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

So far, not with my aftermarket radio. Not sure how it would work with stock.

 

It's very easy to get into a locked Tacoma if you have the proper tools. AAA has done it a few times. This time, I was five miles from the nearest paved road, keys and tools locked in the cab with the engine running.

Like we say in the surfing business, sometimes you just eat s***. Took the cheapest way out.

 

Random question…maybe I can get a clear answer here. After getting the winch installed on the truck. It brought down the front end a bit more. The rear is way higher. Currently running @ARCHIVE heavy duty leaf pack in the rear which is now overkill. Wondering is their medium would be best and bring down the rear or possibly the new leaf pack their releasing soon. Or would raising the front be best? Appreciate the help.

 

Raise the front first, it looks stock height.
The rear swingout, topper and steps or sliders probably are near 500lbs on rear axle, so I bet ride isn't bad, especially with the Hammer Hangers.
You could go down to MDs if you don't load it up much or tow on the heavy side.

 

The rear rides great. Thanks for the input. Will place an order for MD and raise the front to match the rear once I install the MD.

 

I would think you would need to sort out the front first.
Determine what height you want the front at.
And have the appropriate HD spring or whatever is needed, to match having a metal bumper and winch. In terms of height and not being overly compressed.

For example, when I put an ARB bumper onto my 6112 front (non HD spring), it lowered it and overly compressed the spring, worsening ride quality.
This was fixed and addressed by swapping in the appropriate HD spring set.

That had to be done regardless.
So if anything, that should probably be done first. Re-evaluate. Then determine if rear needs to be changed.

Rear is probably harder to change.
I swapped my front springs on the floor in a gas station parking lot.

Also, from what I've seen, fender cuts play a visual trick.
For example. From factory, the rear fender arch wheel well is probably cut higher, giving the appearance of rake, even if the underbody of the truck is level.

This may also have to do with travel. Solid axle (rear) generally has more flex than IFS. Therefore Toyota probably designed the cut higher to accomodate that flex. Making it give the look of rake even if it is level.

Pretty much, make sure the front has an HD spring if needed (idk how your particular struts work) and set to your desired height, first, to then base everything else off that.

 

This is true! I'm not sure what material geartech makes their's out of but Ark makes theirs with a rubber and another out of a poly blend.

 

thanks for that. I haven’t seen a set of flares getting painted. Once I mount them, I’ll adjust the front and determine if new springs are what I need or do

 

Added a snail armor tailgate insert to save my knees!



Took me less than 20 min to install. Hardest part was finding my torx bit.

 

Brought the truck into work yesterday. Mostly electrical work.

Front camera, done.
Compressor, done.
Add-a-fuse, done.
Main harness and antenna for remote start, done.
Mic for hands free/phone, done.
Antenna cable ran for GMRS, done.

Let's see if I can get out there tomorrow. Maybe between periods of rain? I have Tuesday off so I can get something else done.

Next on the list is reinstalling the ditch lights and running the wires, maybe start wiring the remote start (smaller wires).
I could also probably start on wiring the fog lights, or the new door speaker wires.

 

I've been looking at doing this also. I totally hate putting my knees on the factory ribbed cover. Does it feel any more ridged withe the aluminum cover?

 

I just installed one last week and can agree with op, they are very nice. Definitely feels more rigid. I read a few reviews about the panel adding more weight, but it is very minimal. The stock panel is surprisingly heavy for what it is.

 

Someone much more knowledgeable than me once told me that springs are about weight and shocks are about ride quality. And, the two should always be considered to be intertwined, as in, "you can't have one, without the other".

 

Thanks for the reply. I will be ordering one today.

 

iDatalink Maestro makes some stuff

 

I installed new carpet from Auto Custom Carpets (ACC) in my Access Cab.

I bought the thicker "Essex" carpet with the "Mass" rubber backing from Rock Auto. I ordered carpet in Gray (code 1066A), but to me it seems to have a little brown hue to it. The total for the carpet, shipping and tax was $310. The grommets for the floor mats are NOT included nor installed, so that will be a project for another time.

The box with the carpet weighed 46lbs. For grins I weighed the box with the old carpet in it, and it was 15lbs.

I've never installed carpet before. Total time for me (alone) to install it was ~10 hours.

 

After back to back 70+ hr work weeks and spending too much weekend time in the sun prioritizing other hobbies, I have had time to revisit things.

Assemblies are in and working fine but had to get another one of the plastic parts that allows the handles/locks component (rather than the cords to the electric lock itself) to work well with the actuators.

Vinyl is done and came out pretty good (doesn’t look as light as it does in the pictures). Lessons learned from that are use a smaller drill bit than the one thread recommends (3/8 is overkill; do 1/4 max). Also, grommets/washer things help if you’ve over drilled and can’t find screws with very wide heads on them). Else, get a couple longer ones if you break the plastic bit off too low from where it should screw.

Cheers to having working doors and not having people look at you like you’re a crackhead when in the Chic-Fil-A drive through. Door locks via the fob work significantly better now too.

 

Receipts to come, chopped up the bed drawers for the water tank and second battery storage. Also mounted a harbor freight bed ladder (sue me, I’m lazy)

 

installed this:

 

Installed ditch lights. Still have to terminate the wires and connect them to the Auxbeam.
Also need to find the Allen wrenches that came with them. I just had them the other day.