2012 Taco slow build - The Escape Pod.

[Finlay]

Thanks!

I agree, TW is one of best resources for Tacoma info. It's been invaluable to me so far.

Nice looking truck. My first second gen tacoma was the silver streak mica. I probably shoulda gone with that for this truck, but I love the blue even if it does really show scratches.

 

[TACO721]

yeah. i really wanted the SWB. but after a little over 3 months of looking. could not find a used one. got mine may/14/11 and it had 24,9**k miles on it. it now has 42,800k i have gone to western NY to see family 655miles one way, beach was over 400 miles. and few other small 2 or 3 hour trips. and thanks. i have not done 1/4 of the stuff i want to do to it. mostly because of money. but looking at a better/ more permeant job this week hopefully.

 

[Finlay]

So, I had surgery yesterday. It went well, although the tear was worse than he had thought from the mri.

Yesterday was rough, but I'm feeling pretty good today. The Dr. says I can go to South Dakota with The Midwest Overland Society next week if I heal quickly enough. That's doable but not a given.

We shall see.

My Thule rack parts arrived, finally. I don't think there is any hope of getting that installed in the next week. maybe though- I'm in mood to make things happen.

 

[detnight]

Well it sounds like they did not have to replace the hip joint. I feel your pain I had my hip replaced in my late 40's and now at 53 it squeeks like an old screen door but i kind do all of the hiking I want without pain .................................GOOD LUCK

 

[Finlay]

Well it sounds like they did not have to replace the hip joint. I feel your pain I had my hip replaced in my late 40's and now at 53 it squeeks like an old screen door but i kind do all of the hiking I want without pain .................................GOOD LUCK

Thanks! No, they didn't need to replace it. Just shave it down a bit. I had a tear caused by a Cam Femoral Acetabular Impingement. They trimmed that bastard down and fixed some other stuff. I got some neat pictures of my joint, too.

So, I'm feeling good enough to go to the Badlands/Black Hills. I didn't get the Thule rack installed - just not enough time - but the truck is dressed and loaded and ready to roll.

This will be the first extended trip with me, the missus and our doggies. I'm pretty stoked.

If I remember and have time, I'll get a picture up before we head out. Otherwise, see you in 10 days. :wings:

 

[Finlay]

Loaded up and headed out soon. She's squatting pretty good. I think I'll be doing a suspension upgrade this winter.

 

[Finlay]

So, I returned. Safe and sound. Trip report here. I got a bunch new pinstripes and scratches and I put a dent in the cheap tinfoil stock bashplate.

I did a couple trail mods while I was out.

First, I removed that stupid 7pin trailer harness from the rear bumper.



Second, I hatched out a tire.



The tire is toast, and I had to roll home on the spare. I was hoping to get them to last until after this winter, but I can't run without a spare, and it makes no sense to buy a tire when I'm planning to replace the set anyway.

So, the wife and I moved some money around early and next week I'll be ordering some BFG AT T/A KO 265/70 R17 112R

I had wanted to go a bit skinnier, but unless I also want to replace the rims, that aint gonna happen. I'll settle for a little bit taller. I'm not that interested in deviating too far from stock and anyway, I won't be lifting the truck for at least a few more months.


Something else we discovered on the trip : Back Country Navigator is an excellent program for this sort of travel. However, I had it on my Samsung SIII and it is NOT well suited to the small screen. It works far better on the tablet. If you are planning to use BCN, I suggest you get at least a 7 inch screen to use it on. You'll be much happier.


This weekend, if the weather is nice, I'll be installing the Yakima tracks and Thule roof rack. I'm a bit nervous about drilling holes in the roof of my truck. Hope I don't mess it up too much.

 

[deadbeat son]

So, the wife and I moved some money around early and next week I'll be ordering some BFG AT T/A KO 265/70 R17 112R

I had wanted to go a bit skinnier, but unless I also want to replace the rims, that aint gonna happen. I'll settle for a little bit taller. I'm not that interested in deviating too far from stock and anyway, I won't be lifting the truck for at least a few more months.

A 245/75/17 will fit on your stock rims nicely at stock height. It stands about 32" tall and would be almost an inch narrower than the 265.

Here's a thread with some more info: http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/33345-Found-A-good-size-Tire-for-Stock-05-TACOs

 

[Finlay]

A 245/75/17 will fit on your stock rims nicely at stock height. It stands about 32" tall and would be almost an inch narrower than the 265.

Here's a thread with some more info: http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/33345-Found-A-good-size-Tire-for-Stock-05-TACOs

I definitely considered that. Problem is - it's hard to find that tire. Amazon has got 1 in stock. Tirerack has less than 5 according to their website and no more until late Sept. And so on. The 265/70 is a bit wider and about the same diameter but much more common.


Anyway, this weekend I installed the Thule roof rack and and some NMO antenna mounts.

Removing the roof liner is easy, but tedious.

Remove the A pillar covers, and the visors and clips. On the drivers side A pillar, unplug the two wire harnesses and pull the two retaining clips out.

The center console has 1 screw, and two retaining clips at the forward part of the roof. Remove the plugs and also unplug the mirror.

The upper door jamb is two parts. The first comes off with two Torx screws removed. The second is clipped in - but the geometry is weird and it doesn't pull straight out. Also, it has clips tied into the door gasket.

The dome light is held in by two clips. It is easiest to remove it if you open the clear part to expose the bulb and then pry it out.

The hooks in the back twist and pull out.

Now, there should only be 4 retaining clips holding the liner in. They pry open from the side. When you unscrew them, take care to not lose the screw retainer on the back side. They are also held in place by a retaining hook.




The liner should just pull out from the rear panels; you don't need to loosen them.

It will look like this if you succeed.

 

[Finlay]

Installing Thule or Yakima tracks.

The included instructions are OK. I'll cover some points as it relates to installing on an Access Cab. I did not use the plusnuts, since I had to drop the roof liner anyway, I didn't think they'd offer any advantage. I was sort of wrong - the nuts included in the kit have a huge plastic enclosure. This is great for sealing up the hole. Not so great for fitting into tight spaces.

- You are almost certainly better off using plusnuts - but there are a few things to avoid in the roof. There is a cross bar support at the junction of the two doors. There is also a support for the liner where the visors are. This support is hard foam with a thick plastic cover. If you go too far forward, you'll need to trim or otherwise deal with this piece.

- You should consider using the "landing pads" instead of a track. They are a fixed location and not movable, but involve lots less drilling.

- You'll have to trim the tracks to 36". At 42" The forward and rearward roof reinforcement sections will interfere with installation. Besides, the curvature of the roof becomes hard to deal with.

- Mind the support in roof liner for the visors. This goes all the way to the sheetmetal and will interfere with one of the nuts. I had to trim mine. They aren't really removable, but a little hacksaw and lots of patience will get it done.

- The greatest realistic distance between the tracks is about 38". It is not possible to install into the factory gutter, and you'll need to be an inch or so inboard of them to leave room for the nuts.

- The track end caps suck. Seriously, they are very poorly designed. I left off the forward caps because otherwise they pointed into the air. They are designed for a flat roof and on the the forward curve they will not line up at all.

- I tied a line to the shark fin and taped it down on the center of the mirror. All measurements were based from that.

View attachment 117715

The finished install. Well, finished for now. I have a fairing to install and I need to figure out what to do about the end caps.

View attachment 117714

 

[deadbeat son]

I definitely considered that. Problem is - it's hard to find that tire. Amazon has got 1 in stock. Tirerack has less than 5 according to their website and no more until late Sept. And so on. The 265/70 is a bit wider and about the same diameter but much more common.

That's definitely a drawback. Sounds like you made the right choice!

 

[Finlay]

That's definitely a drawback. Sounds like you made the right choice!

Well, the choice was made for me. But yeah.

Anyway, tonight I worked on the endcaps for the Thule track system.

They attach as part of the bolt on the end of the track, so you have to undo that bolt if you want to add any accessories later. The other problem is that because of they way they are designed, they curl upwards as you torque down on the bolt.

On a flat surface, you can get it to lay mostly flat if you screw around with it long enough.



On the front of the truck the roof is curved and this just exacerbates the problem. No amount of manipulation will matter with it.



As you can imagine, you need to put some sort of cap on there, or it whistles like you wouldn't believe.

So, I re-engineered it.




Look how flat and tidy it lays now.



With that done, I attached the fairing - which was the end goal of this entire ordeal - and took it for a test ride. It's a bit noisier, but not much, even at 85 MPH. Gas mileage doesn't seem to have been affected, either. We'll see what happens with the tent on there and stuff, but I expect some improvement. Plus fewer dead bugs.

 

[womacje]

Looks good DJ!

 

[Finlay]

Looks good DJ!

Thanks, hoser!

I've got a few more mods left in the "creature comforts" part - I need to rewire the overhead speakers for the HAM radios and install some speakers into the rear doors (I don't know why toyota ever deleted those). I need to get the seats adjusted a bit; 1 inch of lift in the front would be amazing. I also need to build a switch module and get the relays installed for things like onboard air, lockers, rock lights and such.

I spoke briefly about my plans for this truck - I intend to get 10 years out of it, so I am kinda taking the long view on some of these mods. I want to run out the original equipment where I can (tires...) or run as long as I can before I reach limits (suspension) - all of this so I can get the other mods done.

In 4 years that truck will be paid off, and I need to buy a WRX or (if I can find one) a Protege 5*. I lurve me some sportwagons.

Anyway, I need to get this truck done, but I have a few years to work on it.

A daylight pic...



* the first *new* car I ever owned was a 2003 P5. If that car were a manual I never would have let my wife trade it in. As it stands, I shouldn't have let her, but at the time, it was the right decision. But, man, what a great car. Handled like it was on rails, and fun as hell. I miss that car.

 

[TACO721]

looking good man!

like you i am looking for longevity out of some of the mods. but at the same time saying **** it on some. like bumpers and stuff are going to protect more, or rear will hold more. like tire, high lift and jerry cans.