2015 Taco "build"

I picked this up a little over a year ago, didn't really do much to it except put a tonneau cover on it and install the emissions pump filter. Took it on a few camping trips, a trip to the coast, and an emergency trip to California after my sister totaled her car on vacation. Its been a good rig except for the front suspension squeak that i have yet to do anything about.

My son is in scouts and I am a scoutmaster, I am also a member of Veteran Overland, so we do quite a bit of camping. I had bought an older suburban recently and was building it for overlanding and hauling scouts but plans have changed on that so I have a few parts (radios, 200W solar setup, etc.) from there that will make it into this rig.

Here is basically how it started over a year ago besides adding the hood hinge mounted Rigid D2 ditch lights. This is after removing the tonneau cover. the wheels were plasti-dipped when i got it and i just haven't bothered to clean it off yet.


I had been looking for a fiberglass canopy for a while and in my area can find 6' ones all day long for a few hundred bucks but the 5 footers are always hours away, or $1500 plus or if they're in the $500 range they are missing the back windows or beat to hell.

I had thought about a soft topper but wanted to be able to mount stuff on top of it, then I found WildTop truck caps out of Australia.


Most install/review videos you find for them are Gladiator owners, the couple Tacoma installs i found mentioned the mounting bracket holes being drilled in the wrong place to mount to the bed rail tie down. Well mine was drilled in the right spot there but the top of that bracket was drilled in the wrong spots, I just enlarged the holes and the rest of the install went perfect.


Installed a CB and a GMRS radio after removing the cubby and moving the switches the previous owner had tucked in there.


Used a Rago Fabrication tailgate mount for the CB, I should have planned that out better and gotten a passenger side mount because now the antenna is in the way of installing/using my 270 degree awning I have. My solution instead of buying another mount is getting an antenna quick disconnect and just removing the antenna when I use the awning.


I have a cargo basket to mount on the rack but have to build my own mounts because the ones that came with it wont work on the WildTop mounting bars and need to make mounts for the awning.

And just because it was too much of a blank white canvas, it needed a little flair




most of this was done in the last week getting ready for another camping trip next weekend. Things I am trying to get done in the next 5 days in 100+ degree weather is install some lights inside the topper, mount the awning and basket, make a fridge slide out for my setpower fridge.

 

Little more work done over the weekend when I wasnt hiding from the 100+ degree weather

Got an Amazon cargo basket mounted






Then got my old overland pros 270 degree awning mounted


Started building a fridge slide but may not get it finished for camping this weekend.

 

I'm out there last night drilling holes in the brand new rack, the wife comes out, "you're modifying it already? its brand new" like she's never met me before lol.





I did some beadroll on the panel and folded one side over hoping it would be stiff enough... its not. I am gonna have to modify it some more.





only had about 45 minutes last night between the temps cooling off and it getting to dark to work without a light, when the light came out so did the bugs.

 

Thursday after work I headed out for a solo camping night, and also to claim a camping spot to bring the scouts back up Friday morning.





the spot I wanted was already taken but I made due








A nice dinner using the tripod torch





Jalapeno cheddar brats, nectarines, Pendleton whiskey and coke





Then it was time to bring the scouts up





Saturday we explored a cave




played in snow




and went swimming




They all decided they would like to camp there again.

 

This last weekend while out camping, I bottomed out the rear suspension several times. I plan on building a rear bumper with swing outs and a front bumper with winch and the bottoming out would only get worse. Today i ordered an OME 2" lift with 4002 coils, 93000 shocks and 660lbs Dakar leaf springs. should be quite an improvement over the old clapped out suspension.

 

Nothing big but might be an idea for others.


put a 3x4' bungy cargo net in the top framework to hold coats, blankets, fishing pole holders, etc

 

We had to get out of town yesterday and decided to check out a new spot. I found a lake on the map and we headed off. The map said it was 2.5 hours away but the last 3.5 miles took us little over an hour with rocks and small ledges, but once we got up there we had the lake to ourselves.











this was my kids first time trying to fly fish and picked up casting pretty quickly, unfortunately all the fish are safe and sound.





we did see a couple deer on the way up and a cow/calf elk pair on the way down





this next weekend is going to be installing the lift kit in the taco.

 

Nice write-up & pics. How many miles on it?

Your chosen suspension upgrades should make forest-trail & mild off-road driving comfortable & fun.

 

Thanks, Just over 152,000 miles on it.

 

Looks like a fun rig to take camping with scouts. Wish I had my taco back in my scout days. I got my eagle and really had a good time traveling around the country with my troop. Enjoy those times and encourage the kids to stay in scouts!

 

Spent the weekend installing the old man emu 2+" lift with full HD leaf springs since I am going to be building a rear bumper.

this thing has had a horrible squeak in the front suspension pretty much since the day after driving it off the lot, well no more.

I was never sure if the lift spacer was factory with the TRD PRO or if it was added later, obviously the coils and shocks have been changed before.


new control arms and shocks/springs


I didnt realize until i took the rear apart and went back and looked at the other picture but i have no idea how long the centering bolt was gone



didnt really get a good picture before putting the tires back on



The only issue i ran into was the body on the rear shocks are too big and contact the mounting brackets, anyone had this problem before? Im waiting on a response from OME/ARB about the problem. the shocks also seem to be too short and wont allow full droop of the suspension.


i took measurement from the ground to the fender before and after

LF 37.25-39.25
LR 36.75-39.75
RR 36.5-39.75
RF 36.5-38.5

 

So after 2 weeks of waiting on tech support from Australia, I get back to grind my shock mounts, which does nothing for the fact the shocks are too short and limit travel... thanks for that super helpful info ARB.

 

Lunch Friday along the river on my way to train new scoutmasters





I need to build the rear bumper now that I got the hinge I have been waiting for, and need to get the winch bumper built.

 

Getting the Taco ready to go to California for the Veteran Overland Veterans Day event. Ive been slowly working on the auxiliary power with 200 watt solar panels, Renogy battery monitor and DC to DC charger, Weize 100AH battery. So far its been running the Setpower RV45S fridge on a homemade drawer slide.









Yesterday I replaced both CV axles





then wired in a LED light strip inside the topper

 

Little bit of last minute maintenance before our 2400 mile trip to Northern California for the 2024 Veteran Overland Veterans Day campout.

new u-joints and center support bearing for the rear shaft. I don't know why i never thought to use a ball joint press before, made things so much easier.


this was the worse one, I was just going to do the center support bearing, good thing i decided to just go ahead and do the u-joints.


Its amazing the vibrations I didn't notice until they were gone lol.

 

This last weekend was the Veteran Overland Veterans Day camping trip in Northern California in the Klamath National Forest. We loaded up and headed out after work Thursday and drove down to Klamath Falls Oregon for the first night. Pulling off in Bend for fuel and food we found this and had to pull off for a pic lol.





The next morning in California, driving around mount shasta


'


Friday night, most of us were there but were still missing about 5 people. there were 30-35 people total including three vet connects (2 of which we flew in from PA and FL)





It was a little cold over night but not bad





Saturday we were led on a guided tour of the backwoods and two fire lookout towers, 7 hours and 68 miles later with 17 rigs in the convoy

















ran into a few patches of snow








This one was missing steps and boards on platforms, I was not climbing this one lol. One of the fire tower supervisors got stuck in this one during a lightning storm, sitting on a stool on isolators when the tower got hit by lightning, all the metal glowed blue.








Saturday night/sunday morning the weather had turned and was calling for significant snow fall at lower elevations than we were so everyone packed it in. Some went home (like us), some changed locations (the vet connects flights werent till Monday iirc).


breakfast sandwiches

 

Took scouts out to play in the snow Saturday





We became one with nature while there lol

 

Took my kid snow shoeing yesterday to check on the cabin were taking scouts to this coming weekend, then taught him how to drive in the snow, there was about a foot of fresh snow and we were snow shoeing on about 5 feet of packed snow.