Scott B.'s 2015 AC Build - Expo Style
- Thread starter Scott B.
- Start date
brianjwilson
Some sort of lost...
Looking good! I does seem like the front is a little high. It might help to measure fender to wheel height (or similar) in static position, then lift the truck via the frame and let the suspension droop, remeasure. I don't know how the rebound valving on those will compare to the 5100s, but on other ifs rigs I've had with bilsteins 2" of droop was not enough to have a nice ride. Lots of harsh topping out. Good call on the control arms. I was very close to buying the camburgs with ball joints but I was planning on running stock wheels at the time which aren't compatible (according to camburg).
Indeed the allpro u bolt plates look to be drilled. If you have the wheelers super bump "posts" (for lack of a better word), you can drill holes and mount them on the u bolt plate. Without them they will not be tall enough anyway more than likely. I'd be interested to know your measurements when you fully cycle the rear suspension. With my dakars and extended length icons (26.18" extended) the shocks are still longer than they needed to be, just a little. The leaf pack is the limiting factor in mine. Definitely interested to see if the leaf pack is even with trying to fit longer than 10" shocks on the stock mounts.
Oh and FYI the all pro rear lines are 2" longer than wheelers. I had to tweak stuff to make the wheelers lines work with my setup, should have done the all pro lines right off.
Indeed the allpro u bolt plates look to be drilled. If you have the wheelers super bump "posts" (for lack of a better word), you can drill holes and mount them on the u bolt plate. Without them they will not be tall enough anyway more than likely. I'd be interested to know your measurements when you fully cycle the rear suspension. With my dakars and extended length icons (26.18" extended) the shocks are still longer than they needed to be, just a little. The leaf pack is the limiting factor in mine. Definitely interested to see if the leaf pack is even with trying to fit longer than 10" shocks on the stock mounts.
Oh and FYI the all pro rear lines are 2" longer than wheelers. I had to tweak stuff to make the wheelers lines work with my setup, should have done the all pro lines right off.
Scott B.
SE Expedition Society
To answer the previous posts:
Tires are BFG KO2 285/75-16
Yes, the All Pro flip plates have holes in them - they are 5/16", just waiting to be tapped.
I saw your post with the bolted-in swapable bumpstops - that's a great idea! Ever since I read that, I have been rethinking about what I will do. My next trip out west is not for 2 months, so I have some to figure out what I want to do.
The front of the truck is a little higher than the rear, but I have not moved it since taking it off the jackstands. Today I will test drive it, and see how everything settles out. Then I will measure it, too. I plan to let the springs "settle in" for a week or so before getting full droop measurements.
Tires are BFG KO2 285/75-16
Yes, the All Pro flip plates have holes in them - they are 5/16", just waiting to be tapped.
I saw your post with the bolted-in swapable bumpstops - that's a great idea! Ever since I read that, I have been rethinking about what I will do. My next trip out west is not for 2 months, so I have some to figure out what I want to do.
The front of the truck is a little higher than the rear, but I have not moved it since taking it off the jackstands. Today I will test drive it, and see how everything settles out. Then I will measure it, too. I plan to let the springs "settle in" for a week or so before getting full droop measurements.
4runnerteq
Explorer
Looks great
Martinjmpr
Wiffleball Batter
Looks great, Scott. You are really going "all in" with the Tacoma!
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Re: Brake controller: I ended up mounting mine to the fusebox door and it works well enough there although it's blocked by one of the steering wheel spokes while driving. I still don't understand why vehicles like this aren't either made with a space already dedicated to the brake controller or, better yet, with a built in brake controller.
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Just got back from a 5000+ mile trip pulling our new T@B, Livia. 13 states and one Canadian province. Great trip but my MPG sucked the whole time. I think it may be time for me to move up to a full size truck with a V8!
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Re: Brake controller: I ended up mounting mine to the fusebox door and it works well enough there although it's blocked by one of the steering wheel spokes while driving. I still don't understand why vehicles like this aren't either made with a space already dedicated to the brake controller or, better yet, with a built in brake controller.
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Just got back from a 5000+ mile trip pulling our new T@B, Livia. 13 states and one Canadian province. Great trip but my MPG sucked the whole time. I think it may be time for me to move up to a full size truck with a V8!
Scott B.
SE Expedition Society
Scott B.
SE Expedition Society
"All in" - yeah, take the procedes from selling one truck to invest (or rather, spend) on parts for the next truck. LOL
I agree - since the 7-pin connector is already there, why not add the brake controller.
I read a little about your trip - looked like a blast! What was your mileage? A V8 will not help your mileage - ask me how I know....
Although, now that the Tacoma is lifted, it is calling for a V8...
Hilldweller
SE Expedition Society
Looking good, Scott.
I went with Bilsteins too --- 5100.
It's tough to decide all this, isn't it? Bilstein, ARB, Fox...
When's it getting dirty?
I went with Bilsteins too --- 5100.
It's tough to decide all this, isn't it? Bilstein, ARB, Fox...
When's it getting dirty?
Martinjmpr
Wiffleball Batter
Scott: MPG ranged between 10 and 13, mostly around 11.5 - 12 being average. Occasionally I tried to let the transmission go into OD but I also watched the temp (on my SGII) and shifted back to 4 if it got above 200. On the last 1000 miles or so I just left it in 4th and that didn't seem to affect the MPG at all.
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And as for the V8, I don't expect it to increase MPG. I'm just thinking that if I'm going to pay the "penalty" in terms of low MPG I might as well reap the benefits of a more powerful engine, bigger hauling capacity, etc. I don't use the 4runner for "wheeling" anymore anyway so the prime benefits of a mid sized vehicle - MPG and maneuverability - are not going to be of use to me in any case.
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Biggest problem with the poor MPG was range. I hated having to fuel up every 200 miles or so.
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And as for the V8, I don't expect it to increase MPG. I'm just thinking that if I'm going to pay the "penalty" in terms of low MPG I might as well reap the benefits of a more powerful engine, bigger hauling capacity, etc. I don't use the 4runner for "wheeling" anymore anyway so the prime benefits of a mid sized vehicle - MPG and maneuverability - are not going to be of use to me in any case.
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Biggest problem with the poor MPG was range. I hated having to fuel up every 200 miles or so.
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mjmcdowell
Explorer
Scott, just read all of your posts on the new truck, questions answered........ and still not done! Gee... I hope my mostly stock 150 can follow you and the rest this fall. Michael
Scott B.
SE Expedition Society
Evaluation
I've done a bit more work on the truck in preparation for a trip - DE V - Parashant. Being in a hurry to get things done, I have lagged behind in keeping up the build thread. That will be remedied shortly.
In the meantime, I thought I would share my impressions of the truck after its (our?) first major expedition. The trip was a 2 week adventure, with 4600 miles of driving and 600+ of that on dirt. (I also went through 11 states.) And, I pulled my teardrop trailer.
Some of you may know that I drove Rangers for 22 years. Being that long in a truck, you get used to it, and know all of its intricacies. The Tacoma is fairly different than the Ranger, and I am still getting used to it. (Different doesn't mean better or worse, just not the same.)
A lot of thought went into the build design of this truck. Since this isn't my first truck, over the years I have figured out what I like/need, what I don't want, what works for me, and what does not work for me. (Everyone has different needs/wants.) What I have built so far has worked very well.
Going from a TTB front suspension to an IFS was much easier to get used to than I thought it might be. The rear suspensions are virtually identical, so that worked as expected.
The 4.0 V6 has plenty of power - it's not a Mustang. The transfer case has a nice low range (slightly lower than the Ranger's.) The 5 speed automatic is what really surprised me. Good gear ratios, up and downshifting, and the kicker - wonderful engine braking! I put the truck in low-range and 1st gear, and went down steep hills with the trailer with ease - and barely used the brakes. Likewise, climbing steep hills (with and without the trailer) was easily handled with the nice selection of gears.
As for the back of the truck, the drawers I built under the sleeping platform were nicer and more functional than expected. The WinDoors on the shell were worth every penny - the ultimate in convenience.
Overall, I really like the Tacoma. And I am very happy with the way I am building it.
I've done a bit more work on the truck in preparation for a trip - DE V - Parashant. Being in a hurry to get things done, I have lagged behind in keeping up the build thread. That will be remedied shortly.
In the meantime, I thought I would share my impressions of the truck after its (our?) first major expedition. The trip was a 2 week adventure, with 4600 miles of driving and 600+ of that on dirt. (I also went through 11 states.) And, I pulled my teardrop trailer.
Some of you may know that I drove Rangers for 22 years. Being that long in a truck, you get used to it, and know all of its intricacies. The Tacoma is fairly different than the Ranger, and I am still getting used to it. (Different doesn't mean better or worse, just not the same.)
A lot of thought went into the build design of this truck. Since this isn't my first truck, over the years I have figured out what I like/need, what I don't want, what works for me, and what does not work for me. (Everyone has different needs/wants.) What I have built so far has worked very well.
Going from a TTB front suspension to an IFS was much easier to get used to than I thought it might be. The rear suspensions are virtually identical, so that worked as expected.
The 4.0 V6 has plenty of power - it's not a Mustang. The transfer case has a nice low range (slightly lower than the Ranger's.) The 5 speed automatic is what really surprised me. Good gear ratios, up and downshifting, and the kicker - wonderful engine braking! I put the truck in low-range and 1st gear, and went down steep hills with the trailer with ease - and barely used the brakes. Likewise, climbing steep hills (with and without the trailer) was easily handled with the nice selection of gears.
As for the back of the truck, the drawers I built under the sleeping platform were nicer and more functional than expected. The WinDoors on the shell were worth every penny - the ultimate in convenience.
Overall, I really like the Tacoma. And I am very happy with the way I am building it.
Scott B.
SE Expedition Society
Refrigerator Mount
Having a fridge while off road for a day or a week is really nice. I admit, I used to shun these things, thinking how ridiculous they were. I am a convert. No soggy food, no leaking ice chests, warm drinks turned cold (great in the desert!)
I built the sleeping platform and drawers to accommodate a fridge, and here is my "quick release" mount.
First, I built 2 feet/slider assemblies, one for the front and one for the rear of the fridge. The length of the sliders is just less than the inside width of a drawer.
I attached the sliders to the fridge using longer feet mounting bolts.
I cut 4 hold-down clamps
and mounted them to the inside of the drawer.
The fridge drops in the drawer, and is slid towards the rear of the truck, with the sliders engaging under the clamps.
When the drawer is closed, the forward side of the fridge hits the sleeping platform, keeping everything locked in place.
For power, I mounted a 12V power port to the leftmost vertical divider, just beyond the fridge.
This setup worked really well at Parashant.
Having a fridge while off road for a day or a week is really nice. I admit, I used to shun these things, thinking how ridiculous they were. I am a convert. No soggy food, no leaking ice chests, warm drinks turned cold (great in the desert!)
I built the sleeping platform and drawers to accommodate a fridge, and here is my "quick release" mount.
First, I built 2 feet/slider assemblies, one for the front and one for the rear of the fridge. The length of the sliders is just less than the inside width of a drawer.
I attached the sliders to the fridge using longer feet mounting bolts.
I cut 4 hold-down clamps
and mounted them to the inside of the drawer.
The fridge drops in the drawer, and is slid towards the rear of the truck, with the sliders engaging under the clamps.
When the drawer is closed, the forward side of the fridge hits the sleeping platform, keeping everything locked in place.
For power, I mounted a 12V power port to the leftmost vertical divider, just beyond the fridge.
This setup worked really well at Parashant.