Felt like a creep, so I joined!

Hey all, after using TW weekly for almost a year I decided I should stop creepin around anonymously and finally make a profile (also am bored at work).

So here's my story! About 10 months ago my not so trusty 2000 VW Golf shit the bed and the next day a sexy 2000 Tacoma 3.4 V6 extra cab all black with a canopy popped up nearby. I had been researching Tacoma's and 4 runners for a while, and I think the Golf got the hint. After years of taking it to trailheads, fishing spots (+smashing the Catalytic Converter on forest roads) and camping out of a tiny hatchback, I realized a truck would probably be a better route. My Uncle has been driving a '99 4 runner for close to 15 years that he got for $1500 at 150,000 miles. It now has almost 550,000 and he says it just feels a little "loose" so I wanted that kind of badassery. So anyway, I pulled the trigger and swapped the Golf for the Tacoma, a rig from the same year, with about 20,000 less miles, for twice the $...hope it lasts for 300,000 more miles!

Here are some old pictures from after I got it.




Since getting the truck I have worked on water-sealing the canopy (a losing battle in Western Washington) have built a nice sleeping platform and drawer in the bed, and have beefed up the roof rack capabilities. Pictures of the Bed setup here-


Feline inspection crew


Drawer in drawer box mock up..does it fit?!


Would ya look at all that room...sleeping like a king! Wanted to use the space in front of the wheel wells for storage too, but it is currently very hard to access without side doors on the canopy and takes diving all the way in...New canopy needs side access for sure.

I improved the roof racks and probably tripled the usable space by replacing the stock load bars on the canopy with superstruts that I painted black (duh). They are awesome and the little lock nuts they come with mean I can literally bolt anything I want to them, including rooftop box, bike racks, etc etc. Don't have too many pictures of that specifically but check out these more recent ones of us in fall/winter camp mode.



There is a really awesome used gear store in Discovery Bay, WA (If you are on the Olympic Peninsula, it's a must-stop) where I almost walked by this used awning....60$ later plus a few bolts and we drove away with it.


Here's the best picture I have of the drawer in action, it has a front compartment for stove, pots/foodstuff, the back 2/3s of it is split left and right for my clothes and my gf's clothes. Our more adventurous cat came with us on this trip and loved sleeping in the back too, he's a champ on the road.



I also found a score of a deal on craigslist a few months ago, the bar system that works on the extra cab from Yakima. The model I have may actually be older than me, and is the first kind of bar they made for two-door cars and trucks in the 90's, the guy even gave me the retro manuals that have badass pictures of more cool old rigs in them, fun to look at. With some more superstruts, u-bolts and a dash of creativity I turned them into a basket rack that can hold wood, a rotopack and whatever the hell else you want. This last picture is from our winter road trip from Washington down to Death Valley. GF's parents are park service employees so we explore the desert the way only a 4WD can. On the way back up we hit Yosemite, Redwoods and the Oregon coast. 4 nights in the truck back to back made for stiff hips but great adventures...

This is getting a pretty long so If you are still reading, here is a list of other things I want to do, any advice is welcomed!

1) New Canopy- Pretty sure this is the stock offering and I would love to be able to sit up at least in the bed. Looking into the commercial type ARE/Leer canopies, would love doors on all sides, more headroom and another built-in rack. Something like a GFC camper or another flip top would be awesome, but I don't have $6000 to shell out (lol).

2) Lift- Would love a 2-4 inch Lift, something that stands it up more like a TRD with new suspension etc. Old man emu or others. I think this is all still stock and thus has almost 200,000 miles on it. GF's 2015 forester feels smoother on gravel roads and that just shouldn't be the case!

3) Lights- My commute is through the woods of Mason County, Need (want) a badass lightbar set up to scare the deer away. Already did the "ultimate headlight upgrade" with wiring harness and high powered bulbs which has helped loads (Thanks TW) but the more lumens the merrier.

Well, I think that's all for now, If you read all this, thanks for joining me, now get back to work ya filthy animals!!

 

Quite the handy work, welocome

 

Welcome to TW!

 

Sweet! Welcome!

 

Welcome aboard

 

Glad you decided to join. Great job on the truck!

 

Welcome to TW!!

 

Welcome to TacomaWorld!

 

I creeped the whole time I had a second gen. Only joined once I got a third.

 

Great first post. Welcome aboard.

 

Nice Drawers... welcome (officially)

 

Welcome to TW!