Scott B.'s 2015 AC Build - Expo Style

[Martinjmpr]

Welcome to the Dark Side, Scott! Hey, I see your '93 in the background - have you put it up for sale yet?
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It's looking good. Are you putting the fridge in the cab?

 

[Greenbean]

Nice truck,

Looking forward to seeing what you make of it.

What tint percentage did you go with?
It had some on the rear windows from the factory correct?

 

[Scott B.]

Welcome to the Dark Side, Scott! Hey, I see your '93 in the background - have you put it up for sale yet?
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It's looking good. Are you putting the fridge in the cab?

Dark side maybe - but much roomier inside!

Both trucks are for sale.

The fridge will be in the back, just like in my Ranger.

 

[Scott B.]

Nice truck,

Looking forward to seeing what you make of it.

What tint percentage did you go with?
It had some on the rear windows from the factory correct?

Yes, the windows were tinted (lightly) from the factory.

I used 35% on the door windows and 20% on the access cab doors and back window.

 

[Scott B.]

Suspension - Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

I have been thinking a lot about the suspension. Specifically, how I want to upgrade/lift the truck. There are quite a few options available!

I have decided to run a 3” lift instead of a drop-bracket lift. I also like the long-travel setups, and may upgrade to one in a few years. For now, though, a semi-custom (mostly) bolt-on setup is in order.

Front

I like the Camburg UCAs with a 1.25” uniball. One decision made.

For the coilovers, I see 2 groups – Bilstein 6112s or King/Fox/Icon. Given the price difference between the two groups (double) I am trying to decide if I really need the better ones (and, if so, which of the 3 is the one get?)

Rear

On my other truck, Deaver built me a custom set of leaf springs (taking into account weight and reversed (tension) shackle configuration). They work great! I am going to have them build me a set for this truck. Another decision made.

However, there are a couple of lingering questions. Convert to spring under? I’ve seen a couple of trucks that did, and they claim additional suspension travel. Not sure I agree with that. I have a picture (unfortunately, no other info) of a truck with an extended tension shackle. If I can find that setup (or build one) I will run it.

I plan to run a matching rear shock, but want to change the upper shock mount. Changing to the other style mount (not sure what it is called) will open up the selection of shocks. I want them to be long enough to allow for the droop travel of the new springs. BAMF has a nice extended shock tower. Unfortunately, to get maximum upward extension, the shock must move outboard toward the tire. This will be a problem since I do not to run spacers. So, I think I will build a shock mount, or modify the BAMF ones.

Drivetrain

I plan to run 285x75-16 tires on 16x7.5 wheels, 4.56 gears with a TruTrac in each end.


I am not new to off road travel, but am new to Toyotas. My thoughts/decisions/preferences are from past experience with my other trucks and reading about people’s experience with Tacos. Any thoughts, suggestions and/or comments are welcome.

One last note – I plan to lift the truck in June. 6 weeks should be enough time to gather parts.

 

[SSF556]

subscribed...when I get rid of my Jeep it will be replaced with a Tacoma or 4Runner...


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Scott B.]

Sleeping Platform, Continued

The deck of the sleeping platform is finished!

Cubby doors (or hatches):



The rear part of the deck:



And starting to fit the carpet:



I decided to leave the rear part of the deck removable. I do not plan on removing it on a regular basis, but if I ever need to get under the deck for wiring or to fix a drawer, not having 26" of cover will make the job much easier.

 

[Scott B.]

Shift Knob

This mod is easily worth 10 HP!

Original:



New parts:



A more pleasurable driving experience!

 

[Scott B.]

Tech Deck

I installed a Tech Deck and Mirror Riser. Both are really nice products.

Original: (Don't mind the pollen)



Radio out - I didn't realize there were so many connectors!



Backside of radio bezel, about to get the re-enforcement piece epoxied in:



Epoxy done:



Everything back together:



I still need to add the Ram Mount balls - ran out of time today.

 

[Yulli]

Why did you epoxy the back side?

I'd get a tech deck but I'm kind of hesitant to pull my radio apart since I don't know a lot about pulling dash stuff apart and being able to put it back together right.

 

[Scott B.]

Why did you epoxy the back side?

I'd get a tech deck but I'm kind of hesitant to pull my radio apart since I don't know a lot about pulling dash stuff apart and being able to put it back together right.

I attached the backing plate to the radio bezel with epoxy. By adhearing the plate, its effectiveness (strength) is greatly increased.

 

[chadwicksavage]

Very excited to see this develop and hope to see it on the road soon as I live in your neck of the woods!

 

[fireball]

What is a tech deck? The before and after photos look the same to a layman like me!

 

[Scott B.]

What is a tech deck? The before and after photos look the same to a layman like me!

The TechDeck is a platform to mount RamMount ball mounts on. I will post a better picture in a day or two.

 

[Martinjmpr]

Tech deck

Ah, well that makes sense.
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I'm getting ready to do a RAM ball mount on my 4runner, too, but I'm going to use the decidedly low-tech (and cheap) method: 3M heavy duty mounting tape on the dashboard. Holds like crazy and is removable.