Irrelevance

Got some work done tonight, but not on the truck. Truck day is tomorrow, yay.

Tonight it was minivan night.

• Replaced the sun shade my (now 6) oldest ripped apart when he was 2 or 3. Had to take the sliding door panel off (a bit of a hassle) then remove about 24 screws to replace it. Fortunately it was the correct part number. Unfortunately, the clips holding the bottom weatherstrip in place are a bit mangled now. Funny how each little clip is an entirely different part number.
• Replaced cabin air filter and engine air filter (time in the dirt in Ukiah made me think it was worth doing)
• Replaced engine shield which got destroyed when I had the tires done. The minivan doesn't have awesome ground clearance but my Rhino Ramps helped me crawl underneath and replace a $38 piece of tinfoil. It's no skid plate but hey, if it keeps the exhaust from starting a fire when parking in tall grass, well, that's probably a good thing.

Minivan TBD list:

• Rear seat usb power (@Puppypunter set me up long ago, it's way past time to get that going, one day I hope to be riding in the 3rd row where I can ignore my kids in front of me)
• Better job of routing the dometic fused power lead (currently using add-a-fuse). I think this entails removing the rear panel and drilling one small hole in the rear pocket. A rather significant headache to avoid having the cable exit from below the panel, so somewhat low priority.
• Front USB aux power? Do I swap out the socket up front for a usb plug? Seems like that's just about the only thing anyone would use it for anyway.

And that reminds me, now that my local dealer swapped out my front diff fluid for me due to my inability to arm wrestle that 10mm hex bolt, I may as well bolt the front skid back on. Or is it time for real skids? Probably not yet, though a pro skid might be a nice touch. That OEM off road skid is really thin.

Tomorrow I have a friend for the boys for 4h and I'm hoping to get all the prep done for the shell so I can have some helpers lift it onto the rails, bolt it down, and connect in the deutsch flange connector. I think that means a few switchpros circuits to the taillight, one for the dome, one for the compressor I still need to get. So maybe 3 or 4 14 gauge leads and a solid 8 gauge ground to one of the frame ground points.

No photos of the door panel sun shade repair, I was tempted but then again, it's a minivan, it's a door panel, it's an aluminum retractable sun shade, not super exciting.

 

Pro skid on today. Not that I need skids for anything but purely cosmetic. And way more beef than they stock ones. Pain to install.



Shell went on last weekend and is wired but needs flange install and pretty wiring. Right now it’s all lowbrow through the cubby.

 

I'm really interested on getting this done, could you tel me where did you buy the PnP harness for the OEM outlet?
I found a thread from @KTJO 4x4 that was offering them for sale, but that thread is now closed.

 

Yes, others would like to as well. Her store appears to not allow purchasing. She hasn’t been easy to track down. All of which is a bit of a bummer given how nice of a mod it was. Might be fun if someone could convince @kmorgan3 to pick up the project and provide the same harness. It’s only 3 connectors and some wire and a ground hoop.

 

Thanks for the quick reply.
It's a real bummer like you said, I guess this mod will have to put off until someone picks it up again.
By the way, this is an insanely useful list of mods you have in your truck, thanks for taking the time to keep it up to date and replying to questions.

 

Time for the stroller tire upgrade. These aren’t 35’s but I did gain an inch of ground clearance and I didn’t have to do a cab chop either. New on the left, stock on the right.

 

Is that a strobing LED?

 

Foot lighting

 

@tonered can you think of a fun way to level this out? I’m at max tire size without a fork chop up front.

 

Looks like a situation for a spacer kit

 

Yeah. We just need to get at the circlips. Might need a mod or two. Maybe a bushing swap?

 

Well, I’m even more of a poser but at the same time, f chrome.

15 minutes very well spent I think.

 

Came close to starting puddles. Got derailed by kids and Halloween. Going to storage now to get the parts to go back to bunk beds. Last time we did that config, my oldest broke his foot jumping off the ladder. I’d estimate 50/50 on whether or not he has learned a lesson. He did crack his head on the pool deck doing a flip a few weeks ago. Not sure if that helps him be more careful or convinced him it’s hopeless to try to avoid injury.

 

No updates because no progress but I have stockpiled a bit of mod material including tonight’s purchase, a pair of Deaver J66. Also in the queue is a @mattgecko hood light kit from @My Name is Rahl my TWSS to complement the strip light kit for the shell. I’m informed that I may be given time to work on the truck this weekend and with the Tundra at @Speed Freek ’s it’s safely out of contention for mods (Tundra mod list dwarfs the Tacoma) so it’s remotely possible I will see the light next week. Wouldn’t that be nice.

Photos of the J66 tomorrow perhaps, they look, oddly enough, like a pair of leaf packs.

 

Looks like a small window is materializing in two weeks where both kids will be gone. I'll see if I can get a few things done on the Tacoma. Still waiting on Fox for shocks but lots of smaller mods. I'm thinking it may be a good chance to get the doors off and do

• Puddle Pods
• V5 switchback mirror turn signals
• SoundSkins
• Speakers

If time remains, possibly the next best move would be the subs but I believe I may be lacking the sub amp. I could simply use one of the 3 stereo amps I do have, easiest would be to keep the speakers on power from the Pioneer and wire up the sub from the 4 channel, then all I'd have to do is re-route the speaker and re-plug the rca's down the line. Something makes me think I probably won't get that far.

A longshot is the new wireless charging pad and shift boot collar (switch Al to delerin for blackout to avoid clashing with the SS knob).
And another piece of that longshot is the LSP-7 / LSP-8 (I have both and a spare lower switch OEM trim panel) which is something I could get done ahead of time and have a little bit to see how much I like it and how painful the install is. I believe that panel must be removed for the new wireless charging pad anyway so it's a good time to swap it and see. I rather like the spacing I have right now but it wouldn't make me cry to have more switch spots in that spot as I could put them to work.

 

Got a work day in on the Tacoma today. Painted my center cap logos flat black, finally installed my puddle pods, started to install v5's and quit on that as my replacement has problems with the turn signal not lighting all the LED's. So I'll stick with the cheapo sequentials, I think they look better anyway.

Then got going on soundskins and did the two front doors. Contemplated getting the component speakers in but ran out of time. I think soundskins for the rear doors and maybe do the coaxials if I have time tomorrow but I only have a few hours and they might get spent on other stuff.

I am reminded of just how slowly I work...

 

+ Fox + Deaver. Buh bye stock suspension. Thanks to @Speed Freek for all the wrenching. And for the new plugs.

 

Oh and also @Speed Freek did the ECGS bushing (yay) with the suspension and plugs. So far I'm a big fan of how it feels, much improved and so happy to be done with the stock suspension. A few more items to go on this truck, it's by no means close to done, but it's a lot more fun now than it was a few days ago.