Raz's '04 Tacoma TRD build

just ordered a set of CBI ditch light brackets. not sure when they'll be here but my guess is that shipping wont take more than a couple of days once they process the order. Idaho falls is only a 1-2 day drive from seattle so i'm hoping that i'll get the brackets within a week or so. as far as the lights themselves so far i'm thinking a set of Baja Designs Squadron S2 Sport combo lights. still undecided on amber or white though. also, yet another delay on the canopy parts. apparently Canopy West ordered the wrong part number so they've got a set of standard windoors instead of the vented ones that i ordered (and payed extra for). gotta say, if the new windows are the same quality as the old ones then they'll be excellent, but canopy west's customer service has been pretty hit or miss throughout this whole process.

 

CBI ditch light brackets came in today. definitely a lot beefier than i was expecting! still not sure what lights i want to get, the powder-coat needs touching up in a couple places but i'm hoping to get these on tomorrow sometime. think i'll have a better idea of what lights i want when i install the brackets. I really like the S1s but i'm still not sold on the 1 LED thing, seems like it'd be more useful all around to have the 2 LEDs that the S2 has...

 

The limited experience I’ve had with the s1 vs s2 I would lean towards the s1, more lumens per led, less total, but still plenty for ditch lights but smaller than the s2. And i prefer smaller ditch lights because it’s less visibility sacrificed (not like it’s a whole lot with s2 vs s1)

 

Installed the CBI ditch light brackets today, it was a pain in the ass to get to the bolts with the fender still on but i made it work... 1/8th of a turn at a time. i went to the home depot and bought a couple of 12 and 13 mm ratcheting flex head wrenches, but they didn't fit so i was back to the standard non-ratcheting wrenches. thanks to @Yetimetchkangmi for pics of his install, made everything a whole lot easier.


used a piece of wood to shim the fender up so i could get to the bolts, was a little worried about the pannel gaps afterwards but they closed up nicely once i put the fender bolts back in and tightened them down.

 

went with the S1s. picked them up today, they'll be getting installed tomorrow. and also the S1s are actually higher output overall, not just per LED. mostly why i went with them, smaller so they wont impede visibility and brighter depsite only having 1 LED to the S2's 2.

 

Smart thinking with the wood!

 

Did the S1's come with switches and a relay?

 

yep, came with everything you'd need to get it set up. i've already got an aftermarket upfitter switch system so i'm gonna cut the wire right here but i'll use the plugs from Baja Designs.

 

Installed my ditch lights couple of hiccups but overall happy with the result. my only critique of Baja Designs is that the lights themselves don't have enough lead wire. they were barely long enough for my truck and first gen Tacomas are some of the narrower trucks to begin with. also had an issue with fitting the plastic clip under the hood too. think that i'll cut the connectors off and splice the wires together to keep it lower profile. that will also help the hood close better I think. other than those issues the install went smoothly, ran the wires under the plastic cowl and then used some zip ties to connect to the truck's wiring harness for cable management. it's not the prettiest wiring job but it works.


I don't know who did this clearanceing for the wires...

or the beautiful tape job to cover my crimp connectors


oh yeah, and they're plenty bright, pay attention to the license plate on the wall in the garage:


doesn't look like much but this is in broad daylight with the garage lights on. should be awesome at night.

but this might be an issue...


anyone have any ideas? or maybe a recommendation on a stubby antenna that still works ok?
was thinking about this one, i've only got about 4" of clearence before it starts to seriously interfere with the light again so i won't get very good reception, plus i hardly ever listen to the radio anyways. for now i think i'll just take the antenna off and keep it in the cab for the odd occasion that i want to listen to the radio. i can always put it back on.

 

gave the Ditch lights a little test tonight, very happy with how they turned out. i was originally going to go for a drive but i screwed my ankle up earlier today carrying some stuff down the stairs at my house so that was out. i gave it a little test in the driveway and here's the results:
everything on (bumpers, headlights, and ditch lights)


Passenger side without antenna:

and with. look at the branches of the spruce tree in the right side of the photo:


the antenna hardly interferes at all. you can see a tiny difference in the photos but in person it really isn't noticeable. still leaving it off as it physically touches the light and just looks shitty and hackish, but a new stud is definitely in my future if the dealership doesn't want too much for it. that way the antenna will just stick straight up, and therefore won't touch the light. for now though, the stubby antenna that @austinmtb suggested will work great. i just ordered it.

Now i just gotta finish up the canopy, still waiting on the parts. if they can't get them by the end of July i'll get them to refund my money, put my old windows back in, and deal with it for another year. ordering the replacement windoors has been a massive PITA. should be worth it in the end, but i haven't been happy with the customer service at all.

 

put the windows back in the old canopy. got a couple of quotes in to ARE, Leer, Snugtop, and Ranch. was going to look into Century too but their website was all screwy so i couldnt submit a quote. I looked back at some old quotes and it'll looking like the canopy will come in at about 2500 without a roof rack. pretty steep but i think i can get about 600 for my old canopy and i should be getting my money back for the windoors shortly. that should soften the blow a bit.. then it's . should end up being about 1000 more than i was initially going to spend on the parts which doesnt sound too too bad for a new cap. thought about looking into another range rider but the only dealer south of the Canadian border and north of Redmond Oregon is the place that i'm decidedly not going to do business with.

if i can get a decent trade in for my old cap i'll put it back on the truck and keep it on until i get the new one. if i can't then i'll just sell it bear it until i can get the new one.

for some context, I ended up cancelling the order for the replacement windoors. some shady business practices and bad customer service from the dealer i was using made me decide that i didn't want to give them my money.

 

sooooo my radio decided to shit the bed. It was fine until i got a new phone on Tuesday, then it wouldn't stay paired and kept having all sorts of issues. Took it to Car Toys today and they basically said it was dickered, so i drove to another location where they had one in stock (old one was from March so it was still under warranty). they wouldn't give me the new one without the old one, so i went and pulled the radio in the parking lot cause the techs wouldn't touch it (i did the original install myself). Overall it went well and I had the old one out and the new one in within 35 minutes. i'm just glad i keep tools in my truck, perfect example of why I do.

 

so I did some digging in my emails and I found a couple of old estimates on ARE canopies from Canopy West in Everett WA. they're all from about a year ago but I can't imagine that the pricing would be any different now or between dealers. here's one from July 8th 2019:

This one is pretty much exactly what i'm looking for. it's got a flush roofline so it'll look cleaner than my high rise one, Vented Windoors so i can get at stuff from the side and still get a breeze when i'm sleeping in the back, a sliding fold-down window (not included on the estimate but if the upgrade is still only 10 bucks i'll take it), and a carpet headliner. I'll wait on the roof rack but i'm planning on asking if they can attach the tracks for me so i can add one later. if not then i'll just add the tracks too whenever i can afford a roof rack. The headliner is free in this quote but ARE is doing a promotion that lasts the whole summer and says that a headliner is free on any CX series cap. i'm planning on going through Big Sky Toppers in Bozeman and i'll order it so that it'll be in around early September. Late enough to still enjoy a topless truck, but early enough to be on before the snow hits. still not sure on trading in vs selling my old top. LMK if anyone in the seattle area is interested. not to turn this post into an Ad, but i can also deliver within a couple hours for a fee. i'll also be down in the Portland area towards the end of July so any of you northwest Oregon TW members, LMK and i'll bring it down will deliver as far east as Hood River and as far south as Corvallis. the only thing about trading in that might be nice would be if they offered any sort of discount on a new cap with a trade in... and the ease of not having to deal with listing it and haggling over it might be worth it too. it all depends on what they think they can give me for it. This is kind of the look i'm going for, credit to @RSB for the picture. this is from the listing when he sold his truck:


just imagine it with white lettered all-terrains, Ditch lights, Fender flares, and no snorkel and you'll have what my truck will hopefully look like. i'm hoping to have a new estimate by tomorrow.

 

picked up an oil filter for my soon coming change. I was going to try and wait until after a camping trip i have planned in july, but i'm driving way more than i thought i would so that's not happening. I've had the oil for a few months as a found a killer deal on it at Costco. now the time has finally come to use it up!

 

just talked to a guy at Big Sky Toppers in Bozeman MT and he's getting a quote written up for me on a new ARE topper. Planning on going with a sliding front window, vented windoors on both sides, a single T-handle lock in the rear, A charcoal gray carpet headliner, and Roof tracks. I might also splurge and get a Yakima Roof Rack right off the bat, but i think i'll save the 250 dollars and wait. should be awesome though! now i've just got to wait until i move to pick it up. in the meantime i'm going to try and sell my old topper. the guy said he could only give me like 400 bucks for it so i'm going to try and sell it before i resort to that. If I can't sell it before then i'll just trade it in and see what they'll give me for it.

 

changed the oil today. A complete pain in the ass as usual. that oil filter's location is just downright stupid. i seem to have found the perfect way to get to it though with my Flex head ratchet, a 9" extension (3" stacked onto a 6"), and a U-joint adapter connected to a filter socket. made it as painless as it couldve been. I changed it at exactly 3k and the oil still had a lot left to go. not brand new by any means, but it looked like it could've gone another 1,000 miles. i think i'll do the next one in 4k.

in other news... this came in today, along with the stubby cap for the antenna. it's not ideal but it seems like the best option for the time being. I can't even remember the last time i actually used the radio. I was going to put this on the canopy, but seeing as it's getting sold as soon as someone will make an offer i'm just going to put it in the glove box and wait till i get my new cap.

and the new "antenna" cap

 

just put 500 dollars down on a new canopy from Big Sky Toppers in Bozeman. should be there in mid august which is perfect cause that's when i'm moving. went with a CX classic and got vented windoors, a fold down front slider, a headliner (free on a promotion this month), a single rear t-lock, and a Yakima roof rack system. now i've just got to earn some more money and get my old cap sold to soften the blow. anyone interested?

 

Hard to go wrong with a good lever gun, I like a Winchester carbine chambered in a .44 mag, great backpacking and compact. Packs a decent punch and ammo is pretty common.

 

Nice looking truck. I went with OME’s HD Exp pack and the AAL from the get go, but I carry a fair bit of weight constantly. Still has some rake when semi empty, and the ride isn’t over harsh. Hard to go wrong with OME, I didn’t need to do a carrier bearing drop, might later but we’ll see. Didn’t you say the ride was a bit rough? Just curious as I opted for Bilsteins all around, I don’t have a sway bar and the stiffer springs really help the handling.
Love the ARB bumper, it is a classic look.

 

Looks good, you are making good progress.
Yeah, I had some drama getting the exhaust sorted out, stripped stock mount and such, I went with the same OEM hanger that yours probably came with and cobbled something together with lug nuts for spacers, probably go with the ARB hanger extension and see how that works. Not excited about cutting the exhaust yet, just installed the Borla recently and like their exhaust tip. Kinda putting that in the wait and see folder.