soonenough's 2008 Super White Tacoma
- Thread starter soonenough
- Start date
soonenough
Explorer
I like. Of course!
Will stay tuned.
Thanks! There's plenty more to go, working on getting everything caught up to how it sits today.
soonenough
Explorer
TrailGear Creeper Breather
I was looking for a way to better seal the rear axle so that I wouldn't suck water into the rear diff when it was submerged. I saw this TrailGear Creeper Breather online. It's just a small bellows that expands/contracts based on pressure changes inside the rear diff while remaining sealed. It seemed to get good reviews so I figured I'd give it a try.
Creeper Breather-5.jpg by soon.enough, on Flickr
Installation is pretty straightforward, just remove the OEM breather from the diff, apply thread sealant to the fitting supplied with the kit (male tapered thread by male hose barb), install the supplied fitting, attach the Creeper Breather to the hose barb side of the fitting, and secure it with the supplied hose clamp.
I've had it on the vehicle for over 6 years now with no ill effects that I know of. I've had the axle underwater a few times and it seems to have done its job. I'm planning to remove the Creeper Breather and do a proper breather relocation, but rather than reusing the OEM diff breather, I plan to use a plain filter. I don't like the fact that the OEM breather is a check valve because it inevitably means that when the axle/diff cools after being hot, the pressure equalization will be accomplished by pulling air (or water) in through the seals instead of through the breather.
I was looking for a way to better seal the rear axle so that I wouldn't suck water into the rear diff when it was submerged. I saw this TrailGear Creeper Breather online. It's just a small bellows that expands/contracts based on pressure changes inside the rear diff while remaining sealed. It seemed to get good reviews so I figured I'd give it a try.
Creeper Breather-5.jpg by soon.enough, on FlickrInstallation is pretty straightforward, just remove the OEM breather from the diff, apply thread sealant to the fitting supplied with the kit (male tapered thread by male hose barb), install the supplied fitting, attach the Creeper Breather to the hose barb side of the fitting, and secure it with the supplied hose clamp.
I've had it on the vehicle for over 6 years now with no ill effects that I know of. I've had the axle underwater a few times and it seems to have done its job. I'm planning to remove the Creeper Breather and do a proper breather relocation, but rather than reusing the OEM diff breather, I plan to use a plain filter. I don't like the fact that the OEM breather is a check valve because it inevitably means that when the axle/diff cools after being hot, the pressure equalization will be accomplished by pulling air (or water) in through the seals instead of through the breather.
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soonenough
Explorer
08.2008 - OEM DTRL Install
When I ordered my truck, I couldn't get DTRLs because it wasn't one of the pre-configured 'standard features' that were apparently available for all Tacomas coming out of Gulf States Toyota, regardless of trim level. I wanted DTRLs for safety reasons, so I purchased the OEM DTRL flasher unit from TRDParts4U.com.
The install was straightforward but not what I would call easy. The lower driver's side of the dash has to be taken apart, which itself isn't a big deal; however, getting the necessary wiring/pigtails removed so that the new flasher unit could be installed was a pretty big PITA and somewhat nerve-wracking. I remember thinking the whole time I was trying to remove the pigtail from the old flasher unit that any second I was going to rip several of the wires out of the back of the connector and damage my wiring harness. Luckily that didn't happen, and I was able to get everything installed without any problems. I didn't take any photos during the installation, but here's a great writeup that goes through the entire process: http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/technical-chat/1475-05-drl-daytime-running-lights-install-oem.html
All finished, nothing too exciting:
DTRL Install-1.jpg by soon.enough, on Flickr
After a few years, the heat from the DTRLs began to melt and eventually crack the headlight housings. Maybe this is why they weren't installed from the factory? I ended up switching the bulbs to LEDs to prevent it from happening again.
When I ordered my truck, I couldn't get DTRLs because it wasn't one of the pre-configured 'standard features' that were apparently available for all Tacomas coming out of Gulf States Toyota, regardless of trim level. I wanted DTRLs for safety reasons, so I purchased the OEM DTRL flasher unit from TRDParts4U.com.
The install was straightforward but not what I would call easy. The lower driver's side of the dash has to be taken apart, which itself isn't a big deal; however, getting the necessary wiring/pigtails removed so that the new flasher unit could be installed was a pretty big PITA and somewhat nerve-wracking. I remember thinking the whole time I was trying to remove the pigtail from the old flasher unit that any second I was going to rip several of the wires out of the back of the connector and damage my wiring harness. Luckily that didn't happen, and I was able to get everything installed without any problems. I didn't take any photos during the installation, but here's a great writeup that goes through the entire process: http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/technical-chat/1475-05-drl-daytime-running-lights-install-oem.html
All finished, nothing too exciting:
DTRL Install-1.jpg by soon.enough, on FlickrAfter a few years, the heat from the DTRLs began to melt and eventually crack the headlight housings. Maybe this is why they weren't installed from the factory? I ended up switching the bulbs to LEDs to prevent it from happening again.
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soonenough
Explorer
Ham Radio Install (Round 1)
The next item up on the list was the other half of the comms equation - a ham radio. Not only did I want the radio for trail communications, but I'm also a severe weather enthusiast, and ham is a common method of communication for storm spotters. I took the Technician exam on 12.06.08 and received my callsign on 12.09.08.
Equipment
Radio: Yaesu FT-7800R 2m/70cm ham radio w/ Yaesu YSK-7800 separation kit
Antenna: Comet SBB-5NMO
Antenna Mount: Diamond K400C-NMO lip mount w/ RG-316 coax
Speaker: MFJ-281
I wanted a dual band radio that allowed the face of the radio to be remotely mounted so that I could mount the main 'box' somewhere out of sight; this pretty much narrowed it down to either Yaesu, Icom, or Kenwood. After looking into a few different radios, I ended up deciding on the Yaesu FT-7800R (now obsolete, replaced by the FT-7900R). I wasn't too picky in terms of functionality because I knew that I'd never use even half of what most of these radios are capable of doing. One of the main factors in my decision was the fact that the keys were backlit on the 7800R unlike a number of other radios at the time. I didn't want to be fumbling around in the dark trying to find the right button on a radio whose buttons aren't backlit. Plus the backlight color matches the dash lights on the truck almost perfectly, which is nice. The only other requirement was for the radio to receive the NOAA weather stations, which wasn't asking much since most dual-band mobile ham radios do.
One really nice thing about the coax on the Diamond K400C-NMO mount is the fact that the end connection is a mini-UHF connector (rather than an integral PL-259 connector, which is about 3x as big). This means you can route the coax through a much smaller hole. They include a small adapter that's mini-UHF x PL-259 to allow the coax to connect to the PL-259 antenna port that's on many radios.
Tacoma Ham Radio 02.2009-9.jpg by soon.enough, on Flickr
I decided that I wanted to mount the face of the radio to the lower dash just below the AC controls because it would allow me to adjust the volume / squelch / frequency knobs while my hand was resting on the shifter. I didn't want to drill holes in the dash to mount the bracket for the radio face, so I decided to test-mount the bracket and face using double-sided tape. This worked ok, but inevitably after a day or two in the heat, the face would slowly droop down. So I decided to make a small custom bracket to hold the radio bracket and face. The back of the bracket matched the contour of the dash, and the front of the bracket had a flat surface and a small 'shelf' to hold the radio bracket. At the time, I had access to a 3D printer, so I just drew the part up in CAD and printed it in plastic.
The bracket still cooling in the 3D printer:
Tacoma Ham Radio 08.2009-1.jpg by soon.enough, on Flickr
Bracket fully cooled and ready to be broken off of the disposable printing tray.
Tacoma Ham Radio 08.2009-2.jpg by soon.enough, on Flickr
A quick shot of gray paint and it was ready to go.
Tacoma Ham Radio 09.2009-1.jpg by soon.enough, on Flickr
Tacoma Ham Radio 09.2009-2.jpg by soon.enough, on Flickr
Installed the bracket onto the dash with double-sided tape:
Tacoma Ham Radio 09.2009-11.jpg by soon.enough, on Flickr
Yaesu bracket mounted to the front of the bracket:
Tacoma Ham Radio 09.2009-13.jpg by soon.enough, on Flickr
The rest of the install was pretty straightforward. I mounted the main radio box under the driver's seat using a 2" x 6" piece of industrial Velcro; it sticks REALLY well to the carpet. And yes, I'm well aware of the potential risks of this...short of the drivers seat being ripped off its mounts, that radio is not coming out from underneath the seat in an accident, believe me I've tried to remove it once.
I routed the coax from the antenna through a plug in the firewall behind the brake booster. This is the same hole I used to bring the power wires for the CB into the cab. Note the CB wires are removed here because the hole was too small for the coax connector to fit through with them in place. I know there's a potential for interference with the two radios wiring routed right next to each other, but my thinking was that I would probably never be transmitting on CB and ham at the same time.
Tacoma Ham Radio 02.2009-2.jpg by soon.enough, on Flickr
Tacoma Ham Radio 02.2009-1.jpg by soon.enough, on Flickr
Tacoma Ham Radio 02.2009-11.jpg by soon.enough, on Flickr
I ran the head unit connection cable (which is a 6P6C RJ12 patch cable basically) under the carpet and up behind the dash. The connection to the radio's face on the dash went through the dash and came out below the AC control panel. I got power to the head unit directly from the battery via the Blue Sea fuse block. I tried the radio out and it worked perfectly the first time. My SWR was below 1.5 on both 2m and 440 MHz.
Crappy cell phone photo of the final result:
Tacoma Ham Radio 05.2009-2.jpg by soon.enough, on Flickr
I've since changed the ham radio setup a couple different times. More on that later...
The next item up on the list was the other half of the comms equation - a ham radio. Not only did I want the radio for trail communications, but I'm also a severe weather enthusiast, and ham is a common method of communication for storm spotters. I took the Technician exam on 12.06.08 and received my callsign on 12.09.08.
Equipment
Radio: Yaesu FT-7800R 2m/70cm ham radio w/ Yaesu YSK-7800 separation kit
Antenna: Comet SBB-5NMO
Antenna Mount: Diamond K400C-NMO lip mount w/ RG-316 coax
Speaker: MFJ-281
I wanted a dual band radio that allowed the face of the radio to be remotely mounted so that I could mount the main 'box' somewhere out of sight; this pretty much narrowed it down to either Yaesu, Icom, or Kenwood. After looking into a few different radios, I ended up deciding on the Yaesu FT-7800R (now obsolete, replaced by the FT-7900R). I wasn't too picky in terms of functionality because I knew that I'd never use even half of what most of these radios are capable of doing. One of the main factors in my decision was the fact that the keys were backlit on the 7800R unlike a number of other radios at the time. I didn't want to be fumbling around in the dark trying to find the right button on a radio whose buttons aren't backlit. Plus the backlight color matches the dash lights on the truck almost perfectly, which is nice. The only other requirement was for the radio to receive the NOAA weather stations, which wasn't asking much since most dual-band mobile ham radios do.
One really nice thing about the coax on the Diamond K400C-NMO mount is the fact that the end connection is a mini-UHF connector (rather than an integral PL-259 connector, which is about 3x as big). This means you can route the coax through a much smaller hole. They include a small adapter that's mini-UHF x PL-259 to allow the coax to connect to the PL-259 antenna port that's on many radios.
Tacoma Ham Radio 02.2009-9.jpg by soon.enough, on FlickrI decided that I wanted to mount the face of the radio to the lower dash just below the AC controls because it would allow me to adjust the volume / squelch / frequency knobs while my hand was resting on the shifter. I didn't want to drill holes in the dash to mount the bracket for the radio face, so I decided to test-mount the bracket and face using double-sided tape. This worked ok, but inevitably after a day or two in the heat, the face would slowly droop down. So I decided to make a small custom bracket to hold the radio bracket and face. The back of the bracket matched the contour of the dash, and the front of the bracket had a flat surface and a small 'shelf' to hold the radio bracket. At the time, I had access to a 3D printer, so I just drew the part up in CAD and printed it in plastic.
The bracket still cooling in the 3D printer:
Tacoma Ham Radio 08.2009-1.jpg by soon.enough, on FlickrBracket fully cooled and ready to be broken off of the disposable printing tray.
Tacoma Ham Radio 08.2009-2.jpg by soon.enough, on FlickrA quick shot of gray paint and it was ready to go.
Tacoma Ham Radio 09.2009-1.jpg by soon.enough, on Flickr
Tacoma Ham Radio 09.2009-2.jpg by soon.enough, on FlickrInstalled the bracket onto the dash with double-sided tape:
Tacoma Ham Radio 09.2009-11.jpg by soon.enough, on FlickrYaesu bracket mounted to the front of the bracket:
Tacoma Ham Radio 09.2009-13.jpg by soon.enough, on FlickrThe rest of the install was pretty straightforward. I mounted the main radio box under the driver's seat using a 2" x 6" piece of industrial Velcro; it sticks REALLY well to the carpet. And yes, I'm well aware of the potential risks of this...short of the drivers seat being ripped off its mounts, that radio is not coming out from underneath the seat in an accident, believe me I've tried to remove it once.
I routed the coax from the antenna through a plug in the firewall behind the brake booster. This is the same hole I used to bring the power wires for the CB into the cab. Note the CB wires are removed here because the hole was too small for the coax connector to fit through with them in place. I know there's a potential for interference with the two radios wiring routed right next to each other, but my thinking was that I would probably never be transmitting on CB and ham at the same time.
Tacoma Ham Radio 02.2009-2.jpg by soon.enough, on Flickr
Tacoma Ham Radio 02.2009-1.jpg by soon.enough, on Flickr
Tacoma Ham Radio 02.2009-11.jpg by soon.enough, on FlickrI ran the head unit connection cable (which is a 6P6C RJ12 patch cable basically) under the carpet and up behind the dash. The connection to the radio's face on the dash went through the dash and came out below the AC control panel. I got power to the head unit directly from the battery via the Blue Sea fuse block. I tried the radio out and it worked perfectly the first time. My SWR was below 1.5 on both 2m and 440 MHz.
Crappy cell phone photo of the final result:
Tacoma Ham Radio 05.2009-2.jpg by soon.enough, on FlickrI've since changed the ham radio setup a couple different times. More on that later...
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soonenough
Explorer
Much appreciated! Coming from someone who's built some incredibly nice vehicles, that's quite the compliment
soonenough
Explorer
11.2008 - Deer Wreck
In November of 2008, while I was driving on a rural highway from Houston to Dallas to visit family for Thanksgiving, I hit a deer....or more accurately, a deer hit me. It was during that 15-20 minute period around dusk where it's dark enough that your vision is impaired, but not dark enough for your headlights to be helping much. As I came to the end of a small bridge over a creek, a deer on the right-hand side of the road got spooked and ran out of the ditch across the road in front of me. Instinctively I swerved toward the left-hand side of the road to try to miss the deer (not a smart choice I know, but I didn't think, I just reacted). Because of this, instead of me hitting the deer with my front bumper, the deer's head plowed into my passenger-side front fender, then she spun around and her rear hit the passenger side rear fender flare, bed, and rear bumper. Poor animal...it quite literally scared the crap out of her, as you can see in the photos.
Tacoma Wreck 11.2008-14.jpg by soon.enough, on Flickr
This incident got me thinking that 1) I need better front end protection, 2) I need better lighting, and 3) the OEM rear bumper isn't worth a whole lot. It would not be fun to be out in the middle of nowhere, late at night (even worse have wife/kids with you), and hit an animal, causing the vehicle to be immobilized, either from busted radiator, or damaged suspension, etc. This was an obvious case where an aftermarket steel bumper designed to deal with animal strikes would be beneficial.
Tacoma Wreck 11.2008-4.jpg by soon.enough, on Flickr
In November of 2008, while I was driving on a rural highway from Houston to Dallas to visit family for Thanksgiving, I hit a deer....or more accurately, a deer hit me. It was during that 15-20 minute period around dusk where it's dark enough that your vision is impaired, but not dark enough for your headlights to be helping much. As I came to the end of a small bridge over a creek, a deer on the right-hand side of the road got spooked and ran out of the ditch across the road in front of me. Instinctively I swerved toward the left-hand side of the road to try to miss the deer (not a smart choice I know, but I didn't think, I just reacted). Because of this, instead of me hitting the deer with my front bumper, the deer's head plowed into my passenger-side front fender, then she spun around and her rear hit the passenger side rear fender flare, bed, and rear bumper. Poor animal...it quite literally scared the crap out of her, as you can see in the photos.
Tacoma Wreck 11.2008-14.jpg by soon.enough, on FlickrThis incident got me thinking that 1) I need better front end protection, 2) I need better lighting, and 3) the OEM rear bumper isn't worth a whole lot. It would not be fun to be out in the middle of nowhere, late at night (even worse have wife/kids with you), and hit an animal, causing the vehicle to be immobilized, either from busted radiator, or damaged suspension, etc. This was an obvious case where an aftermarket steel bumper designed to deal with animal strikes would be beneficial.
Tacoma Wreck 11.2008-4.jpg by soon.enough, on Flickr
soonenough
Explorer
06.2009 - Wedding
Opening Wedding Gifts-142.jpg by soon.enough, on Flickr
My wife and I got married in June of 2009 after meeting in high school and being together for over 8 years. It's amazing to be able to marry your best friend...it's even better when your spouse is not only tolerant, but supportive of your addiction to modifying vehicles. My father in law is a gear head, so much like me and my dad, my wife grew up always having a project vehicle torn apart in the garage. She's asked me many times "so when are you gonna buy the ____ you've been wanting for your truck?" There's no telling how many countless hours I've spent wrenching on toys over the years since we first started dating, and no doubt many of those hours were when other more important things were being put off.
Wedding-287.jpg by soon.enough, on Flickr
Opening Wedding Gifts-142.jpg by soon.enough, on FlickrMy wife and I got married in June of 2009 after meeting in high school and being together for over 8 years. It's amazing to be able to marry your best friend...it's even better when your spouse is not only tolerant, but supportive of your addiction to modifying vehicles. My father in law is a gear head, so much like me and my dad, my wife grew up always having a project vehicle torn apart in the garage. She's asked me many times "so when are you gonna buy the ____ you've been wanting for your truck?" There's no telling how many countless hours I've spent wrenching on toys over the years since we first started dating, and no doubt many of those hours were when other more important things were being put off.
Wedding-287.jpg by soon.enough, on Flickr
soonenough
Explorer
09.2009 - Garmin GPS Mount
My wife bought me a Garmin GPS unit for Christmas the first year we were married. I put one of the Garmin adhesive-backed mounting disks on the drivers door to create a smooth mounting surface for the cradle's suction cup. It's been there for over 5 years and still works great.
Crappy cell phone pic:
Garmin GPS Mount 01-1.jpg by soon.enough, on Flickr
My wife bought me a Garmin GPS unit for Christmas the first year we were married. I put one of the Garmin adhesive-backed mounting disks on the drivers door to create a smooth mounting surface for the cradle's suction cup. It's been there for over 5 years and still works great.
Crappy cell phone pic:
Garmin GPS Mount 01-1.jpg by soon.enough, on Flickr
soonenough
Explorer
02.2010 - Goodyear DuraTracs
After about 45,000 miles, the OEM 'Rugged Fails' that the truck came with were pretty much worn out. I drive pretty conservatively, but these tires just sucked. They were getting to the point of being almost scary in wet weather, so it was time for a change. After much research, I decided on the Goodyear Duratrac in the slightly-larger-than-stock size of 265/75/16C. I chose this tire because it seemed like a great all-purpose tire that could do most things reasonably well. As I said at the beginning, I'm not a rock crawler, so the reported weakness of the sidewalls wasn't a huge deterrent for me. At this time, the Duratracs were still a relatively new tire, and there weren't too many people running them yet. Now they've been tested by many and the consensus seems to be that they're a good all-around tire.
Duratrac Tires 02.2010-15.jpg by soon.enough, on Flickr
Tacoma 03.14.10-3.jpg by soon.enough, on Flickr
After about 45,000 miles, the OEM 'Rugged Fails' that the truck came with were pretty much worn out. I drive pretty conservatively, but these tires just sucked. They were getting to the point of being almost scary in wet weather, so it was time for a change. After much research, I decided on the Goodyear Duratrac in the slightly-larger-than-stock size of 265/75/16C. I chose this tire because it seemed like a great all-purpose tire that could do most things reasonably well. As I said at the beginning, I'm not a rock crawler, so the reported weakness of the sidewalls wasn't a huge deterrent for me. At this time, the Duratracs were still a relatively new tire, and there weren't too many people running them yet. Now they've been tested by many and the consensus seems to be that they're a good all-around tire.
Duratrac Tires 02.2010-15.jpg by soon.enough, on Flickr
Tacoma 03.14.10-3.jpg by soon.enough, on Flickr
soonenough
Explorer
Did a little light exploring / wheeling at a local spot one afternoon with a friend (RU55ELL here on ExPo). You can see more about his Tacoma in his build thread here on ExPo.
Langham Creek Run 06.2010-1.jpg by soon.enough, on Flickr
Langham Creek Run 06.2010-6.jpg by soon.enough, on Flickr
Langham Creek Run 06.2010-58.jpg by soon.enough, on Flickr
Langham Creek Run 06.2010-70.jpg by soon.enough, on Flickr
Came across this guy as we were leaving. Not sure what kind of snake this is, anyone?
Langham Creek Run 06.2010-125.jpg by soon.enough, on Flickr
Langham Creek Run 06.2010-127.jpg by soon.enough, on Flickr
Besides the usual brush scratches, there was only one casualty for the day - my Comet 2m/70cm antenna. A large tree branch got caught right in the center coil of the antenna and wouldn't let go. I kept creeping forward thinking 'it'll come loose any second' until the antenna decided it'd had enough and snapped right at a stress concentration point about halfway up the base. Not really any fault of Comet or the antenna itself, this just isn't a good choice for an antenna that's likely to come into contact with brush/limbs. The design of the base isn't really set up to take side loading very well, and the steel material used for the whip isn't flexible enough for heavy brush usage.
Langham Creek Run 06.2010-130.jpg by soon.enough, on Flickr
Langham Creek Run 06.2010-1.jpg by soon.enough, on Flickr
Langham Creek Run 06.2010-6.jpg by soon.enough, on Flickr
Langham Creek Run 06.2010-58.jpg by soon.enough, on Flickr
Langham Creek Run 06.2010-70.jpg by soon.enough, on FlickrCame across this guy as we were leaving. Not sure what kind of snake this is, anyone?
Langham Creek Run 06.2010-125.jpg by soon.enough, on Flickr
Langham Creek Run 06.2010-127.jpg by soon.enough, on FlickrBesides the usual brush scratches, there was only one casualty for the day - my Comet 2m/70cm antenna. A large tree branch got caught right in the center coil of the antenna and wouldn't let go. I kept creeping forward thinking 'it'll come loose any second' until the antenna decided it'd had enough and snapped right at a stress concentration point about halfway up the base. Not really any fault of Comet or the antenna itself, this just isn't a good choice for an antenna that's likely to come into contact with brush/limbs. The design of the base isn't really set up to take side loading very well, and the steel material used for the whip isn't flexible enough for heavy brush usage.
Langham Creek Run 06.2010-130.jpg by soon.enough, on Flickr
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