Hour's 2012 Regular Cab 4x4 Build

Very true, sir, very true! Love the new wheels!

Nice setup! Definitely getting the itch to camp again.

Fink

 

OK I went buck up in the middle of no where, Argentine Pass. Sorry for any repetitive images but uhh yeaaah. Truck did great, 4 hours of nonstop bouncing around in 4LO 2-3rd gear. The truck simply would not go up even the first hill of the trail (which started way down in the woods, not in the tundra) in 1st gear 4hi. It had absolutely nothing haha.

I kept worrying over "Oh god I hope making this sharp turn in 4lo doesn't screw something up!" - obviously I needed it and the terrain was nothing like the dreaded dry pavement. Still, I was cautious cutting it fully in one direction, and had to reverse a LOT around tight switch backs. Would be a nightmare in a DCLB The other option I had was to drive off a cliff. Whatever.

Anyway, over 2 hours of driving through the woods where I couldn't really get a shot of anything, lots of backing up to allow trucks coming down to pass, yadaya. Can't really fart around when the only pull offs are to let another vehicle squeeze by mirror-to-mirror. So, we begin at the abandoned mine.









and then climb a long while up these trails





until I reached the top of the world







Did not see any goats, dozens of chipmunks and some other rotund rodents, some poop at the very top from what I guess were goats.. and some flowers.







It had rained just before I started this several hour journey, and cleared up. That was neat. As I sat on top of the world I watched storm clouds roll in and heard thunder. Very loud thunder. It began raining, then pouring, then hailing. Since all the trails zig zag down the mountain, especially once you get in the tree line, waterfalls just cascaded down and I kept hitting the same ones. The road became unrecognizable (really easy to get lost up there). Boulders began appearing on the road, I guess they rolled down from the rain loosening things up. Survived though.

 

SOLAR SHIET AND ROOF RACK

I sold the Echo the other day. 4 months with me, didn't need anymore since I cut 100 miles off my daily commute Anyway, with $2,200 in my pocket I had to answer the question "What do I buy now?!"Here's what I just confirmed order of and will be eagerly awaiting:

1. Thule roof rack tracks, 60" - these will go on the camper shell
2. Rage 62.5" cargo basket, which will mount directly to tracks. LOW PROFILE FTMFW
3. Cargo net for basket
   
4. 20w instapark solar panel, to be mounted behind the deflector on roof rack.
5. Digital solar charge controller, shows battery voltage on it which I wanted - and great reviews compared to the basic ones
6. Some various wiring and quick connects for panels
7. Auxiliary battery box, will go in bed, passenger side, towards the front
8. $10 LED dome light fixture and bulbs, to replace my cold cathodes in bed
9. 75ah deep cycle battery

Was inspired by someone on expeditionportal who came up with this method of mounting cargo baskets directly to tracks to achieve super low profile. Had always wanted solar setup, didn't want to drill holes JUST for the panel, may as well just install tracks.. rack.. and improvise with panel.


I know optimum charging will require proper orientation to the sun. However I mount it will be sturdy, but quickly undoable so I can reposition it if I'm really putting a hurting on the second battery.


I'll piece together a dual battery DIY deal following some instructions off expeditionportal as well, so I can take advantage of alternator charging both batteries and keep play battery isolated from starting batt.


What I plan to do is a) run a fan whenever I'm camped out and not give a crap, b) play a lot of music, and c) run lights whenever, d) feel safer with another fully charged battery. I'll post detailed pics of install once it all arrives

dude's rack:

 

Tested solar panel the last few days on my balcony. Should be good for limited use.

101 amp hour deep cycle Everstart battery (Johnson Controls) battery from Wal-Mart inside of a multiple-size battery box. Went that route so I'd have room for the front port (Blue Sea Systems, very nice.. now I need another for another location in bed).

Not sure what I'll do with the charge controller, I want to be able to disconnect the panel outside of the truck and remove battery box, which I'll reluctantly store near the rear of the bed for the purpose of easy removal.. for ultimate positioning. I'll probably never use it like this, and if I get smart with how i mount it on the truck then I can likely come up with a way to tilt it while camped.

Cut a rough hole


Slap this in somewhere that the overhang from lid will cover it


Butcher this wiring since it's heavy duty, has inline fuse already present, and cause I wanted the other end as a quick connect for something else



Test it


And wala

 

Fawk man, going to Virginia on Thursday, be back next wednesday. That next weekend I'm down for sure if you're around

 

Yeah I'm down any or all of those days after I get back. Platte river flows right by my apartment. I hope it smells better up there, certainly smells like a bunch of dookie here.

By the way, have you suffered from not having a rear locking diff? I got my ass kicked a week ago on twin cone By the time you realize you're struggling on the steep shit.. your options are to reverse a little down a freaking cliff and keep trying, or accept your fate and die. Some of the most uncomfortable driving I've ever done.

 

Haha, seems like whoever I was talking to above deleted their posts / account.

Anyway, last update from me for this build thread. My tacoma opened me up to Toyota trucks, off roading, sight seeing, and modding things other than cars - so for that, I'm forever grateful. Last November I purchased a 1999 4runner which I've spent quite a bit of monies on making capable on the trails, and am pretty pleased with the results. I'll keep that forever.

The Tacoma, however, is about to go away (girlfriend's father is purchasing). Camper shell sold, sound system and wheels swapped to 4runner, lift remains on though I'll be including stock parts. Seems like gf's dad likes it lifted so who knows, maybe a new build thread will appear on here with the same truck.

The Toyota I'll never sell:



The new dynamic duo:



And the one that must go



BTW, It's an Ecodiesel, insane interior, 28 mpg, and rides like a dream. We'll see what Toyota does with the Tacoma redesign when/if it ever happens and maybe I'll pick one up again.