What Have You Done To Your 3rd Gen Today?

Thank you!

 

Yesterday I installed a bakflip mx4 tonneau cover. Here are my initial impressions. First, I think hard tonneaus, in general, are overpriced. $1k for a tonneau seems like a little bit much. I installed a tonneau for security more than anything. I don't expect it to be waterproof. It isn't gonna hurt the gear that I carry in the back of my truck to get a little damp. I do have 2 or 3 gripes about my bakflip mx4.


There shouldn't be any unfinished edges on a $1k product.




That unfinished edge was the easiest one to show you. There are several more. Both of my hands got pretty cut up.

The plastic trim pieces on the corners are fragile. One was broken in shipping or maybe it broke taking it out of the box. Idk, regardless the piece of plastic that attaches it is 1-2 mm thick. I expect they are really easy to break in the cold white north.



One small last thing. The rubber bumpers that the cover rests on when it's folded didn't survive shipping. The 2 sided tape didn't hold.
I guess that's it.
I really like the way that it looks. I dig the low profile look and the matte finish. The instructions were good. Except for the part about whether to install the weather stripping on the bed header behind the cab. It says that if you have a bedliner that you don't need to use it. Tacomas have plastic beds that may as well be bedliners so I expect that we don't need to use it. However, the header rail where the weather seal goes is metal. I tried it both ways. With the weather seal in place the tonneau sticks up and looks funny. Without it the tonneau lays pretty flat. I like it better without.
Overall, I like the cover. As far as the current hard tonneaus go, I think the backflip mx4 is a good one but I don't think I would specially recommend it over any other cover.

 

They are Toyota wheels from the TRD Pro 4Runners. Some call them SEMA wheels.

 

Crap, really? Freezing rain in eastern WA? I thought that only happened in the midwest.

 

3rd Brake Light is on the Softopper now. Not wired in waiting on more parts any day now getting here. Also waiting on my Bed Lights to get here too all coming together nice.

 

This is probably the exact same route I'm going to go this coming spring. Perhaps with the addition of a Decked bed box. Looks good!

 

I installed the EOM bed lights a couple weeks ago, super simple plug-and-play install. It was a great addition now that the topper is on. I was going to work on the third brake light this weekend but my RSG sliders showed up yesterday! Wish there were more hours in the weekend to play with the Taco!

 

Wireless CarPlay module and while it's nice to be untethered so to speak I swear there's a tiny bit of lag - or maybe it's all in my head. Either way so far no big complaints this $90 investment seems to work as claimed.

Wished the cable that came with it was a bit longer I had to rummage through a drawer full of unused cables trying to find a USB C cable had to rely on a Micro USB cable from ages ago hooked up to a USB C cap lol first world problem, I guess.

 

So what pair do you prefer more? I’m thinking of ordering the RAV4 knobs. The stock ones are too small and smooth, I’d like something with some grip.

 

Added a Nilight 12 way fuse block on a steel shelf I fabbed up so I can run accessories from there with added protection and a cleaner engine bay.

 

Maybe it’s the old cable creating lag??? Just spit balling here.

 

I have them in all three family vehicles (other than my TACO - WC6600). They are awesome. I did have some issues with all of them after updating to iOS 15. I verified the firmware was current, reset and re-paired them and they are once again flawless. It is SOOOOO nice not having to take my phone out of my pocket on short trips, and carplay just works!

 

Looks good. Might want to throw a bit of heat shrink on that exposed core though.

 

Today I ordered the wheels I've been eyeballing for over a year now.

https://www.methodracewheels.com/products/nv-black?variant=349582473

They should be here for installation on Friday. Definitely an impulse buy

 

They look good. 31lbs per wheel though!

 

I'm wondering what it will do to my gas mileage. Sticking with 265/65/17 tires for now. I'll suffer the aesthetic either way lol

 

I was the first to drive across the new bridge that was constructed on the road the runs through our property when they opened it today. Our house is in the upper left of the picture. The white farmhouse is also part of our place - my mother-in-law lives there. Nice to finally not have to detour to get everywhere!!

 

Thanks for the info! My White Taco already has the skid plate but just placed an order for my BR. I ordered a second plate for my brother's truck for his birthday coming up next month.

 

From what I've seen in back to back dynos (on the internet) is that an extra 10 pounds might reduce effective horse power by about 10, but that's on RWD cars adding 10lbs to the rear. With the truck you're doing the same to the front end so you might be looking at a loss of about 20HP or so. You'll likely notice the hit less if you spend most of your time on highways, more if you drive more in town. Also, your stopping distance will likely be affected a bit. Not a deal breaker, just have to accept it. They still look good though.

 

Yeah these are bronze 17" FN f(x) Pro wheels.

https://www.fnwheels.com/store/product/fn-wheels-fx-pro/

They're currently out of stock but you can call to preorder and all color options should be available in the next couple months.