Tom Follery - Tacoma Build

BACKWALL UNIT & ELECTRICAL PANEL

I knew at this point I would be adding a sub-woofer box and sound system to the truck so I constructed a rear of cab sub floor. I used 2" high density foam to help deaden sound as well as to minimize creeks and squeaks while driving.


On top of the foam I built a backwall board and floor (The sides attached are just temporary to keep things square during construction).




I wanted to keep as much free area over the transmission hump so I modified the wood flooring and gained 6" inches or so in that area. This entire unit will later be bolted down to the stock metal floor piece.


I cut out sections for the soon to be built electrical control panel on the right, and the existing stock storage compartments.


I made a mock up of the sub-woofer box to ensure everything will fit. Also I added a front to the floor board and scribed it to the carpet for a factory looking fit.



I had pre-planned earlier that I would need some sort of electrical control panel instead of just using the stock fuse box, or having a electrical spaghetti mess. So I laid out a electrical control board for use when needed. I checked the amperage rating of each of the lights, and other accessories and planned them accordingly with fuses, relays, and wire gauges to support each item to insure I keep everything from being overloaded. Here is my first version of the layout.


The original version turned out to be too wide so I changed it up a bit. The panel itself is a piece of Lumasite type material (aluminum with plastic sandwiched in the middle 1/4" thick). I used Blue Sea fuse boxes and breakers switches, and distribution blocks and relays. This panel will make it easy in the future to hook up new items and or manage existing accessories with no guess work.







The stock plastic side panels would not work out for my planned layout so I decided to modify them. I cut out the section that protruded making it flat. I also filled any unneeded areas that I didn't like. I used fiberglass to accomplish this.









I left a hole for a potential speaker in the future ( which actually turned out to be a deck plate port I use for storage).




Here is the final fitting of the backwall /floor unit along with the stock plastic pieces. You can notice the nice couture of the carpet and the unit but the back wall had gaps meeting up with the stock side piece and would also rub in the future and make disturbing noises.




To alleviate this potential issue I spray glued foam pieces on the side of the backwall /floor unit prior to applying the covering material.





After covering the unit with "trunk Liner" as its called, the sides were soft and the whole unit slid right in without a fight.


Notice the sides of the backwall are tight to the stock plastic pieces with no gaps, as well as the flooring.





The electrical panel was added by mounting it on some aluminum 1" round stand offs. Since it looked so nice and organized, I added a piece of 1/2" blue tinted plex to make it stand out.






Next I added a main cut off switch from the front battery upcoming DC-DC charger.


Early in the build I was going to add speakers to the side panels, but later found boxes worked out better, so I still wanted to utilize the holes in the side panels so I installed deck ports and now I have another place to stash things.





Complete and wired up as of today.

 

That’s amazing. Exactly why I bought a Tacoma!

 

DUAL BATTERY - RENOGY DC-DC CHARGER w/MPPT

After the rear backwall unit was finished I decide that I would add the second battery as well as the DC-DC charger to the passenger back side of the unit. I wish I would have know when I was building the main unit, but it all worked out in the end. I cut out a section in the floor board for the battery to rest in.





Next I made a extension piece to lock the battery in and a place to mount the DC-DC charger. Nice thing was I could run wires from the right side to the left underneath the unit.





Here it is close to the fabric stage. Still a few hole needed to be located and drilled.



So now the Renogy DC-DC charger with MPPT was mounted as well as SMD terminal blocks (The Fosgate block would soon be changed). Also I made a frame for the top of the battery. A little about the 50Amp Renogy DC-DC charger w/ MPPT: Renogy DC to DC MPPT on-board Battery Charger is designed to give you options. This multi-stage, multi-input battery charger can charge a service battery from a starting battery linked to an alternator or by utilizing solar panels connected directly to the unit. While your vehicle alternator
prioritizes your starting battery, this unit will allow your solar system to charge your service battery first. It's the smart way to keep yourself fully charged and off-grid longer. And with multi-stage charging and multi-chemistry functionality, Renogy DC to DC MPPT Charger has you covered whether you are using Flooded, Gel, AGM, or Lithium batteries.) From the manufacturer.






All fabric applied and wiring starts using 1.0 - 99% OFC (oxygen free copper) as it is with all of the wire I used here. Here is the main cut off switch between the batteries.



The wiring beneath the battery box.





I added a a little sintra back board to give it a professional look.




The Amplifier mounted to the Lumasite panel was also worked into this project, but That will come into play later in this post.



As it stands today, Renogy controller, SMD terminal/fuse blocks, battery (XS AGM XP 3000), sky high 4 lug battery terminals, and a peak at the sub-woofer.

 

BIG 3+ UPGRADE

Being that I have a lot of accessories as well as a 1000watt sound system I figured I better make sure my electrical system was up for it. So I did the famous "Big 3+ Upgrade" Using larger wire and grounding areas that could possibly benefit from it. I also added a Nations 190Amp alternator (Power coated blue to be cool) to replace the stock 80 amp unit. Also, I added a XS D3400 AGM battery. I threw in some other items such as a SMD Fuse block, sky high battery terminals, and lots of 1.0 oxygen free copper cable. The old grounding points were NOT removed just added to with 1.0 OFC cable. My method is #1 Ground engine block - to Body, #2 Ground battery - to engine block, #3 Ground battery - to body, #4 Positive lead + from alternator to battery (don't forget fuse).



Here is the new Nations 190Amp alternator



New AGM battery with terminals and alternator



Installed the new battery mount for the XS battery





Here's the battery and a few hook ups ready



Here's the SMD Fuse block 180 amp and a custom bracket I made with some left over plexi glass. Note the 1.0cable to accommodate the extra power needs.



Here's the set up with the red cables going to the extra battery and alternator, both fused



Finally here is the alternator cable upgraded, though the stock (white in the black wire loom) cable that goes to the stock engine fuse box is not removed it has just been added to.

 

DOOR PANEL MOD

My stock door panel didn't have room for the speakers I planned on using so I had to modify it like everything else. After adding sound deadening mat I removed them for a overhaul.





First I cut out the lower section to allow my speakers pods to fit. I also wanted to make the tweeter speakers location on the panels directional to the driver only. So I make a wedge shape modification and pointed them each to the driver sitting position. This was done with "Rondo" (Bondo+Fiberglass Filler) which I spoke of earlier in another post. After some sanding and shaping I came up with the final look.











Here's a shot of the tweeter wedge after painting. Note each side has a different angle as to where it points. Also the vinyl around the door pull was later changed to carpet matching the interior.





The lower section was made flat using fiberglass.



Next I fabricated a custom pod to hold the (2) 6 1/2" mid range speakers for each side, and cut out the door panel accordingly.










I got the panels ready for paint, which once again was done with

$77 Rust-Oleum 248914 Automotive Accessories Pack of 6

Rust-Oleum 248914 Truck Bed Liner Spray, and Rust-Oleum Painter's Touch 2X Satin Granite Spray Paint. Like the dash board the paint all dried hard and there was no sticky feeling to it in the hot summer. But if there would have been I could have just sprayed some flat clear coat over it.



I cut out the section of the panel that had fabric glued to it in the stock state, and used the extra carpeting from the new carpet I installed as a accent.









I just screwed the carpet to the door prior to installing the panel and then once the panel was installed it squeezed right up for a factory look. I also installed the speaker pods.





Here is the final looks of the project. You will notice another tweeter that points straight ahead in the dash which was installed as well for a full range sound.

 

SOUND SYSTEM

I think I went overboard with the sound system. I have way more then I needed, but I can always change things later if I want. Anyway, I chose to use all Rockford Fosgate components. First I picked up a RF P3- Punch 12" Sub-woofer enclosure to start things off and build my rear cab section up to accommodate it. Later I chose to build my own enclosure because the original one was too deep. Next came the mid's and high's - (2) sets of RF T2652-S Power 6.50" Component Speaker System. I fabricated a couple pods to install the mid's in for the doors. The tweeters went in the doors as well as the dash. Next came the amplifier which is a RF
Punch 1,000 Watt 5-Channel Amplifier. Way more then I found out I needed. It was mounted in rear cab to take advantage of the good air circulation. The head unit is a Pioneer DEH-80PRS CD receiver. I love this
thing. So many features. Finally in the rear I picked up a pair of

$119 JBL GTO939 GTO Series 6x9" 300W 3 Way Black Car Coaxial Audio Speakers Stereo

JBL GTO939 GTO Series 6x9" speakers. All in all, I could have gone with a much smaller sound system because I don't take full advantage of the potential of
this system, but I guess if I need it, it's there.



The original Rockford Fosgate enclosure was not fitting as I liked so I tried to maintain the same airspace, and port size and fabricated my own.




Starting out with a few mock -ups, I finally got the size I needed that was as close to the original as possible











I rolled it with a bed-liner from Harbor Freight (Iron Armor) which was black, then I painted over it with my usual graphite grey paint. NOTE: I do NOT recommend this bed liner for truck beds, it sucks. But good enough for
a speaker box.






The Rockford Fosgate amplifier was mounted to a "Lumisite" (Same as Electrical Panel) sub-straight and then mounted just above the 2nd battery in the rear cab. Muffin fans would be added later to keep things cool.









The door pods were fabricated at the time i was customizing the door panels.











The system started coming together quite nice. No messy wires running everywhere.




Finally, I added two JBL GTO939 GTO Series 6x9" speakers to the upper rear section to get the full sound around the cab. It's, like I said before, it is very loud and clear, but more then I needed. So I may remove
the 12" enclosure and rear 6x9 speakers and just run with the front section only. I'll have to think about it a bit more. ----Those are not speakers in the rear side panels, they are deck plates, I use that area for storage.

UPDATE The 6x9's were removed after time due to the fact that they were not needed and other plans were in the works.....

 

Nice build!

Interior is looking awesome.

 

Thank You.

 

You Sir have some "Serious" skill sets. I've read many build threads on this forum, and I have to say I'm way beyond impressed with this one. Truck Looks Awesome.

 

Lots more to follow.. Still covering the interior. TY..

 

BED KIT MODS

I topped of the bed of the truck with a Snugtop shell with a sliding screen window. The quality of the Snugtop's and the ARE shells is night and day. ARE shells are far superior but I don't think they make one
for my truck anymore. So I had to settle with the ST. The interior of the shell was lined with trunk liner material, so I continued to use it so to make everything match.



First I started with a overhead unit for small storage boxes in the front of the bed. I also added some side light bar LED lights. I also made a over head for the rear of the bed which I added a clock, temp gauge, and a few USB and power ports to make it as useful as possible.







Next I fabricated some cabinets from some old birch plywood that was lying around. It would be covered soon enough, so I didn't care what it looked like. I also added electrical outlets and more storage boxes to these
cabinets also. I wanted to take advantage of every little bit of space and not to waste it.








I started wiring things up with the solar panels system that was going to be added as well.



After the fitting was complete I covered the cabinets with trunk liner.











After the pieces were covered I installed them back into the bed and added a swiveling laptop computer mount put the storage boxes in their places. The boxes don't fall out while driving or if I hit bumps because the back
side has velcro glued on, also a small stopper nut to hold them in place.



Next I welded up a small battery stand that was sized to fit two Battle Born Lithium batteries, but for now I just used as single AGM (Universal AGM battery 100Ah UB121000r ), because I was $100 vs. $900.



Then I painted it black.



I mounted it in the cabinet I made for the solar equipment, and got started on the wiring of the charge controller, inverter, etc....


I put a blue seas fuse box in the main cabinet to be able to control the entire rear system from one location. Note: the electrical system in the bed and the system in the front cab are totally separate. The rear bed has two 100 watt solar panels powering it, and the front cab has one 100watt panel + the alternator.



Things started to take shape other then that crazy white wire which would soon be removed and replaced with a black one.



The two round black things on the cabinet sides are not speakers, they are deck ports, I use them to get into the one area of the cabinets that was wasted space (Over the wheel well). So now I can stash items in there as well, just as I do with the front cab.










The laptop holder comes in handy when you want to watch "Kung Fu" while you are at the beach.

 

SOUND SYSTEM UPDATE

I made some changes to my audio set up this week. I switched my wiring and head unit over to "Network Mode" from "Standard Mode", basically eliminating those 6x9 speakers I had in the rear and going with a front set up. It's a small cab area and there is really no need for a rear channel anyway. Also this way I can control the crossover points from the head unit. Instead of having those 6x9 boxes in the upper rear, I have installed a upper shelf that I fabricated a year or so ago.



It's a pretty basic shelf. I did include access to the rear cab via the window, also I allowed for the needed air flow from the muffin fans I have cooling the amp.



I put a few LED strips underneath and wrapped with trunk liner.





It was installed using a piece of 1/8"x40"x9" aluminum plate bolted to the top of the rear unit.



Now I have a new place for camping goodies.



Here is the way it was. I didn't like those 6x9' screaming in my ears, plus the new set up sounds 100% better with more overall control.

 

Does this mean there’s a bunch of exterior write-ups on the way?

 

Yes, many more to follow. Roof Rack, Front and Rear Bumpers, etc.....

 

Awesome! I’ll be following along

Unrelated to the fact that your interior build is the best I’ve ever seen, I have to admit the exterior is probably my favorite build I’ve come across on TW too. Really love the way it looks.

 

Thanks, I try to keep it more of a expedition/camping rig vs. being a rock crawling or desert racer. Not that there is anything wrong with those. It's also my daily driver.

 

I love that idea. That’s basically the same principle as my build. I don’t do any rock crawling or anything crazy. My build is basically for long haul trips and light trails.

 

Totally cool

lots of work

 

ROOF RACK FABRICATION (Part 1)

Now I'm finally coming around to some exterior write ups. As for the roof rack, I knew right away what I wanted as far a looks was concerned. I loved the look and concept of the upTOP Overland roof rack system.
The Prinsu Racks are nice, but the design didn't really grab me. I looked at it as a Corvette vs. a Lamborghini as far as appearance, both very nice, but one a little nicer. Unfortunately for me, at the time upTOP Overland
didn't fabricate one for 1st gen Taco's (They do now BTW). I called them and asked if they had one in the works for 1st gen's, and I was told by the guy that answered the phone, NO. So off I went to build my own
version, very much like theirs, but with a few changes in design due to the fact I was using mine 95% for solar panels, (3 - 100 watt panels).

I started off with a general design and fit it to contour the 1st gen roof line. Extra cabs have that hump in the rear top section. The inner and outer pieces were laid out as one to align all accessories and holes. I used a piece of 1/2" MDF particle board as my template.



The cross pieces were extrusion bar. To be exact it is (EX-1020-BLACK - 1" x 2" x 47" Smooth T-Slotted Aluminum Extrusion) I also had the side holes tapped to a 1/4"-20 thread. I ordered (20) pieces at 47". It turned out that the pieces were a bit too long, so I cut them down to 43 1/2" each, and had to re-tap one side. I ordered more then I needed just to be on the safe side. (12 total was needed for these racks) At the time of this write up, each 47" piece of extrusion was selling for $22.20



I also had some EX-1020-BLACK 1"x1" extrusion bars I used for general fitting, though really not needed. After the rack was mocked up, side pieces were cut and I fit the front rack together to see it's look and fit.
All of this extrusion was purchased on-line from a place called www.tnutz.com





Next I wanted side lights incorporated into the rack so I started fitting for them. upTOP has this option with a smaller different style light. (Light pods called Scenepods).
I used

$29 Nilight Led Light Bar Super Slim 2Pcs 7" 30W Spot Driving Fog Light 3600LM Off Road Lights Light Pods for Trucks Pickup SUV ATV UTV Boat 4x4 Van Camper- 2 Style Mounting,2 Years Warranty

Nilight 40001S-B Bar 7 Inch 30W Spot Driving LED Lights. $25.00 for two.



I removed the 1"x1" temporary side bars and fit the EX-1020 - 1" x 2" to the wood template side pieces with 1/4-20" bolts into the threaded bars.



Now I saw that everything was fitting just how I wanted, so I mocked up a wood version of the rack. I used 1x3" ply instead of EX-1020 for fitting at this point. This allowed me to adjust the height and spacing of the rack.





Here is a shot of the new version roof rack along with my old Yakima rack on the rear camper. Which was soon to be removed and sold.





The front faring was a big part of the looks in my opinion, so I planned to incorporate the light bar into it. I mocked up a 1/4" MDF version of it as well.






This is the side light mounted into both inner and outer side pieces. This is why the alignment of the two pieces was important. Note: these templates were 1/4" MDF and used for fitting. The templates I use to route the actual aluminum side pieces were 1/2" Hi-density MDF so the router bearing didn't eat onto the template.





The height alignment of the front and rear rack was the next consideration. Here is a mock up.





The rear rack was the same concept as the front rack but longer with a few minor add-ons.



Now the hard part started. I didn't have a CNC router to cut these pieces, so I did it by hand (router actually). I traced the side pieces patterns on to 1/4" aluminum flat bar 5" wide, and then cut the shape
out very close to drawn lines, and then double face taped the 1/2" Hi-density MDF pattern to the aluminum and using a bottom bearing bit for aluminum, routed it out. each piece came out exactly the same.







Now I was fitting the real deal. So I started with the front one first.





Next I did the same with the rear portion. Side lights were mounted as well for fitting purposes.



Mounting the front rack was done with some 3/16" aluminum brackets bent to the roof contour, and then later I drilled the holes in the roof and used threaded inserts,
(

$43 RZX 16" RIVET NUT TOOL Hand Blind Riveter,RIVNUT Riveting Tools with Nut Setting System totally 12mandrels M3 M4 M5,m6,m8,m10 M12, 10-24, 1/4-20, 5/16-183/8-161/2-13 +115PCS Rivets Nuts

RZX 16" RIVET NUT TOOL Hand Blind Riveter) also known as

$11 Glarks 100Pcs 1/4"-20UNC Zinc Plated Carbon Steel Rivet Nut Flat Head Rivnut Threaded Insert Nuts Set (1/4"-20UNC)

Rivnuts.






The overall look was almost complete and fitting was excellent. It definitely had the upTOP look but, also had my custom touch as well.

 

ROOF RACK FABRICATION (Part 2)

The upTOP rack has what I call "Shark Gills" that make it look awesome. So It wasn't something I could leave it. It took me some time to figure out how to copy this concept and do it with a standard plunge router. Finally I made a jig to allow me to cut these gills out using a

$17 Freud 04-110: 1/4" (dia.) Double Flute Straight Bit with 1/4" shank, 1" carbide height, One Size, Perma-shield Coating Red

1/4" straight bit in the router. It allowed me to make the cuts up and down, and evenly spaced one at a time. This took a lot of time to do. I did this to the 4 outer pieces.





The rear part of the rack was also going to have

$29 Nilight Led Light Bar Super Slim 2Pcs 7" 30W Spot Driving Fog Light 3600LM Off Road Lights Light Pods for Trucks Pickup SUV ATV UTV Boat 4x4 Van Camper- 2 Style Mounting,2 Years Warranty

lights mounted in it. So like everything else, I mocked up a few prototypes and then got to the original piece. I mounted the lights in the rear and sides as well.











Next I mounted the rear rack to the camper shell. I decided to leave the original Yakima roof rails because they were not in the way and didn't leak so why chance it by removing them.



The front faring was a bit of a project as well. I went to the metal yard down town and picked up a 4' piece of 3x5x1/8" aluminum square. I want the faring to be made of one piece of aluminum so I cut out the shape.





Later I added the

180W 38" White Amber Yellow Single Row Led Light Bar Spot/Flood/Combo Beam Super Bright Led Light Bar Running Lights Headlight Bar Fog Work Driving Lamp for Off-road Van AWD SUV 4WD Van Pickup UTE

LED dual light "Light bar" . It is a Amazon purchase and NOT a Baja Designs light bar, but it looks the same and I have had it for a few years now in the elements outside and not a single problem with it.
No, the cool factor isn't there, it may not put out what the wattage the maker claims, and long term it may not work one day, but I got it for around $60.00 vs. paying close to $500.00 for a hi-end version. I did add a bead of black silicone along the seams just in case.









I mounted the brackets on the cab roof and sealed everything with silicone. Two brackets in front, and three in back. I was aware ahead of time that the rack was to be used for a singe solar panel so no need to go crazy with mounting technicians here. Also the rear rack was going to have a couple panels as well.





Now the upTOP rack has another design concept that I really liked. It was the paracord grab handles mounted on the side pieces. So I search the internet and found the exact handles that they used and ordered a bunch of them, then I fabricated a mounting piece not unlike theirs (Paracord and all).





Skipping ahead, everything was painted and mounted to the truck, and it was time to wire up the 3

$70 HQST 100W 12V 9BB Monocrystalline Solar Panel, Compact Size Module, with Up to 23% High Efficiency, Grade A+ Cells, IP65 Waterproof for RVs, Motorhomes, Cabins, Marine, Boat

solar panels and rack lights.





The solar panels were mounted and connected the trucks third battery in the bad of the truck. This system was independent from the front. The front solar panel charges the starting battery and the second back up battery in the rear of cab (1 x 100 watts). Also those batteries also receive charge from the alternator. The third battery in the truck bed is charged via the two solar panels on the camper shell (2 x 100 watts).







Over all the look was exactly as I had hoped. And the self satisfaction of doing it myself made it worth it. It took a lot of time and I would never want to do it again (using hand tools), but glad I did. After a few years of using it now, I can say the there is very little wind noise coming from the rack, though I hear guys complaining of noise from the Prinsu, Front Runner, or other racks, yet put a loud exhaust on their trucks and don't seem to complain about that, which is much louder then a roof rack. But that's just my point of view, yours may vary. All of the so called "knock offs" LED lights on the rack haven't had a single issue. I am pleased with them as well.