What Have You Done To Your 3rd Gen Today?

just under 4 weeks. Was actually a little ahead of schedule.

 

Patience paid off. I found a nice Cab-High Snugtop, with Yakima Baseline Racks. Also matching racks for the truck.
The previous owner had all receipts. Only on his truck for 4k miles, that he traded in for a full-size.
The truck rides SO MUCH better now.
I'm on schedule to get it painted to match, July 15th, but the Magnetic Gray Metallic is growing on me.
I may have the graphics redone to blend the canopy into the truck colors. Both ideas are in the works.

BTW, does anyone know where I can get new "SnugTop" Badges for the canopy?

 

I am going to attempt to install my 2020 OEM LED pro headlights tomorrow. Please pray for me that I can get the front bumper to clip back in. I am so nervous, i have had them for about 2 months now.

 

Sorry just saw this. I will try to get a pic in the morning. I’m hesitant to pull it back out but for you I will try. Lol primarily cause I like the aviator and name.

edit: “avatar” stupid autocorrect.

 

Take your time. There's no need to rush. Take pictures before and as you go. You'll be fine.

 

OEM 2nd Gen side steps and bed mat went on the truck today. If y’all are looking for OEM shit, I recommend you check out Germain Toyota of Naples online parts store. Lowest prices I could find anywhere, and they have free FedEx shipping on orders over $75.

 

Very nice...congrats!

 

I have watched a bunch of video's, but non i can find show the bumper being clipped back in.

 

The house next door has looked post-Katrina for 15 months....it is the (fully intentional, planned) Renovation-That-Will-Never-End.

i think the owners are dragging it out because they know that their neighbours all hate them now and they are afraid to come back. We have an amazing cul-de-sac, we all get along, we are all friends, the folks here represent four continents and seven countries...multi-cultural block parties. On those days we are actually glad 'that' house is vacant. After a few glasses of international imbibement, the group becomes very creative in suggesting how we will make 'those' neighbours welcome whenever they return.

Anyway, we thought we'd seen the worst of it...but the recent arrival of the countertop/tiling dudes has caused us to rethink 'worst'. I am sure that constant cloud of caustic stone and mineral dust is bad for a lot of reasons, 'specially the damage to the lungs of the tradespeople in question, but most of us were more concerned about that layer of gritty dust clogging our aircon intake filtres and on our vehicles. Couple that with a heavy layer of dew this morning, and I couldn't take it any more...so off to the closest car wash. I now have a greater appreciation for that old Jim Croce song....

But I got the dust off. And since we did my much better half's RAV4 as well, she helped with the Taco. I think, though, after being sprayed the fourth time she began to suspect that it was not entirely accidental. Apparently, getting a face full of warm, soapy, recycled water is NOT the same as running through a sprinkler.

So she locked herself inside the Taco and cracked one of my planned post wash Cariboo lager, and I had to finish the job myself.

That worked well for me. Sigh.



Got home and re-mounted my new(ish) Vivid Lumen lightbar in my (slightly less) new Body Armor bumper.

It was signaling aeroplanes before.

And before you ask, yes, I know, I need new, cooler tyres. And a small lift.

If you are north of the 49th, Vivid Lumen is a local (Kelowna, BC) company, and Overland Outfitters in Cloverdale is a dealer....I swore by Cali Raised, but with supply issues across the border being what they are, Overland suggested Vivid as an alternative...gotta say, given the price point and the quality, I'm convinced to buy local now.



So, you are not seeing things.

Did you know that metric size nuts - at least the ones flogged at Rona - are pink?

I'm sure there is a reason to have pink nuts.

 

I have ordered a few things from Bam Wholesale and have not had a problem. No major items but smaller accessories, such as extra tie downs, the net for the truck bed, etc. I found the prices to be good but sometimes the shipping costs are a bit high. Best to combine a total order and then look for free shipping from Toyota OEM parts supply companies. Overall, my personal experience has been great -- quick order, decent prices, everything arrived and was legitimate.

That said, and I could be wrong, they are banned from doing business here because a fair number of people had bad experiences with them. I believe the moderators can document this for the record. After hearing that, I stopped ordering from them. I do not wish them ill will ... especially based on my personal experience with them ...

Note from the moderator in this discussion (see post 12):
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/bam-wholesale-customer-service.683763/

That said, I wish there was a short list of good Toyota OEM parts supply vendors that was posted so we could support the right companies with our buying dollar.

 

I ordered an auto lock for the tailgate and although they had supply issues it still arrived dreadfully quickly. Price was right. I had no problems with them. I would order from them again.

 

It does back in real easily. You’ll only be pulling it down a touch to do the headlights. Make sure you put grill on something that won’t scratch it.

 

After I installed the front DuroBumps yesterday I also replaced my front rotors and brake pads. Rotor wise I used the StopTech Cryo-treated slotted rotors and pad wise I used Hawk High Performance Street 5.0 brake pads.

I’ve have had great results using these similar products over the year’s on various VW/Audi street/track car’s I’ve owned. Plus with pulling a 3400lb travel trailer with the the Tacoma I felt I needed a bit more braking power especially when driving in the high mountain passes in CO, WY and MT.

Everything installed super easy on the Tacoma and now I have the extra braking power I was looking for in the truck.

 

I’ve ordered a few things from BAM with no issues including my SEMA 4R rims, OEM skid, tailgate lock, and TRD Pro shift knob, and a couple of other small items. The FedEx guy even dropped one of the rims in my driveway and dinged it up pretty bad. BAM replaced it no questions asked…. I was proactive though and rejected the one rim with the FedEx guy, sent BAM photos of the damage, and a copy of the claim I filed with FedEx. I think where they may fall short with customer service is that they don’t have anyone answering the phones. But they were responsive via email and resolved my issue quickly.

 

There are tons of great videos out there that can help you along the way. Like another member suggested, take photos throughout for reference, and I used plastic snack/sandwich baggies to keep my hardware separated (I went a step further and swapped out the lower bumper valance too). I had never done anything like this before and everything went perfectly.

 

Hi friend, you can hop on any third gen Taco. You mentioned transmission, personally I don't think anything is wrong with it. We have an early one, a '17 OR and in just couple of days put just over 500 kilometers and we love how the truck does what a truck supposed to do...so I wouldn't get to concerned about anything. If you buy a used unit I'd buy one unmolested (lift kits especially)!

 

Buddy, I'm up in Alberta Canada and I will admit that I'll take a -40 (C or F) any day over a +40°C (104 in your guy's lingo). This heat we are having is into it's second week and it's unbearable. Maybe I'm just not used to this kinda heat but God it's yucky!, some places recorded even higher temperatures. I feel sorry for the people that have to live in hot climate areas for months at the time!
When it's cold you dress up but when it's hot and you sweat and sweat !

 

I looked at them (tufskinz) and I admit that their stuff is nice but their prices are out to lunch!

 

Finished up the Air Lines for the lockers and OEM style switches for the overhead console.

https://youtu.be/snhGjtQz0uQ

 

Ordered a bunch of parts from them. Only one time did they send a wrong part (I guess they mixed up boxes because the old model number part was in the new model number box). I emailed in about it and they responded quickly with a return label. Then they sent out the correct part.

@RobWinNC