What Have You Done To Your 3rd Gen Today?

I don’t know about prior drama, but everything went smoothly for me.

 

Yeah - I didn’t want to have a “POOF! Oh… that’s why…” moment.

 

Just did this in about 40 minutes all by my lonesome. First time under my taco, first time using a proper torque wrench. Nailed it, but what a pain in the ass. Next time I'm callin' a buddy to come help.

And yes I was nervous using these Hobo Freight ramps for the first time, so I threw every jack and stand I had under that thing. This truck is heavy!

 

I changed my alpha red headlights to have the DRL's be orange

 

I thought that image was from a Memorex commercial? Been many many years!

Edit - Found it. Maxell Tapes ad.

 

Was the bed stiffener install simple? Did you paint or treat the holes drilled into the sides?

 

I added a removable piece to my 22 Sport front panel, to allow oil filter changes without having to remove the full panel. It uses plastic push clips to hold it in place.

 

Got hit by a CRV .. I'd say he was going about 30? Maybe faster? There were no skid marks and we were on a 2 lane highway that leads to Atlantic City.

Here's the initial damage.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/baller-on-a-budget-under-30k-build.775717/#post-27728426

Here's my fix:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/baller-on-a-budget-under-30k-build.775717/page-2#post-27752710

My bumper and receiver both got tweaked downward quite a bit. My damage wasn't that bad, but it really sucked because my tailgate got dented. That's still not 100%and every time I look at the creased bumper cover it pisses me off. Tailgates and bumpers seem to never elude damage on pickup trucks.

I'm over it... it just means I don't clean it as much now

 

looks good......did you block the back wheels?

 

One ... aluminium is not as heavy as steel (RCI), so stop being a wuss!

Two ... buy some of those hard knee protectors used for carpeting activity (Lowes, Home Depot) ... rest the skid plate on your knees and shimmy underneath.

 

Man, long time back, my friend chocked his wheels on a set of ramps. Tercel wagon, it was a 4wd, without 4w engaged it was just front.
He forgot to pull the chock, and just gunned it when he couldn’t get off the ramp. The ramp shot out, hit the dirty oil pan, and we took off before his pops got home. So much oil raining in that barn.

 

Got the Front Runner Outfitters Cargo Slide - Medium ordered with the Labor Day sale deal on Monday, picked it up on Tuesday and test fitted it on Wednesday (although, I still need to bolt it in place). I should have ordered this bed slide earlier on soon after getting the DB cover. It’s probably the slickest and most low profile bed slide (edit: commercially made) to fit under the DB covers (edit: or other tonneau covers and bed caps/camper shells). For those mounting their bed racks / crossbars with gear (e.g. overlanding gear, kayak, bike racks…) on their DB cover such that none of the panels can be opened, this bed slide might be a good option for accessing their gear that are stuffed toward the front end of their bed.
Looks like the Medium sized cargo slide is a nearly perfect fit to the short bed Taco’s bed space. Pic above shows it clears the fuel containers hanging from the rail.
NOTE: Bed slide floor to the bottom surface/crossbeam of the DB cover is 16.5” or a little less than that.

The slide also appears to clear the Mountain Hatch tailgate panel. (Again, the bed slide isn’t bolted down yet. It might not clear after bolting down the bed slide frame.)

 

Yep - those big black rubber chocks also from Hobo Freight.

The jacks and stand were under the truck frame, not the skid. The truck is what I was calling heavy. Driving up onto the ramps w/o a spotter made me nervous enough, but I was maybe a little paranoid the ramps would fail given those ALSO came from Harbor Freight.

I propped the skid up with a cardboard box resting on a wheeled mechanic's sled. Actually worked a charm as I could make fine adjustments via the wheels while starting the bolts. Should've taken a picture...

 

That is a super nice setup..what is the clearance from the edge of the DB to the floor of the cargo slide? just wondering if a fridge could still fit back there without having to open the DB

 

Thank you!

I gotta measure that later on. However, from the bed floor to the bottom of the DB cover, I think it measured to about 19”. This bed slide looks to raise that floor about an inch and a half to about 2”. Best to get a lower profile fridge that’s about 16”-17” tall.

Also, the locking rods of the rear panel of the DB cover reduces that height. I got the DB cover in 2017. I think DiamondBack changed the design of their locking rods so that they tuck up a bit higher to avoid getting in the way of gear in the bed, such as portable refrigerators. Others have bent and reshaped their rods to get better clearance.

Edit: Bed slide floor to the bottom surface/crossbeam of the DB cover is 16.5” or a little less than that.

 

I bought it yesterday. So I mean.. TECHNICALLY I did something to my Tacoma 3rd gen.

Drove her home from a dealer an hour and a half away.. Other than how much it costs. I regret NOTHING.

I feel like I need a bug defector tho. Jesus.. the bugs.

 

We live in the North East where salt is liberally applied to road surfaces to mitigate icing. Yesterday, my wife brought our '22 to a garage that does undercoating with Wool Wax. I think last year we had Fluid Film applied, but I wasn't super thrilled with the application. Both products have their fans. It may come down to who is actually performing the application. Down South we didn't have to worry about rust... Up here, it's a different story altogether. YMMV.

 

Mavcoat is a pretty good product in my experience. It's a little pricey at $20 a can, but 3 cans cover everything... even the inner fenders

 

The gradual brightness/dimming on those: is that a function of the LED strip?