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

This truck is downright sexy. Climbed a hill this morning at my buddy's farm. Took a few pics but need to load them. Also found a tranny to swap in.. need to pick it up in the morning anyone free to help?

 

Viair 300p. Dam spell check



Phase 1 : just install the compressor
Phase 2 : add a tank , check valve, pressure switch, outlet. Future

Mechanical:
No room under the hood to mount the compressor, (2013. 4x4), so I looked for another location. The rear cubbies are to the millimetre the perfect size for the mounting feet. The 300p comes as a portable kit with a plate attached via rubber 'feet'... Just pulled it off

The cubbie door will not fit after. The compressor head interferes. I was going to use a hole saw, but the catch is in the way. I used some brake adjuster plugs to fill the cover hinge holes. They are too small actually, so need to find an alternative to keep dust out. If I'd thought of it at the time I'd wrap a few turns of electrical tape around the outside to cover the holes.

Removed the right cubbie to make it easier to access the back side for nuts. Torx T30 screws holding the cubbie in. Don't over tighten when reinstalling its just fibreglass and you may crack the cubbie or spinout the nut-certs.
Installed the compressor and left enough room to get my hand in to unscrew the filter cover on one end ... And enough room to connect the hose coupler on the other. Marked the most accessible screw hole and drilled it with a 1/4" bit.
Flipped the cubbie over and used the mounting plate to mark up the other 3 holes, then drilled. Using #12 SS bolts, so I needed a bit of play in the holes to make it easier to get the screws in due to alignment errors.

Mounted the screws and washers in the mounting feet first, and lowered the assembly in carefully so the screws fell into the holes. Washers and nylocks on the back. I had Phillips screws on hand but it was a real bitch trying to access the screw heads. I bent a long shaft driver and it worked great. However I wasted half an hour trying lots of tricks to hold the screws while I tightened the nuts. Hex head screws may work better if you have a miniature open end wrench. They may be too tall as well, as the bolts holding the mounting feet to the unit are close to the holes. Screws are tapered down near the edges.

Drilled a 5/8" hole for the grommet in the end in line with the power cord.
Chopped the aligator clips off and fed the cord through. Added split loom to wire approx 2' The units inline fuse is accessible inside the cubbie.

Check which side of the lamp cord attached to the compressor is +ve. On mine, the ribbed conductor is +.
Lamp cord has 1 wire smooth and the other ribbed .... Or a colored tracer. It's is to identify the neutral conductor in 120v installations. They used lamp cord for the units power feed.

Reinstalled the cubbie.

Electrical:

Prepped the wire by adding loom to it before installation.

Next part is to find a path from the relay ( not provided) to the compressor.
I went down the left frame rail. Above it actually, and tie wrapped it to the existing wire harness running there. I crossed over about where the exhaust humps over the axle. Of course if you mount this in the left cubbie you're just about there. If you choose the right side, I was able to tuck it behind some control box above the axle, and drilled a 1/4" hole in one of the box webs for a tie wrap to ensure the wire/ loom never sags close to the exhaust.
I used an existing hole in the crossmember at the end of the frame for a ground connection (smooth wire). Sanded to bare metal both sides. Butt spliced and heat shrinked the +ve. Added loom. Tie wrapped everything to keep it all neat.

Getting to the engine bay for the relay, along either rail, you are touching the heat shield for the cats. (V6 engine). Found a grommet where the wire harness enters the cab near the front left corner of the drivers seat. Pic in previous post showing it from under the truck.
Small incision and pulled the wire/ loom up. Leave a drip loop as shown in the pic.
Lift the door threshhold trim straight up starting at he back and working forward. Pull up the dead pedal. Remove the plastic 'bolt' securing the kick panel. Screw it off or just pull. Pull straight back on the kick panel. Two clips on the left edge near the rubber is what you are pulling it back out of. Fed the loom under the white plastic retainers towards the kick plate area.

Went into the engine bay and made a small incision in the large grommet for the main wire harness. Used a coat hangar (unwound) as a fish tape. Pushed it in from the engine bay. Taped the wire to it and pulled it through.
Tie wrapped the loom to existing wiring harness in the kick plate area to keep it from coming loose and jamming up in the parking brake pedal.
Reinstall kick plate, plastic bolt, dead pedal and threshold

Then wire up to relay. Lots of posts for relay wiring.

Compressor is rated at 30a, so I bought a #10 gauge wire. Unit has a 40a fuse to allow for inrush spike on startup. It would be more appropriate to use a #8, however the wire price doubled. It wont be running continuous like lighting or Or a sound system, so i kept to the #10. I'll be fusing it in the engine bay as well, as there is the slim chance it could be damaged or shorted to the frame before the fuse in the cubbie. I used 24 feet of wire .. So buy. 25. Also used 20 feet of 1/4" loom. I used 3/8" loom for the oem compressor wire.
If you mount in the left cubbie, you will use 3' less of each.

I'm using a relay since I want to control it inside the cab once I have a tank. The unit has its own switch. So you could just come off the battery with a maxi 40a inline fuse and operate it from the compressor.

 

Switch is for an electric rad fan conversion. Haven't started that project yet.

 

Installed my softopper. Like it

 

tax tag and title.

bought it today!

 

Absolutely love it.

Just purchased my own 300P for the install. I have been looking a a good conceeled way to have air onboard. Thanks!

 

took a pic and made it my new sig!

 

New shows, and a bath.

 

the seats are really confortable a thousand times better than than the stock bench seat

 

very nice. i think thats the next thing i’m going to buy for the truck.

where did you get it from?

 

Bought Right from softopper. Not a big price difference, I heard the have great customer service.

 

Prepin for emblem install on my homertaco grill

 

Kinda like this?

 

Blacked out stock skid plate, side mirror turn signals and emblem.

 

Ohhhhh yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah (Kool aid man style)

 

I'm glad I used that center nub along with some rubber gaskets and a screw to attach it because even though I measured it's tough to get it centered. I had it perfectly centered via measurements but then stood back and looked and it 'looked' crooked. I had to move it down and to the right a few times and if you look at that picture it still looks high and right even though it's already low and left of center to visually line up. It's going to be hard to do that with that 3M tape because it's not as forgiving as a small screw. Just a pro-tip from a guy who recently did something similar. Good luck!

 

I'm thinking this or bestop

 

I counted holes to get the vertical position.

Horizontally it was touchy with the "T" and "A" having the whole "\ \" thing.

 

Just got done with my custom grill wil take pics tomorrow