Building My Overland Tacoma: Plans, Progress, Perplexions

[Overland Hadley]

My truck is heavy, close to 6,000 lbs when fully packed for the road, so I made the hard choice not to put an ARB bumper on at this time. I wanted more off road lights, and after looking at HMR's light bar I decided it was a good way to go. It is made by Randy Ellis Designs (Link), easy to install and it is very solid, so the lights will not vibrate when driving on corrugated roads.

I know this will not be exciting to you guys with ARB bumpers, but for my needs at this time it fits the bill.

I still need to adjust and aim the lights, but they are fully wired and ready to go.

Photos to follow.

 

[Overland Hadley]

 

[Streakerfreak]

I know this will not be exciting to you guys with ARB bumpers, but for my needs at this time it fits the bill.

That's all that matters!

 

[ntsqd]

That's all that matters!

Second!

 

[FourByLand]

Looks great and seems to be built to suit your needs!Glad you found a solid solution!

 

[daverami]

Here is the cooler that I am going to be using. It is made by Icee-Kool. (Link Here) It is super strong as it is made from the same plastic that a kayak is made from, with the advantage of being able to do plastic weld repairs if needed. They say that it will hold ice for about a week, have not tried it for that long yet, but looks like it should work.

Are you still using this cooler? I was thinking of something like this. Was wondering how it has worked out for you.

 

[Michael]

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!

Very nice lighting set-up and very timely as lights are moving up on my list

From the earlier thread, did you you add the shims to your spring pack and did they reduce the shift-point vibration? My driveline is still 99.9% vibration free and I consider the 'shudder' problem solved at this point. I'm interested in hearing what your experience is.

 

[Overland Hadley]

That's all that matters!

Second!

Looks great and seems to be built to suit your needs!Glad you found a solid solution!

Thanks guys!

I still wish I could put an ARB bumper on. Maybe sometime in the future, I am just really trying to watch the weight. I have been thinking it might be time to get the off road cargo trailer out of retirement. But on the last couple of trips I have really enjoyed not towing a trailer.

 

[Overland Hadley]

Are you still using this cooler? I was thinking of something like this. Was wondering how it has worked out for you.

I used it for eight weeks this spring. I am very happy with it, I would rate it a 9 out of 10. Only had to get ice every few days, very good for a small sized cooler.

I just noticed that they have changed their name to Galaxy Coolers. The website is now www.galaxycoolers.com. If you are interested in one I would give them a call, I talked to them a couple of times and they were very helpful.

I would also look into the new Engel coolers, although they do not make a 45 quart size, only larger sizes.


One little story about using my cooler. One time I forgot to securely tighten the drain plug and all the melted ice slowly leaked out. Had to empty out the back seat area of the truck and pull the carpet back to dry up the water, a good way to enjoy the afternoon in Big Bend NP. Do not forget to tighten the drain plug! (Once I lost about ten gallons of drinking water in the back of a SUV, I did not worry about it, figuring it would dry up eventually. I just did not like the idea of that water in my new truck.)

 

[Overland Hadley]

Very nice lighting set-up and very timely as lights are moving up on my list

From the earlier thread, did you you add the shims to your spring pack and did they reduce the shift-point vibration? My driveline is still 99.9% vibration free and I consider the 'shudder' problem solved at this point. I'm interested in hearing what your experience is.

Yes I added the shims. I started with a 2 degree shim, that helped the vibrations some. I then changed out the shims to 3 degree and they have helped a lot. So now I have the carrier bearing drop kit and 3 degree shims.

For the most part I think I am happy at this point. I still get a little vibration at about 30-35 mph, and once in a while I think I feel ever so slight of a vibration at 65 mph. Hard to tell with the vibration at 65 mph though, as all the roads around here are slow and windy with a 55 mph speed limit, so I can only do 65 for short periods of time. When I do think I feel a vibration at 65 I get mad at the whole problem and think about putting in a one piece drive shaft, but I do not think I will do that at this time.

From what I have read online it sounds like some (or a couple at least) of the 08 and 09 Tacoma's have a bad vibration right off the lot in stock form. Glad my truck at least did not do that.

So I would say my vibration is 85% to 90% solved, not as smooth as it was stock, but I think it is good for now. What a pain.

If anybody has any new info or ideas on this be sure to let me know. Thanks in advance.

 

[daverami]

Is there any particular place to get shims? I don't know if they are all created equally, aluminum, steel?

I had taken my Alcans off several months ago because of vibe problems, but since then, I have sent them back to Alcan and had them redone for weight of my truck, and had them add a little more beef to them. So, I'm going to try again. I have the carrier bearing spacer stuff, but want to be prepared with shims while I am doing the install.

 

[Jacket]

Toytec sells them

Toytec 3* shims

 

[ntsqd]

I would caution against an aluminum shim. They are known for breaking at the center hole and disappearing.

 

[daverami]

Thanks for the info!

 

[heeltoe989]

My truck is heavy, close to 6,000 lbs when fully packed for the road, so I made the hard choice not to put an ARB bumper on at this time. I wanted more off road lights, and after looking at HMR's light bar I decided it was a good way to go. It is made by Randy Ellis Designs (Link), easy to install and it is very solid, so the lights will not vibrate when driving on corrugated roads.

I know this will not be exciting to you guys with ARB bumpers, but for my needs at this time it fits the bill.

I still need to adjust and aim the lights, but they are fully wired and ready to go.

Photos to follow.

Still a great looking truck! I wish I could be 6000lbs loaded when I go camping oh well, gears and supercharger take of the extra pounds.