Vicali's 2017 TRD Sport, Silver

After our 2nd Gen Cables ran into headgasket issues we ended up deciding on a 2017 TRD Sport as a replacement. Not the way we wanted to get a new truck but we decided to make the best of it. I had two nights to get everything off the old truck, keep everything that would fit the 3rd Gen, and sell the rest. The only thing I regret was not getting the front rail.

We welcomed Silver home, named by my 4year old daughter, the day before Halloween.




Day 2 I managed to get a rock chip on the windshield driving it home from the office and so we had our first visit to the glass shop;



and then;



Winter.

 

One of the things I was blown away with was adding Baja Design lights to the other truck, The Squadron Sports were the second thing (after the Prinsu) taken off and saved in a pile for the new truck..

I waited and planned and ended up being able to make another jump before I mounted them again.. I sold the previous CBI ditchlight brackets - and order new 3rd Gen ones.

Then I talked to Bailey, and worked out my new plan;




Squadrons Pro for the ditch lights, and used the Spot lens.






Squadron Sports into the fog position with the 3rd Gen brackets with Yellow Combo lens for the fogs.




Shapeways switch panel and CH4x4 switches.



*note that the top green and red needed to be switched around in this pic;



I used the source from an add-a-fuse on the highbeam in the main fuse box, then added a relay on my own bracket to control the lights. I had to do this because the CH4x4 switches top out at 3A and are designed for relays.



I'm headed out tonight to try these out and get them aimed.. just waiting for dark.

 

Can't wait to hear what you think once they are all aimed

-Bailey, Baja Designs
www.bajadesigns.com

 

Got them aimed up and of course I'm super happy with them, they are small and not flashy or attention grabbing like a lightbar across the front or top would be, they barely have any draw ~9amp when both sets are running, and they still changeable if I want to swap lenses around.

I wanted lights for night driving on back roads, I groom xc trails and spend most of the ski season driving out to the trails and back at 2am in the snow. Lots of moose, deer, and range cows out there and I don't want any surprises.

-The hood glare is not as bad using Spot lenses as it was with the Combo lens in the same position.
-The Sport with Yellow Combo fill in the high beams very well and add the Yellow colour for snow/dust that I was looking for.
-The Pro Spot lens throws far and white, adding the distance.


School field; 100m ~350ft to the hillside at the end of the field.
(ae lock set on low beams).

Low beams:


High Beams:


High and Squadron Sport Yellow Combo in Fog brackets:


High and Sport and Squadron Pro Spot on CBI Ditch lights:



Road test; 300m ~1000ft to the corner/last set of trees.
(ae lock set on low beams).

Low beams:


High Beams:


High and Squadron Sport Yellow Combo in Fog brackets:


High and Sport and Squadron Pro Spot on CBI Ditch lights:


Everything got tightened down and covers back on the Pros for daily driving duties.
Thanks for your help Bailey.

 

Got the Prinsu on, now it's looking like my truck again..



After installing it once already on the 2nd Gen it was a breeze; total time was less than an hour.

Two days of rain and I'm satisfied that my silicon is holding. I removed the sixth bar to clear the sharkfin, and looking at my canoe mounts I've decided that when I'm carrying the boat I'll add the last bar vertically behind the fin.

Maxtrax are on and secured, and may be necessary given I'm running out these Toyo tires before I get back to the K02.

While I had it off and sitting on my workbench over the winter I took the Prinsu back apart and cleaned and polished the sides and front. After two years on the truck I was happy with how little the aluminum had faded. No signs of corrosion and it came back as shiny as ever with a quick polish and wax.

 

Had the boat out for a paddle on the weekend - one of the reasons we have the Prinsu is to be able to carry the canoe while towing our RV trailer. In the past I've had canoe racks on canopies but the boat end up hanging off the back of the truck. Being able to have the whole boat above the length of the truck is a big plus.



The only drawback is that because we have a Prospector and it has plenty of rocker that means the mounts had to be lifted to clear the canopy. Also the Sharkfin on the 3rd Gen is in the way of the last bar on the Prinsu. I modded mine by adding an extra hole to mount the last bar vertical and then fabbing a lift for the Malone boat rack that we use;



Once it's on and strapped down it is super stable - I'm using the front and rear ties back to the rack as well, rather than running a bumper line or hood ties. We'll see - I may add those in the future.

 

Got back from a weekend trip and found water inside one of my Squadron Sports;

Not cool,




Now I'm rocking the BD flag while the light gets a full check-up by the Baja Design. Thanks to Bailey, Jason, and the rest of the team for all the help.

 

Looking good...

 

Re-installed a few things I had sitting around the garage from the 2nd Gen.
Camping season is here and our trailer is a 19ft Keystone Hideout, first step is the brake controller.

Put the Tekonsha P2 in using the new 3031 harness for the 3rd Gen, mounted it in the same spot- out of the way but within sight and reach.







Also ordered the

$56 PT278-35100-BH Truck Bed Header Rail

PT278-35100-BH front bed rail and installed it so that I could put all my gear back in;



The last thing to put back is my MFC - you can see the strap for it hanging - I'm just sorting out some fuel smell issues..

 

When are you going to share your ham radio install? I'm slowly working on my FT857 install, 2m antenna and power into the cab so far, faceplate hanging off the GoPro mount, just have to run the separation cables up the A-pillar and under the headliner. Still thinking about mobile HF antennas. Have used Hamsticks in the past but not sure where to mount them when i have the canopy on my truck.
VE7TLL

 

Ha - I was out with my radio looking at where it's going to go yesterday.. in the 2nd Gen it fit so nice that I'm having a hard time getting it clean as I want.
I've ended up chosing an 18" Ram Pod gooseneck, with an AMPs plate on the top, plan is to shorten it up until it sits just in front of the drivers seat;



Base and speaker will stay cable tied under the drivers seat, and fender mount antenna clip fits the 3rd Gen just fine.





That's the plan anyways..

 

Greyed out the chrome grille -- less shine but still OEM looking;



Next I was out test fitting the radio mount and before I knew it I had it all installed..
I ended up using the gooseneck mount but with the shortest length possible to keep it just below the front of the drivers seat;







The radio body and speaker is mounted under the seat out of the way of all the yellow wires;



All tuned up and scanning my favourite channels.

 

Updated my NMO mount, I was using a fender mount but it put the antenna right in front of the Squadron lights, ended up using a flat stainless mount off the side of the cbi ditch light mount.

 

One of the things bothering me about the driving lights wired through the high beams was if I saw any oncoming headlights on the backroads I would go to low beam and lose all ditch and side vision.

Fumbling around turning off switches on the dash is tricky even in the dark and while driving. I ended up with a solution that was figured out a long time ago.



I ordered a guitar pedal foot switch from lovemyswitches and ran on the switch circuit for the Squadron Pros.

Took out the footrest and mounted the switch right at the edge and out of my way;


Install required trimming a small section off the weathertech but I was happy with how it went.


Now I can keep the reg high beams and Sport on and dip the Pros separately while driving.

 

Nice setup! Which model canoe is that? We've got a Cascade:

 

It's a Prospector 16, Kevlar/Duraflex 62lbs,
http://www.clippercanoes.com/16-foot-prospector/

We were very close to getting a Hellman Prospector new, but then this one came up locally and was too good to pass up. It's been a very good boat for us. It carries our family of four easily and can handle water way rougher than we would ever find ourselves on. Plus it handles like a solo boat when I'm in it alone and get it over.

I like how they glow on the water;

 

Took the trailer to the lake for the weekend, Hideout 19FLB ~4200lbs.

First time out on the highway towing with this truck. It handled it really well, stayed steady at 100kmh on the highway with coolant and trans temp both around 90c (194f) for over an hour. Kept mostly in 4th with ECT on, noticed it was a lot more comfortable and quiet than our 2nd gen was.

Next up is airbags and additional trans cooler.

 

Installed the rest of my BD goodies that had been sitting on my workbench;

First Baja Designs Dome light mounted up in the box, in the winter loading and unloading skiis used to mean having the cargo light on and the keys in the truck.. Now the light has a switch on it and constant 12v. Happy with the mount and it's out of the way and protected by the shape of the box.

 

Next I put one S2 Sport flush mount with a Yellow Combo lens into the rear bumper.
I wanted more light when backing up, but also the ability to light camp, run in dust or snow and bee seen. I used a CH4x4 switch and ran it constant so I can use it with the truck off as well.

 

Vacation Week complete.

~500km each way, 8hrs of driving, ~90kmph, ECT on.
~20L/100km (11.7mpg), CLT ~90C, ATF ~90C, Max range 300km (fuel light on, 'please refuel').