RainMan's 2021 Lunar Rock TRD Pro Build

But yes, that’s always my least favorite part of working on the steering wheel or seats.

 

I still get nervous unclipping that connector with my face right there after letting it sit dead for that long.

 

Exactly

 

Pretty sure I'll make sure Holden is drinking beers in the garage when I get around to pulling mine. I was already nervous but if it had you and Jake on edge, I should be shaking in my boots

 

Did you SABM your air box?

 

I did not.
I did it with my 2008 back when it was first a "thing" and found it introduced a noticeable whine/whistle to the intake.
So far, I've opted not to do it to the 21, though I may change my mind at any point in the future.

 

Really? Mine sounds like the secondaries kicking in at times. I have not heard the whine/whistle folks have talked about

 

Casey made the same comment to me when we talked about the SABM and the diy intake. I never really heard a whistle. I recently did the throttle body screen delete, and now I guess I would say there was almost a whistle with the screen. More like some air noise, but once I deleted the screen, that noise is gone and its just all engine and smiles

 

Maybe that is why I never heard it, I took the screen out at the same time I did the SABM

 

We were installing for AT&T and one of the techs was removing the front seat and forgot to unhook it. He was leaning over the seat and gave it a yank and it smacked the crap out of him. He went around with the nickname airbag until he quit.

 

Probably! I somehow missed the post on the screen delete until recently, if I had known i would have done all 3 mods at once and it also would have made cleaning the throttle body a lot easier (I didn't remove mine when I cleaned it the first time.....)

 

Installed my RainMan Fabrications Front Tray MagSafe Charger (sorry - no link yet, the final version will be listed in about 2 weeks).
This holds my iPhone (15 Pro) oriented such that I can still glance down at the screen if I need to for some reason (rare). And three yet-to-be-determined switch spots along the side.

 

Welp, I'll have to order one of these now.

 

Also officially have moved to the RainMan Fabrications Universal 3-Switch Panel
I installed it in a Platinum shifter trim - the stitching isn't red like the rest of the stitching in the TRD Pro interior, but I still think it's a better match for the look and feel of the cabin.

Platinum Shifter Trim part number 58805-0C110-C0

 

Updated the OnX6 post with a few more details. Need to get pictures of the full installation and routing, but it's not fully dialed in yet. Currently fighting with an issue on the Switch Pro tripping out as soon as the light is turned on, and haven't yet been able to troubleshoot or determine a path forward. I also want to mess around with mounting a little (the mount brackets have a "direction" but no instructions - I want to see about putting them in the lower position and see what that looks like).

 

You’ve had issues with your switch pro before. Think it’s the unit?

 

Also recently got my Ditch Lights installed.

Baja Designs Squadron Sports with driving/combo amber lenses
SDHQ Ditch Light Brackets

I've been in a few rigs bouncing around where the ditch brackets had noticeable shake in them. These things are rock solid - the added rubber spacer really does a great job of steadying them and locking them in place.

Need to get some pictures of the mounting and the wiring, but here they are installed (still playing with the aim a little too)


Update 3/16
Here's some pictures of the routing on the ditch light wiring.
I cut a small slit and hole to route the lead from the lights down through the rubber trim on each side. Then I put a factory 2-pin connector on the end (instead of the ones BD uses). Mating to that is a 2/18 direct-bury rated cable to run the wires along the fender "cushion" trim and drop down by the Switch Pro connectors.


Passenger side is similar, but the 2/18 is routed behind the engine and around to the factory fuse box following the factory wiring harness.

 

This is the second unit. The first one had a similar issue with two of the "single wire" (20A? 25A?) circuits tripping out with the S8 connected (which has a 12A load). It would also only happen if the engine was running - when just on accessory or ignition (but engine not running) it was fine. The new replacement has been fine since I got it.

This time it's the OnX6 (28A load) on a 35A circuit, and it's both engine running and not.

But before crying foul, I need to do some isolated testing.
1. Hook it up to my bench supply, and test actual draw between 12V and 14.3V to know for sure what it's pulling.
2. Run the ground direct to battery (instead of the Blue Sea bus bar) and try again
3. Test it on each of the different 35A circuits.

 

On my 8 button SwitchPro (SP9100) had an issue with one of the circuits that tripped and I had a light hooked up that had 1.5 amps less than it was rated for and it would blow every time. I was going to test the output but that was close so I swapped with another circuit and moved forward. I have to admit the 12 button SwitchPro (RCR-Force 12) seems pretty rock solid

Post up your findings, interested to see what is the cause

 

Yeah. Normally you want to size a fuse for 15-20% over the planned output to allow for things like startup surge, so the 28A light should be sitting on a 35A fuse/circuit. But it shouldn't be tripping it (unless it is surging much more than that for some reason).

 

Looks great! Why the Sports over the Pros? Cost?

 

Pretty much
For the amount of time ditch lights will actually get used versus all other lights, the added cost of pros wasn’t really justifiable.

Honestly, the S8 with combo lenses throws so much light out to the sides already that I’m going to have to spend some time really playing with different aims and different lenses to get much noticeable added lighting from these. Or evaluate in my mind what I am specifically looking for them to provide…do I actually want more light directly to the side of me (which they will do better with the combo lenses and an aim at about 45-55* from straight ahead), or do I want more “penetration” out to the sides just in line with the front of the truck - which would lead me to possibly going to a full spot lens instead and keeping their aim at about 30-40* from straight ahead.

it’s definitely an interesting concept to play with now that I actually have multiple lights wired up.

the onx6, when I first turned it on in the dark, I had aimed WAY too low - it was giving me a massive spotlight focused about 20’ directly in front of the hood (got the three seconds it was lit up). So I definitely need to get out in the woods in the dark and play with getting all of it dialed in where I want.

 

Did some messing around with the ONx6 today, and I think I've got it figured out. Plugged it into a different connector (I have my switch pro wires running into factory junction connectors) and it worked just fine. Then I tested it with a bench power supply, and it was running fine. So then used some jumper wires to try the light bar in each different possible 35A switch position on the switch pro, and it worked fine in 5 and 6. When I went to try it in the connector I have set up for 7 and 8 (originally I was running it on switch 8), I noticed that the secondary lock in the connector wasn't popped closed, and that when I inserted the terminals they didn't correctly bottom out/engage. So I pushed in the secondary lock, and it worked fine with the pigtails in 7 and 8. Plugged everything back together the way I had it, and still working.

SO, I'm going to say it was error on the part of the guy running the wires (me), and I'm going to keep my eye on it.

I also swapped the brackets around to lower the light bar so it just "tucks" behind the wind fairing on the roof rack. I'm 99% sure this is how it was supposed to be installed, but I never could find any information or instructions on the Sherpa site for these brackets. An interesting positive to this set up is that it also captures the bolt heads that hold the light bar to the bracket, so they can't be backed out without hitting the side rail of the roof rack. I will probably get some "tamper resistant" button head cap screws to replace these hex bolts on the roof rack side at some point.

I updated the original post on this with the wire routing details.

I'll need to re-aim it after dark.

 

Maybe that is what was wrong with mine when I had that problem with the SP9100 but I just swapped to another and when it worked then I was happy.

Nice work on the install!!

 

Any update on your daughter and her boyfriend? How's everyone doing?

 

@RainMan_PNW Wondering if you ever considered mounting this where the OEM wireless charger goes in the top of the console storage and if not why? I like the idea of making use of that space since it's already there and trying to think through how I could adapt this design to it.

 

The three switch panel? No. I see that as being a spot that is going to get bumped too easily. My labs will climb over the console to get in the front seat, my elbow bumps that area, someone puts their phone there, etc.
I have considered making simmering that will actually mount a MagSafe charger in there (with full high-output charging), but haven’t had time to mess with getting the profile dialed in.

 

Whelp - tried the lights on the way home last night from the airport and the circuit was tripping again. Going to have to mess with it some more next week when I get home again after this weekend.

 

Thanks for asking. Actually on the train to Seattle with them right now. We’re going up with his family to watch the Supercross finals this weekend.

She’s doing PT a couple days a week, still dealing with numbness in her left leg and a lot of discomfort from the hardware (she’s not very big and is pretty skinny so she can feel the hardware when she lays on or sits against anything semi-hard. She is driving on her own now some, but doesn’t like being alone in the car if she can help it. She can walk pretty well, but about 3/4-1 mile is about her max distance without it wiping her out for the rest of the day.

His knee is doing much better - latest prognosis is no surgery needed. He’s mostly able to walk on it, but still has about 10 degrees to go for full movement of it…lots of PT. His arm is doing better - he responded well to the MRSA antibiotics but still has a small open wound that continues to weep. The bone is nearing full heal, and he’s getting strength back in it, again - lots of PT.