2012 Expedition Tacoma Build in Progress

[devortex]

I was getting about 21.4 mpg in careful freeway driving before the suspension and tire upgrades, using cruise control on the flat and not stabbing it on the hills. At $4.59 a gallon in my area, I'm not in a hurry to fill up or get anywhere!! Also, when the gas pump shuts off, you've still got about another 1-1.5 gallons to go. Let it breathe for a few seconds and then fill slow, you can squeeze a lot more gas in there!! I ran with the fuel light on for about 35 miles and still only managed to 19.2 gallons into a 21 gallon tank. Currently I'm driving a preset exact number of miles a day to/from work and I know exactly how many miles a few of my local trips are so I can easily calculate my total miles per tank even with the speedo/odo discrepancy.

 

[Carnitas_Taco]

Looking great!! Two weeks ago I picked up my new 2012 Tacoma TRD Offroad.....and I'm loving it! Keep the pictures and status reports coming...

 

[montypower]

A couple of other suggestions on the build (you probably already were planning these, but did not see them listed):

1) Extended length bumpstops for the front (wheelers has some good ones - many others on the market)

I'm curious. Why do you want the extended bump stops? Is it to help limit tire rubbing? It seems that retaining maximum suspension travel and doing trimming would make better sense.

 

[upcountry]

I'm curious. Why do you want the extended bump stops? Is it to help limit tire rubbing? It seems that retaining maximum suspension travel and doing trimming would make better sense.

I dont want to hi-jack this great build thread, so I will keep a response breif, we can debate the benefits of extended lenght bumps on another thread.

To respond, in my own little world, bumpstops play a certain role in a suspension system that:

1)Prevent over compression of the spring and dampener preventing damage and premature wear even preventing the coil from warping and becomming unseated in the strut assembly (an example of the bottom of a coil warping is in forum member "TheJosh" thread not sure this is the result of strut compression but it gets my point across and his build is somewhat amazing and fun to look at).

2)Help tune the up-travel of the suspension to the optimal length.

3)Helping maintain ride quality and vehicle flex by contolling the force of bottoming out the suspension at full compression (most aftermarket bumps use a better material than stockers).

To be sure I have no experience with ICONs strut setup, but in most cases just because you are adding 3 inches of lift through an adjustable coilover strut does not mean you are adding 3 inches of wheel travel in addition to the stock setup wheel travel, especially in an adjustable coilover strut like the ICON setup where the dampener travel needs to match the minimum and maximum travel setting. I have not seen the numbers on the ICON coilover strut full compression lenght, but it is probable that the full compression lenght is still longer than the factory Billstein full compression lenght. If the ICON strut, when fully compressed, is longer than the factory strut, when fully compressed, then the suspension will bottom out on the strut and not the bumpstop causing damage to the strut.

Other issues from over-cycling the suspension include contact with the sway bar, contact witht he CV shaft or boot, contact with the brake hose, etc..... these can all be prevented by properly tuning the suspension to the optimal compression lenght and using a bumpstop material that is designed to help dampen the bottoming of the suspension on full compression.

That's My $0.02 on why extended bumpstops are needed.

Happy to respectfully debate the issue more on another seperate thread.

 

[devortex]

Well, crappy weather and extra hours at work have killed any chance to work on the truck in the last few weeks. I have, however, been able to do a little fuel mileage analysis. 3 tanks of freeway driving have yielded exactly 20.0 mpg (figure already adjusted for incorrect odometer reading from oversize tires). That's setting the cruise at 65 (61 indicated on the speedo) most of the time, no stoplight racing but does include sitting in some fairly heavy traffic most days. Tooling along in the slow lane gets me some looks but I just laugh it off and pretend they're checking out my cool truck!!

 

[mvbeggs]

Well, crappy weather and extra hours at work have killed any chance to work on the truck in the last few weeks. I have, however, been able to do a little fuel mileage analysis. 3 tanks of freeway driving have yielded exactly 20.0 mpg (figure already adjusted for incorrect odometer reading from oversize tires). That's setting the cruise at 65 (61 indicated on the speedo) most of the time, no stoplight racing but does include sitting in some fairly heavy traffic most days. Tooling along in the slow lane gets me some looks but I just laugh it off and pretend they're checking out my cool truck!!

Wow, that's good. I haven't been able to break the 19mpg ceiling in my stock 2012 DC. Currently have about 2400 miles on the odometer. Here's to hoping my numbers will improve.

 

[devortex]

I had a chance to work on a few things yesterday and again this evening. Mr. Brown dropped off some promising looking packages over the last few days so I was getting excited.

First up was a pair of IPF 900XSD lights. I had an old credit with ARB for some damaged parts I got from them a long time ago. I figured that some lights on top of the winch bumper would be useful (and look cool). My credit was enough to get a pair of the plastic 968 7" round lights so I ordered a pair....out of stock. The helpful dude at ARB offered me a set of the 900XSD lights instead...no extra charge. No problem, send them right out!! Steel body, submersible, almost color match my truck, love them!! As with all the IPF lights I've ever had, easy wiring harnesses, simple install.

 

[devortex]

Then on to the spare tire issue. I flattened out the two mount guides with a 5 pound persuader. Then I gently tweaked the exhaust tailpipe hanger about 3/4" out. This gave enough room for the tire to fit up into place but it wanted to center and just barely came in line with the differential pumpkin. I lowered it a bit and then used an old tie-down to hold it back against the tow bar bracket. With this, there is about 1" clearance from the diff and it should allow full articulation. I'm going to try this in some off road type situations to see if it stays clear of the diff. If so, I'll find a nicer and more secure way to hold it tight at the rear as it's cranked up into position.

 

[devortex]

I had to take a drive out to Kern County today to see some wind and solar generation sites. Had a nice time tooling along the dirt access roads. Wish I wasn't working because I saw some really cool trails heading up into the Tehachapis. Damn work...gets in the way of fun every time!! :safari-rig:

 

[devortex]

This evening I mounted the Thule Xsporter bed rack. Easy to install, beautiful build quality. I need to trim the front legs so that I can lower it one more notch so that the roof top tent can ride flush with the top of the cab. Sometimes I'll leave it in the high position so that I can mount two bikes on my Rocky Mounts bike fork mounts that I have on the front rail. When I initially bought the rack, I figured I would cut down the cross bars to be exactly the width of the bed. Now I'm reconsidering. Quick measurements this evening indicate that I should be able to mount an awning, mount the tent slightly off center and still have room for surfboards on the other side! :wings:

 

[Danimal]

Love everything about your truck. You're not helping my attempt to keep my Tacoma stockish...

Dan

 

[clcoyle]

Very nice build and write up.

 

[Doc Foster]

Modified winch bumper

"The Demello bumper is essentially a modified 05-11 bumper. There are a few gaps but the trim on the '12 truck is so uneven. My initial preference would have been ARB but who knows how long it'll be before they build them for what they perceive to be a small market (tell me again why we don't get the Hilux in NA?) Beyond the ARB, the only small shop that I felt made a strong enough (strength vs. weight) bumper is Demello. The build quality is top notch but I would be happier if it fit the body lines a little better.[/QUOTE]

I totally agree with you about the Demello and ARB bumpers. Can you be a bit more specific about what you had to modify on the 05-11 bumper? I am just trying to figure out if I want to with a Demello now or what for either Demello or ARB to finally produce a 2012 bumper. Once, definitely digging what you have done with your truck.

 

[devortex]

Demello used my truck to fab up the bumper. He hadn't built a 2012 bumper so Jason test fitted an 05-11 bumper and then made some mods. I wasn't there when he did the cutting and shutting so I don't know exactly what he changed. I love the build quality and the fitment has actually grown on me quite a bit. Doesn't hurt when people stare and tell you that your truck looks cool!!

 

[devortex]

Trimmed the front legs of the Thule rack tonight so that I could bring it down below the roof line. It looks like I can trim it further and still have good access to the bed but I'll wait to do this and see how I like it. I don't want to cut too much off now and regret it later.

I have my heart set on getting an Autohome Columbus RTT but I can't justify the expense ($2500+) right now (I'm already sinking a bundle into my truck) so I figured I'd use my old ground tent for a while. But then I came across a Trekking Oasis II tent (French made) locally that was still new in the box. These retailed for about $1000 but were discontinued a few years ago. Picked it up for less than half the new price. I'm pleasantly surprised. It appears to be really high quality, nice stitching, flawless mechanism, sturdy, and it is really quite comfortable (I took a nap in it on the garage floor over the weekend). The material and stitching seems nicer than many of the Chinese made ARB clones I've looked at. The best part...it weighs 40 pounds. I can lift it on and off the rack by myself and hang it on the garage wall if I want it off the truck for a while. It folds really flat and has a super tough travel cover that clips securely over it. It came with mounting hardware but the cross bars on the Thule Xsporter are too wide so I need to buy some larger diameter u-bolts. For test fitting, I mounted it using some old u-bolts that I had in my horse corral hardware box.