2001 Tacoma Xtended cab 4WD SR5 build

Does anyone know what are these for?

 

For mounting your bumper

 

They're sandwiched between those brackets that 'crush'

 

Thank you @Kwikvette the photo is very useful.

Interestingly there are no useable YT videos for this installation; the only close one is by a guy with a 1998 Taco who trimmed the front end of his frame, which does not apply to my model year.

The instructions from ARB are pretty weak but I downloaded the ones for the xxx20 model of bullbar (mine is a xxxx40, but they are supposed to only differ in finish). The instructions are different between these two versions, and putting them together I managed to install the thing. My truck is a 2001 yet its front config resembles a 2002 and later with the crush cans welded to the crossmember. So it was pretty confusing at first.

 

Did you drill through and utilize the bolts provided since you're going to use a winch?

 

Oh yeah and what a major pain that was! Found it hard to align the top hole so it punches out where the bracket expects it so to speak. In fact I missed by enough on one side so now the hole is more like an oval. Oh well. Then on the other side the frame had an internal folded over sheet metal piece near the weld line that interfered with the 13mm sleeve. Definitely happy that I drilled the frame after the bumper was installed, otherwise not sure I could have fitted it on. Anyways glad it's done, but I haven't torqued the bolts to spec yet. Still deciding if I should remove the bumper to attach the cables and replace the headlights first, or do everything after the bumper is torqued on.

 

This is what the underside looks like:


And this is what she looks like now:




I am very tempted to put back the wind deflector, as I am not used to the "bald forehead" look. Will see.

 

In the meantime I 3D printed a bracket to relocate the contactor pack. My winch is the M8-S, the newer iteration of the M8000 so it has a contactor, not solenoids.

From left to right versions 2,3, and 4.


The two red ones are quick iterations from ABS with low fill. The final black one is made of PC-ABS FR, an automotive grade engineering material. Version 1 was when I initially contemplated placing the contactor pack inside the bumper in the right-side cavity. I milled an aluminum holder, but discarded the idea soon thereafter:


And here it is with heat-set inserts:



And with the base of the control box mounted.


Still undecided on cable. Have 1/0 welding cable on order but I am not sure that is optimal. How come the factory power cable is #2 gauge and 6 foot long, with the return cable same length and caliber? There is a 12-14 foot total length of #2 gauge, and by relocating I add 40 inches or so.

Wonder if I can get by with #1 gauge. Every choice is a tradeoff and oversizing has its clear weight and size penalty. Will the cable fit through the openings in the control box base plate for example?

The factory info says the draw is 435 Amps for which #2 is clearly grossly undersized, yet that's what the factory ships with and the relocation kits also have that size (or close to it) cable. So am undecided.

 

Your pads on your bumper are upside down

 

Oh, man. #despair

 

Yeah I have a compressor and a 1-gal tank that serves as a manifold. Will fab some brackets to be able to mount into and remove from the bed. Don't plan to leave them permanently mounted until I have the bed organized with storage, should I ever go that route. Until then the compressor is in and out of the bed.



Dunno anything about my tires, truck came with them. Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac 265/70 R16. Very tempted to do 235/85 R16 when time comes to swap them out.

 

Just saw this instructional video on how to install the ARB bumper on a first gen. Too late for me but I will place it here for future reference.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GD2cjIZ7C6Y

 

Heard nothing but good things about the Duratrac's.

What tire you plan on going with once you make the switch?

I had Falken Wildpeak AT3/W in the 235 size you're considering; would've gone back to said size but I think it would've looked funky on a bigger vehicle so I went 255/85/16.

 

Yeah the current tires seem adequate. I do not intend to waste them just for looks or whatever, will wait for them to wear off, and will start off-roading with them to gain experience and be better able to decide what I really need. The limitation at present is not the tires or any hardware, rather it's my lack of experience, so anything will be good. As usual there is no single tire (or truck or whatever) that does it all, and part of the excitement of the hobby is learning about and negotiating the tradeoffs involved. Once I know what kind of driving I do (and, by the way, it will ALWAYs be ~80% highway) then I can better decide the tire.

For now, in 235/85 R16
Michelin LTX A/T 2
Pirelli Scorpion ATR
Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac
Falken Wildpeak AT3/w AT3/W that you suggested
Cooper Discoverer AT3LT

are my favorites choices. I am very biased in favor of Michelin (my daily driver has Michelin Pilot Sports).

 

Not much progress but today I replaced the factory loop with a Factor 55 Splicer. I used their Fast Fid and it made the job a breeze.

 

Single braid dyneema splicing is super easy- straight bury for days. Barely even need a fid- I've used a bic pen before in a pinch.

 

... wait... fucking $50 bucks for one fid and an odd wire trap?

Were their instructions to follow this:



That is a super janky splice.

 

Yeah I paid 50 bucks for their fid and used it for my rope and found other uses for it (pulling 4-gauge wire through the firewall). Love it.

 

Today went offroading for the first time, with one of my buddies who wanted to test his new suspension.

My setup, namely the Eaton TrueTrac performed flawlessly. Deflated tires to 19. When done, the ARB double barrel compressor reinflated my tires in a few seconds back to 26. A great buy. Still have to figure out where to mount it, now it's on a 1/2 in plywood piece; probably will place it inside the cabin.

I felt like a giant until I saw that On X Maps lists the route as 1/10. Ouch.

 

The build continues. The mailman brought a few goodies today:


I already had a Viair 1 gal tank, but i regret having bought it so will sell it. The plus side is that it has 4 ports, the down side is that the feet are tall (tank needs a lot of space to mount) and it is steel and too heavy. I am trying to be thoughtful about the weight. In fact I have some preliminary thoughts about the bull bar (for a later post).




The main attraction of the evening:







I got the kit that has one spot and one flood. Solidly built, has that quality feel.

Haven't decided yet if the final mounting spot will be on the bumper or on the roof, but will start with the bumper mounting. The roof mounting will a need a bracket, and I will not drill through the cabin roof sheet metal, so it will be something reaching forward from teh bed over the cab. So that will happen later, but I already have ideas.