What Have You Done To Your 3rd Gen Today?

That is a first class build .... NICE

 

Yeah, I don't think any of these steel or aluminum caps are "there" yet as far as looks go. A little more aesthetically appealing with color matched canopy, but that would have been 6-8 months out. The RLD in all black is a little fugly on the quicksand (or white) Tacoma. Less so on other colors. But this thing looks badass as well. Form follows function. This thing is bad ass. And I love the all welded construction of it. Feels like I could drop a Ford Focus on top of it and it would hold up.

 

Got some new wheels on the long bed yesterday.

 

Also thanks to a fellow member I ordered up an OEM bed mat for a deal and free shipping, got my Rago bed stiffeners installed, and I’m on the hunt for some long bed side steps in black. So much helpful input on this forum.

 

Ordered a lift so thats pretty fun

 

How many people fit in that ikamper? Looks like a big'n

 

Well, shit

 

thanks, ordered a set!

 

Just call Stage3 and see if it can be canceled. Usually if it hasn't shipped it can be canceled.

 

Brand new battery! 6 year later! $110.

 

Finally finished building my GFC style wedge tent shell. Took if for a spin in the PNW. Thanks to @GHOST SHIP for making the frame and @daveeasa for the third brake light harness. Also got some F5's and some Coopers At3. Shout out to the folks @Discount Tire I've never gotten such an excellent customer service and killer price when getting tires. Definitely recommend them.




@YotaKid I know you told me to tag you when I was done so here it is!

They wouldn't do the recall because I had the shell on... Told me to come back without the shell...

 

That code works for the Ultimate tails

 

So, I will confess to a considerable degree of stress as I drilled holes in my new $3500 Leer canopy/cap/topper/et al (depending upon your local vernacular, of course) but, in for a penny, in for a pound...lots of tape, lots of measuring, lots of sweat and swearing and second thoughts.


For my particular needs my roof basket needed to be mounted on the canopy...those prominent rear facing lights were useful only for signalling spacecraft with the basket mounted over the cab (have you ever tried to dress out a critter in the dark?). I wanted to keep the package as low profile as possible, in the hopes of avoiding low hanging trees...and the top of my garage door. Any commercially available package – like those awesome Thule roof rails and racks that I sooooo much coveted – was fiendishly expensive and would put the roof rack high enough to count as a 2nd floor.


And quite frankly, none of the rack/canopy/truck geek shops I checked were particularly interested in tackling anything even vaguely interested in doing anything custom...so it seemed I was destined to rely on Redneck ingenuity.


I went with some 2 x 2 x 1/8 stainless steel square tubing. Cutting it was...okay. Drilling holes was....I will never do that again. I did learn, belatedly, that a relatively low speed drill and copious amounts of cold water worked well. A high speed drill and, say, oil resulted in a new metal element that could withstand a nuclear explosion. And deter any normal drill bit. The same goes for the flat plates.


The square tubing was mounted on the roof of the canopy with a layer of that cool weather sealant you use between your canopy and your truck box, supplemented with a prudent application of automotive grade silicone in the holes. The flat plates have the same footprint as the tubing, and using 1/4 inch stainless bolts and nuts, effectively create a sandwich with the roof of the cap in the middle....thus far remaining waterproof.


The roof box is not a Rhino, alas, not even a Prinsu...it is a – wait for it! - POWERFIST!. This is the shop brand from Princess Auto, the North-of-the-49th Canuck tradition upon which Harbor Freight was fashioned.


But it works. For me. It carries my Maxtrax and any other big-and-bulky-but-light bits and pieces, and it serves as a home for those lights that I desperately need.


It's attached to those troublesome tubes with the same bolts and – this time – aluminum plates....cuz these bent to form to the tubing in the roof box.


And the interior lights. Some discreet blue inside to save my night vision, and a couple strips of bright white if I need to, say, do surgery (okay, I may have overdone those lights a bit). A couple strips on the canopy door, originally intended to light up the tailgate and drawers, but a happy accident has them as perfect camping lights. All wired through the switch panel on the left.


I would have preferred the roof box was 30 cm shorter, then it may not have that dorky hang-off-the-end bit. For those of us gifted with normal height – that being in the 172 cm (5'8”) area – that overhang is not an issue. For my hunting partner, being the mutant he is at something well in excess of 6 feet, it is a source of recurrent amusement for me....I can match up the gouges on his balding pate with specific parts of the rack.

No, I don't have onboard propane (well, not yet). The tanks were there, pending a trip to Costco the next day.


And I would think that the craft beer would be self-explanatory. As I hoped and prayed that things would remain dry.

I'll be having a couple more tonight as we are destined to have mid-November era monsoons tonight. This will be the true test of my efforts.

 

Saw this poor bastard leaving Lowe’s.

 

Oooof!

 

Must backed over something? You think if someone else other than the driver was responsible for that it would’ve gotten fixed.

 

And the V5 turn signals due out soon!

 

Finally, got my truck lifted since I got it off the lease I had it one (yeah never doing that again) anyways, specs:

Bilstein 6112 (5/6 setting) (600lb coil)
Bilstein 5100 rears
Icon RXT pack (option 2)
Camburg UCA w/ X-Joint
SCS SR8 16” in bronze
285/75r16 GY Duratracs

now on to CMC and starting Armor orders