What Have You Done To Your 3rd Gen Today?

I plan to go AGM route once the OG battery takes a shit on me. No doubt in my mind that it'll be worth it.

 

They are all the same. There are only a couple of battery manufacturer's that make them for everybody. Johnson Controls makes most of them in the U.S. including the Toyota OEM ones and the other manufacturer is Exide. There is another small manufacturer but Johnson Controls manufactures more than the others combined. In all likely hood any battery you buy from a parts house, Costco, Walmart or Sam's will be made by Johnson Controls. It is really luck of the draw of when one will crap out on you. You might get a little better quality by getting an AGM but to really get the most out of it you should have a tuner up the voltage output on your truck , plus they are really expensive. I am not convinced that the cost/life ratio is worth it. The best battery that I ever had was a Panasonic that came in my FJ Cruiser. I never did have to replace that one. That one was made in Japan by Panasonic if I recall correctly. I don't think those are available in the U.S. unless it comes on a new imported vehicle.

 

I’m so paranoid about my OEM battery that I trickle charge it each weekend. Today I just added some distilled water to it. The levels in the holes closest to the terminals we’re both a little low (far left & far right).

AGM is definitely the best replacement option.

 

I hear ya, but I don’t hear people who buy AGM batteries bitch about them dying in 2 years. I am gonna get one when mine craps out. But I’m also gonna get one of those little battery pack jumper/chargers that people seem to be raging about. At the very least I could get home with that if no one is around to jump me.

 

This was some years ago, but our company fleet of Scion xB's (gen1) all had Panasonic batteries. Never had one with an issue.

 

Looks great, how do they attach. I have a low profile tonneau which takes up entire rail

 

New wheels and Softopper on my SR today.

 

Looks good. Which ARB awning is that? the 4 footer?

 

Making it earn its keep

 

Nice. A no shit lumber yard. Love it. The only one we had in the area here shut down years ago. Now it's only the big box places.

 

Got up Thursday morning and drove 600 miles to Florida...

 

Today was a great day to wash the Tacoma! She needed a bath! +5hp

 

Menard's, so big box store sadly. Needed a pipe auger as well as the wood.

 

Replaced chrome bumper caps.

 

Thoroughly detailed it for the first time. Also removed the chrome tacoma badge from the tailgate, mine was rusting and bubbling. Couldn't be saved.

Washed, clayed, polished, washed again, and now I still have to ceramic coat it. I'll add a pic when I'm done.

 

Another cliche mod, wired in the grille lights today. I can’t help myself

 

Yeah you got it, the 4 footer. Good thing I got it when I did because they are out of stock everywhere last I checked.

 

Yup, hard to find now. Do you like it? I'm wanting something to block the sun, and since I only have a cab rack, that seems to be the best option. Did it come with leg supports and hardware? ARBs website kind of sucks.

 

Nothing too grand or exciting.

Since adding the 250 lbs or so of RLD Canopy, roof rack, wiring and lights, I lost my 3/4" of rake in the rear. Dropped down to about a 1/4" negative rake. And I was into the bump stops without a lot of effort.

With an upcoming hunt in 2 weeks I knew I'd be hurting on even moderate speed trails. Having not yet decided on rear springs / hangers / shackles yet, I decided to pick up a set of Hellwig helper springs as a short term stop gap measure to get the rake back, and be able to get out in a couple weeks for my 10 day trip.

Install was fairly easy, with the exception of trying to get the nuts started on not so great threads on the Hellwig brackets / bolts. A little better finishing off at the factory would have made the install a bit easier.

I suppose this will work for my short term needs. Got my rake back (up little better than 1/2" both sides in the rear) and truck feels much more steady in the back and able to carry the weight better.

Again (especially considering I'm on 1" blocks with 1* taper in the rear which was a stop gap itself until I did some research and came to a final configuration on the set up of the truck), this is very much a stop gap, short term measure. I've got a bit of a cluster fuck goin on with the ass end now. But I need to do a bit more research before I pull the trigger on Deaver Stage 1's (possibly stage 2's), or RXT's which also seem to have garnered some favor here at Tacomaworld. Then need to decide on Superbumps or upside down mounted Timbrens, and if I want to go with Hammer hangers, shackles, and how all of that will affect my rear Kings (will surely need extended length rod ends at a minimum).

A lot to consider before I open the wallet, but for now this at least loses the cali-lean and handles the weight a little better.










In the future I'll sure be looking forward to getting back out in the dirt with a properly set up rear suspension next time.

 

Even aftermarket batteries don’t last as long as they used to IMO.