Expeditions West 2004 Tacoma

[Scott Brady]

Fully loaded, the truck weighs nearly 5,500 lbs. coupled with the large tire diameter and itty bitty v6, it needs the gearing.

There is no question the 4.88 is a more practical solution, especially for a daily driver. But you know me well enough to know how many practical decisions I make :shakin:


OH! and I cannot wait until you starting expedition moding your Dodge. What a PERFECT machine for Mexico :luxhello:

 

[BajaTaco]

Fully loaded, the truck weighs nearly 5,500 lbs.

:Wow1: Please tell me that's after you add the cargo/rack/toolbox/tent setup.

There is no question the 4.88 is a more practical solution, especially for a daily driver. But you know me well enough to know how many practical decisions I make :shakin:

Like I said in the email... it's that hard rocker in you... (insert the head banger smiley here). ROCK N' ROLL!! :xxrotflma GT, I already tried to talk him out of it... it's useless... in the words of John Lee Hooker

"One night I was layin' down,
I heard mama 'n papa talkin'
I heard papa tell mama, let that boy boogie-woogie,
it's in him, and it got to come out"

Thanks for the smiley's Scott!

 

[Scott Brady]

Yes, that is with the storage solutions weight and the roof tent, full fuel (40.5 gallons), 12 gallons of water, two occupants (I am not exactly in the "light weight category" :eatchicke ), and the bumper.

I have a feeling, that FULLY loaded, and ready for a two week trip will push me into the 5,800-6,000 lb range. It can easily add up with a kayak on the roof, spares, and all of the other yuppie crap I bring along.

I need to look at brakes next. (actually, I should probably do that now, with the gearing swap, hmmm) Any ideas on a good brake system upgrade?

My brakes faded like crazy during our bonzai desert runs in NVTR.

 

[BajaTaco]

Yes, that is with the storage solutions weight and the roof tent, full fuel (40.5 gallons), 12 gallons of water, two occupants (I am not exactly in the "light weight category" :eatchicke ), and the bumper.

WHEW! I was scared there for a minute!

... It can easily add up with... all of the other yuppie crap I bring along.

:xxrotflma

I need to look at brakes next.

LOL! Oh man, I am probably not the guy to talk to about brakes. My comfort level with weak brakes is scary. In fact, I really need to get mine adjusted. Thanks for reminding me Maybe check out this page...

http://www.gadgetonline.com/susp.htm#Brakes

 

[goodtimes]

Scott, what would you like to know about brakes?

There are only a couple ways of increasing the stopping power of your braking system.

increase rotor/drum diameter

increase coefficient of friction between pad and rotor, with either increased line pressure, caliper/wheel cylinder piston diameter, or friction material selection.

Going to a cross drilled rotor will give you ~200* temp drop, and better performance in wet conditions, but little else. I would really urge you to look into different rotors and calipers. You need something with a better vane design to move more air through them, and some stiffer calipers to go with them.....look into the 4 and 6 piston bridged calipers (6 piston would probably be overkill, like the 5.29's ). You might consider a disk conversion for the rear, but be careful that you get something that will work with your ABS system. Larger diameter rotors work very well, but unless you go to 17 or 18" wheels, you will likely have trouble clearing the calipers.

There are a couple manufacturers that come to mind, I'll look around for some more application info when I get some free time. Right now, I am headed out the door for work (AKA: happy land......if I keep lying to myself, it'll come true, right?).

 

[Scott Brady]

Thanks guys.

My limited research has led me to the following conclusion on brakes:

1. At a minumum, I want to upgrade to good quality sloted rotors and TRD brake pads.

2. My preference would be to go with a better caliper too, but I am having trouble finding one. looked at brembo, wilwood and a few others.

The 5.29's will help a bit with compression braking too

 

[goodtimes]

Scott, still no time to look at all the MFR's for application info....I was hoping by now that Steve Ruiz would be producing more stuff for OE applications, but it appears that he is sticking to high end racing stuff. He was building some really great stuff (well, we were making the rotors, he was making the calipers....but it was all to his specs), and I heard rumor of him going after a wider market than he had....oh well.

Here is a link to the tech section of his site...lots of good info that can be applied to all braking systems....

http://www.stoptech.com/technical/.

You also might want to look at Bear, SSB, Brembo (although Brembo doesn't impress me that much...unless they have changed something in the past few years).....gotta run....

 

[Scott Brady]

Well, I got a few things accomplished this morning.

The Truespeed speedo correction unit is on the way from Slee Off-road, along with the air manifold and a hand throttle (for winching).

After inventoring all of these systems I need to integrate, I have my work cut out for me. The one thing I need to accomplish quickly is the installation of the air manifold and locker switch/wiring, as 4wheeler Supply will need those in place to test the locker after installation.

Lots to do :smilies27

 

[BajaTaco]

Well, I got a few things accomplished this morning.

The Truespeed speedo correction unit is on the way from Slee Off-road, along with the air manifold and a hand throttle (for winching).

Excellent!!

The one thing I need to accomplish quickly is the installation of the air manifold and locker switch/wiring, as 4wheeler Supply will need those in place to test the locker after installation.

FWIW, here is how I did mine...

(I was going to attach the file here since my website is on the fritz right now, but the limit is 19kb. So here is the link - if it doesn't work, just keep trying periodically. )

 

[Scott Brady]

Cool, that will be very helpfull.

I am trying to decide if I want to use the factory locker switch or not... I really like the FZJ80 dial switches too though.

I will probably just go with the ARB switch at the end of the day. I like how they are big an very positive in activation.

 

[Scott Brady]

The first piece of the storage solution is on the way. It is a lund Challenger unit, which is very low profile. It will house the ExtremeAir in the bottom, along with the auxiliary battery. The second layer will be for additional storage.

I am going to look for a tailgate lock next (or even a simple padlock to keep the swing-out from being opened. That will allow security for everything under the load floor.

 

[BajaTaco]

Very cool Scott

How about air circulation/fresh air for the compressor? How air-tight is the box? Or are you only going to run it when parked/lid open?

 

[Scott Brady]

I have been doing a little research on ventilation. There are some which have a plastic vent cover and a foam filter for water and dust.

The compressor was a multi-blade fan incorporated.

As I find a solution or two, I will post for comments... :elkgrin:

 

[kevin]

gearing

have you considered re gearing the transfer case instead? This gives you much more strength in your pinions. You can regear both the high and low range, or just the low range. Go all out and install the new dual cases now available for the tacoma and achieve final drive ratios over 200:1.

 

[BajaTaco]

have you considered re gearing the transfer case instead? This gives you much more strength in your pinions. You can regear both the high and low range, or just the low range. Go all out and install the new dual cases now available for the tacoma and achieve final drive ratios over 200:1.

That is a great consideration. However, unless something has changed that I am not aware of, there are no re-geared Tacoma t-cases available. the T-case for the Tacomas are chain-driven (not gear-driven) and as a result there is no clearance to re-gear them. Hence, the popularity of the dual-case method. Dual-cases would be really sweet, and are pretty tempting - but for expedition applications on the Tacoma, the cost + weight isn't really practical. They are much more suited to a lighter trail rig (preferably with solid axle conversion, no IFS).