ckrockets build thread (daily driver/overlander rig) - Jack's 2010 4X4 DCSB Silver Streak Mica

Hello everyone my name is Mark



The Wife and I purchased a new 2008 Toyota Tacoma 4X2 DCLB TRD Sport prerunner (hence why I have a 2008 join date). For 7 years all we did was put gas in it, change the oil, 1 set of brakes, 2 set of tires, and put miles on it (124k). Most solidly dependable vehicle I've ever owned. I used it the entire time as my trackday truck, it was perfect for that role. Yes the <--- 2005 GSXR 750 is painted Toyota Speedway Blue to match the truck We loved that truck.

2013



Then the happening, deer, tree, total loss (bent frame).

2015


The truck had been paid off for a while so we got a large check. A few months later a close friend of the family's Father passed away and we were offered to purchase Jack's 2010 Tacoma 4X4 DCSB TRD sport Silver Streak Mica (48k miles). It was basically an even trade for the cash I had gotten for the total loss of the 2008, a deal to say the least.

Jack was a very nice man, a Pacific theater WWII Veteran, I hope Jack would like the things I've done to his truck (his son said he would). My truck was a man's last truck, wow. That was 2016.

2016


I've been modding Jack's truck for 3 years, I've got 100's of pictures along the way. I'll be spending the next weeks adding to this build thread hopefully chronologically.

Here goes:

First thing I did was remove the ATS running boards and had a custom dual exhaust fabricated using a 40 series flowmaster. Sounds great especially on slow acceleration and deceleration.

2016


Much more to come stay tuned.

 

Subscribed - hopefully, no one was hurt in the total loss!

 

Subbed...for more info on the dual exhaust

 

I was alone no injuries, not even the damn deer.

 

All hand bent and fabricated by an old school muffler shop local to me (now closed after 30+ years).

Nothing special about it other than how they routed it. I was specific I didn't want to see any bends. Like you can see on the flowmaster full dual exhaust. It's been on the truck for 3 years now with no issues.

I'll post a pic of the bends and routing later.

 

Early 2017 I started making plans to take a motorcycle trip to MT & ID. The tentative plan was to trailer or carry the bikes (2) in the back of the Tacoma the 2000 miles to Bozeman, MT. Park the Tacoma at the Bozeman airport and ride a giant loop (2200 miles 7 days) then end up back in Bozeman. Bear with me this is all relative to my 3 year journey of modding the Tacoma.

I really wanted to carry the bikes versus trailer so I started researching on TW if it was possible to load 2 sport bikes in a DCSB. My research concluded it was possible but required mods.

Since on a DCSB the motorcycle rear wheel will rest on the tailgate there are a couple mods that need to be done, especially 2 motorcycles for 4000 miles!

You can see from the very first picture I posted of my 2008 with the trackbike in the back. That the tailgate cables had stretched over the years from carrying gear on it back and forth to trackdays. A 4000 mile 4 day round trip with 2 motorcycle rear tires resting on the tailgate I was extremely concerned the cables would fail. I was on a mission to find a solution.

This solution was so elegant, simple, and worked perfect for reinforcing the tailgates extended position.

chain mode early 2017

 

Adequate tie downs for 2 motorcycles was my next concern. I wanted as many available tie down locations as possible, how to secure two motorcycles was an unknown to me at this point. I did take the triffecta bed cover off, never went back on, sold on Facebook Marketplace sometime later.

D-ring's recommended by TW (Dodge d-rings if I remember correctly).

D-ring mod early 2017

 

The dreaded Tacoma bent tailgate was my next obstacle to overcome with a TW mod. Even my 2008 had a slight indentation on the tailgate from just rolling the trackbike across it for all those years. I knew 4000 miles with 2 wheels resting on the tailgate would destroy it. I opted for the Mobtown tailgate reinforcement plate and cap, for a couple of reasons. I liked the 2 piece design, smooth option, coated option, ability to use the oem plate over top, ease of installation, and price.

tailgate reinforcement plate and cap mod early 2017

 

This will have relevance later so I'll mention this now. One of my hobbies is gear making (specifically tactical gear). I bought a Juki industrial sewing machine in 2012 and taught myself how to make gear. After 7 years of practice I can basically make anything I want. This includes sewn accessories for my Tacoma. Here's a good example relating to this time period of the thread.

For my MT/ID trip I designed and built a piece of custom motorcycle luggage (72 liter tail bag). I used donor Givi luggage bars to hold the platform and luggage I built. The design and build of this piece of luggage was quite complex. Interestingly I used pieces of 1/8" lauan boarding sewn into the luggage to maintain the square shape.

custom mounting plate (3/4" white birch, routed edges and slots for bag anchors , spray on bed liner) early 2017


2009 Yamaha FZ6 Touring setup


72 liter clam shell design (1000D Cordura, mil-spec webbing & thread, ITW hardware)

 

Needed new tires and after researching TW I decided on Faulken Wildpeak AT3W 265/70/17's.

6/2017



Loaded up and ready to roll (2 days 2000 miles). I drove the whole time but I had to put my motorcycle on the passenger side because of my buddies exhaust. Hence the American and Brazilian flags.

7/2017




Here's the route we planned, with the exception of 2 detours we covered the entire route over the 7 days.

 

As a Southerner who really had never been out of the East. This motorcycle trip was enough to convince me that as soon I got back home I would start modding the Tacoma to do overlanding trips out West.

7/2017

 

Looks like an excellent adventure, thank you for posting up your awesome photos. The Falken Wildpeaks looks like a great fit as well.

 

As soon as I got back from the MT/ID motorcycle trip I began planning my Overlanding Tacoma rig. The tentative plan was to complete it before the following July and return to MT/ID. It turns out my plans were a bit ambitious as you will see.

I knew I wanted a bed rack for a rtt, recovery gear, gas, etc. so I spent about a week looking at every picture I could find on TW (among other places) to formulate what I wanted. I decided on a steel bed bolt mounted rack, I did a little research on buying a round tube bender but made the decision it would require to much of a learning curve to use (plus cost). I opted for square tubing I could miter and cut using my existing chop saw.

I couldn't decide what size tubing (L 1.5" or R 2") I wanted to use so I mocked up a couple of pieces.

8/2017


Once I could see it in person the choice was a no brainer, 1.5" .

 

Can you guess where I bought them from?

 

Once I decided on the 1.5" (0.125" wall) square tubing, I began working on a SolidWorks model (to scale).

8/2017


The angle on the sides was deliberate as it matches the cab angle which I measured to be approximately 75deg.

 

Here is the fabrication setup/work area I used for the cutting, welding, grinding, sanding, and buffing portion of the build.

8/2017


First batch of 1.5" (.125" wall) steel square tubing, these come in 20' lengths luckily the metal depot was able to cut them in half for me for transport.

8/2017

 

With the design proofed out in a SolidWorks (to scale) model, materials acquired, and the fabrication area setup I began the build.

0.25" plate steel used for bed bolt bases.

8/2017

***A very useful technique I discovered years ago for aligning hole placement worked like a charm in the above application:

• cut the plate to required shape
• use a donor bolt that will thread down far enough so the head is flush with the hole you are trying to match (cutting the head off may be required in some instances)
• back the bolt ccw until it just barely stick above the top of the thread hole
• place a dab of grease on head (or cut end) of bolt
• as accurately as possible bring the plate down straight into place
• carefully lift plate straight back off as not to smear the grease
• this may take several attempts but eventually you will have a perfect grease stamp of the head location on the plate
• use an auto punch in the center of the grease stamp to achieve near perfect alignment

I had to do this in 10 different places for the mounting plates.

 

As seen in the SolidWorks model the sides of the rack have a very deliberate angle (75deg) to match the cab angle when looking from behind.

I discovered right away that my chop saw would not miter the needed angle in order to achieve the 75deg angle for the rack. Because, in order for the coping to match up (needed for clean weld lines) on each piece the angle had to be equal. I needed both angles to be 37.5deg, cutting the first 37.5deg angle is not a problem it's the second piece while maintaining the desired 75deg angle on the rack.

In other words I needed another 15deg that the chop saw could not hold. (90deg - 15deg = 75deg, 75deg/2 = 37.5deg)

So I had to fabricate a 15deg offset jig. Oh joy. I can't begin to describe what a pain this was. The end result was close enough for my needs.

8/2017

 

Main frame laid out and tacked, several full weekends worth of work. Even with the very precise model design in SolidWorks there were dimensional modifications as the build progressed.

9/2017


9/2017

 

During the time frame I was fabricating the rack I was also using SolidWorks to proof out ideas for hanging accessories.

Tool and traction board mounts:

9/2017


9/2017