Crashnburn80's 1st Gen TRD Double Cab Build

maybe it’s time to do a carbon project to make something to replace that plastic lower valence that bolts on… and include holes for the Hellas in the center to keep side approach angle

 

Maybe you could do a hidden mount like this?

 

With unlimited time and resources, that would be nice.

That is a great suggestion, thanks for pointing that one out. Would want them lower for fogs, but might be doable.

 

Im eventually going to go the hidden winch route. Wonder if I can rig up light mounts to it as well.

 

Are the Hellas sensitive to orientation? Can you mount them from the top?

 

Here is the pattern. It does spread down to the sides, so they do appear to be sensitive to the orientation. And due to the way the reflector assembly is secured to the housing, it cannot be flipped either, at least not without some improvising.

Lots of fairlead light mount options too. Problem with those and the license plate version is they are really optimal for small form factor LEDs. If you have the winch plate right there, it doesn't seem like it would be hard to weld light mount tabs to protrude from the valence.

 

This license plate pod light mount from DV8 may do the trick.


Those are 3" pods in the picture, the 6" round 500s would obstruct the top corners of the plate. In my state the tags are only required on the rear, and with the round curvature the letters should remain unobstructed in a head on view.

DV8 mount
https://dv8offroad.com/products/universal-license-plate-mount-w-pod-mounts

Using all 4 plate mount locations, the bumper seems rigid enough.

The Hella 500 mount point is at the back of the lamp, so it looks like clearance shouldn't be an issue.

I do like that the bull bar places the fogs lower, and I am not a fan of fragile lights being the leading edge of the vehicle, but I do like the minimalist mounting.

 

I picked these up potentially for the Tacoma, new old stock of Comet (yellow) 500 fogs. Unlike modern 500s that are made in India and not available in yellow, these are the OG from Germany.







I like the 80s era schematic explaining back-scatter. Interestingly they use yellow reflectors internally, the lens is clear. Looking forward to testing them out.

 

Is the body and lens made out of plastic?

 

The lens is glass, the reflector body is metal, the rear housing cover is plastic.

The covers are actually useful to deflect rock impacts with the glass lens. I’d likely run covers 9 months of the year since my primary use for fogs is winter mountain pass crossings. While the Comet covers are retro, I’d probably swap for Black Magic 500 covers.

 

I prefer the smiley faces. https://www.ebay.com/itm/384446784646

 

If KC sure, but that is like putting a Honda badge on your Toyota for Hellas.

 

Nice score.

 

Interested in how you mount them up given the previous discussion.

 

Looking at the off-the-shelf options, leaning toward the Westin mount. It places the lights in a better fog position and provides them some minimal protection vs having a floating glass lamp as the leading edge of the vehicle. It also provides the most solid mount. Admittedly not a huge fan of the look, though approach angle loss isn’t terrible vs other bars of that style which is often the primary objection.

I’ll likely buy and try and if I hate it the Tacoma just won’t have fogs. One of the Tacoma’s primary purposes is the winter pass snow crossing vehicle, for which good hot fogs are immensely helpful and it would be a shame not to have them.

 

Well those German Hella Comets were disappointing compared to the modern clear counterparts. I'm going to order up some of the newer yellow Indian made versions to compare.

 

I want to do the hidden mounts asap with a limited amount of time between 3 weeks shifts.

With the weather in The Geysers, CA peaks maybe before shift. Maybe I should go with little bull mount to speed up install. Not sure how much it weighs, wouldn't think much.
D
https://www.westinautomotive.com/safari-bull-bar/2002/toyota/tacoma

Please tell me its not manufactured in china. I just bought a used backpack to find out it was made in China and now im ruined until I gift it to goodwill. SOGG = soggy piece of poo

 

Depending on what you are looking to mount, I think that is the best off-the-shelf solution. I wouldn't be surprised if it is made in China though. It is pretty light, I think I recall seeing something like ~17lbs. It is a light holder and offers no real protection for the truck. I think the main thing to be concerned with is the quality of the paint/powder coat to avoid rust. And I'm not leaving that Westin sticker dead center, however it is unpainted underneath, so if you remove it, it actually makes it worse. Initially I was thinking taking it to a powder coater, though that would be expensive. I think if I go this route I might just put some kind of Toyota sticker over the Westin label for the first season to see if I like it enough to pay for powder coating.

 

Pulled the truck out for the first time in a while to pick up our tree today. Just shy of 8’ loaded in at sunset.

 

Right On! Looks like a nice Noble Fir and the truck looks good as well, Happy Holidays Crash!