fellow_expert's attempt at OEM+

What's up everyone? This past Christmas I trade in my old 2014 base model and treated myself to a 2019 SR5. Here's a pic of my old setup. I still have the awning as I'm debating putting it on my SR5 whenever I get a roof rack and bed cap/rack.


Here's a bonus pic of my other project... 1990 Miata. It's still in storage in PA, but I plan to bring it down to MD probably this summer.


The goal with this build is just like the title says. I don't want to do anything flashy. I simply want to make my truck appear/feel like OEM+ without it being a TRD. Ideally, I'd like it to be a comfortable DD and weekend camping rig. The day I picked it up...


I've done a bit of reading regarding LED's vs Halogen bulbs on here, but decided to try some Auxito LED's for now. I had them on my previous truck and really liked them. I decided to go with yellow for the foglights. I also swapped all interior lights for LED's along with the reverse and brake light bulbs.


I liked the look of the TRD style wheels, so I went with FactoryStyleWheels in 17x8.5 et0 with Falken Wildpeaks in 267 70/17. They rubbed the front air dam slightly so I ended up removing it.


Next up was the MBRP turndown exhaust. My inner ricer couldn't resist, and I love the look of the rearend without a muffler visible. I ended up priming and painting it with high temp paint to prevent any potential rust. First impressions are good. I drove for a few hours yesterday, and the sound/drone never bothered me.


Short term plans for modifications include: Roof rack (open to suggestions), TRD pro grille, tint for driver/passenger windows, and leather seat covers all around.

 

Nice

 

Looks good!

 

Thanks

 

Nice,clean mods so far! Good luck with the build!

 

Thanks!

Quick detail before a short road trip to pick up my camper shell last weekend.


After about a 8 hr round trip, got home with my new (to me) Leer shell. If the weather holds out this weekend, I should be painting it. The plan is to go with a bedliner finish. I'll also be painting the chrome on the rear bumper and maybe the emblems.


And the main reason for the shell... I want to do a sleeping platform setup again. This is a pic of the rough setup I did in my 2014 for a couple trips we had. It did the job just fine, but I want to make a nicer one. I'm still planning on only having it take up half of the bed, because I want to have the other side open for storage. I also want to be able to easily remove it if I need to use the entire bed to haul stuff.


Next additions should be rails/x-bars for the cap since it didn't come with any, roof rack, and then I can remount my 8' awning.

 

I procrastinated painting long enough. Today, a buddy and I finally painted the cap and installed the Yakima rails. Overall, it was pretty straight-forward and I'm super happy with how it turned out. Here's a few pictures of the process and the finished product.

Measuring everything out.


Scuffed up and filled the holes before painting.


First coat applied. We waited about an hour and a half prior to doing the second coat.

 

Close up of the textured finish.






Had just enough time to throw the awning back on before sunset.

 

In case anyone is curious, this is

$130 Custom Coat Black 1 Gallon Urethane Spray-On Truck Bed Liner Kit with Spray Gun and Regulator - Easy 3 to 1 Mix Ratio, Just Mix, Shake and Shoot It - Professional Durable Textured Protective Coating

the kit I ordered from Amazon. The manufacturer recommended 40-70psi to spray it on, but we went with 40psi and it turned out just fine.

Edit: We only needed 3 out of the 4 bottles to get the results shown. Honestly, we could have gotten away with just 2, but we went back over some small spots we missed on the first coat.

 

Bed cap turned out great. I've sprayed Raptor before with great results. Good looking truck!

 

Thanks man! It was super easy to work with… way easier than I thought it’d be. I’ll be posting some updated pics soon with a few more things I’ve added to the truck.

 

Did a few things recently... I picked up a set of the Diode Dynamics Elite Series fogs when they were on sale.


Probably not the best day to work outside (it was 100*), but I installed my new Plano rifle case to the roof rack, X-bull traction boards and my Body Armor 4x4 sliders yesterday. Not pictured is an electric portable air compressor and Rhino recovery strap.






I also adjusted the awning mounting brackets, because it would occasionally get caught trying to close either passenger side doors. Short term plans include: wiring up third brake light/dome light for the shell, painting rear bumper chrome, and finally tinting the front windows.

 

Once again, looks great! If you had to guess, how much length is between the front lower corner of the bed and the top opposite side of the cap? I'm debating on getting a cap because I frequently have a bunch of fishing gear with me and I would like to be able to lock it up

 

Thanks! Just measured it, and it measures just shy of 7’.

 

I snagged a set of Form Lighting headlights during the 4th of July sale.


The weather called for a 15% chance of rain later in the day, so I decided not to use a buddy's garage to do the install... bad idea lol. I finished up right as it started raining.


Overall, I love these headlights. Installation was very straight forward and they are indeed a direct plug n play even for an SR5. The light output is great, and the start up sequence is just the cherry on top IMO.


I'll be taking the truck to get the front windows tinted this weekend as well. I'll likely have the shop just match the OEM rear tint, but we'll see.

 

Sorry for all the likes lol, just had time to read through everything and I love what you have done!

How do you like the Wildpeak ATs? I feel like I see so many different reviews that are all completely different. I can’t decide if they would be a good contender for my next tire.

 

Lol no worries. I appreciate it! I love them so far compared to the BFG AT's I had on the previous taco. I have zero complaints with them so far. For dry and wet daily driving they've been just fine. We didn't get any snow here this year to test em, and I have yet to go off road with them at all. Hopefully, that will change soon though

 

Thanks for the feedback! I was scrolling around in the AT3W thread and read that Falken is supposed to release the AT4W soon, so I’m curious to see how it will be different. The 3PMS rating and tread warranty on the AT3W are very attractive haha

 

Sorry, totally forgot to reply to your post lol... but you're welcome!

A few updates: got the front windows tinted and built my rough version for my sleeping platform. I'm going on a camping trip down the the Smoky Mountains this weekend (for Miatas at the Gap), so we'll see how it all works out. I used to go every year prior to joining the Marine Corps, but I haven't been since 2015ish. Thankfully, my buddies are gonna let me drive their cars since my Miata is still sitting in PA.

Once I get back, the plan is to stain the bare wood and add a sliding drawer to it. The goal was to have something minimal, comfortable, and also easy to remove if I need to use the entire bed. I've got a memory foam mattress topper to go on it as well. I'll likely spam this thread with more pics once I get back

 

Finally went back to the Tail of the Dragon for Miatas at the Gap. Weird to post about on here, I know. We went every year from 2008-2015, but I hadn't been since then. It has mainly turned into just our annual trip to bullshit, drive fast, and go camping as we all live in different areas along the East Coast. The Tacoma did surprisingly well running the Dragon, but hopefully next year I'll be trailering the Miata down and still camping out of the truck.