What Have You Done To Your 2nd Gen Tacoma Today?

Got my wheel bearings in from the member who sells them (man, great packing job btw!). Only my front left wheel bearing is having issues but is it smarter to do both at the same time or can I just do the left and keep the right stored until needed?

 

Both.......

They have the same number of miles on them.

 

Over the weekend I did an AAL on my Dakar pack making it an HD pack. (I knew I should have gotten it to begin with) And added Timbren bump stops and a U-bolt flip kit. My Yakima roof tracks for my topper are still stuck in shipping somewhere so I didn't get those on or my Sherpa rack.

 

It's a solid block of aluminum or thick steel, nothing is going to go wrong with it. That solid chunk of aluminum is a hell of a lot stronger than a Tacoma frame. However if the installer chooses (or doesn't know of) to not correct the problem they created with those spacers in the bump stops and then offroads the truck a catastrophic failure is only a matter of time but that isn't a problem with the spacer lift but is a problem with an incomplete installation of a good useable part. Same for a crappy ride with spacers, if a person installs any lift (drop bracket lift excluded) that surpasses the upper ball joints range of travel the truck will ride poorly.

Ride Quality: if a person spends $10K in coilovers and exceeds the upper ball joints range of travel does that make those coilovers pieces of crap because of a poor ride? Rhetorical.

Poor part quality: if a person bolts on a supercharger onto an engine with 400k miles and the engine lasts 20 miles after the supercharger was bolted on does that make the supercharger a piece of crap that should be avoided? Rhetorical.

Somebody in a parking lot somewhere pushed on my home-made custom grille and now it's deformed and stretched. My Toyota emblem with a cowboy hat pisses some people off (lmao). Plus my eBay $35 grille surround is starting to warp and crack (lmao - again). What grill is yours, both the surround and the insert please. Thanks brother.

619!

It's about the dollar and having the most profit possible for the insurance company. The adjuster's aren't buttheads, they're doing their job as they were instructed to do it. In some insurance companies there is profit sharing, commissions based off of the total amount of payoffs for the month, etc... and that puts money directly into the adjuster's pocket. I've never accepted an insurance companies first offer on a claim that I filed. With a wife (now ex-wife, THANK YOU) that loved to wreck her 1998 Tacoma and her 2001 4Runner over and over I got pretty good at haggling with insurance companies.

My son is an adjuster for a major insurance company. His end of year bonus (all adjusters and their managers within the company) for the year 2020 was doubled because of covid - more people staying at home and less driving (lower total cash outgoing in payouts) and insurance rates went up.

 

New kicks on the ole champ this weekend...

17x9 -12 Rocktrix

$35 RT107 YZONA Universal Flip-Up Front License Plate Frame for 10" Hawse Fairlead Mount Compatible with Jeep Ford Dodge Chevy GMC Nissan Toyota Ram Off-Road & Pickup Truck Cars, Bumper Winch Bracket Holder

RT107 on top of a 1.25” spacer

285/75-17 (33.8”) Falken Wildpeak AT3’s

 

Of course the insurance company knows Tacos hold value... and they are in business to make money. If they can pay you off instead of fixing it... and then sell the wrecked truck for enough that they come out ahead and make some additional money, they will do that.

I've bought two damaged, low miles, 2012 Tacomas. Retail on the trucks is almost 20K and I bought them for half that. Repair, done by myself, costs about $500 to $1000 and I have a rig to drive or sell.

Either way the insurance company comes out ahead. They have all the angles figured out.

 

Hood has been fluttering on the highway slightly. And when i pull the release it no longer “pops” open’ so I figured now is a great time/excuse to cut some holes in my hood.
Problem solved. My hood latch still works, now it “POPS” and these make everything even more secure.

STETION Quick Latch Hood Pins...

$39 RVCAZON STETION Quick Latch Hood Pins Universal 2 Pack 2.44" Diameter Quick Release Latch Push Button Quick Release Hood Bonnet Pins Lock Clip Kit (2 Pack-Black)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07L428V3W?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

 

fwiw you can twist that little black "plug" beside the hole you cut which backs it out making it put more pressure on the hood helping to "Pop" it out. You might already know this but it is always surprising how many that don't.
Love the hood pins, you did a nice job!

 

Didnt know that. Thank you for sharing! And thanks for the compliment

 

On my way to get TC cam tab gussets installed

 

so on Saturday, gave her a bath so i could add the stickers. Saw someone on here post them, had to get them to match my shirt. so then i had to get her dirty again on Sunday.

 

@crashngiggles @zippo88 @the_black_tacoma

Sorry it has taken me a while to get back to this, but the Bushwackers are now mounted on my truck. I am a huge fan of how they look, but must admit the front flares were a big pain the butt to mount. In my last post I showed how the flares are wider then the factory flares and I can now report if they are taller. Sadly, only by a very small margin. The photos might be hard to tell, but the rears are about a half inch taller and the front is MAYBE a quarter of an inch taller.

Original front


Bushwacker front


Rear


Bushwacker rear

 

Some will say do both, IMHO I say just do the left. that’s what I did when I changed just the drivers side bearing and hub assembly on my wife’s car.

 

Can you take a pic of the entire truck so I can see how they look?

 

What thickness angle did you use for the frame? I just picked up a fridge and am drawing up a slide but cant decide on metal thicknesses because I always go too heavy.

 

Good god brother lol. Really? The cowboy emblem hurt someone's feelings!? Lol. Ya maybe it's time for a new grille. I purchased a grillecraft insert years ago and its a cut and mount. You reuse the surround and of course it was chrome, so I PlastiDip once a year. I tried to find a link for you but no luck. So many different versions out there though, just Google:
Grillcraft Black Upper Mesh Grille Insert Kit 2009 Tacoma. They can get pricey but you'll find something and if not, I'm sure @HomerTaco could hook you up

Here's how mine came together
SixOneNine!

 

1/8th inch

 

The truck is REALLY dirty, so do not judge. I will get a photo up later today.

 

Thanks!!!

 

What's with your hood spoiler?