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

Insulated my softopper finally. 24in x 25ft roll from Lowe's for $30, we'll see the temp difference this winter camping season.

 

the roof of my cab is looking pretty bad. Is this an issue with certain model years? Mine is 08. What is everyone doing to fix the paint disappearing? I also have a very slight (sometimes) leak in the windshield seal behind the rear view mirror. Only seen it a couple times, but wondering if I’m getting rust issues or just a bad seal.
I’m thinking of checking with Maaco but don’t have a lot of extra funds.
I guess this is why I’ve seen some tacos with random colored roofs.

 

The roof tends to get allot of sun and not as much attention plus at this point there's a good chance the paint has aged out if it's not kept in covered area. Yours is like thousands of other toyotas inc mine which gets parked in the desert sun all day every day, the tops of the fender flares and hood will be next. You probably know, keep the rest waxed if it looks decent now and that will slow the process on the rest of the truck. I'll probably go to Maaco also, the other guys wanted $8K and the truck isn't worth that kind of investment.

 

Took the time to learn how to change my serpentine belt. Was actually pretty easy compared to other projects. Im right at 94k miles and the original belt looked pretty good actually. Had only one small crack in the ribs and still had a lot of meat on it. Will keep it as a backup. Checked all the pulleys while at it…. No issues.

I used this video and it made it easy
https://youtu.be/ZKq3FBsvFsI?si=BjxRasYeSwbmiWbZ

 

Changing the serpentine belt is stupid easy on our trucks thankfully. I replaced my A/C clutch (and swapped the serpentine belt at the same time) and was surprised how easy it was. Accessory belts are usually pretty easy, but ours is almost too easy hah.

 

Finally broke her in...!

 

Please report your results when you get the chance to test this. I was under the impression that reflectix works best on windows but I’m curious how much this helps. Do you have any other insulation in the bed?

 

Picked up my SCS wheels from powder coating today. The guy did a great job, blasted and powder coated for $100 a wheel. The black finish was starting to peel and expose the bare metal and I don't think it had another winter left in them. I've had the wheels for about 10 years now i think, I'm digging this color over the gloss black. Can't wait to get the tires mounted back on and get them back on the truck.

 

If you zoom in on these you can kind of see how the hood and roof were and you're right I do see a lot of tacos
looking like mine used to.

 

Let us know how this works out!

 

@dntnosht
Did they paint the whole truck?
If so, what did they charge you?
My truck is Silver Streak Mica and am having bad clear coat issues.
I’m thinking about going this route. They told me over the phone that they do a 1 Stage & 2 Stage paint job.

:EDIT: I looked back a couple pages in the thread. 3k

 

Wow, that paint job completely changed the look of your truck comparing it to those photos. Well worth the money!

 

Thanks I am really happy with it.

 

Exactly this. I had my truck recleared at my friend’s shop before it got worse. If you can do Maaco I’d go that route for a repaint. Since it’s paid for, I figure I should try to keep my truck until I’m done or pass it down to one of my girls. So keeping the truck in great shape both mechanically inside and outside is worth the cost unless something drastic happens.

 

Yeah I was twice quoted 10k and 1 month to do it. Not worth it on a 15 year old truck

 

Just had my roof and hood done by Maaco for $700. They spray the paint code, vs custom mixing to match the faded other parts, so it's not a perfect match to the rest of the panels, but 1000 times better than what it was.

 

10 k is nuts…lol
If the paint is still good a good reclear can be done on the truck. Or get the hood and roof wrapped.

 

mine has been garaged since I bought it in 2016 (when I’m home, obviously). I’ve never understood how a lot of people put all their junk in the garage (if they have one) and leave one of their biggest investments to the elements and would-be thieves. I also don’t get people who build a house in a state that gets all 4 seasons including snow and ice and hot summers and they don’t put a garage on it!!! That’s absurd to me. But I digress.
But yeah the roof does get ignored and when it snows when I’m at work I use a broom to sweep the snow off so it doesn’t end up being a lake in the garage. I’m sure Ive done my share of damage that way.
I’ll check into the Maaco option. Probably the sooner the better.

 

Started it, sky was beautiful this morning..

 

I had bad paint and clear coat damage on both hood and roof. I sanded it, painted it and put a clear coat on myself. Cost me about $150. Not as good has a professional job but I beat on my truck and scratch it often so spending a lot of money on a paint job I'm going to ruin didn't seem like money well spent. The roof was almost starting to rust.