YetiX Build and Adventure Thread

GFC BUILDS
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Today I built home made roof rack bars out of 10-20 and some other parts I found listed on this forum. They will only be used to carry my Maxtrax and (maybe some day) solar panels. Plenty strong for that.

It only took me three trips to Ace for hardware. 1st trip to get hardware. 2nd trip to get more hardware because I only got enough hardware for one bar the first trip. 3rd trip to get four more 1/4x20 bolts because somehow on either trip 1 or 2 I got some metric bolts instead of 1/4x20. FFS

Tomorrow I’ll be going back to Ace to get some longer 10/32 bolts so I can install the Quick Fists to carry my shovel…

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Sometimes things work, sometimes they don’t. Tried to use Quick Fists to carry my shovel. With just the QFs, the shovel rubbed on the side of the tent. It even rubbed when I turned it this way

I had some plastic (HDPE?) lying around so I made two spacers

Even with those, the shovel would only clear facing out, and even them just barely

I don’t think it’s a good idea to drive with the shovel that way so tomorrow I’ll order up the Built Rite spacers and redo this project.

I didn’t take any pictures, but I also installed @jedgar tent pull down rope kit. Easy peasy . . .

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Installed the headliner using white Velcro from McMaster-Carr:

I adjusted it a little after I took this picture to close the gaps:

A pull cord for the tailgate:

And re-did the Quick Fists with BuiltRite spacers:

Next weekend I have a campsite booked and will get to try out the Overland Soft Goods sheets and the @AERONAUT Hoverquilt Solo

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Well the campsite was a mud bog so I took care of a couple of projects at home. Installed LED lights in the tent for the third time, the headliner covered up the second set I installed because #pisspoorplanning

I also put most of my patches up

I also put Velcro hook on the back of my little battery pack I use for my LED lights when the Jackery is not up there.

I tried a Pack Rack half bench in the bed. I thought it would be perfect for my needs and provide a bench for climbing into the tent while storing my Plano crate underneath. While the Plano does fit under it, it’s just too wide and takes up too much space in the bed. It would probably be perfect for someone who has a full-size truck. (Sorry for the potato-cam picture, not sure what happened) If a full-size owner in the SoCal area wants to give it a try I’ll give you a good deal

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Random question, does your folding table not sit flush when deployed in the short position?

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I’m not sure I understand your question. It has 6 telescoping legs which can be adjusted in 4 or 5 different heights.

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Lol sorry too vague.

I’m referring to the folding aluminum table strapped in on the driver side

I have the GSI one that looks a lot like that (maybe same one, hard to tell due to potato :joy: )

But when it is deployed in the low lode (legs not pulled out, ideal for use in the truck bed) it is like 5mm off on one side.

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I was looking at the Pack Rack for this exact same purpose but I decided it was too wide and took up too much space in the Tacoma. I haven’t been able to find any alternatives yet other than possibly the Goose Gear one but I might have to take out a second mortgage to afford it. Might have to design/build something custom.

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Ahhhh, that table only has one height when opened. It’s just a cheapo Cabela’s table. Perfect height for cocktails around the campfire.

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I’m fortunate that I have two friends who are talented fabricators. I’m sure at some point I’ll have one of them build something for me…

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Had a productive day today. First, I learned last weekend that Colorados have big holes in the corners of the bed rail which allow a ton of dust in. @m0to gave me some foam pieces and I stuffed those up in there.

My rear panel struts were shot so I ordered new struts from GFC and installed them today. Took all of 2 minutes and getting my head cracked once when I took the first strut out and the panel tried to take me out

So, in the picture above you can see how far down my Vrnclr bedding catch sags when loaded, partially blocking my view out the back. I’ve seen a few others had track up there and used t-nuts but because I have a short bed I didn’t have that option. What I did was measure up where the right spot would be and drilled a hole in the ledge the bed panel rests on. Then I bolted up a flat hex bolt with a picture hanger. I ordered a grommet kit of eBay and used that to put a grommet in the bedding catch. I have one of the cool Nite-ize carabiners somewhere in my multiple camping and hunting boxes, I couldn’t find it so I just used a mini carabiner. Works perfectly

Lastly, I added L-track to the side rails. These are not intended for anything heavy, just for hanging points and organization. I found black powder coated L-track and bought two 48" pieces. I then cut them each to 35 1/2". I measured where the captive nuts are on the frame rail and drilled two holes and mounted the L-track using the existing nuts.

My etsy bug screens showed up so I’ll install those next…

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Went out to the desert for a weekend with the hunting club I’m part of. Good times

Out at the shooting area:

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Today I “installed” my two @Filstrand rear frame bags. Super high quality bags, excellent customer service, and they fit perfectly. James used my Colorado as the test bed for the Gen 2 Colorado. Now I need to decide what to put in them . . .

I also received my Pro nut upgrade kit. I only did the four needed to hold my L-track in place so they’re much more secure now

Not sure what’s next other than camping in a few weeks with @kevine001

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Went camping with @kevine001 this weekend. We have both had a lot on our plates lately so we decided to go to an established campground where we could have a campfire. Our timing was perfect too, as we arrived at exactly the same time.

Got to try out my new Turtlebox Ranger bluetooth speaker. Nice feature, it has powerful magnets so I could just stick it on the side of my truck

We enjoyed a nice firepit and called it a night.

We realized we needed a couple of ingredients for our breakfast burritos and dinner so we did a 5.5 mile hike down to the local market, only to find out they didn’t open for another hour. Oh well, it was great workout. Back at camp, Kevin made HUGE breakfast burritos which were delicious. We just hung out around camp until Kevin made garlic fried chicken with potatoes and gravy. (I think he took picture, I was too busy eating.) Then more firepitting

Woke up the next morning to a beautiful moon:

Next weekend is maintenance and fixing a couple of broken things…

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Since I only had two weekends available to me for archery season this year, I decided to camp 7 out of 9 days in a row. The first weekend, @kevine001 and I camped in a dispersed spot off a dead end trail.

We arrived Friday afternoon, set up camp and went out for a hunt. Didn’t see anything other than a few does but I got my steps in. We had dinner and sat around my Howl firepit. I really like it other than it doesn’t put out as much heat as I expected.

We woke up to a beautiful morning on Saturday

We took it easy in the morning and then headed out for an afternoon hunt

I didn’t even see any does this time but I did get to listen to my Padres beating the White Sox so at least there was that

We had another night around the Howl

And then hit the rack as we both had family obligations on Sunday

I was home Sunday afternoon, Monday, and Tuesday, and then headed back to Big Bear Wednesday morning. This time we camped at Hanna Flats campground as we had a veterans group event there for the weekend.

After setting up we went and took our bows for a long walk and only saw a few does to show for it. Then it was back to camp for steak and potatoes

On Thursday we slept in and then worked remotely using our Starlinks. This was my first time using my Starlink Mini and it worked seamlessly except for one problem. A couple of years ago I was looking for a battery pack and ended up buying a RockPals 500 as it was much cheaper than the comparable Jackery. Well, there’s a reason RockPals went out of business. The AC part of my battery would not work so I only had a Jackery 300 to use which severely limited my time on Starlink. I was really surprised how much power it uses! (I ordered a Jackery 500 during my limited time on Starlink and it’s now sitting on my desk at work getting charged)

Thursday afternoon we went back out look for bucks. I didn’t take my crossbow this time, electing to just glass for Kevin and hopefully video him getting a deer.

He did not get a deer but when we got back to camp Kevin made some amazing fish tacos. I don’t usually post food pictures, but these warrant it

After the tacos we sat next to the campfire and had a couple of beers

Friday and Saturday were spent with a veterans group we’re both part of. Kevin did the cooking (amazing) and I just did whatever was needed to help around camp. I was a great weekend spending time with some very interesting guys. Sunday morning I had to leave early to pick up my wife at the airport. Unfortunately, I had a dead battery but I always have a jump pack in my truck but of course it was in the storage area under my fridge.. I made it back to San Diego in record time and even had time to shower before picking up my wife which I’m sure she appreciated…

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Have you made any efforts to hunt Pendleton?

I keep meaning to, but I’m a bowhunter, so I always miss the archery qualification they do on base.

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Thanks for sharing! Looks like a great trip.

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I have not. A friend of mine did last year and got a really nice buck. I probably should though…

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In preparation for the Basil’s Garage desert trip next weekend, I re-installed my “beef bars” and finished installing the quick release mounts for the ARB awning.

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Bit late to the party, but how did you de-badge your camper without ruining the powder coat?