The Casper Chronicles

early 2020 I ordered some retarded exhaust cam gears and an intake spacer... butt dyno likes the improvement... more grunt in low RPM range. cruise on, AC off I can go over a medium sized overpass without losing speed, before it would drop 2-3mph as you crested the overpass.

 

Covid Jack

 

Ram mount also in 2019... It keeps my phone out of the way and yet easy to look at when I need to.

 

yesterday in my quest to accurately update the Casper Chronicles I went through all of my build receipts, both paper and electronic and built a spreadsheet with the part information and cost... geez this website is expensive! not all of my upgrades were inspired by this website but I would say the vast majority were... I fought myself to not total the cost, but did it anyway... I shouldn't have done that... averaged over the last 7 years it doesn't look so bad. lol

 

Going through all of the upgrades allowed me to consider which ones were a complete waste of money, in my mind anyway...
Weathertech Hood Protector... it worked but didn't fit very well... finally removed it.
Spyder Black Head Lights .. supposedly similar to TRD PRO... total pieces of shit... one of the reflectors was bent off to the left. Used em for a couple of years, replaced with OEM TRD Pros. I got the Spyder black tail lights at the same time.. Love them! still installed.
AEM Brute Force Cold Air Intake - complete waste of money. nothing cold air about it as it draws air from inside the engine compartment. nothing more than an expensive noise maker. sounded cool for a couple of months but went back to stock after I couldn't take the noise anymore.

 

Also in 2019 I finally got rid of the chrome rear bumper skin.. got a black one on CarID for just over $100. Its called a Rear Bumper Face Bar (7106512) by K-Metal®. Black. Fit perfect. looks soooo much better! also gives me an idea of how an aftermarket steel bumper will look... haven't decided on that yet

 

Nice truck and great name although I may be biased.

 

LOL!! Thanks! Love the SuperWhite!

 

I have a little camper I tow also it’s done great. The first Tacoma with a 4cyl did not tow well for me I think it was the automatic but this one does great.

 

Love the camper! I'm looking to beef up TX Casper to do the same.. the wife doesn't like the primitive camping style so I have to find a camper with a queen bed and shower

 

Most impactful mods:
Camper Shell/Topper - Nice to have a mostly dry place to carry shit... my shit, my wife's shit, my daughter's shit, my son's shit, my dog's shit.. sometimes everybody's shit, all at once.. lol
BedRug - mostly matches the topper liner and saves my knees!
Katzkin Leather - because who doesn't like leather seats?
OEM Audio+ - plug and play and a night and day difference in how it sounds
Chrome/Silver delete.. ongoing... I think chrome and silver clash with the super white exterior and black looks so much better than the cheap silver in the interior
Black Bumper Cover - in my quest to get rid of all the chrome and silver this was massive... looks so much better
Ultimate Headlight upgrade combined w/TRD PRO headlights - I can see! I can see!
MrImYo Rear View Mirror Riser - really opens up the windshield view
Hood Struts - shoulda come from the factory
A Pillar Ram mount - keeps phone just barely in my field of vision while driving and doesn't block view out the windshield
Retarded exhaust cam gears / Intake Manifold spacer - more low end... not much but more..
Interior Black out - looks way better than the silver
Fumoto - 10 minute oil changes
Auto Up/Auto Down window switches - shoulda come from the factory

 

Interior Black Out -
Before -


After -

 

Finished the center dash with new radio knobs and a hazard switch with the clock.. still have the tweeter surrounds and speedo surrounds to go. I love the clock... much better than the tacoma advertising... keeping it in sync with the headunit clock is fun.. it looses a minute every 3-4 weeks.

 

A while back I picked up some rubber coated heavy metal magnets off Amazon and bolted them to the side of the center tunnel... perfect place for Mr. Kimber!

 

at some point I picked up some black diamond plate kick plates for the door sills... I think they look OK. Do they really do anything? probably not... lol

 

Glove box organizer... How did I ever live without it?

 

Fresh air intake... AFE Momentum scoop, some 4" silicone, a short aluminum pipe and some heavy duty clamps and voila.. Uses the stock filter. I've checked after driving through a rainstorm and the air filter doesn't get wet.

 

After going through my spreadsheet of upgrades I've found 3 that are still waiting to be installed... mostly because they require disassembly of the dash. they are all small switches that only fit under the AC controls... front/rear anytime camera, an integrated usb charging port w/volt meter, bass trim pot for OEM Audio+. I'll get to them eventually but now that it's 100+ in TX working in the garage has lost it's luster...

 

I've been thinking... and have set a goal of getting a camper by the end of next year... </= 5000# should be doable. I have some work to do to Casper to get it ready to safely tow.. It has the towing package so that's good... but my suspension is old and 8 years of the camper shell has turned the leaf springs from happy to sad... When I change the leafs out I'll put in Hammer Hangers to stabilize the rear.. looking at the Deaver 10 leaf pack good for 1" to 1 1/2". Which will suit me fine... I don't really want a lift higher than that... I will need to add in some 3rd gen takeoff struts and rear shocks and it should last a while.
Brakes will be good after the Tundra booster/master upgrade which should happen this month or early next. almost all the parts are in hand.. Already installed the GX470 rotors, calipers and new pads.
CSF Radiator and the largest transmission cooler that will fit should keep it cool..er and a ScanGuage to keep track of the hopefully cooler transmission temps.
Casper should be good to go...

Of course if I win the lottery I'll throw in some Fox 2.5s and a rear disk conversion. lol

 

Interesting I just carry mine in console