Kyle's SR Access Cab Build

We get things clean


To get them dirty again

 

Finished up my 3rd brake light!


Had a decent amount of time to prepare so I tried to make it all plug and play. De-pinned the factory connector and attached the factory connector onto my custom harness (we had a hard time tracking down the factory connector hence the recycle). Also tracked-down the bullet connector used on the cyclones so I didn’t have to mess with those at all. I used those matching bullets to build my jumpers.


The new amber chase lights on the brake light are tied to the switch that controls the amber backlight of my SSC2’s. So with one switch I can have front running lights and rear chase lights for dust and fog driving. Very happy with how this project turned out.

 

Everything is finally here!


12" Fox 2.0's from @AccuTune Offroad


Dobinson's medium-duty springs, poly bushings, and grease pins from @Crikeymike

@ARCHIVE hammer hangers, u-bolt flip with their yellow speed bumps, and trail series relocation towers for the 12" Fox 2.0's




Let the cutting begin!

 

Got the poly bushings pressed into the new springs by a machine shop.


Also heard it’s a pain to get the old bushings out of the factory shackles so I just replaced those and had the shop press the new ones in as well.


Next up is a touch-up coat of gloss black paint to prevent rust. I’ll also paint my new shock towers and lower tabs with a weldable primer this week. Planning 2 days this weekend to do the whole install.

 

This is getting exciting!

 

Awesome build!

Couple questions....

What rear bumper is that?

Did you post pics of what you did with the headlight electronics as far as mounting? I have a MLED 2.0 retrofit, with some amber DRLs from DD, and sidemarkers from Meso. I have two driver boxes plus the MLED 2.0 driver box to mount on each side. Currently it's all sort of zip tied with factory wiring but I don't want to keep it like that. I have some ABS plastic sheets I purchased, and some aluminum flat stock, and a bandsaw to make brackets. Just not sure how I want them to run yet.

 

It's an At the Helm high clearance rear bumper without the swing out. @At The Helm makes great stuff!

I didn't post pictures but I guess it'd be useful to someone. I used double-sided tape on everything. Really strong Gorilla stuff. You can mount the projector drivers to the small flange metal behind the headlight, and then place the side marker modules on the other side of it. Here's the passenger side:


Driver's side (harder to see):


All of the wires are tucked and zip-tied as neatly as I can. I've got about 5,000 miles driven with them this way and haven't had an issue.

Posted this elsewhere but keeping consistent with managing my log. I completed the entire rear suspension upgrade this weekend with my dad (the welder). We did the hammer hangers, u-bolt flip with new bumps, Dobinson's medium leaf pack, shock relocation kit, and 12" Fox 2.0's from Accutune. Here's the cross-posted pictures:





I drove 100 miles home and WOW what a difference. The truck wants to track to the contours of the road without me providing any steering-wheel input. The truck also feels more stable; like the truck rolls over bumps and isn't jerky. My front still hits bumps hard, but when the rear gets to the bump it just glides. Can't wait to get the fronts at a later date! Overall the new pack got me about 2" of lift so now there's a slight rake. When I get the fronts I'll just get the 0-3" adjustable so I can level it all out. Until then I'm super happy with this setup!

 

Installed my extended rear brake lines from Runnin4Tacos yesterday and this morning. It’s not a very fun install. Word to the wise: crack open the 10 mm flare nuts and then hand tighten them back BEFORE you take off the retaining clips. Then take the clips off, clamp the soft line, then unscrew the 10 mm. Quickly put your new lines on and hand tighten the flare nut. Put the new clips on and then get the flare nuts nice and tight. Don’t overdo it.


When done perform a brake bleed. I used a 1-man method with a small bottle and hose. The air in the system was minimal. On my test drive the pedal felt like it did beforehand (I could have used nicer fluid to firm it up). Can’t find any leaks near the new lines. Mission accomplished.

 

Thanks for the info! Ordered a bumper from him last week! Just went with the standard bumper, didn't want to add too much weight.

 

Final part of the rear suspension update was extending the diff breather relocation hose. I followed the brake lines as best I could so now there will be plenty of slack when drooped.


Also I woke up this morning to diff oil pooling from my locker solenoid. Called ARB and they said it’s either because 1. Truck doesn’t get driven enough and I need to cycle the locker once a week to flush the fluid out or 2. My diff breather is clogged. Certainly not my breather so it looks like I need to cycle the locker every few days. Since the truck isn’t my daily I guess oil gets wicked up there over time (the quad rings are sitting in oil) and the pressure from cycling the locker pushes it back down. Wish someone would have warned me about that. The locker is fully sealed still and there’s no air leaks.

 

Just ordered some Fox 2.5 front coil overs from @AccuTune Offroad to complete the suspension build Looks like I’ll be done with the suspension project quite a bit earlier than expected. ETA is near the end of the month.

 

Hey man, I see you're another fellow Oregonian. If you're ever looking for another rig to come with you on some trails, or just some good old camping I'd be stoked if you hit me up. You're build is looking great man also.

 

Thanks a lot! I’ll definitely hit you up this winter to fling some mud!

 

Man... I should have never gotten an air locker. Story time:

Air locker had a bummed seal from the very get-go. It never worked. I got the seal replaced under warranty as they have had massive factory defects. I thought hey okay no problem... but after the seal was replaced my air locker now continuously spits gear oil out of the locker solenoid. Every morning after it's been cold and I drove my truck the night before I will wake up to gear oil on my driveway. Thermal expansion causes the oil to wick up the airline and out of the solenoid.




ARB said they had this issue chronically until 2016 when they made a manufacturing change. I had to show the technician I talked to their own product they made to address this issue:
https://eastcoastgearsupply.com/i-23993706-arb-purge-valve-170110.html

Since they made the change, they claim that my issue must be due to a bummed install when we did the repair. They claim my guy marred the face of the journal cap when he re-installed it... which is false... as I sat there and watched the entire repair to guarantee I don't have to rip this shit open again. I've never babied components like that in my life.

Fast forward to now, ARB is refusing to warranty the unit. They are continuously claiming it is an install problem even after I threatened legal action for breach of contract. They are making no compromises to investigate the issue and reimburse cost, not admitting to the probability that their manufacturing caused the issue (after all... the locker has already been repaired because of a manufacturing issue), and not acknowledging that their issue they repaired in 2016 could still persist -- even probabilistically.

This is all based on them assuming since the leak only started after the repair it must be the repair that caused it... without considering the fact that we repaired a SEAL. Physics lesson of the day: Oil can only wick up the airline if the locker is air tight. If there was a seal issue and air was able to escape the locker unit (other than out the airline), then there would be no way for the locker to become pressurized and force fluid up into the airline. Now that the seal is repaired, the locker is dammed and any oil that finds its way into the locker unit can only escape out of the airline. My diff breather is stock -- I literally purchased a new one to guarantee it cannot be a clogged breather... so fluid is finding its way into the unit without needing a ton of pressure to do so. This indicates a gap somewhere.

Anyway... an attorney is writing a letter. Stay away from air lockers. Period.

 

26 months after owning the truck I finally installed my intermittent wiper stalk I held out for a while in protest that an expensive truck in 2019 didn’t come with them from the factory… but caved.



Also installed some really nice tie downs I got as a gift. My old ones were already rusted out from use

 

I spend too much time making stuff for other trucks that I forget to update my own log.

Started gathering supplies for my winter project which is sound proofing + a second battery. The second battery is going to be placed inside of a hatch that I'm building into my 60/40 rear seat delete platform. I have a design for the platform but haven't gotten around to breaking out the jigsaw.

The brains of the system will be an ML-ACR. I got some quality lugs, military-style terminals, MRBF fuses, and caps to make the system nice and robust.


I have about 100 spare feet of flexible 4 awg, looming, and heat shrink to build the cables. There's no sweat there. I also ordered a nice replacement battery tray for my main battery from Off-Grid that has a mount for the ML-ACR. I'm going to get it powder coated when it gets here, but for $100 it was cheaper than making my own. So now I just need to build my platform and design the house battery tie-down; it's probably going to be something real simple. Once the platform is built I can pick out a battery to fit the space and finally install an inverter. Since the cables will be run under the carpet I'm going to take this opportunity to sound-deaden all doors and the floor. Should be a fun project!

 

Got part of my 60/40 seat delete done today. This time I did a box design instead of support beams. Removed the center plastic and the seat from the passenger side. Fits nice and snug!



Next I need to cut my hatch and install my push button latch. Then I’ll carpet everything and start planning the second battery tie downs. I left enough room in the front portion beneath where the hatch will be to house at least a Group 24 battery. An inverter will go into the skinny factory storage bin beneath the hatch.

 

Dog platform Part 2!

After the first mock up I went back and cut the hatch out. I’m not a woodworker by any means, so I was stoked when this thing didn’t turn out too crooked.


This is what will be accessible underneath:


From there I did my best to carpet the whole thing with black carpet. This took a while for me as I rarely carpet awkward shapes. A square or flat floor? Fine. This stupid thing? Na.


Then I put stainless steel trim around the hatch underneath to support the lid and my big ass pup’s weight.



Finished it off by installing a piano hinge and a marine push latch with a lock on it. The lock is just to prevent the dog from opening the hatch when I’m driving under his weight.



Puppy update: 60 lbs @ 7 months

 

This is one of the better platforms I’ve seen bro. Good job. I do really like my Goose Gear though… I’d better like it, since it was about $900, lol

 

Some lighting upgrades I've shared elsewhere but didn't put in my log.

First is a prototype footwell lighting kit I am working on with VLEDS. It functions as factory footwell lights should: Full brightness when you open a door or unlock the truck, and then dim when the dash lights are on. All plug-and-play using an OE-style harness and a PWM. I'm manufacturing the harness for VLEDS on this project.




An add-on I put onto the footwell harness was some simple door lights. My 4Runner has them but my Tacoma doesn't. They nicely accent the blind spot of the puddle pods. Makes for a nice work station light for my access cab door as well. I wired this by making a neat little t-harness for the high setting feed on the footwell light harness. Required me to drill a 1" hole. For my personal setup I'm using the VLEDS MAX Pods with a flush mount, but I really think their MINI Pods are probably more appropriate. Regardless, now I can see my sliders when I open my door at night. No more shin banging!