Let the Good Times Roll

Nothing new to report, but I took a couple pics of my truck for a change.

 

Where'd you go?

 

Near Naches, it was during elk season.

 

Subbed. I enjoyed the outdoor pics of your truck. The photoshopped "short" version was quite amusing!

 

I've wanted a Baja or Prinsu rack for the canopy for a long time now, but frankly, I'm too cheap to pay that much for a roof rack that I probably don't really need. So, I decided to turn my existing rack into a platform.



The sides are 1/8"x1.5" steel, and the tubes are 1" conduit, and everything is bolted together with stainless hardware.

When I was building this, the steel sides seemed pretty strong and a good size. However, once I mounted it on the truck, it seems a bit "dainty" now, and not quite as solid as I was hoping it would be (if I grab the sides and try to shake it, I can get more flex out of it than I'd prefer). So, I'm going to have to re-do that part sometime soon, though it is plenty strong for what I will be putting up there (kayaks and some recovery tools).

 

Okay, V1 of the rack didn't work out so well, it didn't have enough torsional strength. I should have used L stock on the sides instead of the flat steel. Also, the round bars are hard to mount stuff to. For V2 I used L stock on the sides and unistrut for the cross bars. MUCH better.

Also, I went and got dirty with a friend at Tahuya the other day. This trip was a good reminder that I desperately need sliders, so those will be the next thing that happens.

 

Haven't done anything to the truck lately, mostly just been using it for truck stuff. Needed to move most of our belongings out of our house for a remodel, so I borrowed a trailer from a friend so I didn't have to rent one.



Also, I hit an important mileage milestone the other night:

 

Any pics of the updated roof rack? We're in the middle of building one very similar for my buddies T4R and would love to see some pics to compare it to.

 

I'll get some for you this evening.

 

Truck looks great love all the cars and bikes. Love to hear more about your project bike looks awesome. I love to ride as well.

 

Played in the hills around Chelan this weekend with the wife. Nothing too technical/difficult, but it's beatiful.

 

I finally had enough of the factory stereo and decided it was time to start upgrading. I like a good sounding stereo, but I'm by no means an audiophile. I just wanted something better than what the truck came with. For phase one, I decided to upgrade the speakers and add some sound deadening. Later on, I'll most likely get a new head unit and install an amp. I have no plans to add a sub.

Front doors:
Pioneer TS-A6986R 6x9s (http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Car/Speakers/A-Series/TS-A6986R) - $71 (Amazon)
6x9 speaker adapters (

$16 Custom Install Parts 6x9 Aftermarket Front Door Speaker Adapter Compatible with Lexus & Compatible with Toyota

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00801K2XQ) - $20 (there are cheaper ones available, but these looked a little more robust for only a few dollars more)

Rear doors:
Pioneer TS-A1686R (http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Car/Speakers/A-Series/TS-A1686R) - $50 (Amazon) (I went with the 1686R instead of the 1676R because they are only a few dollars more and have a larger cone area that is essentially equal to a 6.75" speaker)
6.5" speaker adapters (

$10 Custom Install Parts 6.5" Plastic Black Speaker Adapter Compatible with Toyota - Select Models -

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007ZQGZWO) - $7

Other supplies:
25sqft of Noico 50mil sound deadener (

Noico 50 mil 21.5 sqft car Sound deadening mat, Butyl Automotive Sound Deadener, Audio Noise Insulation and dampening

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B012AVX5HQ) - $37
Sound deadener roller (

$12 uxcell Car Sound Deadener Application Rolling Wheel Roller 5cm x 3.5cm

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GMOI98S) - $7
Speaker harness adapters (http://www.ebay.com/itm/331706690937) - $10

All-in, it was just a hair over $200.

I had some time this weekend and after work last night to get the speakers installed. Installing everything was really easy. Even taking my time, it was only about an hour per door.

The Noico deadener comes in sheets that are about 14x20 inches. For the inside of the doors, I used one sheet on each door. I cut each sheet in half and put one half above the crash bar, and the other half below the crash bar (Note: on the front doors, there is a metal panel held in with a few screws you need to remove to gain access to the inside of the door). Then I used the roller to make sure it was stuck on good. You don't need full coverage with this stuff, technically all you really need is around 25% coverage.

Once the inside of the door was done, I used two more sheets to cover the door panel (so, a total of three sheets per door). The goal here is to seal up any holes in the door (except the holes the door clips go in!). This does two things: 1, it replaces the plastic weather protection that was on the door, and 2) it blocks noise that otherwise would have been transmitted through those holes and reduces vibrations.

I just covered everything, including the wiring harnesses. The sound deadener is pretty sticky, but it's not so sticky that you can't get it off if you need to access something in the door sometime in the future.

Here's what one of the rear doors looked like when I was done:



After covering the door, I used whatever was left of the two sheets on the back of the door card. Basically, I just applied some to where the different parts of the card are plastic welded together to prevent rattling in the future. I also added a little bit to the door switch to keep it from rattling as well.

Initial impressions:

Damn it, I should have done this years ago! Everything sounds SO much better, even still using the factory head unit with no amp. There is more bass, the highs are crisper/clearer, and there's much less distortion at higher volume levels. It's definitely a huge improvement.

It's pretty amazing how cheap Toyota went with the factory speakers. Look at that cute little quarter-sized magnet and paper cone.





I'm also really pleased with the the Noico sound deadener. I will definitely be buying more to do the back wall of the cab. No smell, inexpensive, easy to apply. It's absolutely just as good as Dynamat, and like 1/3 the cost. The cab is definitely much quieter on the freeway now as well. I can't wait to do the back wall of the cab, which is where most of the road noise comes from.

 

The wife and I made the trip to central Oregon for the eclipse, and it was totally worth it. We decided to make it an off road trip while we were at it. The plan was to start in Walla Walla and head south on "route 5" of the Oregon Backcountry Discovery Route.

Here we are at the beginning of the trip.


About halfway through day one we realized we weren't going to make it where we needed to be in time for the eclipse, so we had to jump off the OBDR and hit the highway for a bit. We found a good spot to set up camp on night one that would have a perfect view of the eclipse the next day.

We don't get out enough to rationalize the cost of an RTT, so we make due with a sleeping platform in the canopy with a 4" memory foam mattress that has Thermarest pads under it. Even though I'm 6'4", it's still pretty comfortable.


The eclipse was AWESOME. I didn't take many pics because my cell phone camera just wasn't capable of capturing it.


After the eclipse was over, we hit the road again to get to our next trail entrance, which was about 25 miles south in Seneca. Once we got there, the trail we wanted was closed due to fire danger (I'm sure which was also partially due to the onslaught of camping noobs in the area. I'm guessing the Forest Service figured it was easier to cut off access to certain areas rather than deal with a bunch of idiots who don't know to not start camp fires in the middle of a tinder box).

So, we rerouted again. It ended being a mostly highway day again, but oh well. At the end of the day we got some off road action while we were looking for a place to set up camp. We eventually found an awesome place a little north of the John Day Fossil Beds Monument.

 

Day three saw us heading back to Washington to go visit Mt. St. Helens.

We made a little side trip along the way to check out some of the wind mills. These things are HUGE in person.


After a long day in the truck, we finally made it to our planned camp location for the night. We were all alone way up here, but it was pretty darn windy. We had a great view of Mt. Adams, Mt. Rainier, and Mt. Hood (I think?), though by the time I took this picture some clouds/haze had rolled in and blocked the view a bit.


We woke up to an incredible view in the morning though.


Once we packed up camp (and packed up a bunch of garbage previous visitors had left behind), we headed back down to hop on a forest service road that leads to near the Johnston Observatory for Mt. St. Helens. Once again, we were foiled because the road was closed due to fire danger.

So, on the highway we went again, then we spent the day checking out the destruction from the volcano. After that, it was time to head home.

All said and done, we spent about 150 miles offroad, so we still had some fun. Also, the wife had a great time and decided the overlanding thing is a lot of fun... so now I guess I'm shopping for an RTT.

 

Where was that camp spot with the view. Looks like a rad wakeup spot

 

Very nice truck!!!
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This pic is something else!!!! ^^^^^^
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I really like that light bar also. would you happen to have a link for it?

 

Check the "Products Discussed in this Thread" section below, it's down there.

 

Right on! I should have thought of that lol

 

Great write-up. The sound deadening material sounds (no pun intended) like an awesome upgrade and fix for excess noise and vibration. I like a super quiet cab myself. I found this post searching for door speaker vibration. My driver's door panel (or something within) vibrates with heavier bass music with the beat of the bass (still the factory system). The vibration drives me bonkers and I cannot pinpoint where it is coming from. If I push on the door panel or any components (like the window/lock buttons and handle) nothing stops the vibration. I'm guessing it must be something behind the panel that is not receiving any pressure. Anyone else experience vibrations from their door(s)? Oddly enough, it only seems to be this one door. I was thinking of taking it apart and putting rubber grommets everywhere, but the sound deadening material would help in two ways and be even better.

 

I have a similar issue with my driver's door. If the window is rolled down it rattles a bit, so I'm guessing I need to tweak (or tighten) the rails.