9thHopes 2018 Cement TRD OR

Starting my build thread here, just a place for me to post mods and photos from trips that I go on.

One day I walked into the dealership window shopping for a truck and found this gal. Apparently someone special ordered her but decided not to pick up, so I got myself a pretty good deal on a 2018 cement grey TRD off road with premium and tech package. ANNNNND its a 6spd.



here she is near lake arrow head over the weekend. My plan is to use her like a truck for now while I'm building my garage, and then mod her for more trips.

 

finally took the truck out for some camping. Spent a night near Bakersfield before heading out to button-willow raceway to play support for some friends who were tracking that day. Woke up to a chilly morning but luckily the shift pod kept me nice and warm until I stepped out.



taco all loaded up at buttonwillow. I brought my grill and we had a bbq in the paddocks.



I've been pretty busy all year with other random stuff. Ever since my last trip at Coyote Flats I realized that my measly emergency air pump from my old RX8 was not gonna do a good job filling up these tires. So I jumped on the ARB compressor group buy and got myself a twin. Then it kind of set off a chain reaction of other mods. I realized I didn't want to use the supplied switch since I had nowhere to mount it. I found out about the switch pro and thought that was a pretty good solution with the possibility of expansion in the future for other stuff. Then I got the SDHQ dash mount and engine bay mount for the switch pro. After I got everything mocked up, I realized I don't really like the sdhq engine bay mount for the switch pro. So I opted for the powertray, and also wire up a 6 circuit fuse block for even more expand-ability.

A coworker showed me his Diamondback cover on his raptor and I really liked it, so I ended up ordering one right before the current group buy (DOH). After that I added matt geckos LED strips to help me see in the dark. Its wierd because I just finished installing everything and ALREADY feel like I want to re install the wiring to make everything cleaner.







here a photo I took from the taco of our trip to Coyote Flats, I was too excited to drive and forgot to take photos of my own ride

 

small update, bought billet seat spacers from @7r41lbr34k3r and had them powder coated by a local shop. Turned out great, and it made a noticeable difference in my posture while driving.

from this thread:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...rs-25mm-1-lift-to-rear-of-front-seats.571318/



here are the spacers installed, I like that it has a super clean look.

 

went on a short trip to Carrizo Plain National Monument this weekend. Wasn't really offloading because the trail was more like a dirt road. Along the way we saw a few Camrys and accords driving around. But it's been a while since I have camped anywhere so it was good to get out there. Our campsite ended up being a dead end on a trail that we thought would have gone on longer. But over all it was pretty good. The view was fantastic.



The shiftpod worked out really well. It was kind of a overkill since it was just me staying in it this trip. I did notice the diamondback cover was rubbing small holes into the bag of the shiftpod. Something I haven't thought about since it does move around a lot while I'm on the trail. I'll probably use some cardboard to pad it for now and figure out a better solution later on. Also I found out that the tail gate does not seal against dust at all. This will have to be rectified at some point before the next trip.

 

Been a while, and lots has changed. I got rid of the diamond back tonneau cover as I realized I needed a bit more space. On goes the RLD design canopy. I've also been collecting parts for a lift from various groupbuys and deals on the forum over time, and finally was able to throw them on. I installed front and rear king extended shocks with adjusters courtesy of Showstoppers USA. Found a set of dakar leafs for sale for the rear. While I was at it, also had the rear shackle hangers replaced with Archive garage units. Also for the front I had the marlin crawler cam tab gussets welded on. I went with camburg balljoint UCAs because I feel like they'd be less maintenance down the line.

I wanted to upsize the 16" stockers for some 17s so eventually I can fit BBKS for the front. My friend was selling his FJ rims for cheap so I jumped on them and threw on some 255/75/17 KO2s to finish up.





front sits a little higher than I'd like right now but hopefully once everything settles in it'll drop down a little bit. Eventually I want to get a winch bumper + winch so that'll help lower it slightly also. I'm all about the slight forward rake.

 

How do you like the RLD shell?

Ben

 

Its been good, they shipped me a old version where some of the mounting holes weren't completely right but it was a quick fix and the new ones should be all fixed now. I haven't actually been off with it yet but plan to this november. Everyday usability is really good, I like all the locks and being able to access the bedsides

 

Your night shots of this truck are truly incredible! Looks so nice with the color. Keep coming with the bamf content!

 

Not really an update but had a pretty good time camping out in Yosemite national park earlier this week. Truck is pretty sorted right now but I do feel like i'll need a roof rack eventually.

 

Very cool

 

right before we went into lock down I bought a vagabond drifter from a fellow member on here. I had to bail on a trip to Mojave road to drive up to nor-cal to get it installed at vagabond. Much thanks for hooking up the install. I've yet to use it on a trip but once this lockdown is lifted it'll be the first thing I'm planning on doing.