What Have You Done To Your 3rd Gen Today?

Nicely done! My only suggestion would be to put a grommet in the hole where that short red POS wire goes through the plate. If that cuts through the insulation, it would be a spectacular short! (I had an old Jeep Cherokee and the fuel injectors were run from the hot side and grounded in the ECU. All the injectors wires made a sharp 90-deg bend over a sharp metal cover. On wire finally cut through and shorted the injector 'on'. That was fun trying to trouble-shoot.)

 

I found mine at the airport ironically. She looks pretty good

 

I need help with a get home bag. I tend to combine edc items with a go bag. My trauma kit is from NRR and it’s called the patrol kit and it is just behind my drivers seat. Didn’t know if the heat from under the cover would ruin anything

 

I used a deburring tool on every edge and hole on the plate, the hole has rounded edges on both sides and is completely smooth.
If it ever shorts I'll make a new wire with shielding.

 

I keep a large med kit in my Pelican case in the bed. It also holds spare ammo, some towels, jumper cables, etc..
This is the case I got https://www.pelican.com/us/en/product/cases/cargo/bx80

It has a mount that locks it in the back of the bed, and the top also can be locked.

 

Would that fit under a cross bin?

 

uh... not sure what a cross bin is, or how big it is.
The exterior dimensions of mine are Exterior:25.0 × 17.3 × 16.0"

 

Finally did some mods.

Added the gas cap holder. This one is from 'Issyauto'. Injection molded, decent hefty, and appears to be a fiber-reinforced plastic. Don't know how it will hold up, but I would give it a thumbs up / recommend to others. It looks like the fuel door was made to have a gas cap holder, but maybe Accounting nixed it. Note the two unused bosses.
Oh well - fixed. (And that's not rust below the fuel door, it's oak pollen. )



Installed some no-name seat jackers, $40, nice quality and finish. 10-minute install. Seating position feels better, but still doesn't hold a candle to my old '89 XtraCab. I'm only 5-9 and I still feel like I'm sitting too high, or the cab needs to be taller. (Not used to my line of sight being at or above the rear view mirror.)

Oh well - it's an improvement. I'll know more after a few long drives.

 

I think the breather locate would be the better option….plus it’s cheaper.
https://www.yotashop.com/toyota-off-road-vehicle-differential-breather-extension-kit-1012/

 

used the taco to spend some time with my dogs in the sun instead of wasting my friday afternoon in the office

 

You definitely made the right choice! Beautiful dogs BTW. They look very happy with your decision. Good call!

 

Rattle Can paint job turned out all right on the faux beadlocks, hopefully it lasts the summer, so far 1 month in its holding up well.

 

I’ll have to look harder at the airport next time. Thanks!

 

That's the one I installed. Exits at the driver-side taillight. Easy 10-15 minute job. I've read that it can even help at car washes that have under carriage spray.

 

Need to move my CVT tent back 2” to clear my water tank. Decided best to just remove the tent all together. Was able to get the bed rack on tonight.

 

I also put it in the driver-side taillight cavity. Just an extra sense of relief when forging muddy water above the axle.

 

Finally was able to get a day off work and get over to Demello Offroad to get the bumper, winch & lights installed.
Looking at high clearance rears and much needed suspension next!

@TWTaco for the inspiration & tune

@JDEMELLO beautifully designed products!!

 

INSTALLED BETTER GASKET BETWEEN BED TOP AND TOPPER. The original installed by the local topper shop is crap and was deteriorating after about 2 years.

I have an aluminum topper that weighs about 185 lbs on my long bed so I used the regular gasket material. Heavier fiberglass toppers probably need the "Super Cap Seal XL". Got it on Amazon. Only needed 20 ft of gasket for my long bed (did both sides and the end near the cab) and still had a tad over two feet left over.
The gasket is rubber and is 2 inches wide and 0.2 Inches thick. Much heavier duty (thicker, but about the same width) than that installed by the topper guys. Also it is a much denser, heavier duty rubber. There is adhesive on one side that is covered by a white waxy paper strip (see photos) that is easy to peel off. The adhesive on the gasket is about 1-3/4" wide, leaving a non-sticky part of about 1/8" on either side.

I was alone and the removal of the old gasket, cleaning of the surfaces and install of the new gasket probably took only about 90 minutes, total. I thought it actually would have taken longer. Since my topper only weighs 185 lbs I was able to lift it myself. The heavier fiberglass ones might need two people.




View of the gasket.



My topper lifted and placed on some brick laying around. I lifted one side at a time by climbing into the bed and lifting one side of the topper with my back then placing the bricks under it then moved over to the other side and did the same thing. If i did it again, I would definitely use 6" long pieces of 4x4 wood instead for more stability and lighter weight to deal with. (and less possibility of damaging the paint with the bricks)



The gasket also came with some putty for installing in any gaps in the bed top.



I used it in the two front corners of the bed. The front rail, under my hand is about a 1/16" higher than the side rails next to it. The topper installer had already placed a pretty good sealer at both of these front corners, since I understand this location is the source of many leaks into the bed if you have a topper.



To make the install a little easier I installed the gasket in about 3 ft. long lengths and cut the joints at an angle to prevent leaks.



I cleaned the underside of the topper with alcohol. The package came with 8 alcohol wipes,which I thought would not be anywhere near enough, but I was pleasantly surprised. Even though they are about 1" x 3" when you take them out of the package, they actually cleaned almost the whole length of the topper sides and end. I figure if they had supplied a dozen instead of only 8 wipes, there would have been enough to clean the two sides and the front.



As it turned out, I needed to use some alcohol on shop towels to finish the job.



The front rail had an offset of about 1/8" in the middle. This did not turn out to be a problem, even though the gasket only stuck to the lower (black) piece--which is on the outer side of the topper. Note: this pic was taken when I was lying on my back looking up at the bottom, front edge of the topper.



There was some damage to the plastic cover on the top of the bed from the bottom of the topper where the heads of some pop rivets in the topper had eaten through some of the plastic cap.



After everything was installed I lowered the topper and tightened it up using the clamps provided by the original installer. I don't particularly like these clamps because they come loose and I have to re-tighten them about every 6 months or so or the topper starts sliding around (as I found out after owning it about 6 months and using my truck off-road.)


Final Installation view. Gray topper on top and black top of bed on the bottom sandwiching the gasket. Since the plastic on the top of the bed is black the gasket is not really noticeable at all. And yes, I have a lot of pin-striping in my paint. Not worried about it.