Scott B.'s 2015 AC Build - Expo Style

Wow - this thread is slipping!

The trailer is made my Little Guy (www.golittleguy.com).

It is not one of their standard trailers, and I have done a lot to it. I have a build thread on Expo (link in sig)

How's your trailer?

 

subbed for the porta-pottie sales and deliveries

 

Interior Auxiliary Wiring

I am planning to add electronic accessories to the cab of the truck (radios, gauges, switches, etc.) The first thing to do is add additional circuits.

I am using a Blue Sea Systems fuse block, model 5032. This block has 2 groups of 6 circuits each and 12 ground points. I will wire it as 6 switched (with the ignition) and 6 constant power. I could have used 2 smaller blocks and achieved the same thing, but since I had the room, I decided on the single block.

My initial thought was to mount it under the dash. I found 2 problems with that plan - there is not a lot of room to mount a fuse block where you can easily get to it to add wiring, and being upside down while under the dash is not as easy and it used to be...

I decided to the mount the block in the storage bin under the driver's side AC rear seat (which has been removed.) Once a location was picked, I built several wiring harnesses, and routed them through the truck.

Here, you can see the fuse block with the various harnesses attached:



And a close-up of the block:



The single wires in the center of the block are the feeds (source power feeding the block) and the wires on the side are the new circuits.

Wires routed out of storage compartment:



A convenient opening in the structure:



The harness(es) going forward along the door sill:



I had to get bigger grommets...



The fuse block mounted:



I took the constant power from the under hood fuse block instead of directly to the battery. Doing so hides the wire. (I am not on a fused circuit.)



The switched power comes out of the under-dash fuse block. Not my preferred solution, but I really didn't want to pull the entire dash apart to find a switched source.

The second wire here picks up the lights - powered when the lights are on. I will use this for my gauge lights.



Here, you can see the other end of the wiring harness. Each wire is attached to a terminal strip, which is Velcro'ed to the carpet. (Quick and dirty, but it works fine.)

Now, whatever I need power for, I just run a wire to the terminal strip, plug a fuse in the corresponding spot in the block, and I am good to go!

 

Nice build, you've made some cool modifications.

 

Thank you.

Many more on the way...

I just hit 30K miles yesterday! I really like this truck!

 

Love the build sir, great job. Much like @Crom's build, the well detailed write-ups and technical knowledge really help folks like me get a grasp of the step by step process of different mods.

 

Thank you.

Over the years, I have learned a lot and used many ideas I have seen in forum threads. I am glad I am able to share my ideas and help others.

If you (or anyone) ever have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. I will do my best to answer them.

 

Transmission Maintenance

I like to change my transmission fluid every 15 - 20 K miles. I know Toyota says ours is a sealed system, never requiring maintenance, but I am old school - fluid gets old and dirty, which contributes to wear and performance issues.

A normal service is to drop the pan, drain the fluid, change the filter, and refill. This nets approximately 1/3 of the fluid being changed, along with a new filter and a clean pan. Maintenance like this will keep an automatic transmission happy for many, many miles.

First, I acquired a filter (Toyota calls it a strainer) and gasket



I am a big fan of Fel-Pro gaskets.

Close-up of the part numbers for reference



Once the pan was off, I cleaned out all the clutch and band particulate matter. Here is the pan, cleaned. The little squares are magnets. I cleaned those off, too.



Here is a shot of the transmission without the pan, if anyone is curious as to what the trans looks like.



All in all, a very simple job.

 

Very nice. .

 

Console Organizer

Another great idea I found on TW (sorry, I don't remember who came up with the original idea) is an organizer attached to the bottom of the center console lid.

I have the Salex organizers in the console - the Grid-It is a perfect addition.



Attached with Velcro



I had to make 2 small notches in the edge to clear the lid hinges.



Couldn't be any easier!

 

Exhaust Upgrade

After a lot of reading, contemplating and figuring, I came up with a long-term solution to my exhaust.

I needed a solution that moved the crossover pipe from under the crossmember now, and provided adequate exhaust flow for future mods.

The solution is a URD exhaust.

This system removes the rear-most catalytic converters, providing equal-length y-pipes. I am still running the forward cats, so the O2 sensors are happy. Beyond that, there is a hefty Magnaflow muffler and resonator plumbed with large pipe. And it looks really nice!

It is shipped very compactly



Here is it, laid out in order



Compared to the factory setup





Installation was very straightforward. I did it by myself in a couple of hours, going slow.









Now my transfer case skid plate will fit!

 

What type of trans fluid did you end up refilling with?

 

Sweet setup!! How are you liking it so far? Also by the looks of it, and what you wrote, this URD exhaust kit already has the exhaust piping relocated so you can place T-case skid. Is this correct and what's the part number to this exhaust kit if you don't mind me asking?

 

Valvoline MaxLife DEX/MERC ATF.

It is Toyota WS compatible.

 

Yes, the crossover pipe is well out of the way of the crossmember. I did have to modify my 3rd skid plate to fit, however. (More on this later.)

The kit is URD Spec-U Exhaust, 2013-2015 Tacoma V6 - I don't see a part number listed.

 

12V Anytime Mod

This mod is really simple to do - once you pull the dash apart...

I have read the various threads on doing this, but no one had done it on a 2015. I assumed that the wiring is the same across the years, but I verified the circuit just to be safe.

For those that are curious about the circuit, here is what I determined. Starting at the under-dash fuse block, there is a fuse and a relay for this circuit. From there, the circuit goes to the power ports. As far as I could tell, the only devices on the circuit are the 2 power ports on the dash.

This mod replaces the relay with a wire, eliminating the switching functionality. In other words, you don't need the key on to have power at the power ports.

First thing to do is pull the dash apart, and unbolt the fuse block to get to the other side.



I pulled out the relay (blue box) and made a jumper wire.



Then, just put the jumper wire across the switch legs of the relay.



Putting the dash back together is easier than pulling it apart.

Now devices can run and be charged without the key!

 

Tailgate Reinforcement

Between all I've read about the Tacoma tailgates easily bending, and sitting on the uncomfortable ribbed plastic tailgate cover, I decided to upgrade the tailgate cover.

Looking around, I found Mobtown Offroad was having a sale. I ordered the tailgate reinforcement skin and cap. I did not order their hardware kit, as I had some leftover rivnuts from my sleeping platform install as well as the installation tool.

Here are the parts, as delivered



And the mounting hardware - pan head 1/4-20 bolts, rivnuts, backing washers



To begin, remove everything from the tailgate, including the plastic nuts the cover screws go into. All the nut holes get drilled out to accept the rivnuts. I also cleaned all the dirt/dust out of the tailgate.



The tailgate skin came with some insulation tape, but not enough to cover the entire tailgate. I finished the job with some pipe insulation tape I had on hand. I also put some sound deadening on the inside of the tailgate. At the very least, it makes the tailgate sound less tinny when closing.

Here, the rivnuts are installed.



I have been using a Bedrug tailgate rug, and wanted to use it with the new skin. However, it did not want to mount the same way. I ended up sewing bias tape on the top edge (it did not have any from the factory) and sewing Velcro to the back of the Bedrug, and sticking Velcro to the tailgate skin.

Works great!

 

Skid Plates, cont.

I had to modify the transfer case skid plate with the new exhaust. As you can see from the pictures, the main (combined) exhaust pipe doesn't get to the right side of the vehicle until the back of the cab, so the relief cut in the PelfryBilt skid plate was in the wrong place.






And a nice view of all 3 plates, clean and oiled. Obviously, this didn't last long...

 

@Scott B. , did you ever get the new mount fabricated for your upper rear shock mount? I have been looking at the 5165's... what are your thoughts on them, also.. which size did you go with running your setup?

 

Ah, you caught me.....

No, I have not completed the mounts yet. I really need to, as my rear shocks in the stock mount are too long.

They are on the short list.

Other than that, I do like the shocks. I will look up the length and let you know.