Code4beer's Mid Life Crisis Tacoma Build

[code4beer]

Why the title? Because I am throwing way to much money into my truck... and having a blast. I've been lurking at the forum for the past couple of years. I was hesitant to post, because once you do, you have to keep modifying your truck so you can feed the addiction .

I've been building my 2007 Tacoma for Expo type travel. The modifications to date are:

• ARB Front Bumper
• Warn 9.5XP Winch
• Icon Front Coilovers
• Slee Sliders
• Yakima Roof Rack
• Aluminess Rear Bumper
• Odyssey Battery w/Custom Mount
• Viair OBA System
• Toyo Open Country MT 255/85R16 Tires
• Icom 706MKII Radio
• Yaesu FT-350R Dual Band Radio
• Viliv S5 Ultra Portable Computer

Next week, I'll have Dakar rear springs with Fox adjustable shocks installed.

I'll post pictures and write-ups of the mods I have performed as time allows.

The attached image was from our Death Valley trip in Dec 2009.

 

[code4beer]

Installed OBA System

A few months ago, my buddy and I ran the crossover trail in Ocotillo. It probably wasn't the brightest thing to do - it was 100+ degrees out.

I carried a small cigarette powered compressor. When we were airing up our tires, it was so hot that the thermal overload kicked in, and I also blew a fuse for the accessory power. I decided that I need a more robust air solution.

Today I installed the Viair OBA system. I purchased the constant duty system (http://www.viaircorp.com/OffRoad/10007.html) from 4WheelParts.

There are not a lot of places to mount the air tank. I know that some people have had success mounting an air tank above the rear diff. The air tank that came with the system didn't fit too well above the diff, and I didn't want to give up space in my bed. So I bought an Aluminess rear bumper :wings: to relocate my spare, and mounted the tank and compressor where the spare used to be.

I drilled holes through the bed to mount the tank underneath. I mounted the compressor to the rear bumper. The bumper has a small void in it that is called the "tool box." I mounted the quick release fitting, the air gauge, and the on/off switch inside the tool box. This gives me easy access to use the air hose while at the same time providing security and a stealth look.

I have a Blue Sea fuse block mounted behind the driver's side rear seat. I ran power from the fuse block along the frame until it terminated at the compressor.

Overall, I am much happier with this solution vs. the cigarette powered compressor. Plus, now that I have an air supply, I can install a louder horn, such as a train horn.

 

[code4beer]

Icon Coilover and Upper A-Arm Install

I wanted to install a new bumper and winch. This was going to add 250+ pounds up front, which meant I needed to upgrade the suspension.

I purchased the Icon coilovers and Total Chaos Upper A-arms from Wheelers Offroad. They provided excellent service and I recommend them.

Removing the stock coilover is straight forward - remove the 3 bolts holding it to the upper tower, and remove the bottom bolt holding it to the lower A-arm.

I replaced my upper A-arms with a Total Chaos Upper A-arms. This is a PITA. You will need to bend the fender sheet metal to get enough clearance. You will also want to remove the battery. Once you get the bolt out, and you are ready to install the new A-arms, you will need some help. One person will need to position the A-arm while the other person is pounding the bolt back into position.

The front suspension works well. For example, when crossing over dips on city streets, the front will soak up the dip, while the stock rear is harsh and will/can bottom out.

With the bumper and winch installed, I have approximately 1.5" of lift over stock. The rear suspension that will get installed next week will lift the rear ~2.5", so I plan to crank the front up another inch. I am hoping that the Dakar leafs w/Fox shocks will resolve the bottoming out problem.

 

[Mr. D]

very nice

 

[OTR]

Nice truck and welcome to the forum. Look forward to see the final product and your thought on the upgrades over the stock truck.

 

[Cody1771]

that total chaos system is awsome! inane ride quality.

 

[code4beer]

Dakar Springs w/Fox Adjustable Shocks

I had the Toyota Rear Spring TSB applied to my truck. It was an improvement over stock, but I could still bottom my truck out unloaded just by driving over some of my neighborhood streets. I added a rear bumper that can carry 3 jerrycans. I knew that with all of this additional weight, I was going to have to improve the rear suspension.

I was considering rear leafs from Deaver and the OME Dakars. After reading various posts, it seems the OME Dakars are more appropriate for the weight of an expo-style truck, but can make the ride harsh if the truck is unloaded. Without all of my gear, I figure I have a few hundred lbs of additional weight, so I wanted to try some adjustable rear shocks to help balance out the ride.

I purchased OME Dakars with Fox adjustable shocks. I had ORW on Balboa Ave perform the install. ORW rebuilt the Fox rears with a "CAD" adapter to allow for adjustment. This is the first time I have had any work performed by ORW. Overall, ORW did a respectable job - except they reused the U-bolts, even when I specifically asked if new U-bolts would be used. How concerned should I be?

The suspension performance has improved dramatically. I've only had time to test the suspension on my problematic streets. For example, one of the streets had speed bumps. Anything over 20mph and the rear would ********** the rear bumpstops. I was able to take the speedbump at 30mph without bottoming out. I'll post more feedback once I finish my next offroad run in a month or so.

Here are the part numbers for the Fox shocks:

Fox 980-02-417A Rear Shock​

Fox 815-00-036A CAD Adjuster​

 

[Bobfab]

ORW on balboa? I have been pleased with work that i had done there. A local Taco huh, ill have to keep an eye out for ya, im in a Lifted AT Ridgeline :sombrero:

 

[Willman]

Nice Build!

Welcome to the ExPo!

 

[code4beer]

ORW on balboa? I have been pleased with work that i had done there. A local Taco huh, ill have to keep an eye out for ya, im in a Lifted AT Ridgeline :sombrero:

Yep, ORW on Balboa in Kearny Mesa. I did my brakes this past weekend, and I inspected all of the work ORW performed. I am even more impressed with their service - I received a follow up call from the store manager. He wanted to make sure I was ok with everything, especially the alignment. I discussed the u-bolt reuse, and he is going to replace them with new ones.

I will keep my eye out for a lifted Ridgeline - you don't see many of those.

 

[RSB]

nice ride. I like your taste!

welcome to ExPo!

 

[TEJASYOTA]

Sweet selection of components!
Welcome to ExPO!!!

 

[code4beer]

EBC Yellow Stuff Brake Pads

Between the bumpers, winch, sliders, gear (and putting on a few lbs), my truck is getting porky. This is an expo-style truck, not a race car, so I do not expect it to stop on a dime. However, there have been a few times that I have almost used my front bumper for the wrong reason during my morning commute on our glorious I805 in San Diego.

After considering the cost of upgrading the front braking system (rotors, calipers, etc.), it seems to me that it might be more cost effective to try different pads at the expense of going through the front rotors more often. I did some research, and it seems that EBC Yellow Stuff brake pads are a good compromise - they provide a higher coefficient of friction, but are supposed to not be too harsh on your rotors.

Last weekend, I installed new EBC Yellow Stuff pads (EBC Part # DP416557R) up front and new factory shoes in the rear. The brakes are still breaking in, and EBC recommends that it will take 500 miles before their break-in coating (the red coating in the image) is gone, and up to 1000 miles before the pads reach their peak performance.

Based on my subjective testing, it seems that the front breaks are grabbing much better now. There is some slight squealing which is expected during break in, and I have not noticed any more extensive break dust on the rims.

I'll provide more updates once I get past the break-in period.

 

[offthebeatenpath]

Great truck!

I'll be looking forward to hearing your feedback on the Dakar springs and the Fox adjustable shocks- that's a combination I was considering myself.

 

[code4beer]

Electronics - foundation

I knew I was going to add electronic accessories to my truck. My goal was to create am extensible wiring solution that would allow me to incrementally add accessories to the truck without having to start the wiring from scratch each time.

I figured I would use the space behind the rear driver's side seat as an "equipment closet" to hold my ham radios. I was going to need to bus power from the battery to a fuse block, and then from the fuse block to my accessories.

There is a West Marine in Pt Loma. I picked up some marine lumber (plastic sheet), 8 gauge wire, 50amp circuit breaker, bus bar, and a Blue Sea fuse block. I cut the marine lumber to shape, and mounted the circuit breaker and bus bar to it. This panel then mounts in the truck behind the fuse block.

I ran 8 gauge wire from the battery, to the circuit breaker. The circuit breaker is connected to the bus bar, and 8 gauge wire runs from the bus bar to the Blue Sea fuse block behind the driver's seat.

The battery is an Odyssey PC1700 MJT. I fabbed up the bracket by getting some steel from Home Depot and some longer J-bolts from Pep Boys.

More to come...