GT's Ultimate PepBoys chrome isle collection with considerable BS

I've been sorta lurking here for years gleaning little tidbits of information that the rest of you have shared in your threads and posts and have finally decided that it's time to shake all the coin I can off of the proverbial "money tree."

I've been making mostly moderate changes to the truck over the years while sorting out what I eventually wanted to do with the truck and how to set it up.

As it sits today.






As it sat on date of OP.

FlipPac camper with Fiamma F35 Pro awning on right hand side that I bought from Martyn at Adventure Trailers in Prescott, Arizona.

Also barely seen are @RelentlessFab bolt-on rock sliders from this group buy.



Black Diamond Fab / Elusive Elements grill insert from Tim's group buy here on TW. This is the design that he modified with the slot for a light bar and then sold to Rigid. Thankfully Tim was willing to make a few without the "bro-bolts" that you see on all the current models. He even included a custom made Toyota "T" emblem that I still have around here somewhere.

Using his "behind the grill light bar" that @JLee now creates for us I mounted a pair of IPF 900 XS lights. They work great but the mental midget - that would be myself - that installed them hooked them up to the low-beams instead of the highs. Someday I will get that resolved. Maybe when I see @Blackdawg he will feel sorry for me and show me how to fix it.

Not shown here is the that I bought from @YotaDan. I know that allot of guys swear by the free DIY mod that is found here to force the bumper driving lights to be on anytime but I really wanted to make sure I didn't create a wire fire by doing it wrong. I really dig the ability to have my high-beams on while traveling on backroads and still have the low-beams lighting up the ditches so I can avoid the deer. I've been able to duck three deer so far with them so I reckon they've paid for themselves.

I'm an amateur radio operator so I tinkered with a couple antenna mounts and ended up purchasing the @RelentlessFab "Tacoma hood hinge antenna/light mounts" for each side to test out and finding that for me without a bumper to hang antennas off of and the inability to use the roof due to the FlipPac lid that covers the roof when deployed they really are ideal.



Here it is with a short CB antenna that I used for testing. With the spring installed the antenna can easily be pulled out of the way when lifting the wiper arm to clean the windshield and to bring the FlipPac lid down.

In the cab I've added sound dampening material from Sound Deadener Showdown. Did the roof on one weekend, the floor and rear cab wall on the next, and the doors on the third weekend. All in all it was pretty easy to do but a bit time consuming because I wanted to make sure I got everything cut as accurate as possible so I did allot of back and forth in and out of the truck. I sincerely appreciate the benefits of this mod since I am partially deaf in one ear as it makes the cab quite comfortable acoustically. No more shouting from my wife when I asked her for the third time to repeat herself because I couldn't hear her.

And for when I just want music I purchased some door speakers from Crutchfield and the door adapters from *********. I put it all in at the same time I did the sound dampening and it all works great. One thing I regretted though is that I did not source some tweeter adapters so I could upgrade them but thankfully @Unchained 5150 offered up a spare set of Mr. Marv adapters he had and I'm looking forward to receiving them and getting some better tweeters in. Recommendations for ideal tweeters to buy accepted since I really don't know what I should be looking for in features and specs.

I tried the vent clip phone holders but they annoyed me so I searched TW for alternatives and came up with some interesting solutions. Using their guidance along with a RAM Mounts catalog I made my own and made a thread about it here.



I was riding with a friend in their FJ Cruiser and ended up focusing on their front sunvisors that are actually bolted above the front doors using what appeared to be the same size handle as our double cabs have over the rear doors. After a part number search I took the plunge and found that they fit perfectly. Created a thread about it here.



Theres a few other things done but to be honest none of it really amounts to much or I've simply never taken pictures of them so I'll leave it be for now and include them in the updates.

So what's next?

My family loves truck camping. We also appreciate being able to get to places that a regular car or two wheel drive truck wouldn't carry us. But as you know even a stock 4x4 Tacoma has some limitations so I've made some purchases to reduce those limitations.

Right now I'm wrapping up the collecting of parts required to add my lift to the truck. Thanks to the help of @YotaDan at Wheeler's Off-Road I now have almost everything I need.




Inventory: and an adjusting wrench. in case I do something stupid. (not seen in photo) in the 3.5" - 5" lift variation. have no idea if I will ever use them, the real "impulse" part of the purchase. because I'm simply too damn lazy to source all the parts and make my own.

Tracy and the crew @allpro hooked me up as well... I also have a 4 Crawler 1" body lift that I purchased in the hopes of reducing some of the metal cutting that I know I'll have to do.

An extended length brake line set from the @OCTaco group buy thread.

I'm still waiting on a @RelentlessFab cab mount chop plate kit and trying to not wear out the refresh button on my keyboard hoping for new updates on the bumper I recently ordered that I've been wanting since it first released.

And today I found and ordered a set of five Cooper Discoverer S/T MAXX in LT315 /70 R17 from Discount Tire Direct.

In a couple days the truck will go into a local tint shop to get a clear UV blocker film added to the windshield and a Crawldorado hood blackout added as well. Being a geezer has it's downfalls and not being able to see sometimes due to glare is a real ball-ache.

Now what?

This is the part that sucks. I have to wait a bit to get the suspension under the truck as I'm also dealing with heaps of medical issues caused by a hereditary kidney disease. Thankfully a few TW guys in my area have stated that they'd like to help which actually has me pretty excited that I might be able to get it all in before October is over. Since I'm pretty much just traveling from home to hospital and back for the next couple months I think I might be able to get away with minimal BFH work for a little bit.

I know I'm going to trim and thanks to the details and pictures that @la0d0g placed in this thread I feel pretty confident that I can get it sorted out. I was wanting to get the lower flare lip reattached to the trimmed upper flare but after seeing how much frustration others have had that plan is sadly loosing steam.

I'll keep this thread as current as I can and try to answer any questions that come my way as well. Thanks for reading and for any suggestions

 

Aftermarket upgrades/accessories:

Suspension & Chassis
4Crawler 1" body lift.
Fox #880-06-418 2.5" Factory series coil-overs with DSC adjusters on remote reservoirs.
Fox #883-02-128 2.0" Factory series IFP bump stop.
Total Chaos #96504 Urethane pivot upper control arms.
Total Chaos #86500R race series stock length chromoly boxed lower control arms.
Total Chaos #59653 weld-on upper coil bucket tower gussets.
Total Chaos #59698-SB weld-on spindle gussets with swayer mounts.
Total Chaos #59860 lower control arm cam tab gussets.
Fox #985-26-118 2.0" Performance series rear shocks with CD adjusters on remote reservoirs.
Rear frame box plate kit.

Dirt Designs coil bucket tower crossover hats.
Wolf-Fab crossover bar.

Body & Exterior
McNeil Racing +2 fiberglass fenders.
Flippac camper shell.
Windoor hinged camper side windows.
Fiamma #06762D01(X) F35 Pro 3.0 meter awning.
Prinsu Design Studio Cabrac roof rack.
Black Diamond Fab / Elusive Elements grille insert.
Black Diamond Fab / Elusive Elements behind the grille light bar mount.
Pop & Lock BOLT locking tailgate handle.
Crawldorado hood black out kit.
Redline Tuning gas hood lift struts.
35% window tint on all side and rear windows.
70% UV blocking tint film on windshield.

Drivetrain
ARB #170112 differential breather kit.
4.56 Nitro gears.
ARB #RD111 front air locker.
ARB #RD129 rear air locker.
ARB #CKMA12 on-board 12v air compressor. (For locker activation)

Armor & Recovery
Relentless Fabrication bolt-on rock sliders.
Relentless Fabrication "Predator" winch carrier bumper.
Relentless Fabrication "High Clearance" rear bumper with custom additions.
Relentless Fabrication full skid/bash plate set.
Warn #92815 Zeon 10-S Platinum 12v electric winch.
Warn #87915 Spydura 100' x 3/8" synthetic rope.
Factor 55 Flatlink E winch shackle mount.
Factor 55 1.5" hawse fairlead.
Ruff Stuff Toyota axle housing bash plate.

Wheels & Tires
Hutchinson Rock Monster #WA-0567 BLACK dual beadlock wheels.
315/70/17 Cooper Discoverer S/T Maxx all terrain tires.
Innovative Balancing #DBS-OR8 Dyna beads, 8oz bag per wheel balancing beads.
No Loss metal valve stem caps.

Electrical
Baja Designs OnX6, dual control 40" amber/white LED light bar.
Baja Designs OnX6, 20" driving/combo LED light bar.
Baja Designs XL-R Pro, pair driving/combo, amber.
Baja Designs S2 Pro, LED flood/work, flush mount (pair).
Off-Road Only LiteSPOT LED trail lights.
Odyssey #35-PC1400 Extreme series batteries (pair).
Fastronix Mil Spec battery terminals.
IBS battery management system.
Columbia Overland dual battery tray.
Cooper Bussmann RFRM fuse and relay module.
Switch Pros #SP8100 8-switch panel power system.
Pioneer AVIC-8100 NEX in-dash navigation head unit.
Blackvue DR600GW-HD WIFI dashcam (pair)
Redarc Tow-Pro Elite electric brake controller.
Cobra C75 WX ST remote mount CB radio.
Firestik II FS series 5" black CB antenna.
Light-Pros fiber optic LED trail whip.​

Assorted upgrades/accessories:
Powertank #PT20-5460 20lb CO2 air tank system with accessories.
Sound dampening material throughout cab.
Relentless Fabrication hood hinge antenna mounts.
WeatherTech DigitalFit floor liners.
MOLLE panel for double cabs.
Lock'er Down console safe.​

OEM upgrades/accessories:

Toyota #58510-04870-B2 all weather floor
Toyota #PT747-35052 Tacoma Door Sill Protectors Double-Cab.

Pending upgrades/accessories:

Yeasu FT-857D HF/VHF/UHF Mobile Transceiver.
Midland MXT400 Micromobile GMRS Transceiver.
Redarc low coolant alarm.
National Luna portable power pack.
Adventure Trailers combo slide.
National Luna 52L Weekender fridge.
Partner Steel JK stove.
JK stove windscreen.
Heatsource HS2000 LPG furnace.
Archive Garage Tacoma shackle flip kit.

Future upgrade plans:

High output on-board air compressor.
Potable water tank.
Heater for potable water tank.
Camper interior.
Replace aftermarket stereo with in dash iPad Mini.​

 

Op, I love where this build is going!

If I was in your area I'd totally be down to help you!

 

@Unchained 5150's tweeter adapters arrived today along with the @RelentlessFab cab mount chop plate kit.

This medicine I'm on blanks me out sometimes and I completely forgot to mention that my @Up2NoGood heated mirror kit arrived yesterday. I plan on installing that along with the @SMKYTXN EZView "See all the things" aspherical mirrors.

 

Looking good. You're going to have one clean, well put together Rig.

 

Definitely shaping up to be a nice rig. I love the flipac!

Let me know how the EZView mirror install goes.

 

I can't remember where I heard it first but I've been flying by the logic of "take your time and research the options and then buy the right one that way you only cry once."

Thanks again for looking out for me. I'll be placing another order soon as I forgot to grab a pair of for the front.

 

What you can't see is the 75% - basicially clear - film on the windshield to help block UV.

 

I like that anti-glare on the hood and might have to look into getting that.

 

Did you get a non-scooped hood because of the glare too?

 

Ha, yeah, forgot about that. I traded with a fellow TW member for his plain hood. I felt that since it actually didn't do anything I really didn't want it. Sadly a fellow I am thinking about doing business with in San Antonio says that I will have to source a scooped hood if our deal comes together.

 

76,601 miles. R.I.P. factory battery.

Have Dyna beads in hand now but tires are still back ordered.

Tomorrow-ish a new pair of spindles that the seller claims have less than 5,000 miles on from a 2015 Tacoma will arrive and if they are what he claims them to be then I will have them gusseted and then put the take-offs on the B/S/T section.

 

I had really bad luck with Dynabeads on my Tacoma. They've worked great for me on other vehicles, but the steering is so sloppy on the Tacoma that they caused a ton of vibration.

 

Yikes. I'm really keen to use some sort of bead as I've lost so many lead weights on other vehicles while out in the woods. Did you find a substitute that worked better for you?

 

My dad used beads in his 34s. Works great.

 

Since I already have them I'm going to give them a try. But if I have terrible results I'd like to have a "plan b" ready.

 

I ended up just having to go with a traditional weight balance to get them smoothed out. Just be sure to clean the inside of the wheel really well before sticking the weights on. I've never lost a weight on a wheel that was properly cleaned before sticking them on.

 

Got the 4 Crawler 1" body lift on today. Everything looks good but I want to go back and re-torque everything after a hundred miles or so just to be sure.

The new eBay spindles arrived as well and they look pretty good. I goofed and forgot to order the gusset kits so as soon as a few more leaves sprout on the money tree I'll add them to my order.

About the spindles, from everything I have read here and from cross referencing part numbers the factory spindles have stayed the same - including Toyota part numbers - all through the 2nd generation range. Don't know if that helps anyone but there it is.

I've got some regular preventative maintenance to do soon as well since after everything is together and double checked I plan on taking the truck to Marble Falls, Texas for Thanksgiving holiday and checking out Hidden Falls Adventure Park which it turns out is less than five miles from one of my brother-in-laws houses.

The St. Louis guys are still chomping at the bit to help and to say that it's humbling is an understatement. I've been registered here since before I bought this truck and have mostly just read and made notes of as much as I could it never fails to amaze me at how much of a community TacomaWorld really is.