Brett's average build thread

Jelly. Mine should come this week. Border crossing slows things down a bit too. I also went with stage 2

 

I dig your front bumper! I got the same truck as you and Im starting my build!

 

Nice, Brett! Be sure to post up pics and impressions when you get it in. It's on to-do list.

 

nice truck, man. Ive got the same one! Color and everything.

 

I was hoping you will do your's first so I can copy.
But seriously, doesn't look hard. My truck has an ugly coating of ice and mag chloride under it right now and it's frigid out so it's not gonna happen for at least another week by weather forecast.

Lol, I always have good intentions of taking pics but sometimes get involved and you get to see the before and after only. I'll always post my impressions though.

Thanks guys! Start a build and post up some pics, let's see what you got.

 

Another mileage report.
I have been running 87 octane for the last few tanks. The first couple tanks were pretty close to what I was getting with the premium,(18-19) just a slight reduction, probably driving style more that anything. Power felt like it took a hit though.

Sunday was a Meet n Greet for the Northern Colorado members so the truck was subjected to a high speed run down the interstate, with my hubs locked in as there is lots of crud on the side streets still. Didn't need them down the interstate, but couldn't do much about in being in a convoy, lol.

I had the pedal to the floor and spent a lot of time in 4th gear...

Mileage for that day, to Denver and back was about 14.7 according to the UG.
I will compare the math to the actual odometer and tank gallons used to see if they're close.

Come to find out Friday morning, looking at my tires, they looked pretty low, I had about 23 psi in all 4. The weather was unusually cold for a spell so that must have been the culprit. strange thing is they have nitrogen in them, I didn't think that was temp affected.

Back up to 34psi now, I'll run a few more tanks with the low octane to get a good comparison and keep a better eye on the psi. I expect my missing hp to make a miraculous return...

 

Man I wish I could get 18-19mpg. I filled up the other day and got a shade over 15mpg

 

Are you still running the ome 881? How did that ride no bumper?

 

Currently running 882's.
The 881's sagged about an inch after the winch was installed. They held the bumper alone ok. I think that even without the addition of the winch that they would have eventually sagged though.

881's before bumper and winch rode great.

 

Someone in the trading post has a full lift with 883s. I am thinking that may ride real rough with nothing in the front.

 

I ran the 883's for a short time too, with the bumper and winch and they were very stiff. Not horrible, but too stiff for my ride.

I actually got used to them just before the 882 showed up, they did soften up, but after seeing the compression that the 882 gave and the slightly softer ride I would not recommend them unless you are putting more weight on the front than I have. But some seem to like them as they are.

.

 

883 ' s are for the v6 or a 4 cylinder with winch bumper. They ride great, I've had several compliments. My only complaint (and reason for selling) is they still don't flex enough, being it's on a IFS, so I'm switching to a SAS.

 

Exactly, they don't flex enough. I'm sure you saw the earlier pics on that rock, pretty solid evidence of the flex difference.
I like the way you explain it better.

 

Haha. I like your build. I'll be posting one later this year with my changes. I currently have everything but the cab off the frame. Decided to box the rear frame and go with 5" of lift and new shock mounts. Front end is getting a Dana 44 SAS Frankensteined together from Sky Mfg and Trail Gear components. Also tons more getting done but that's a secret for now

Let me be clear though, not doing this because the Toytec lift wasn't good, it was awesome, I just ran out of other things to fix and since the Tacoma is no longer my daily driver I decided to jump in w/ both feet haha.

 

Looking forward to seeing that build! I've always felt a well built 44 would be a good fit in the front.

And I agree, the Toytec OME kit is great, I'm happy with it, but it's the natural progression to keep building bigger and stronger. I can see a SAS possibly in my future too.

 

Haha awesome. I see a hi - lift mount like you engineered in my future as well, sweet idea.

 

I probably won't do mine until May. Minus 30 degrees Celsius isn't good weather for working on the truck, and I get pretty busy at work in March and April, so May is what I'm shooting for.

 

A recent trip and use of my old CB made me realize the sound quality is garbage with the little 1" speaker. I'm getting old, and it's not that it's too loud, it's not loud enough!

After seeing all the neat pics a lot of you have of the ashtray install, I'd thought I'd do the same.

New CB with my old hand-held set.


First, remove the ashtray and the two screws that hold the slider bracket in place. Here is the empty cubby.
The oval area needs to be cut out.


You end up with this. I cleaned up the cuts before final install. A sharp utility knife cut through this in less than a minute.


Slider bracket and the removed piece.


That's pretty much it. It just slides right in and holds fine on it's own.
I may search for the coveted 90° adapter for the antenna to move it back more, but it doesn't interfere with anything.
Pics are with the shifter in 5th and the T-case in 4lo.




The extra wire is for my GPS and the USB connection.


The mike is a little hokey but as long as it's clear I'll keep it.

The whole installation only took about an hour. I already had the antenna installed so that helped. Sound quality is much better.

 

That Uniden installs so clean. I still need a clean solution like that for my cobra.

 

Stage 2 kit installed today...
Pics to follow.