Dogs Lunar Mist Build

I'm going to use this thread to keep track of my build and ask questions


I drive a 2002 Tacoma TRD extended cab with roughly 180k miles

Suspension

Toytec Bilistein 3" lift with 5100 shocks
OME rear 3" leaf pack​

Tires

Stock rims
265/75/r16 rubber. Cant remember the brand. Will be replaced with a bigger tire soon though​

Armor

Trail gear low profile front tube bumper
Bed lined rocker panels and fender flares​

Interior

Custom built sub box with two 12" Kicker Comp R subs
JVC double din radio with mic
LED dome light
Blue dash lights
Interior LED bed lights in the camper shell​

Exterior

ATC truck cover camper shell AKA craigslist special
Roof rails from a junkyard car
Yakima roof rack and bars
Amazon LED reverse lights
​

Future plans and dreams

285/75/17 tires
Black rims
Plate rear bumper with tire swing out
Plate front bumper
Wet Okole seat covers
Sliders
More camping/wheeling trips

​

So it all started off when I hit a deer. 2:30am coming home from some poker and a deer ran in front of me. Consulted insurance and couldn't decide if I wanted to get it put back to stock, or take the insurance check and buy an aftermarket bumper. I decided on the later. Ended up going with a trail gear and a matte black power coat. In hindsight I wish I would have saved some money and just bed lined it myself.

Install was a pain. I cross threaded bolts and found out one bolt wouldn't line up due to a previous collision.
After that not much really happened to the truck for roughly a year. Then I hit another deer.

Luckily the trail gear held up very well. The grill less so. It stayed like this for a while till I got a new grill. Then it stayed like that for another couple weeks while I procrastinated putting it in. While I was procrastinating I decided I needed to bed line my rocker panels. I don't run mud flaps, and live on a gravel road. So my rocker panels didn't have much paint left on them. A buddy and I replaced the grill and bed lined the rocker panels on a long weekend. The first day consisted of sanding the fender flares, deciding if I really needed/wanted the fender flares, and taking our time! We did three coats on everything. More if it didn't look right in some spots. It really added some style to the truck!



Next up was a camping trip. I built a very basic bed frame in the back of the truck and threw some memory foam in it. I'm only 5'10" so it was fairly comfortable sleeping back there. Worked very well as a bed. Super comfy and stayed nice and warm inside!


After that I got tired of the sub box sitting in my backseat that was supposed to be in a trunk. So me and a buddy decided to build one. It was made out of a single 3/4" thick 4x8' plywood board and held together by 3" screws every 3ish inches. Houses 2 12" kicker Comp R subs. Took roughly a day to build. From 12 to 12. We would have started earlier but the morning was spent getting the materials. The carpet was added on a week later when we had more time and it wasn't 12 at night. The box is made to the subs air space specifications. I can't remember now, but I think it was like 1.5 cubic feet per sub or something like that. The box is ported in the middle as well.


My most recent project was rear lights. With the camper shell rear window being tinted, I couldn't see anything while backing up at night. So I put some flush mounts Amazon LED pods in the bumper. Install was fairly simple. It came with a template for the lights so I just had to draw and cut. They look good and are very bright.

Now I'm at a standstill. Just trying to find little stuff to do to it between studying and class. Any recommendations for mods?

 

My personal favorite cosmetic addition to the truck. TACO!

 

Okay question time. My truck does this weird thing where it dies the second time I start it. I'll explain better with a scenario. So I leave my house to go and get gas. Truck gets warm and does fine to get there and the cold start is fine. Then, after I finish getting gas and go to start the truck, it'll idle super low. Like 200rpm low. Then if I don't give it a hard rev in park it'll die. Sometimes it'll even die after I rev it up a bit. I have no idea what it could be and it has been happening for a while. And it only does this while its warm. Does anyone have an idea on what could be causing it?

 

Picked up some new rims today from craigslist. TRD pro rims in Matte black. I got four of them for 500 and they are brand new and still in the box. Im trying to decide what tires to put on them. Does anyone have any suggestions?

 

Today I installed Spidertrax 1.25" wheel spacers in preparation for 285/75/17s that are going on this week. I had trouble deciding between Toyo and Falken, but I finally decided on Falken. Anyways, Spidertrax wheel spacers are super simple to install. Took roughly an hour to do all four. Heres some pics of before and after.

Before (featuring my doggo)

After

I haven't driven it yet, but it says that after 50 miles you should re-torque them down, so I plan to do that in 50 or so miles. They also came with plenty of loctite for the job.

Sadly, while doing these, I realized I had blown a CV boot on the driver side. So thats going to have to get fixed one of these days...

 

Little more than 50 mile update. Spacers are still tight and the trucks alignment is still good! Now I'm waiting for the lugs to come in the mail so I can put my new wheels on!

 

Heres a little update on how the taco looks now.

 

Finally got a muffler to put on. Its a Flowmaster super 10. So far I like it. Not to loud in the cab but still sounds good and noticeable when you get on it. Much better than no muffler!

I also gave the truck a well deserved wash after all the salt and mud on it!

Before

After

 

Finally a 1st gen with TRD Pro 4R wheels.... Nice (been looking for pics)! I know you have spacers, was it required to fit them or mainly because of your tire filament?

 

Honestly I'm not sure if they would fit without spacers. I've never had these rims on without spacers. But with the tires I have and spacers they still rub when I'm turning and the truck isn't level. I'm not sure if the backspacing is different than the stock first gen rims or not

 

Got my bumper all done. Added headlight hoops, grill guard type things, and a light bar. Kinda annoying to do, but it looks good. Also put on a light bar in the middle that is super bright.

Beginning of the grill guard. Had to cut it in half and weld it back together because it was too long. Then bondo'd the dents from the pipe bender and also bond'd the seam.


Here it is with the headlight hoops and right before it was painted. Just used some regular spray paint for it. It doesn't match my powder coat at all though so soon I'm going to sand them all down and bedline them.


Heres a pic of it with the light bar on it and doing a little snow flexing. The light bar is amazing and super bright, but the mounts whistle, so I need to find a way to make that stop.


And a pic I took of it today just cuz. Made some ruts in the field but it was worth it. Also added 35% tint to the doors. Going to add 5% to the back windows and the camper shell!

 

Little update on the taco. I've installed a new light bar in the bumper, as well as a light bar on the roof!

 

Looks good!

 

Great looking 1s gen, honestly been wanting another older 1st gen like this. love it

 

Thanks! I love the first gens. You should get one!

 

Looking to downsize to a smaller tire. Can anybody recommend a good C rated tire? Preferable size around 265/70/17?

 

I love my Duratracs, pretty sure they are C rated

 

Thanks! I'll check those out!

 

We got around a foot of snow here in MidMo! Made for some pretty fun driving around

 

It's been a minute since I've updated this. I've recently done the tundra brake upgrade and that's about it. Been pretty slow at finding new things to do for it. But here are some cool pictures!