Taco.Dan's TRDOR Quicksand Build Thread

Look what I found on Amazon and purchased with points! Install will happen in the morning, it's too dark without a garage to work in.. Damn I can't wait to be back home in the great white north in two weeks.

 

Well, I got impatient, put on the head lamp, and got the new fogs mounted up. The hardest part of the install was removing the stock fog bezel! OEM fogs are held on by one screw and two ears, I'll be headed to the hardware store in the morning to get some machine screws and nuts to secure them from any potential wiggle.

Damn are these things bright!

 

It's been a long two months without any updates or mod purchases.. However, I just put money down for a set of @victory4x4 sliders! The team was great at communicating my wants vs needs and to top it all off, they have a group buy going on right now! Add in local pickup and the decision was a no brainer.

Can't wait to pick these up and prep them for paint in a few short weeks!

 

Are the stereo knobs easy to replace? Nice truck man!

 

Thanks for the kind words, much appreciated!

Yes, the knobs pull right off, zero tools required. The new knobs really make the oem ones feel like rubbish

 

I finally got my Victory 4x4 sliders coated and installed! They are local-ish to me, and between the group by and lack of shipping charge, it was a no brainer to give them a shot. These things are beefy and will no doubt serve my purposes (which will mostly consist of door ding protection).


(reserved for pictures when I return from this work trip)

 

Well, I stopped in and put money down on a new set of tires yesterday.. Got the call today at noon about delivery, and drove away with this badass set of 255/85r16 Cooper ST Maxx!

I'm putting a few hundred miles of drive time in this weekend around Michigan. Can't wait to see how they perform!

Initial impressions.

• At GPS 70mph, truck speedometer is 67-68mph
• With 265/70r16 Duratracs I was calculating around 18-19mpg
• Quick cruise from Discount Tire to work, I'm calculating 17-18mpg (will verify numbers this weekend).
• The truck tracks straight down the road without the 'ST Maxx' sideways shuffle many report.
• The slightly taller tire allows the truck to catch more wind gusts. Though this is always a problem with lifted, non aerodynamic vehicles.

 

This weekend was a success.. 460 miles on the new tires, and overall they exceed my expectations!

The initial impressions above hold true with the following notes from the weekend getaway.

• Very little loss of power with the MT up and down hills of northern Michigan.
• On the way up, with an average speed of 70-75mph, gas consumption was right around 17-18mpg.
• On the way back, speed averaged 75-80mph, consumption dropped noticeably to 15-16mpg.
• Around town and brewery hopping at speed below 55mph, I was suprised to see 18-19mpg.
• In unplowed and packed snow road conditions, the truck felt planted, and easy to drive (granted I was in 4x4)
• On the way back home late last night, VERY windy conditions had the truck floating between the lane lines. Granted every other car on the road was doing the same. No fault to the ST Maxx's.

Lastly, they look amazing.. The tacoma should have come stock with this size. Can't wait to get out and put them to an off-road trail test!

 

After many days refreshing the Meso Custom's sales page, I was finally able to snag a set of red map lights and white dome light.

Install was as simple as popping the covers off and snapping the new lights right back in.

The light output is insane compared to the stock bulbs and the Amazon led bulbs I had in the interim!

Thanks to @mesojdm for quick shipping and an amazing product!

 

awesome lookin truck man! anymore pix of the Victory 4x4 slides?

also, how's your HID kit holding up to the bounce? any issues?

thanks!

 

Thanks for taking a look and for the compliments! I've been enjoying it more and more every day and I hope that my experiences help others make informed decisions.

As far as light output goes, I love the HID kit, however, it seems everyone that 'upgraded' to the Phillips bulbs are reporting bounce. I didn't have any bounce issues until I put on the E rated tires, and its noticeable from the driver's seat due to my OCD. When I was following a buddy on a recent road trip, he reported a slight shake of my headlights in my rear view.

When the bulbs eventually fail I'll address it, but it's nothing I'll lose sleep over. Perhaps I'll try another set of their bulbs, or scrap the kit completely. Only time will tell!

 

Thanks for the reply! Hopefully they can figure out the bounce issue!

How far out do these sliders stick out from the cab? Looks like it's definitely enough to prevent door dings! Sliders look awesome!

 

Hopefully the pictures answer what you are looking for. The sliders stick out a hair past the stock OR wheels with 255/85r16's on them. The dumb end of the tape is on the back of the square tube.

 

Appreciate it bro!

 

Turns out the taco handles better with a little bit of weight in the back..

In all honesty, I'm building a deck and patio addition on the house. Once funds recoop, I'll start thinking about lifting. At least it gives me plenty of time to research!

 

While I was out on vacation, dad used my truck for some hauling and had a small incident.. Thanks to @Discount Tire for having a replacement ordered and mounted the next day!

Dad claims he was on a paved surface, though I doubt I'll ever know what he was truly doing!

 

Well, the time has come to upgrade the truck’s suspension. The following parts and pieces are showing up this week and after I inventory everything.. hopefully installed in April! I’m looking forward to the transformation and the ride the bilsteins will offer!

Bilstein 6112s
Bilstein 5160s
OME Upper Control Arms
Medium Dakars
Wheelers Superbumps front & rear & U-bolt Flip
ECGS Bushing

 

Seems like I'm getting new parts every day this week! There haven't been too many reviews yet on the OME control arms, but I'm looking forward to trying them out..

 

You will like them.