Roof Walker's Lunar Rock Pro

Took the Tacoma to a local off road park with a few buddies for it’s maiden voyage in the dirt. I wasn’t able to get many pictures because I was busy behind the wheel but had a blast and will definitely be back for more!








I also feel like LR does an impressive job hiding dirt, well at least in pictures.

 

Truck is coming together nicely!

 

Smaller mods as of lately, and mostly things that are not very interesting visually, but in the efforts to further catalog progress...
In the past month or I've done:
- Clutch fluid accumulator delete mod (dremel hack version)
- Installed a Core performance shifter
- Added a N2 remote start and organized/labeled/cleaned up some wiring under the dash
- Made some brackets for my hi-lift jack
- Hung my Maxtrax on a QuickLee truck bed mount






I only have a few more things on the list before completing what I would consider "Stage 1" for me; roof rack, some lighting upgrades, new Y-pipe and finally a tune. At that point the taco is fully capable of 90% of what I want out of my vehicle, will be aesthetically appealing enough, and I will enjoy the truck in that form for a while until the tires wear down or I get bored.

"Stage 2" would be upgrading to 33s with a minor lift via Eibach springs and leaf pack in the rear, plus bump stops.
"Stage 3" would be 35s, re-gear, and much more armor for some serious crawling. I doubt I will ever reach "Stage 3" unless this truck is no longer a daily driver. That's pretty much the rough plan for this build for those who are interested. Further details to come and thanks for reading!

 

Hello All, Does N2 Designs typically have a Holiday Sale ? Thnx in advance for any info.

 

Love the look of this build up!

 

@Sheld505 Thank you sir!

Always a work in progress

 

Few more small updates: RCI aluminum gas tank skid, and DDI seat jackers…



Also been pretty pleased with Maxxis Razr AT tires so far in snow. Not single traction issue yet! I was even able get enough grip when pulling a minivan out of a ditch during a recent storm.

 

The URD y pipe went on today. Install went pretty smooth, haven’t been able to drive it much today but I’ll give an update after I have the chance. I’m hoping for at least a minor change in tone and a little bump in performance. Also a plus that it solves the exhaust crossover re-route and tucks everything above the frame.




Edit: So after driving with the new y pipe for a couple months I can say without hesitation that a difference can be felt and heard, though nothing major on either front. Performance-wise the truck feels like it pulls slightly harder through the power band and power delivery feels “smoother” overall. The sound is only a slight bit deeper and throatier than the TRD cat back alone, but it is definitely pleasant sounding. Still not as aggressive sounding as I would have hoped, but overall I am pleased. I’m hoping once I am able to get a tune that this mod has helped in opening this engine up a bit more.

 

Hey, nice rig OP. I like these tires & debating between these & the nitto ridge grapplers. How are the Razr's regarding road noise? I noticed they have two different tires in the same 285/70/17 size. One is E load and the other is __ load / __ ply? I sent maxxis an email but haven't heard back yet. What size & load did you go with?

 

I stayed with stock size so my tires are 265/70/16 and are SL rated, so unfortunately my experience may differ to yours because it’s a lighter tire. But to answer your question, the road noise was negligible and was just about as quiet as the stock Goodyears. The on pavement mannerisms of the Maxxis AT is excellent and I have not been let down yet on mud/rock/wet pavement or snow. In fact I like them so much that when I upgrade to 33s I will be going with Maxxis Razr again. Assuming that the tread and rubber compound is similar with the C and E rated Razrs I would expect similar results. I’ve heard good things about the Grapplers too so I don’t think you can go wrong. I hope this helps!

 

Yeah, I found a thread that answered my question regarding the missing info. Maxxis offers the 285/70/17 in E- load & SL. Due to some rocky trails that I plan to hit, I'd prefer that they offered that size in C but I went ahead & ordered the SL's regardless. 43lb's in that size is the lightest I've come across so I'm hoping it will save a few bucks at the pump. The Nitto's are currently $300+, almost $100 more than the Maxxis, so there's a considerable savings there as well. Your response helps confirm my decision so yeah, very much appreciated. Keep on truckin'

 

Just found your build thread, I love the truck.

Really digging those sliders specifically, I may go with that brand when the time comes for me to get a set.

 

Thank you for the praise sir. The Westcott Designs sliders have done their job so far, no complaints from me! I liked how simple they are and how tight they stay to the cab. The only thing I would note is that the sliders themselves don't seem to extend all the way to the front of the cab like some others I've seen, which potentially leaves part of the cab unprotected. But to be honest I don't wheel that hard and am not worried about it. Maybe someone who's got more experience can chime in let me know if there is a reason for that design decision?

 

It’s been a bit and I have some catching up to do here. First upgrade to report is a Martin roof rack:



Since the rack is in place, it’s time to start preparing for some high lumen goodies to attach to it. I embarked on a little crash course on electrical systems and wiring as I decided to tackle all the wiring/harnesses project myself. Google, YouTube and this thread helped immensely:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/diy-build-and-install-a-bussmann-rtmr-fuse-relay-block.399454/

Im going document my progress so far but keep in mind this is my first attempt at anything like this so if anyone has any feedback or suggestions please speak up!

As always, my goal is to keep thing as clean and “stock” looking as possible and also as streamlined as possible for easy troubleshooting and high flexibility for changing things up as I continue to work on the truck. I decided on an auxiliary power tray from Overland Equipped as my basis for my wiring project. Below was initial installation for testing fitment and clearance for my future plans:

I then cleaned up some edges and did a little trimming in the corner where the break booster line was in contact with the bracket. Next I started by mounting my relays on the underside of the bracket with 3M double sided tape.


Then I pre-wired the relays to the positive and negative terminals on the fuse block:



I wired everything up conservatively with 10 awg wiring (probably overkill) to have each relay equally capable as far potential draw to prevent me from needing to redo any wiring down the road. I then wired 18 awg to each of the relays and created a pig tail with a weather pack connector for quick disconnect if/when I had the pull the tray out. Each one color coded:



I then bundled the same respective color coded wires and made a short harness and passed it through the driver side firewall grommet. In the bay is the female weather pack connect to mate with the power tray, and in the cab is a multi-pin Molex connector. This gives me 6 open pins to wire as I see fit. My immediate plans will occupy at least 4, the last two I’m sure I will find something else to add in the future.

Engine bay:

Cab under dash:


While I waited for my back order lighting to come in I installed some CH4x4 push style switches in the cab and wired them to the Molex connector under the dash.

I had one blank in the center (I think where ETC would be if it was an auto trans), second from the left, which will be for my light bar.

I removed the auto headlight button that I would never use, taped it and tucked it behind the dash and replaced it with a switch for the chase lights I will be eventually installing. I’m not sure I’m 100% satisfied with the CH4x4 blue lighting. Too far from the stock switch lighting, I might switch this up in the future…

My Baja Designs Onx6 40” light bar arrived just the other day:

Though unfortunately the brackets that come with the light bar won’t work with the Martin rack. After some deliberation I decided I’ll fab some brackets and mocked up the light for measurements… and also because I couldn’t help myself from wanting to see a sneak peek:



That gets me up to date, more pics and progress to come soon!

 

Can’t wait to see some more pics, that’s a heck of a DIY job you did…really impressive work.

 

This is such a sexy build.
Im very jealous of your aux wiring, i'm working on a plan on how I wanna wire my truck, you gave me inspiration

I also am very jealous of your trd shifter. I test drove a tacoma with that shifter, hated it, got my OR manual and really wanted the trd shift knob

 

Thanks for the kinds remarks! Trust me when I say I am not a wiring expert so if you have the patience you can do it as well. I also thought the TRD shifter was kind of weird at first too, but i've grown accustomed to it now. Ya know you can buy them, right?

 

I know I haven't been able to convince myself to buy one for the price I see them. I'm always eyeing b/s/t for a used one

Also how do you like the intake? Another thing I'm trying to convince myself to get. Ik they really don't produce power but the sound seems amazing

 

The intake is ‘meh’. I don’t believe it makes any noticeable difference in power, at least with the Tacoma. It definitely is louder with WOT. But the money is probably better spent elsewhere… The former import tuner enthusiast inside of me just wouldn’t let the intake go.

 

More wiring updates…

I couldn’t find any easily accessible brackets that would marry a BD light bar to the Martin roof rack so I ended up making some simple ones out of 1/8” bar steel, painted them and mounted the light:


I then started on the harness for the light and tried to run the wiring as cleanly as possible. The plug and most of the wiring I was able to tuck under a cross bar and used a universal wire hider down the driver side A-pillar to under the hood.





First accessory wired into the OE aux power tray! I might have to make some minor adjustments as far as fit, but there is plenty of room on the underside for the relays, and the pigtail is now plugged in and ready to power all aux switches in the cab.



Just a quick view from above to show that pretty much none of the wiring is visible or would interfere with any future mounting on the rack, and a few shots of the final product. I will add night photos when I get the opportunity.





If anyone has any questions/comments let me know.

EDIT: Cockpit view of light bar on and off at night: