Lowmower's Build & Trip Thread

Decided it was finally time to start my own thread, this will be largely follow-up posts, I'll try to update this main section from time to time though.

When I bought my Tacoma I wasn't actually specifically in the market for one, but rust had killed my previous car and I was in a pinch, so when this 2011 SR5 in Pyrite Mica popped up in the dealership I worked at I jumped on it.

I bought it with 168,846 miles. According to the CarFax, the previous owner had taken pretty good care of it. The frame had almost no rust, and it ran and drove great. PO installed an MBRP catback, trailer brakes, and had a topper installed from the day they bought it (it came with the dealership reciept!)

Since then, I've Installed: New headlights, Ditch Lights, Radio, Wheels & Tires.

Future plans are to upgrade the sound system, install insulation/sound deadening, and build a bed in the shell.

The day I got it:




How it sits now:

 

First thing I did was install ditch lights. I had the Nilight pod kit laying around from my old CR-V, so I ordered an Amazon Special mount and threw them on during my lunch break. Spent about an hour cleaning up the wiring later in the year. I really like the look, and here in the UP it's nice to be able to see what's going on on the side of the road as I'm driving.

I also installed new headlights, the old ones were faded and melted, so I went for some cheap eBay lights. So far they've been great, I think I'll get some chrome ones next time though.

 

Next up were the wheels and tires. Originally, I planned to buy a set of tires for the stock wheels, but I found a set of 17" American Racing wheels with tires for $200 locally. Tires are 245/65/17 Firestone Destination ATs. I really like the look of the wheels, but I want to invest in some bigger tires soon.

I also replaced the fog lights and put some yellow Vivid Vinyl tint on them. I have some cheap LED bulbs in them right now but eventually I want to swap them out for some light pods.

 

Next I installed a Dual folding radio. It's cool, but I plan on swapping it out for something more functional during this year. It does play DVD's which is pretty neat.

Installing:



Installed:

 

Now that I'm all caught up I can get to today!

PO shattered the front window of the topper before I bought it and replaced it with a piece of translucent plexiglass, so I haven't been able to see out of the back of my truck since I got it.


Today I bought a sheet of clear acrylic and taped it in. Nothing too crazy but it's sealed and it'll hold. Better than what was there before by a long shot.

 

Haha. My topper has not come off the truck in 13 years. I bet that glass is closer to the opaque that you originally had than your new clear

 

When I first got the truck that was the case, there was so much moss and crud between the topper and cab I couldn't see anything out of any windows

 

That’s a beautiful truck! Love how clean it is, not a bunch of crazy stuff bolted on the outside. My kind of build

 

Thank you!

 

Silver streak mica is a great color but pyrite mica is maybe the best that came on these. The timberland mica was nice too. Mica paint ftmfw

 

Spruce Mica has to be my favorite on all of these but I do love how the Pyrite shines in the sun. Only thing I hate it how dull it looks when it gets dirty, I have to stay on top of mine in the winter.

 

De-Chroming (slowly)

Finally got around to pulling off the awful chrome eBay door handle covers. Really subtle change but I think it makes a huge difference in the side look of my truck.

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Big improvement.

 

Tiny Tacoma

Made myself a little mini-me Tacoma. Painted using an OEM Pyrite Mica touch up paint pen. Wheels came off a Premium Lexus GX.


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Speaker Upgrade (Part 1)
3-17-25

Ever since my first car, I dreamed about upgrading the audio system. For whatever reason, I always put it off. I upgraded the headunit and added some subwoofers nut I never got around to actually upgrading the door speakers. Now, I finally got over that and installed a pair of 2-way Kicker CSC67 6.5" speakers. Crutchfield had the speakers, with wire harnesses and adapter plates, so it was basically plug-and-play. They sound way better. The clarity is leagues above stock, and you can really see the difference between the two speakers here.



While they sound great, I plan on insulating them better because they sound like they have more to give. (See post #23 where I got around to this!) Overall, a worthwhile upgrade.

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12" Subwoofer Install
3-19-25

Finally was able to throw my 12" MTX subwoofer in my truck. It fit nicely behind my drivers seat and is installed so that it can be removed easily if I need to carry 4 people. It's definitely overkill, but I had it lying around from my old CR-V and decided to use it rather than buying something I didn't really need.

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On my old CR-V, I threw the subwoofer and wiring in quickly and didn't really care about making it neat. I wanted to make sure the Tacoma was the opposite, so all of my wires are ran as inconspicuously as possible, and are fully heat shrunk and sealed.


The Dual DVD player head unit I have doesn't have RCA outputs, so I spliced in an RCA adapter, which will be removed whenever I get around to swapping headunits (if I ever even do).



From there, I ran an RCA cable to a gain knob to be able to control the volume of my subwoofer. I decided to use the little cubby on the left side of the steering wheel because I have no other use for it. It's super well concealed and I love the hidden aspect of it.



Then another RCA cable runs from the knob to the amp placed under my drivers seat. My power wire runs from the battery, through the main grommet and under the door trim, where it then goes under the carpet for a couple inches then pops out just under the seat. I used the back seat bolt for my ground, and concealed the wire under the trim piece.




Overall, I'm super happy with the install. It doesn't take up too much space and it is way louder than I'll ever need.​

 

New Tires!
3-26-25

I wasn't actually planning on getting new tires this early, as the 245s on the American Racing wheels still had great tread and when I bought them were in overall good shape. Well, when I did a tire rotation earlier in the week I noticed some cracking around the treads, so I decided to keep an eye out for good deals.
I checked Discount Tire, since my dealership does some work with them, and they had a set of Nitto Terra Grapplers in 265/70/17 for about $150/tire. I couldn't pass that up! I think they look fantastic on the truck and having name brand tires for that price is well worth it in my opinion.

2ish month review: They handle snow alright, but rain and wet roads have no issues at all. They're a little loud and I'm sure there are better tires now, but for the price I think they're fantastic.


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Floor Mats!
4-8-25

Ordered a set of Husky X-Act Contours for my Tacoma last week. I had a set of Weathertechs in my old CR-V and I always hated how slippery they were when wet. I received them today and they were missing the carpet screws that hold them in place, so I messaged the seller on Amazon to have a set shipped to me. They responded really quickly and instead opted to give me a full refund, so I now have a set of floor mats for a grand total of $0!




I may or may not have forgot to take a picture before I got the drivers side dirty…​

 

That's some serious woof

 

Transmission Service Day!

Finally took the time to do a proper transmission service. When I bought the truck it was low on trans fluid and had a small leak from the cooler lines. I had it topped off by the dealer I bought it from and started planning my project. I ordered all of the cooler lines straight from Toyota, and bought 1 gallon of Valvoline Maxlife ATF and the WIX 58136 transmission filter kit from O'Reilly Auto.



I started with removing the old hoses from the front of the truck under the radiator. The dealer I bought the truck from replaced that small metal section up front before I bought it to try and fix the leak.



Then I undid the clamps and cut the old lines about 1" from the fittings.





I used a torch to heat the fittings, as well as spraying them with penetrating oil the night before.



Using a 17mm (and 18mm) deep socket, I was able to break both fittings loose really easily.



When replacing the lines, don't do what I did. Make sure you have the right lines in the right places. It's much easier if you don't tighten the fittings down until AFTER you put the hoses in the clamps. After a couple tries and adjustments I was able to get the first clamp tightened down fully, and I had to zip tie the second because of time constraints. I'll get to it if I have to but it seemed very sturdy even with one clamp.



After that, I pulled the trans pan and replaced the filter. Everything was fortunately super clean, which makes me feel much better about the overall health of my truck at 170k.





I installed the new trans filter, gasket, and cleaned and reinstalled the pan. Next, I filled up with one gallon of Valvoline Maxlife ATF. I thought this would be more than enough but with draining the cooler lines I had to add 2 quarts of Toyota WS.



Overall, a super easy job. Took about 5 hours from start to finish. Having access to a lift made it way easier, but I imagine it's not too tough to do under the truck at all. If you're on the fence about doing this yourself or paying someone else, it's definitely an easy enough job to tackle yourself as long as you have the right tools. Also, don't be like me and put it off for months
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