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Yep. I described in the video how some Jackery with an external charge brick would charge off the Tacoma MSW inverter.

That's good! If I didn't have the fan, I could be at 81.5", or 6ft 9.5"... just low enough to get into parking garages, which are 82", 6ft 10", here! But that should let a Tacoma fit in a 7ft garage.

Thx, good point on the possible internal breaks too!

Good plan. 300W is a pretty decent charge rate for an alternator anyways. 4Runner only has 95A normally, maaaaybe some are 130A if a towing package. So 25A pull for 300W is the sweet spot to not mess with your alternator anyways ;)

You're welcome ;)

Yes, all GND are open on power stations. Open GND just means no voltage between hot and gnd, i.e. the GND wire is not connected to anything. So, looking at a power station, of course it isn't, the PS isn't connected to any gnd. Some larger power stations do have a gnd terminal that you could hook a wire to, and then drive a metal stake into actual earth to create a ground, bit these are usually large house replacement units intended to operate standalone when power fails. In an electric setup, say your house, they are allowed to connect the neutral to the gnd in one single spot, your main panel. This is called Bonding. GND wire lets fault current flow to earth. Bonding gives a path for fault current to return to source. Allowing GFCI breakers rely on current mismatch between hot, gnd, neutral--detecting current on the gnd. If someone bonds gnd to neutral before the CB and main panel, it can't detect it correctly. The NEC is very complicated for mobile systems, but the same concepts actually apply. But there is no actual gnd, no wire from car driven into earth. And people constantly use the chassis as the neutral or negative, instead of running an actual wire... but ALSO use the chassis to ground stuff, connecting equipment Gnd wire to chassis. So, that creates bonds all over, potential for ground loops, and difficulty tracing any electrical issue or open circuit leak. In an AC system, like a mobile powerstation, there should be only a bond IF NOT CONNECTED TO SHORE POWER! This would let the GND no longer show "open" for you. But if you do that, then plug the powerstation or say an RV ac setup, into shore power, suddenly you are creating a violation and safety risk for the shore power system by having a bogus bond in their system! High quality systems like the Victron inverter-chargers, and "transfer switches" have an automatic bond that disconnects if plugged into shore power. This disparity of open GND, no bond when plugged into shore power, single bond in system otherwise, is the single largest source of questions on the RV and mobile solar forums. 95% of all posts and videos I see have bond/chassis/isolation issues vs NEC requirements, and everyone just accepts it or gets it wrong. You can actually get rid of the open gnd issue on your powerstation, which will stop a lot of equipment from working. You do this by making a filler plug that just has a single wire connecting Neutral and GND prongs--don't mess it up and use HOT! Then plug it into a 120v ac port. This will create a bond, since these smaller powerstation don't have that accounted for. This is fine. HOWEVER REMEMBER TO REMOVE THAT THING WHEN YOU PLUG STATION INTO SHORE POWER TO CHARGE! Here is a great paper on the diysolarforum.com of Will Prowse that explains mobile grounding: diysolarforum.com/resources/grounding-made-simpler-part-4-mobile-systems.159/ P.s. I forgot to say, tested mine and yes all 120v ports have open gnd. With a bonding plug inserted in one, the other two test good with no open gnd.

Will post a "short" here soon for you. If not subscribed, please subscribe and then click the bell to get notifications, so you definitely see the video I will make for you ;) Here it is ua-cam.com/users/shortsNgGi-rf8f0w?feature=share

Indeed. When I plug a killawatt meter in and see how much inverter is delivering vs power station is getting to battery, I get 85% efficiency. That's about the same efficiency as every dc dc charger, or dc converter, from the alternator. Only one better is the new 50A Victron really. So at the cost of a few watts of power wasted, I don't have to buy a $200 or more alternator charger/converter, nor 4Awg cables, nor run cables, nor void my truck electrical warranty. Thx for commenting, made me think about it for a bit :) Decided I'm still happy with this setup... though I did order one of those new Pecron 500W alternator chargers, to play with.

That is a great catch, I do see that in the product description text. However, on the 2nd picture, it shows the height as 5.7mm for the part that has to fit inside slot. That's what I based my order off... they do work for me and fit, so mine at least were not 7mm. But they also have a comment in their description saying their measurements might be iff 1-2mm, not great. For the price, I like the risk for a bag of 50, but I could see a batch being too high. Folks will have to decide... but they do work for me. Great catch, thanks!

I think the forces are small and outward pull, so all would be the same. I am also looking at a tarp solution... looked at awnings at OEW, but all heavy and expensive. Interested in what you do!

@@dave_in_az I’ll let you know. Got a 10x20 Gold Armour rain fly tarp from Amazon yesterday poles should arrive tomorrow.

👍

I also wanted stainless, but after using these, the nickel plated carvon steel are great. Zero corrosion, and I've had them in 130f AZ metal heat. Removed 15 today and looked at them all and rails, no corrosion.

Thx!

Thx much!

Glad you like them!

Best plan is to join the FB owners group and DM folks there to set up a viewing. There are several folks over near Mesa and Tempe. I'm not near there myself, but join and post, folks will help you out;)

Thanks much! Strangely enough, I read two posts from you this morning in forums, maybe ExpeditionPortal on OVRLND and tires? a comment on an awning review, Kammok I think? I noticed it because I ran across you several times... and here you are again! ;) Thanks for stopping by! My wife bought me that as an Anniversary Present at Overland Expo West last week, she took the tag off, will look! I am just setting up as a "no build" setup right now, as I'm using the truck bed to refurbish a house. So I like to be able to grab all items off my garage rack, quickly secure them, and go camp. This bag is decent for that. And it's what I was hoping to show with the video.

@@dave_in_az hah yeah I've been around on expo portal. Need to get back on there. Loving my Kammock so far. I'm gonna start looking for a kitchen bag like that. It's a great idea! That's the frat thing about this style of camper... It can still be used to haul things like a truck. Camper mode is quick and easy.

Good to hear you like the Kammock after use, I'm still looking. Tacoma weight always an issue...

Glad I could help!

Very satisfied with those handles after much use. Both the black ones and the plastic, either would work well. The orange plastic, also available black, are very solid and are great on inside.

It needs to be under 400W, so you don't force the inverter to turn off or blow it's fuse. I looked at them, the one for e600 power station, 300w, is only one. It has a 5 pin g16 aviation output plug, which works with e1500LFP also. On sale for $99 right now. However, they also have their new direct to alternator charging, dc to dc, for $149. It is 500W, wire it to you alternator/start battery. But then you have to run cable from that to your power station. It also puts out 42v for feeding into solar g16 5 pin input, but you need to use their mc4 to g16-5 adapter. I won't be using it, as I want to use the already supplied inverter and wiring to pickup bed.

That's a good setup you had, I like it!

Glad you like them! Here is the FB Tune M1 owners group. Post in there, 3 or 4 of us somewhat near you, couple real close. Thats how I decided to buy one, a Mesa guy met me and showed it! m.facebook.com/groups/258913089967507/?__n=K

Lol. Yeah, 3 kids hard to fit in a truck camper!

Glad you like them!

47.5 qt size. Got 4 for $60 or so, there was a discount and sale. HAIXIN Closet Organizers and Storage 47.5Qt Black Folding Stackable Storage Bins with Lids, Plastic Collapsible Storage Containers, Trunk Car Organizer for Home, Office, Dorm Room Essentials- 4 Pack a.co/d/6Q3u9RG

Tried it, didnt lift enough. Turns out the fix is to sand the outer ridge off, about 1-2mm plastic himp, not much.

@@dave_in_az Well, at least you got it to work!

Thx

I agree, great sale. AND Pecron just released a 500W alternator charger for it, basically a dc converter to boost 500W of 12v from your alternator/starter battery, to 42V to feed into the solar input while driving. I have a bunch of vids on this, using a power supply, and have been looking for a good 12v -> 48v converter, exactly for this.

Never mind I see it in the video. Cool channel. I'm doing similar videos with my OVRLND camper

I will check it out, love the OVRLND camper too!

Sounds like a plan!

@@dave_in_azI wanted to ask. Where did you purchase that cable that runs from the power station to the fuse box? Thanks for the help.

ELFCULB 10AWG 6FT XT60 Extension... www.amazon.com/dp/B0CC5N4XZH?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

Wow, great to hear! Those are two very nice features that Bluetti has which I hadn't heard of before or with others, and I watch a pretty good Mount of reviews. I'm glad you commented, that will help someone out!

Glad you like them!

​@dave_in_az the Tune is on my list for final consideration. Any other videos on interior upgrades or mods are appreciated. I subscribed to keep up.

@danaboatman954 thanks much, will be posting a bunch soon, Overland Expo West in 10 days, will have some mods for that.

Thx for the thoughtful comment! I agree with your thoughts, and am not completely sure why my power station read 280W or so input. The power supply goes to 8A supposedly... but I popped it's fuse at 7.8A or so, had to go buy one and replace, so I don't really trust it at that high amperage. However, running on my "400W" Tacoma inverter, that is the most I could get at 55 to 57V, around 5A. I conjecture it is a combo of Tacoma inverter real limitations, Tacoma wire resistance losses, MSW inverter losses in the power supply conversion, and maybe port connection limits. Lastly, the power station input is actually an MPPT solar charge controller, so I am unsure of it's efficiency in accepting this power signal. All those combined maybe? Was hoping to get 400W! Still a decent input without having to add anything to truck wiring.

@@dave_in_az That makes sense. I may buy a bit larger power supply to give a bit more cushion and see if I can get closer to that 400w number. Also, I enjoyed your video about camper prep. I've had that tailgate seal in my saved list for awhile now and have been looking at the rails on the Tacoma and wondering if I should pop them off and seal under them. Your video gives me the little push to make it happen. I should have my camper in the next couple of weeks so need to get those things taken care of.

Thx! Check out this thread I wrote on best powerstations for truck camping, looked at size, 12v dc amps output so you can run 1 plug to a fusebox, and inverter to let you do elec kettle, etc. Might keep you from some house designs that don't work too well for trucks... forum.expeditionportal.com/threads/good-solar-gen-power-stations-for-dc-and-light-ac-truck-campers.242227/ Also, if I did it over I would replace plastic bedrails with a metal one, though not sure which. But those plastic are super thin and camper kind of crushes them.

I am guessing here but believe it was limiting input because his battery was already close to capacity. As these things reach full charge some limit input to protect the battery chemistry.

You could very well be right... Jasonoid did a pecron e1500LFP test with their new 500W car charger, and instead of giving 500W, it ALSO, went between 278 and 283W. I do now think that at mostly full battery, the Pecron throttles back charging and it's 1st throttle back is to 280W. I will retest this with half full battery. Thanks for your good comment!

They actually tweaked th seal material to a slightly lighter rubber, which lets it easily be pushed open. The more you just push it open, the more flex that seal has. I actually have added some caulk and sanded down that tailgate plastic ridge that was catching the seal gasket from opening. Will post a video showing that fix soon. Manufacturer is super responsive, I would not say this is an issue for folks at all now.

Glad it helped!

I first used a Noco genius5 charger. Lithium batteries have a different charge schedule, voltages and time, than lead acid. The noco can do lithium, and also useful for car battery charging and maintenance. However, it only charges at 5A, maybe a bit more. The redodo 100Ah 12v battery recommended charging at 20-40 A, a higher rate. So I bought a full-up quality charger to let me do all my stuff correctly. Victron Blue Smart 12v 25A Ip67 charger. You can program it with your phone bluetooth, use as a power supply, do all types of batteries, etc. So far so good. Victron Energy Blue Smart IP67... www.amazon.com/dp/B07TMRJQTH?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

It is a settable power supply-- an Ac to dc that you can set the volts and amps, giving a max watts. Maybe not needed for other power stations, if they have a draw of 400W or less. Any ac to dc will fix the MSW issue. But this Pecron will pull 700W, which exceeds the Toyota inverter circuit breaker, and will make the inverter shut off , and could blow it's fuse. This power supply lets me for sure keep the pull below 400W to keep inverter running. Or I can set it to 250 or 200, if I'm worried about my alternator working too hard, say if its summer and I'm running air-conditioning hard.

Look in the video description, on youtube, to see links to things in the video. Probably 99% of content creators put one there. I didn't know that for a long time, finally clicked on Description, and here are links, transcript, chapter links, and a writeup, for every video I ever watched, that I was clueless on ;) Give it a try, where it says "good LED camper light", there is a "more" link. I can't copy paste it right now, but link is there ;)

I started looking at caps, gradually progressed to the Tune. Soooo glad I didn't settle for a cap. Somewhere in AZ ;)

Gx16 5pin aviation plug.

No doubt!

No, they don't actually offer that as a standard. The solar gland is easy to install and waterproof, it's best to wait until panels are on roof so you know actual best location. I'm still deciding on my panels. Thx for asking.

@@dave_in_az maybe it’s something new, But I placed my order with them 3 weeks ago and it was A $200 option that I selected. Supposedly they’re going to start offering their own solar panels on date of install as an option

Yep, new. They are finally moving along on adding stuff like heater, insulation, etc. I called to tell them where I wanted my solar gland actually, in Dec23, and was told they didn't do it. But they cost $15 and are easy to install ;)

Thx for watching and asking. I would say No. The 5521 input in new manual says "12-18v, VOC of PV panel must be less than 25V." I saw Hobotech test it to 24 or 25V too. However, a 24V LiFePO4 battery is 27.2V when full, doesn't drop below 25V until only 10% power left. So it probably wouldn't work and could fry that mppt input. The 32-95V input won't turn on until voltage is 32, I have tested that. You could run battery through a small booster, I looked at doing that to get 700W from my 12V battery there. But most of those all say not to use them to feed an mppt in specs... I don't want to test it and smoke the power station. Still looking for one that says it's reliable enough to feed an mppt input.

Grab Handles for exterior (back, to climb in) and interior (get up in bed etc) I read about 500 reviews, alll the 1 stars, for 30 handles or so. These are the ones I settled on. I received them, they are good, grippy, extremely solid, perfect. The black ones are solid steel for back. The orange ones are plastic, but still extremely solid, could actually be used in back too. I wanted something bright and easy to find in the dark, for inside. Only issue is the holes are 1/4" or 6.5mm. We need to use M8 bolts for the Tune Tnuts, so 8mm. A 5/16" drill works fine. The steel ones took 6 seconds per hole with a shot of oil to help. I couldnt find good ones with 8mm hole. Here are the links. Purife 10'' Black Playground Safety Handles 2 Pack, Metal Swing Set Handles, Kids Playset Handles, Hand Grip Climbing Bars for Playhouse,Treehouse, Jungle Gym, Climbing Frame a.co/d/a5ZUpZF Dolibest Set of 4 Safety Playground Handles,Swing Set Kids Safety Hand Grips for Playset, Climbing Frame, Play House,Climbing Frame, Play House Handles(Red) a.co/d/azrLHKI

Oh, and if you have 6mm tnuts, 40 or 45 series, you wouldnt have to drill.

Depends on truck, the Tune height is slightly different for each. There is a specs measurement sheet pinned here showing bedrail to top when closed, and also with fan which adds 5". Basically 36" to 41.5" above bedrail. I have zero problems with Tacoma and 8ft garage. My clearance is 84" with fan, so 7ft. facebook.com/groups/258913089967507/permalink/338684111990404/?mibextid=rS40aB7S9Ucbxw6v

I was going to make it longer, but I found that the end would then get caught in the tailgate bottom seam when closing from outside and cause problems. So made it just long enough it couldnt.

Try Putting a knot at the end of the small strap so it can’t fall through.

Awesome idea. Don't worry bout them Trolls. They just hating bc they didn't think of it before you did. You should make one out of a flexible carbon fiber material. Then get a patent. Become an overnight sensation ! Just pay my truck and bike off. Ty Cliff

I like that gameplan ;)

Also, how are the seals on the side awning panels?

After hearing a few folks with a wider gap between their tailgate and hatch not liking it, and folks with other campers (not Tune, but many others) complain about water intrusion there, I decided I actually am glad I have this tight seal. Only the fact Tacoma has a 1/8" dip molded in top of tailgate rail causes this issue, the rubber seal gets caught on it. Since me and the ops manager were stuck in the truck for 5 min, I know they were aware, and I did not complain. Rubber seal seems to be softening or getting a memory enough to push it open now.

Seals on side doors seem good. A d-channel hollow strip all around.

Cool, thanks for the info! 👍🏼. Just curious, are the side awning panels openable from the inside?

Well you can get to the latch part that keeps it closed. But the outside has a bit of a locking cam on it, so in general I'd say No. But I'm sure a handy person could figure a workaround if desired. The rear hatch can be opened or locked from inside though.

I can push it hard at both corners, and get it to open, but it makes me worry the weather strip will be ripped off. Couple folks with installs this week on Tacomas said they had a 1" gap there now that the weather strip covered. But they don't like the gap. I'd rather be water tight! I saw a pickup bed tailgate mod, where you can open the locking mech that is inside, by pulling a strap. I plan on doing that, then open tailgate first is super easy. Thx for watching!

I'm not sure with the Project M. It was one of 3 campers I decided from, but I disliked the inside shelf and their side windows. I know the OVRLND camper can be made with 11" overhang, which fits bedding and mattress well. And this Tune is great for bedding, 4" mattress, and insulation.

For efficiency and money savings, the DC to DC should be installed by the alternator/ battery, then a thinner gauge to where power is needed. A Victron converter can be had for $150.

@Step-n-Wolf This isn't a video about installing a dc dc converter. It's about NOT doing that by using the existing stock inverter. Also, most converter and dcdc charger manufacturers recommend not installing their unit in the hot engine bay, but at least running the larger cable to allow unit installation outside engine bay. This actually increases efficiency because they perform more efficiently the cooler they are. Victron and some others publish the efficiency at different temperatures. If I was using a converter, I WOULD try to run as much small gauge cable as I could, once I got the unit installed outside of engine bay. Thanks!

@dave_in_az I understand, but you were quoting excessively high numbers for the alternative. Also, close to the battery and alt doesn't mean strapping it to the exhaust header. There are a lot of options forward of the firewall we had to use when racing. Converting DC to AC then back to DC is inefficient.

Ok. Like I said, several ways to solve the power problem. I'm using the supplied inverter here. Might do different in future. Thanks for your comments!