What Have You Done To Your 3rd Gen Today?

Thanks for the encouragement

 

I upgraded my solar panel from 50W to 100W. The panel is attached using adhesive magnetic tape.




Always taking the extra time to use split conduit tube and automotive wire harness tape. Also upgraded to MC4 connectors for the panel.




The panel fits great but I don't like the white boarder of the panel. The eyelets also prevented me from running the magnetic strip all the way to the corners. The new panel is also a plastic sheet rather than aluminum. But ultimately either it will stay on the hood and generate electricity or it won't. That is the test.


Most important is that it is producing more than 2x power. Here is a screenshot of my Victron solar charge controller. At 5:18 PM the sun is at about a 30° angle.

 

It's a good looking design and compliments the 3G and 4G Tacoma well.

If I was getting a Snork, I'd run one of those spinny boys at the top that does the Dyson thing with centrifugal (or is it centripetal?) forces to separate out the dirt from the air at the entrance to the snorkel.

 

Now that we're ice-free I removed the hockey gear from the back seat... and installed it!
Kudos to others who posted about this first. Now I can jack from the front center point with my RCI skids in place. Construction adhesive on puck topside and other half of puck on bottomside, sprayed orange.
FYI puck center point is 5-5/8" from CL of driver side bolt towards passenger bolt,
and 1-5/8" towards rear of line between them.
RCI plates created a strong 1/2" gap between alum. plate and molded steel jacking point on truck. Splitting a 1" puck and thickness added from adhesive worked out nicely to fill gap dimension and not deform plate during jacking.

Edit: the construction adhesive liquefied under jacking pressure in warm weather. Forget the brand but doesn't bode well for construction usage! Will reglue with another brand.

 

Installed the Kwikvette Internal Bed Stiffeners (https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/closed-internal-stiffeners.837114/)
Went smoothly, great product, precise fabrication, teriffic instructions on his site.
Purchased M10 x1.5thd 30mm flanged hex bolts from McMaster Carr (#93474A223) 2 x $8.60 per ten-pack.
I wore welding jacket, ballcap and facemask while drilling from underneath.
Hot oiled metal shavings are dropping on you while drilling Tacoma sheet steel.
Degreased and primed all holes after drilling.

 

This is the best time of year there. Or the months that end with er.

 

That alignment is beautiful! Nice job

 

I would suggest you check out the Hamilton Motor Company CarPlay module for the Tacoma. I installed one and it has been great over the last several months. It retains all the OEM controls and adds CarPlay and Android Auto to your Entune 2.0 head unit.

 

Not mine, but my wife's 2019 4 cyl sprung a leak in the radiator. 130K Miles and a braze failed. Ordered a replacement from Rock Auto and then went ahead and ordered a new water pump, hoses and serpentine belt. Since I was already tearing the front of the truck apart I went ahead and ordered new pads and rotors. Bosch ceramics. Really pleased with how nice the brakes are. At least as good as OEM so far. I would also like to strangle the engineer who decided to put the fancy plastic plenums that direct air to the radiator right in front of the radiator bolts. What a pain in the rear. Same with not being able to remove the fan shroud without also removing the fan. Makes putting the belt back on tedious... The brakes are a breeze on this truck though. Very well thought out design...

 

Just got new 265/75/16 KO3s after 4 years of 285/75/16 Duratracs... I just haven't been going off road and much and wanted a more comfortable ride and who knows maybe slightly better mpgs? LOL, roast me!

 

Please tell us you didn't put a Rock Auto water pump in a 2019 2tr-fe....

 

Kudos to Kwikvette. Beautifully crafted machined parts. Curves and fitment for form as well as function. Buy his product.

 

I hope you changed your filter out yourself and not let the dealer ship do it, i made that mistake once. they charged me $20.00 for the filter which sells for like $12 at the auto parts store and 35.00 to put it in.

Never again Balise Toyota over charge me never again.

 

was the back seat east to put on and how much do they run?

 

Rear Tailgate light bar Question.

I installed an opt 7 rear light bar i used magnets vs double sided tape and or drilling the clips into my body, and it has a wire to tap into the back up light to power the clear light for backing up, which wire do i tap into ? I know it is positive , but what color is the positive in the back up light, red or white?

 

Do you use this tool so you don't have to bleed the brakes, just open the cap, compress the pistons, install the new pads and just close the cap ?

 

Question, why not use internal bed stiffeners ?

 

Could you have removed the factory horns and just used the newer ones? and use the factory wiring?

 

I totally agree...
Like just about anything in life, when/if you can do it yourself it can/will save you money...

What the dealer charged you is pretty standard pricing at about any non independent automotive shops... But not everybody is mechanically inclined or even care what the cost as long as they don't have to deal with it... I can't tell you just how many customers I have told you could do this yourself before even given them a price and they say to do it even after knowing the price..... I mean look at people paying someone to mow their 1/4 acre yards that are capable of doing it themselves...lol

 

Took it on a trip to the Outer Banks, best mod so far too, paid it off early!

Bodie Island Lighthouse



And the day we picked it up, traded in my Corolla Hatch XSE manual - I sure do miss the smoked paprika, color would pop in the sun.