Just Bought My First Toyota: A 2008 Tacoma Access Cab

[Jeff H]

I really appreciate all of the compliments!

I managed to get a few small things done to the truck. To tow my small utility trailer I needed to get a hitch and trailer wiring installed. I went with a UHAUL round tube hitch and the Toyota factory harness. The UHAUL hitch doesn't tuck as nicely as the factory hitch but it works for my needs currently. Eventually I'll install a rear bumper with a receiver if clearance becomes an issue. Installing the factory harness was pretty straight forward except for trying to find the 4 pin connector! Took me 30 min of digging through the harnesses to find it tucked up behind the main harness.

 

[Jeff H]

I also got to take the truck on its first longer road trip. I had to drive to Harrisburg, PA to take a certification exam so I decided to take the back way down for part of the trip. It was a good five hour drive one way and managed to get 23.9 mpg going down. I snapped a few pics (mostly while driving).

The view south of Union City, PA on PA RT 8


Overlooking the Allegheny River in Tionesta, PA


Farmlands and fields abound in rural PA


Entering Cook Forest


The view on US 322 near State College, PA






I decided on the way back to check out a site I had seen signs for on the way down.



It is the site of a oil boom city that grew and dies out fast. I didn't have time to explore the site but hopefully will make it down again to check it out. Here's the wiki on it:
Pithole, PA WIKI

Overall Im still pretty impressed with the truck. There are a few things that I will address first that will aid in the comfort on long trips such as relocating the rearview mirror, installing a iPhone/Pandora capable deck, and installing the Tech Deck with Ram mount for my Nexus 7. Then I will address the suspension needs as the 139k stock suspension is needing replaced.

 

[TacomaJack09]

It was a good five hour drive one way and managed to get 23.9 mpg going down.

Glad to see you didn't lose a step with those bigger tires! That's awesome! Nice pics!

 

[Jeff H]

Just picked up a new goodie for the truck.



Still trying to figure out where I'm going to mount the antenna and which one I'm going to run. I'm traveling to Nashville at the beginning of Oct. so I'll hopefully have it installed by then. Won't be able to transmit until I get back and take my Technician test, though.

 

[Jeff H]

I started my HAM install by finding a place to mount the face plate. I wanted a clean install with no excess wires visible. My radio came with the separation kit which was nice.

I decided the best place for the face plate was in an unused area of the overhead console, the garage door opener spot.

In order to get the door out without breaking it I had to separate the black inner housing on one end so I could sneak it out.

The factory tabs holding it together



I trimmed the excess plastic enough for it to slide out



After I removed the door I used my soldering iron to squish the plastic back down



Drilled the bracket mounting holes with my little hand drill



The finished product



I had to hunt down some 6 wire modular phone/data cable so I can extend the mic wire and of all places found a pre made cable and female/female coupler at Radio Shack. Lowes and Home Depot only had the connectors and crimper but no cable.

 

[Jeff H]

I managed to get a few more things done with the truck. Finished up the Yaesu install and mounted the antenna. I decided on a roof mount and chose the Breedlove mount and Larsen 2/70B antenna.

Radio chassis mounted under center console


Just enough room for the fan to suck in air through the console vents


Breedlove NMO mount


Larsen 2/70B antenna


It works!

 

[Jeff H]

I also made a few other changes to the truck. My factory steelies were in need of a repaint so I took them off and cleaned up the rust, sprayed them with primer, and painted them satin black. These wheels are temporary until I figure out my next wheel choice.



I also upgraded the factory reverse lights with some bulbs from Home Depot. At night its much brighter than stock. I chose these bulbs as the 886 bulb mod was too much wattage for the tail housing IMHO.






Also I picked up a few goodies for the truck that I will be working on next.

Blue Sea fuse block and circuit breaker


Donahoe Coilovers I picked up from MattKoch on the way home from Nashville, TN


Cleaned up some


They need a rebuild and one coil is broken. I have a set of springs coming for them and plan on sending them back to Icon for an update and rebuild. I initially was going to rebuild them myself but for a little extra cash it made sense to have Icon check them over to see if they need anything else.

 

[Jeff H]

I picked up a Bestop Supertop yesterday from craigslist and got it installed this morning. I need to order a pair of clamps for the front flap to make it more secure.

 

[adrstout]

Nice truck! Love the supertop and AT3s.

 

[Jeff H]

Nice truck! Love the supertop and AT3s.

Thanks! It's simple but I'm loving it so far!

I did a little exploring a few weeks back during our winter storm. We were supposed to get all of the snow Buffalo got and the wind changed directions. I managed to snap a few pics while I was out.

 

[fo' runnin']

Nice truck! I really like the way you did the radio!

 

[Jeff H]

Nice truck! I really like the way you did the radio!

Thanks for the compliment! The radio install is one of my favorite parts of the truck now.

 

[Maxcustody]

Great looking rig, I like all your mods............nice job!!

 

[Azazruk]

Have a 2009 with the same set up. Best improvement so far has ben LCE headers, a bit costly at $450 but no regrets. Nice work on the radio instal. Please keep the updates coming

 

[Jeff H]

Have a 2009 with the same set up. Best improvement so far has ben LCE headers, a bit costly at $450 but no regrets. Nice work on the radio instal. Please keep the updates coming

Did you notice a performance difference with the header? Looks like if it delivers the power it claimed that it would be good to reclaim some lost power from armor..