What Have You Done To Your 3rd Gen Today?

That would make a nice startup screen image.

 

I tried. I live up in the sticks though. Not much for that happening. I’ve been keeping my open around junk yards.

 

ECGS bushing, OME lift and JBA UCAs.

Before:


After:

 

The new stereo and sound deadening is installed! Such an improvement on road noise and the new speakers are one of the best upgrades I have installed thus far! There is a full walkthrough on my build thread if anyone is looking for info.

 

I think you need to expand your search. Ask yourself how bad you want that hood. Then figure how far you can drive on a Saturday. Make the swap. Sleep in the truck if you need to Then drive home Sunday. That hood may only be a tank or two of gas away. Look up north across the border. No shipping or customs if you drive there and back with nothing in the bed. Not going to tax you for returning with a hood scoop on the truck.

 

Added Baja Designs Squadron Sports to the hood and bumper. I used the Baja Designs fog light kit and Cali Raised Led hood brackets.

 

I put a dent in the tailgate!

 

You should see the hood swapping threads see if you can find someone to trade hoods with. I love the hood scoop, from the drivers view you do have a bit more of a bulge that covers the bottom of the road when driving some people don’t like that but I do, I feel it gives you a more commanding feel of the road. So there’s always people looking to trade their offroad for sport hoods

 

nice ray 10s. gunmetal? 16"?

 

I live up in the sticks. Not much happening here.

 

I’ll definitely make the drive!

 

Same here. Can pull out of driveway onto main road and not have to stop for at least 50 miles in either direction....lol

 

Not the best work ever, but considering I had never even held a power saw until last week I’m pretty pleased with the results. Apart from Home Depot cuts everything was done with a circular saw and a drill, but I need to clean a couple stuff up with a jigsaw.


I wanted a drawer system for my Tacoma, but none of the commercial offerings really did what I wanted and they were all prohibitively expensive so I decided to make my own.


I wanted a drawer for misc stuff I wanted to have with me and stuff for camping (tools, flashlight, cookware, etc), a cubby in the back for stuff I should always have but rarely need (recovery gear, jumper cables, woobie, etc) with the lid flush with the drawer and a fridge + stove slide.


Base is made out of 1/4 inch Baltic birch, with a bed mat being used as a stencil for a perfect fit.


Learned a lot in the process, with the stove slide being the first I built and definitely the worst - might have to redo it but considering having it made out of metal.


I kind of winged the drawer height but in retrospect I wish I had made it shorter so that it would be flush with the fridge slide with the fridge removed - that way I could still use it as a truck bed if need be.


Metal tracks on the top are for tie downs for boxes (ones in front are specifically sized for WaterBricks).

 

Loaded up for yesterday's tailgate, unfortunately the game did not look nearly as good.....

 

I know its a little off topic but how did you like the RAV4 and what year was it? The wife really wants one.

 

X-2, looks good to me....

 

I went from a 2015 XLE RAV4 to a Tacoma. I drive a lot of small size SUVs for work (rentals) and the RAV4 is definitely one of my favorites. My ex girlfriend had a top of the line Subaru Forester from 2015 and I thought it was comparable.

That being said I hate the new body style on them. The third gen (-2012) I think looks a lot cooler.

 

Took it out to little creek so the dogs could swim.

 

The RAV4 was a 2017.

I personally didn’t like it, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad vehicle.

Things I didn’t like about the RAV4:

DRIVING: The steering wheel feels very “loose” some people do prefer the butter like feel of the steering wheel I prefer to feel more in control. The one i drove also had lane departure warning and forward collision. I really don’t feel those features are necessary unless your not a careful driver. I feel it’s more of a gimmick than a neccesity.

INTERIOR: The interior felt very cheap. A lot of black plastic compared to the Tacoma the interior feels extremely outdated especially when the price tag is only a 4K difference from the rav for to the Tacoma.
The seats are more comfortable than the Tacoma and good on long drives.
The steering wheel was vinyl/plastic not leather wrapped which was actually a big issue for because it’s very slippery, there’s was a lot of instances where I would lose grip of the steering wheel when turning.
The back seats are really spacious no problem having normal sized adults sitting in the back.


GAS: The gas mileage wasn’t that great, worst I got was 18mpg city and best was 23mpg Highway. I expected more for the size and very light feel of the RAV4. My Tacoma almost get the same gas mileage but that thing feels like a tank compared.

My view of the RAV4 is if you want a vehicle that is simple, reliable, and is peppy in acceleration then the RAV4 is a good car for someone who just wants a “car to get me there”.

But the competition is a lot better in my opinion, my wife got a 2017 Mazda CX-5 for 5k less than a rav4 and the interior looks like a Lexus, the driving is sporty and actually fun to drive, it’s equipped with navigation, blind spot monitoring, keyless entry, all the features found in a premium vehicle. It feels very more premium and solid than the RAV4.
I was surprised that the RAV4 I was driving was priced at 31k and for that price it didn’t even have push button start, navigation, nor blind spot monitoring.


Toyota already has established there reputation for “reliability” and I feel with that said they really don’t have to “try” and impress or go out of their way to make a great car, they can pretty much just get away with the basics which is what the RAV4 is.

Where small companies like Mazda pour everything they have into their vehicles because they have to in order to stay relevant and it shows in the interior, and driving dynamics of their car.

My advice is go test drive a couple of crossovers and compare.

 

What did you do to your gas panel cover and door handles? Plastic dip?