Box Rocket - 2003 TRD Doublecab

Sweet lookin' site there Adam!

 

Damn I love your truck, best looking 1st Gen on the site......if I won the lottery I would build one just like it!!

Keep on keeping on.

*I grew up in St. George, do you ever make it down that way?

 

Thanks. We get down to St George maybe once a year. Great place!

 

When you are ready for the winch check out the Warn wireless remotes I have one for my M8000 and LOVE it. It has come in handy when I need to let out more cable or take in slack and I'm well out or range of a wired controller.

I got mine for free at 4Wheel Parts on a Warn promotion when I bought my winch.

 

Adam-

What kind of pulley system do you have in your garage rafters to hoist your topper?

Can you accomplish the hoisting by yourself?

My garage is puny but I can, if I fold the mirrors in, pull my truck in. I want to rig something similar up.

 

Oh man, I'm as low tech as it comes with that. I'm using 4 ratchet straps and 4 of those screw in bike hooks. I screwed the hooks into the ceiling joists and then I'm using two straps at the front of the top and two at the back. I can ratchet one of the front straps up beyond where the other goes slack. Then do the same with one of the back straps. Then go back to the front and ratchet the slack one up until the other goes slack again and just repeat that until its up as high as I want it. It's kind of a pain but it's not that bad. I can get it up there in less that 10 min.

Taking it down is just a reverse. Loosen one of the straps a bit, then release the tight one and the top drops down and tightens against the one that was slack. Repeat that a few times until its back on the truck.

There are definitely more elegant ways to do it, but this one works for now. One day I'll have a small electric winch and some pulleys.

you can see the straps in this pic.

 

Yeah the main difference is that I don't have roof rails. So I'd have to get the straps under the bottom of the topper and hoist that way.

But I honestly think the rafters are too low in my garage because even if the topper is snugged up as high as it goes, it'll still be impossible to walk around.

 

BoxRocket,

Did you use the 10mm trim packer on both sides or just on the driver's to account for taco lean?

 

Both sides.

 

Hey Adam just wanted to say great build gotta love the gold taco's! I had a question about your OME lift. Im lookin at tryin to get about 3" of lift on my 99 extra cab tacoma. Would I be better off with the 882 coils or the 883's? Im not running an aftermarket bumper but may get one in the future. What would you suggest?

 

882's will get you closer to 3" of lift. You'll want to keep an eye on your CV's since your truck isn't as heavy as mine. I'm also using 10mm trim packers that you shouldn't need. You'll be in good shape with the 882 and a bumper if you add one later.

 

Great thanks for the help! Im hopin to get everything ordered up by the end of the month.

 

Beautiful truck Adam!

 

Just read through your entire build up and gotta say your truck is sweet!! I'll be looking at getting the same suspension set up as you in the near future hopefully so I can start doing some more offroading. Thank you for all the info and time you have put up documenting your build on here as it is very helpful!

 

Adam-

Regarding your bed rack.

I think I'm going to make myself one, eventually... it'll be my first welding project.

In terms of securing it to the bed, what if I ran some plate along the top side of the bed rails (which the feet of the posts would weld on to) and just used my topper clamps to hold it in place.

Do you think that would be secure enough? I would never be carrying a huge tent on the bed rack, just maybe a yakima cargo basket with some extra gear/supplies in it.

 

I'm sure that would work, depending on what your carrying.

 

I envision a jerry can of gasoline and a couple bags of gear.

The goal of the bed rack would to just give me a small extra platform to put gear in and maybe attach my shovel to.

I realize I'm wheeling with a topper (all that weight) for no reason really. My topper is about as waterproof as a strainer and it just makes it harder to get stuff in and out of the bed.

 

Here's some pics of my seat project. It started out as just a project to add a pair of seats to the bed so that I can take my whole family in the truck. (wife and 4 kids didn't fit). My two older boys (age 11 and 10) were stoked about the idea of seats in the bed and that opened up the back seat for my 3 year old twins.

Anyway I look through a local salvage yard for some acceptable seats and found these front buckets from a Suzuki Reno. The seats were in good shape and looked pretty comfortable. When i got them home and sat in them a little I realized they were much better than the crappy stock Tacoma seats. So out came the measuring tape and sure enough the slides were the same width. So I cut off the feet from both seats of front seats and welded the Toyota ones back onto the Suzuki seats and bolted them in. Truly a pretty simple swap assuming you have a welder or someone to weld the feet on in the right locations.

As for the back I built a simple frame from 1.5" .120 wall square tubing and welded the Toyota seat tracks to the frame. Added some lap belts and bolted it into the bed with some reinforcing plates under the bed. I still need to paint the frame but I needed the seats useable so they'll have to get painted later. They way they are bolted down I can turn the whole thing around and have them forward facing too if I want. I'm planning to build a rollcage in the bed for safety and a place for a bikini top if I take the Snugtop off.

took my wife and twins for a spin this morning after I finished it up and even she was suprised how comfortable it was and although it's slightly more noisy than in the cab the noise isn't bad at all. And if I open the rear sliding cab window and the sliding window on the topper you get pretty good air flow back there, especially with the Snugtop vent windows open too. So all in all it wroked out well so far. Time will tell but now I don't have to leave someone home if I want to take the truck camping or wheeling anymore.

Suzuki seats (crappy cell phone pics)




stock buckets in the bed. Don't pay attention to the crappy seat covers.

 

I figured the only way to add 2 more seat spaces was in the bed! Awesome modification! With the front suzuki seats looks like you get a lot more adjustment and remove the issue with that stupid plastic piece cracking

 

Yep