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

Would look cool with some of those flat Level 8 style caps!

 

GG lighting pods mounted on Rago Fabrication brackets. For dust light/work light/bedlight

 

After doing the anytime 12V at the cig lighter - Came out this morning and Taco fired up no problem.

 

I was asked by a member to do a little write up of how I installed my rear flush mount lights. So here is a quick summary. I tried finding a write up about this but could not find one on TW, so I apologize if this has already been done by another member.

First off, these are the lights I purchased.

$65 Rough Country 2" Black Series Flush Mount CREE LED Lights - 70803BL

https://www.amazon.com/Rough-Countr...=1500264194&sr=8-4&keywords=rough+country+led

We don't really have much room on our bumper to work with as there are a lot of obstacles back there mainly brackets. Where you see the placement of my lights is pretty much the best location we have. The good thing about these Rough Country's is that they come with a template and wire harness. I used the Toyota style dash switch everyone is using off of Amazon. The harness wiring is not long enough so you will need to splice more wire (I used 14AWG from West Marine). I also went under the truck and ran the wire along the frame and not inside the cab like most guys do. That involves to much trim removal and if you follow the frame, there is plenty of nooks to run and hide the wire. The scary part is cutting into the bumper and making sure that both sides match dimension wise or they will be not look symmetrical. Measure and measure again, two or three times before cutting. My first side I used a 3" cutting disc with a pneumatic cutter. This took me a while and made my hole too small so I had to keep grinding until the back of the light fit in easily. The second hole went easier as I only used the cutting disc to open a small straight hole and finished it with a bi-metal blade and my Bosch jigsaw. Made for easier cut and better control of the cuts. Don't be afraid to make the hole a little bigger than the light housing as the flange will cover any imperfections, but I don't recommend more than 1/16". By the way, I drilled my mounting holes before making my cuts as the holes I feel are the most important thing that will determine how symmetrical your lights lay out. I strongly recommend a spring loaded center punch first and start with a small drill bit and finish with the proper size drill bit for the fasteners. If your bumper is chrome, it is a hard slippery surface and the drill bit will want to travel all over the place, hence the center punch and small bit.

By the way, these light do not come with the hardware needed for mounting. I used eight 1/4-20 x 3/4" hex round head (allen wrench style) machine screws with flat washer and nylock nut in 316 stainless steel.

https://www.mcmaster.com/#98164a213/=18j4zhz

One thing I should also note is that our bumper is not a flat surface. When laying it out, try to go no greater than 3/4" from the bottom of the plastic bumper cover. Any greater than that and the bottom of the light flange may end up on the slight bend towards the lower part of the bumper. Regardless, the top and bottom of the light flange does not lay flat on the bumper and leaves about a 1/16" gap. I used strips of closed cell foam to fill those gaps and trimmed it with a razor blade. Below is a picture of my light and the bend I am talking about. I am not very learned with using those editing tools so sorry for the not so perfect lettering.

Here is a good video that pretty much explains how to install.

https://youtu.be/zxp8FV3WYn4

 

Bought a hitch mounted shackle. Then I ripped a tree out!

 

Almost. Yours is straight.

 

Anyone run a 1in body lift? If so any negative impacts on it? Wanting to get more clearance, even with my CMC I rub when flexedpretty badly.

 

Where are you rubbing? I did this on my truck and it helped a lot. Just unbolt the front of the liner, shove it back and ziptie it out of the way.

 

That's a good idea for the front, I will have to do that. I also rub in the rear, almost ripped the flare off the other day when I was offroading and I feel like an inch would do wonders for that.

 

Ahhh, I gotcha. I rubbed on the rear too with my old set-up of 285s with some low backspaced wheels. Looked great, but damn. As far as the BL goes, people have done it, and I'd do it too if needed. Buy from a reputable place, and get the skirts to cover the gap. You'll be just fine.

 

Any recommendations? I have never looked into it before

 

About to join the RTT gang...just waiting on the bedrack to show up

 

Here's one I found after a quick Google.

https://bilsteinlifts.com/shop/toyo...d-up/1-body-lift-for-toyota-tacoma-2005-2015/

 

Well shit didn't even realize that this will mess with the line up of an off road bumper

 

Yeah, because the bumper mounts to the frame, so there will be an inch gap now. Some companies can tweak it for you though

 

Got body damage on my rear quarter panel... pics to come eventually but does anyone recommend (or better yet, not recommend) any particular rear bumper with quarter panel protection?

 

Cant go wrong with Brute Force Fabs high clearance bumper

 

+1 for BFF

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Where are you located? That plays a big factor for me personally, because you may be able to save on shipping which isn't cheap.