The Getaway...Crom's build and adventures

Very smart move! I'm sure your experience was greatly enhanced by your actions.

I use an Android tablet and phone with Backcountry Navigator. It works. And I've been fairly happy with that setup. It's a constantly evolving market too, so research in that area can be daunting.

Funny, I think you are the reason that I measured and now know the ID of the Yakima crossbars. I was going to replicate your shower curtain mod that you posed in the EXPO BS thread back in July 2015. But I was going to try and store the retractable bent up EMT (electrical conduit) inside the Yakima bars. I never got around to it and shelved the idea since last summer, but as you know, the mother of all invention is necessity, so if wife wants one I'll build it! lol

Yes on the High-Lift u-bolts, they are pictured here:

48" Hi-Lift & Roof Rack Mount

Those u-bolts are: Stanley Part number V2193. 5/16" x 1-3/8" x 2-1/2"

 

The Calcium Carbonate Mod.

She hit them all. No tire was spared. I've been driving around like this five days now. Chalk on sidewall has only faded a little. lol

 

Today my oldest daughter and I sealed up another pain-point-dust-intrusion offender in the truck.

It's the inverter plug in the bed. The bracket, and the drain hole inside the plug door.



Absolutely filthy. No wonder dust was coming in, nothing to stop it! lol

Another fast fix with a tube of sillycone.


If it gives me any further issues, I'll hit it from the back side with some flexible roofing sealant.

Take that desert dust!!!

 

Going for a 1980's Miami Vice theme I see.

 

It was the pink and lime green wasn't it!

Haha

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEjXPY9jOx8

 

Thanks for the link on your Hi-Lift mount. Not sure how I missed that post. Looks like a simple, cheap, and effective solution. Now that I have sliders on my truck and actually have somewhere to lift from I'm looking for somewhere to mount a Hi-Lift. I've considered removing the plastic behind the rear double cab seats and building something back there to hold it or simply putting it on my Yakima bars like you have.

The shower curtain rod that I made works great. We did a big trip during the summer that involved a few different hot springs. When it wasn't set up for a shower we used it to dry our towels and bathing suites. I used 3/4" EMT which has an OD of 15/16", it slides nicely into 1" EMT. Do you remember the ID of the Yakima bars? I think you might have to go down to 1/2" if you were to make it retractable into the Yakima bars. I think 1/2" would still do the job fine. 1/2" EMT has an OD of 11/16". If you were to store the bent EMT shower rod slide into the Yakima bars I'm not sure how'd you keep it secured either than drilling out your Yakima bars and putting a pin through it and the EMT. I store the bent EMT rod under my sleeping platform currently. One of these days I should just pop the cap off one of my bars and see what I can do.

 

I'm guessing a 5-10 year old daughter already chalk testing for even tire wear = Daddy win. Teach them early.

 

• Inside diameter of Yakima crossbar pipe is 21.8 millimeters .85 inches.

I remember what the roadblock for me was, I don't own a tube bender... yet.

Thanks. Yes, it was a chalk test. She is 5.5 years old. She is my wrenching partner and helper. Anything that isn't dangerous or involves chemicals, she is usually actively involved until she doesn't want to be. I think she has helped me on maybe 3/4 of the projects I've done. Whatever I'm doing, I try and turn it into a game for them and they like that. I have tons of hilarious pictures, and stories of them just having fun out in the front yard while I try and get stuff done.

 

Good stuff! My 2.5 year son loves to "help" with anything and everything. Of course, it turns a 30 minute job into an hour, but I'm so thankful for his interest and to be able to teach him the things he will use in his life. Trucks are fun, kids are amazing. Working on your truck with your child is priceless.

 

It would have to be 1/2" EMT then.

A 1/2" EMT hand bender is just over $30 @ Home Depot. A 10' stick of 1/2 EMT is like $2.50. You could ask to "test" a bender in store or simply buy it and take it out into the parking lot, bend your pipe and then return it.

If you decide to eventually tackle this project here's a link detailing how to bend back to back 90° bends with a EMT conduit hand bender.

 

Sound dampen roof is done.

This is a four hour job. I followed @GHOST SHIP 's well written and sometimes humorous guide to removing the headliner in his Heat reduction in dark Tacomas's thread.
The only thing I did different was, I was a cheater and didn't bother removing the B or C pillar interior panels. After all the headliner fasteners were out, I more or less just pried the headliner out around the edges and when I was all done I shimmied it back in. It worked, but I wouldn't want to do it again. lol

I also had to make a strategic decision on materials. I didn't have enough of what I wanted to put in and had to improvise. I knew this going into it... Surprise chance to work on the truck, so work got done.

For the front row of the roof I did 100% coverage with butyl mat (dense sound damper stuff), followed by Frost King Duct insulation.
For the middle and back row of the roof I did scattered coverage with butyl mat, followed by some foam and a layer of Reflectix heat insulation.

I felt this was a good compromise. The front of the roof (towards the windshield) is where most of the wind noise is generated from, so I wanted the best material I had for that. The second and third rows of roof, got some damper applied, which helps change the resonance of the panel, and it passed the knock test when I was done, so I'm satisfied there. The foam helps insulate and stop vibrations, and lastly, the Reflectix insulation can help insulate, and if it helps stop noise then that's a bonus too.

The day stared off with me gathering tools, while the tires got another dose of chalk.


I removed the sun visors, retention clips, grab handles, rear view mirror, and other related hardware. Daughter helped by collecting the hardware and running it to the back of the truck and placing it all on the tailgate. She was a great helper placing all the fasteners in a bag. I laughed at how she used one of the grab handles as a telephone.

Front row of roof


Middle and back rows.


And finally after foam and reflectix layers applied.

My daughter and I had fun together during this time. We played interactive games, told stories, played with radios, all while getting the work done.

Difficult to see in this photo, but the headliner is lowered and propped up just above her head. She hung out in the back and liked her "cave" In this photo she is doing a great job with her coloring book.


Also for anyone who was wondering, this red device at the rear of roof line is the trucks TPMS receiver.

Toyota Part No. 89760-35021 FCC ID: HYQ13BCG, Made by Denso, in Japan
I looked up the frequency of device, 314.98 MHz of the ISM radio band. I am such a geek!.


After I finished installing the headliner, we had lunch, and went for a test drive.

 

Balboa Park

Balboa Park is said to be a landscape of Art and Culture. It is also the nation's largest urban cultural park. Home to 15 major museums, renowned performing arts venues, beautiful gardens and the San Diego Zoo, the Park has an ever-changing calendar of museum exhibitions, plays, musicals, concerts, and classes—all in the beautiful and timeless setting of this must-see San Diego attraction.

We love Balboa Park, it has so much to see and do. This is where we took the Tacoma on our test drive.

First we went to the coy pond to see the fish. The building in the background is the The Botanical Building, designed by Carleton Winslow, was the largest wood lath structure in the world when it was built in 1915 for the Panama-California Exposition. It contains large specimen palms and other plants and sits next to a long reflecting pool.


Giant fish!

The pond was teeming with life, turtles, ducks, fish, etc.


From here we went into the shady botanical garden, and appreciated the diverse plants, in the cool shade. Our favorite place in the gardens was the touch and smell plants, lavender is my favorite.

And after that, we went into the Natural History Museum. The dinosaur exhibits were a big hit.



This giant Megalodon (extinct shark) hanging from the ceiling was pretty impressive! This thing was huge!!!




We worked our way to the lower level of the museum and found the gift shop. I was fortunate to have escaped with all my monies still intact.

Then we found a craft table and made some colorful butterflies. One of the best god-damned stress relievers in the world. Coloring!

Can you tell which ones are ours?


After that it was time to go! What a great day with my oldest daughter!

 

Excellent work as always Crom. When I did mine, I actually removed the plastic grate looking spacers above the driver and passenger doors as well as the rear window to get just a few more inches of coverage. I may actually go back in there and do yet a third layer of frost king for the added thermal barrier. While I'm there I'll be sure to take more pictures and update the thread with complete information. Wind noise has been drastically reduced by this mod and I will still recommend it as a project worth it's weight in gold. One thing I will add (I'm not sure if you've experienced this yet or not) is that the metal bracket that holds your overhead console should be sound dampened as well. I noticed that after driving for a while especially head first into the wind is that although the roof was sound deadened, it seems that all vibration from my roof rack was now transferred to the console and the bluetooth mic held within. The vibrations caused my bluetooth mic to become useless at high speeds. On several phone calls, the person on the other end could not hear me unless I held pressure against the plastic. The good news is that you don't have to remove the headliner to access this bracket and only remove the console itself (one phillips screw and you're done). I still need to do mine.

 

Ha! You should look into coloring books for adults. My wife has this one:

$9 Color Therapy Coloring Books for Adult Relaxation DIY Stationery Cards Set with 32 Designs Coloring Stationery Note Cards Postcards, Hand Drawn Hand Written Greeting Card

http://amzn.com/B012ZUO5VM
I have a Pixar book.

They are extremely calming. I keep a sketch book and color pencils at my desk at work and doodle especially when on long conference calls.

 

That's just awesome to hear! A week ago when I was completing the final repair of my drivers side door actuator, I received the greatest compliment from my neighbor across the street. He comes over and he says: "Hay man! You know what?!? You are what's great about America man!" He was serious too. He was referring to how my kids are seeming always with me, and we do things together, even if they do take twice as long as they would for an adult working alone! ROFL!!!

Thanks so much for the links! I'll be sure to let you know if I complete it.

Thanks. My BajaRack adds some wind noise, it is slight though. Driving under 65 MPH, it doesn't bother me, and in the history of owning it, none of my passengers have ever mentioned it. Since yesterday's test drive, the wind noise seems a lot more muted. I have a trip planned very soon which will involve 1 hour commute. After that I hope to have more to share. Thank you for your thread and writing up your experience with it. I referred to several times yesterday while working.

As far as the center console thing, yes, I put some foam and mat around it, and inside it as best I could. I'll have to test out my Bluetooth mic on the interstate to see if I have any issues, but I think I'll be okay.

On your truck, you have a cab roof rack and light bar, correct?

Nice! I may have to get one or two of those so I can stop stealing the kids ones

 

I remember growing up and my dad would make me work on cars with him. He's been a mechanic since before I was born and taught me the basics. I was doing the family oil changes and brake jobs before I was a teenager. I just wish I'd have paid more attention- I'm sure I'd know a hell of a lot more than I do now. Working on your cars with your kids is awesome, but what I think will really make your day is when they teach you something about cars. Got to admit I got a little misty when I was able to show my dad a trick I had learned to remove a rusted/frozen bolt in an intake manifold once. He was amazed and just looked at me, smiled and said, "I'm proud of you, son." Kinda cool when I can do things for him now that he's older or work together with him and have a beer.

Yes, I have a rack and light bar, but no wind deflector like you have. The rack alone gave me horrible wind noise. When I added the light bar, it broke up the wind pattern enough to bring that down. I don't really notice it during daily driving. On long distances and higher speeds, with heavy winds (especially oncoming) it returns a bit. I may eventually build a wind deflector, but that project is shelved for now since it's not that big a problem and not a priority.

 

@Crom awesome write ups and build thread! Thank you for your hard work! Your truck is awesome! I've been researching sound deadening and have read SDS and definitely want to go the route of mat, ccf and mlv. Like you I have been trying to find the most economical way to do this. I had found the Noico mat and was glad to see someone use it. My questions are, are you pleased with all your results with the product you bought, and if so, could you please provide info on where you bought the ccf and mlv? Thanks again
Greg

 

Thank you. TW has been good to me, so it's good to give back.

For the Noico stuff, on a scale of 1-5, where 5 is best, I'd give it all a 5 rating. I'm very pleased with it. I didn't want to buy big name brand stuff, if it can be had under a different name for less money. It's country of origin is Russian Federation, quality has been consistent, and excellent. I got mine from Amazon.

Prices fluctuate though... Here is what I bought and for how much.

• Noico Black 80 Mil X 36 Sq Ft Self-adhesive Foil & Butyl Sound Deadening - $60.30
• NOICO Liner 157 Mil 37.5 Sqft Car Heat Insulation Pad, Foam Self-Adhesive Sound Deadening and Automotive Dampening Mat for Cars (1/6'' Sound Deadener)
  Noico Liner 37.5 Sqft Heat & Cool Automotive Insulation Pad, Foam Self-adhesive (1/6'' or 157 Mil) $55
• $130 TMS Mass Loaded Vinyl, Soundproofing Material - 1Lb, MLV Acoustic Sound Barrier, 4' X 10' - 1/8" Thick (40 Square Feet)
  Mass Loaded Vinyl 4' X 10' 40 Square Feet 1 Lb MLV Acoustic Barrier
  Sold by: TrademarkSound $119
• $11 Dorman 700-077 Splash Shield Clip - Toyota Large, Black, 20 Pack
  Dorman 700-077 Splash Shield Clip $8.17 (I used these to hold up MLV)

• I also used Frost King 12 in. x 15 ft. Self-Stick Foam/Foil Duct Insulation $18.77, found mine at local home store.
  
• And Reflectix 16 in. x 25 ft. Double Reflective Insulation $16.25, found at local home store

If you haven't already seen it, I highly recommend Steven's, @ItalynStylion. great tutorial that he wrote six years ago, now locked, located here.

 

Thanks again! I really appreciate it. I will keep you posted how it goes as I tackle this arduous project. I'm thinking it will be a big difference. I'm tired of having to shout in the truck at highway speeds.

 

I wonder if they're really are a megalodon shark? I'm a huge shark week geek...