JFanaselle's 3rd gen build and adventure page

JFanaselle's Tacoma (updated 11/9/21)

2020 Dual Cab, Short Bed
TRD Off-Road 4x4

Purchased: October 17, 2020, bone stock with 8,000 miles on the odometer

As she sits today:














Interior and Electrical Mods:

*MESO interior LED lights
*VLEDs footwell lighting kit
*Kicker CS series 3 way speakers and Sony XMS400D amplifier
*Kilmat 80mil sound dampening material installed inside doors
*AJT Designs black steering wheel logo overlay
*MESO center switch panel - 8 switch model (LSP8)
*MESO overhead switch panel - 4 switch model w/ SOS
*MESO left side switch panel - 8 switch (plus cargo switch) model
*MESO TRD shift knob w/ ECT and AUX switches
*Air On Board switches w/ OEM color-matched illumination
*Anytime Backup Camera mod (front and rear) with Natika front camera
*Expedition Essentials 3TPAM powered dash accessory mount
*MESO extended fuse panel cover
*Off Grid Engineering dual battery kit with Blue Sea ACR, and a pair of X2 Power AGM group 35 batteries
*Bussmann RTMR aux fuse panel with 10 fused circuits and 5 relays, Blue Sea 80 amp circuit breakers, and Pelfreybilt bracket
*4 switch panel inside bed with voltmeter, 12v outlet, and USB chargers
*Yaesu FT-7800R mobile dual-band radio with Victory 4x4 hood-mount antenna bracket and Tram 1/4 wave mobile antenna (link to install)
*Viofo A139 front and rear dashcam w/ hardwire kit for parking mode
*OEM tailgate lock
*20% ceramic window tint
*Blue Ridge Overland attic net
*Rear under-seat organizer
*"400W anytime" inverter mod w/ added 120V outlet and 12v outlet in rear console (link to install)
*OEM Rav4 radio knobs
*Clazzio seat covers, leather with black/black/black color combo (link to install)
*N2 designs remote starter



Suspension / Wheels / Tires

*Elka 2.5 extended travel (2-3" lift) front coilovers w/ 700 pound springs, external reservoirs, and dual compression adjusters (link to install)
*Elka 2.5 extended travel (2-3" lift) rear shocks w/ external reservoirs and dual compression adjusters (link to install)
*Element Hard Parts billet uniball/heim upper control arms
*Icon RXT rear leaf pack in "stage 2" configuration
*Wheeler's extended rear stainless brake lines
*Wheeler's Super Bumps front bump stops
*Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac 285/75/R16 load range E tires (link to install)
*Method 704 wheels, 16x8, in Titanium color
*Spidertrax 1.25" wheel spacers


Recovery / Off Road / Camping Gear

*ARB twin air compressor
*Smittybilt X20 10k winch with Master-Pull synthetic line
*Factor55 fairlead and Flatlink
*ARB Elements 63q fridge/freezer w/ custom homemade bed slide
*CVT Mt. Rainier Hybrid roof top tent w/ extended fly
*CVT 79" Hybrid awning
*Rhino USA front shackles (flat black w/ black isolators)
*Rhino USA tool roll bag
*48" hi-lift jack w/ custom mounts on Diamondback cover
*Diamondback cross bin - 8 inch model


Exterior / Armor

*Body Armor Hiline front bumper/winch mount (link to install)
*White Knuckle rock sliders (link to install)
*RCI steel skid plates (engine, transmission with cat guards, transfer case)
*BAMF rear diff skid
*Diamondback HD bed cover
*Front Runner load bars (x3) mounted to Diamondback bed cover
*Cali Raised premium roof rack w/ lighting cutouts
*Generic bed stiffeners from Tacoma World member
*Rough Country bedside molle panels (link to install)
*Aftermarket TRD Pro grill with white lettering
*Bedside decal delete


Performance/Drivetrain

*"KDMax" tune by trdquoc


Lighting

*MESO ultimate turn signals (V5 w/ white DRL), hardwired to headlight stalk using V2 puddle pod harness (link to install)
*MESO puddle pods
*MESO total tails (stage 1) w/ external resistors
*OEM LED headlights (non-Pro version)
*OEM LED fog lights (blacked-out version)
*OEM TRD Pro taillight housings (link to install)
*White grill-mounted marker lights w/ smoked black lenses
*Rough Country 20" "Black Series" dual-row LED light bar
*Cali Raised 360* scene lighting kit
*Whelen Engineering LINZ6 amber warning lights (x4) mounted in the grill
*Signal Vehicle Products mini-phantom amber visor lights (x2) mounted to interior windshield
*ETD interior amber light bar, mounted in rear window
*ETD surface mount amber warning lights, mounted below tailgate gap
*OEM bed light kit
*Baja Designs S2 Pro dust/chase light, flush mounted within rear bumper (link to install)
*FBC "DIR" mod (to disable license plate lights while in reverse)


Wishlist

*Apogee Off Road rear bumper w/ BSM retention and dual swing arms
*CBI aluminum T3 Baja front bumper or SSO plate bumper

 

I purchased a 2020 Tacoma TRD Off-Road 4x4 a couple of months ago, and I've been getting tons of great info from this page ever since. The mods have been coming fast, so I figured it was time to start a build thread.

I will update the first post regularly with the truck's current/most recent upgrades, and I plan to document a few of my camping/exploring adventures in this thread, as well.

My wife and I love to camp and explore along with our 8 year old son and dog. I had a 2010 Nissan Xterra 4x4 that we had built-up and took on many wonderful trips. That Xterra literally took me everywhere I ever told it to, and it never gave us attitude about it. But it was getting very tired and worn out, and I knew we were on borrowed time with some of the major components (transmission, catalytic converters, etc.). We decided to upgrade to something new, and after tons of research and test drives, we landed on a 3rd generation Tacoma. With the craziness that is happening with COVID-19 and limited stock, it took me a while to find the right deal, but we eventually landed a great deal on a used 2020 DCSB TRD Off-Road 4x4 that only had 8k miles on the odometer.

I pulled most of the aftermarket equipment off of the Xterra and sold it (or will be transitioning some of it over to the new Taco, like the air compressor, for example). I was then able to use those funds to purchase a few essential items for the new truck, but there is no doubt a long way to go with this build!

New truck, purchased October 17, 2020:





Just for show and tell, here's the Xterra that we transitioned from:

 

My first mods...

I wouldn't be a true Tacoma newbie if I didn't start my mods with a Chinese knock-off TRD Pro grill with raptor lights

When I first started looking at Tacomas my social media feeds were ironically full of ads for Toyota aftermarket parts. I took the bait and purchased a cheap knock-off grill from MC Auto parts. I must say, the quality is pretty good and the fit isn't terrible, especially considering that I only spent $189 for the whole thing with the TSS garnish, white lettering, and smoked raptor lights.








Next on the list was blacked-out emblems. I'm not a big fan of chrome, especially on a white rig. You can tell from my previous Xterra that I'm a big fan of the black and white theme, so most of the chrome on this thing will be blacked out as I have the chance to get it done. I went with the OEM Toyota overlays, even though they were like $140. I didn't want to cheap out on the eBay/Amazon ones and regret it later when they end up sun faded or cracking or something.

 

After getting a couple of cosmetic things out of the way, it was time to start with some functionality and performance mods. I had a couple thousand dollars as my budget, which I acquired from selling everything off of the Xterra before I traded it in. There were a few priorities on my list of things I needed... some kind of suspension upgrade (mostly just to give me a little more ground clearance and to allow for 33" tires to fit for now), a bed rack to mount my RTT, tires, and as much armor as I could get for now.

I decided that sliders are my first priority for armor. As far as I'm concerned, they're even more important than skid plates. So I immediately ordered a set of White Knuckle Off Road sliders, powdercoated black with the DOM tubing. I opted not to install the top plates. The lead time for these things is like 8 to 10 weeks, so I placed my order just 2 days after purchasing the truck and began the agonizing wait.

I originally thought I wanted an overland style rack, but I didn't like the options that I was finding. Mostly, I didn't like that pretty much all of them only go as far back as the end of the tie-down tracks in the bed. My CVT roof top tent is the Mt. Rainier model, which is already 6' long and is going to overhang the back of the bed by about a foot. The last thing I needed on top of that was a rack that was another foot shorter than the length of the bed, leaving the tent to just hang out there for 2 feet or more. I ultimately decided to purchase a KB VooDoo max modular long-bed rack, which perfectly fits the full length of the short bed Tacoma. I went with the mid-height, figuring that would leave the RTT low enough to ease with the setup/tear down process. In fact, that's one of the major reasons the wife and I decided to get a pickup instead of another SUV... because it's a major pain in the butt to set up and tear down the RTT when it's 7' off the ground, and you're doing everything up over your head and/or climbing all over the rig. Once the rack arrived, I assembled it and placed on the truck.





I was immediately not a fan. The biggest issue is that by the time I install some larger tires and a modest lift, the tent isn't going to be that much lower than it would be on the roof of an SUV. In hindsight, I should have ordered the low rise version instead of the mid-height. But I also got to thinking about my setup, and my daily-driver vs. overlanding/camping needs. In the end, I decided that I would be better off running a Diamondback hard cover with some load bars to handle the RTT. So.... off went the KB VooDoo rack, and it was sold to a local Tundra owner who will give it a great life. I got lucky and scored a Diamondback HD cover through their outlet site for 25% off, because it had an ugly (but still very strong) weld on one interior gusset. Because it was already built and sitting in their outlet, it only took a week to arrive at my door.





I also called up Front Runner and ordered the components needed to mount the RTT. I had a Front Runner complete rack on my Xterra and I absolutely loved it. Their products are top notch, and the compatible accessories are endless. I opted for 3 load bars, as our tent is big/heavy, and I'm a big/heavy guy myself. I took my time and spent an afternoon patiently lining everything up and drilling a million holes to mount the tracks. I sealed up the holes with black silicone, and everything turned out great.

 

I found a Body Armor Hiline series front bumper insert/winch mount on Craigslist, brand new in the box for $375. It's not the full replacement bumper that I ultimately want, but it'll hold me over for a while. The install was pretty straight forward. Watched a couple of YouTube videos until I felt comfortable enough hacking apart the OEM bumper. I think I ended up cutting off a tiny bit too much, but the design leaves a lot of metal still covered by the plastic, and it is very forgiving if you end up taking too much off. I still need to get my winch and light bar mounted to it, but for now, it looks great on the truck.

 

Purchased a dual battery setup from a fellow member here on Tacoma World. It's the Off Grid Engineering kit, with the aluminum Group 35 battery trays and the Bluesea ACR smart relay. Kit was in great shape, and the seller was a class act. I was very happy to get this installed in the rig, and will for sure give it some good use.





I purchased a pre-wired Busmann RTMR fuse box and a pair of 80 amp Bluesea circuit breakers, and the Pelfreybilt RTMR/breaker bracket, as I wanted a very clean and factory look for all of my aux wiring. Good wiring is key to components that never fail, and having a well planned/laid out electrical system also makes it easier to troubleshoot any issues or make repairs, especially out on a trail or at a campsite. I ran a pair of 4 gauge wires (one for positive and one for ground) to the bed, and terminated them to the rear of the driver side fender with a pair of "pass through" terminals which essentially create a positive and negative post/stud that I can connect all of my rear mounted accessories to. The positive line is protected by one of the 80 amp Bluesea breakers under the hood, and the other breaker is connected to the Busmann fuse box.

I built a small wooden enclosure that "extends" the driver side wheel tub inside of the bed to basically run the full length of the bed. I will enclose the air compressor inside of here, as well as use it to house relays and fuses, and a panel that houses 4 switches, a USB charger, 12V plug, and a voltmeter for the aux battery.

 

New shoes were next on my list. I opted to keep the OEM wheels for a while, which allows me to prioritize some of my budget for other needs. I did a bunch of research, and ultimately decided on the exact same tires I was running on my last rig. Goodyear Wranger Duratrac 285/75/16, load range E. I've found these to be great tires that perform well in all environments, including mud, snow, ice, and a dry desert. Living in Southern California, we spent a lot of time in the desert and in the mountains, so I really need a "jack of all trades" tire, and I feel that these tires accomplish that better than any others I've used or researched. Plus they look almost as aggressive as a mud terrain, but they still perform great on the highway, and have good tread life.





To offset the wider tires now rubbing against the UCAs (because I stayed with the OEM wheels) and to give it a little more aggressive of a look, I installed Spidertrax 1.25" wheel spacers, too.

Before:


After:




How she looks with her new shoes, still at stock height:

 

With the new tires taken care of, the next step was to address the clearance issues, and suspension. I took a little drive to Los Angeles and paid a visit to @GHOST SHIP for a cab mount chop. For those in the area, he does amazing work, and it looks like it came this way from the factory. I learned a lot about the platform just being in his presence for a couple of hours, and drove away with most of my clearance issues gone (just a little bit of rubbing still at full lock in reverse only).







For suspension, I got really lucky and found someone local to me who was selling a set of Fox 2.5 coilovers and shocks that were removed from a 2019 TRD Pro Tacoma with just 800 miles on them. I picked them up for a very fair price, and then installed the Westcott spring perch/spacer kit on the front coilovers. For the rear, I opted for the Headstrong Off Road progressive 3 leaf AAL with their extra 1/2" lift shim.

Out with the old:



In with the new:









And here is the stance now, with about 2" of lift all the way around:





I'm super happy with the stance now, and there's no more rubbing from the tires in reverse. The Fox internal bypass shocks also ride really amazing compared to the stock Bilstein Off Road stuff. Can't wait to get this thing out on some trails now.

 

After 2 agonizing months of patiently waiting, I got an email from White Knuckle saying that my sliders were ready for will call. Yay! I drove up there last Saturday and picked them up, then spent the afternoon installing them. The install was pretty straight forward, but drilling 4 holes into the frame sure is as much of a pain in the butt as I expected. Even with extremely sharp cobalt bits, it took over 15 minutes per hole (using a step progression from 1/8" to 1/4" to 1/2"). Makes your arms sore to sit under the rig holding the drill like that, and it sucks to have hot metal shavings falling all over you during the process. Just took my time and kept spraying plenty of coolant/lube on the bit to keep it going. I'm glad that's over!

The sliders look amazing, and they are really freaking stout. Ready to do some damage (save me from some damage?) out on the trail.







+

 

What did you do about the alternator charging voltage for the batteries ? Simple diode or something else

 

I haven't done anything to modify the alternator's output voltage. I was originally looking into some options to do that, but these X2 batteries from Batteries Plus require a little less voltage than some of the other AGM batteries out there (especially the Odyssey ones). The default voltage from the alternator is enough to keep them healthy, and then I top them off with a CTEC 10 amp charger at least once every 30 days.

 

Got my 3TPAM and my Meso puddle pods all mounted up yesterday. Very happy with both of these mods!

 

Got my voltmeter installed and hooked up. I was worried that the blue display was going to be too bright, but it's perfect.

I've also been working on installing my Cali Raised roof rack. Still need to get the 360 degree lights installed/wired on the rack.

 

Had a great day out on the trails yesterday in the So Cal desert. Spent the whole day on the dirt and learning what this rig is capable of. Got some great photos in the process, too

 

Driver cubby looks great, really clean. Do you have any shots of the LSP and overhead? Great suspension and those tires do look damn good too, very functional and capable truck.

Oh, also you did power behind the center console, same as the ktjo dealio or something more custom? Photos there would be rad.

 

Thanks Dave! I've been really happy with these tires. I ran a few sets of them on my old Nissan Xterra that I had before I purchased this Tacoma, and they were great. They're a good all-around balance for the desert and the mountains, as long as you go with the E-rated version to handle the rocks. I will say, the softer rubber compound gets a little torn up on rocky terrain, but they don't puncture, even if I'm aired down to 15 psi or so.

The power behind the center console is just a simple USB charger that I ordered from Amazon. I've thought about running a 120v plug from the inverter, but haven't had a need for it yet (I'll add that project to the "someday" list). I ran a separate wire/circuit for it, and it uses a dedicated fuse in my Bussmann RTMR box. I created a harness that pulled two dedicated wires up through the rocker panel and under the driver's seat. One of those two wires stops there, as it's used for the Yaesu radio (which is mounted under the driver's seat). The other one continues under the carpet and into the center console under the cup holder, then runs under the console storage and feeds the USB plug, which is mounted facing the rear seats, under the rear cup holders. Here's a couple of shots of the plug location:





Here's a shot of the LSP and the Overhead console, too.





The overhead is not from MESO. It was actually two separate pieces, and I'm not terribly thrilled with how they fit together. I'll probably upgrade to a MESO 4 switch unit at some point. I'm also thinking I'll end up with a Switch Pros unit at some point also, which will allow me to consolidate some of the switches into the single panel on the driver side, and free up some space in the lower switch panel for some heated seat controls. If I end up doing that, I want to keep the voltmeter on the driver side where it is now, so I'll have to relocate a few of those OEM switches from the driver side over to the LSP, and I'll probably move the MESO puddle switch and the Anytime Backup Cam switch to the overhead console (they don't match the OEM ones in illumination or form anyway, so it makes more sense to move them). I'm still thinking it all over, but I like that idea overall. I'm sure I'll have all new plans in another couple of months.

 

Ah, the SOS, gotchya.

The puddle switch can be adjusted with a resistor and tied to the dimmer with some effort (a fair bit of effort but that's one thing puppypunter did and I followed on my own and it came out nice).

The germes unit uses the steering wheel mode/arrow switches so that's an option if you really needed it, though I hear from ABC people that they love the physical switch. To me, the steering wheel buttons are easier to use when I need the front camera and it's one less switch spot consumed.

LSP looks very very nice! I don't have BSM, parking assist or power window but you sure did a nice job with the LSP there!

My thinking with 120v in the rear of center console was for laptops, though they are all moving to usb-c charging which could be done off 12v so the value of 120v may be short lived. Still kind of nice to be able to charge on the road at least for now (my work laptop has a dedicated 120v brick) and minimal cost there.

Chrome delete for start and 4x4 selector maybe? Or does that not bother you?

You could potentially get that cb cord fed up inside the dash via the pocket with a corner cut that wouldn't look too bad if you decided to remove it. I assume you have some holes for the mount already?

 

Unfortunately, I didn't learn of the Germes front/rear camera unit until I had already purchased the ABC unit. I purchased it kind of impulsively in my buying frenzy during the first 60 days of ownership (I was a bit overwhelmed by the amount of aftermarket and community support that these rigs have). No regrets though, and I'll just stick with the platform I already invested in. Not sure that the illumination on the puddle switch bothers me enough to go through the trouble of using a resistor and tying it into the dimmer. I think that if/when I move it to the overhead console (along with the ABC switch), it'll be out of sight enough to stop stressing me out.

I feel the same way about the chrome everywhere.... it bothers me, but probably not enough to invest the time/effort/money into doing something about it. I did black out the steering wheel emblem, because it's obnoxiously right in your face, and it was easy to do. Who knows... I'll probably tinker with it as time goes on and I get opportunities to obtain some of the supplies necessary to black it all out.

The cord you see in the photo of the LSP is actually the microphone cable for the ham radio. There are some better photos here: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/clean-vhf-cb-radio-installs.415584/page-89#post-24758044 (I really need to get this build thread updated!). It uses an RJ-45 jack, and I usually unplug it and keep the microphone stored in the center console when not in use. I thought about installing a separate jack so that the microphone wouldn't plug directly into the face of the radio (either in the passenger side of the lower console, or in one of the switch locations on the LSP). But the more I thought about it, it seemed silly to put that much work into it or to consume a switch location when the cable is basically plugging into almost the same place anyway.

 

Ah, that looks very clean. I can't think of much that could improve that and agree with your assessment on the burn of those essential switch blanks. The only possible alternative might be stashing the mic in the center console which would be OK when not in use but totally not ideal when you want to use it. I can easily see how essential that gear would be for one of these group runs (I want to do Pioneertown to big bear sometime, seems like a pleasant way to get there).

I do like how your LSP came out, looks awesome. Any rough idea how long it took you in total? So much trim to remove but I think I've already taken apart almost all of it once before. And then the cutting and gluing, but once it's done it's done.

 

I'm not going to lie - it was quite a bit of work. Kind of scary, too, considering I had only owned the truck for about 2 months. My wife came out right in the middle of the project - she peeked in the truck, and walked back into the house without saying a word

It was a necessary project, however. I needed the access to pull some of my switch wiring, and I also needed to get to the bottom of that center panel to mount the Yaesu radio faceplate to it. I knocked it all out in one evening. Took a few hours, but it was worth it.