Diet Taco... trying to keep things light

I'm going to have to put this on my list of things to do on my 2015!

Do you have a part number handy?

 

Should have mentioned that in my post!

$21 Uni Filter UP-107 1" Clamp-On Breather

Uni Filter UP-107

 

I was just reading about this a few weeks ago, but figured that it was a future concern. Of course the future could be on vacation and off-road, so I am taking your advice and getting this done now. I have a 2013, so I just ordered the external filter from Amazon (less than $13), and will pop it on the next time I'm in the garage with a few minutes to kill.

Thanks for the reminder.

 

Thank you! I just ordered one.

 

This has been on my to-do list, thanks for the link. Ordered and hope to have it installed by the end of next week.

 

I just created Beach Camping thread that I though the Diet Taco crowd would appreciate - and I need your help to keep it going!

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/beach-truck-camping-spots.467378/

Long story short - I'm trying to compile a list of legal beach truck camping spots for future road trips. Check it out and feel free to add to the thread.

Thanks!

 

Inventory - Behind Rear Seats
December 2016

One of the things I did while relaxing in Saline Valley was basically take apart the truck and inventory everything I had in there. Makes it easier to figure out what I'm missing and allowed me to toss some duplicates or things no longer necessary. Also once I take the time to itemize this in a spreadsheet it will make it easier to find the odd thing I suddenly need five years from now while stuck on the side of the road!

I figured I'd include the inventories in the build thread to give others an idea of what might be useful to have along but also more importantly to have extra eyes tell me what I'm missing! It will probably take a few days to get posts together for each area of the truck. I try to keep things in functional groups but things still get a bit spread out based on their size and shape (e.g. breaker bar and torque wrenches live under the rear seat despite all the other tools being behind the seat).

This post is everything tucked behind the rear seat. It might motivate folks to rip out all that ridiculous plastic behind the seats once they see how much can fit back there!

Held Behind Shock Cord

• Knee pads (working on the side of the road hurts)
  
• Battery clamps for air pump (in case permanent wiring fails)
  
• $18 The Original Safety Siphon 6 Foot Hose For Gasoline And More - 1/2" Valve Siphon Pump - Use for Cars, Boats, Mowers - Self Priming Pump Transfers 3.5 Gallons per Minute - FDA Food Grade for Home Brews
  Fuel siphon (ball shaker type)
  
• Fuel spigot (non-CARB for 5 gal. can in the bed)
  
• $20 FROGG TOGGS Men's Ultra-Lite2 Waterproof Breathable Protective Rain Suit
  DriDucks rain gear (compact emergency rain gear)
  
• Emergency blanket (heavy duty, one side orange for signalling)
  
• $20 Seattle Sports Outfitter Class Camp Bucket - Lightweight, Packable Bucket for Hauling Water and Doing Dishes
  Collapsible bucket (good for washing, soaking or emergency water hauling)

Lowest Tier on Floor

• $30 Tri-Lynx 00015 Lynx Levelers - 10 Pack , Orange
  Lynx Levelers (3 hidden under Go Kot in picture, other 7 in bed)
  
• GO-KOT (most comfortable and compact cot ever, you must get one)
  
• Brush Saw
• Combination wrench roll (less commonly needed sizes)
  
• Hydraulic jack (2018 UPDATE: Removed, now using 4Runner screw bottle jack)
  
• Air compressor, hose and chuck (air compressor semi-permanently wired/installed)

Second Tier stacked

• Black tool roll (see photo, common socket and wrench sizes for truck)
• Black tool bag (see photo, less common tools, electrical, adhesives/seals)
• Brown tool bag (see photo, fabrication tools)
• Drill (includes bit set and extension cord, AC since batteries die in heat)
• Chains (only for rear, mostly to show CHP in chain control areas)

A lot fits behind the seats


Black Tool Roll (most common tools)


Black Tool Bag (less common tools, electrical, adhesives/sealants)


Brown Tool Bag (fabrication tools and parts)
​

NOTES:

• That channel I've covered with shock cord can hold a surprising amount of stuff. I keep most things in freezer zip locks so the bag will abrade over time rather than the item. Freezer bags have the thickest plastic and will last the longest.
• Besides the shock cord there is noting retaining anything. It all just stacks and fits together back there. It is packed enough nothing moves an inch when the seat is pushed back. I've found over the years filling modestly large spaces is most efficiently done not by creating a bunch of custom compartments but instead keeping things in bags or other containers and fitting together a bit of a 3D jig saw puzzle. Certain things might work well paired together, for instance the air compressor is housed in a metal box to isolate it from everything else and the top makes a nice shelf for the chains in their bag.
• The ball shaker siphon tube works wonderfully in general but isn't very functional if you have a shell with a tall roof like I do. No place to put the fuel can up high while siphoning. I now have a spigot for the fuel can instead. The CARB ones frequently cause bad fuel spills (which of course obviates the entire point of a vapor trapping spigot) so I was careful to get a more reliable non-CARB spigot.
• My stack of 10 Lynx Levelers don't all fit under the raised floor in the bed. Only seven will fit so I tucked the remaining three behind the seat here underneath the GO-KOT.
• I really don't use the GO-KOT much anymore since I have the Flip-Pac but this thing is so compact closed, so brilliantly engineered and so comfortable it would be foolish not to have it in the truck. It takes almost zero space and makes for a very comfortable night under the stars. Always use a sleeping pad with cots unless you enjoy freezing.
• I have the hydraulic jack as a second jack. My Safe Jack accessories don't fit the factory screw jack (which is still stored under the seats) because the factory jack neck is too wide. I'm not sure I like having a hydraulic jack in the truck long term. They always seem to leak or not work when you need them, I actually prefer the factory screw jack. Safe Jack now makes custom adapters for jacks with odd sized necks so I think I'll be getting one of those and ditching the hydraulic jack. Might pick up a second screw jack though to replace it. (2018 UPDATE: Indeed now replaced with a 4Runner jack that fits the Safe Jack accessories)
  
• The drill is a bit silly, but I'm still moding and fabricating and since I have no garage to store tools in for this truck it has to live in the truck. Same story for many of the things in the brown tool bag. (UPDATE: Someone pointed out a drill is a great fast way to ream a hole in off-road tires when repairing a flat)
  
• The black tool roll is for general wrenching on the truck, things likely to be needed in a road/trail side emergency. Served me well when my rear lower shock bolt disappeared! Don't discount late night advertised general purpose tools like the "Robo Grip" or other such adjustable tools. They can be just the thing to hold the other end of a bolt or get at something awkward.
• I broke down one of those giant 150+ Crescent brand tool kits from Costco and spread the tools around various bags for more compact storage. The black tool bag compactly stores all the Imperial and non-Tacoma metric sockets by nesting them as much as possible and holding them together with threaded rod with fender washers as end caps. No rattling sockets!
• There is of course duct tape, bailing wire and JB weld in the black tool bag...
• In the brown tool bag note the sewing kit, fabric and nylon strap. Basic sewing repairs can fix a lot of camping problems in a hurry - worth knowing basic stitches and having generic materials.
• The brown tool bag will probably have contents change and potentially downscale over time as the build gets closer to "complete".
• Chains are primarily to allow entry to CHP chain control areas. With 4WD and M+S marked tires I'll likely never need to put them on for the CHP (R3 is very rare and usually restricted to residents only anyway). They are lightweight cable chains meant for on road use. Actual off road durable chains are extremely heavy and bulky. The light cable chains are still a potential traction aid in certain recovery situations. For any sort of off road use they'd likely be one time use expendable items unless used for a very short section. Note you really can't fit any sort of chain - even low profile ones - on the front wheels of the Tacoma thus only a pair of chains is necessary.

 

Based on our discussion in Baltimore, I'll read through this when we aren't making dinner. Tough having to rely on so much stuff that has to live in the truck 24/7 remotely.

And Happy New Year, Ken!

 

I think the drill is a wise tool to carry. I also always keep one in my truck to ream out puncture holes in my tires. A few times without a drill and a 1/4" bit I would not have been able to use my plug kit as the hole was just too small.

 

@Bman4X5 Bruce, please see Ken's most excellent write up on this mod. Don't know if you have done this yet!

 

X2 hand reaming tire punctures can be difficult. Good use of the tool.

Ken, your organization post is awesome. I like your use of the shock cord. Very efficient using bags. Also never seen sockets stored that way. Pretty neat. I didn't see a tire care kit. Is that stored somewhere else?

I'll check out this Go-kot

 

Inventory - Under Seats
December 2016

The under rear seat storage is good for long thin things. It mostly contains things I hope to not have to use as this is usually harder to access with luggage or my daughters car seat on top. There is not much room under the front seats but I managed to tuck a few things under there.

Rear Seats

• OEM jack and tools
• Safe Jack bottle jack accessory kit
• Ratchet strap (aid in setting tire bead)
• $72 TRACGRABBER Tire Traction Device for Trucks & Large SUVs, Set of 2 -Made in the USA, Anti Skid Emergency Tire Straps to Get Unstuck from Snow, Mud, & Sand -Snow Traction Mat or Tire Chain Alternative
  Trac-Grabber (sand or mud recovery aid)
• Breaker bar
• Torque wrenches (Craftsman bar type)
• Pry bar
• Sun hat (in case I forget mine)
• Rags (clean hands, padding for sharp things and keep clanks and rattles at bay)

Front Seats

• Jumper cables (driver side)
• $56 ARB 10000010 Orange Speedy Seal Tire Repair Kit
  ARB Tire Repair Kit (passenger side, repackaged)
• NV front plate

Under Rear Seat Storage


Jumpers under driver (pulled out part way for photo)


Repackaged tire repair under passenger seat
​

NOTES

• The Safe Jack kit is an interesting way to make a bottle jack much more useful but it is quite expensive compared to something like a Hi-Lift.
• The pair of Trac-Grabbers seem like a much more compact solution to TREDs/MAXTRAX or other recovery boards. Since I don't mud run I have trouble imagining what I could get into that locker + ATRAC + Trac-Grabbers + shovel wouldn't get me out of.
• Repacking the tire repair kit saves lots of room. Also added my bag of 100 valve stem caps. There are presently 99 left. We'll see how long they last...

 

Definitely. I don't know if I'd have thought of that if the time ever comes! The more you know...

Yep, you beat me to my next post by a few minutes! Under the front passenger seat. But still thanks for asking, I'm looking for people to point out what I might be missing.

I've slept on cots for years and I was blown away by the design and perfect function of this thing. Good mod for tent campers with it is to thread short garden hose sections over the parts of the legs that contact the ground. Makes your tent floor happier.

To give you an idea of how damn small and light it is when I bought mine a few years ago I had it shipped to my house in MD first to try it out. Then I got it to my old truck by taking it on the plane... inside my carry-on already packed with clothes.

 

"Oh, a sarcasm detector, that's a real useful invention."

....

 

On the tire care kit, consider adding,

• one or two tubes of rubber cement.
• Extra valve stems, I think I saw some in your behind the seat post
• Valve stem puller tool.
• Chalk, to mark rubber if you need to
• Permanent marker to write on the wheel
• Vice grip or pliers to pull offending object from tire.
• Tire spoon or tire iron.

Link to my home made kit

Very cool on the cot! I watched the video on their website.. very neat product. Thanks.

I'm enjoying your organization posts!

Happy New Year!

 

Ah, good ones! Had rubber cement in previous truck kit but tossed out because it was so old and forgot to replace. Tire iron definitely worth the couple of pounds, will add that. Chalk useful for so many things really.

Got the rest of these various places in the truck or inside the little plastic box in the existing kit. Should move the valve stems to
the tire kit, though I have this vague recollection I may have already done that post photo.

Thanks! What is the little wire contraption on the far right of the photo?

You too! I noticed most of the people active on the forum New Years Eve were those with small children...

 

I've gone through your whole thread and am very impressed with the thoughtfulness and deliberate tool choice. Most people set off without checking the air in the spare.

 

Inventory - Rear Seat Foot Wells
December 2016

Well if my family is along the rear seats are usually occupied by my daughter and often my wife since my daughter likes someone next to her on long rides. Regardless though, for now the foot well on the passenger side where my daughter sits is open for storage all the time. Anything on the driver side has to move somewhere else if my wife is sitting back there.

Passenger Side

• Backpack of knowledge (see below)
  
• Orion Mini Giant 9x63 Astronomy Binoculars - An Ideal Combination of Aperture and Moderate Magnification for Amazing Views of Celestial Objects
  9x63 astronomy binoculars (black leather case)
  
• Alt-Az mount for telescope (in plastic bag, need to source better bag)
  
• $59 Mr. Heater F215100 MH4B Little Buddy 3800-BTU, Indoor Safe Propane Heater With ODS & Tip-Over Protection, Heating Area Up to 95 Sq. Ft - Lightweight, Medium - Black/Red
  Mr. Heater Little Buddy (in blue bag)

Driver Side

• Orion 9825 Apex 127mm Maksutov-Cassegrain Telescope
  127mm Mak telescope and accessories (2018 UPDATE: I was very rarely using this and so fortunately some helpful person broke into the truck and stole it so it wouldn't take up space any more).

Rear foot wells


Backpack of Knowledge


Useful books


Wide Area Maps


High Detail Maps
​

NOTES:

• I plan on making a simple webbing cover to secure the foot well areas in the event of a roll over. These would attach to the rear seat mounting points and the front mounting points and be easy to remove for access. I'd like to keep the amount of mass flying around the passenger cabin to a minimum.
• Don't under estimate what you can see as far as stars and planets with a good set of binoculars. I mentioned this earlier in the build thread, makes for a wonderful evening activity and is super compact. If you have a photography tripod with you use a cheap little adapter to mount the binoculars for comfortable long viewing and letting little kids see things.
• The 5" Mak mounts to the Alt-Az which mounts to my photography tripod I usually have with me. This is at the border of stable enough for high magnification viewing. I put the telescope bag inside the Yeti cooler when I store the truck. This averages out the temperatures the telescope sees over a day so that it will hopefully survive summer storage.
• I would prefer my Bag of Knowledge to be entirely digital but none of the best guide books is available electronically right now. When driving I use the 7.5' topo maps on my phone but I like to have a variety of paper maps for long distance planning. The BLM series is really useful for understanding which of the thousands of roads on ancient USGS maps actually still exist as legal and semi-maintained routes.

 

Love the backpack of knowledge!