tonered's Weaksauce Taco Build and BS Thread A.K.A I'm supposed to be content, dammit!

Receiver mount plate for a winch.

I'm thinking that more often than not, I am going to want to back out of the spot that I am in versus getting further in?

If anything, it will be a gateway drug to a slim front bumper and winch mount.

 

Thank you, thank you!

I will put them to good use.

 

Theres a local sso (slimline?) Front for sale near me...likely a real good deal. If i wasnt hunting a guitar right now, id a jumped on it

 

With their weld it yourself kit, it might not be a great loss at the moment?

Although, @cameleon50 turned me onto the Victory no cut one though. That is probably more up my alley?

 

Agree with that. Props to @victory4x4 for their design to keeping the OEM look while also making it easy to install with no cut*. Notice the asterisk. The video shows you one small, unnoticeable area that it 100% easy to put back. I installed mine by myself with a winch installed and used a floor jack. #IHaveNoFriends



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XnJ1zNx2_0

 

Nice! I had a couple laughs trying to install the skid with still tacky paint and the Taco on the ground. Replacing the erroneously removed supports with a jack was wayy easier.

Steel armor would be hilarious. I'm going to appreciate the AL for services.

 

Softopper Stuff


I recommend pulling the rails, protecting the paint, and sealing. I had some wear spots from my tonneau and jumping over the side.

I'll get some better shots in the morning.









A couple installation things. The alignment pic they show for the rails is a 2nd Gen. Sight to the bed itself, not the header rail. Interestingly, the screw-in snaps went in the header rail. I was expecting them to go into the composite bed itself. That was a pleasant surprise.


The Softopper is much nicer than expected and works great on a quick highway run.



Alright. Here are the pics that I promised.



Doing the tuck:


I over exposed these to get an alignment view of the rails:




This is just a great amount of space:


Snap locations for me:


I dropped the tension a notch:


Front corner:


Gap at the cab:


Front - rear tension adjustments and such:

I'm an idiot. The buckles at REI were damn close. The Softopper male end fit the female side nicely, but the REI male end was a scosche too wide. Trimming it would not have worked since it would weaken the clasp. But on the idiot side, the ROK strap buckle does work with a tiny mod.






I'm solid now!



I installed some 2in clear film. So running untucked will be no problem.

I also put a strap in while I had the fasteners out:


And, we just had a hard squall pass through. I hit some standing water pretty hard in a couple spots. There was a bit of water in the bed but nothing dripping down or that would be a problem camping.




Thanks to @dilbert 's recommendation, I got a 3rd brake light rigged up.







This is the LED strip:

Led World Black PCB 5M 5050 SMD 300 Leds Red Color Waterproof Flexible Strip Lights DC12V

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MNCASKK?ie=UTF8

This is the 2in one wrap:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00I0TTVVC?ie=UTF8

Full 1in or 1.5in would be just fine.

I crazy glued and used some fishing braid to stitch the LED strip to the one wrap. I tapped the drivers side brake light and put an SAE connector in the middle for dropping the Softopper.

It is the right brightness, IMO. It balances with the stock tails nicely.


Painted the mounting rails and fittings:




I finally had a chance to camp out of the Softopper. It was everything that I had hoped it would be. Effortless setup and no wet tent to mess with.

I used a doubled up camp pad to keep the cold out, a used Thermorest on the bottom and my softly inflated Exped on the top. My 20deg bag did great in slightly below freezing and wet conditions.

I have no real pics of the set up, but there was nothing amazing to see either. Parked at camp:


The ST works great with an HF motorcycle carrier though. I was worried that wide bars with barkbusters would hit the window. Plenty of space:

 

Very nice! Came out looking great -

 

Thanks! Couldn't be happier, esp as it was a gamble after just having the bikes.

The list is still too long though. Trying to ignore it!

What was that ceramic coating that you really like?

 

I like what you did with adding that strap to your tailgate. I have been telling myself to do this for years but have never gotten around to it. did you just cut a hole in that strap?

 

Thanks!

Credit goes to @dilbert there.

Webbing is easy to melt. It used a soldering iron to make the hole and seal the loose fibers.

Enjoy!

 

Be nice to your soldering iron. I held a bolt with pliers and heated it up with a torch.

 

Viair Automatic Mod (VAM)

Here's the mod details:

The Viair uses metric fasteners. Nice!

The wiring appears to be 12 AWG. I was able to get it into the 14 - 16 blue terminals.

Schematic:
Apologies for the D- handwriting. See the Upskirt pic below for the matching harness numbers.


Here's the mechanical side:

I reamed the tee fitting, linked below, from 1/8in dia to 3/16in dia since it is not used just for sensing, but for flow also.

Reamed Tee:


Ready to go:



I just enjoy making wire clamps. Of course oetiker or worm drive would be just as good.


General layout:


I drilled a few holes in the foot plate for zip ties:



I used a slightly longer screw and a washer to mount the relay.


The electrical side:

I can choose to use the pressure switch when doing airchecks, or use it in non-automatic mode if I need to.

Deployed:


Stored:



Upskirt:
After this pic, I hit the terminal ends with heat to shrink these killer marine terminals.



Lemme know if you got any questions or comments.



Source info:

Here's what I am working with for the automatic switch:
http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7865

I found a ton of switches on Amazon including a Viair version:

$13 Air Pressure Switch 90-120 PSI 1/8"-27 NPT DC 24V 12V Air Compressor 90 PSI

https://www.amazon.com/Pressure-Switch-90-120-Compressor-120PSI/dp/B07XZ1FKYN

$30 VIAIR 90111 Pressure Switch with Relay, Black, 7.3 x 3.5 x 2.3"es

https://www.amazon.com/VIAIR-90111-Pressure-Switch-Relay/dp/B000FQ793A

Pressure switch tee fitting:

$15 GlowShift 3/16” MAP Line Boost T-Fitting Adapter Compatible with Ford F-Series 1992-1997 & F-250 F-350 Super Duty 7.3L 6.0L Power Stroke 1999-2007 - 1/8-27 NPT Sensor Port - Includes Hose Clamps

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EOT94QO

Pics from the Rpod link:

 

I can't believe how effortlessly that bronco climbed up that steep grade. Thats a sweet rig!

 

Crazy huh?

I need to ask what his LR ratio is. It does have a windsor V8 that pulls nicely. He keeps talking about putting on an EFI.

 

I’d love a project truck like that.

Funny I was just watching an episode of Engine masters last night where they took a stock Ford 351 and put a procharger on it. With a carburetor it made something like 750-800hp without blowing up.

 

I've seen a post about that. Stock internals. LoL!

My friend will get dreams of a Coyote swap. I keep telling him that it is killer as is.


Same here though. I always wanted a project car, but with no space and the beat down of wrenching to ride before the Taco, I'm falling into the turnkey / reliability side of life. Maybe a Miata for road fun and keep playing with the Taco on the mild side?

 

They do make small block Ford swap kits for Miatas...

 

They certainly do. Honestly, if I had the wallet for it, a wankel swap would be my ideal play thing.

I have only driven a 1st Gen once. The package was really good.

 

i need that tailgate strap on my tundra!