The Grey Goose U.P. Michigan build

I see most people's builds on here are themed to the Overland/Adventure camping side of the spectrum. That is not the route I plan to take thoughbeit I will be using that model of build for inspiration to things I plan to do to my truck. I use my truck primarily as a daily driver and put over 30,000 miles on in the first year I owned it. I am a hound hunter and if any of you know one, or are houndsmen yourself, you understand that our hunting trucks need to be rather utilitarian. I hunt mostly by myself and i'm typically hunting on Nat'l, state, and commercial forest lands here in the upper peninsula of Michigan and Northern Wisconsin. The trails can range from regularly graded gravel roads to unmaintained and very rugged side trails with fallen trees, wash outs, large rocks, and mud holes that run a high risk of becoming stuck leaving me stranded miles away from civilization. So I plan for this build to be a high function self recovery hunting scheme.
So that being said, I purchased my truck from Rhinelander Toyota (Rhinelander, WI) on February 10th 2016 and it is a TRD OR DCSB MGM with 6 speed standard trans. I only had to wait 1 week as my dealer found the truck that met most of my requirements, most importantly the manual trans and NOT white in color. I traded in my 2006 Shitty Colorado with 175K miles and more rust than whole metal and I haven't lost a single night's sleep trading that heap in.... ZERO remorse buying this truck new.



How it sits currently as of 8/25/17






Things done:

Interior:
-LED interior lighting and plate lights
-MAG light mount to driver side seat
-OEM rubber floor mats
-GoPro hero4
-Covercraft Carhartt camo front seat covers
-Hondo Garage Un-Holey Dash Mount X2
-Hondo Garage AR15 radio knobs
-TRD shift Knob
-Husky Liner floor mats
-Center council organizers/organization shelf

Exterior/Appearance :
-Grillcraft aftermarket grill
-Debadged/decals removed
-AVS Low Profile in channel vent visors
-Redline Tuning hood struts
-SCS F5 rims 16”x8.5” offset -25mm

Performance:
-Fumoto F-103 style oil drain valve
-General Grabber AT2 Tires 265/75R16

Protection:
-ARB Summit front bumper
-AVID side step rocker guards
-RokBlokz XL rally mud flaps (in green)
-OEM Trifold tonneau cover

Suspension:
-Icon Billet UCAs

Communications:
-Yaesu FT-2900R VHF 2m mobile radio (KD8EHC)
-Edge mount antenna

Recovery:
-Stihl MS271 chainsaw
-Smittybilt X2O 10K winch with synthetic line


Wish list:
-Remote start
-After market suspension
-LED headlight/fog/Reverse light upgrade
-Ditch lights
-Smaller LED light bar
-Aux LED reverse lighting
-TRD skid plate
-Iphone Mirroring
-DECKED truck bed storage

Shortly after I bought the truck I had a dog box loaded up and took it on its first long trip from the U.P. of MI to Tennessee.




D-Cell Maglite clip

My 3rd gen and my shift partner's 2nd gen



AVS low profile vent visors and decals/badges removed



Yaesu FT-2900R radio "rough" install needs wires more thoroughly hidden. Antenna is an edge mount on the hood.




Fumoto F-103 oil drain valve


Covercraft camo carhartt seat covers


Hondo Garage Un-Holey ram mount


RokBlokz XL mud flaps in green






General Grabber AT2
265/75R16



Current Dog Box and The Hounds








Redline Tuning hood struts



Husky Liners


TRD Shift Knob


Center council organizers



OEM Trifold tonneau cover




SCS F5s (will be installed spring 2018)


Rough Country 20 inch single row LED bar installed on the ARB Summit bumper



Threads I've started.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/toyota-hound-hunters.416483/
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/clean-vhf-cb-radio-installs.415584/
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/89-sr5-toyota-pickup.454501/

Anyone on here that's a Hound Hunter or is interested in hound hunting/black bear hunting I'm just going to leave a link to my Hound kennel facebook page. Usually a lot of action on there with me and my dogs chasing bear here in Michigan

 

Threads I've started.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/toyota-hound-hunters.416483/
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/clean-vhf-cb-radio-installs.415584/
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/89-sr5-toyota-pickup.454501/

 

Anyone on here that's a Hound Hunter or is interested in hound hunting/black bear hunting I'm just going to leave a link to my Hound kennel facebook page. Usually a lot of action on there with me and my dogs chasing bear here in Michigan

 

Are those avid step slider bolt on? To factory mounts?

 

They are not actual "Sliders" they are side steps and bolt into the factory holes where the OEM side steps bolt into the body. they WILL hold the weight of the vehicle if needed but i wouldn't want to go slamming down on them with any velocity.

 

You did this versus Predators or N fab

 

It came with the Predators, I did NOT like the foot slot that hung down, in fact I damaged them when i backed over a rock that just barely caught them. I got the AVIDs because i found someone who wanted to trade straight up for my predators.

 

I like the idea. Can t decide N Fabs or these.

 

These are STOUT, they're steel so they should be. I like how they look but they need some kind of abrasive paint cuz they can get slick standing on them.

 

How bout adding filler plates ?

 

I've considered it for sure.

 

In a few months this will be my office. An AS350 (aka the AStar)

 

I like your radio setup what antenna is that? I have been trying to find a fender mount antenna for a long time with no luck.

 

Just followed your Facebook page. I'm a bear hunter my self. Can't believe you hunt out of a truck that nice

 

I don't hunt out of it full time. But the dogs have put some nasty scratches in it....

 

you guys should be in full blown bear season right now? How's your season going?

 

Not to bad. Had a really bad cold snap and it put some of them to bed. Warmer this week hopefully they will start moving.

 

It's just an edge mount for your antenna this is were i got it from all set up and ready to use
http://www.dusupply.com/garmin-astro-long-range-magnet-mount-antena-1178.html

 

Thank you, I appreciate it! My search is over!

 

Sub'd because......Michigan. Also I have a friend from Dexter who is a big into raising beagles and running them!

Sweet rig!