Building a Toyota that fits Douglas

[allen.wrench]

I was using all those skid plates to compensate for not having the ground clearance.

I know that feels. It's how you learn all of your low spots and exactly what needs upgrading. Also get street cred for beaching yourself on a downhill trail, lol! Ask me how I know.

Crowley

Did you blast some Ozzy?

All the same. Glad to hear you're putting your Tacoma to good work!

Allen

 

[DouglasVB]

It's definitely an adjustment moving to a stock truck from a built rock crawler. I keep having to remind myself that my ground clearance is MUCH lower

 

[DouglasVB]

I've got a question about tire repair. I picked up a 3/4" gash in the tire tread last weekend that I patched with one of those sticky rubber bacon strips. It holds are pretty well and I drove several hundred freeway miles without incident. However it's losing about 3psi a day I assume out of that patch.

This weekend when I have time I'll spray the tire with soapy water to make sure there isn't another hole.

Assuming the leak is from the patch, is that something a tire shop will repair or am I either going to have to buy a new tire or deal with the slow leak for another 10k miles until these tires are ready to be replaced?

 

[DaveInDenver]

If the cut is in the tread a tire shop may be able to repair it. There's no guarantee but they may have more robust plugs and strips than you used. Did you take the tire off to put the patch in?

If it's on the sidewall or shoulder you might get lucky doing it yourself but a tire shop probably won't want to touch it.

A repaired tread is fine, I'd run it as long as it holds air until it's worn. If it's constantly leaking I might not trust it but a proper repair shouldn't leak. A tire shop repair has the benefit that they'll probably take the tire off for a good repair and re-balance it to compensate for the patch.

If it's in the sidewall I'd replace the tire as soon as is practical even if the repair holds air. That might not be everyone's opinion, so take as FWIW. Discount won't work on a tire with a sidewall/shoulder repair but they will honor the tire certificate and gave me a new one. A couple of plugs in the sidewall of a BFG AT made it from North Rim of Grand Canyon to Flagstaff on the Interstate...

 

[DouglasVB]

I did not take the tire off the rim to do the patch. I used one of those auger tools with the bacon strips of sticky rubber. The punctures are squarely in the tread -- nothing near the sidewall.

The local America's Tire wouldn't work on it. They said they can't patch a tire after it's had a temporary plug put in. They only wanted to replace the tire and didn't want to swap the spare tire onto the rim. So that was a dead end.

I used some soapy water today and found a second leak a couple inches from the first. The patch from the first hole was also leaking around one edge. So I put in a few more rubber bacon strips and we'll see if that holds.

I'm thinking I should spend the $100 to get the harbor freight tire balancer and the $60 for the manual tire changer. And whatever else I'd need to safely remove and then remount the tire without damaging anything (rim, tire, TPS). Although I've got no experience doing any of that.

The tires probably have another 5k miles left on them. They're the original tires from the factory and have 19k miles on them. I would rather wait a bit before getting new tires. I have a fantasy I'll find pennies under the couch cushions that would allow me to regear and put bigger suspension on to move up to bigger tires for the next set.

 

[DouglasVB]

The plugs in my one tire have been holding well for the past month and about 1500 miles. I expect that I'll wear the tires out before the plugs give me any issues.

We've been out and about a bit in the last month.

I found some fun back roads to get from Fresno to the coast rather than taking the normal freeway route. California is absolutely massive and is mostly empty one you get outside the cities.


View: https://www.instagram.com/p/DLTkbqAp4n4/


I did some exploring around the San Joaquin Gorge and the north side of the Kings River earlier in the month. Most of these trails haven't seen maintenance in decades and we ran into several washouts with no bypass.


View: https://www.instagram.com/p/DLTk8rCJYHx/


We were up in the redwoods last weekend on the Lost Coast


View: https://www.instagram.com/p/DLTjTe5ptKe/


And speaking of the Lost Coast, there are some truly remote areas on the ocean in northern California.


View: https://www.instagram.com/p/DLTj3noJIZ4/


I still need to change up my front winch situation. The thimble I've got on the end of the winch line keeps getting dragged when I have mildly sharp approach angles. I'm thinking of removing the thimble and leaving the winch line inside the bumper with a piece of nylon webbing sticking out so that I can easily extract it. Not sure if I'd bring a pair of C clip plyers with me to mount a thimble or a hook when I need to use the winch or if I would use the winch rope eyelet and attach directly to that.

I nearly ripped off my rear bumper on a sharp departure angle a few weeks back. It popped one of the chrome covers off and ripped off some of the plastic fasteners on the bottom. I got the cover back on and it looks fine so I guess whatever But I really should get a high clearance rear bumper at some point... this is not the first time dragging it over obstacles.

I continue to use all of the skid plates. The ground clearance just isn't very good on a stock 3rd gen Taco. If I had the $$$ laying around, I'd be upgrading the suspension, regearing, and adding bigger tires. But for now I keep pinging off of rocks with the skid plates and nothing super important has broken yet so

I finally have the plastic part I need to increase the number of switches in the overhead console. I think this weekend I'll get that installed. It requires cutting some plastic on the console for the switches to fit in a similar way to what I had to do to get more switches to fit in the left side switch panel that lives by the driver's left knee.

I still haven't decided on how to mount radios in the truck. So I keep carrying hand-held radios which work fine but are annoying tumbling around in the cab or being out of reach in a pocket in a bag in the back seat.

I still need to decide on a topper for the truck. The siren song of flatbedding the truck and building a custom camper is strong...

 

[DouglasVB]

I did an oil change today at about 6000 miles since the last oil change. After the dust around Mono Lake and the dust around Clear Lake and dust elsewhere plus several hundred miles of 4x4ing, I figured it isn't the worst idea to change it early compared to what the manual recommends (10k oil changes). That oil change kit and fumoto valve I picked up a few months back makes it SO EASY. Including getting the truck up onto ramps, getting my tools out, and yada yada, it took under an hour going slowly. The most time consuming part was getting the access hatch off the skid plate to get to the oil filter.

I also installed a four hole 3D printed overhead switch panel in place of the existing two hole switch panel and the blank panel where the controls for a sunroof would normally go. I got the 3D print file from this site: https://cults3d.com/en/3d-model/gadget/3erd-gen-tacoma-2016-2023-overhead-switch-panel-4-slots/ My buddy printed it for me on a bambu x1c using paht-cf filament and support material. It was a bit finicky to get the support material dialed in especially around the tabs so they wouldn't break off when the support material was removed (hint: make some indents around the tabs in the support material).

Installing this does require dremeling the back side of the overhead console housing to accommodate more switches and remove the existing panels. I also had to glue it in place using some silicone caulking.

Here are a few photos of the 3D printed switch panel install process. I'm waiting for the glue to dry before reinstalling it in the truck.

You have to dremel out plastic on the back side to make room for more switches and to remove the blank plate on the right side and the center switch plate.

And here are a few pictures under my truck from the oil change. I've got more bash marks on the skid plates and it's a really good thing I have the A arm skid plates because one of them took a pretty good hit. It still scraped a bit of metal off of the sub-frame where the A arm attaches

 

[DouglasVB]

I'm leaning towards the SmartCap line of toppers for my truck. Either the Evo Defender (no windows - $3500 shipped before tax) or Evo Adventure (only front and rear windows - $4400 shipped plus $500 for security panels). A local buddy has the Defender and really likes it.

The optional side door kitchen accessory (gullwing bins with fold down kitchen setup) is interesting to my . Although the price ($2500) is a bit much for what it is.

I see people have trouble with the locks. But it looks like Smart Cap helps people out when they have problems.

I also see that at least one seller on Alibaba makes the exact same product (I'm guessing it's the factory these come from) for about 1/5th the price before tariff, shipping, and any other import fees.

Does anyone have recent experience buying a Smart Cap? Did you get it through a local dealer or via one of the online retailers that drop ships it?

 

[DouglasVB]

It's interesting seeing these imported modular truck caps starting to come down in price. This one is $2999 shipped with free crossbars for a short bed taco.

Expedition - Truck Cap W/Full Wing Doors, Front and Rear Windows & 3rd Brake Light

Find the perfect Truck Topper Camper Shell with Expedition - Truck Cap Full Wing Doors, Front & Rear Windows a 3rd brake light.

overlandvehiclesystems.com

There are one or two factories making these on Alibaba where before shipping and tariffs it's about $800-900 for a single unit (discounts for multiple units).

EDIT

https://razortop.com/shop/toyota/

Huh that's cool. It's both a tonneau cover and a canopy. I haven't seen anything like that before.

 

[DouglasVB]

Well I'm battling rats again. The rats have been dancing around in my engine bay and even partied inside the engine air intake box. I've got an ultrasonic noise maker and strobe light device under the hood, and the rats had a little hoedown on top of that.

It appears we've got roof rats. They're the most clever ones where we live. Many of the neighbors are now leaving their car hoods open at night. We've talked to neighbors who have tried every different kind of smelly product for under the hood with no success. I've got three different kinds of rat traps out with three different baits and I only catch maybe one a month while we are getting plenty of rats on our wildlife cameras. The rats are even using the wall around our bedroom patio as a catwalk to strut their stuff and sign their mating calls. It's getting a bit ridiculous.

I've got a bunch of red holiday lights under the engine bays of our vehicles in an attempt to discourage the rats from climbing up in there but I don't think that's a long-term answer. Some folks online suggested bright lights inside the engine bays as a solution although I think there are enough nooks and crannies that might be a losing battle, too.

These rats do not care about cats. We've got neighborhood cats that come around and we have on video the rats following the cats with impunity.

I can't park in a garage. I can't discharge firearms inside the city limits to plink the rats. My wife won't let me use a bucket trap for fear of catching the friendly and helpful neighborhood opossums (I accidentally got one of them in a snap trap this morning but he was amazingly okay after I removed the trap).

There is a major food source for the rats next door that I cannot get rid of. Our neighbors have backyard chickens and they are not good about rat prevention.

I was thinking of parking the vehicles on top of big tarps that I can wrap them in like people are now doing for marmots. But that'd probably not be great for the paint in the long run.

Evidently this is the worst year for rats on the Monterey Peninsula in living memory. We had a huge crop of acorns last year so I guess that's what really kicked off the boom.



Lots of tiny rat prints all over the engine bay etched in the alkali dust that I picked up from the dry lakebed around Mono Lake a few months back.

Rat footprints and rat pee inside the engine air intake box. At least they didn't chew through the filter.



Red lights under the vehicles to try and keep the rats from wanting to climb up in the dark, inviting engine bays.

 

[DouglasVB]

I really need to figure out a better solution for the front bumper and winch thimble/hook situation on my truck. The fairlead points down at an angle off the front of the bumper because the bumper is a dumb design. It's a Body Armor Hiline bumper. This makes either the thimble / hook or the fairlead the lowest part of the bumper.

I currently have a thimble from Harbor Freight on the end of the winch line to protect it from the sun. I previously had a hook which exposed the end of the winch line to the sun. I have been thinking about sucking the winch line back into the bumper and running it without anything but the fairlead would then be what contacts the rocks first.

I keep jamming the thimble onto rocks when there's a steep approach angle. If I didn't have the thimble, I'd be grinding the synthetic line or the fairlead.

If I had the equipment and expertise, I might cut up the bumper where the fairlead mounts to recess it and make it perpendicular to the ground. But I don't. Although perhaps I could learn. There is space behind the bumper and before the winch to do just that.

Or I could get a different bumper which I want to do anyway to give myself much better approach angles.

Anyway here are a few photos of my truck up on Bald Mountain outside of Shaver Lake, California. I took the easy way up from the Tamarack Ridge side because the truck does not have the approach and departure angles needed to make it up the route from the Dinkey Creek side (unlike my old truck ). This is more motivation to get my in order and get to building this truck.


View: https://www.instagram.com/p/DPaVXIyjuiA/

Edit:

Here is what I'm talking about

 

[allen.wrench]

I'm planning to buy a Backwoods Overland front bumper for several reasons including it's fairlead placement is more protected and perpendicular. Plus the winch is maybe as visible as on an ARB but it's lighter weight with an aluminum shell. That's my $0.02 planning if it helps.

At the same time modifying what you have might be totally doable. An alright welder that will definitely work is around $300-500 at Harbor Freight. Youtube has a lot of pro welders that have great content for beginners. The fairlead is a low load portion of a winch bumper. Also I'm happy to help if I can. In addition to all those reasons it being doable, you'd also have a chance to learn a new skill that can serve very well in the future.

Allen

 

[DaveInDenver]

The fairlead is a low load portion of a winch bumper.

Is it though in that pointed down orientation? Even a straight ahead pull is putting all the force on the top of the fairlead. Normally the winch line comes out in the middle the throat and in that case I would agree the fairlead is under no stress unless you pull way off center.

As an aside this fairlead orientation will also ask the winch line to always pull over the fairlead, which can't be good for the fibers either.

People dog on the ARB for being ugly and heavy but at least there's no question the winch is protected and supported, the fairlead is oriented right. And you're gonna distort your frame horns long before the bumper fails or pulls off the truck.

 

[Inukshuk]

@DouglasVB I am glad to see you calling out that dumb design!

 

[DouglasVB]

@DouglasVB I am glad to see you calling out that dumb design!

It's definitely an... Interesting design

It's great if you're going to the mall but not for much else.

 

[DouglasVB]

I went out with a friend over the weekend to the Clear Creek Management Area to check out New Idria and the Serpentine Area of Critical Environmental Concern in the Diablo Range out here in California. This is an area that individuals from the general public are only permitted to enter five times per calendar year. You can enter it at any time during the year but only five days total. This is because the whole region is composed of serpentine rock and soil which is emitting a fairly high natural and human-caused mercury flux and also there is naturally occurring short fiber asbestos at the surface that blows around as dust. One thing I read said all of the rocks are 5-15% asbestos by volume in this area. We had to sign some aggressive waivers about the level of danger we were facing entering the area to get the permits and gate combo codes to visit.

This area really reminds me of some of the mining districts in Colorado. The hills are mostly bare with zero life because the ground is naturally so toxic. The mining district (New Idria Mining District) mainly dealt in mercury from cinnabar and asbestos. Now the main activity is using two of the old asbestos mines as asbestos disposal sites. There are several superfund sites scattered about.
We specifically went AFTER the first major rain event of the fall so that the dust was mostly settled. We did encounter some blowing asbestos dust but followed the protocols that the BLM suggests which are: 1) keep the vehicle's air on recirculate, 2) don't open a window or door until the dust has fully settled, 3) don't go kicking up dust walking around. After I got back, I took the truck through a carwash and had the interior detailed to remove any lingering asbestos dust. I'll be keeping a close eye on potential pockets of dust when I do work under the truck in the future, too.

The truck performed wonderfully. I even had to use 4L and the rear locker a few times to get through some washouts. It would be nice to have a front locker, even lower range gearing, and bigger tires and suspension but even in the current stock form and with soon-to-need-replacement tires, we didn't have any issues.

I still need to ditch the big winch thimble. I did hit it a couple of times on steep approach angles.

Here are a few photos:


View: https://www.instagram.com/p/DQTNLOODvcA/

 

[DouglasVB]

tl;dr: What tires would y'all recommend I get?

I probably need to get a set of tires by Thanksgiving for my truck. The original tires from the factory are still on it (Goodyear Wranglers) and while I haven't hit 30k miles yet, the tread depth is getting a little low and three out of the four have slow leaks. We're also thinking about doing a bigger trip in December out to Death Valley and around, and I'd rather have a set of tires that isn't full of plugs and patches for the trip.

The truck is still all stock suspension and considering I've been working but not getting paid for the past month and with no end in sight to that situation, I think I'm planning to keep it that way for the next set of tires. That means getting a set of 265/70R16 tires.

It would be nice if I could get a mud and snow tire for winter driving or at least something that'll allow me to skip tire chains when we're in R1 chain restrictions in California.

The two big tire chains in my area are either Americas Tire (Discount Tire) or Costco. The closest Big O Tires is a bit over an hour away. The closest Les Scwhab Tire is about an hour in the other direction. There is a Walmart tire center in the area although I generally try to avoid having to go to that particular Walmart.

There are a bunch of independent tire shops in my area that sell various brands of tires but I've been served well to buy from big chains in the past when it came to getting a tire replaced for free while on a trip.

The spare on the truck has never been rotated into the mix as far as I'm aware. I plan to keep it as an unused spare so I only need four tires.

What is everybody running these days? Are there any great tires or any tires that I should be staying away from? I haven't had to buy new tires for a truck since I lived in Colorado almost ten years ago so I'm hella out of date on my tire knowledge.

 

[jps8460]

My opinion: Stick with a major brand that is available around the country.

My favorites these days are the ones that fit the terrain and are round and black. Personally, I’ve had great luck with Toyo, but it’s hard to get a bad tire these days as tire tech is so good with major brands.

 

[Inukshuk]

Based on the OE set having served you well, take a look at the Yokohama Geolander line. I have been thoroughly satisfied with the G015 A/T. It is a light duty AT that has a highway-like tread. And to @jps8460 point, they are round and black

 

[DouglasVB]

the OE set having served you well,

They've done well other than getting a somewhat significant gash in the tread that I had to patch with a number of bacon strips. I'm still not sure if I ran over a piece of metal or if it was just a sharp rock.

The OEM tires haven't done very well in the snow and ice though. Even when they only had ~5k miles on them, they did not have much traction in those conditions. But I only encounter that maybe 10-15 times a year so it's not a huge driver of tire choice beyond needing M+S rating for chain control.

My opinion: Stick with a major brand that is available around the country.

My favorites these days are the ones that fit the terrain and are round and black. Personally, I’ve had great luck with Toyo, but it’s hard to get a bad tire these days as tire tech is so good with major brands.

That's interesting that it's becoming less important exactly which tire someone gets. I remember when I shopped for tires for my old 4runner that I put some significant thought into the situation. I think I ended up with General Grabber X3 tires on that truck after much deliberation. They replaced a set of Wrangler M/T tires.

I like the Toyo Open Country A/T III. That seems to have some heft to it. I also am liking the Yokohama GEOLANDAR A/T4 although the sidewall lugs are smaller (not that I really need them at this point lol). They're about the same price. It looks like at least on Americas Tires the "rating" shays the Toyo tires are a bit better at stopping in the wet. Who knows how accurate any of that is though

Is America's/Discount Tire any better or worse than Big O Tire these days? It looks like both offer an add-on three year warranty to replace damaged tires. That's saved me more than once in the past.