New 2019 Tacoma 4x4 Crew Cab Short Bed

Hello everyone. First a thank you to all as I have already been scouring some of the threads here and love the great information.

I just recently acquired a new 2019 Tacoma to replace my 1995 Tacoma, which has served me well these many years (still runs great, paint is so-so, can't get parts anymore...). Crew cab so that there's actually room for an 80 lb. retriever; short bed because I like the turning radius and it actually fits in the garage without major rearranging; and 4x4 because...I guess I don't need to explain that one...

Primary uses other than day-to-day driving are hauling around bikes and sea kayaks, backcountry roads, and snow. No rock-hopping though.

Upgrades so far includes the tonneau cover, start to a rack system and underbody protection, and theft prevention (thanks again to the folks here).

 

Welcome noob. Prepare to spend $ on useless sh!t that we convince you is awesome and will raise your status on TW.

 

Rack and Tonneau Cover.

Added a Retrax Pro XR tonneau cover, primarily due to integration with Yakima Overhaul HD system, providing me with needed kayak carrying capacity and lockable storage space (no kayak gear in the cab!).

The Yakima Overhaul HD system will install over the Retrax tonneau cover and be used for bikes (front bar, near the cab) and kayaks (rear bar, toward the rear). Waiting on Yakima to get the Tonneau Kit back in stock (late July...they mis-forcasted demand...). Will post another pic once it's installed.

Over-the-Cab rack system is a Rhino Rack RTS track installed in the roof (replacing the factory plastic/rubber piece) with Yakima Skyline towers and HD bars. Ultimately, for most of my usage, only a single bar will be on the roof rack for the kayaks. The Rhino Rack track is a much better solution than the door-attached rack towers, both functionally and aesthetically. The towers and bars pop off and on the landing pads very easily.

 

Welcome to TacomaWorld!

 

Come on man. Pics of your pups please. And welcome aboard!

 

Welcome!

 

Welcome to TW!!

 

Of this I have no doubt...

This is Mr. Simon. The back of the cab will be his...after a few mods.

 

Love it. Nice looking pups. Bet he is a joy to have.

 

Theft Protection and Underbody

Tailgate: Ordered and installed the SaBellCo tailgate hinge lock and did the tailgate cable / washer mod. Again, many thanks to everyone here and especially anyone designing and manufacturing these custom devices.

Catalytic Converters: I had a cat cut out of my '95 Tacoma while it was parked in my driveway overnight. Not fun. Installed a CatClamp around that one. Not really looking forward to using those again though.

I got the impression from the forums that a transmission skid plate might be enough so ordered and installed a RCI Metalworks skid. However, it sure seems the cats are still very exposed...maybe a little bit harder to get an angle on them.

Would definitely appreciate any additional feedback on this. Is this enough or should I look at attaching something between the skid plate and outer frame (there are two bolts holes available from cat protection bars that came out when the skid plate was installed).
Not looking forward to cut out cats again (and now there are 2...).

 

Welcome to TW

 

Welcome . If your looking for a free mod take off the front air dam. It will make the truck look at lot nicer IMO

 

Simon is an amazing dog.

Thanks too for the bed deck idea. That is similar to what I have in mind. I don't generally have use for the back seats, so I plan on removing the bottom seats (just a few bolts) and bolting in a low deck in their place. Then a pad and blanket and Simon will have the entire back cab to himself.

The other half of this idea will be to also enable a truck tool box to be bolted to the low deck (final design tbd) thus enabling secure and out-of-sight storage in the cab.

And when family visits....just bolt the seats back in...

 

I'm about to get the petdek for my pups. The legs are adjustable too for height. Only thing i have seen to help that is to get a couple of cheap pillows or that mattress thingy (can't remember what it is called that takes up the space between your head and the head board), to take up any space that remains.

 

Thanks. I'll take a look at that. Plans are to put on real front and rear bumpers eventually. Don't like hitting stuff (or stuff hitting me) with plastic...it's too bad all the stuff we have to do to turn these into a real truck nowadays....

 

Welcome to TW!

 

Welcome!