia onto the Raider today and will probably use it on the bigger truck for family trips only (and will build a fairing for it since it's a huge air-brake lol...
 

DintDobbs

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Oh, tell me about that one. I used to keep my spare tire on the roof (when this was my only truck), I'm sure that box is even worse.

Getting boxes that are big enough to store what you need, plus a little extra, and small enough so that it's not all rattling around loose in there, is the key.
 

irish44j

Rank II

Enthusiast III

443
Fairfax County, VA, USA
First Name
Joshua
Last Name
Hickey
I have the 7-gallon Yakima Road Shower on the Sequoia, which has been very useful for camping, racing, and cleaning up messy kids. My plan had been to swap it onto the Raider for camping, but after some checking it's just too big to really fit on the rack easily - plus it's overkill in terms of weight and amount of water when it's just me by myself for a night or two (plus I carry 2 gallons in the rotopax). Since I work for a Yakima dealer I looked into getting the 4-gallon road shower, but as it turns out that one is almost as long as the 7-gallon, it's just a lot narrower. I could make it work but really not what I wanted. So dug around a bit on Amazon and found a 4-gallon (well, 3.8 I think) aluminum tank with a similar setup, for about half the price. What the hell, let's see if it's decent.

So after two days it came in, so here's a quick review of what it comes with: The tank, which has a nice metal cap, pressure release valve, and a Shrader valve for pressurizing it. The tank has a bracket on the bottom with twin rails (like the ARB awnings and the Yaki tank as well), with mounting bolts that slide in. It has two handles on it - one on top for carrying and one on the side that holds two brackets for storing the hose/nozzle and for holding the handset in a "shower" setup. Kinda strange, but whatever. It also comes with nice mounting hardware -actually much more than is needed, and it comes with locknuts (8) and also 8 spin-on nuts (in case you want to make it quicker to remove). It also comes with a hitch-receiver with a mount bracket as well, if you want to mount it down there. Plus a box-end wrench for the bolts. Aaaand, it comes with a decent little bike-style pump for pressurizing it, which is a nice addition. All told, $180 with a coupon on Amazon. The tank itself is decent, though the welding isn't beautiful, but whatever. Nothing on this truck is beautiful. Here it is:







Let me jump back for a second. The big Hardigg case in the previous post turned out to be just TOO big for the Raider. I'll use it in my offroad trailer and for race stuff with the Sequoia. Instead, I moved the Pelican Vault off the Sequoia onto the Raider. It's the right size for a couple camp chairs, my cot, and my big tarp. I mounted it up last week, and then I moved it over to fit the water tank.

So here's where I mounted it. The Pelican box opens to the center of the truck , but that's better anyhow since the other way it falls open into the GMRS antenna. The tank goes outside of it.





But, to fit it I cut off the "side handle" thing. FIrst, it's kind of dumb (IMO) plus it's on the wrong side...would be fine for a driver's side mount, but the awning is there. So chop chop:



The black bracket I don't really need. And the silver bracket would be used to hold the handset on the tank when on the road - but I'll just take the hose off the tank when driving and toss it inside. So I turned the bracket 90 degrees at a down angle and bolted it to the rack like so:



Which lets me use it as a shower mount



Oh, the handset is plastic, but has a nice on-off button and 3 spray settings that are decent, so I'll use it until I invariably break it somehow lol



After it was all set up, I put a couple gallons of water in and put about 15psi of air in it. No leaks, no issues, held the pressure fine, and even with that low air still had a nice shower stream



So yeah, not bad for an Amazon cheapie. Works fine, is nice and compact, and looks decent up there. Mounted up easily with the provided brackets.
 

DintDobbs

Rank V

Advocate III

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Seems like it pretty much does what it needs to do. Let us know how it holds up in the long run!