Plannerman's 2010 Tacoma

[Plannerman]

Shortly after I got the truck home, I sold the 285s to a friend. I was getting slight rubbing at full lock and it really bugged me. Also, there was noticeable lag in acceleration. Since a new bumper and gears is not on the list this year, the tires were replaced with 265/70R17s. The new tires gave the truck a more subtle look, corrected the speedometer, and resolved some of the performance issues and I was happy. My wife was disappointed, though. She really liked the bigger tires. Maybe when I can regear...

So this is how it looks now, complete with new desert pinstriping. This was taken in Carrizon Plain a few weeks ago.

 

[FullTankHank]

That's so cool that Rancho got some prototype suspension parts to you to try. I just need to find a company who wants to test some late model tundra suspension parts, lol. Must have been a blast going to sema with your son.

Your truck is looking great though, will be interested in seeing some pics from your next trip.

 

[Plannerman]

So, its not every day that you randomly find your own truck on Youtube. Very cool and had to share

 

[Plannerman]

After my last trip, which was to Carrizo Plain, I began hearing a random metal-on-metal noise when I would shift from reverse to first. The sound would be best described as pinging a light gauge metal, like the stock skid plate, with a ball peen hammer. In checking out the undercarriage, I found nothing loose and found no signs of new damage (the front skid is slightly deformed from a previous incident).

I discussed it with my mechanic when I took it in for service a few days ago and he had some interesting feedback. First, the front diff had been lowered by Rancho. I was a little disappointed to hear this because it is a useless modification and an unexpected one. When installing the lift, Rancho had used some spacers to realign the two stock skids, so the drop was not noticeable. For some reason (likely it shifted while traveling Carrizo Plain), the front diff was now contacting the skid plate when I would shift from reverse to first, hence the random metal pinging sound. My mechanic pried the skid away to provide more clearance, but there is very little clearance and a bad hit to the skid could possibly damage the front differential housing.

In doing some additional research (Tacomaworld.com, ******), it seems that front diff drops can lead to vulnerable differentials and substantial damage. So, I will be removing the front diff drop before our next off road excursion.

 

[Plannerman]

20,0000 Mile Rancho Suspension Update

It has been about 1 year and just over 20,000 miles since installation of the Rancho suspension and so it is time for an update. In particular, I noticed the other day that the Tacoma lean has settled in. The driver front suspension has settled 3/4" more than the passenger front. That is a lot. The driver's side carries me, the fuel tank, and the battery, resulting in it being several hundred pounds heavier on that side. I guess it adds up after 20,000 miles. Toyota understands this and designs the front suspension to be side specific, presumably with a slightly heavier spring on the driver's side. The typical solution, and one I will have to look into, is adding a spacer on the driver's side. The Rancho components appear to have a lot of life in them. They have handled heavy loads, towing, and offroading with ease, and still ride better than the stock suspension.

The rear suspension is going to need a refresh soon. The rear shocks seem to be holding up well, but my leaf springs, which are the Toyota TSB pack with a small block added by Rancho, are beginning to lose their shape. Well, maybe its more accurate to say they're taking on the shape of a W. There are, of course, many, many choices so it will probably be some time before I figure out which springs to go with.

 

[Plannerman]

CB Radio
I've fallen a bit behind on this thread. We went to the Arizona strip in October and prepping for that trip took a lot of energy. In preparation for that trip, I mad a few additional modifications to the Tacoma.

The first was installing a Cobra 75 WX CB radio. My group had been flirting with upgrading our communications for sometime and it took the opportunity of a very remote trip for us to all get off our duffs and upgrade from the crappy Walmart handhelds. I also purchased a 9' coax cable and 4' firestik antenna. The purchasing was the easy part. Actually, the install wasn't too bad.



I spent a lot of time trying to figure out where to mount the antenna. I finally decided on a hood mount designed by Relentless Fab. Very burly and fit very well. On the plus side, it appeared that it would also fit my friend's 5th Gen 4Runner as the bolt holes and hood clearance all seemed to work. It did not fit the 4th Gen 4Runner.



The worst part of the install was trying to figure out how to take apart the damn interior. Google was both my friend and my enemy. To start, there are lots of very creative installs here on Expo and on other sites. I was certain that I want the install to be clean. Additionally, the Cobra 75 WX is almost entirely contained within the handset. This presents a cool opportunity of being able to remove the CB for an even cleaner set up. I had lots of ideas, but no clear plan of how and where I wanted the handset to be plugged in. One of the problems I could not resolve was wanting to maintain good access to the box as that would be where I would plug in an aux speaker, should I desire one. I liked the hidden installs, placing the box under the center console, or similar, but was afraid I would end up having to take everything apart if I wanted to access the aux plug.



Finally, I decided to mount the CB box above the gas pedal. Initially I tried 3M double sided tape. However, the tape kept failing in cold weather. I finally use a short screw to mount the box to the ABS that shields the heater equipment. This area turned out to be an acceptable mounting location and I had no trouble with the location during the following 4-day trip across 300 miles of dirt. However, now that I've removed the CB, the box has shifted and I occasionally bump it with my toe. At some point, I'll move the box higher above the gas pedal.



I'm very pleased with the final install. The antenna location turned out to be great. Reception and transmission was excellent and I had no trouble tuning the radio. Also, I found the radio speaker to be plenty loud. I played with using the aux input on the radio, which was nice, but ultimately did not need the volume.

 

[Plannerman]

I've been contemplating additional covered storage for some time now, considering a soft topper of some kind, a bed lid, or a hard shell. The decision was finally cinched this weekend when I took my two year old son camping this weekend. Kids have a lot of stuff and having had a shell would have been nice. So I decided to bite the bullet and purchased a Snugtop Rebel. It's been about twenty years since I last had a camper shell and the quality has certainly improved. And my son LOVES it, which is quite amusing. I am very happy with the additionally functionality. Now I am going to start looking into a rack so that I have an exterior place to mount fuel cans.

One lesson learned, though. While this shell was sold new, had never been mounted, and has the full Snugtop warranty, it is not new. It's been sitting on the dealer's lot for several years. The rubber seal at the hatch is cracked and going to be replaced under warranty. Otherwise, it looks brand new. Just a little irritated the dealer didn't mention it to me. Now I know why they were the cheapest price in the area, I guess.

Sent via fat thumb

 

[Plannerman]

So, on the topic of the roof rack, can anyone speak to the functionality of the OEM roof rack? I have a basket that I could attach.

 

[Grizzlys4Runner]

Cool truck ....subscribed

 

[Plannerman]

Still behind on a few build updates, but we did get a chance to go exploring in the snow yesterday. It was the first time my son had been in the snow and he loved it until he got cold. Then, not so much. I am really happy with shell! It has made vehicle trips much easier, cleaner, and more organized.

 

[Willman]

Love the topper.

 

[Plannerman]

Thanks! I'm a little surprised at how much I like it.

Here are the pictures I meant to post yesterday.

Sent via fat thumb

 

[Plannerman]

Heading up to Afton Canyon tomorrow; so I finally got around to doing the dif breather relocate mod.

 

[Plannerman]

sPOD is partially installed. I am deeply impressed by the quality of the kit. Initially I thought it was over the top, but it so well made and the install support is excellent.

And, thanks to Sierra Expeditions (truly outstanding service), the rear axle is getting refreshed with a Dakar leaf pack. I purchased the AAL, as well, but I'm not sure whether to install it. Any suggestions?

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[zscott]

I would install it. With the topper and a bed full of gear it needs the add a leaf or it starts to sag