December 1, 2020.
There've been a few tweaks to the truck, and two trips to Death Valley since the last rig review, so it's a good time to take stock of how things are going. First, in case you missed the trips, check out:
TL;DR - the headlights are better, but I still have work to do to make them work well in inclement weather.
TL;DR - why didn't I install limit straps earlier. These things make the suspension so much more enjoyable.
TL;DR - The middle two mounts on the mid skid broke off again. I need to come up with a new way to secure the mid-skid at the crossmember.
TL;DR - The spherical bearings were completely shot again. And, it happened after only 10,000 miles this time.
Seemingly solved from previous Rig Reviews
Unchanged / Still an issue from previous Rig Reviews
There are some things that have been featured in Rig Reviews that are - as yet - unchanged from when I originally reviewed them. Rather than highlight those things again, I'll simply link to them here.
Check out older Rig Reviews
Cheap and crappy LED drivers emit RFI and it will be a challenge to find one that is less noisy/better quality. I have truck lite headlamps brand headlamps which are not noisy but I do not think they make a headlight replacement for Toyota.
Yep, I agree Curtis. I was most concerned about cut-off prior to installing the LEDs, but after doing so, I realized that RFI is now the bigger concern (since many LED manufacturers are now adding shields for cut-off (a good thing). You can see my solution to the RFI in today's post, if you're interested: Out with the LEDs, Back to Halogen Headlights.
FYI
Since you went back to Halogen you might want to check out Daniel Stern Lighting. He builds custom wiring harness/ relay packages to help you get the most out of your lighting as factory wiring is not optimal. I saw a package for Toyota on his site, I got one for my jeep to bypass the CAN bus pulse-width modulation nonsense that Chrysler uses that causes flicker with led headlights.
He has some informative info about lighting on his sight
http://www.danielsternlighting.com/products/products.html
Thanks Curtis. I agree that you need a better harness for higher wattage Halogen. You'll note in the post that I linked, that I added a custom harness with more than enough oomph! ?
I see you made your own wiring harness. ?
Daniel Stern's site is worth looking at anyway.