AdventureTaco - turbodb's build and adventures

BHill_teq · May 9, 2019

turbodb[OP] said: ↑

Beginnings - We Pick Up a 2019 Double Cab TRD Off-Road Toyota Tacoma
April 10, 2019.

I'm not really sure how to start this post. I mean, what can I say except that it was inevitable that I'd eventually drive something besides a 1st gen Tacoma. We all will - that's the harsh reality of life, the harsh reality that we and our trucks are getting older, the reality that eventually, we'll all have to make a change.

This trip started out unlike most others. We didn't climb into the truck, instead we climbed onto a plane. And at this point, @mrs.turbodb didn't know anything about the surprise waiting for us in California.

It's a short flight though, and so a couple hours later we were in a parking lot, keys in hand - me with this big goofy grin on my face, and @mrs.turbodb completely in shock. Could this really be happening? It was so unlike me.

Of course - as would be the case for anyone, the first order of business was to take some photos. The silver color was great - from experience, I knew it'd look killer out on the trail. Of course, it was a TRD Off-Road, because if you're going to drive a 3rd gen Tacoma, what's the point without crawl control? And, it was a V6 - for more #herspers.

Oh, and I flexed it out. Because I was going to start off on the right foot this time - the #instafabulous foot. I should note that it was actually harder to get it up on this curb than I thought it would be - the OEM tires not providing the grip I'm used to in the 1st gen. But, I'm sure I can fix that with some better tires, eventually.

For now, we had a couple days before we had to head home, and we were going to make the most of them - plans in hand to go out and explore some of what California had to offer - the double cab offering us more space than we knew what to do with, coming from a 2000 Tacoma.

As we made our way south towards dirt, we got to try out some of the new systems. First impressions were definitely positive - at least mostly. The cab is so quiet - we don't have to yell back and forth to be heard over the road and wind noise. The adaptive cruise control is sweet - once I realized that you set it to the max speed you want to travel and then just forget about it, I really started to appreciate it. Oh, and the gas mileage - we didn't know it at this time, but it's like 25% better than the 1st gen...at least in it's stock form.

Of course, there were some things right off the bat I didn't like as well - the auto transmission being the most obvious, it's shifting behavior a bit clunky.

But I could ignore that - it was just a detail - one I hoped I'd get used to as we provisioned at the grocery store for our adventure the next day.

- - - - -

April 11-12, 2019.

The next day couldn't come early enough. Not knowing for sure if we'd have the Tacoma, we'd stayed in a hotel, so the anticipation that'd grown by morning was immense. We piled into the truck and headed out - curious what it could do in it's stock form, sure that it'd be capable after my recent Ruining Around Utah trip, where Brent (@PcBuilder14) had a basically stock 3rd gen on much tougher terrain.

Soon, we were on the trail.

We were all smiles. The auto that had felt clunky on pavement was actually quite nice - at least compared to the manual - when on dirt, at least in the sense that I didn't really need to think about it or worry about stalling. As we headed up into the hills, we stopped to admire the beautiful surroundings in which we found ourselves - everything a brilliant green - spring in full effect.

Reservoirs full of water and fish, we even got to see an osprey swoop down and snag a reasonably large fish, and then retreat to a nearby snag to enjoy its feast.

We continued on - the 3rd gen performing very well, even as we flexed it out - pushing it further than most would in their first 24 hours for sure. Of course, this meant that we also got to test out 4WD - some of the terrain (and line choices) a bit too slippy for the stock tires. But nothing it couldn't handle with ease.

We did discover at this point that one drawback of this truck is its incessant beeping. It beeps if either front seat belt is not fastened; it beeps if you put it in 4WD without being in neutral; it beeps if you put it in 4Lo without also putting it in ECT; it beeps pretty much any time you do anything.

I'm sure there's a way to turn it off though, just need to read the manual a bit more.

At any rate, our exploration took us miles and miles over the pastoral land that stretched in front of us. Along the way we discovered more amazing views, and even the ruins of an old cabin site - albeit likely much newer than the Native American ruins I'd come from in Utah.

We even came to our first water crossing. It was small and rocky - I proceeded through slowly, unsure what the stock, P-rated tires could really handle in a situation like this. But, it was reasonably muddy as we crossed the creek, and we did get to experience the traction control - something non-existent on the much-older 1st gen.

Up and over the next hill, we found ourselves at yet another reservoir - the water rippling in the wind, the sky blue overhead. The perfect place to get out and take a stroll - a little distance giving a nice vantage point of the silver double cab against the greens, yellows, and blues.

Eventually, and - as it generally seems at the end of every trip - unfortunately, it was time for us to head out. As we made our way out of the mountains and back to civilization, we marveled at the first 48 hours - just imagine what this thing could do with a few mods here and there!

And then - our last water crossing. It was one we'd taken slower when we'd come this way early in the trip, still new to driving this new beast. But this time I felt more comfortable, and the last two days had shown that even in stock form, this truck was going to have no problem with a little speed through a creek much larger than this one.

So I pressed the skinny pedal and let it eat.

Oh yeah!

As we headed back onto pavement, we'd had a blast. Seriously - so much more fun than I think either of us had thought possible. We'd talked about little over the last two days besides the new truck - a true indication, in the case of @mrs.turbodb of the fun it was providing.

All that was left was to head home. So, we did.

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You totally had me. Haha. And that beeping can be turned off, but only with Toyota TechStream. It's pretty easy, really.

turbodb · May 9, 2019

BKinzey said: ↑

It's California, you can pretty much rent anything here.
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Funny bit was that when I was looking for a rental, this was the cheapest rental I could find - at $98 for 4 days. They had it listed as "Nissan Frontier or similar," and I thought...huh, could be cool to see what a Nissan is like (since it was the other truck I considered back in 1999 when I bought the Tacoma).

Plus, @mrs.turbodb would never expect a pickup, since I always rent the cheapest thing possible - usually we're lucky if there are back doors. So this was just dumb luck.

m3bassman said: ↑

You ALMOST had me but a new truck off the lot... and it had California plates? Details man, details.
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Oh, don't get me wrong, I left some hints in there, lest I get perma-ignored by everyone based on the post heading.

BossFoss said: ↑

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PcBuilder14 said: ↑

Knew it was too good to be true!

I bet you can understand a little more as to why I went to a 3rd gen though

No temp plates are what threw me off as well.
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Did have some nice aspects for sure. I don't think I'd be too unhappy in one once the first gen meets it's final demise; hopefully a long time from now.

OneWheelPeel · May 9, 2019

turbodb[OP] said: ↑

Yeah, you liked that ehh? I simply couldn't resist. Who knew that you could rent a brand new 2019 Tacoma at Avis? I sure didn't.

Was a blast. Nice to get back to the 1st gen though. So much smaller and more agile.
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Mind my asking what it ran you? $

Blackdawg · May 9, 2019

What a dick haha

turbodb · May 9, 2019

OneWheelPeel said: ↑

Mind my asking what it ran you? $
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$98 for 4 days. Had to be some deal they had going on at the time when we happened to be there.

m3bassman said: ↑

How awful was the automatic?

And I tell myself the same thing but what would lead to it's demise? It would have to be something tragic, like rolling it, getting into an accident or having a child. Outside of those things, there's nothing on these trucks you can't replace or repair
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The auto was pretty bad compared to what I'm used to, I'd say. I'd probably get used to it if course...Is yours manual?

And yeah, for now, our trucks can be fixed at a reasonable cost... But that won't always be true.

For you, it's just a matter of time. Once the orange truck is paid off, I'll put money down now that we'll see it on a trip, and then eventually we won't see the green truck.

And LOL, having a kid is"tragic." They are so fun!

Blackdawg said: ↑

What a dick haha
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Got ya, huh?

Blackdawg · May 9, 2019

turbodb[OP] said: ↑

Got ya, huh?
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For a bit yea haha I was going to post simply..

"uninvited"

Digiratus · May 9, 2019

I'm gonna finally have to add you to my ignore list for this one...

eon_blue · May 9, 2019

What part of CA were you in? Looks like central, don't really recognize the terrain/trails to be anything in the southern part of the state

turbodb · May 9, 2019

Blackdawg said: ↑

For a bit yea haha I was going to post simply..

"uninvited"

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Nah, I know you'd never do that. I'm too much fun.

plus, you're always letting 3rd gens come

Digiratus said: ↑

I'm gonna finally have to add you to my ignore list for this one...
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That's all it took? Wish I'd known it was that easy.

eon_blue said: ↑

What part of CA were you in? Looks like central, don't really recognize the terrain/trails to be anything in the southern part of the state
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Central valley for this one.

m3bassman said: ↑

Yeah we have the 6spd which avoids a lot of issues including the power issues associated with the 3.5l in many ways. It is however, not as good as other manuals, personally the 5spd in the green truck is more forgiving and easier to be smooth with if that makes sense. Also it helps being a 2017 with almost no beeps!

Sorta. Biggest issue with it is the bed/tent situation. Think I would prefer the long bed db cab but that can't be had in a manual so catch 22. But the end game is a sportsmobile to replace the green truck taking a trip this weekend with unsure camping situation where a sportsmobile would shine superior for me. One day...

It's a road I'm not interested in going down at this time.
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I think if you took a DCLB on the trails, you'd be quick to go back to the short bed. Just slide the tent out over the cab a bit .

And Sportsmobiles are definitely nice - my Uncle has one - but are for a whole different way of adventuring. I'm not ready for that yet. (And yes, I know there are many different models, so maybe I could find one that would be suitable).

Kpatt9 · May 9, 2019

turbodb[OP] said: ↑

Building the Bed Rack (did someone say "new tools"?)
December 2016 - February 2017.

You may recall that no too long ago I decided to purchase a CVT, and then of course realized that the truck would need a bed rack to attach said CVT. That led to my Millermatic 211 acquisition, and the realization that this bed rack was the beginning of yet another expensive hobby (metalwork).

Excited to get going, I started looking for bed rack designs. I wanted something that

would support the CVT - both on the road as well as deployed

would position the top of the CVT "in-line" with the top of the cab - for looks, to minimize drag on the freeway, and to give as much storage underneath as possible

was as light weight as possible (no need for a huge rack)

would be a good place to mount additional gear (hi-lift, shovel, rotopax, etc.)

Of course, I wanted all of this before I did any actual measuring of the bed, cab, CVT, and additional gear - so it was only semi-realistic. Details.

After spending a bit of time on TacomaWorld, I stumbled across @Box Rocket's bed rack design that he built for himself, and then a couple other folks several years ago. It seemed like a good contender (if he was still making them, I'd probably have just purchased one) with a couple minor tweaks - namely, I wanted it to ride a bit higher, and I didn't need it to have the tie-downs or light mounts (since I was just going to mount my tent on it). Oh, and I needed something to protect my bed rails - I wasn't sure of his design there, but I didn't want the legs of the rack to scratch up the rails too much (even though I'd have to drill them to attach the rack).

So, I sat down for a couple hours in the bed of my truck with a tape measure and dimensions of my various "things to haul" to figure out exactly what I wanted. In the end, I came up with a design that I was happy with and met all my criteria but one: I wouldn't be able to mount the rotopax. Unfortunately, the two gallon containers that I have (fuel and water) were just slightly too large to mount on the support arms and have clear the bed rails and bottom of the CVT when it was deployed.

We all make compromises, and this one seemed relatively minor. Plus, it leaves open the possibility of a swing-out rear bumper in my future, which I like the look of (even though I don't love the weight profile).

Having built pretty much all my own furniture, as well as constructed the better part of three homes, I'm completely at home in a hardwood warehouse or lumber yard. But boy, my first trip to the steel yard was nerve racking. I didn't know the right terminology, didn't know where to look for what, and just generally felt out of place.

But I walked out with what I needed for the rack, as well as some supplies to build a welding table.

Turns out, the rack is bigger than the table, so building the table first was a bit of a waste of time (though it did get me some practice). And after building the table, it was time to build the bed rack.

Not having any tools for working with metal, my first order of business was to get something to cut the steel I'd purchased. For the frame of the welding table I'd used a grinder, and boy - the accuracy of those 45 degree corners left something to be desired. So, I looked around and finally decided that a horizontal/vertical bandsaw was going to be the most versatile option for my new hobby.

So it was off to Grizzly tools, to pick up my new G0622 metal bandsaw. As you may have noticed - the rack is getting cheaper all the time!

Smaller than I'd expected, it was easy to put together when I got home.

Assembled it worked great, and being a bandsaw, I felt right at home using it - although I have been careful to keep it quarantined from the rest of the shop - I don't want to get the oils and metal shavings mixed up with my wood.

But I still wasn't ready to build my rack.

One of the issues I'd been running into as I measured for the rack in order to make a detailed set of plans was that I had to keep moving between the truck and the shop. That was a pain, especially in the 35 degree weather we were having. Plus, I knew I wouldn't be able to build the rack in the truck.

So, it was time to build a jig. A full-size mockup of a first gen Tacoma bed, along with various brackets and tabs that would enable me to more accurately measure, assemble, and weld this puppy together.

But there was a catch. And I liked it. I'd make the jig out of wood.

Would it work? Maybe. Would it be sturdy enough? Maybe. Would it burn up as I welded? Maybe (but I hoped not).

In the end, the rack came out just fine - relatively quick to build, great for alignment, and seemingly sturdy enough for actually welding on. Plus, now I could build more racks (more easily) if this first one actually worked out. Maybe even enough to pay for all this new equipment!

Boy, I sure am getting ahead of myself.

With the rack built, the bulk of the parts cut on the bandsaw, and an in-the-garage temperature of 29 degrees, I setup the frame of the platform and started tacking everything together, following along with full welds. Before long, I had a frame.

And not long after that - the platform of the rack was complete.

And the jig wasn't a pile of coals. Success!

The welds weren't the most beautiful I've ever seen, but they were better than my first welds a month ago, and I knew I'd be grinding them down anyway, so it didn't matter too much.

Of course, so far, I'd stumbled through the easy part. The legs of the rack were next, and those were a bit more complicated.

But first, we were off to Hawaii for ten days!

With ten days to think about how hard the legs were going to be, I was itching to get going when we returned. The next weekend I set about building a template, when I realized that I could make the legs stronger by notching both ends of the legs, so they cradled the rack and the sides of the bed.

Of course, this would also make my fabrication life much harder. It was a no-brainer. Notches!

Template built, I traced the pattern onto a piece of metal tubing and tried to figure out how to cut it efficiently on my bandsaw. Ultimately I don't think I ever found anything - and a task that would take me 15 minutes with wood, took me a good couple hours. But in the end, I had six legs.

…that when I test fit them, were all 1/8th inch too long.

No problem with wood, but with metal - well, it's a problem. At least for me. I ended up grinding each and every one down (a bit too much)…in another hour. Sigh.

But then, with some more welding and a bit of grinding (and by a bit, I mean a lot - they say you're either a welder or a grinder…and I'm clearly still a grinder), I had a bed rack. And to my surprise, it seemed to be the right size to fit a 2000 Tacoma pickup bed.

All that was left was prep for paint, priming, and painting. Naturally, that would take two weekends - because in prepping for paint, after using a wire cup on the grinder, I painted on some phosphoric acid (to convert any rust and prevent future rust). After rinsing off the acid, rather than eliminating rust, the entire rack flash rusted. "Minorly upset," I set it aside until the next weekend, when I could go over the entire thing again with the wire cup.

Some grinding later I was ready for paint - but with temps below 50F, I wasn't sure that I'd get good adhesion, so I warmed up the garage using a propane heater and then sprayed on some Rustoleum primer and two coats of rubberized undercoating with no hiccups. Then, it dried for a week.

After all of this, installation was easy. A bit of high density rubber to protect the bed rails, and it fit like a glove.

Looking back, this was a great project. I mean, it cost me about five times (or more) what purchasing a set of bed bars from Relentless would have cost, but I had a great time. And who knows - there might just be someone out there who wants me to build them one…for the right price!

Now, I just need to pick up that CVT!
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Not to derail the current thread but I've absolutely loved your bed rack so far. Thanks again.

Blackdawg · May 9, 2019

turbodb[OP] said: ↑

I think if you took a DCLB on the trails, you'd be quick to go back to the short bed.
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Its not that bad. Hasn't slowed my Dad down too much. Granted...never gonna do Morrison again..but still.

Speedytech7 · May 9, 2019

turbodb[OP] said: ↑

And LOL, having a kid is"tragic." They are so fun!
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Blackdawg · May 9, 2019

m3bassman said: ↑

I would only do it in a T4R if I had to go up it again.
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What??? No way. Was fine in a 1st gen

turbodb · May 9, 2019

Speedytech7 said: ↑

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Hahahahaha, it's OK. You'll grow up someday and see the light. And I'll save this post for you.

Ben's first; it's only a matter of time for him - already has two family-friendly vehicles! Monte's on his way too...looking for a house, and eventually @MissBlackdawg will get to him (I hope!).

Speedytech7 · May 9, 2019

turbodb[OP] said: ↑

Hahahahaha, it's OK. You'll grow up someday and see the light. And I'll save this post for you.

Ben's first; it's only a matter of time for him - already has two family-friendly vehicles! Monte's on his way too...looking for a house, and eventually @MissBlackdawg will get to him (I hope!).
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I'm not a kid person, I'll do all the other adult stuff. But I'm the kind of person who will have animals instead. Doubt I'd ever have enough money for a kid without making my own life miserable anyway. No shortage of humans so I don't feel like I'm robbing the world of anything.

Speedytech7 · May 9, 2019

Dan you have a 3rd gen runner and have likely researched it more than me. They have the same front tire clearance constraints as a first gen ya?

Speedytech7 · May 9, 2019

m3bassman said: ↑

At the firewall or frame?
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Firewall, I'd assume frame is similar

Blackdawg · May 9, 2019

Speedytech7 said: ↑

Firewall, I'd assume frame is similar
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Exact same

turbodb · May 9, 2019

Speedytech7 said: ↑

Dan you have a 3rd gen runner and have likely researched it more than me. They have the same front tire clearance constraints as a first gen ya?
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Yep. Why?

Speedytech7 · May 9, 2019

turbodb[OP] said: ↑

Yep. Why?
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Was helping a friend get his 3rd gen suspension and wheel/tires picked out but wanted to double check that we were working with the same familiar playing field.

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AdventureTaco - turbodb's build and adventures

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AdventureTaco - turbodb's build and adventures

#2001 BHill_teq Cruisin Hills

#2002 turbodb [OP] AdventureTaco

#2003 OneWheelPeel Well-Known Member

#2004 Blackdawg Dr. Frankenstein

#2005 turbodb [OP] AdventureTaco

#2006 Blackdawg Dr. Frankenstein

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Products Discussed in Entire Site Forum: 1st Gen. Builds (1995-2004) Thread: AdventureTaco - turbodb's build and adventures

#2001
BHill_teq Cruisin Hills

#2002
turbodb [OP] AdventureTaco

#2003
OneWheelPeel Well-Known Member

#2004
Blackdawg Dr. Frankenstein

#2005
turbodb [OP] AdventureTaco

#2006
Blackdawg Dr. Frankenstein

#2007
Digiratus Adventurer

#2008
eon_blue Most Improved Member

#2009
turbodb [OP] AdventureTaco

#2010
Kpatt9 Well-Known Member

#2011
Blackdawg Dr. Frankenstein

#2012
Speedytech7 Toyota Cult Ombudsman

#2013
Blackdawg Dr. Frankenstein

#2014
turbodb [OP] AdventureTaco

#2015
Speedytech7 Toyota Cult Ombudsman

#2016
Speedytech7 Toyota Cult Ombudsman

#2017
Speedytech7 Toyota Cult Ombudsman

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Blackdawg Dr. Frankenstein

#2019
turbodb [OP] AdventureTaco

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