What Have You Done To Your 2nd Gen Tacoma Today?

Finally able to get the swingout arm on and the matching spare mounted. Great craftsmanship @RelentlessFab and awesome product!

 

I've been working on an in-expensive fridge setup that I think will play well with the Tacoma's 110v power, it's nothing new. I did allot of reading on here re: aux battery and that option is really more then I want add to the truck for as much as I'd use the capability plus it's gets expensive to do it right and I can't stand half a** electrical work, other then the fridge I really don't need a power upgrade to the truck. One of the alternatives, cycling the starting battery each night isn't appealing, I'd want to seriously upgrade the battery and it would have been quite a bit more then I ended up spending plus it's tied in to the truck. Working in electronics/electrical systems most of my life including UPSs of all sizes I decided to go that route. When the truck is running there's plenty of power available, plenty to run it on max and charge a UPS/powerpack. It has the added advantage of being able to use it in other circumstances like outages etc and it's not tied to the truck to work.

I pretty much scoured Amazon reviews and did a few calculations and came up with this setup.

500W LiFe power pack.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B9GXZL3G?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

30QT Fridge

F40C4TMP 12 Volt Refrigerator, 30 Quart(28L) Portable Freezer, 12V Car Fridge(-8℉~50℉), Compressor Cooler for Camping, Road Trip, Travel, Van, Truck, RV, Boat, Outdoor, Home, 12/24V DC & 100~240V AC

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B1J2RK19?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1


Insulated Cover

$20 F40C4TMP Insulated Protective Cover for 30 Quart Portable Refrigerator 12 Volt Freezer Cover Transit Bag for 28L Portable Fridge

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BW3V5BCJ?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1

With coupons and some price breaks when I got them I'm all in for $460.

Obviously not an ARB and it doesn't have the gucci compressor but one of those plus the stuff to make everything work right and run long enough isn't in the budget and hard to justify for how much I need it. I've done some testing and the fridge draws 80w when set on max when the compressor kicks in, in eco it's 43W. With the insulated cover that's not very often. Testing back to back showed a 35% increase in power usage over time when not using the blanket and obviously the how much you open the door plays into that. I did my testing in the garage where it's in the 90s every afternoon and 70s at night so it wasn't the ideal power saving environment. It will run all night on max (6pm to 6am) using 40% of the 500W (DC) when set at 26F (actual measured temp is 6~8 degrees higher so about 32/33F) so 24 hrs isn't out of the question and in ECO it'd be less. I originally considered @ 300W power pack but running the numbers I felt like that'd leave too little overhead in the event I stayed in camp that day or was using it for other situations. The pack has a feature where it will accept a 200W solar panel directly so that's an option I'll probably take advantage of in the future for camping. The plan is to have this onboard with the 110 powering the power bank and it powering the fridge, it's also how I conducted the testing, passthrough. From 40% to full takes 4.5 hrs when used that way, 3.5~4hrs w/o running the fridge at the same time. If I need it faster I power both off 110 while driving the truck. The primary use will be in the truck during off road trips with overnight stops. Since it's all China stuff I opted to pay extra for the protection.

Anyway I thought I'd share this option and why I chose it.

 

Looks great! Thanks for tagging us!

 

Hey @SSX999,

These will work on your truck as long as you have factory fog lights. We do have them in stock new and ready to ship out as well, let me know if you like to get a new pair on order with a forum special.

https://www.bajadesigns.com/product...2012-2021-tacoma-2014-2021-tundra/?vid=146667

Thanks,
Bill

 

Very Nice! I’m envious

 

There is that 5th TX Series wheel......there are those of us who appreciate the effort

 

People underestimate the role good brakes play. I learned to drive in February in western canada....quickly appreciate stopping is much more important than accelerating

 

Made myself some new bedside decals

 

New hidden winch turned out great.

 

Went to change my oil today and noticed the filter didn't have any oil in it? Like absolutely zero. I was using a Wix filter (the special one for full synthetic) and she was DRY. The oil feed to the filter was also dry.... okay so I panicked. But the oil was clean, no metal flakes (thank god) and I turned the motor over without a filter and oil spurted out. Also, didn't notice anything strange with the engine/driving in the last oil change interval. Any thoughts?

 

how long was the engine off when you started the change?

the filter is upside down so it should drain when the engine is off. I had the same thing happen to me. Then my last oil change I changed it about 10 minutes after driving and the filter still had hot oil in it.

 

About two hours? I've changed the oil after a longer period and it still had oil in it

 

Thank you! The cross-country road trip was really intended to see and visit as many national parks, like Crater Lake and the Colombia River Gorge National Scenic Area in Oregon. Thankfully the purchase site was just along the way and made for a great story.

 

idk why it happens, but i've had the same thing happen to me.

i dont think its an issue

edit: could just be anti-drain back valve doing its job
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/is-your-oil-filter-full-of-oil.563006/#post-18456567

 

Yep, I was not intending to do the smoked version. I think there was a non-smoked but the descriptions weren't terribly clear I guess.

 

It definitely had me worried for a few seconds. But with out any oil stains on my garage, metal flakes in the oil, or anything weird happening I was certain nothing got damaged.

 

I has big brain time