What Have You Done To Your 3rd Gen Today?

What is in my tire?

 

A nail or piece of metal it looks like?

 

That is what I was thinking. Looks like it didn't go all the way through but I'll find out later when the garage cools down. I'll pull it out and test for leakage.

 

You do something like Sumo Springs in black, it'll stiffen up the ride but is a cost effective way to reduce squat.

 

If I may ask, what are these for?

 

Will love to see it come together! Are those the TRD pro blacked out taillights with Vleds? Sweet looking truck even with the airdam.

 

I replaced the stock grille with a V2 TRD Pro-Grille on my 2018 SR5 this weekend. Next on the list is changing the raptor lights to green. I have Husky floor mats on the way.

 

did some work on the battery compartment for the back wall of the taco. Added a photo of what it'll look like in the space it's going in. It'll be covered in HDPE panels so the internals won't be viewable.

 

Made some blanking plates out of 1/8" aluminum to cover the light holes in the rear bumper.

Next up I am going to make a custom drop hitch that will mount from the backside of the bumper. That way I can mount my bike rack swingout tight and under the bumper.
I decided to do it that way for a few reasons; it keeps the bike rack closer to the truck, I won't have to remote mount my license plate, and it will provide skid protection for my spare tire since it will hang about the same amount down.
It may not make sense but once I get it welded up you will see what I'm talking about.

 

The fall/hunting wheels and tires went on today. We are going to be travelling in August (not in this truck) and I figured it was as good a time as any. Hunting season starts in September, and it's easier to swap wheels on a nice breezy day than in rain.

Toyo MT 255/85R16 on Toyota "beadlock" wheels with blacked-out rings. Definitely noticed the increased noise over the 265/75R16 KO2 when I went for a short drive before the first torquing. Feels more "trucky" when turning or accelerating.

That's the office 4th gen on the lawn....not as enthused about it compared to mine. Took it in the woods yesterday, and every alarm was sounding...going to read the manual before trying that again....there must be a way to let it know it's OK to whack a few shrubs.

 

what lift am I looking at? truck looks amazing! sorry to hear about the troubles with the 4th gen, have you noticed any more pep with the turbo over a standard 3rd gen?

 

Toyota TRD lift installed prior to delivery. The classic "shocker" (two in the front, one in the back) lift.

Comparing an automatic with a turbo, versus a 3.5L and manual I am accustomed to, isn't probably fair.
It seemed fine in the trails as long as the revs stayed up.....no different that the 3G. I suspect that low speed crawling is where the hybrid might be nice.

 

I finally finished up a few days’ worth of electrical upgrades:


Auxbeam installed. This used the relay/Auxbeam mount from @switch. I put a Victron 65A low voltage disconnect underneath (as the mount is designed to accommodate), and the Auxbeam and both new fuse blocks are run off of it.


I printed this panel, and soon realized that I’m not very good with post-production sanding and smoothing. I’ll probably print a version of this that is split into two pieces so both faces will print on the bed and have decent-looking texture.


This part took some serious time. I installed the scanner a while back, but had to remove all sorts of interior trim to run a small GPS antenna up to the space between the AC duct and the dash (above the radio/nav unit). I also relocated the REDARC brake controller to what used to be the BSM slot, moved the BSM to the end, and kicked the Qi out of the mix since I pulled the charger out of the cubby to make room for the scanner.

Because I have the charger hard-wired to the truck, I moved power for the scanner downstream from the always-on voltage cut-off. There’s a USB-powered WiFi dongle that pairs the scanner to my house network as soon as it’s in the garage. This lets me listen to and control the scanner from inside the house. This was a great project for learning about assembling Dupont connectors, WiFi networking, raspberry pi/LINUX, Sonos integration, CAD modeling, and 3D printing (a small case for the GPS module).


I ran all of the wiring for this fuse box and got it working. As mentioned, it’s powered through the low voltage cut-off. It’ll be handy for things in the cab that need power, like the scanner, and future goodies.


I got this in behind the driver-side taillight. Again, a @switch product. I’ll have to see if I put it a smidge too high, because that second bolt from the top gets in the way of the lid for the fuse panel enclosure. I just pulled that bolt for now. This box will be used for 12V items in the bed (camper shell lighting, USB outlets, etc.).

Stoked to have all this stuff done!

 

Took the next step in deleting the chrome, added topo badge covers and swapped the mirror indicators out with black. Replaced the intake tube. Next up tires.

 

Whats the story on the intake tube?

 

More direct airflow to the engine, and I like the way it sounds when getting on the highway, makes me smile.

 

Looks like it just went through the tread sideways, but don't pull it out and then check for leaks, spray it 1st then slowly move it and watch for leaks, that way you can push it back in case it does start to leak...

 

Well ladies and gentlemen, after a 3 year hiatus, I'm back into a Tacoma. I enjoyed my time in my 4Runner. But I missed being in a truck. But this time around, I got me a 2019 Calvary Blue. Bough off Carvana. Got a helluva trade in value for my 4R. Glad to be back.

 

WITNESS ME!!!

Had this on my Tundra a few years back, a member on Tundras.com made this for me, kept it, missing a tooth, I wanna get another shifter to see if I can pull the clip out to clip back onto shift collar

 

Gave her a good wax job