Ruby the red Turd (photo heavy)

A few years ago I picked up a very lightly used, never seen dirt 2017 TRD pro. Coming from a Nissan D21and Mazda 3 she was new, shiny and in perfect condition. I promptly drove from the stealership to a nicely named FSR called Ruby creek. She was given the name Ruby Allison Turd by my partner after the first dirt road it went on, the colour, Taylor swifts middle name and the fact that its a TRD. No I did not get a say in the name but I also didn't tell her I was buying it....




No good FSR would be complete without a cross ditch taking out the rear bumper.



nothing a little copper, rivets and hot glue can't fix!



Clearly the truck wasn't capable enough off-road so the first mod to do is chase lights! At least now my friends can see me rip off the bumper again on those dusty summer days.



But the lights were quickly followed by some questionably old 33" KM2's (255/85/16) to see if they would indeed fit without any extra work.



Once the 33's were confirmed to fit it was finally time for some armor. OK expedition transmission skid provides enough coverage for my needs and the stock trd pro skid does a good job with the occasional rock strike.



Now time for some comfort mods. An interior outlet to charge electronics tied into the stock inverter and some Kicker door speakers for better sound



When in doubt at more lights right? 30" Diode Dynamics stealth lightbar kit with their combo optic.
(yes I know a previous picture had the license plate blurred out and this one does not)



And so the cutting begins..........





A coastal off-road high clearance rear bumper with the factory blind spot sensors cut in.



some home made mud flaps to keep things looking legal. Made from some heavy rubber and bolted onto the fender liner.



Next up were some sliders. Cali Raised 25 degree with kickouts. I wish they stuck out a little farther to actually protect the doors. They are only good for protecting from the bottom.



Knowing that 255/85/16 fit, it was time for some fresh rubber. Toyo MT's with a real world size of 33.5x 10.2. Once taken off-roading and under full stuff the front mud flaps had to be removed and the liner molded with a heat gun to prevent rubbing.



A shelf in the back for more storage and a future fridge.



A dual battery setup was done using a Renogy 40amp DCDC charger and 1000W inverter. A Rolls S12-95AMG located above the passenger fender provides enough charge for 3 days of using the fridge in the summer.



Beers are kept cold and the ice cream frozen in a Dometic CFX35.



When in doubt add more lights. Rock lights under the dash and in the wheel wells, tied into the dome lights provide a gentle fade on and off effect.




Full Build List:

Auxbeam 3" cube lights with amber covers for chase lights
OKexpedition transmission skid plate
Outlet in cab
DD 30" lightbar
Coastal offroad high clearance rear bumper
Cali raised 25 degree sliders
kicker door speakers
255/85/16 Toyo MT
Renogy 40amp DCDC charger

$190 Renogy 1000W Pure Sine Wave Inverter with ECO Mode, 12V DC to AC 120V 110V Converter for Off-Grid Solar System, Home, RV, Solar Power Inverter with Remote Switch, Surge 2000W

Renogy 1000W inverter
Rolls S12-95AGM
Dometic CFX 35L

and LOTS of BC pinstripes.

That's all for now... until the front bumper... oh, and the winch... and upper control arms.... and 4.88 gears....and front locker.... and...and... my god. It never ends

 

Looks great!

 

@tyepel So you got the blind spot monitors to work in an aftermarket bumper? Details please.

 

Measure you're stock bumper Lots to try and replicate the height and angle of direction as much possible. I also kept them oriented as identical as I could. The cut outs are far larger than the sensors and there is a combination of lexan and epoxy holding them in place. I would say they work 80% of the time. I get false positives for example driving very close to a metal fence or gate. But they do pick up the cars still. If I was to do it again I would probably make a plastic box to mount them in and keep the opening much larger to try and prevent interference.

 

Happen to take any pictures? I was going to do some testing when my bumpers get here, so I was curious how yours turned out.

 

Nice truck man!

Is that first pic at chehalis lake?

 

I've got a few. My mistake was not making the opening large enough. I've had a few people tell me it will work for a while then stop working, so I am waiting for that day to happen. My advice would be to make the openings way larger than you think you need and then surround the sensors in a plastic of some sort. Lexan seems to work fine so far. Oh, also I needed to extend all the wires for the sensors and hitch plug.

 

It was off of west harrison actually on the way back from Ruby creek FSR.

 

So you cut holes for the sensors and then filled them back in with lexan?

 

Yes. Cut the holes, position sensor as best I could, hot glue and epoxy in place, cover with lexan, then raptor liner it all to try and hide it.

 

How are the toyo's holding up?

 

They have been pretty good all things considered! They perform very well offroad and onroad they handle well but are loud. Some chuncking/cuts from offroading but nothing major or unexpected. I've switched to a set of Falken Wildpeaks AT3w for better snow performance and less road noise (255/80/17) but will switch back to the MT's in the spring/early summer.