The Tale of The Taquito

Thank you! I've really been enjoying it

 

That's looking good! I really like those wheels. What are they?

 

i just found your build thread. Nice truck. I've always liked regular cabs - they just look right.

I'm not surprised about changing the shell. I had a cab-hi on my truck, and sold it for a raised top - gained 5 or 6 inches. What a world of difference. And I have a platform, so height is already limited.

Any hint as to your next iteration? Guessing, I'd say a GFC.

Whatever it may be, I look forward to reading about it.

 

I went with FN Wheels 5 Stars. I was looking to shave some weight at the time. They come in just a hair under 19 pounds. I picked the G003 tires for the same reason as you, as they were one of the lightest E rated aggressive tires I could find. I am thinking of changing out my wheels though. Nothing wrong with them but I'm getting the itch for something in an OEM alloy for a more stockish look.

 

Thank You! You're on the right path, it will be something like a GFC. I love Reg Cab's!!! Besides the look of them, I just like the way they drive. One of these days I might get another AC. I do kinda miss the space behind the seats. I'm not a fan of DC's. They just don't look right, IMO.

 

19lbs is great, but I hear you. The 3rd gen TRD OR wheels are only around 23lbs, if I remember right. You can also get them pretty cheap. I picked up my first set of 4 for $250. When I wanted to get 2 matching spares, I was able to find another set of 4 for $200. They were all in perfect condition when I got them. Not so much now

 

Glad to see you still have the taco! Most RC threads always seem to die off for some reason lol

 

I love this little truck too much to get rid of it. I'm just way more of a lurker on forums and social media than I am a poster.

 

How has the 4xinnovations rear bumper with the long swing out arm treated you? I'm considering them. You speced yours about how I'd likely spec mine. I do have a bit of concern with the single swing out with a spare, 10 gallons of gas, and a hi-lift jack. Any thoughts or recommendations?

 

It has been great. A good friend has the high clearance version with the swing out, too. We've both had ours on for about a year now with zero issues. There's no signs of the hinge starting to sag or anything. The weak point does seem to be the spring pin that locks it open. I've never broken one, but I had my truck detailed and somehow they managed to break it. I was pissed ended up getting the detail job for free. I called Adam and he overnighted me a couple of them and it took less than 5 minutes to replace. It has survived at least 20 nights and a thousand miles of trail in the last year.

 

Yesterday was a good day. Even though my wife normally doesn't join me on my Taquito adventures, I brought her along. We left the house at 0530 and headed south, to Ventura. It was a smooth drive over the Grapevine and then we headed west, to the coast. We got to Ventura at 0800 and dropped the truck off, at Topo Toppers. Then we grabbed an Uber and headed to the Oxnard Harbor. I knew we were going to have time to kill, so I booked us on a wildlife cruise around the Channel Islands. Bright blue skies and 60 degrees with a light breeze, it was a perfect day to be on the Pacific Ocean. We saw tons of wildlife. Biggest highlight was a pod of 100 or so Bottlenose Dolphins and then a massive pod of about 1000 Common Dolphins. After that we had a nice lunch at a seafood restaurant. Then we hailed another Uber and headed back to Topo Toppers. When we arrived and I saw what had become of the little Taquito, I was floored! The wife gave exactly two shits, that's why I take the dog on adventures instead of her lol. Seriously though, I am very thankful to have a wife that never gives me grief when I take off on an adventure.

We spent the next hour going over the details of the topper and how to use and maintain it. Thomas and Katy, the owners of Topo Toppers, are great people and take their time to ensure everything is right. Their entire staff is extremely helpful and their workmanship is top notch!

The drive home in the Taquito wasn't as bad as I expected. She handled the weight well with minimal sway around turns and felt very planted. At speeds below 50, it felt like she had the same amount of power as before. There was very little wind noise while cruising on the highway at 65 MPH. The added drag was a factor and the truck needed to come out of overdrive for most inclines, nothing too bad. It pretty much drove like it did before the 5.29 gears and 33's. Then when it was time to climb back over the Grapevine, that's when shit got real. There was a nasty 20-30MPH headwind. Mix that with the 6% grade, the Taquito was not happy. I didn't want to push her too hard, so I started the climb at 60 MPH. That was a mistake, I should have started it at 65-70, to be more in the power. She held 55-60 almost all the way up the initial climb, but then the wind picked up more and she was only good for 45 MPH. Overall, I think she did well. Even with my last setup and no headwind, I would only be doing about 55 at the top of the grade. What was really surprising, there was very minimal buffeting in the headwind and when the road would turn and it became a crosswind, the truck always felt planted. The strong headwind was also the only time that the long overhang of the topper caused noticeable wind noise.

With all that out of the way, here are the specs:
Topo Toppers - Badlander
100W Solar panel on the roof
Delux MaxxFan on the roof
Upper and lower level lighting inside
Sliding windows on each side, with sliding screens for easy access inside the bed
3 heavy duty awning brackets on the passenger side
2 vertical and 1 horizontal L Track on the drivers side

 

I still haven't had a chance to hit the trail with the new camper yet. Been working too much. It's KILLING me! The next mod is going to be a 12V setup for the back and also insulating the side of the shell. I can only imagine how much heat transfer that aluminum is going to have. My current electrical setup is just a Jackery and a always hot 12v outlet I put in the bed. I want to get away from using the Jackery as my primary source of power. I'd like to do a LIFEPO4 battery and a DCDC charger, with a control panel on the side of the shell. Just haven't figured out exactly how I'm going to set it up. The only real decision I've made is to go with a Chins 100ah battery. They are relatively cheap and well built, according to all the videos I've seen of them getting torn apart. For the DCDC charger, I want one that is dual input with a MPPT solar controller. I have narrowed it down to either the 25A Redarc or 25A Kickass.

Thoughts? Ideas? Advice?

 

just a thought, I put a dual battery kit in the engine compartment, and just wired 12v to a fuse block in the bed. The 6ft bed isn’t that big once you start loading it with stuff. Its nice having the space and weight moved off of the already heavy rear end

 

Love seein a fellow jack specialist!

 

I considered that, but I want to go with a Lithium battery and they don't like the heat of the engine bay. The battery will be eventually hidden inside the build out that I am going to do in the back. There's also only 100W of solar on the roof. I'd like to get that solar as close to the battery and charger as possible, to limit the voltage drop. That would also make it where I don't have to run as much heavy gauge wiring.

 

What is a jack specialist?

 

Finally had the chance to take the Topo out on a trip over the weekend. Went to the Mojave Preserve. With the Exped mattress, it's pretty comfortable and the truck handles the weight on the trails without a problem. Setting up and packing up camp is sooooo much easier. I should have gotten a topper like this from the start!

 

I've been busy working on the interior build. Please don't judge, I really have no idea what I'm doing. There has been a bit of measure twice, cut once, measure again, cut again. I still have more to do, but this is how it is right now. I still need to cut out the floor and then pull it all out and carpet it. The floor will be secured to the bed and have a few d rings for tying the load down.

 

I figured since the benches are in a simi functional state, it would be a good time to do a rough install of the 12V system. This will also get cleaned up when I pull everything out for carpeting. The battery is a Chins 100ah LIFOPO4 inside a Kickass Battery box. For the DC 2 DC charger I went with a Wagan 25A dual input charger. This is a new product for them and I thought I'd give them a try. I stashed the battery box in the drivers side front of the bed. I'm also using a Kickass mini power box, that I mounted with industrial strength Velcro on the drivers side rear of the topper. I brought the power into the bed by using a SB50 outlet. I also converted the wires for the solar, fan, and lights over to SB50. Everything is connected with SB50 connectors and can be removed in less than 10 minutes. Using 6 Gauge wire, I'm only getting a 0.05V voltage drop between my starter battery and the DC 2 DC charger. To monitor the battery, I went with an Amazon mystery brand, Wonvon 100A Shunt. It is sold under a few different names. I just liked the display and all the functions it has. I haven't tried out the Bluetooth yet.

 

With all that in, I had to take it on a shakedown run. This past weekend I went down to the Salton Sea and ran the Bradshaw Trail. It was a good time and everything worked well. Even tested how the Badlander is in the rain. Other than some condensation, no water got in.

Started the trip in the little town of Bombay Beach, on the shore of the Salton Sea. Had to hit up the Ski Inn for a burger and a beer and then check out what has changed in town since my last visit.