BigMike’s Big Journey: New 2016 Tacoma

March 10 through March 27, 2020: Finalizing Front Up-Travel (continued)

Weather seal & paint!







All done!

Bryce also took extra time modifying my K&N air filter bracket assembly to take up the extra space needed. As a bonus I got rid of the factory inner fender wall air intake hole which had been at risk of throwing dirt, dust, rocks, and water up at my K&N filter. Win-win

 

March 10 through March 27, 2020: Finalizing Front Up-Travel (continued)

While Bryce was working on the Tacoma I was busy with this!

That's right, time for a second set of 40s! I _really_ love these Coopers, and so does one of my employees, so I traded out some parts with him while the tires still had about 40% life left.



Same tires as before, 40" x 13.5" R 17, Cooper Discoverer STT Pro



I had 25,637 miles on them and had used up 8.1 lbs of rubber



I have to thank Wyatt again from Rock Solid Toys for turning me onto this tire & wheel combo. By far the best setup I've ever used for mixed Rock Crawling, City, and Highway use. I forget the number, but with wheels they're somewhere around 145 lbs each.

New shoes once again!!

 

Where did you mount your battery after removing half of the mount?

 

March 10 through March 27, 2020: Finalizing Front Up-Travel (continued)

First flex after the body work!





WOW! I've never had this much up travel before!!



The front bumper still needs to be trimmed so I can't straighten the tire while compressed yet

 

Same spot, just scooted over a bit closer to the engine, still using the factory battery strap. That said however, one of my "four big exciting projects" mentioned in Reply #1043 will involve moving the main battery under the bed and installing a compact Odyssey PC680 in the factory location. I already have the Odyssey battery but due to a lot of delays surrounding the huge elephant in the room of the thread's current place in time (COVID**), projects had to get shifted around and I didn't get at all anywhere near my original completion goal by the "third week of June". Kick rocks.

Now the fuse box, that was the real problem. That honk'n thing is a monster. It's sitting sort-of sideways leaning towards the engine held on with one bolt haha Hasn't moved in nearly a year!

I'll take a look to see if I have any updated engine shot pics


** COVID. That reminds me: I completely forgot to discuss this prior to posting today's updates. In quick summation, by this time, March of 2020, events were being cancelled one after the other which is how I was able to spend over a month on body clearancing since nothing was happening in the wheeling community. Summer and fall events were still on at this point so I was still trying to make progress, but I might as well just state what we already know and that is from this point on we never attended another single annual wheeling event for the remainder of the calendar year. Even the Toy Drive for the Valley Children's Hospital got cancelled because the toys could be infected with C19!

 

March 10 through March 27, 2020: Finalizing Front Up-Travel (continued)

Close up of the new cab contour... looks perfect! Great work Bryce!



Check out how compressed the coil is now! I've never seen the Radflo use this much of it's stroke. Step 1 of 50 lb lighter rate coils & Step 2 of making room for the tires to move has been a massive improvement



Make'n good progress

 

March 10 through March 27, 2020: Finalizing Front Up-Travel (continued)

The final step was to address the tire to bumper clearance



I was in a hurry and didn't get as many pics as I'd like, but here is the only side view photo I have (after Bryce's work but before new tires) detailing the bumper overhang



...and in the foreground is where the side support tube used to be
So we took nearly a half-foot off both sides as well as angled the side support forward



All done!

 

March 10 through March 27, 2020: Finalizing Front Up-Travel (continued)

Impromptu dirt hill flex shots!



Close up... Perfect.

 

March 10 through March 27, 2020: Finalizing Front Up-Travel (concluded)

...and this is when I discovered I HAD A CRACK IN MY WINDSHIELD!!!!!!!!!! WTH

This is exactly where the factory Toyota GoPro mount is located. I have used this GoPro mount a few times with my iPhone 7 (138 grams) so I doubt that caused it.. There is that weird scrape visible across the "D" sticker so maybe it was some road debris... I don't ever recall a rock hitting the windshield before. At least the crack is out of the way and not growing...yet.



(Info from the future: On the way back home that day is when I took this photo we've been using in some of our marketing later in 2020, I even hunted down the original Dodge Neon font!)



Back at home for the first time with proper up-travel clearancing! Step 2 of 4 completed

 

Definitely interested to see it. I did as much cutting as possible while avoiding moving the battery and fuse box, and will eventually have to go back and deal with it

 

I had the exact same impact location on my 17'. Resulted in a sweet sweeping crack that went halfway down the windshield.

 

Ok so I found a few pics but they include a future mod that is probably the coolest thing I've ever done to a daily driven Rock Crawler and cannot share those pics at this time. This is a major reason why I'm pushing to get this thread updated before I head out to the next public wheel'n event because I know it's gonna blow the minds of a ton of people. So hang tight for a few wks while I get this updated. (ps. This is what I referred to on two cryptic Facebook posts and .)

Cutting around and under the stock battery tray isn't fun. I did have to grind off the bottom dowel pin of the white plastic lower tray that the battery sits on in order to offset that plastic tray closer to the engine.

Daaaaang that sucks. How'd the new windshield install go? I'm always worried of the window guy messing up interior panels, etc...

 

April 10, 2020: Fork Lift Flex

A couple weeks later I checked fork lift flex for the first time after updating the front bumper.

There actually is some up-travel room remaining: The tires aren't contacting the fenders, the cab, or the bumper. Could be the new coils are still breaking in, but more likely its the simple fact the truck is unloaded. I even made sure the unloaded rear tire was airborne as shown and it didn't make a difference. Once I get my gear in the bed I'm sure it'll gain a bit more. I'll comment more on this later



Compare this fork lift flex to that of last year (reply #925)



Another angle



That's gotta be a good half foot more up travel!! This is going to be h-u-g-e for the trail!



There's at least another inch remaining but I'll need to resist the urge to tweak it more until I get back on the trail

It may not look like it but fully compressed as shown achieves full lock-to-lock steering without any tire interference. It's a beaut, Clark!



Get crossed!



Really pleased seeing the stable geometry I've designed into these knuckles. Cross-camber and total toe looks consistent even at extreme opposite control arm angles.

I spent a lot of time in 2018 & 2019 designing geometries. I not only came up with never-before-done +2-inch forward arm geometry(1), but I also had the privilege of designing never-before-done knuckle geometry(2) and never-before-done steering geometry(3) thanks to the MarRack and our extended length steering arms that reduce driver steering effort. I'm rock crawling 40 x 13.5" wide tires aired down to 4 PSI with factory steering pump & lines and steering is better than when I had factory knuckles & steering parts with only 37 x 12.5" wide tires aired down to just 7 PSI.

This is why we claim handling, steering, ride quality, on/off-road traction is unmatched with Long Travel kits reusing stock knuckles. I drive this truck every day and it's without question the best handling Rock Crawler I've ever experienced despite having stupid-sized tires. This is gonna be an awesome kit once ready. I know, I know. We're working on it!

 

Didn't seem to be an issue, I work at a Honda Automobile dealership in parts so I had a company that does are glass pop one in for me.
The pre '18 models don't have all the radar nonsense so it sounded pretty standard with no problems.

 

What is the measured up/down travel of the front wheels now?

 

Thanks for the question. I don't have a measurement for what it was at that time. I'll be posting more about flex very soon so please stand by

 

March 11 - April 15, 2020: Completed a 15 year project

Ok. So, it's time to jump on the BigMike Time Machine and ramble a bit. This is a moment 15-1/2 years in the making, a project I started at Reply #719 of my 1981 Hilux's original Build Thread back in 2004! "My god, has it been that long?" -Doc Brown

On. Board. Air.

I eventually did get an on board air (OBA) compressor mounted to the 3RZ-FE engine in my Hilux, as shown at Reply #290 of my "Return of the Project" thread, ...12 years ago. I went with the massive 12.5 cubic inch (205cc!! ) RV-2 Twin V Compressor. Even made a custom clutch magnet adapter to fit a small 4" diameter serpentine pulley from a 5-liter Ford Mustang A/C compressor (the pulley shown below), a trick system that would have been one of the very best OBA ever. I'm talking close to 25 CFM free-flow flow rate



So why after all these years did I not finish my OBA? My short answer: I made it too complicated, as you're about to see. My more precise answer: I've been spoiled by having The Crawler Truck around to always air me up (Marlin's OBA is a long-stroke & over-bored custom 210L York compressor with a huge heatsink cylinder head and internal oil slinger).

Pffffffttt. Excuses.

Now that I've been driving solo to late model events half-way across the country without a spare tire, priorities have changed. But first, here is my philosophy for OBA that I've had (as mental baggage) since 2004:

#1: I refuse to purchase a limited-use air supply

This means, despite how much I love the company, no Powertank CO2 air system for me. I borrowed a Powertank once and it worked very well. But, I had to choose between helping others or conserving the limited CO2 in case I had a flat driving home. Not being able to help others was a horrible feeling I'd rather not repeat.

#2: I cannot emphasize how strongly I prefer a belt-driven OBA system

Belt-driven is the only way to go in my opinion. Ninety-nine percent of every OBA that has helped me air up out Rock Crawling have been belt-driven. The few times I've been helped by someone with a Powertank I either felt guilty for their loss of CO2 or forced them to accept $5 towards their refill. I refer to belt-driven systems as an "unlimited OBA system", where you can leave power tools running, blow dust out of interiors, air up every mattress and inflatable raft in camp, air up rig after rig after rig at the end of the trail, and stop along the interstate to help strangers fix flats.

Electric compressors are also an unlimited OBA system, but they are eviscerated by belt-driven units. For example, the setup I was building in my Hilux was designed to put out 23.57 CFM at 2,000 engine speed which is over 10 X better than a good quality electric unit. Also, belt-driven compressors can be setup as nearly silent, a huge plus in my opinion.

Unfortunately, for the Tacoma, there ain't no way I'm installing a belt-driven OBA. Reasons include having less room around a 6cyl engine, huge MarRack and IFS goodies underneath, and these fandangled VVT-iW timing covers extend over the belt line. So I can't mount a compressor above, between or below the frame rails without serious fabrication. Below is a pic of available space on my 1981's 2.7L 4cyl. I miss having a four cylinder.



#3: Finally, the entire truck is to be plumbed

Inspired around 20 yrs ago by long-time customer Roger Brown and his 4Crawl Offroad's "4air Tire Inflator/Deflator System", the idea is to have four separate hoses, one per tire, and your OBA fills all four tires simultaneously.

Below is a pic of Roger's 4Runner showcasing his innovative 4air system. As you can see his system is separate & external to the vehicle. It's a collection of hoses that you unpack, unravel, and lay out around your rig.

This is similar to but not as good as what I've always had in mind

 

March 11 - April 15, 2020: On Board Air System (continued)

So the time had come for me to shut-up or put-up and build an electric OBA system!

Prior to the Tacoma, I had only been aired up electrically 3 or 4 times in two decades. Back in the day the best choice had usually been the compact ARB compressor designed to run lockers. I once had my old 35" MTRs aired up by one of these at about 6,500 ft (~2km) elevation and it took something like 15 to 20 mins per tire. That's an hour plus, young Lassie. When I had 37" MTRs a good friend of mine (88pathy) let me borrow his impressive-looking Kragen Auto Parts compressor which was powered directly at the battery with alligator clamps, and by the time I pulled everything out, unraveled the hose, walked around to each tire, etc, it still took well over half an hr and my jump from 37s to 40s is much larger than that jump from 35s to 37s.

So what I've seen people with electric compressors due is air up just enough to drive back to town to find public-access air.

A final experience is in the late 2000s when we got conned into becoming a distributor for Viair. What a mistake that was, they were utter garbage!! Those Viair systems we tried selling were no better than cigarette-powered Walmart compressors. While preparing these replies I looked up modern Viair compressors and am happy to see they've improved a lot. Nevertheless, to beat the dead horse once more, their best 100% duty cycle compressor (appears to be the 485C Gen. 2) puts out 1.67 CFM @ 30 PSI compared to my RV-2 setup which I calculated to be 16.76 CFM @ 30 PSI. In other words, if the best Viair fills your tire in 5 mins, my belt-driven setup would do it 29.9 seconds or 10 tires in the same time Viair fills just one!

Despite my annoyances of air lockers, at least this required me to install an electric compressor by which time ARB had released a massively improved High Output Compressor that is 4.7-times faster than their compact unit. I'm sure you can guess which one I installed. Installed far enough from heat, this compressor can be ran at 100% duty cycle and is 1.29-times faster at 30 PSI than the above Viair. But one compressor isn't gonna cut it when I've got four hungry 40s.

So I need more.

Fortunately, as many know ARB offers a twin version of the H.O. dubbed the Maximum Performance compressor, which are two H.O. units joined side-by-side. They also have this in a Portable Version with integrated 1 gallon tank which our company uses as a community compressor for employees heading out for events.

So early on with 33" tires I used our portable ARB Max system by itself. This setup outputs 4.63 CFM @ 30 PSI and worked great with 33s. Here it is in action at Moab



Once I moved up to 37s and quickly after that 40s, I installed a T-fitting atop my H.O. compressor that runs my lockers so I could bridge a hose from there to another T-fitting at the portable ARB Max system, running all three High Output compressors together. Now you see where I'm going here This increased output by roughly 50% bringing combined CFM to an estimated 6.79 CFM @ 30 PSI. Here is that setup in use near Bass Lake, Central CA. The blue line is a 3/8" push-fit setup running up to my H.O. compressor behind my driver side headlight. (Both the hose and push-fitting were not rated for this and would burst roughly every-other-trip lol So I kept cutting the hose shorter each time. More details on this shortly)



Now this electric setup is something I can live with. It's right in the middle between the best Viair and the RV-2 belt-driven setup, or 4.07-times faster than the best (single) Viair & 4.12-times slower than belt-driven. Sure, 4-times slower sucks but at least electric options are improving. There is another electric option I haven't mentioned that is the Oasis Compressor. The Oasis uses the York compressor popular in belt-driven setups but drives it using essentially an electric winch motor at 2,500 RPM to output a whopping 10.67 CFM @ 30 PSI. I did consider this option, and while it's certainly the Bee's Knees of electric compressors, here are reasons why I didn't go this route:

• Price: The Oasis costs 2.4-times more and has a worse dollar-per-CFM output. The Oasis retails around $2,000 which converts to $187/CFM @ 30 PSI whereas 1 x ARB H.O. + 1 x ARB Max is only $123/CFM or 34% cheaper. (Also, we are an ARB dealer so I get a bit of a discount extending this $ advantage.) Moreover, by this time I already had one ARB compressor installed so I only needed the Max Compressor to finish the job which is nearly 4-times less expensive
• Space: Least we forgot the York is a piston-and-rod air conditioning compressor designed in the 1950s, the Oasis unit is H-U-G-E and I don't want to lose precious cargo real estate. The ARB compressors, however, are smaller & lighter and can be installed to discrete out-of-the-way locations
• Practicality: I don't need an Oasis just to run my lockers, so having 1 x ARB H.O. allows me to only use that compressor for the lockers, only enabling the Max compressors when I'm airing up extending service life
• Load on system to run Lockers: Lastly, related to the above, 1 x ARB H.O. compressor only draws around 30 amps to build enough PSI to run the lockers whereas the Oasis would require 100 AMPS!!

Here is one more pic of the trio High Output compressors filling one 40 at a time.

Finally the stat everyone is waiting for!!

At 3,500 ft elevation, this setup filled 1 x 40" tire from 4 to 33 PSI in 2 mins and 58 seconds! Hey that's not too bad! 3 minutes each.

 

March 11 - April 15, 2020: On Board Air System (continued)

It was nice having that portable setup, but carrying it around was a bummer and I often kept it in the cab taking up a lot of space. Knowing how much traveling I originally scheduled for 2020 before Covid-19 hit, I committed to getting my own Max Compressor & mounted it to the Tacoma.

But I didn't only just do that.

First, I installed a seamless 1.75 gallon air tank from SeamlessTanks.com. I went with their 6" OD 12" tank version (1.75 gal) and probably could have gone with the 18" version (2.5 gal) but it works great and I probably won't change it.

Mounted the tank directly beneath the bed using M6x1.00 x 50mm C10.9 bolts double-nutted between bed and tank bracket. I placed the bolts within concave sections of the corrugation so they won't get knocked off by my gear or when I load 1,000+ pound pallets of metal and billet aluminum parts I frequently use the Tacoma for for work.





OBA is a nice trade for a spare tire



I then mounted ARB's Maximum Performance compressor in the same manor using M6x1.00 x 25mm C10.9 bolts neatly above the fuel tank. There is much more room to mount it behind the cab on the passenger side frame rail but I need that space to relocate my main battery under the bed for a future project. This turned out to be a really smart use of space and it's a nice, cool area away from the engine and opposite the exhaust. I plan to run a

$19 Solberg PS-04-050™ Inlet Compressor Plastic Filter Silencer, 1/2" MPT Outlet, 2-1/4" Height, 2-5/8" Diameter, 6 SCFM, Made in the USA

Solberg 1/2" inlet silencer with serviceable filter element (P/N PS-04-050, to replace the brass screens ARB uses) mounted way up in the wheelwell forward the gasoline fuel neck but haven't gotten that far yet.

 

March 11 - April 15, 2020: On Board Air System (continued)

I then used High Temp FEP 3/8" chemical tubing with High Temp 3/8" Push-To-Connect fittings at both compressors with a matching High Temp Tee connector. (As you'll about to see over the next series of updates I'm in with push-to-connect fittings.)



I've been filled-up by OBA systems that don't have moisture separators and have never liked water going inside my tires. So I mounted a 1/2" Ingersoll Rand ARO (P/N F35341-400-VS) to the passenger side frame rail for moisture control. (If curious, the rail is boxed from the 3-link setup.) (I'm using the 1/2" version for a larger bowl size; airflow is not a concern.) These ARO separators work great, I've always liked them. I run a smaller version on my Supercharged MR2 as a PCV oil separator. They are rated for 150 PSI which is what the ARB Max Compressors run. I'm likely exceeding their relatively low temp rating of 125-degrees F, ...but update from the future: I have almost a year's worth of use with zero issues.

The lower drain has a rubber guard with side-to-side operation: Simply reach in front of the passenger rear tire and push the rubber drain sideways and a ton of pressurized water vapor hauls out. The bowl itself never needs to be removed. It's mounted up out of the rocks, plus sort-of guarded by suspension parts.



I next purchased 4 x

$15 DeWalt DXCM012-0209 3/8” x 6’ Premium Hybrid Lead-In Hose

DeWalt 3/8" x 6' lead-in hoses, 4 x

$21 AstroAI 4 Pack Air Chuck, Heavy Duty Closed Flow Lock On Tire Chuck with Clip for Inflator Gauge Compressor Accessories, Yellow

Heavy Duty clip-on air chucks, and Milton T-style fittings. (I know V-style fittings flow more air but they far exceed my OBA system and all the air tools we use at work and for trail recovery are T-style so the Tacoma is compatible with all of Marlin's recovery tools and vice versa.

I later swapped out the couplers shown for the improved

$22 Milton 786TC ColorFit Couplers, T-style Blue, 1/4" NPT Male, Box of 10

ColorFit version because they have 4 interlocking balls instead of 3 and they are blue and look better



Next I warmed up the 3D Printer bed and made some of these. This is version 1.0 made from PLA. I'm currently running stronger v1.32 design and using PETG+. The fittings are 1/4" NPT through-wall connectors.



Here is one assembled. This is a 3/8" x 1/4" male NPT push fitting along with the blue ColorFit 1/4" air chuck mentioned above.