Building a Toy, a photo essay.

This is a slow build.

I tried to buy a Tacoma as my first car when I was 16, but Gen 1's were still relatively new and expensive. So I waited until I could afford the one I wanted. Almost 15 years later, I was able to purchase 2015 TRD Off Road with a 6 Speed Manual.

Due to modern manufacture's disdain for manual transmissions, I had to special order my 6-speed and it took 4 months to arrive. It was well worth the wait.

I received my degree in advertising photography, but now I am an airline pilot for Southwest Airlines.

MODS
Fog Lights Anytime
OEM Bed Extender
OEM Bed Mat
35% Window Tint
Truck Covers USA, American Roll Cover - My Review
Custom Image on Home Screen
Anti Dark Hood Light
Antenna X - 14 Inch Antenna
Icon Stage 2 Suspension - Coils, Rear Shocks, AAL
Steal Custom Series Wheels - Stealth 6 in Gunmetal with machine lip
Toyo Open Country Tires - Toyo R/T LT285/70R17
Pop N Lock PL5400 - Locking Tailgate Handle
Bed Light​

Husky Floor Liners
TRD Shift Knob
Plefreybilt Rock Sliders

As the Toy sits - 7/7/21









CHRONOLOGICAL PHOTO ESSAY

Order Date: July 31, 2014
Build Date: November 14, 2014
Delivery Date: November 28, 2014

11/28/14 - First photo with only 4 miles on it when I picked it up.


11/29/14 - Did a quick photo shoot the day after I brought it home.


12/16/14 - I wasn't able to do much with it during the first couple weeks, but I finally got it off road and in some snow in South Lake Tahoe.


12/22/14 - "Fog light anytime mod from @nd4spdbh.
Fog Light Mod

1/4/15 - Installed OEM Bed Extender. I use it way more as a "bed shortener" than I do as an extender, but it comes in handy all the time.




2/2/15 - 35% Window tint on all windows.


3/26/15 - Installed Truck Covers USA, American Roll Cover. I love this thing and I use it all the time. Awesome quality, and I think it really set the truck off. I got it with free shipping, which was funny because it showed up on a semi truck. My short review can be found here.


4/29/15 - Custom Start-Up Screen Photo. This is probably the cheapest mod anyone can do to their Toyota. It takes about 10 minutes. Just follow the directions here.


6/3/15 - Hood Light Instaltion. @BeeRadd and @Mach375 over at Anti Dark make an awesome hood light that is super easy to install. I highly reccomend it.



8/5/15 - Wheeling around Lake alpine and Slick Rock trail.




10/28/15 - Installed the Icon Stage 2 suspension with new coil overs up front and AAL/shocks in the back.
Tires - Toyo Open Country R/T in LT285/70R17
Wheels - Stealth Custom Series, Stealth 6 in gun metal grey with a machined lip.







11/10/15 - Installed Pop N Lock PL5400. Overall quality seems decent and it functions as advertised. Only time will tell if it holds up.
Before


During


After


11/16/15 - Bed Light from here





12/7/15 i Added TRD Shift knob, Husky floor liners and gave it a quick wash.




9/13/16



10/14/16


4/15/19

 

Garage Remodel
My wife and I bought a small house in Pleasanton, CA in the end of 2013. It was original from the late 1970's so we gutted it and remodeled the interior. One of the main reasons I was drawn to the house was because I could fit 2 cars and a workbench in the garage. All the garage work was done by myself and my father.

10/18/13 - Here is the garage as it was when we purchased it. The previous owners left some crap for me to deal with and never really did anything useful with the space.


11/7/13 - With the help of my father, we took the original kitchen cabinets and re-organized them to make a work bench. Here are the old kitchen cabinets as were in the middle of adding lighting and a gas line. The cabinets just sat in the garage for a couple months while we finished the interior.



5/9/14 - It took about 6 months to get it to be a functional garage. We built a workbench out of the lower cabinets with a solid piece of ply-wood as the upper surface. The spots where the dishwasher and sink used to be made for great cubby holes for my shop vac and whatever else I need quick access too. I have since moved the skateboards and ladder because I couldn't get behind the Tacoma once. (The car is my 2002 VW GTI. Had it forever and it still runs great, surprisingly).

The lower cabinets did not run the full length of the garage so we built a locker to keep all my photography gear.


6/5/14 - One of my favorite additions is the garage door opener. There is no center track on the ceiling of the garage. There is one small box on the left that simply rotates the garage door around a bar and it is very quiet. It also has an automatic lock overtime it closes. Its made by lift master.



12/5/14 - The old side door was rotten and falling apart so I replaced it with a metal door with that had a window and blinds built in. Got it from Lowes on sale for about $150.



10/23/15 - There were some large gaps in the garage remodel due to life getting in the way. We just finished hanging the sheet rock and began the mud/tape process on the ceiling. I removed the ladder and skateboards to make more room behind my truck, as well as texturing the back wall. I have always like the looks of a "finished" garage, so thats where mine is headed.




11/23/15 - Finished mudding/taping off the ceiling and the first round of sanding. Needs a bit more mud and sanding before we texture.

 

I'll update this post with photos from my job flying around as a corporate pilot. My flights cover all of North America, and sometimes further.

11/12/14 Centennial, Colorado - Citation CJ3


12/26/14 Calgary, Canada - Citation Sovereign An airplane spotter got a cool shot of me landing. I randomly found this on the Internet.


1/5/15 Lake Tahoe, California - Citation CJ3 This is one of my favorite photos I've ever taken from the plane. This is looking west at sunrise over Lake Tahoe, but you can still see the moon in the middle right. There is no editing or filter on this photo.


2/5/15 Sierras, Califonia/Nevada - Citation CJ3 This is called a "solar terminator." From high altitude you can see the shadow cast by the earth as the sun sets below the horizon. It's literally the line between day and night.


4/16/15 Colombia, California - Marchetti My wife got this shot of me doing a high speed pass at a "fly-in" in Colombia, Ca.


5/15/15 Houston, Texas- Citation Soveriegn The entire airport was shut down due to severe thunderstorms. This is just before Houston experienced massive flooding.


8/26/15 Lewiston, Idaho - Phenom 300 The massive wildfires over the summer caused us to divert to this small airport because the smoke was so thick.


8/1/15 Eagle, Colorado


11/19/15 Mt. St Helens - Citation CJ3


11/25/15 Bend, OR


12/6/15 Santa Rosa, California - Phenom 300 The approach into here was at the lowest allowed visibility minimums.

 

Looks great! Did you add wheel spacers for the current stance? Great choice in lift. I'd like something similar in front and looking at rear options. Any feedback on pricing for the icon coil overs or do they cost the same all over? Top notch photography

 

I did not add spacers. The Stealth Custom Series wheels come with 4.5 inches of backspace. The tires stick out just past the fenders a little less than an inch. I think the coils are priced the same independently or a part of the different stage packages. I'm not totally sure on that so you will probably just have to google it.

Thanks for the compliment!




Installed the Pop N Lock

$94 PL5400 Black Manual Tailgate Lock with Bolt Codeable Technology for Toyota Tacoma

PL5400 today. Overall the quality seemed decent, but we will see how it holds up over time. It was super easy and I just followed the youtube video that Pop N Lock made. Only took about 30 minutes from start to finish.

 

Very nice Justin!

 

I have this exact setup in the works. Did you have to trim the front fender area at all?

 

I had to removed the front flaps like everyone else, and a piece of the plastic wall right behind the coils. Other than that I did not do the cab chop or trim any of the fender. It's set at 2.5 inches with no rubbing. I haven't taken it off road yet so we will see if I need to eventually do the chop.

 

Bad ass lookin truck...them wheels are so gnarly.

 

What camera / lens are you using to shoot? Pics look nice. 4th pic down I had to do a double take - looks shopped almost.. ha!

 

Gnarly. I like that. Thanks!

Most of these photos were taken with a Nikon D300 and either the 24-70mm f2.8, 12-24mm, or perhaps the 70-200 f2.8.

 

your photography skills
sweet looking truck too.

 

I agree nice pictures. And good looking truck.

 

Awesome photos & a great build! I really dig the SCS wheels with the machined lip. Sub'd for more.

 

Great photos. What's the camera setup?

 

Thanks!!
The photos that look better were taken with a Nikon D300 and either the 24-70mm f2.8, 12-24mm, or perhaps the 70-200 f2.8. Many were taken with an iPhone as well.

 

Glad you finally got a build thread up. These pictures deserve a home! Once again congrats on magazine / catalog quality photos.

 

Thanks!
I have more to add, and hopefully I'll get some more photos this winter in the snow.

 

Did you crank the coils a little bit? They come out of the box at 2" right? Did your tire set require the additional lift? I think that's the perfect combo IMHO

 

Great looking truck! Super clean!