Finally got a Taco | Camper, Roadtripper

[Meclizine]

Hey, folks. I finally grabbed a 2018 DCLB OR this week and I'm really happy with it. I have many plans but fewer dollars so it'll be a while before this thing is where I want it, but this is a great start and I'll have plenty of fun along the way.

Cheers.

 

[Butch]

Welcome to Tacoville

 

[B-Man]

Welcome and congrats on the Taco!

 

[Biohazard]

welcome to the tacoma club. Enjoy the journey...and save your money.

 

[Dirtboy2009]

Welcome to the family. Looking forward to you making it your own.

 

[Meclizine]

Thanks for the warm welcome, folks! I'll be updating this thread as I modify my new steed. This site has been invaluable to me getting ready for this awesome truck and I really appreciate all the insight and experience you all share here.

What I want to build is a truck I can sleep in the back of (in bad weather if need be) after getting up a sketchy Forest Service road at the end of a road trip. I'm not planning to rock crawl or ford any rivers. I like to do dispersed camping on public land and have only had sedans at my disposal in my adult life until now. Fortunately I've had experience driving trucks for work and when I was growing up so I'm not starting from scratch there.

I'm an entomologist by hobby and training so driving into the middle of nowhere, relaxing, talking to whoever came with me, and getting my hands dirty looking for bugs is kind of the whole point of this.

Stuff on order right now (I'm starting small):
New tweeters
Bed vinyl (classic yellow/orange/red stripes)
Front interior vinyl (blackout kit, I don't like the chrome)
Power tailgate lock (security and convenience! But mostly because that little key is really awkward to use)
Anti-theft tailgate hinge bracket
Brighter interior lights


What I did this week:
Debadged the exterior chrome emblems
Added washers and Loctite to the tailgate cable bolts
Moved my copilots Terry the Tardigrade and Shimmy Duck out of the shitbucket this truck is replacing


What I need to look into:
Dashcam
Somewhere to "exercise" the 4x4 features near Sacramento, CA that isn't on fire right now
Pin down exactly which bed cap manufacturers make mid or high rise caps for 3rd gen long bed


What I'm on the fence about:
My next set of tires (better ATs in stock size, or go ~235/85 even though they're E rated?)
If it needs armor (likely just skidplates, if anything)



What I'm planning next:
Exact configuration of bed drawer, sleeping platform, and auxiliary stuff (on-board air? dual batteries? replace some rear seating with a fridge?)

 

[Bird dog]

Welcome aboard.

 

[Bird dog]

Enjoy what you have before you get in a hurry to change everything.

 

[Taco Loco]

Nice ride and welcome aboard the Taco train!

Great copilots - I'm sure there must be a story behind them!

Seems like a pretty well-thought out mods list. Also, I'm very intrigued by your back-seat-fridge idea.... you'll definitely need to post here if/when you come up with an install design.

Have you thought about comms (CB, ham, PTT, etc.) since it seems you'll be pretty remote?

 

[Meclizine]

Enjoy what you have before you get in a hurry to change everything.

Yes, I definitely need to take it slow and get used to the truck as it is! I have a bad habit of wanting to modify stuff right off the bat and that can get me in trouble. So no big changes for a while. That will also be a lot easier on my bank account. I just want to make it a bit more secure and easier to pick out in the parking lot.

Nice ride and welcome aboard the Taco train!

Great copilots - I'm sure there must be a story behind them!

Seems like a pretty well-thought out mods list. Also, I'm very intrigued by your back-seat-fridge idea.... you'll definitely need to post here if/when you come up with an install design.

Have you thought about comms (CB, ham, PTT, etc.) since it seems you'll be pretty remote?

Yeah, I should think about comms. I had a Garmin inReach Mini for work some time back and it seemed like a solid device, but for convenient two-way conversations it's not the best. More of a "I broke my leg and can't reach help" kind of thing, but I may get one since they only need satellites to work and they can send texts. I need to look into CB vs. HAM for this since I don't understand the differences yet, but it sounds like a good idea to have a radio of some kind.


In other news I did some light wheelin' in Black Springs OHV area in California. I had a blast, scouted some new camping areas, and put the truck through its paces. I think I scraped a lower control arm a little but otherwise it handled everything perfectly. There were a few spots I was afraid it'd bottom out but it never did. That was my biggest worry with the "long" bed. I like the ACSB wheelbase, but I prefer the DCLB storage. We will see once it has a cap and sleeping setup over the rear axle, but for now the suspension is a champ the way it is. It was a very rocky road, enough to make me stop and toss some choice rocks to the side before driving through. This made me really want the E rated tires, but maybe I'm just being paranoid.

I'll be googling and searching this forum specifically for help with some of this, but I welcome all advice!

Cheers.

 

[Tacomadad18]

Hello and welcome to Tacoma3g!

congrats on the truck!

 

[406Camper]

Congrats and welcome. I'm also on the fence about tires, but have some time to replace them before spring. Traditional 33's or pizza cutters?

 

[DavidLReid]

Hello and welcome from SW Missouri.

 

[TCOTUE]

Welcome!

 

[Meclizine]

I did the tweeter upgrade today and it made a big difference.

 

[Biohazard]

I did the tweeter upgrade today and it made a big difference.

Nice. Details? Link? Need to upgrade my sound system a bit too.

 

[Meclizine]

Nice. Details? Link? Need to upgrade my sound system a bit too.

I used Subaru's upgraded tweeters since they bolt and plug in just fine, for some reason. The door speakers aren't nearly as bad as the stock tweeters, but I may replace those too at some point. But they're a low priority.

Installation was as simple as unbolting the pillar covers, prying up the tweeter covers, and swapping them.




This morning I picked up a cheap aluminum cap that will make for the perfect camper! It will need windows and insulation but working on it will be half the fun. The color isn't a perfect match but it's close enough. It's off the truck already since it's cumbersome without windows and I plan on off-roading tomorrow.

 

[bonifacio]

Nice. Details? Link? Need to upgrade my sound system a bit too.

Have the JBL's? If you do this won't work for your truck.

 

[Biohazard]

Have the JBL's? If you do this won't work for your truck.

Yes, have the JBL system

 

[bonifacio]

Yes, have the JBL system

The connectors don't match up with the JBL Tweeters. Better off to unplug the tweeter and cut off the connector.
Just grab a 3.5" speaker over a tweeter.

 

[Meclizine]

The connectors don't match up with the JBL Tweeters. Better off to unplug the tweeter and cut off the connector.
Just grab a 3.5" speaker over a tweeter.

Thanks for jumping in, I didn't know it wouldn't work with the JBL systems.

 

[bonifacio]

Thanks for jumping in, I didn't know it wouldn't work with the JBL systems.

Ah. Sorry. I misread. I thought you also had the JBL and was thinking about the Kicker Tweeters.

 

[Meclizine]

Not too much going on lately but I finally painted the cat guard with some BBQ paint. One can managed to put two coats on both sides so I'm happy. I'm also rocking a mudhorn patch I found on Etsy. That's the only chrome I want in the interior. At some point I'll get to the various trim rings but that sounds like a PITA, especially the vent rings.

I went to an RV salvage yard and got some windows for my camper. I still need a few more but I'll take what I can get. Front, rear, two sides, and a cool triangular one I'm going to try as a skylight. I also bought a cut-to-size sheet of black marine ABS for a tailgate cover (~$60). I really don't like the heavily ribbed stock cover for camping. It's uncomfortable to kneel on and cups don't stand up. But I also don't want to shell out the big bucks for a third party option. I'd rather do it myself!

 

[Meclizine]

I'm also looking at this and wondering how many MPG it's costing. Appropriately enough the only picture I have of the front of it on the truck is at a gas station...

That's the internal structure so there is support. I'm trying to figure out if I can attach a fairing there, and if so what my options are. This seems like a custom job but I don't have the experience or tools for that.

 

[Meclizine]

 

[Lava road]

Congrats on your long bed, I have a 2019 TRD off road, ..LB

One of my first MODS, I install a Leer camper, high back, , I do a lot of over night fishing trips,I usually sleep outside under my tarp set up 10x20, on a cot… nice thing is everything can be lock up, rain protected, and still able to sleep in the camper, if it gets too rainy and cold…
Please consider getting a gas tank skid plate…due to length of the truck? And rock sliders…?
Aloha,

 

[Meclizine]

Congrats on your long bed, I have a 2019 TRD off road, ..LB

One of my first MODS, I install a Leer camper, high back, , I do a lot of over night fishing trips,I usually sleep outside under my tarp set up 10x20, on a cot… nice thing is everything can be lock up, rain protected, and still able to sleep in the camper, if it gets too rainy and cold…
Please consider getting a gas tank skid plate…due to length of the truck? And rock sliders…?
Aloha,

A tank skid would be a good idea with this. I'm hesitant to armor this thing up much beyond that because of the suspension upgrades that would entail, though. But I'll probably end up doing that eventually. I was originally looking for a high rise fiberglass cap but this aluminum commercial one was a great deal, and I get to do a bunch more DIY, which is half the fun!


I wired my front dashcam to the 12 pin rearview plug. If I remember correctly, from left to right: ground, always hot (12v), and ignition switched. Good for powering the camera for parking mode.

 

[Meclizine]

A few minor things.

I got Tacomods' radio knobs and I can't be happier. I really hate those tiny stock knobs. I also wired up the rear camera for my dashcam system (sorry, no picture). Then I crawled around underneath looking for a place to mount my tank. One promising spot is underneath the bed, but I need to take the last section of exhaust off, and I couldn't get those bolts loose. I also need to drop it to chop that last few feet off (red line in picture), but maybe I'll have a muffler shop do it when I get around to having one reroute the exhaust.

Oh! I saw SOS having a sale so I splurged on a gas tank skid. The stock flimsy cafeteria tray they call a guard does not inspire confidence, and I really don't want to punch a hole in my fuel tank in the middle of nowhere. The wait will likely be around 4 months so I better start acting patient now and get used to it.

Next goal is to replace the tailgate panel with flat plastic. Just need to borrow a jigsaw and have good weather.

 

[bonifacio]

I wired my front dashcam to the 12 pin rearview plug. If I remember correctly, from left to right: ground, always hot (12v), and ignition switched. Good for powering the camera for parking mode.

Did you just split into the wire that was plugged into the rear view?

 

[Meclizine]

Did you just split into the wire that was plugged into the rear view?

I used three of these. Since my dashcam (Q800PRO from Thinkware) runs on 12v I don't need a USB port or anything that makes 5v. Still, it ended up being a little bit of an electrical tape hack job. But it's tucked up behind the rearview so I don't see it. I considered tapping into the harness above the headliner and behind the crawl control/sunglass holder/whatever you truck has there to avoid having the mess behind the mirror, but it was too much of a PITA.

The dashcam has been working great so apparently I did a decent job!