Soundman's Project Pumpkin

It's going to turn into something. but it's going to take a little longer than midnight!


Preface; because everyone loves to hate a good back story!

this build's been going on in my head since the debut of the 3rd gen update back in '15. and then @MESO didn't help matters for taunting me on hidplanet the whole time with all of his modifications while building of an empire and all... i've got a couple idea's for that though. i've had enough time to plan to take him on!

no matter, the timing was off, and i had to postpone a tacoma till later.

in the mean time, a ford ranger filled the role. i never did a lot of documentation on the ranger, as i knew from the get-go that it wasn't going to be a long term thing which was reinforced after i started discovering rust issues on it from it living it's entire life in illinois, being used mostly as a snowmobile mule... but that didn't stop me from playing. i have trouble leaving things alone for long. it being a boring silver truck like a million others didn't help matters. when i lost it in a parking lot with 3 other same color/vintage trucks, things had to change.





and then the audio stuff started getting to me. i hadn't intended to take it this far, but 1 plan led to another, and working around the space constraints of the vehicle, while keeping everything invisible became too enticing to ignore. i had ideas and had to try them!






and then there was the day that one of the other guys in the shop tried showing me how his chevy had a soft-open tailgate, and rangers don't have it as an option...


eventually, the rust became too much of a problem, and it was time to send the ranger off to live out the rest of it's days in a peaceful place in wisconsin.

 

And the build to date: that made space for the tacoma. the first requirement of which was that it had to be something of a unique color. enter the last year they offered metallic orange...


no garage is complete without a sports car and a pickup truck!

by now, i've worked out somewhat of a routine to my vehicle builds, though the BRZ's had some hefty influences as of late as far as what i expect out of the truck.

my first rule, and what reinforced the tacoma choice over other trucks was that i could install an aftermarket stereo. it's also the only truck besides the '96-'11 ranger that can fit in my limited-clearance garage(that i'm trying to keep this size, because if i rebuild, it's getting big enough for a car lift and heated floor).

the very first mod to the truck had to be the key fob case from yotamd. it was ordered before i finalized the paperwork.


after that, was some custom-fit floor mats, and some cubby storage dividers to ease livability.

of course, the big red floppy mud flaps had to follow to the truck. imo, they're really not big enough, but no one offers bigger

 

the next mod was replacing the radio. this is the first vehicle i've had with steering wheel controls, as well as a backup camera, so there was some added difficulty, but i managed, with a little help from bobsmirrors.com for the replacement video mirror, expertise, and harness.

it's getting a lot harder to find dash kits that don't look obtrusive. scosche was an absolute failure, as their kit is glossy mirror finish. that may be fine for people with big touch screens, but not for me..

i ended up with an obscure kit made by "Ai

$26 TOYK9714 2016 Toyota Tacoma Dash Mounting Kit

TOYK9714" of all places on Amazon, that better blends the aftermarket with the oem.

 

this past week, the truck got a long-needed wash, and the badges started irritating me, so i spent some time to clean them off in preparation for a full paint correction and detail whenever the mood suits me.

 

i also was screwing around in the garage a few weeks ago, and decided to make a flag pole out of some scrap tubing. because the bed mounting points make it too easy to pass up.

https://i.imgur.com/6ooPpUb.jpg[img]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/A6P3pt1.jpg

i intend to make a second one so i can fly 2 flags. when i'll use it, i really don't know, but it's fun to put an american flag on an american-built truck, by a japanese company, originally for the canadian market. if that doesn't sum up america, i don't know what does...

 

this weekend, the big project was a hood lift system. the brz got it a long time ago when a store put them on super-sale to get rid of excess inventory. i honestly tend to forget i have them in between uses i open the hood so rarely, but every time i use it, i appreciate it, so it was a worthwhile addition to the truck. not to mention, it gained me 8" of opening height, which was sorely needed on these tall trucks!



and while i was working on the hood lift, the oem horns jumped right out of their location, and some hella supertones that have been on my projects-to-do shelf for the last 5 years jumped off and ended up in their place...

 

when i bought the truck, it had a burned out license plate light. they're relatively simple to change for most people with 12 fingers, 2 pry bars, and a curse jar. but instead, my massive shelf of led parts started taunting me. i figured it was a small easy challenge.

it started off with some simple replacement housings that immediately met the business end of a dremel to get the lenses cut off.

then i grabbed a piece of circuit board, and cut to size.




from there, i cut the traces, because this project was really too simple for etching them out.


led's were attached, i chose some white 4100k luxeon rebels i had kicking around. for an updated whiter light, but still yellow enough to be different from the average 6000k replacements everyone else likes running.


from past experience, the exposed copper needed to be tinned, as it's more likely to rot out even in a sealed environment like these lights. so a little flux, and a bead of solder made it happen.
the little black device is a 120mA constant current led driver by OnSemi. nifty little things. they make them in just about every current level from 15mA and up, no serious heatsinking needed..


i chose 120mA because during testing, it was twice as bright as the stock bulb. it was also well under what these led's are rated for. so i ran them free-air for a while to make sure that my rough accounting of heatsinking was good.

after that, i thought i was done. so they got sealed up, and installed.


and here's the replacement vs. the oem:


it was ok for about 2 hours until i went for a drive and the assemblies started thermally throttling and flashing after running for 20 minutes on the truck. turns out my testing didn't include accounting for the limited airspace within the enclosure for heat transference. so out they came, lenses were cut off again, and they were altered for 60mA drive current, which happens to match the oem brightness. i also added some heatsinking to ensure they have less issues in the future. i would've liked for them to be brighter, but these tiny enclosures just don't have the airspace to allow it..




this latest variation has been running solid for a week now with no issues, even while sitting for a while in direct sunlight, so it's doing everything i expect out of a plate light!

 

my exhaust tip came today, quick 5 minute install with some aluminum shimming. not crazy about how it looks from the rear of the truck though. still thinking about changing to a y-adapter and dual side exit.

 

been slowly working on the dome lights. thought i had more parts than i did stashed away, and then the parts i wanted didn't work out.

first, i wanted to use some surplus 'warm white' nichia led's. but they proved to be really finicky, and prone to burning out just on the test bench in ideal circumstances.

biggest challenge in this case was the first time trying 2-sided pc boards, and planning on mounting the drivers on the back side for a clean face.

but first, i had to make the boards.

boards cut to size


playing with the layout


measured, scaled, and scored


cut lines, trying to maximize surface area for thermal dissipation


boards completed, tinned, and populated



some kapton tape on the back for the wide electrical area, so nothing makes sparks
https://i.imgur.com/ffjotKd.jpg/img]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/mNi2c3p.jpg/img]


and installed. looks like stock until it blinds!
[img]https://i.imgur.com/osY0F3a.jpg

 

been a while since i updated this. as always, progress is slower than ideas!

since then, i've gotten the sub box built, took advantage of a memorial day sale, and have progressed a little more on the bed lighting.

the sub box took a few months, but came together as nice as it could be. not as large as i wanted, but as big as the constraints allowed.




the rest of the audio build is mostly waiting on funding for all the wiring, and possibly some sound deadening. the amps/speakers are all on-hand. at least until i change my mind!

still playing with the setup in my head, current plan is:
dayton dsp408, to help run the full active setup
2 amps, alpine pdx v9(front stage--doors, tweeters, and sub), and pdx f4(rear fill, doors/tweeters, possibly some bed speakers)

the front half is decided:
quad? peerless 6" hds nomex front door woofers
peerless ring radiator tweeters in the upper dash, using the windshield as a reflector

the back half of the setup is still being debated. i'm leaning towards running tweeters up high, 1 of a number of different sets i've got from past projects that didn't quite make it (beston round ribbon, dayton planar, dayon amt, tang band 1"drivers, and peerless ring radiators are top considerations right now), and then playing with the delay to try to expand the sound stage.

the f4 will likely use 1 pair of outputs just for the tweeters, though i've only got 8 outputs from the dsp, so they'll likely be a mono-summed channel pair. still considering running a set of coaxials in the rear doors for 'party mode', i've got a set of sb acoustics 8" woofers that are taunting me as well...

 

took advantage of harbor freights memorial day sales, and picked up the winch i was planning on doing in a few years. 25% off was less than the 'inside track' club discount. it's the cheapest i've seen that winch at in any point since it's introduction and price increases, so better to have it now than cry about the higher price later...


i had been planning on getting the cheaper badlands zxr steel cable winch because it'll be buried in the front end anyways, so appearance didn't matter. in pricing out adding the synthetic rope, and wireless remote, i was over the retail cost of the apex version, so saved a few bucks on the 'prettier' winch.

 

otherwise, just continuing on with my custom over-the-top bed lighting that's occupying way too much space in the back of my garage, taunting me.

the plan has always had 2 options.
first was led tape in a silicone jacket mounted under the utility rail:

the issue with this option has always been fear of damage to the strip-- things bang around, and if i damage any part of the strip, the entire side would need to be replaced.

second option is aluminum channel.

this mitigated some of the physical damage concerns. but raised a few more. first, the aluminum strips aren't easily available in the design desired and the 6ft lengths required. second, it still looks tacked on.

after using the truck for a while, some load securing gear has suddenly found permanent residence in the bed. so now i started looking at molle panels to better secure that gear while not always in use. that led to the idea of insetting the aluminum channel into a set of molle panels. this maintains the bed usability, provides some damage protection, as well as physically splitting up the bars into smaller segments that fit within the 2ft segments the channel is available in.

so some channel and molle panels got ordered.



cob led strips are relatively new to the market, so picked up a roll of that as well to try for this.


it shows i ordered all this back in march. it wasn't until this weekend that it really hit me how to properly mount the aluminum channel to the the steel molle panel..

first try, it came with mounting clips. they did hold the channel in place somewhat solid, but if the panel flexed, they popped off. it would be an issue once the panels are mounted and i torqued something down on the panel. so i wasn't very happy with the option, but hadn't thought of anything better.


the front appearance however was exactly what i wanted.

with the smoked cover, and black anodizing, they'll be almost invisible until i turn them on.

my welder taunted me from the shelf as i was fussing with the bolts to connect the two halves of the molle panel together. so suddenly i had 1-piece 6' molle panels.


this weekend, i was starting at it more--i wanted to continue, but those stupid clips bothered me. and they were falling in...


then it hit me, the groove that the clips snap into would allow sheet metal to slot in. except it needed to be raised slightly to keep the channel pulled to the molle panel.

digging around for a solution, i re-discovered my bead roller...


which resulted in this


which led to this


so i ended up with this


the drivers side is all welded, still need to do the passenger side now.

 

made a little more progress on the bed lights. 1 step forward, 1 step back.

aluminum channels all welded in, cob tape light in, and wired.
problem is the light covers are opaque and darkened. they only let through about 1/4 of the light.

without the covers, great output, just what i wanted.


with the lights off, the covers look great and become invisible.


looks sorta ugly with the white led tape in the black channel



but with the covers on the left, the output difference is obvious, and makes these covers worthless..


these strips are 12.2mm wide, the only clear covers i can find are 12mm. hoping the 0.2mm isn't world-ending, but we'll see!

 

bed lighting is done!

i'm happy with the results, despite half the parts not working how i planned.


the 12mm covers just sorta worked. they're not tight, or waterproof, but do clip in slightly. only problem is i was 1 cover short. so the 2 small light bars on the drivers side got a different solution.

i had to come up with a waterproofing solution as well.

i originally wanted to order some of the same silicone that is used in waterproof led light strips. after not being able to find that, i had to resort to more local ideas. ended up finding this dap product that might be similar. time will tell.



i put that stuff into the cover trough, and then laid the covers over the top. for the most part, it filled in really nicely. mostly needed to refine my technique more than anything to fix any flaws, but there's no re-doing it anymore!
for the 2 strips without covers, i ended up filling the tough, and then scraping it flat. had i planned ahead better, i would've created a curved shaping tool to match the radius of the other strips with the covers. but it still worked out nicely.

for the most part, this stuffs finished product looks identical to the silicone used on waterproof led strips.






really happy with the final product. looks almost professional!




as far as powering these strips, i had some dilemma's. eventually, i want 3 winches(2k in the top and front of the bed, and 2 5k through the rear bumper) on the back of the truck, a custom roll bar with some accessory lighting, and a prinsu rack also with some accessory lighting-- there is going to be a TON of wire in this truck later.

but i'm a long ways from running the power wires or creating the switch panels necessary for any of that setup.

so for now, i looked into the simpler methods of power.

conveniently, these trucks come with a 7 pin trailer harness that provides power to the trailer. disadvantage, the trucks got this wire on a relay to prevent any connected trailer from discharging the battery. but it is on a 40A fuse...

2 easy methods. either i could built a jumper harness with some crimp spades and jam those into the relay connections, or i could take the relay apart and defeat it to keep constant power flowing.

the truck came with the really nice open-able delco relay's, so the 2nd option became easier than scrounging for 10ga wiring and spade crimps to support the load.

after simply opening up the relay, it got even easier. just needed a zip tie to force the relay contact closed.




labeled the top of the relay cover, put it all back together and everything was complete!




next project? sound system. changing the radio held it off for a while, but i'm starting to want to drive the truck less, and doing more fiddling with the eq and crossover slopes to try to compensate again.

 

audio build is progressing. most of the orderable items are in stock. getting down to the actual work!

now i just need to figure out the panel to mount all the circuit breakers and fuse block expansion. need to break out the Cardboard Aided Dimensioning for that.



wiring for 4-6 pairs of speaker locations(full active front stage, rear fill tweeters, potential rear door 'party' coaxials, and/or bed transducers), 1 dsp, 2 amps(1-4ch, 1-5ch), 1 front winch, custom rca cabling and ends, with planned expansion for 3 more winches, construction strobe lighting, and offroad lighting. not pictured is the winch, mounting plate, or sound deadening

 

winch went in the other day. it's 'functionally aesthetic' for now, until i can build my breaker/disconnect panel to surround the brake booster for current and future electrical needs. the ring terminal should at least reach either the current battery for a temporary bolt-on solution if i need it, or it's long enough to get to the new plate, where ever it might end up.

SHDQ, YOUR INSTRUCTIONS SUUUUCK.. still annoyed by it, i had to use a carbide burr to round out the 4 outer mounting points. either my trucks mounting points are wider, or their hole cutting template is off by an 1/8" on each side.

they also kindly list all the hardware included, but then rarely mention which hardware is used where. their instructions also skip step 11...

i ended up with four M12 flange bolts left over, as well as two 3/8" nuts/bolts/washers that i still have no idea what they're included for.





i still need to figure out some sort of remote free-spool setup, as the knob ended up directly under that support, and there's no possible way to turn it.

future-plan is to get a replacement or 3, freespool knobs from harbor freight, and then see if i can cut/weld/drill/tap a socket universal joint onto one to extend to a more reachable location. still impossible to believe that only 1 company makes a free spool extension kit for any winch design...

i had to dremel the bumper grille back-side to thin out the grille so the winch didn't push the plastic bumper forward. fortunately it was only a 1/2". but still a ton of work.




and then curiosity got the best of me. i took apart the massive badlands 'winch controller' box, as i was already having trouble mounting it. turns out, it's much simpler than they make it seem.


everything re-mounted, in a much more compact form factor, with new custom-made 1/0 feed cables, and 4ga controller connection cables(oem is 2ga feed, with 8ga controller cables). just need to find one of those fancy boots for the main power cable bolt to finish the appearance off.


and the most nerve-wracking part was cutting my oem bumper with minimal templates. i had ordered a replacement, but ebay struck and it didn't fit. again, SDHQ your instructions SUCK. they kindly include a laser-cut template off the factory plate holes for 3 different fairlead designs, where all i needed was the center point... but they never once mention the 3/4" of variance their own winch plate has in vertical positioning of the fairlead, which could've given me a full 1/2" higher mounting positioning than where it ended up.






5/10. i recommend buying because it's the only hidden winch kit option with attachment points. the price isn't a good deal comparatively, the instructions sucked, the fit sucks. but the welds look nice, and the powercoat seems to hold up well after drilling it...