BigMike’s Big Journey: New 2016 Tacoma

On June 13 they finished the final step which was welding the plastic panels that mount atop each bedside. Bob couldn't do this at home as the bedtops are made from a different, non fusible type of plastic.

Here is another pic of the bedside top section. At left you can see the original top plastic panel attached.



This shows the 6" of overlap which was very carefully removed so that all remaining snap-clips will fit their respective bedside slot



Preparing for the welder





Here is the welder used



...and that's it for Bob's extra pictures!

 

June 14, 2017: Rubicon Preparation I: Bobbing the bed (concluded!)

When I arrived at Bob's house he had washed my truck -- including even the engine compartment! I cannot thank you enough Bob for this amazing work!!



My first pics of the bobbed bedsides!

Driver



It may seem that one could get another 10-something inches removed, but in actual fact there is only 2 inches remaining until you run into the leaf spring shackle hanger bracket ....and had that other 2-inches been removed then the lower body curve would not flow or match the front bed curve and body/cab curves. You'd almost need to make the decision to just remove the curve all together which I'm glad Bob did not do.

Passenger



Speakings of which, remember the mystery paint missing from my passenger bed side (documented @ reply #183)? We got two birds killed here

 

Time to get this baby reassembled!



Bob kept everything meticulously organized!



Here is a piece of the plastic welding rod and the pair of 6" sections removed from each bedside top panel.



There are a ton of snap-clips for each bedside top panel



Here is the most noticeable indicator of a modification



Not only did Bob have to ensure the snap-clips will line back up, but the plastic upper panels start wide and taper narrow moving forward as shown here

 

Here is the bobbed line inside the bed



(As for the prior bed side storage/utility boxes, I will 3D print new pieces with the goal to get it looking as factory as I can. Until I get time for this I'll just print flat panels to cover both boxes up)

This turned out really, really nice. The material of the bed is able to be fused (as apposed to the bedside tops which had to be plastic-welded) which is why they could get such a nice finish here



On older Hilux sheet-metal beds, it is common to add material to the back and underside at the bob seam for added strength. So Bob and Russ took the 6" section that was cut out from the bed and fused it underneath. They also added perpendicular gussets using leftover bed material. The work was incredible and the bed is very strong. I jumped up and down hard on it and it didn't give at all. Another plus is that the back four bed mount bolts are now closer to each other so if anything it is even more rigid than factory!

 

A few reassembly photos...





Bob is so detailed that he places unused wires (this being my bed A/C power outlet plug) inside ziplock bags, zipties them shut, and then zipties the whole ensemble under the bed safe and sound.

 

Fender flare reassembly. Each flare is attached using 10 plastic snap-clips as well as double-sided sticky tape. Bob removed the original tape (it looked like a lot of work!)...



...and here I carefully attached new tape



Snap-clips reattached and ready to go! The trio of orange clips are longer to help guide installation



Installation was extremely easy. Just carefully align and place over the bedside and press firmly over each clip region for a nice firm snap.

(picture taken before I had removed the red sticky tape backing)

 

Looking great! Time to get the bumper reattached and then I'll be good to go!





When we went to put the bumper on we discovered it interfered with the new position of the back of the bed. Not wanting to modify my bed and knowing I'll be modifying the bumper bracket, Russ did some bracket clearancing so we could get the bumper back on for my drive home.

 

Finally all done!!



So what do you guys think?!



Here is how far back the original position is:

 

On the way home Bob took me over to his shop to meet the two gentlemen who worked on my bedsides. To the left is Ray, who did the paint prep, and at middle is Brian who did the painting. It was really a neat treat to meet the entire group who helped make this project come to life!



One last shot before jumping on the freeway for home



Made it home safely! Here is one last shot for the day out in front of Rock Crawling World Head Quarters:

 

So you guys are doing on this, but haven't solved the howling diff issue?

 

Hellllllo Tacoma World!

Turn up the radio? All kidding aside, I haven't noticed any abnormal noise from my differentials, both before the re-gear (4.30) nor after (4.88).


I'm a bit behind with updates. Been very busy over here

June 19, 2017: Drilled new bumper holes in frame

Here is 6-inches of the frame to be removed



Here are the 5 bumper bolt holes I need to move forward on each side of the frame



The first two will just b-a-r-e-l-y make it



But the rear-most frame and lower attaching bracket would be moving waaay too far forward





One thing which was amazing is that the lower attaching bracket has two dowels that align it in the frame, and they are almost exactly 6-inches apart! So what I'll do for the lower attaching bracket is just slice it in half and use one bolt.

The result will be 3 bolts per side instead of 5. For now this is perfectly acceptable. I don't plan on towing anything for a while, and once I purchase a rear bumper I like (haven't found one yet) or build my own rear bumper, I'll either add an extra hole or use stitch welding. (For reference our old Marlin Crawler Hilux tube/Rock Crawling rear bumpers attach with 4 bolts per side.)

So I'll be drilling two new holes into the side of the frame and one new hole along the bottom for the lower attaching bracket.

Let the drilling begin!

 

June 21, 2017: Bed Bob Finished!

It would be another week until I could work on the Taco. With the holes drilled it was long overdue to get this project wrapped up!

Bumper off, preparing to cut the frame



Decided to use our plasma cutter. Here is a pic before grinding it down and quickly spray painting



Then we cut the bumper brackets (sorry I never took any pictures of this). We cut each bracket so that only the rear-most three bolt holes remain. The lower front hole of these three had to be slotted due to it mounting flush against the leaf spring shackle hanger bracket.

With both frame and bumper brackets cut, it was time to test fit....



...and install!



But holy crap that was very difficult!! The Bumper brackets are tapered outward such that they are pulled into the frame as the bolts are tightened. This meant the bumper itself was tapered, so when we cut the bumper bracket shorter, now the bumper was no longer wide enough to fit over the outside of each frame rail.

It took a loooooooooooooooooooot of hammering to get the shorter brackets spread for the frame. We even considered heating up each bracket with a torch but I didn't want to weaken the steel nor risk damage to the plastic and electronics in the bumper.

I am very pleased with the final outcome!



Additional note is that the spare tire no longer fits under the bed: The trailer hitch has been moved so far back that it contacts the spare. Not much of a surprise plus 1) I'll eventually get a lower profile rear bumper with more under the bed spacer, 2) I'll be moving up to larger tires soon and probably won't be able to carry a large enough spare under there anyhow, 3) future rear suspension plans will interfere with the spare anyhow, and 3) it gives me a ton of space for my under-the-bed on-board air setup.

(edit: I had the wrong date above)

 

June 21 2017: Bed Bob Finished! (continued)

I've been working so fast on projects that for the most part I've been slacking in the department of before-and-after specs/measurements. So I made sure to get this covered this time around

Before and after! I've gained an entire line on the camera



EDIT: Not sure why TW's picture conversion is messing up the timing. Try this direct link if it's not looping correctly: http://board.marlincrawler.com/images/2016-tacoma/641.1.gif

Edit 2: I had the wrong date above

 

Wow, looks really good!

 

June 21, 2017: Bed Bob Finished! (continued)

Departure Angle comparison

The setup...



From rear tire contact point to bottom of trailer hitch



Before:



25.9 degrees departure angle



After:



30.5 degrees. Picked up 4.6 degrees which is really good!



(edit: I had the wrong date above)

 

I just sat here for over an hour at work indulged in this post. Awesome build and crazy detailed write up! Love the bed chop you did, that looks awesome in a short bed. Toyota doesn't make a short bed access cab because it would require another length frame to be built, which in their eyes wasn't worth it.

A lot of what you disliked is personal preference and some of the things you like that is 'new' has actually be on 2nd gens. Kind of cool to see everyone's different preference and to see you notice 'new' things from your Hilux

BTW, I am in LOVE with the Hilux. Definition of badass right there.

Keep up the good work, enjoy the truck!

 

holy moly, wow..... great job and thanks for all those pics for shortening your bed

 

Wow. Nice work! I was debating on that for the longest time. That little molded body line made it tough.

You need to get a far back shot. Wait scratch that. I don't need any more idea!

 

Bigmike
This is one of the best threads I have ever read !!!
I really like your attitude and obvious love for adventure!
Never change , keep the smile and enjoy your life !!!

Be well
The other very BIGMIKE

 

Add me to the list of others that just jammed through this thread over the past day or so. Awesome stuff you've got going on here, excited to follow along!