Diet Taco... trying to keep things light

That shot is just sick.

 

I agree with your Molle panel mod assessment. Just not efficient or functional. DoorDing said he intends to put some carpeted plywood back there. I think most of the space comes from the areas above and below the cab reinforcement cross member though, so I don't want to use any method or system that negates that space. I've halfheartedly tried to envision other panel and hardware systems that could be flexible to future changes or rearrangement, but it is hard to do without extensive thought and some trial and error, neither of which I have any capacity for at this time.

All my recovery gear is currently in a large Action Packer (I have four APs for the long adventure kit: spares/tools, recovery, pantry, and beverages). I think I will need to have some quality time playing tetris with the recovery, tools, and towing/hauling gear back there before I can commit to anything other than the big pile you have back there. Ideally, I like being able to take out any item I need without moving anything else, but this likely isn't realistic in all cases back there.

However, on a daily basis, I don't want most of that stuff in the truck.

I found a couple Plano ammo/gun range cans I liked to use near the tailgate of my 01. Plastic, so they are light, carried hitch and cargo control stuff in them. The VIAIR compressor will fit in one with my Flexilla hose and other air doo-dads if I modify one of the trays (the black horizontal pieces in the photo below). But I doubt these will fit behind the 2015 seats even at the bottom. The tops are too wide. Haven't had time to experiment further yet.

 

I too used to wheel with full PSI all the time. So much better airing down.

Amazing photo. Just love it.

 

Yes that is some useful space. The upper relatively narrow section is actually surprisingly useful for a variety of smaller things, I can tuck emergency blanket, tarp, emergency rain gear and what not in that space. That's actually one spot I'd like to make the first improvement - some sort of stretchy netting or something so that I can tuck things there and not have them fall down when I take other larger stuff out.

Definite trade offs in maximum space efficiency and maximum accessibility. On the driver side I've got the Viair at the bottom because it is heavy and that is where it fits. But I don't particularly want to dig it out from under other things since I'd use it fairly frequently. Thinking I may semi-permanently mount it there with power and build a shelf above it. I could then flip the seat down, pull out the hose and start filling without moving anything from above it. The driver side storage is more precious because I can access that quickly without removing my daughter's car seat which rides on the passenger side.

Yes for a DD recovery gear is a lot of weight to haul around. My build is a little weird since it is a camping only truck which means I don't have to be able to quickly take out or pack all the gear, I just want quick access to the gear I use most when camping. On the flip side we are only in CA for one year and come September the truck will have to stay behind in storage which means I have to put a few things in and haul them around all the time that seem silly - like torque wrenches, oil filter wrench, some basic fabrication tools - since I don't have a garage to keep that stuff in!

Whoa, why had I not seen the Flexilla hose before? Searching I see that @DoorDing even mentioned it in a thread my browser says I read. Definitely picking that up, the coil hose that the Viair came with is functional but a pain in use and in storage. Thanks for mentioning it!

I expect those bins are a bit too big for behind the seats as well, but if you hadn't seen already you can actually make the seats sit just a bit more vertical and gain some more space. There is a bracket on the back of the seat you can flip around and get about 1 inch more standoff from the rear of the cab. I haven't done it on mine but I remember seeing it in one of the rear storage delete threads.

 

I despised that Viair hose when I first just tried it at home. It was stretched to the max and fighting me. And the chuck/gauge sucked. Plus, as you say, a pain to store. I bought the Flexilla right away and loved it. So light and so flexible, and long enough. CAn't find pix for the life of me right know, but I highly recommend it. I also bought a

$65 Milton 503 Heavy-duty Analog Tire Inflator with Pressure Gauge, 3' Hose Single Ball Clip-on Inflator Gage, Made In USA (OSHA Compliant) 10-60 PSI

Milton 503, but I haven't been very impressed with it. I found the gauge to be inaccurate, and the clip-on chuck was difficult to use on my particular wheels at the time. I have yet to try it on the 2015. For its size and weight, I had high hopes, but I'll be looking for something else to use on the trail.

 

Color Matched Grill
January 2016

I wouldn't even have noticed my truck had a chrome grill surround and others a color matched surround if it wasn't for TW. Undoubtedly I would never have gotten the urge to switch from one to the other if I didn't see others doing it. Peer pressure is an evil thing.

This mod is also a bit out of character as I am typically a function over form kind of guy and this is pure form. I mumbled to myself that the chrome might weather poorly over 20 years and that color matching now would mean all my paint finish would see the same fade and what not over the decades. That thought sort of trailed off as I couldn't even muster the energy to continue the lame rationalization in my head.

At least this is a really easy mod. Order part from Camelback Toyota ($188 shipped). Wait a few days to arrive at my door. Remove two screws, remove two plastic pop fasteners, pry a bunch of tabs and pull the chrome one off. Line up the white one, press firmly a few places, install plastic fasteners and screws. I couldn't even be bothered to get my tool kit out from behind the rear seats and just used one of those lame 6-in-1 screwdriver thingies to get the job done.

In the end I do like it, but honestly I'm not sure it was worth even the minimal effort of install. Yeah, I prefer the white to the chrome but I suspect the effect is more noticeable with other colors. The chrome on the white really didn't bother me that much in retrospect. I think I could have given this mod a pass. Chalk it up to the Tacoma World Effect. It took just a few minutes and once I sell the old grill net cost will probably be less than $75. Not bad at all for a "could have skipped it" mod. Much better than a spacer lift after all...

Obligatory before and after photos...

Chrome Ugliness


Angelic White​

 

The white grill looks so much better

 

Well, well, like, that's just like your opinion, man. My color-matched homersohi does not glitter with chrome (which attracts terrorists), is 73% lighter than stock, and improves cooling for towing by 41%.

 

Gunter,
I replaced the hose immediately with Flexzilla and this inflator. Great combination.

Power Tank TIG-8200 Heavy Duty Tire Inflator

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002KCE6LU?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00

 

Interior LED Bulbs
January 2016

The OEM incandescent bulbs in the map lights and dome light manage to be too dim most of the time, unless of course I'm in the middle of Death Valley in which case they are too bright. With that in mind I've swapped the dome light and driver's side map light with white LEDs and the passenger side map light with a red LED. I'd like the whites to be significantly brighter than stock while the red can be used when attempting to preserve a bit of night vision.

After much searching on SuperBrightLEDs I selected the WLED-CWHP5 for the white map light which comes in at 75 lm for 90 mA at 6500K compared to the stock at about 25 lm for 400 mA at presumably around 2800K:

​

I also picked up the WLED-RHP5 which is a red version of the same bulb which draws 40 mA:

​

For the dome light I got the 4410-CW9 which comes in at 44 lm for 35mA at 6000K - but this turned out to be a mistake, DO NOT GET THIS BULB!!!

​

I picked up some bulbs to put in the light fixtures in the Flip-Pac, again one white and one red, but that will have to wait for me to run power back to the bed. I also got a random collection of other 194 size bulbs in blue, red and UV with different outputs in case I wanted to experiment with my night vision preserving map light or a "night light" in the Flip-Pac. Last I bought a few individually wired blue LEDs because I might want to add some additional low level lighting in the cab at some point in the future.

A note on the color temperature choice here. I am a photographer and rather fussy about light and the quality of light. For the cab I'd prefer daylight balanced (around 6000K~6500K, or "cool-white") since this appears brighter and is easier for reading maps and guide books. However, I actually don't like to "live" in lighting of that color temperature so for the eventual lighting of the Flip-Pac I'm going with tungsten balanced (around 2800K~3500K, or "warm-white") lighting. I'd like the back of the truck to look warm and inviting when we are camping. Especially with a campfire nearby 6000K lighting looks extremely blue and harsh. Yeah, I'm a fussy bastard when it comes to light.

The map light covers come off with a little prying, I sacrificed a Vons Club card as something plastic and unlikely to mar things. Wrapping the tip of a small screwdriver in tape would be another good method. Getting the stock bulbs out is a bit of a pain because of the reflectors surrounding them. A small screwdriver carefully prying the base while pulling the bulb itself with fingers got them out.

I could not find any obvious markings for the positive and negative sides of the LED bulbs. Fortunately their case is transparent so I could see the protection diode inside and from its case marking figure out which side was positive. I used a multimeter to check the polarity of the socket. I'm not sure all this is strictly necessary, I could probably have just guessed and flipped the LED bulb as necessary.

The new white LED map light is definitely very bright and I like the color quality. The red one works great and I think I'm happy with the light level. If it ends up being too bright I've got some dimmer options I can swap in.

For the dome light the cover comes off easily, but here is where the mod went poorly. First it appears despite having searched ahead of time I erroneously thought that 4410 was the correct festoon bulb size. Unfortunately that isn't correct, the 4410 is a bit long at 44mm and it appears a 42mm bulb would be the proper fit. The 4410 can fit awkwardly so I went ahead with the install.

This bulb is also not bright enough, it is about the same brightness as stock. I knew this when I bought it, my daughter already finds the stock bulb "too bright" so I stuck to a lower output. That said in practice when matched with the brighter map light it just doesn't look good. I should get a brighter bulb and make my daughter put on sunglasses.

The worst problem though is that this particular bulb has horrible color rendering. It is distinctly greenish and makes me want to puke. I notice this particular bulb doesn't use chip LEDs, but instead a bunch of T-1 packages. I don't know enough about white LED fabrication to know if the chip packages achieve better color rendering indices and that's why this T-1 based bulb is so ugly or what. Point is it looks horrible and will have to go.

Looking on SuperBrightLEDs I see what will be the next attempt for the dome light. Part 4210-CWHP6-V2 is 93 lm for 163 mA at 6600K (WARNING: See update further down). It is the correct 42mm length. It uses chip LEDs similar to the 194 bulb I used in the map light so hopefully it will have good color rendering and no greenish tint. I'll throw it in the next time I'm ordering from SuperBrightLEDs.

​

UPDATE: The 42mm bulb pictured above has its own problem which makes it likely it will short out and be destroyed when installed. Read more here. The bulb I finally ended up with that works is a

$8 Philips 43mm festoon X-tremeVision LED 6000K Interior light (Pack of 1)

Philips 43mm Festoon.

Here are some before and after shots, all are taken at the exact same exposure so that valid comparisons of light level can be made. I have avoided the senseless "look I have a light" photos of the light itself and instead these show the illuminated interior. Camera is positioned just behind the dome light and pointed down. I have applied separate white balance to the stock and LED shots to better match the visual difference (our visual system does white balancing on its own). Note in the shot with both the LED map light and LED dome light the white balance is on the map light and you can immediately see the ugly green tint of the dome light. The red shot looks more pink than in reality, this is an artifact of the photo, it is actually a nice deep spectral red.

Stock Map Lights Only


Stock Map Lights and Dome Light


Driver's Side White LED Map Light Only


LED Map and Dome Light - Yuck! It's GREEN!


Night Vision Preserving RED Map Light​

 

I like it. I've found the cab interior lights to be inadequate on a daily basis, and the night vision thing is cool. We have a dome light in the teardop that has a three way switch for off-white-red. Perfect for camping. The idea of putting one red in the cab map light is just a good idea.

 

That's great info. It's disappointing that the vehicle search function on SuperBrightLEDs website directs you to a 44mm dome light. Thanks for including the correction.

 

So this also reminds me of another el-cheapo move/oversight by Toyota: put a convenience/reading light above each rear door for passengers, especially on long trips. And especially for kids. A three-way white/red would be ideal. I'll put this on my list so I don't forget to look into it in all my free time

 

Of my six hours driving to Utah about 4.5 were in the dark. I would really have liked some sort of light back there so my daughter could color or otherwise entertain herself. Instead I was subjected to nearly continuous "This is taking too long. Why are we going to Utah? Are we still in California? Why? Why? Why?"

You've got a good idea there. You know, I'm thinking rather than dicking with the headliner which I understand is an insane pain in the ass to deal with maybe some sort of goose-neck task lights mounted in the rear corners of the cab. Or some other design that can be pointed and is shaded so that it doesn't throw light at the windshield. Attachment should be easier along the back wall/corner and running wiring fairly simple as well. Would also serve well when digging through my now expanded rear seat storage.

Thanks for the idea, this is going on my list as well!

 

Yeah, I think I was forecasting for when we depart after work Friday for a trip to the other side of the Sierra with Bennett, once he is ready for that. And I rather have him coloring or some other activity than zoning out to an illuminated device screen.

You're right, tearing into the headliner is not appealing, so hitting pillar plastic is a better idea. Hell, with all the cheap stick-up battery LED lights now and rechargeable batteries, even that could be a good cheap use of playing with locations, their practical utility, and the effect on night driving.

 

Some kids car seats even have integrated LED in the head rests. I saw them a year or so ago.

 

Sweet! When it is time for him to move to an upright, I'll look for this feature.

So which of us is going to initiate the Kiddy Car Seat Mod Forum? Car seats so cool, they don't care when the "get there"!

 

Ken, I've searched, and haven't found those other references to the removal of the back panel, except one in which it had been soundproofed. My question to you is, can the panel be removed while the seats are in place? ...And have you driven with that space empty to determine if soundproofing is necessary?

 

Ours is 3.5 yrs and still "device" free! She gets one hour of Daniel Tiger or Sesame Street a day if she wants it. She wants it maybe half the days. I can't stand that kiddie vacant stare into a screen. Hoping we can start her on reading soon, that will take a lot of pressure off of us to be in constant conversation with her on road trips!

That's a good idea playing with locations ahead of time.

I found this somewhat high dollar solution, but it does look perfect:

http://littlitedirect.com/xcart/V-5-18-LED.html

That's an 18-inch goose-neck, red/white switchable, 12V vehicle application. Almost $100 though. But if it saves me dicking around for an hour or two it is worth it I guess. They also make blue/white switchable and white dimming ones. Six, twelve or eighteen inch goose-neck choices too.

 

I did not have to remove the seats. At one point you do have to pull like a mofo to get all the dang clips to release and/or break but I'm not sure removing the seat would make that step any better. I kept going back inside to check the web to see if I was missing something to make it easier to get the bins back, but every thread I found just said at one point you just really have to pull hard because there are multiple clips holding the bin and no good way to disengage them one at a time.

I haven't driven with that space empty, but with my crap back there I hear no difference in road noise. I fully expect with the seats down there would be more road noise. But I don't know about seats up with the bins removed but no stuff stored back there.