What Have You Done To Your 2nd Gen Tacoma Today?

Maintenance day
Diff oil front and back +transfer
Spark plugs
Eng oil and drive line lube

Good fun day !

 

Is there anything wrong with shitting your pants ? .... It depends

 

Today, I found out that I CANNOT install decals properly without using some sort of application spray to give me some wiggle room... one side is 1/8 of an inch off and the other side is half of an inch off.

Looks like I'll be ordering another set soon @CBoy808

 

Hiding the HiLift.

Last time I was out I had two flat tires. While I realize the need to replace the Rugged Fails that came with the truck, I am also now aware how much it sucks to use the stock Jack to change a tire.

Adanfon on here provided an excellent adapter for lifting from my welded on sliders. Small problem that it would not fit on my vintage Canadian made JackAll Jack Mark 11. So I got to buy a new HiLift.

Taking it apart and bolting the post to the side of my camper bed seems to be a tidier solution than just firing the thing whole into the back of truck.

It looks like the JackAll post is the same pattern as the new HiLift. So I can drop the new mechanism onto the shorter post for working on my truck at home. This saves unbolting the steel post.

Peter

 

Congrats! That was me last August....


I mean, that isn't me. I was you, bringing Bennett home...

 

Did you do the half and half technique with masking tape?

 

I fubar'd one up so bad i had to take it off and redo with a new decal. Luckily, i ordered 4 from the start just to be safe. I measured 10 times over each side, masking tape where the decal needed to go and my sticker application technique just sucked. Now i have both on, i still slightly messed up one of the 'S' on the SR5 part but you really have to be staring at it to notice. If it bothers me enough i still have an extra decal i can redo with. But damn, who knew putting on some decals would be so difficult.

 

There's a trick to this that makes it super easy. I'll try to explain here.

Leave the backing on the decal and position it where you want it. Use a piece of masking tape to hold it in place. But only tape one edge. If you're right handed, tape the left side. Make sure the tape is shorter than the edge you are taping so the decal can be lifted up.

After you are sure it's straight, lift up the untaped edge and remove the backing starting from the taped edge. ( make sense?)

While still taped, slowly lower the decal so about 1/2" can be stuck down. Run with finger to remove bubbles,,,, then 1/2" more, and more etc until you're finished. Then remove the tape and you're done.

I used to do vehicle lettering in my garage.

For bigger decals it's the same process but you'll tape a line thru the center and work from 2 directions.

A grease pencil line also helps when installing bigger ones to help with alignment. Sometimes your eyes will say "straight" but in reality it's off

 

For cheapo spray to help with decals. Just mix 1 or 2 drops of dish soap in a big spray bottle. You do not want it soapy

 

No, I think I'll just buy a bottle of application fluid before I do this again.
http://www.rapidtac.com/rapidtac.html

 

Tried this last time, completely ruined the bonding of the glue, that's the only reason I tried doing it dry. over 40 minutes later with a little dish soap and you could still pull the decal off, it was actually sliding down the truck bed, I had to use masking tape to hold it up waiting for it to dry.

 

If the surface is cold it might do that. You might have had too much soap. It only takes a tiny drop or 2 in a whole bottle. Real application spray is better, but not by much. Don't believe the ads.

Try cleaning with 70% alcohol first and then hit with a blow dryer to warm it up.

Any tiny bit of wax or polish will make you scream

 

Yeah it's close for sure... Better angle pic

 

What's sad is the driver's side was only estimated with a flex ruler, measured 2 points from the top of the bed and applied.
I noticed the 1/8" difference and decided that I'll take several measurements to ensure it is a straight as possible on the passenger side, and it's the worst side.

But I know my mistake, I didn't measure from the exact same spots between both sides.
So, my starting point 4" from the top of the bed on the driver side turned into 4.5" towards the taillight of the passenger side.
That, and I couldn't find my torpedo level, that should've been my first clue that I should've waited.

 

Finally removed the Rigid supplied bright red switches and got some OEM style switches installed

 

I've never been good at dry application on bigger decals, I've always used a lil soapy water in a spray bottle. Since I ruined the last decal I figured I better give it a shot.
Thanks for the tips though.
When I was removing the backing sometimes the lettering would want to come off with the backing, is there a trick to do before removing the backing to make sure the letters stay on the clear sheet?

 

That happens when the decal is cut too deep or not deep enough. sadly, you'll just have to watch for it and go slow. If it happens,reach for it with an exacto knife to either hold the edge or pull it down

 

Jbl sub finally gave up after almost 10 years. Slapped on my friends 8 inch kicker he had laying around.

 

Get a gold colored squeegee for the big decals. It won't drag as much, which means less chance of a wrinkle or stretch.

There's also squeegee covers that work ok, but I never liked them much