TRUCKO 2.0

(Picuters will be updated to follow the story when i can these are very current pictures of TRUCKO, and i was not on TW or documenting much during this process so not gonna have that many old pictures)

So here is TRUCKO my 2005 dcsb taco. I originally picked this truck up with only 60k and it was meant to be. I sold my old 01 tacoma and regretted ever since. I ended up getting and AUDI A4 wagon to commute on I70 and mostly for skiing when I lived in Fort Collins. When i moved back up to the mountains i figured it was time to get back in a truck. I was looking all over the place and everything was way out of my budget and i was going to end up back in a 1st gen Tacoma when i really wanted the new 2nd gen double cab.

The skies opened and i found TRUCKO. My brothers friends Dad was selling it and for exactly what i sold my car for so it was a win and i bought TRUCKO. I even got lucky that it came with a matching snug top topper, ARB bull bar, spacer lift and add a leaf out back and a giant ski box on Yakima bars. it was perfect right off the bat.

I drove TRUCKO like this for a very long time with lots of different bed configurations to be able to carry camping gear and dogs. pretty much beat the suspension into the ground.

After a camping trip when i got home i noticed the passenger side of the truck was sitting low. I busted out the tape measure and the passenger side was sitting about 1.5 inches lower and i noticed the back half of one of the leafs was completely missing. front suspension was not looking great either and so it was time for a suspension upgrade.

I ended up going with the full toytec boss lift kit and when at it put in a smitty built 9.5 winch. I have no pictures of the install but did it all in a day with the help from my dad jeep club president. Set up was great with no real issues to speak of and was very happy with my set up.

I honestly can not remember the time frame but i then fell into some really good fortune and was able to by my parents 2001 Lexus LX470 pretty much a landcruiser for pretty cheap and a great payment plan and was able to sell my wife's jeep.

We sold the jeep and were able to purchase a CVT RTT Mt. Rainer during the group by that blew up a few years ago. I bought the tent because at the time i had the money and was not sure if another group buy would happen or not even before i knew how the hell i would mount it. I initially wanted to try and put it on my topper but it was not a reinforced shell so i did it once for a quick trip and wanted to do it proper for the next trip. once again very minimal if not any pictures. I then purchased some Yakima q towers and bars for the cab of the truck for the RTT. this worked ok but before to long the bars started to sag. I needed another option and was getting really frustrated spending this money but not really having that much extra on hand to mount it any other way.

After the above time using the tent probably half dozen to a dozen times i was getting sick of not being able to leave camp set up and drive anywhere else. so i looked at trailers. stupid expensive but then found other home made trailers and liked that idea but i dont weld or have a shop so felt stuck once again.

Honestly i have no idea how it came up but during Thanksgiving i showed my uncle a picture of a home made trailer and he offered to help and even thought he had a trailer on his property i could use a a start.

This was a start to what ended up being a multi year project with plenty of headaches but now that it is done it was well worth it. I learned a lot. grew up a lot and it all worked out in the end. I got my uncle help with him having all the metal working tools and experience from building trailers before and general rural farm life in norther Colorado. This was a multi year project because we traded labor hour for hour. He helped with my trailer and i helped him build a huge garden on his property in memory of his son who passed away from cancer at 13.

The trailer started off as a 1940 dodge bed with the front axle out of the same erra with the knuckles welded, huge swoopy fenders and all. weird set up for sure but it was free. we tore it down and we tried to use the old axle. we flipped it over to gain a ton of clearance and started doing body work fixing all the dents holes and rust. This took forever but i learned a lot. Lots of grinding cutting and hammering. trailer slowly started to take shape.

Then the first test drive and it sucked super scary and a very big slap in the face. the trailer jumped side to side. faster you went the worse it got. I did use the max coupler and a few times i bet the tires came off the ground it was so violent. this lasted for few seconds to say the least before i pulled over and just stopped. I played with the tire pressure and was able to get it to drive unloaded with out bouncing to bad to get it home. remember he lives in norther Colorado and i live in the central mountains so 2 to 2.5 hour drive home. scary drive going slow but at this time between the trailer the garden i was ready for this to be home and me done spending all my time away from home not having fun seeing my family.

Once again on a very tight budget so i bought some limiting straps and tried to rig it. got the trailer all packed and ready to go on a trip and literally could not make it down the road with out it jumping (yes i should have tested it but who has time). We bailed on the trip and now im really angry at life.

End all be all i bought a brand new dexter axle 3500 leaf packs and just re did the suspension. Should have done this at the beginning. would have saved so much time and money.

Now it is on to the real maiden voyage. We took it out to rabbit valley Colorado and life was good, well until i almost got it stuck. I was trying to go up this small ledge and could not. I had to back down the hill and with just learning how to drive the trailer it was a challenge. What happened is when packing i noticed the weight of the trailer was not being held up by the boss leaf pack and i was about 1.5 inches away from the bump stops. since this trip was mostly interstate and i was not touching i decided we were still going camping. On the drive out the whoops on I70 between Rifle and Junction i pretty much was hitting the bump stops. so the reason i could not make it up the hill was the my rear axle could not articulate the proper way. We turned around and found a great site and had a great trip.

So once again in no particular order because i was busy having fun i got the notice for my frame needing to be inspected for the recall. It failed but was safe to drive and after i think 7 to 8 months of waiting the frame arrived. Stevenson Toyota West in Denver was awesome and did a great job and fast job once my frame arrived and now we are on to TRUCKO 2.0. I had to cut off my trail gear sliders so they are now replaced with much better RCI sliders with fill plate and kick outs. if any body has kids or dogs i would recommend the fill plates so happy i spent the extra cash. Lastly i needed new leaf spring and just went with the tried and true Dakars. I did not need the add a leaf yet. Trailer with the truck now drives amazing and i am very happy minus the dakar squeak.

Lots of small addition and subtractions to the truck like everyone else fine tuning their stuff as well as small addition to the trailer. I enclosed the trailer with plywood. painted everything black.

Once more time is available to me and access to pictures of mine are available i will put more pictures in the proper order. all of the pictures included are very recent and almost exactly how the truck sits now.

 

some of the recovery gear and cb comunications

 

random camping pictures

 

Navigation! I love how nobody uses maps anymore. everything is GPS dont get me wrong i want one and need to learn how to use it and can see its advantages just so many people's cab of there truck have so much electronics its crazy. map and compass due it pretty well especially when your just following roads. Its not like we are trying to traverse and wilderness zone with no trails or signage.

 

Zodic shower. this thing is great and has really made camping easier especially with a family. Even if you dont use it to heat the water pressurized water is great when doing dishes.

Yeti cooler as a gift from my wife's side of the family. Came out of nowhere and very surprised and thankful for the gift. Great cooler but for the price point spend more and just get a fridge.

 

Nice!

 

Even more and some pics of the wife's rig

 

After work today

 

Lights. Not wired yet but you get the idea and relentless ditch light brackets on order.

 

Took my two boys and dogs to play in the woods before I go into work

 

Fun morning drive

 

Few more from last may in moab

 

More

 

Nice tow rig too, got more pics of that? Pics of truck appear as if your have Vader on the bed side but I can't tell for sure as my eye sight is going.

 

Camping

 

Trailer insides

 

Trailer build

 

Crystal lakes

 

Painting trailer

 

More