GTGallop

I'll be camping at the GC later in September. Was thinking about breaking camp early and heading to Williams and picking up the road to the bottom of the canyon. I'm assuming and hoping that folks here have done that? Wondering how long it takes and what I should be ready for. I'm guessing it is pretty tame and that it is the access point to supply Phantom Ranch or something like that?

I think the RTT Craze is starting to come to an end. I see them listed more and more on places like Craig's List and Market Place. "Almost new RTT. Bought in 2019. Camped in it three times. Well kept and clean. I've put 40,000 miles on it and I just don't use it enough. Paid nearly $1100 for it but I'm hoping to get $800." "Bump - Price update $600." "Bump Price update $200." "Bump - Anyone want to make an offer?" "Please, I'll drive it to your house." Basically the mall crawlers are getting rid of them (80% of the market) and it's making deals for the purists that really appreciate them.

Add those Mylar/foil emergency heat space blankets to the list of things that fail. I got one out at a windy camp site on the rim and as I unfolded it, it turned into chaff in the wind. Disintegrated in my fingers and blew away like we were having a parade up there with a confetti cannon. It was old. Well over 10 years and may have been the first one I ever bought 20+ years ago. Thankfully it was neither an emergency and we weren't in space. Was just getting it out to test a theory and ended up learning a lesson.

Oddly enough I stumbled upon your campers the other day from a different forum. Spent the night cruising the web site. Very nice stuff!

Absolutely fantastic set up! You did well. Congrats and Welcome!

A 3rd Gen Toyota Tacoma is 4" longer than a 1980's Suburban. Mind blowing how big cars have gotten and how we still think that the 70's and 80's had lumbering land yachts that could be seen from outer space with the naked eye.

As the title states, I put in an Auxbeam Fuse Panel. My ham radio is a face less radio and my dumb @$$ didn't think about that when I mounted it under the seat. So now to turn on the radio I have to pull over and go push a button under the drivers seat, or I have to pull over and then go three menus deep into an app on my phone to turn it on. Seriously should be a CarPlay approved app on the infotainment screen. So due to the warranty issues with Toyota (behind me now - thankfully) and due to the need to access the radio in a one button push configuration, I added the Aux Beam. I do need to move the stickers around so trying to figure out how to get them unstuck and restuck. But seriously - this install was crazy easy and the amount of flexibility if gives is mind boggling. I started out needing only one button so I was going to get a 4 switch panel, then I noticed the 6 button panel was just $10 more so I opted for that. The 8 button panel was $10 more than the 6 and I could see where this was going so before I got a 146 button panel, I hurried up and bought the 6 button panel. And I already have 1 button fully functional and 4 more spoken for leaving me with one 30A button in need of an accessory #1 - 30A: Open to suggestons #2 - 30A: Air Pump (future install) #3 - 20A: Ham / GMRS Radio - VeroTel VGC VR N-7500 (also carry the N-76 HT as a companion too) #4 - 20A: Additional charging port behind the rear seat for NOCO Jump Pack, Laptops, Fridge, Flashlights, Rear seat phone charger etc (future install) #5 - 10A: A-Pillar Cube White (future install) #6 - 10A: A-Pillar Cube Amber (future install) It pulls power straight from the battery and has just a tiny fuse tap under the hood for a relay that shuts the panel off when the ignition is off. It has replaced everything else as my second mod to recommend to any one getting a truck to go off road. Tires First - then Switches and Buttons. And then everything spirals out of control from there because adding stuff is just super easy. Less than $200 all in and I'd imagine that a Manufacturer could do it for half as much if they let this be a factory option. Of course they could charge $1000 more for the truck but that's another camp fire conversation.

Done a bit of research on the AGM and that fuse device. Looks like the OTT (Overland Taylor Tune) will correct it. So I'll toss an AGM in it in January and then the tune will follow.

Hey @Cypher! Good to see you on the forum. OOF! It has been a comedy of issues. Battery was no biggie. Matter of fact I'm now coming up on 2 years with it and looking at replacing it (on my terms not its terms) with an AGM battery. I hear that the increased charging can be handled through a new relay or through programming via an Overland Taylor Tune. Looking at the tune for other reason (transmission shift points). The real issue was the Fuel Injectors on #2 apparently were bad from the factory. Toyota refused to even diagnose the truck because it had a ham radio on it. I pulled the radio out completely and it still died - in traffic. Ended up taking it to YotaPros down near Ikea in south south Phoenix on my dime. They kept it for two weeks, found the errant injectors, replaced them, and it got it running like a top again. I fought Toyota and eventually they cut me a check for the repairs - IIRC it was $1,300 or something. Not too bad for the amount of time they put into it. They cut me a deal because they weren't sure Toyota was going to reimburse and I let them have it with an open ended timeline since I had alternative transportation. That way they could work on it between jobs. There's a full length feature film, extended dance re-mix thread over on TacomaWorld that goes some crazy 27 pages of correspondence between me and Toyota. You got the TLDR above so no need to read unless you are having insomnia issues. Now that we have that fixed, I'm back in love with the truck and wheeling it. In the process of adding an AuxBeam Panel to separate the radio a little further from Toyota Electronics so they can't use that BS Excuse again. I'll still never go to Bell Road Toyota for service or buy another Toyota from the experience but I'm going to drive this one until the wheels fall off (hopefully around 400,000 miles or longer)

This is a FANTASTIC write up!

Struggling with similar... Mine is a desire for more screen to see what I'm doing but then that becomes a real estate nightmare mounting phones and tablets and ham radio mics and stuff. I find that no matter how securely you mount those things they always end up rattling after a few hundred miles. First on the trail, then on the smooth free way and then as you are going 15MPH in a school zone. I think I'm going to go the route of replacing my anemic screen with a bigger one. These are starting to come out now and from what I hear the build quality is pretty good. No more shake rattle and roll that your standard OEM dash components. https://aucarauto.com/product/aucar-tesla-android-13-13-8-car-radio-for-toyota-tacoma-2016-2023/ Looks like they may make one for your cruiser too. https://aucarauto.com/product/px6-4gb-ram-android-9-0-car-gps-navigation-for-toyota-land-cruiser-prado-120-lexus-gx470-headunit-multimedia-radio-tape-recorder/

I just googled it and read up on it. It uses several different GPS Sat Systems to add to it's precision and pinpoint accuracy. I've always wondered why some vendors pick one system over others. Looks like a nice bit of kit and should be faster and more accurate because it is querying signals from so many different satellites.

I have never heard of a GPS Booster, only improved antennas. It has a power button on it? Please report back and let us know how that is doing. I find that when my phone is up on top of the dash the GPS is accurate and fast but when it is down under the center console, not so much. Since you can't really add an external antenna to a phone this might be the business! Also - While we are on the topic.... My truck (and my last truck) has a fin on the roof. Apparently that only has the AM/FM radio receiving antenna for the in dash infotainment radio. My onboard Cell (4G), WiFi, GPS, and Bluetooth antennas are all in various places under the dashboard and passenger kick panel. Apparently Ford and Toyota skipped Radio Day the way people skip Leg Day in the gym. Why not spend the extra $2 in wire to put those antennas somewhere reasonable? AND why not give you a place to add an antenna - like if you wanted to run an external cell antenna and then plug it into the onboard cell device. Same with WiFi.

Had a pretty gnarly Astigmatism growing up. Tried to explain to the wife what life w/o glasses was like for years. Then about three to five years ago these start showing up on the internet and I showed her. She was horrified. But yes - that is 110% accurate for what it looked like. Riding shotgun in the car at night looked like the Millennium Falcon making the jump to Hyper Space too. Side note - I got Lasik about 10 years ago and had phenomenal results. So if your Christmas tree looks like this, you can get it fixed too.

As Toyota drivers are all too familiar Toyota did a lousy job of mapping the transmission shift points. So a tune is a pretty standard mod for a lot of people and I'd argue that you probably can't get a better performance lift out of $450 than something like the Overland Taylor Tune or Overland Torque Tune as some call it. I was going to see if they could adjust the charging at the same time they do the rest of the tune. Then the truck died in traffic the other day. Mild acceleration pulling onto a street, it shuddered, sputtered, died. Dash lit up like a Christmas tree. I restarted it, truck went into limp mode, and I drove it 15mph back home with a flashing CEL. Took it to Toyota and they said two codes - rough idle and two cylinders misfiring. Soooo glad I hadn't got the tune yet. Toyota cleared the codes, drove it 7 miles (they said 10 but the odometer doesn't lie). No codes came back and they called it good to go and fixed. Now I'm holding off on the tune and battery upgrade waiting for the other shoe to drop. Truck is a 23 with 15K miles. Fuel economy in the toilet was one of the reasons I was looking at the tune. Now I'm suspecting a sparkplug / coil pack issue or as some have pointed out the plenum actuator. Either way I have to get past this hurdle before considering anything else. I'm not even putting new rubber on it until this gets sorted out.

I just read that guide - Excellent post! I don't know if you can pin it or make a sticky out of it but it is certainly worthy. Definitely Top-10 Material.

I think GMRS is mostly favored because you can still buy blister pack radios in a 2 or even a 4 pack from Walmart without a license from Walmart on your way to the meet up and use them. It is the most accessible and affordable of all of the radio bands. Because of that it tends to be a fairly simple radio to use. Laid out with the UXUI of a beginners perspective. Ham Technician License opens you up for more wattage in a similar frequency range (70CM) and you pick up 2M as well as tiny portions of 10M and then the 6M bands. Sounds like you gain a lot but really you don't. As long as one vehicle in a large caravan has this capability then I think you are OK. They can be the relay to take information and re-transmit it over the Ham Freqs if they are radioing back home for support. The 6M band has some great performance factors that I think would make it a great band for Off Roading but hand held radios for 6M are virtually unheard of. In Arizona there are ZERO repeaters listed in the 6M range so that limits practicality. As you go up from there Ham General and Ham Extra licenses get you into the HF bands but those are really only practical as a base station radio when camping. Most of your HF antennas are ridiculously huge for Off Road comms on the move. There are a few other bands out there like MURS. They fit all of the specs of GMRS, the only difference is that they run closer to the 2M Ham Frequencies and the radios cost a little more and aren't available in your local Walmart in your choice of 6 different uber-tactical camo-patterns and blaze orange. CB is still around but it got so trashy that it became a punch line to the joke that was the 1970's and 80's. As a result development in features kinda stagnated in that area. But you can still get one, usually at a truck stop, where some guy in the back has a radio bench and will tweak and peak it for $25 extra. There are some cheap CB's that can be had for less than $100 and some that are around $300. GMRS is probably your best bet, lowest barrier to entry, radio service. You can get cheap radios or higher end radios. I'd recommend one of the waterproof dust proof models. Then figure out from there what you want your AND radio service to be. GMRS and HAM? GMRS and CB? GMRS and MURS? Having a few vehicles in the pack that can flip between services is nice.

THAT ^^ That middle part is the real deal. The Layers are the key factor there.

Meant to ask in my post above. Always looking for a good spot to get good topo maps. Any recommendations?

PACE... Primary - Gaia GPS Alternate - Apple Maps (Off Line) Contingency - APRS Map (Have NEVER needed) Emergency - Topo Maps / Compass / Land Nav / Good Shoes & Water The only time I have ever needed Apple Maps (and I knew where I was going already so "need" is a strong word) was when I dropped off grid but forgot to bring up Gaia before I did. They had merged my Gaia Acct with an Outdoors Account and it wanted me to log in and verify a bunch of data harvesting details like name, age, phone, e-mail, etc. Wasn't possible to do so w/o the power of the Internet so I was w/o Gaia for that trip. I like the layer that shows mines and mineral resources so I know what mines I'm near and I created an overlay that has the Ham Radio Repeaters I use. That layer is in BAD need of an update. I don't get that with Apple Maps.

Then you are using it exactly as it was intended. More of a Sanity Code than a Privacy Code.

Privacy Codes are not Privacy Codes. I wish they were more accurately labeled so people could decide if they wanted to use them or not. How do they work? If you set your radio and the receiving radio to Privacy Code 1 it codes your transmissions with a sub audible tones. You transmit, your radio adds that tone. The receiving radio listens for that tone. When the radio hears the sub audible tone, it opens the squelch and that radio lets the audio through. If some one transmits with Privacy Code 2, it is a different tone and radios listening for Code 1 will not open the squelch and you don't hear the radio transmission with PC2 on it. But what happens when someone isn't running Privacy Codes at all? They hear ALL of the radio traffic. They hear all of the people talking using Privacy Code 1 and 2 and 3 and so on. There is no privacy. What do Privacy Codes do well? - They let multiple parties use the same frequency without stepping on each other too much. Group A and Group B can share a channel and won't hear each other unless they are transmitting at the same time. What do Privacy Codes do poorly? - Privacy. Any transmission on any public airway cannot be scrambled, encrypted, obscured, cloaked, or otherwise hidden. If you need / want privacy, the best bet is a business license and AES256 Encryption. That doesn't come cheap. Everything else is window dressing / privacy theater and no matter how private you think you are - it is all in the clear and anyone can listen in. If that's what you need and want then all good. But they market "privacy codes" like no one can listen in, when in all actuality, everyone can listen in and often times the additional task of adding a privacy code for non-radio-nerdy people is too much or is the one thing that keeps them off the air.

^^ Much Truth in that post ^^ Especially about going from Overkill to under prepared. The thing that got me to thinking about this was a video of guy who was off-roading and had a 3" or 4" diameter pine cutting pop up from the trail and skewer through his engine compartment and then through the firewall into the cab of the truck. Nobody got hurt, but he went from Overkill to Overdone in a tenth of a second. I forget what kind of radio you are running but I grabbed a Digirig Lite and a spare Android phone (with no SIM - so it's a tiny tablet). Using it for APRS while I off road has been pretty convenient. I remember subscribing to APRS.fi at one point but I'm 99% sure that I let that sub lapse. Will have to look at re-upping. I tested it the other day by driving out to Sycamore Cabin and even down in the low spots it got out just fine. I'm sure I'll run into some spot somewhere that gets no coverage but it's already outperforming 5G for getting into the nooks and crannies. Adding Carl to my feed and phone at this point. Thanks for the good info!

In iOS 18+ we all get Sat Messaging - above and beyond SOS. You just have to have an iPhone 14 Pro Max or newer model. Yeah - Not much and I'll readily concede that it's at bit more cumbersome of a process than a Garmin InReach. You stand out in the desert and pirouette like a ballerina until the satellite shows up on your phone - literally looks like you are chasing a Pokemon through the desert. Then it locks in and you send a message. Honestly, using the Ham Radio, a DigiRig Lite, and my cell phone on APRS to send Text Messages to the wife is still easier or about as easy as using the iPhone Sat Feature.

Was considering a flip to On-X but my Gaia auto renewed on me before I could. Going to run with it another year.