What Have You Done To Your 2nd Gen Tacoma Today?

Mocked up the retrofit after work today. These projectors and shrouds were much larger than anticipated but I am happy with the overall look.



Edit: finished most of it up. Just need to bake the headlights, aim the projectors a bit and we're done!

 

I ordered my Pop & Lock

$198 PL8540 Pop & Lock – Power Tailgate Smart Lock Combo with Bolt Technology for Toyota Tacoma, Fits 2005 to 2015 Models (OEM Color Black, PL8540)

PL8540 in March of 2015 and have had no problems with it. It's one of my favorite mods and super easy to install. Takes maybe 1-2 hours. Just to help out those that are interested.
*Note: If you have a key lock version, you can always unlock the tailgate, even if the actuator or the remote unlock functions fail. Even if you don't have the key lock version, you can still get it unlocked. With the tailgate up, just unscrew the screws across the top of the tailgate, stick you hand inside and manually actuate the mechanism to release the latch. Happend with my original Dynolock. Not a big deal.



I ran the power cable down and out one of the drain holes in the bottom of the tailgate.

Followed the cable inside the truck body

Ran the power cable to the grommet under the driver's seat

Then tapped into the power door lock wire(s) in the factory wire harness.. And your done.

 

I covered the bolts and nuts with some table leg/folding chair caps

 

Agreed, It's the first mod I did on my truck. I replaced the OEM with the Spyder Projector Headlights & HID retrofit. Glad I kept the originals. Now I can do this mod.

Discussion: Toyota Tacoma LED Halo Projector Headlights - Black

Had these since 2010:

Present Day:

 

Washed and waxed then a much needed detailing of the interior.
Used it to unload the storage unit which means the bedrack and RTT are back in the garage getting some spring cleaning and refreshing.
Mounted a couple "3rd brake lights" to my bedrack since my softopper and rack cover the stock brake light. Need to get some longer bolts to go through the 2" tube and waiting for wire to be delivered so I can tie them into the trailer lights.
Purchased a Smittybilt 8' awning so I drilled holes for the mounts and touched up the bed liner in spots where I scraped it last year.
Then today I ordered everything for the rear diff breather relocate, Trans fluid flush, and yellow fog lights bulbs. Just need to source some oil for the diffs and transfer case and my spring tune up will be complete.

 

Only if you go up in octane.

 

Finally bought it

 

Hey TW!

Something I did that's Tacoma related was enter the Head Strong Off-Road Winch Giveaway drawing the other day. I posted the story below and got in to the top 5!!!

If you liked the story and feel inclined to vote for me, it would mean a lot. Thanks everyone!

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...appreciation-give-a-way-voting-thread.660406/

 

Done

 

Thanks @"OldManTan" !

 

Done

 

Also done.

 

You guys are awesome. Thank you!

 

fo sho~

 

Completed my DIY "Head display and backup camera integration improvement" project on my 2014 DCLB.

Here's what was wrong with the original setup:

1. The head unit dimmer for night time mode sucked. There are two brightness levels, but selecting one or the other is tied to the running/head light switch. So, when driving in a "daytime headlights on for safety" section, the display is too dark to see. I thought it'd make a LOT more sense to have the day/night mode determined by the dimmer for the dash lights - duh, right?

2. I'd installed a backup camera on the tail end of our camp trailer and to see it I mounted an after market rear view mirror with a monitor. Which means there are two monitors, one on the dash for the stock backup camera, and the second up in the mirror for the trailer.

3. I have a canopy on the back making the center rear view mirror pretty much useless. And, it blocks an area of the windshield I'd rather see out of.

What I wanted instead:

1. Make use of the head unit monitor for all camera feeds - tailgate backup camera, trailer rear view, and (eventually) a grill mounted front view camera.

2. Make a reasonable selector that fits the style of the existing knobs on the dash rather than push buttons.

3. Change the day/night display mode toggle when the dash brightness is adjusted up or down.

To start with, the camera selector dial. I wanted it to match the 2 - 4 WD selector and fill the vacant spot on the other side of the head unit (Some of the pics are out of order - work with me here)



Since I've been doing the social distancing thing by not leaving the house, I decided to see how much I could make on my own or with stuff already on hand in the garage. So, I turned a close match out of aluminum in the lathe. (I did order a replacement dial, breaking the found-in-the-garage rule. Sue me)



I doodled around with a pen spring and ball bearing to give the dial 3 detents while turning a potentiometer:



Then cut a hole to match and roughed up some spot putty to match the other side:



Then turned a disc for a push button for switching in/out of video monitor mode (as putting into reverse also does):





Along with painting the silver dash black, the end result is:



I still need to make some graphics for the now-painted-over "2WH --- 4WH --- 4WL" as well as "Front --- Tailgate --- Trailer" and a camera icon for the button.


To make it all work, I used an Arduino UNO with a custom shield for all the inputs/outputs. It lives in a box up under the dash near pedals so when I run the wire for the front camera it'll be easy to plug in, no need to disassemble the dash again. Plus, if I change anything in the firmware it'll be accessible for upload.



There are spots for 5 relays (I had 4 on hand, will need to order another when I get my hands on the front camera). Three of the relays switch between the video feeds to the single head video input. (Arduinos don't work at the right signal levels to switch video, so I used relays. There are chips out there that'd do the job, but I haven't played with them yet). The remaining two relays switch the 12v inputs to the head that switch on video and day/night modes.

A local mechanic looked up the wiring harness details for me so I could trace down the connections. Here's the dash open to find the various points to tap:




I haven't written up details in a blog post yet, but I'd be happy to if there's any interest out there. Plus I'll open source the code for anyone that wants it. (Gotta remember my github credentials as it's been a while)

-Eric

 

I did it with raptor liner. Here’s the write up I did when I did the project. I had great results. For right around $100 I was extremely satisfied....see post right below. Sorry for how I copy pasted it. iPad did it funky

 

Congrats & looks great!!

 

Thanks!! Really turned out great.

 

I hope this helps