Capture Colorado 01 TRD Taco - GOAE build

I had elaborate plans... Then I drilled a hole in each leg and ran a stainless 1/4-20 bolt into each.

 

How are you mounting the spare itself? Any ideas so far for theft prevention?

 

Two ratchet straps. I've never bothered to lock my spare, I'm not that paranoid and it's never been an issue in the 5~ years I've had external tire carriers.

If you are concerned about theft prevention with a setup like this, you could get a spare tire wedge (link) and run a bolt w/ nut through it downward through the center of the platform. That would also keep it in place securely as well. You could even drill a hole through the bolt on the outside of the nut and run a padlock through it.

Or just use a cable lock... All things I don't really feel is necessary, particularly given how buried in the bed it is... maybe on a normal tire carrier it'd be beneficial to use a specialty lug nut or lock.

 

I just combed through your entire build thread and holy smokes you do some great fab work! I guess you get pretty good at it when you build an entirely different setup every other month haha

You also reminded me of how much I miss Colorado. I used to live in the neighborhood directly across the street from Slee. In fact, my parent's shop isn't a quarter mile up the street from them. Hope to move back soon!

 

Feeling the need to clean things up and minimize the footprint that wiring eats up under the hood.

 

I've had mine for a year and haven't installed it yet. Trying to improve it by adding quick disconnects

 

I'm currently attempting to do that, but don't have all the wires I need here... Basically I just need a bunch of black wire to use as grounds and I can do that to the leads. Then I want to get a bulkhead connector to run down to the switch panel.

I also need to figure out where and how to mount it, I thought I'd use the brackets that were included, but I'm not a huge fan of them, so I might have to make one.

 

I may or may not have drawn something up for this in Solidworks.


Credit to you for planting the seed, man!

 

Ha! Nice.

I'm thinking about getting two E-track brackets and an E-track mount ratchet strap and running it front-to-back over the spare to help keep it positioned, if that works I may add a second side to side. Bit overkill, but clean...

 

I like that idea!

I have a gear rack from All-Pro that holds three 8 gallon action packers, my hi-lift, and a couple rotopax gas containers. It goes side to side up against the cab and the spare mount would be the same thing right behind it. Leaves the entire bed open for odd shaped stuff and more gear. I'm freaking stoked!

 

I can't wait to see what you come up with

 

It'll be awhile. I don't have a welder or welding skillz, but I can design and I know a couple welders.

Looking forward to seeing yours!

 

Random stuff update.

Stopped by yota Jim's today to pick up an intermediate steering shaft, and saw this.


Decided to clean up some things with the truck, it won't be ready to go in for a bit, I'm still coming up with a game plan for how to implement everything, but it's finally happening.
Bussmann rtmr fuse block.


Got some new containers that fit into the Plano cases, they'll contain my coffee kit (below), non-expirables, and allow space in the container for more dry goods.

 

I have had a shimmy/vibe at highway speeds for quite some time now. It became drastically noticeable maybe a year ago, but it's been a very strange thing. It was at its worst early on, but I've been replacing things in an effort to eradicate the shimmy.

It happen(s/ed) specifically within the 63-69mph range. Above 70 it's as smooth as can be expected from a lifted truck. Below 60, nothing noticeable.

Initially I thought it might be carrier bearing. Replaced that, vibes contributed. Did a CB drop, no change.

I lived with it for a little longer. Then pulled the front end apart to nut and bolt every last thing... Found a few things that needed to be snugged up. Discovered a washer on my front diff supports was installed upside-down, not providing tension on the bushings inner sleeve. Fixed that and tightened everything... Still vibes, but moderately less so.

More time passed, and I was up in Monarch and heard a startling pop from the front end steering area when going over a rock... Got back and decided I'd replace tie rods, since I hadn't done that yet. Discovered my rack was also bad... Did all of that plus bushings. Small improvement then.

I started to wonder if it could have been my Procomp lug-centric wheels. So between the concern of wheels, and bad rubbing on the firewall (a result of caster being corrected from the UCAs), I decided to go back to Toyota wheels, and smaller tires. Initially that didn't improve anything, and the vibes were pretty pronounced when turning at speed (same range as mentioned earlier).

I knew my $200 set of tires weren't going to be fun in snow (o.g. BFG MTs), so I sought out a more competent all terrain tire and scored an obscene deal on a practically new set of BFG KO2s. Once those were mounted and balanced, that definitely improved things, but still subtle vibes remained.

It's been a somewhat inconsistent issue, there sometimes, gone others. All this was coupled with fairly new LBJs, new UCAs, suspension, frequent alignments, tire rotations, balancings, new clutch/flywheel... I had come to accept that perhaps the vibrations I had were just the frequency of my truck at 240k. I even put new rotors on it. Everything but front wheel bearings. Oh, and CV axles.

Until I got a call from my buddy one morning, who had been experiencing a similar issue, with nearly identical replacements of parts performed...but on a first gen tundra.

It has been driving him mad, and mentioned reading something about the intermediate shaft being the culprit. So he did a little digging and sent me a few links as well as a video. In this video, they describe three symptoms of a bad intermediate shaft...two of which I have been experiencing, and one of which I didn't thing anything of -- a clunking sound when hitting bumps. I've had that for a while, but never paid much mind to it.

New steering bits from Toyota are crazy expensive, so I wanted to experiment with a used shaft before investing in a new one. I picked up a used intermediate shaft from Yota Jim's (two, really, they change between years), and replaced it tonight.

So far, it seems improved, but I can't really tell if it's fixed because it's a bit finicky and inconsistent as it is. I need another alignment as well.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AzIsVh4jXZ0

* random thing. I timed myself replacing the shaft tonight, start to finish I managed 30 minutes.

 

Hmm good to know. My intermediate shaft is disgustingly rusted. They are spendy brand new though, right? Like $400 range?

 

They range from like $72-$400, depending on VIN... I never got around to putting my VIN in to see what the exact part was that I needed, so I'm not sure what the exact part I need would cost, which is why I wanted to start with a used one for $30.

 

I made a thing. Two things, actually, but the second one needs some modification.




Baltic birch and padauk shifter knobs. I have a bunch of material, so I'm considering making more...Especially since I can do it better.

 

Damn.

 

Thats pretty sweet...

 

Got some small things that have been on my mind for a while now.

New muffler, replaced the washer fluid nozzles with a fan pattern kind, lowered my rear suspension an inch (too much rake), and started making some more bumper frame plates to make a couple of bumpers for friends.

Managed to get 4 plates laid out in a single piece of plate... Score!


A little less rake...back end is 1" lower now.


A couple of weeks ago I painted the frame with a coat of POR15, and holy crap that stuff is strong! Looks good too.. But it's glossy, if I did it again I'd get semi gloss.


I dunno why I waited so long to do this. $12 and works great.


About a month ago I impulse-bought a beautiful piece of padauk wood and used a small piece of it. I decided to take a small chunk of it, glue it up to some Baltic birch and make shift knobs out of it. These first two were enlightening, and I have a plan to build more and can produce a better product with less work to shape it. They'll eventually be for sale when I get a handful made.