BigMike’s Big Journey: New 2016 Tacoma

September 14, 2017: BigMike's 1st Annual TacoBox Run has begun at the 16th Annual Marlin Crawler Round Up!

We were exhausted: Myself from not being ready and having to scramble again with the Tacoma, and Nathan from driving 28 hours from Canada plus the help he did at our shop. We slept in until 8am before heading over to the Loon Lake Staging Area

Last pic after breaking camp at Loon Lake

 

Front Facing Camera! (Install progress 2 of 2)

After breaking camp, I pulled out some zip ties and electrical tape and crudely mounted my front facing camera just before airing down for the trail. After playing around with a few different locations I settled above the front cross member which provides a wide enough view for oncoming objects while also providing protection for the camera.

You can see the camera mounted towards to upper section of this pic. The camera I used is a TTP-C12B from Amazon for $19.99 (at the time):



*Here comes an exclusive time-traveling sneak preview of the Camera in action on the trail!!

Anytime forward facing Rock Crawling Camera enabled on the trail with a bit of mud on the lens!! SAWEEEEEEEET!



The two black lines above at each side of the screen are pieces of electrical tape. They indicate that any object crossing the screen at that exact mark is 100-percent destined to contact each front tire. (ps. Currently [in 2018] I am working on a split screen setup with two independent cameras, one for each tire displayed concurrently )

And, the anytime Factory Toyota Backup camera enabled on the trail!! SAWEEEEEEEET!

 

The Tacoma's second visit to the Loon Lake Staging Area along with Nathan's 4R ready to get down!



And I'll have to leave it here guys until I get my full report posted to my new Trip Report Thread!

 

Is there an abridged version of what you broke on the IFS? TRE, CV, etc.?

 

Back-to-back driver-side inner tie rods: first Nathan's and then mine. His was really a fluke break, somehow happened while climbing up a small, smooth granite ledge. Mine was while hung up bad in the rear while climbing up a steep ledge larger than my tires with both air lockers engaged. It also ripped the ball joint apart on my tie rod end as an extra bonus.

 

That's crazy it happened to both of you. It's strange how things like that happen.

 

Couldn't agree more. I'll be posting a pic that shows my truck pigeon toed with his 4Runner in the same picture also broken down & visible behind some trees. ps. The way I'm going to fix this is going to be pure for both 4th gen 4Runner and 2nd+3rd gen Tacoma owners. Hoping to share more on this next month. It will be a game changer for the IFS steering system.

 

Two weeks after our Round Up and my second time through the Rubicon (including what I believe is the first 3rd gen to run the entire trail including Devil's Postpile/Wentworth Springs Gatekeeper) we were off to the largest west coast off-road expo!

Sept 30 - Oct 1, 2017: Tacoma Featured at the Pomona Off-Road Expo

At this year's Pomona Off-Road Expo (Southern California, https://www.offroadexpo.com/pomona-ca) we doubled the size of our booth and were able to fit one vehicle. As the first Dual Case'd 3rd gen in the World, it was a no brainier as to which truck got featured!

Setting up the booth... The Marlin Crawler truly is the Ultimate In Vehicle Control!



The show got underway real quick with people checking out the Tacoma!

 

The event was plastered with 3rd gen Tacomas. They were all over the place both inside and outside the 6 large exhibition halls. It was like a sausage fest competition of who had the biggest lightbar and highest count of on-board gasoline packs.

But as the only Dual Case 3rd gen, the only 3rd gen on 37s, and the only 3rd gen tackling difficult trails it far and away stood out. It attracted many questions and product inquiries; The effect the Tacoma had on our booth was impressive.



Mirror showcasing the centerpiece of the truck

 

I'll include these plus a few more in a trip report post later. Here come a few more to conclude the Tacoma's first experience featured at an exposition!









I'm planning to discuss this more in my trip report, but just as I experienced on the trail, a handful of people looking at the Tacoma told us that had they known the new Tacoma can do trails like the Rubicon then they would not have purchase a new Jeep.

Side note: While passing in opposite directions on the Rubicon, I had three different Jeep JK owners explain how they wanted to buy a Tacoma but bought the Jeep because they didn't think newer Tacomas could run trails like the Con. This is precisely my mission with this truck! To get respect for the Tacoma + IFS on the trails!

 

October 1-2, 2017: Tacoma Featured at the Pomona Off-Road Expo (continued)

Driving back home after the Expo I took some interesting comparison pictures with the #1 most wheeled Toyota pickup in the world.

Both parked neck-and-neck...



...but look at the length difference! This is the first time I've done this. Both trucks have bobbed beds and the Crawler Truck is (originally) a longbed (longer frame & wheelbase). My 1981 shortbed is shorter than the Crawler Truck. Man. The Tacoma is crazy long.



Check out the crazy ground clearance difference



I realize this isn't the best angle for this, but no wonder visibility is limited so much out of the Tacoma. Keep in mind also that the seating position in the Tacoma is both lower and farther away from the windshield further compounding the issue.



And that's it for the 2017 Pomona Off-Road Expo!

 

November 6, 2017: Got into my first Magazine!

The Toyota Land Cruiser Association ran an article for their premier event (http://rubithon.com) and included a picture of the Tacoma and I both with huge smiles exiting the Little Sluice



Thank you TLCA!!

 

Memories of 2017

Before I continue I'd like to share a few misc pics from this year as a way to say thank you and Farewell to the current Tacoma!

June 30: The last month of Stage I on 33s, at our old apartment nose-and-nose with my 300 horsepower MR2



August 22: My Stage II build on 37s parked next to my friend's stockish '16 DC. This is after my first trip through the Rubicon.



August/September parking lot pics...

 

And lastly, final pictures as it was during it's second trip through the Rubicon (about a 1/2-inch higher)

 

Truck looks great as always, truly one of the coolest builds on here.

 

Big Mike I love your Truck , as much as you do ! I"m stoked that you will be doing the R & D for the Tacoma , Good for you young man !

 

Honestly with how low your crawl ratio is and the size of your tires it’s not surprising that you broke a TR! Not to mention locked in the front.

Actually it’s sort of impressive how strong they are for the size.

 

Thanks for the comments guys. @05tacoalltheway it was scary because I beat on the truck at my first Rubicon trip in July and looking back I don't think I even had a spare myself. I did have 1 inner + 1 outer spare with me for the September Rubicon trip, which was a real blessing.

 

At this point the wheel'n & event season was over which means it was time to put the Tacoma back under the knife!!

So far here is how my build has gone:

Stage I (completed November 1, 2016 - June 26, 2017):
Marlin Crawler TacoBox Dual Case Setup
All Pro Upper Control Arm Kit
All Pro Rear 3" Springs
Nitro Gear 4.88:1 diff gearing
BFG All-terrain 33" (285/70R17) tires
Bed bobbed 6-inches

Stage II (completed July 3, 2017 - September 12, 2017):
All Pro Long Travel +2" IFS Kit & 1" shock spacers
All Pro Rear 3" Expedition Springs & 1/2" blocks
RCV Ultimate 300M Full Chromo IFS Axles
BFG KRAWLER 37" (37x12.50x17) tires
ARB Air Lockers F&R

I've had to make adjustments in planning due to unknown variables, but here is how the next chapter is shaping out to be:

Stage III (planned):
Front prototype Marlin Crawler tube bumper
Cooper Discoverer SST Pro 40" (40x13.50x17) tires
New Heavy Duty Steering system
Capable on-board air (OBA) system
Plus a half dozen or so special things I'll post once they're done

There are a number of other things on my list such as a rear bumper but not sure when I'll be getting to them. I'm arranging to have more time for the Tacoma in 2018 so I plan to make big progress on it.

November 11, 2017: Stage III begins!!

Time to get the ball rolling!!

First things first, I'll get my 40" tires from page 17 finally installed as well as a custom front bumper built. I'm glad the bumper company I was originally trying to purchase from and mentioned in reply #398 yanked my chain for three months earlier this year. Their exact reply was, "Can't wait to see what you come up with."

LET'S DO THIS!!

If you haven't noticed, I'm not competing with anyone with my Tacoma. For example, I've owned it for more than a week and still don't have a lightbar. So in coming up with ideas for a front bumper, I tried very hard to distance my design from what's out on the market.

For starters, my #1 goal is to pay homage to the classic Marlin Crawler Tube Bumper of yesteryear. Here is an example from our 2nd and 3rd gen Hilux bumpers we once sold:



and of course the classic design from the Crawler Truck

 

I've never been a fan of plate bumpers. Yes, I realize they work great at concealing the massive, gaping holes that these newer vehicles have once their plastic shells are removed. But I'd much rather have a lightweight tube design that can pull off a unique look!

The most noticeable difference between the older Hilux and newer Tacoma is that when you remove the factory Hilux bumper you get a nice, straight line beneath the grill. Not so with the Tacoma as the grill is a hexapod. First idea was to simply cut the Tacoma grill straight across. I like how this looks and it still is my preferred choice. The issue is that there are so many custom aftermarket grills that once we start manufacturing these bumpers there is no way we'd expect customers to cut them up. So I had to compromise.

A few images I was playing around with

Center is the typical cut I've seen many people do. At right it is a straight across cut like we'd normally see on older trucks



Here on the right I tried to compromise by cutting across but leaving the grill insert in place so people can retain their custom grills



Same thing here, unmodified grill insert



I like a straight across design but it's not practical so I'll have to do something else...