silverbullet02's 2013 Baja T/X Access Cab 6MT

This summer I upgraded from my 2002 Tacoma regular cab base model to a 2013 Access Cab Baja T/X 6MT. Needless to say, going from power nothing to power everything is quite a change! When I picked her up, she only had 30k miles on her, which means I should be able to keep her around for many, many years (My 2002 has 260k). I still have my regular cab, but since I am in college right now, there isn't a whole lot I can do with it. Throughout the thread, many of the pictures you see will have been taken by my roommate/best friend from high school. He is an aspiring photographer and takes phenomenal pictures!

Current Mileage: 40,000

Current Picture (4/18):



12/17:



9/17:



Here's the earliest picture I have from the original ad:



Mods so Far:

Interior:

• OEM All Weather Floor Mats
  • Upgraded to WeatherTech Floor Liners
• OEM Door Sill Protectors
• TRD 6 Speed Shift Knob

Exterior:

• Color Matched Grille Surround (Camelback Toyota)
• TRD Pro Grille Insert
• TRD Aluminum Skid Plate
• OEM Bed Mat
• Christmas lights in the bed (seasonal)

Lighting:

• Fog light anytime mod
• KC HiLites Flex LED (Spread Pattern) Ditch Lights
  • Current: CBI Off Road Ditch Light Brackets
  • Replaced: Relentless Fab Ditch Light Brackets
• sPOD - Dual Lighted
• N-Fab Bed Mounted Light Bar
  • Four KC Daylighters (Two Driving and two Spot)

Mechanical/Performance:

• Rear differential breather relocation (To bedside storage box)
• TRD Performance Air Filter
• TRD 6 Speed Quickshifter Kit
• TRD Cat Back Exhaust

Suspension & Tires:

• TRD Baja T/X Suspension
• TRD Beadlocks - Gray
• Current: 265/75/R16 BFG KO2s
• Original: 265/70/R16 BFG KOs

Recovery/In Case of Emergency:

• Hi-Lift Xtreme (48") mounted to bed-rail
  • Lift-Mate
  • Bumper-Lift
  • Off-Road Base
  • 4XRAC
  • Handle-Keeper
  • Custom made Hi-Lift winching components (Winch tensioners, tow chain and tree saver)
• Recovery strap
• CURT Class III Receiver Hitch and 4-Flat
• Kiddie Brand Fire Extinguisher

Maintenance:

• 35K
  • Changed front differential, transfer case, and rear differential oil to Amsoil Synthetic Severe Gear
    $29 75W-90 Synthetic Gear Lube - 1 Quart (Pack of 2)
    75W-90
  • Re-torqued propeller shaft bolts
  • Changed engine oil to Amsoil Synthetic Signature Series 5W-30 with Amsoil 15k oil filter
  • Changed spark plugs using Genuine Toyota Parts
  • Rotated tires
• 40k
  • Changed engine oil and filter (Amsoil Signature 5W-30 and Amsoil 15k mile oil filter)
  • Rotated tires

In the works:

• Wire up roll bar lights
• Pelfrybilt hidden winch mount

Future Plans (in no particular order):

• OEM Items:
  • OEM Blacked out emblems
  • TRD/Magnuson Supercharger (In my dreams)
  • OEM TRD Pro/SR model smoked headlights
• Under the Hood
  • RedLine Tuning Hood Struts
  • Bullet Proof Fab Cooling Panel
• Lighting/Electrical
  • KC Gravity LED Fog Light Replacements
• Bed Setup:
  • Relentless Fab Quickfist Mounts and Hi-Lift Mounts
  • Mobtown Offroad Tailgate Reinforcement
  • At The Helm Bedside Reinforcements
• Armor:
  • BAMF Bolt-On Sliders
    • Line-X Coating
  • Some sort of rear plate bumper, unsure on brand yet
• Recovery:
  • Pelfreybilt Hidden Winch Mount OR US Off Road Low Profile Winch Bumper
  • Smittybilt X2O Waterproof Synthetic Rope Winch OR Warn M8000-S Winch
  • 60" Hi-Lift X-Treme
  • Bullet Proof Fab Heavy Duty Front Recovery Hook
• Suspension:
  • Icon 1.5" 3-Leaf Progressive AAL or OME Dakar EL095R's
    • U-Bolt Flip
    • Better Bumpstops
    • Extended Brake Lines

 

This past weekend I took a day trip up the the Iron Range OHV Area to test out the truck. this park was constructed on the site of an old iron mine, so it presented some interesting obstacles as well as the red dirt and water. I was very impressed with how capable it is from the factory. I started out on some easier trails and then worked my way up to a "black diamond" hill climb.

This mud pit on one of the trails was a bit deeper than I expected...



The lady at the check in station recommended that I stay out of the mud pit area, but the water was down, so it wasn't very deep at all:



After the mud pit, I found a nice open area to try out some donuts:



As I got into some more hilly terrain, I got to test out both 4low and the stock flex of the truck:



I ended the day with successfully completing a "black diamond" (think ski hill lingo) hill climb. The pictures don't quite do the hill justice, it was quite steep:



All in all, I was quite happy with the trip, and I will be going back for sure!

 

Its been awhile since I last updated, and I've changed a few things since then. First off I'd just like to apologize for the crappy iPhone pictures, but it was all I had with me at the time. I installed a TRD Pro grille insert. It's so overpriced, but I have to say it looks really good! The install was very easy to do, and I have gotten tons of compliments since (even from a die-hard Chevy guy!)



Shortly afterwards I got new tires, upgrading from the factory 265/70/R16 BFG KOs to 265/75/R16 KO2s. I think they look awesome, definitely more aggressive than the KOs and I know from running them on my other Tacoma that they will perform exactly as I want them to. The truck now sits a tiny bit higher too! I could feel that they are a little bit heavier than the stock tires, but that was expected. Honestly, the Baja/Pro should have come with this size from the factory. The 265/70's just didn't fill the wheel wells as nicely after the factory lift, but the 265/75's look just right. As an added bonus, the only rubbing I encountered was on the weird forward most mud guards/air dams when reversing at full lock. Two bolts on each side and they were both gone, which not only eliminated all rubbing (even off-road), but also displayed the tires better as well.



Next I got to work on some of the maintenance items for 30K miles (I'm a little overdue since I have no tools at college with me).

I changed the front diff, transfer case, and rear diff oil to Amsoil Synthetic Severe Gear

$29 75W-90 Synthetic Gear Lube - 1 Quart (Pack of 2)

75W-90. While the front diff and transfer case didn't look too bad, the rear diff oil was BLACK... it should have been changed much sooner if you ask me! The truck drives smooth as butter compared to before, I don't know if that is due to new gear oil or switching to synthetic oil... or perhaps a combination of both! While I was changing the gear oil, I also took the time to re-torque the propeller shaft bolts.

Next up was another engine oil change, this time I switched to Amsoil Synthetic Signature Series 5W-30 and used an Amsoil 15k mile filter. I normally change oil every 2k miles and change the filter every 4k miles, but I am going to (try to) switch to 10k miles intervals now. For the first oil change I will probably only go 5k miles just for my own peace of mind and to see how the oil looks. Going straight from 2k changes to 10k changes might take years off my life from worrying my new engine will blow!

The lastest "mod" I did was quite simple, I just put Christmas lights in the bed to spread some holiday cheer! I ended up using three strips of 12 ft multicolored lights, which I secured to the tie down points with zip ties. So far they have held up wonderfully, even when doing 75 on the interstate! At night they give the bed a nice glow too. I'm not sure how the police feel about Christmas lights on vehicles, but whenever I see a cop I just switch off the power to bed.



Hopefully over Christmas break I will have time to complete some more mods! My wish list keeps growing and growing the more I read in the 2nd Gen section of Tacomaworld

 

12/9/2017
Today my roommate and I took another trip to the Iron Range OHV Park. When we arrived at around 9am the park was completely dead, and we only ever saw one other person who was driving around in a Subaru CrossTrek. The previous night we had gotten about an inch or two of snow, and beneath it was a layer of ice. This made hills a bit tricky! We stuck to the core trails and didn't try to get too adventurous. We made it to most of the overlooks in the park, and even accidentally found ourselves in a mild rock crawl! The locker and ATRAC were a big help in getting us through, especially on the slippery rocks. While the snow was a new challenge, I'm excited for the spring/summer when I will be able to read the terrain better and attempt some more difficult trails!

 

Now that Winter Break is over, I finally have a chance to sit down and post all I've completed Tacoma-wise over break.

I finally changed my spark plugs using Genuine Toyota Spark Plugs, and I rotated my tires as well. The 30k mile maintenance was a little overdue at 35k miles, but at least it is done now!

The weekend before Christmas, I drove over the the Wisconsin Dells to meet with a fellow Tacomaworld member and buy his Hi-Lift and related accessories. I got a 48" Hi-Lift Xtreme, Lift-Mate, Bumper-Lift, Off-Road Base, 4XRAC, and a Black Handle-Keeper. They all are in very good condition. He said they were never used, and only sat on his bed rack during the summers. As a result, the Hi-Lift does have some surface rust, but nothing major. And for the price, it is a good starting point for me in the recovery realm.



Later on, I picked up some small keyed-alike locks for a bit of security and theft-deterant when the jack is mounted to the bed-side



And here it is all mounted!



For Christmas, I received the TRD 6 Speed Shift Knob. It feels so much better than the stock leather, and the "cue-ball" shape fits my hand much nicer. I would highly recommend this upgrade for any 6 speed owners. I do have the OEM Quick-Shifter from the factory, so sometimes I forget that I'm driving a truck and not a sports car!

 

Later over break, I decided to piece together some parts so I would be able to use my newly acquired Hi-Lift as a winch. Hi-Lift does make an Off-Road Kit, but I was not interested in paying $70-$90 for parts I could easily find at Fleet Farm. All I needed for this project was two winch tensioners, a tow chain (which isn't included in the ORK anyway), a tree saver, and a tow strap (that I already had for recovery purposes).

This is the website where I got the idea from, it does a good job showing how to use the jack as a winch as well: http://www.j8g.co.uk/landy/hilift/winch.php

I was able to find a cheap 6600 lb. tree saver at Harbor Freight. I then went to Fleet Farm to purchase a 14' 3/8" tow chain (5400 lbs.), and two lengths of 3/8" chain for the tensioners (7 links, or a half foot each). I used two clevises to attach the chains to the Hi-Lift, and two 3/8" hooks on the end of the tensioners for connecting to the tow chain. I also picked up some cotter pins for quick attachment and detachment to/from the Hi-Lift. After I assembled the two tensioners, this is what they looked like:



In order for the clevis to attach to the bottom of the Hi-Lift where the base normally goes, I uses a dremel to slightly round the bottom-most hole of the jack. It's very difficult to capture with a camera, but if you look closely you can see where it was rounded.



After both tensioners are attached, this is what the setup looked like:



All in all, this was a very easy project, and costed far less than buying the Off-Road Kit. Hopefully using the Hi-Lift as a winch will let me explore more remote areas without having to buy a full blown electric winch yet (although eventually I plan to get one.)

 

It's taken awhile for me to get pictures, but I picked up some KC HiLites Flex LED lights (flood pattern) for use as ditch lights on the Tacomaworld Marketplace. They came with Relentless Fabrications Ditch Light Brackets, but I have since ordered CBI Off-Road Brackets to replace them. Nothing wrong with the Relentless ones, but I would prefer to have the lights sit farther away from the center of the truck as well as not run brackets that utilize the hood bolts.



Pictured are the lights on the Relentless Fab Brackets. In my opinion, the KC Flex lights are perfect for use as ditch lights. Even with the Relentless Brackets, they obstruct a minimal amount of vision from the driver's seat, yet throw out plenty of light. I can imagine with the CBI Brackets they will be even less of an obstruction. Also, they are made of metal instead of plastic, which is plus for me in terms of durability.

Not to mention they look sweet! They are a nice departure from the well-known design of LED pods and light bars. Some passengers even think that they are cameras at first!

 

4/7/2018
This past weekend my girlfriend, roommate and I went hiking at Sugar Loaf Cove near Tofte, MN. We also took the time to explore the area, and decided to see what Carlton Peak was like in the winter. The road up to the top was considered a Minimum Maintenance Road, but with the couple of inches of snow remaining it didn't really seem like it! I had driven this road/trail last summer, and it was much bumpier with washouts and rocks everywhere. This time however, there was only a few stones visible in the snow. The most difficult parts was a few patches of ice on the climb upwards and some deepish snow at the top turnaround.



At the top we were rewarded with a beautiful view of Lake Superior and the snow covered forest below, as well as a sheer rock wall that was the result of dynamite blasting by 3M years and years ago. All in all it was a nice short off-roading experience, but I can't wait to check out more trails as the snow (finally) begins to melt.

Also, the Boarder to Boarder Touring Route map has been posted. It might make for a fun trip this summer or fall! https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/input/mgmtplans/ohv/plans/border_to_border_trail.html

 

When I was out and about on Friday, I spied the perfect vehicle for a Baja/Non-Baja comparison picture! The other Taco was an Access Cab SR5 4x4. Made me realize how much of a difference the Baja/Pro suspension makes, it's easy to forget after awhile!

 

Since getting out of school it has been a busy couple of weeks! I installed my CBI Ditch Light Brackets, and they position the lights so much better than the Relentless ones did! It was a little tricky figuring out how much plastic to cut off, but all-in-all I'd say it was worth it. I haven't gotten around to taking pictures yet, but now when sitting in the driver's seat I can see less than half of the driver's side Ditch Light! Very happy with how clean it turned out.

Next up I FINALLY got around to installing the Class III Curt Trailer Hitch that I've had sitting around since October-ish. Sure felt good to get that off my plate! The install was fairly straightforward, nothing too complicated and the directions included were pretty clear. I also picked up and "L" shaped bracket for holding on the the 4-Flat wiring harness. I made sure to position it so it would not hang down and potentially break off. It definitely looks a lot better than leaving the wires wrapped around the hitch like a lot of truck owners do around here!

 

Not too much has been happening with the 2nd gen, but there has still been a little progress on the build over the summer!

I ordered and installed an OEM Bed Mat. After testing out how grippy it is, I can't believe I waited this long to order one! Not only will it help protect my bed, it will keep smaller items from shifting around in the back as well.

 

I also hit 40k earlier this summer, so it was time to rotate tires. It didn't take long at all to do. I torqued all the lugs to 83 lb-ft. Although I was too short on time to do it this time, I may throw on my Gunmetal F5's from my 1st gen on the Baja and see how they look!

 

I ordered some WeatherTech Floor Liners recently, and I opted for a first and second row set in preparation for hunting season. I have heard pros and cons to both WeatherTech and Husky Liners, but I am very happy with how the WeatherTech's fit and with their coverage. Only time will tell how well they will hold up!

 

Love the truck, great to see fellow Minnesotans (and Bulldogs?). I got pulled over for christmas lights on 35 between the cities and Duluth a couple years ago AND they were inside my Topper, not even on the outside.

 

Thanks! Yes I'm a Bulldog (Roll Dogs!!), I'm so pumped that we're National Champs two years in a row!

That's surprising that they pulled you over, perhaps because they were strung up high? Did they end up giving you a ticket or just a warning?

 

Nice truck

 

We absolutely dominated that championship game!

Also, no ticket, just a warning. Funniest part was I had a headlight out but the state trooper never went around the front of the vehicle to see that.

 

Thanks! Your truck is mighty fine as well

 

Haha that's just ridiculous! I was always paranoid driving around Duluth, especially on the highway so I cut power to the bed every time I thought I saw a cop

 

Thanks brother

Since your truck is a baja, did it come with the TRD catback?