Another Tacoma Build (Brian's 2015 DCLB)

[brianjwilson]

Still working. I've been up for some 36 hours, just got home at 1pm after traveling all day. 3 hours of sleep the day before.

The springs are on now. I'm taking a break, shuffling things in the garage and then loading the camper.

 

[brianjwilson]

Well.....


I should have done this a long time ago! It is a little high in back, but I think the springs will settle a little. Also there is no water or anything in the camper. So far I only drove a few miles but it feels great, like it was designed to carry the camper. Surprisingly I left the rear shocks on the softest setting (remember they are valved 20% firmer than normal). No bouncing or rocking, I could see maybe running the shocks on 2 or 3 but it is SO much better. Cycled the suspension in a ditch some, and it just works so much more evenly. Dropping a tire off of a full curb was just smooth and uneventful. Nothing rough, no bounce. No noise.

As the old man emu springs started to sag a bit, more weight had been resting on the timbrens. I felt like the truck bucked more. I think these was similar to what people experience with too much air in airbags. It creates an odd pivot point in the frame if carrying too much weight. It feels much better with weight on the springs.

For now I've just installed the superbumps from wheelers off road. I may dig out the other hardware and install the shorter softer timbrens that came with the allpro kit.

The springs have ten leafs, the front mount is a double wrap around the bushing. Anti friction pads between the leafs (aside from the bottom two or three short ones). I also bought new u bolts and nuts/washers. The threads on the other set are in great shape but I figured it was a good idea anyway. Piece of mind.

Here is the rear setup at full droop. Roughly 10.5" from the frame to the metal mount of the bump stop. The shocks are 10.3" travel, so the rubber bump stops could nearly fully compress and the shock won't bottom out.


The whole setup, complete with old man style shock boots!


Like I said, a little high in back. But the idea was to still have a little forward rake once the water tank is full, gear is loaded up etc. I think it's perfect. Still fits in the garage fine.


Tomorrow I need to wash the truck, it's filthy. I also need to pull the flexible solar panels and figure out how I'm going to mount the new panels.

 

[calicamper]

Looks good!

 

[deeve]

Great build. Im trackless right now, but the plan is to get a DCLB and build it up over time. BTW, we are neighbors. I live in Hillsboro!

 

[Ryanmb21]

Looks awesome! I have two kids under 4 and I'm thinking your setup would be perfect!

 

[mk216v]

Great job Brian! Looking forward to seeing it loaded.

 

[wreckdiver1321]

Looking really good! Glad the new spring packs did the trick.

 

[brianjwilson]

I've been up since 4:30 so I decided to put a few miles on the truck, and ended up just driving for about 45 minutes. The truck just feels great. Having more travel in the back makes it ride so much smoother. The rear axle just smoothly floats over bumps and driveways and stuff, like it should. I actually turn the compression adjusters down up front to better match the rear, and have all of them set at 2 right now. Feels awesome. There actually seems to be less body roll too, just a huge improvement overall.

While I was out I pulled up next to a ford econoline van at the ford dealer. So boring. lGoing to be hard for me to let this truck go and start out with such a lame looking platform initially. Haha

 

[cam-shaft]

That sounds great Brian glad you were able to get if figured out. I'm pretty sure once you build a ford van you won't miss the tacoma
Cameron.

 

[veilside180sx]

Always good to see a Grover out enjoying the outdoors.

 

[Scott B.]

Quick question - what is the distance between the bump stops and frame with the camper on the truck, truck sitting level?

 

[brianjwilson]

2 - 3/4" before the bump stop touches the frame. 5 - 1/4" before the shock is fully compressed.

 

[brianjwilson]

Running low on energy. I have both of the new renogy 100 watt panels ready to mount. The panels are now mounted to angle aluminum cut to 55", to mount on the Yakima racks. I need to find some good adhesive remover to remove the glue that held down the Velcro that secured the old labels.

The new panels are definitely heavier but should be way more reliable and durable. I'm going to mount one in the middle (over the factory solar plug), and the other in the rear because it is easier to lift than the front. The good news is that the panels are basically flush with the fantastic fan covers, adding no additional height.





Another break to install an aluminum "skid plate" under the engine on the Jetta.


And a quick trial ride on the strider.

 

[Watt maker]

Those Strider bikes are a godsend when teaching kids to ride. My oldest (now 8, almost 9) was really having a hard time learning to ride which was mind boggling to me because riding just came so natural to me. My dad actually stumbled across these Strider bikes so he picked one up for her. In no time flat she overcame her fears and lack of balance on a bike and now rides like a pro. We were very impressed to say the least so we purchased one for my 4 year old ( was 3 then) and now she can ride almost as good as her older sister. Just taking the pedals out of the equation really seems to help.

 

[brianjwilson]

Those Strider bikes are a godsend when teaching kids to ride. My oldest (now 8, almost 9) was really having a hard time learning to ride which was mind boggling to me because riding just came so natural to me. My dad actually stumbled across these Strider bikes so he picked one up for her. In no time flat she overcame her fears and lack of balance on a bike and now rides like a pro. We were very impressed to say the least so we purchased one for my 4 year old ( was 3 then) and now she can ride almost as good as her older sister. Just taking the pedals out of the equation really seems to help.

That's awesome. I've watched a couple of my friends kids start on them around age 2 and they do really well. The transition to a regular bike, when they're ready, is really quick too! The last couple times I put my daughter in my deuter backpack carrier and rode around on my bike, she didn't want to stop. I figured this would be something fun to do with her when the baby comes and she is feeling jealous.