The Getaway...Crom's build and adventures

That is AWESOME!!! I have just paid off my Tacoma, and I would much like to do that to my truck, sir! Can you first then second and then third and etc. what I should do sir. I’m separated U.S. Marine veteran. I got shot in the head lost 1/3 of my brain thus the right side of my body is paralyzed. All to say, you are my hero! #JustSayin #DropTheMic

 

From a non combat Veteran thank you for your sacrifice you guys are my heroes! Welcome to TW!

 

@Crom did you actually use the tubing you linked in your trans flush? i ordered it via the link, and they sent me 1/4" ID, 3/8" OD tubing, which obviously didnt fit.

 

Well "thank you for your service" seems woefully inadequate but nonetheless, "thank you for your service!"

Crom is often slow to respond as his life has gotten rather busy. But there are a lot of knowledgeable folks who watch this thread so hopefully you'll get some sound advice.

As far as off road travel goes it does depend a bit on the terrain you are likely to cover. What part of the country are you going to be exploring?

I can offer that for the dry western half of the US that I think the best and easiest things to improve your truck are relatively invisible mods that help with traction.

First one of the most important traction issues isn't getting going but rather getting stopped. The ABS system in these trucks will kick in on dry dirt roads and greatly increase the stopping distance. Now at the same time the system will also do what it is suppose to which is keep the truck pointed where you are steering but the problem is if there is a washout or gully across the road it doesn't matter where you steer - you need to stop right now. The fastest way for the vehicle to stop on dirt is for the tires to actually lock which will then build up a small berm in front of the wheel. But of course ABS is designed to prevent the wheels from locking. So the first and almost free modification I'd do would be the ABS disable switch.

Second would be decent tires, specifically LT rated with strong sidewalls that you can air down. Airing down greatly improves traction and also really smooths out the ride on the long washboard roads common out west. This can be kind of pricey as a nice set of tires can run into $1000. If your truck is also a daily driver then you may want to think carefully about how heavy a tire you select as that will lower your MPG in your daily driving and some off road tires also wear pretty quickly meaning you'll end up replacing those expensive tires quickly if you do a lot of daily driving on the highway and around town.

Third if you've now gotten tires you can air down you'll need a way to air them back up! So some sort of air compressor is in order. There are many choices here including very fancy permanent installations like Crom has done here or portable compressors that you connect to the battery with clips to use. But you do want a quality compressor that can handle airing up four largish tires in a reasonable amount of time. Expect to pay $200 to $300 for this.

After those three then I might start worrying about the suspension. Crom has come up with a really nice balance of price, performance and ease of maintenance on suspension in this thread. One thing though - if you are going with larger tires (33" or higher) then you'll need the suspension before you buy tires. For 32" and smaller tires you can get the tires first and do the suspension later. Honestly while it seems everyone goes for 33" tires once they have a lift I'd recommend just sticking to 32" instead. Even with a suspension lift you'll likely end up with trimming and cutting stuff to get a 33" to fit and you'll of course also have a heavier tire to deal with as far as MPG all for getting a whole 0.5" additional clearance compared to a 32" that just fits easily with or without the lift.

And if you are living someplace with lots of water and mud rather than the dry west you probably want to seek advice from folks that drive in those environments!

 

But what about light bars? Can I get away with two, or do I need four?

 

It is suppose to be 3/8” inner diameter

 

Welcome and Thank you.

I am sorry, bad product link. I bought a bunch of vinyl tubing at the same time, and links got mixed up when documenting.

It's the

$16 Watts SVIG20 Pre-Cut 1/2" Diameter by 3/8" Clear Vinyl Tubing, 20-Foot Length

1/2" OD, 3/8" ID one.

Yes. Thanks!

Thank you!

Need more light bars. Light-bars everywhere!!!

 

Dunno, how much free shelf space you got these days?

 

I have been reading bits and pieces of this over the last week or two and this is a phenomenal thread! Excellent work @Crom!

 

Some of the best advice around! since my truck is also our daily driver, i moved from the ko2 tire to the new cooper at3 4s. it can handle dirt just fine, and a thousand times better on the street (especially when wet). the sidewalls aren't as thick, but they still have some meat on them. worth a look if you drive on roads every day

 

After way too much time not having fun--It finally was time to have some.

Took my oldest kid out for target shooting. Climbed and explored a rocky hillside. And finally a leisurely drive over a mountain with spectacular views.

 

Had more outside fun today at the coast.

Kids swam in ocean.



Later they dried out in the sun while my wife and I enjoyed the sun, and sound of the waves.

 

Glad to see you are still using the truck when you can. Life gets busy in a hurry. I’m there myself. Still one of my favorite builds on this site.

Remember that time you got screwed out of the “build thread” of the year in the TW awards? Haha.

 

I found two things wrong with the truck, maybe a third.

First, my auxiliary battery died. I pulled it outta the truck and into the lab where I could work on it. It took a few attempts, but finally took a charge. And 24 hours later, meter said 1.2KW of charging and all stages completed successfully. I think someone, left the shell lights on and that drained the battery. The solar panels and the on-board CTEK couldn't contend with the situation and the battery remained dead. I'll be reinstalling the battery soon and I think I am going to redo my wiring at the battery.

Up until this time, my battery, fuse block have all been modular and easy to remove from the truck using quick disconnects. It works, but the downside is it's a little bit messy by my standards. I think I'll hard mount the fuse block and the CTEK it will allow me to shorten the wiring and make it more tidy.

Second, perhaps more serious, something is wrong with my front skid and how it mounts to the truck. I had fitment issues in the beginning and had to modify the skid to bolt up. I thought it was the skid but now I am thinking it might be the truck frame.

I'll have to take a pic to explain this, but the skid is in full contact with the frame where it sholuldn't be. It's the part where the LCA arms bolt up to the sheet metal tabs, but only the drivers side, passenger side has 1/2"-3/4" clearance. I am thinking I'll take a hack saw or angle grinder and just cut the skid to stop the contact.

Third, I am hearing a fucking sound I don't like. Don't know what it is, but sounds like front end steering, but could be related to the skid making contact with the frame as described above.

My biggest challenge will be finding time to work on these things. Like all things in the past, it will have to be a priority if it's gonna get fixed.

 

Thanks Carter! Still love the truck and I'll be planning more outings with it and the family. @DVexile recently helped me into a nice telescope for looking at celestial objects and we are excited about that. Yes. I remember, once was enough. haha

 

Trying to find a rooftop solution for hauling our sleeping bags and blankets. It's perhaps the most annoying part of my camp packing situation. I like the idea of the cargo carrier up top but need it as lo pro as possible since I just run the bajarack over the cab and a softopper (no shell roof rack).

What cargo carrier do you use? Didn't see it in the list but I might have missed it. Also do you have any other ideas?

 

If I may offer my advice. Sounds like we have the same setup (softopper and my own rack based of BajaRack flat rack). I use a Samsonite cargo bag on the roof rack for all my soft goods (sleeping bags, tents, clothes, etc.). When full, it looks like a RTT, but it also has cinch straps if you only fill it half way to keep it as lo profile as whatever you use it for. The best part is that when not in use, you can remove it and it stores in a box about 8"x8"x12". I bought mine at Costco, but here's a link to Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Samsonite-Ro...ge+bags&qid=1559230031&s=gateway&sr=8-1-fkmr0

 

One more question(s)...

You don't seem to be the typical Tacoma offroader... Like you don't take your truck out just to beat it up for the heck of it. Have you been stuck often? Any need for a winch? Do you use 4wd often? I've done similar excursions as you but have a lifted prerunner with good tires. Only time I wish I had 4wd (so far) has been on a winter trip to Big Bear, and still I did just fine on the roads. Chains and snowflake tires helped. I'm tempted to get a lo profile winch bunper, the kind where the middle area just gets cut out. But maybe overkill for a prerunner. Definitely don't wanna part ways with this truck just for 4wd right now

 

I'm not doing any major off-roading, just what I have to do to get to the places I want to go. If you're not riding technical trails regularly I see no NEED for winch, but I'm sure there will eventually be some situation I wish I had it. I opted to carry a portable ARB winch that has suited my needs the few times I needed it. It also works great for felling trees or hoisting up animals for skinning. The entire unit is not cheap (~$400), nor is it lightweight, but it works very well for a hand winch: https://www.4wheelparts.com/p/arb-magnum-hand-winch-unit-mhwu/_/R-BHWQ-MHWU I'm willing to bet at least 50% of the winches you see around here get used less than 5 times their entire life. A hand unit that I can take out of the truck for daily driving and utilize for various other tasks made more sense to me.

 

As a general rule winches mostly help you recover other vehicles and are less frequently useful for self recovery. Obviously in certain situations they can help if everything happens to be lined up right (i.e. the direction you want to recover in, your winch, an appropriate anchor). A lot of the time everything isn't lined up particularly well which is why if you watch most recovery videos what is typically happening is another vehicle in the party is winching the stuck vehicle. This makes sense since a vehicle that is not stuck can position itself optimally for the pull and in a lot of cases can also act as the anchor.

Many recovery situations don't even need a winch. Stuck in sand, hung on a rock, one wheel off the trail situations can often be tackled with a little bit of road building and traction devices. So functional jack (to lift the stuck wheel), shovel (build a road or dig out a wheel) and traction device (as low key as carpet strips or expo-instagram-ready as Maxtrax). The one case that doesn't work very well in is stuck in water - especially running water - where a winch recovery can be much more useful than the alternatives. So it depends on where you tend to go.