Cochisecrusher Build and Alaska Adventure post

I've wanted a Tacoma since a buddy of mine had one Junior year 1999. It was a fun truck to ride and get stuck in. Fast forward 21 years and here I finally am with my first Taco!

I didn't have the money to buy a new truck. So I opted to spend what would turn out to be a little over a year, looking for my dream truck. I was looking for either a Gen 3 quicksand or cement, MT, OR with less than 60k miles for less than $30k. I would find, as many of you know, all sorts of variations of these locally and nationally. Right color, wrong features. Right color, right features, 100k+ miles and almost everyone of them was an automatic. My wife was to the point of frustration, as she had no idea why I wanted, rather demanded, a manual transmission. And then this past October it happened. While browsing the USAA car buying website, with the search filter set very wide, I noted something strange. Headline read 2016 TRD Sport Auto. The strange part was that all of the photos were of a 2016 TRD OR MT in seemingly near mind condition! I was floored! I called right away and yes, the truck listed was the truck I wanted, an OR for sub $30k with 60K on the odo. I'm in Rhode Island currently, so I did what any other rationally thinking warm blooded American would do. I got all the paperwork organized then hoped on a flight to MD and scooped up my latest obsession!



Since the truck was used I knew there might be some unforeseen issues, but the price was right and there was already a couple of upgrades that I was going to do anyway. The grill had been changed to a much better, more aggressive one and the tires were upgraded to KO2s.

Soon after buying the truck my family, found out we are PCSing to Anchorage, AK! I of course planned on modding a bunch of things on the truck, as that is half the fun of owning a taco. Since we will be OCONUS, I decided to move forward with a bunch of mods that will be easier to do now while I have access to many more options as well as next day shipping for free!!!

So here's my build and soon to be cross country trip from RI to Anchorage! Hope y'all enjoy the ride and if anyone has any suggestions I am more than open to hear your ideas!

Most Current picture will be updated here as the ol'Crusher in upgraded.






Interior
Meso Map Light upgrade
Left side switch panel added
OEM style switches on left side panel
Rear seat dual USB and cigarette lighter power added
MESO Gasshole
Center Console Organizer
WeatherTech mats
Dasaita CarPlay head unit
Taco Garage Dashtop Multi Mount
Yaesu ftm-400xdr HAM Radio


Under Hood
Pelfreybilt blank mounted plate
Blue Sea ST Blade Fuse Box
Blue Sea 187 150a Breaker
Katz 11813 Engine Block Heater
Custom LED Lights on pin switch
X2Power Premium AGM BCI Group 27F Battery

$323 ARB CKMA12 On-Board Air Compressor High Performance 12 Volt for Air Locker Differentials and Tire Inflation

ARB CKMA12
Compressor Bracket

Exterior
De-badged
Caliraised 32" hidden Light Bar
LED Reverse Lights
Rear Diff relocation
Exhaust Relocated
Leer 100R Cap
Cali Raised Tri Color LED Fog Lights
Thile Roof rack for cap
Prinsu Cab Rack
Thule Cap Roof Rack

Suspension
Replaced old rusted OEM Struts with newer OEM Bilstein struts and springs

Armor
SOS Bolt-on Sliders
OEM Skid Plates

Recovery
ARB AR12 Weekender
Hitch Recovery Point and Shackle
Tracks
Maxtrax Pins
Rotopax 2 gal Gas Can

Ordered or Soon to be Before AK move
Relation Race Wheels Hidden Winch Mount
Warn Winch VR EVO 8-S - 103251
Custom Bed platform

 

First mod was the rear diff relocation. I have a good buddy, @forty2 , that I had been talking to about what mods I should start with. I also was stalking the Free Mod forum for ideas for months. I wanted to start moding, but not on anything I wasn't actually going to use often. I also wanted to keep the exterior look of the truck as stock as possible. He had done this mod so I figured it was fast, easy, cheap and functional, so why not. The main area near me for riding usually has a bunch of water. I ordered the parts from Amazon and had everything done and organized in 45 mins. The longest step in the process was removing the spare tire.... I'd seen peeps going into the gas cap compartment, but decided in the end to go into the drivers side bed storage box.

Parts used

$8 Toyota Union - 90404-51319

Genuine Toyota (90404-51319) Union

$6 Toyota Breather Plug - 90930-03136

Toyoya 90930-03136 PLUG, BREATHER

$11 ¼ Inch ID Fuel Line for Small Engines 6-Foot Length

LDR 516 F146 ¼ Inch ID Fuel Line for Small Engines 6-Foot Length
2 Jubilee style hose clamps
6 black zip ties

 

As the weeks past I knew I was going to have to do something about the bed of the truck in terms of the snow fall here in New England. We don't get a ton, but the last two years we have gotten several 10-14" over night accumulations. After looking around I found a great forum here on tonneau tri fold covers, here. I wound up talking with Luke Kyle at www.truckalterations.com @truckalter . He is a very easy person to work with and if you are in the market, do yourself a favor and call him for a screaming deal! The cover was delivered in 2 days, no shit! An hour after the box arrived the cover was in place and secured!!

 

I’m sure gonna miss this beer selection when we move to AK....

 

So after having the truck for a while I started noticing a few things that were broken or just weird. First, I noticed that both of the front headlight housings attachments were broken. Then while inspecting the intake filter I found out that the housing attachments were all broken. I inspected it at the dealer I bought it from, but a guy in the shop had pulled the cover off first. Looking around further with my flashlight I found a bunch of broken plastic pieces all over the engine compartment. The truck has no history of accidents in terms of a car fax and there is no visual proof that anything substantial has occurred. I reached out to the original owner, but he was mum. Still, why the hell were these attachment point all broken? Shitty DIY reinstall maybe? Anyway, I found a couple great deals here in the BST forum and installed newer equipment to replace that wack shit that was given to me. I also added a slybracket no drill front plate bracket.

If all of that wasn't enough, while I was looking over the front suspension, I noticed that I had different struts on the front of the truck! WTF! Again, back the ol' tried and true BST forum. After an easy purchase of a full set of struts and springs, from a 2019 with 5k on them, I installed them with little to no problems. Well, I did have to replace both sway bar links due to excessive rust. I nearly striped the allen while working with them. I wound up using Pb penetrating spray and waiting a bit. No problems after I gave it an hour just in case. I also painted the front recovery point with a bright red Rust-oleum spray paint from HD.


This is just a little bit of the random shit I found. There was a ton more of random bits of broken plastic.



The link was in great condition but the bolt nut was rusted and trashed. To replace both of them was cheap and I was already elbow deep....

 

One of the mods I was most interested in doing was adding a front lower bumper light bar. I didn't want anything that protruded out or was to flashy. I really like the way the Tacomas look and I want to keep it close to the stock look if possible. That said, there are some very slick build on this forum that are changing my mind on the daily. Talking to you @MESO ! Anyway, I again searched the BST forum and found a used @CaliRaisedLed (CR) 32" bar with lower brackets and the none OEM switch that comes with the setup. After the parts came in from the seller I made sure everything was functional and then ordered a CR OEM switch.

The install on these is VERY easy. The only thing that took time was wiring everything up and that's only because I had to run the wires through the fire wall. No problem there, it just takes time to make sure you're not nipping something that shouldn't be nipped. After the install I realized right away I was gonna want some sort of additional fuse panel and a breaker setup to keep things clean. I plan on added a compressor, radio and winch so why not get the power system straight now? That search lead me down another rabbit hole that I will post about later. Here is the link from CR on how to install the kit.

Here is how the CR spot 32" light bar turned out.

 

Glad you like it! The tacos is looking good.

 

Love it so far!

 

Gonna be a good couple days....

 

When the military informed us that we would be moving to Vegas we were excited beyond our wildest dreams. We have as a family travelled there as a pass through to adventures beyond. As well as many adventures in Red Rocks over the years. I immediately knew a GFC system was in our future!! The easy side access for my tools and random loads, plus the light wight (comparatively), total weight of the unit. That was until the AF decided to retract our orders and reissue us new ones for Anchorage, AK! Still psyched, but a very different life style to wrap our heads around. So as is with all things in life that change, we had to pivot. I went back to my original plan from years ago, a Leer 100R or 100XR with platform for my future build out.

After talking with @forty2 about options he wound up sending me an old switch panel sample he designed that was laying around for me to try. I wanted to see if I liked it for a replacement for the useless pocket to the left of the steering wheel before I did anything drastic. Works and looks great, but after using it a bit I realized the keystone sized slots wouldn't be used in this area for my uses now. He makes a three switch plug instead so I ordered and installed that instead. If you're interested, check out his designs and parts on his shapeways account here.




Then it was off to the ol' interwebs for more minimal research. I wound up ordering a set of marine grade usb and cig plugs for the back seat. I ran my power from the battery through the factory boot just next to the master cylinder as my entry point. Then under the carpet and along the bottom of the center console just past the front seat. Once there I removed the two 10mm bolts located under the felt inside the console. I lifted the console 1-2" and then removed the rear panel just under the rear cupholders. After remeasuring the diameter of the outlets and found the center of the console for aesthetic purposes only, I used a hole-saw and wound up with a great looking finished product. In the end I decided to have these outlets on constant power. I did add an OEM style switch so I could control the power draw when not needed and yes, I know this is not necessary.

@forty2

Also at this point I realized I needed to invest a bit of time on figuring out some type of plan I should have for an additional fuse panel and breaker. I could foresee an electrical shit show in my future with some of the mods I wanted to do. After talking with friends and looking at what folks here have done I would up with a

$41 Blue Sea Systems 5026 ST Blade Fuse Block 12 Circuit with Ground and Cover

Blue Sea Fuse block and

$40 Blue Sea Systems 7189 285 Series Circuit Breaker, Surface Mount, 150 Amp, 48V DC

Breaker. I have a MT so most of the mounting brackets that I found are for AT. I eventually bought a Pelfreybilt found here. I guess BAMF bought out their inventory, which I am very grateful for. Check them out. These brackets mount using the two bolts holding the clutch fluid reservoir. They are a pain in the butt to start the rethread, but makes for a much cleaner engine bay in the end.




I also added a center console organizer and the engine block heater, remember AK is in my future. All in all it was a very productive Taco day!

 

I had the undercarriage inspected by Toyota recently and I needed a spare key made so while i was at the dealer I noticed a case of fancy key rings. The service manager gave me a couple for free.

 

After looking into quick, easy ways to add clearance to the rig, I decided to head to the local custom muffler shop and have the exhaust rerouted. Took an hour and I'm very pleased with the added clearance. The overall cost was higher than I originally thought, but that was due to me choosing to go with steel instead of an aluminum pipe. It's been a few weeks and all is well. No sensor pops, I've read that can happen, and no rattling.

 

I was very nervous about my next mod. Debagging. While this isn't anything to be nervous about if you do it with the correct materials and timing, I'd always heard that if you waited to debadge you run the risk of the paint under the stickers to be less faded due to sun and general wear-n-tear. I bought this truck used and I wasn't exactly sure if this was true or not, so I decided to see. I started by removing the smallest badge, the V6 on the tailgate. Following what others had done and what seemed to be the least invasive, I used fishing string to remove the double-side stick tape from the badge by using a sawing, back and forth motion. Most of the adhesive tape stayed onto the truck, as I figured it would. After applying GooGone and waiting a bit to let it work, I was able to remove all signs of the adhesive. To my delight, there was no discoloration!




So I proceeded to the Tacoma badges. Following the same steps as before, I came up with the same satisfactory results.



Then the TRD Of-Road stickers....

These stickers were much harder to remove. I used a hairdryer and this absolutely helped. Make sure to not stay in one place to long with your heat source and make sure to give yourself at least 6-10 inches distance from the heat source and the stickers. If not, you risk damaging your clear coat! After about 40 mins I was able to remove all the stickers!



To summarize, in my case I was able to remove all badges from a 2016 about four years after they were installed with no visible signs of fading or discoloration. Will this be the same result on your truck, I have no clue, but I would start with the V6 badge on the tailgate if you're feeling froggy. I hope this helps and feel free to ask questions!

 

Meso Map Lights and Gasshole installed. I can't wait to get the Dome light ordered once its back in stock!

 

Moving to AK has giving me lots to think about. One is that there are going to be many a day with out much light. So I decided to make sure to cover my bases now while im still in the lower 48 and install a few lights here and there for safety and convenience. I installed a LED in the engine bay just incase something goes wrong and Ill need to work on something in the dark. Pretty straight forward. I put an inline switch in place to so the light would turn on/off when the hood was open/closed. I placed the hood pin switch on a preexisting hole so there was no drilling that took place. I also ran the wires through the body of the hood and it looks and works great! IM not sure if there will be any rubbing problems with the wires so my plan is to inspect them in a few months and see what's what.

 

@SOS CONCEPTS sliders are in!! Very easy job for the driveway. I couldn't get the very first bolt in on the driver side, as it seems many folks can't. My plan is to buy an extendable magnet and use that to install it when it arrives from Amazon. Seems peeps have had pretty good luck with that. I also order a bunch or grommets in different sizes as the brake line will rub on the new bolts. I'll update once everything is done! Whole install took 2 hours.

 

Put in some new Fog Lights. Let's see how the workout. CaliRasied Tri Color LEDs. Very easy to install.

 

Gonna be a fun day of installs!

 

UPDATE!!