The Bold Overland Tacoma - Build Thread

[K.Ray]

First outing in the new rig! We did a little exploring around the Cataloochee area. Beautiful day!

 

[K.Ray]

East Coast Gear Supply fix installed. No more floppy CV axle flange and no more vibrations.

The stock Toyota needle bearing leaves a lot to be desired and lets the CV axle flop around. ECGS has a bushing, machined to better tolerances, that fixes this issue.

 

[K.Ray]

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[jgpoirier]

Your truck looks great. I love that bumper on the 05-11.

 

[K.Ray]

Thanks jgpoirier. It's a slow rebuilding process but she's coming along.

 

[K.Ray]

Say hello to the newest addition to the Bold family.

 

[K.Ray]

Replacement CB arrived last week and Toyota ordered the parts to extend the rear axle breather. I believe those parts are in as well. I need to do some wrenching before training weekend, this weekend!

 

[irish_11]

A bold ruckus? Part of me has wanted one of those for longer than I care to admit. What are your plans with it? Camp bike? Mod it? Just drive it for fun?

 

[K.Ray]

A bold ruckus? Part of me has wanted one of those for longer than I care to admit. What are your plans with it? Camp bike? Mod it? Just drive it for fun?

Yes to all of the above. We'll find larger racks, better suspension, and add electronic bits like GPS to the Ruckus. Think of it as an escape pod of sorts. We'll also use it during shows/events/expos for scooting around. The thing is just hilarious amounts of fun to ride around.

 

[K.Ray]

CB Take 1

CB installed! And just in time for ETO Summer Training Weekend....shoo.

Specs: Cobra 75WXST with 9ft firestick antenna cable and 3ft firestick antenna mounted to the ARB bumper.

The best part of this type of setup is that it completely disappears when I don't need it.

 

[K.Ray]

One step forward. Two steps back.

Day 1 with CB setup as pictured above - it's horrible. The antenna is right in my field of vision. I thought I could focus past it but it's rather annoying bouncing around. It will need to be moved. Antenna wire runs past headlights and blinker. Getting a ton of attenuation through the CB speaker. Will also need to fix that. One the bright side the CB does function and I'm getting a mile or two of fairly decent range.

 

[mouse007]

One step forward. Two steps back.

Day 1 with CB setup as pictured above - it's horrible. The antenna is right in my field of vision. I thought I could focus past it but it's rather annoying bouncing around. It will need to be moved. Antenna wire runs past headlights and blinker. Getting a ton of attenuation through the CB speaker. Will also need to fix that. One the bright side the CB does function and I'm getting a mile or two of fairly decent range.

Any reason you didn't go with a HAM radio...?

 

[K.Ray]

Any reason you didn't go with a HAM radio...?

Good question! I use both but most of the rides we lead are filled with folks that only utilize CB. However, when we're just doing team based travel we generally only use HAM radios. That's why I didn't go with anything fancy as far as CBs go. I don't need it for anything more than group trail duty.

My HAM is just a small handheld unit.

 

[K.Ray]

CB Take 2

I wasn't happy with the reception. I wasn't happy with the antenna placement. And, I wasn't happy with the way I had routed the hand unit's cable inside the cab.

My head said, "fix it now, stupid" all day long. So I did.

I moved the antenna over to the passenger side mount which helped to remove it from my focal field while driving. I re-routed the hand unit's cable through the lower dash plastic by notching them ever so slightly. I didn't get a photo of this, sorry. Oh, and I also made sure to route things away from other wiring like blinkers, headlights, etc. This helped the signal tremendously and it's far easier to plug and unplug in the cab. I don't keep the CB out unless I'm on a ride.

 

[wreckdiver1321]

That is EXACTLY why I put my antenna on that mount. The new truck is looking awesome by the way, nice work.