Groot the Grey, too much time to plan, not enough time to adventure

Hey there TW

Been lurking for a bit, already started the Patches and wanted to post up a bit of a build thread for what we've done so far.

We loved the spirit of Groot and thus we've named our truck as such.



First off I'm Mitchell and my wife and I have enjoyed living in a van for the past year but after seeing a few Tacoma's run past us up mountains and down trails we decided we needed a change. We found a 2017 TRD OR DCSB in MGM (MGM mafia member apparently...) and picked it up a few weeks ago. Truck only had 8,300 miles on it so its essentially new. With parts ready to bolt on we got to work.

First we put the TW special Prinsu rack (its just what everyone does), Front Runner bed crossbars, Tepui Ayer Explorer RTT, and Total Chaos Bed stiffeners.

Pictures of this thread is worthless.


Doggo seems to enjoy the view. (Bed stiffeners not installed in this pic)

I then had to go back out to sea so the build stopped for a bit. I also needed to figure out what to do for our camping trip this summer. Super pressed for time with only 8 days at home until the trip starts I had to come up with something simple and modular.

Drafted up this drawing to get things installed. Thanks to TW for dimensions and ideas about how rear bed setups go.


Pretty basic but should work for us. On the drivers side there will be storage bins and a Yeti 65. Changed the storage bins from the Rubbermaid Actionpacker to Ziploc Weathertight 60qt bins. These will be held in place by simple car straps from the L-Track to the stock tie downs. We've used them in the past and they have clips on all four sides, smaller and more modular, and have worked well for us. On the passenger side a simple plywood box will be built under the Front Runner Wolf Pack boxes. The Wolf Pack boxes will be secured with L-Track and bungee cords to keep things in place. We'll have cold water in the cooler and extra fresh water on the drivers side in a 6 gallon trail jug.



Here's the external box that'll go in the bed which will be mounted to a piece of plywood that covers the whole bed. After this is installed on the plywood base everything will be coated in truck bed liner to provide protection and sealant (kind of).



And here's the drawer setup that'll go inside the box. Drop down section for the camp stove, section below the camp stove will fold down to create a small working area.

This will slide on UHMW plastic bars because drawer slides this length are really crazy expensive. We will have a paddle latch on the end to hold everything in place, even though the tailgate will also be there.

For interior storage we've got the pup sitting on the folded down 60 side of the seats and on the 40 side we've got 3 FR Flat Packs that'll hold 5-6 days of clothing and all our jackets, hats, gloves, etc. Looking at other places to store things inside, still not 100% on everything.

For the roof we will also be adding to the Prinsu a Pelican iM3200 Storm Case on the drivers side to for recovery gear, medical supplies, and anything else we need. I selected the Pelican for the 6 latch setup (including on the ends) instead of just latches on the side. Additionally 4 Maxtrax will be added on the passenger side and both of our Isle Paddleboards will be strapped in the middle space created by the Pelican and the Maxtrax.

This summer we have a long trip planned starting in Florida. We will then head up to New Jersey and onto Maine. Unsure of the exact route but we're planning on going through Vermont, New Hampshire, Canada to Niagra Falls, around the Great Lakes on the Canadian side, down through the Dakotas hitting the Badlands, Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse, and ending in Southeast Wyoming. Hopefully this setup will be enough for us.

Any comments and suggestions welcome!

 

Starting to get some more parts in and got the RCI sliders from their Tax Time sale.
My wife says the sliders look great. Time to get them painted and when I get home installed.

Picked up a bunch of other storage bins and bags to keep things organized as well.

 

Nice work so far Mitchell.
Sounds like the rig will be outfitted nicely. Hope you guys and the pup have a great trip.

 

Thanks! We're trying to stay stock on the truck minus some sliders, rather be safe than sorry. We want to use this summer trial run to see what we need instead of just pouring mods on as quick as can be. This is our only vehicle and my wife's daily driver so we can't go too wild.

 

I like your build philosophy along with the aesthetic of the truck. Looking to do something similar to my 2019 TRDOR that's grey as well

 

Don't get me wrong, I have a dream build of things I'd like to add, but if I haven't needed it I don't want to spend the extra cash just because its cool.
I'm really trying to stay low center of gravity. I don't think a lift is necessary unless its to clear slightly larger tires. I don't want to re-gear unless I really have to.

Now if only I can find an sr5 owner who wants the chrome grill so I can get the black grill. I feel like the TRD Pro grill is a bit played out. I would rather spend less money on non functional upgrades.

 

Hey everyone,

Slight update. My wife and I worked on Groot for 3 days after I got home from sea. We're pretty set for this summers travels and we've been talking about some future mods for the future and as we need them.


We bolted up the Pelican case and made some aluminum brackets for the Maxtrax, Isle inflatable paddle board sits nicely in the middle.





In the rear the bed setup worked out almost perfectly. I swapped to Ziploc Weatherproof boxes as they have 6 latches on them, they're smaller and lighter under full load, and look better constructed. The three FR Wolfpack boxes didn't end up fitting. The front top of the bed (steel structural part) protrudes into the bed by about an inch and makes the boxes not fit with a closed tailgate. The drawer setup is essentially flush against the tailgate when closed which works perfect. We're ordering another Flatpack for inside clothing storage and organization and a Cubpack to replace that middle Wolfpack. I used L-track to mount the boxes and it seems to work quite nicely.



We got the rock sliders installed. @Joshp767 I coated them in bedliner for extra traction and these beauties bolted right up. Not sure how anyone without having smaller arms can reach past the brake lines to put the backing plates and nuts on for the forward two but thanks to a super awesome wife crawling under the truck for a day they were easily installed. Thanks again RCI.

Now I know we said we'd be taking mods as we need them instead of want them, but I gotta ask what mods will actually improve performance and are necessary?

Also anyone know of a black SR5 grill around? Otherwise the @runnin4tacos Raptor lights Pro grill might just have to end up happening. It's different and cheaper than all the other ones. The chrome badges and grill are really starting to bother me.

 

Also of note. The Wolfpack boxes had clearance underneath the FR load bars but hit the mounting brackets that Tepui sends to "u bolt" mount to any crossbar or rack. So we said no problem we will just directly mount the tent to the load bars. 1st problem was the holes were too small in the bottom of the tent. No problem we drilled them out. Then we doscoverdi that Tepui places the straps to go across the cover directly inline with the mounting holes. Whyyyyy would they do this when in their instructions it says to cut the bars down if mounting them left to right instead of front to bacm. Who knows. So we finished mounting everything up on the bed and it now sits about an inch lower, feels incredibly more secure, looks way cleaner, and allows the Wolfpack boxes slide nicely underneath.

Needless to say the morning we started working on our drawer setup delayed us by about 3 hours to change that whole setup.



Does anyone have any ideas how to get our pup down from the tent safely? I can coax her to come to me but my wife cannot.