2012 Tacoma Doublecab work truck

[hornytoad]

As she sits, 600 miles on the odometer ready for her first oil change.

17" Steel FJ cruiser wheels with 245 75 R17 BFG Comp TA rubber. SR5 package with a 5 speed automatic.

On order is a Leer 100r topper with windoors and a Thule rack system.

A matching Thule system for the cab for a total of 4 cross bars should allow me to build a flat platform strong enough for me to stand on.

Later this year I can see ordering a ARB front bumper and maybe trekking to Bend OR to get CES to make one of their magic 35 gallon tanks for me.

I'm a geologist traveling around southern NM and will be building the truck for that purpose. I plan on putting 30-50k miles a year on the truck and will see how long she last. Suspension parts and tires will probably be the first thing to get beat down so I can see putting a set of shocks/tires on the truck every year or so.

 

[deadbeat son]

Your Tacoma should be an excellent platform for your intended purpose. If you carry quite a bit of weight for work, you may end up looking for a solution to the weak factory rear springs. I'm looking forward to seeing how things hold up for you over the miles.

If you're curious what your truck will look like with the 100R, here you go:

My shell is actually the 100XR, but the only difference is the rear window; also, I have no windoors.

 

[hornytoad]

kitchensinkitis....

I'v had a F150 7700 and a 2010 Taco extended cab company trucks that I have overloaded trying to "be prepared" for everything. Being an eagle scout with a company credit card is not a good thing.

Owning my own business now means I have to justify everything to myself, my wife and our book keeper. So I'm trying to just "use it" as much as possible and upgrade the truck as parts break.

I will try to keep this truck on the lighter side, one huge advantage I have is that I don't have to live in the truck. I'm in town at my hotel every night so water, sleeping arrangements, cooking and middle of no-ware repair parts can be kept to a minimum. However I am the repair guy, health and safety officer, company man, go to guy for my subcontractors so I might go crazy with gear in other ways.

Currently with projects I am driving 200 miles a day plus 700 miles round trip going home on weekends. If I'm lucky/cursed I will be doing this 6 months out of the year so the ware and tear on the truck will be enormous even without wheeling it.

deadbeat son Your topper/truck is looking good! Any new mods lately?

 

[juicebox]

I'm a geologist...

Geology rocks.


Nice truck! Can't wait to see it progress!

 

[deadbeat son]

I will try to keep this truck on the lighter side, one huge advantage I have is that I don't have to live in the truck. I'm in town at my hotel every night so water, sleeping arrangements, cooking and middle of no-ware repair parts can be kept to a minimum. However I am the repair guy, health and safety officer, company man, go to guy for my subcontractors so I might go crazy with gear in other ways.

I think this is a great plan! These are excellent trucks, but people tend to over load them. By keeping it light, I imagine the truck will last quite a while for you in its intended purpose.

deadbeat son Your topper/truck is looking good! Any new mods lately?

The only thing not pictured are my rock sliders. For the most part, my truck is stock with the exception of the wheels/tires, topper, sliders, and floor mats. IMO, Toyota designed the truck well enough there's not a lot that needs done to it. That being said, I do haul about 500-600 lbs from time to time so I'd like to address the weak rear leaves, but I have yet to do anything about it. When I do get around to it, I'll probably add a Firestone air bag kit. I'll be sure to post in my build thread when I do.

I've had my Tacoma for 3 years, and I absolutely love it. I'm very happy I made the decision to buy it, and I hope yours serves you just as well.

 

[hornytoad]

juicbox -argggg yes we here that all the time

deadbeat son- how are the Slee sliders holding up? Would you buy them again?

 

[deadbeat son]

deadbeat son- how are the Slee sliders holding up? Would you buy them again?

The Slees have held up very well. They're a beautifully crafted product, and I can't recommend them enough. I would definitely buy them again, but there are a couple of areas where I feel they could use a little improvement. IMO, the side rails protrude just far enough to get my pant leg dirty when exiting the truck in inclement weather if I'm not careful, but they don't protrude quite far enough to be an effective step with the door closed. With your plan to install a roof rack on both the cab and topper, they should make an excellent platform to load/unload and secure/unsecure cargo from the cab portion as long as the door is open where you are standing. Please keep in mind this I'm being exceptionally nitpicky; I do feel they are unmatched in the Tacoma slider market. They're a pricey investment, but one I solidly recommend.

 

[hornytoad]

And there is a topper.....

So the topper came in and I got it installed and spend a day messing with the Thule roof rack system.

So it's a Leer 100R with removable sliding front window, windoors, three led lights (one above each door) carpet liner, extra tailgate seals and factory attached Thule roofrack rails. The Leer package comes with a 5 year warranty (no cracks or leaks) but of course that's going to be voided in a heartbeat.

The Leer system came with 58" load bars and after some measurements I chopped the bars down to 50" and bought a 50" system for the cab. This will help keep limb grabbing down to a minimum. So far all four bars are level (within 1/4 of an inch so the platform plans are still a go.

The bars currently span exactly 8 feet x 4 feet, after looking for carbon fiber, aluminum, steel fiberglass and every miscellaneous combination I could think of I am going to go with 3/4" furniture grade oak plywood. With the load bars set up for 24" centers I should be able to have a flat platform that I can stand on easily. Currently the rack has a factory rate of 500lbs evenly distributed so a 35lb sheet of plywood and myself should be OK.

I could not find small square U bolts for mounting the platform so I ordered a zillion little Thule parts to see if I can build some factory clamps for the rack/plywood combo.

And while I messing with plywood I will build a 1/2 length shelf that I can access from the windoors, It will probably sit level with the wheel wells for simplicity's sake.

 

[NM-Frontier]

Looks like a good build! I love seeing trucks built with specific purpose. And always good to see another New Mexico member, maybe Ill run in to ya wondering in NM.

 

[Willman]

Love the ExPo White!

Your going to love those side opening windows. I'm jeasous!

30-50K in mileage.....that is some real hardcore driving.....

You should sell the shell and buy a 4wheel camper since your on the road all the time....

 

[keezer37]

You should sell the shell and buy a 4wheel camper since your on the road all the time....

No! Keep doin' what you're doin'

These might be too big but here are some square u-bolts.

This is something I've been wanting to do for some time. The cost has kept it low on the to-do list. Short bed has been a bit of a pain for work truck application.

 

[hornytoad]

The 4wd van/camper idea was though of, however a 12 hour day in the oil field is not conducive to camping. Plus being in BFE some type of satellite communication gear would have been necessary for email access, plus dealing with a high GVW truck. Anyway I talked myself out of it. And on the last trip an epic rainstorm turned the access road into 1/2 foot of water and 1 foot of mud slush pit. It would have eaten an AWD van/camper unless it was a sportsmobile. = $$$$

My order from http://www.etrailer.com/ should arrive later this week. They have been very helpful in finding lots of small parts to attach the Thule roof rack to my wood platform, using Thule parts I should have a square bolt system that uses two M6 65mm carriage bolts with rectangular washers that span the bar's width tied together with the plastic/metal knobs that Thule uses to attach everything. This will give me a flat roof with access to the clamps underneath.

The router was picked up as well, I am going to relieve the bottom of the plywood where it hits the clamps on the crossbars, this should give me more even weight distribution and minimize wind noise between the bars and the flat plywood. (I will take pictures it makes sense but is hard to describe)

 

[WASURF63]

Nice lookin rig hornytoad! Big fan of the white truck/black rim combo here...
Just curious, are you planning your platform to be on the shell, the cab, or both?
When you say 3/4" oak plywood with a weight of 35lbs, I'm thinking that's a full 3/4" oak sheet cut in half?
The mention of a total 8' span (with the bars) is throwing me off a bit, considering the twist damage that would occur with the cab and bed tied together via one platform.
Just trying to get a good picture of what you're building and wish you nothing but success. :beer:

 

[hornytoad]

It's going to be a 4x8 platform (full length). The 50" bars have exactly 48" in between them (with 1" lost on each side due to end caps) and as she sits the span is 96" bar to bar (front to back). I will have to shimmy the bars around to get spacing just right but that should not be a problem.

The plywood and Thule system will twist with cab/bed articulation but should be tough enough for use as a standing platform. THe plywood will be held to the cross bars with three claps per bar (12 in all).

35lbs is a guess for furniture grade 3/4 inch oak plywood at lowes/home depot. I took a look at pressure treated 3/4 pine but shied away due to a huge weight difference and the pine was "floppy". With a good coat of outdoor primer/paint the platform should last the life of the truck (5 years or so). I'll pick up the plywood in a few days and show everyone what I am talking about.

 

[hornytoad]

and we have a deck.....






Using Thule bits I was able to make a square bracket that fit's 3/4 plywood and the bars. The plywood was relieved on the underside to make room for the fairing clamps and two different types of feet that are on the truck. The edges were radiused 1/8inch with a roll-over bit on the router. The pencil lines were sanded off and the sheet of plywood was soaked with Honey colored deck stain/waterproofing. The plywood mounts up on the rack after much messing and fidgeting and mounts with the Thule parts. If I have to do it over again I would find 4x9 marine grade plywood. The Lowes/Home depot plywood is crap, there are lots of voids that became noticeable when I started routing. We will see how long it last...