1st generation Toyota 4Runner, upgrading the power system in the rear of the truck with a 100AH LiFePO4 battery, 20 amp charge controller and 200W solar panel. In this video, finishing up the 2 rear brackets and then mounting the 2 pieces of low profile UniStrut channel on the roof of the 4Runner. Used 3/8" x 2" long s/s button head screws to hold the channel to the roof of the 4Runner. I had 2 - 5 ft. long pieces of low profile aluminum UniStrut channel left from my original tilting solar panel rack. These were the perfect size to fit on the roof of the 4Runner and span from the back of the cab to the support bow on the soft top. I used some scraps of 1" x 1-1/2" black UHMW plastic bar to make a pair of brackets to attach to that support bow. I didn't want to cut or drill into that soft top tubing, that's around 7/8" or 22mm in diameter. I came up with a simple bracket that snaps in place on that tube and uses a 3/8" riv-nut pressed in to accommodate a bolt that will tie the rack on top to the bracket below. Why not use a commercial "solar generator"? Two main reasons, main one is that I couldn't find anything that would fit the space I had. Second reason was reliability, I have no experience with those systems but it seems that if one part goes out, the whole unit is dead. With the setup I've designed, if the LiFePO4 battery or BMS quits, I can reconfigure the charge controller to use the lead acid batteries. If the charge controller quits, I can use the alternator to charge the LiFePO4 battery, but this will always be in parallel with 1 or both lead acid batteries. I'll run some tests later to determine if a DC-DC charger will be needed for this of it my high output Premier Power Welder alternator can handle this task. When I'm 100 miles from nowhere and something quits, I like to have options to work around the failed item. Here's a small solar generator that would fit in the space I have available: https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=44701 It's only 1/4 the capacity of my system, can only handle half the solar input that my system can. The next video will check out the new 200W flexible solar panel... List of parts used: LiTime Mini 100AH battery: https://www.litime.com/products/litime-12v-100ah-mini-lifepo4-lithium-battery-upgraded-100a-bms-max-1280wh-energy https://amzn.to/3QmxcC5 HQST 20A MPPT Charge Controller https://hqst.refr.cc/rogerb https://amzn.to/3S5zhnf 200W AllPowers flexible solar panel: https://amzn.to/46z7Eax SAE Extension cable, used 3 ft. and 6 ft. cables: https://amzn.to/46VnLix SAE bulkhead connector: https://amzn.to/3tuP7h1 8 circuit power distribution block: https://amzn.to/45Ia9pL Low profile aluminum UniStrut channel: https://www.mcmaster.com/3230T37 UHMW bar: https://www.mcmaster.com/8702K573 Rivet-nut: https://www.mcmaster.com/95105A159 #4Runner #softtop #lithiumbatteries #solarpanel #chargecontroller #LiTimestory ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XyBbue7820

Here's an all metal shipping crate I use in my business to have machined parts shipped to me. This crate is sized to fit inside a medium flat rate box. It can be reconfigured to hold 4 stacks of 3" round parts, 8 stacks of 4" round parts, 5 stacks of 5" round parts and also 16 smaller steel parts of 2 different lengths. The parts are ones I designed and my dad machines them for me in his home machine shop. We had been using one-time-use wooden crates but they would usually just barely survive one trip. So this aluminum crate was designed and has survived about 100 round trips of approx. 2000 miles. Big thanks to my Dad for the machining work and the crate design! The empty crate is approx. 12 lbs. and we've shipped upwards of 50 lbs. of parts in it. I'll try to take some close up photos of the other configurations of the crate as I get parts in. I'll post links to those here... Using UPS Ground, the shipping cost would be $50 one way and $22 for the return leg. With USPS Flat Rate, the cost is about $16 each way or less than half the UPS cost. Here's another crate configuration: https://youtu.be/VhFgtQjkVxw Tom at OxToolCo has been working on a wooden knock down "crate in a box" on his channel: https://youtu.be/UW-9kPEuoTk https://youtu.be/MkCRhdDXeCM https://youtu.be/KAfbAsdy6Wo Be sure to rate, comment and share And as always, thanks for watching SOUNDTRACK: Louisiana Fairytale by Austin Rogers http://drfiddle.com/show_tune.php?id=94 ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbikxSwAd9I

Replacing a no longer working Garmin ANT+ USB stick with a Suunto Movestick Mini ANT+ is the wireless interface many Garmin and other GPS/fitness monitors use to communicate to peripherals and also to upload data on on-line servers like Garmin Connect, Strava and Endomondo. It's kind of like BlueTooth but not identical. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ANT%2B My old Garmin ANT+ USB stick stopped working some time ago. Since ANT+ is the only way I can download GPS training data from my Garmin Forerunner 405 GPS watch, I needed to get a replacement. I found some reviews that suggested the Suunto Movestick Mini was a better device than the Garmin stick: http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2012/02/much-better-usb-ant-stick-for-your.html So I ordered one off of Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004YJSD20/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B004YJSD20&linkCode=as2&tag=4crawler-20&linkId=K4ASKXRMDJVLSJXR Plugged it into my PC and everything works again. If did take about 45 minutes of retrying the device sync to finally transfer months of accumulated training data off the watch before the Sync Error message went away. Subsequent syncs work like normal. Not much more to say, it works, it's smaller than the Garmin stick and about the same price. So if you have a defective ANT+ stick, consider this one as a replacement. Garmin Forerunner 405 GPS watch battery replacement: https://youtu.be/KYzo9iQm-iM ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIX9uxEMzcs

Found a flat rock in Stevens Creek to get a side-on view of this waterfall. Atmospheric river storms got this waterfall running on New Years Day 2023 and again in Feb. 2024. I had scouted this area out a year prior and kept it on my list to check after a heavy rain storm: https://youtu.be/5VjQvBeCuwo This water fall drops into Stevens Creek at the end of the outflow channel of an old abandoned pond. Located a few miles west of Cupertino, CA. #waterfall ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDpSMBCKBdk