Building My Overland Tacoma: Plans, Progress, Perplexions

[maxama10]

also, supposedly Jesse at High Angle driveline has figured out a fix for this?


Never really found out what it was but there was a thread on TTORA about this and they said to give him a call.


?

 

[Overland Hadley]

I am going to give the alignment shims a try.

I ordered them from NAPA.
1 degree shim, # ncp2644121
2 degree shim, # ncp2644123
4 degree shim, # ncp2644127

I will let you know how it all works out.

 

[Michael]

I am going to give the alignment shims a try.

I ordered them from NAPA.
1 degree shim, # ncp2644121
2 degree shim, # ncp2644123
4 degree shim, # ncp2644127

I will let you know how it all works out.

I just exchanged emails with Scott at Deaver Springs to confirm the size of shims they installed. My original email said I used a 5 degree shim, but it turns out it was a 3 deg shim (I corrected my original post). The first shim I tried was 2.5 deg and the 0.5 deg increase in the Deaver shim made a noticeable difference. The 3 degree shim worked well for me, but I also have airbags installed so your solution may be different. It might take some "fit and check" work. I've attached a photo with a view of the back end of the spring pack looking from midline toward the passenger side. I hope this works for you!

 

[Overland Hadley]

I just exchanged emails with Scott at Deaver Springs to confirm the size of shims they installed. My original email said I used a 5 degree shim, but it turns out it was a 3 deg shim (I corrected my original post). The first shim I tried was 2.5 deg and the 0.5 deg increase in the Deaver shim made a noticeable difference. The 3 degree shim worked well for me, but I also have airbags installed so your solution may be different. It might take some "fit and check" work. I've attached a photo with a view of the back end of the spring pack looking from midline toward the passenger side. I hope this works for you!

Thanks for the additional info Michael.

 

[Overland Hadley]

A fun little addition to my in-cab lighting.

I will start out by saying that I got this idea from the ExpeditionExchange advertisment in Overland Journal. I have been wanting some better lighting inside the cab as I navigate by way of paper maps, and unlike a GPS they are not backlit. (Why, by the way, is it so impossible for a car company to design a map light that does not shine on the dash, and thus can be used by the passenger at night while driving!) I have also found that I have a dark area outside the truck doors when camping, and I have often wished that the truck had a light that shined out from the doors onto the ground. The Ion does a good job at both being a map light (low beam setting) and a light shinning out from the cab onto the ground (high beam setting).


The Black Diamond Ion.


It's a small little thing.


Passengers sun visor.


Drivers sun visor.



The Ion can be found from Expedition Exchange Here.

A side note on the Black Diamond Ion. This is an okay little headlamp, and does a really good job mounted on the visor. But I would be disapointed in it, if I was using it as a headlamp. The design and quality is just not up to what I would expect. If you want a really good headlamp, it is hard to beat a Petzl.

 

[riverguide]

You have done some excellent mods. I just looked through the entire thread beginning to end. You should def be happy of your progression. Keep it up.

 

[Overland Hadley]

You have done some excellent mods. I just looked through the entire thread beginning to end. You should def be happy of your progression. Keep it up.

Thanks so much!

Glad you enjoyed reading it.

 

[Overland Hadley]

A couple things of note from this spring.


I was driving down the shore when I saw a grouse flying out of the woods. It hit the side of the truck with a loud bang. I kept driving for a while, not wanting to look at the damage. In the end I was lucky, the grouse hit near the back fender, in the lower front area. It hit so hard, that the body work flexed enough to pop the gas cover open! About half of the bent metal is under the plastic of the fender.

Modded by Grouse




We had some major flooding this spring, and a lot of the roads washed out. The following pictures are from an old road we took trying to get to a trailhead, at a river that runs through a deep gorge.

 

[Overland Hadley]

More lights!

Now I just need a place to mount them...



From Costco ($90. with shipping)

 

[Overland Hadley]

The following is not for off road driving.
The following is for the joy of pedal pushing in the mountains.


The departure angle killer:



Link to Thule.

 

[Overland Hadley]

I have been working on the wiring for the new IPF lights. I wanted to wire them so they were tied into the Hi beams, IPF's on with Hi beam-off with Lo beam. After reading through the factory service manuals, and doing a lot of other reading online I have found that the headlights on the Tacoma are wired with the ground (not power) switched for on/off of the high beams.

Toyota uses a reverse ground control system for the head lights. When you turn them on the a relay puts 12+ into both the low and the high beam filiments. There is a second relay that controls which filiment is alowed to ground and complete the circuit. So, you can not tap in at the head lights to control AUX lights.

There is a couple of ways to work around this, (follow links below). But I think I will run this wiring the same way I did the other wiring for the IPF's on the roof rack, (Link) using a Add a Circuit to power the switch.



Link to Factory Service Manuals Here.


Info on wiring aux. lights to high beams

http://www.customtacos.com/forum/showpost.php?p=219968&postcount=4
Watch out for those air bag wires!

http://www.toyota120.com/forum/showpost.php?p=10882&postcount=50

http://www.toyota120.com/forum/showpost.php?p=30874&postcount=54

 

[Jacket]

Yea - all that seems like a lot of work to achieve less control over your aux lighting. I'm in favor of the ignition-controlled route - run 'em whenever you like.

 

[DarkHelmet]

Are you sure?

I have been working on the wiring for the new IPF lights. I wanted to wire them so they were tied into the Hi beams, IPF's on with Hi beam-off with Lo beam. After reading through the factory service manuals, and doing a lot of other reading online I have found that the headlights on the Tacoma are wired with the ground (not power) switched for on/off of the high beams.



There is a couple of ways to work around this, (follow links below). But I think I will run this wiring the same way I did the other wiring for the IPF's on the roof rack, (Link) using a Add a Circuit to power the switch.



Link to Factory Service Manuals Here.


Info on wiring aux. lights to high beams

http://www.customtacos.com/forum/showpost.php?p=219968&postcount=4
Watch out for those air bag wires!

http://www.toyota120.com/forum/showpost.php?p=10882&postcount=50

http://www.toyota120.com/forum/showpost.php?p=30874&postcount=54

I'm not certain this is correct. From what I understand, the 2004 and earlier models used a "ground side" switch system. The 2005 and later are "positive side" switched.

I had a post awhile back looking for info on this when I was wiring in a high beam flasher for my emergency light/siren system. I wired my switcher using the diagram for a "positive side" switched system and it is working A-OK. The few EE types that I provided a FSM wiring diagram to assured me the 2005+ is "positive side" switched.

I'm not an EE (nor do I play one on TV, and I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night)... so I could be wrong.

- DH

 

[Overland Hadley]

I'm not certain this is correct. From what I understand, the 2004 and earlier models used a "ground side" switch system. The 2005 and later are "positive side" switched.

I had a post awhile back looking for info on this when I was wiring in a high beam flasher for my emergency light/siren system. I wired my switcher using the diagram for a "positive side" switched system and it is working A-OK. The few EE types that I provided a FSM wiring diagram to assured me the 2005+ is "positive side" switched.

I'm not an EE (nor do I play one on TV, and I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night)... so I could be wrong.

- DH

Hmm, not sure on this.

Does your emergency light/siren system work when you have the Lo beams on?

Was your thread looking for this info here on ExPo?

 

[Overland Hadley]

Yea - all that seems like a lot of work to achieve less control over your aux lighting. I'm in favor of the ignition-controlled route - run 'em whenever you like.

That is what I am starting to think as well.