Daily Driver/hunting/exploring build

[Sonoran_Tj]

I'm new to Tacomas but grew up around Toyotas, I was brought home from the hospital as a baby in a first gen 4Runner. My first vehicle was a Jeep Wrangler, my last vehicle before the Tacoma was a Subaru WRX. This week I bought a 2020 TRD Offroad with a manual transmission.

This truck is primarily my daily driver, but I got it so I could get off paved roads to get to hunting and camping spots. The mods I have planned are fairly mild in order to keep light and fuel efficient and able to get me out into some remote areas.

Right off I've ordered RCI sliders with the step plate. I have an Australian Cattle dog so I wanted to get the step plate to help him up into the truck.

After the sliders I'm going to focus on electrical accessories. I've ordered a Kenwood TM-D710G with a diamond NR770 and a CBI antenna mount to put it on. I also ordered the yotamafia rock light kit as I used the heck out of the rock lights on my Jeep, and I liked that this kit can be easily wired into the unlock function on the key. I ordered a power tray and blue sea fuze box for these and future electrical accessories to route through.

Next up will be an IR/Visible light bar. I'm moving to hog hunting country soon and there's nothing cooler than driving with night vision so an IR light bar is a must. I'm going to put it behind the grille on a CBI mount. I'm also going to put in an on board air compressor for filling tires.

That's what I have planned so far. I'm excited to be in a 4x4 again. I'll post up some before pictures this weekend.

 

[Tacomadad18]

Hello and welcome to Tacoma3g! Congrats on your new truck!

 

[Jay]

Hog hunting rig sounds so sweet

 

[Sonoran_Tj]

I got the power tray and rock lights in the mail today. Couldn't wait for daylight so I installed them tonight. The power tray is the older horizontal mount for a switch-pros system. I'm not using a switch-pros but I picked this tray because it was pre-drilled for the blue sea fuze box and this tray is compatible with power tray's relocation bracket for the clutch fluid reservoir.

The rock lights are the Yotamafia kit with six lights. They light up the wheel wells and centers of the vehicle really well but are a bit lacking under the front bumper. The install was fairly straight forward and the wiring was easy to plug together. I am going to get a switch for the dash to allow overriding the bed lights but for now they're switched together.

Next up is the amateur radio, which should be getting delivered in the next few days.

 

[Sonoran_Tj]

Did a partial install of my radio today. I spent most of Saturday researching and fit testing to make sure I was happy with where everything was going to be put, then ordered a Track Mount from Expedition Essentials to mount the faceplate. I'm going to fab a bracket to attach the faceplate to a Ram ball on the track mount. I'm still waiting on the CBI antenna mount to get delivered so the antenna isn't on yet either, I just ziptied the coax end to the air box to keep it secure.

The body of the radio is ziptied to the bottom of the passenger seat. I ran all the cabling under the inboard rail of the seat to keep it from getting hung up in the rails as the seat is adjusted. The power cable, faceplate cable, and coax are all pushed into the molding of the center console and come out at the front of the footwell.

The power and coax are run through the A/C drain grommet into the engine bay. From there the coax will come up the passenger side and out between the hood and the windshield. I lengthened the power cable and covered it in wire loom in the engine bay. It is routed along the wiring harness that traces the hood line at the top of the firewall back to the power tray for power. The faceplate cable is hanging loose in the footwell for now until I have the track mount installed.

I bought a small Icom external speaker that fits nicely in the rear cup holders. I think this might be a good enough solution but if its not I have plenty of cable on it to move it somewhere else.

I routed the hand mic under the inboard seat rail as well. The hand mic itself fits well in the pocket of the cup holder. I'll try this spot out for a bit before committing to a hand mic mount. For lower profile storage there is a slot in the center console for charging cables that cradles the mic cable to hide the hand mic in the console.

I tested the whole setup with the antenna loose, sticking out of the side of the engine bay. On medium power I hit a repeater/echolink node about 20 miles from my house. I had a friend listen in via echolink to verify I was coming through. In the next week or two I should be able to have the radio fully operational.

 

[Jay]

i wanted to put my speaker in the cup holder but my wife said what if we have kids.

 

[Sonoran_Tj]

I got my antenna mounted today. I had a small hiccup yesterday when the CBI antenna mount arrived; it was drilled with a 1/2" hole for a CB antenna post. I'm using a UHF mount for a 2m/70cm antenna which needs a 5/8" hole. A trip to the store this morning to get a 5/8" drill bit and its opened right up. The mount bolted up easily and I cable tied the coax in place. The antenna screwed right in and everything was ready to go.

I went with a Diamond NR770 antenna because it was well reviewed for offroad use. It is just tall enough that it hits my garage door but the antenna folds down without tools which is easy enough to do before pulling into my garage.

 

[Sonoran_Tj]

I got the track mount from Expedition Essentials installed tonight. I drilled an extra hole in the dash piece to run the faceplate cable through.

I was originally going to use the ram mount ball to mount the faceplate, but I have a better idea. I ordered some t-nuts that fit in the track and I'm going to try to mount the Kenwood faceplate mount directly to those. I think it'll keep the faceplate a little more low-profile compared to the ball mount.

 

[Sonoran_Tj]

I got the faceplate mounted today. Ordered some T-nuts from Yakattack that were supposed to fit in the Ram track. There were poorly made and required some straightening from a vice and a hammer to fit properly. I put some rubber washers between the mount and Ram track to get some height and to hopefully dampen any vibrations. I also had to shave down the bolt head with a dremel to get the radio to clip into its mount. Its sturdy how it stands and I can take the faceplate off quickly. There should be room for a phone mount still too.

 

[Sonoran_Tj]

Small update today. I wasn't happy with the radio faceplate mounted directly to the track mount, I wanted it to articulate. I bought this swivel mount from RAM, cut down the swivel plate and epoxied it to the Kenwood bracket. I'm much happier with this solution.

I also got the RAM phone mount up there for a full suite on the dash. The picture below is misleading, the phone and radio sit below my sight line over the hood.

 

[Sonoran_Tj]

Installed lights this week. I wanted IR lights and white lights installed behind the grill for a low profile look. I used a CBI offroad light bar mount. The lights are Baja Designs Squadron Pros with driving/combo lenses, 2x white light and 2x 940nm infrared. The switches are by CH4x4 and put in blanks on the center dash.

To get to the switch locations I had to remove the head unit surround and the molding around the gauge cluster, then I could pop out the HVAC switch panel and rotate it out of the way. The switches below that were accessible from above. I fed the switch wire in through the unused hole in the firewall next to the brake booster and ran them under the steering wheel.

 

[Sonoran_Tj]

Found a nice dark dirt road to test the IR lights.

First pic is the OEM LED headlights on high beam.

Next is total black out. The road is visible but not super clear, I could drive maybe 5-10 mph like this safely.

Last is with the IR lights on. Much clearer picture, I would not hesitate to drive fast with this lighting.

 

[Sonoran_Tj]

I installed the wiring harness for the Baja Designs white lights and received my RCI sliders this week. I primed them yesterday and coated them in Rustoleum bed liner. After it cures I'll bolt them up.

 

[Sonoran_Tj]

I installed my RCI rock sliders with steps this week. I also got the compressor in, I went with the Cali Raised OEM-fit compressor. I liked that the kit was pretty much plug and play and the compressor installs out of the way. I'm hoping to install it today.

 

[Sonoran_Tj]

I've been meaning to update this for a while, I installed the compressor a week ago and have been working on assembling a bed rack for a few weeks.

Here's the compressor. It eats up most of the under-seat storage but I think that was worth the trade off. It looks really clean once installed. The hose provided has an inline gauge and is two headed so I can air up two tires at once.

 

[Sonoran_Tj]

Now for the bedrack. I wanted to make use of the space above the bed and keep the tonneau. I don't like the concept of a roof top tent because I'll typically set up camp and then go out driving around the area. Instead I went with a cargo basket that can hold water cans, luggage, gun cases, or whatever else. I added a third top bar and mounted a jerry can holder for more secure fuel storage and a fire extinguisher. I made sure to put the fire extinguisher on the driver's side for quicker access, this also puts the jerry can on the same side of the truck as the gas tank on the truck.

The rack is a 10" KB Voodoo/Max-Modular aluminum taco-max rack with tonneau brackets and a third top bar
The Jerry can mount is an eezi-awn K9 jerry can mount bought from Equipt Expedition outfitters
The fuel can is a NATO spec jerry can made by GELG
The fire exinguisher is a Kidde 210 4lb fire extinguisher in a Kidde bracket

 

[Jetspeed]

Found a nice dark dirt road to test the IR lights.

First pic is the OEM LED headlights on high beam.

Next is total black out. The road is visible but not super clear, I could drive maybe 5-10 mph like this safely.

Last is with the IR lights on. Much clearer picture, I would not hesitate to drive fast with this lighting.

Curious how this IR system works both functionally and in application? How did you install?

 

[saboltoothtiger]

How do you like the onboard air from Cali Raised? I've been on the fence between that and an ARB.

 

[Sonoran_Tj]

Curious how this IR system works both functionally and in application? How did you install?

The IR lights are awesome. If you look above in this thread you can see the IR light pods mounted on the same behind the grill mount as the visible lights. I wired the switch in to one of the blank plates in the dash for an OEM looking install.

In function they are great. I've done a decent amount of driving around in HMMWV's under NODs and if there is no natural illum its hard to see and slow going. With these, even on a moonless night I can see further than I could with regular headlights. Cruising around at 50+ mph on a dirt road in total blackout is an awesome time.

How do you like the onboard air from Cali Raised? I've been on the fence between that and an ARB.

I like it well enough. It doesn't put out as much air as an ARB setup, so it won't work for running air tools or an air locker. For airing up my tires and occasionally filling up a bike tire or a ball or whatever it works great. The install was easy and it looks great, completely hidden too.


I haven't been around much, got busy with the move and work. I've been messing around with APRS and I've got a project getting added to the dashboard RAM track next week. It should be pretty cool.

 

[midnight20pro]

Just discovered this build and love it! I'm always always always tempted to get a set of IR lights on the vehicle somewhere. I have a less than 0 need for them but holy crap is it cool in use. Love the way you set your truck up! Way cool, congrats. Good luck on the hunt!

 

[Oc Taco Charlie Beach Bum]

I've been meaning to update this for a while, I installed the compressor a week ago and have been working on assembling a bed rack for a few weeks.

Here's the compressor. It eats up most of the under-seat storage but I think that was worth the trade off. It looks really clean once installed. The hose provided has an inline gauge and is two headed so I can air up two tires at once.

I've been meaning to update this for a while, I installed the compressor a week ago and have been working on assembling a bed rack for a few weeks.

Here's the compressor. It eats up most of the under-seat storage but I think that was worth the trade off. It looks really clean once installed. The hose provided has an inline gauge and is two headed so I can air up two tires at once.

which is the model, and cost??

 

[Sonoran_Tj]

A small addition today, it took over a week to get all the pieces together due to delays in UPS shipping.

I've been messing around with APRS for a while now and figured out how to get a visual display of APRS transmitter locations on a phone. I'm using Backcountry Navigator Pro along with APRSdroid on my Samsung galaxy S9 for the display. The Kenwood is doing all the work with GPS location and receiving and transmitting packets. The radio outputs any packets it receives in NMEA format through the COM port on the back of the faceplate. The cable is an RT systems USB-K5G programming cable which converts the COM port to USB, plus a USB-A to USB-C adapter to fit it to the phone. APRSdroid receives the NMEA packets from the radio and then BCN Pro has a function to display those packets on whichever map I have uploaded. All of this works without a cell phone signal, so I can be in the backcountry and use the phone as a GPS and topo map (or satellite imagery) display with an overlay showing any APRS stations I'm in contact with.

I put the S9 in a Juggernaut case and used a Juggernaut wireless charging mount attached to my track mount with a RAM mount and arm. The wireless charging mount is great because the USB port is being used for receiving data so the phone can't be charged by cable.

By using a second phone for the APRS display I can use my regular phone for Android Auto for music, phone calls, and google maps when available. In all I have my regular phone, my Kenwood faceplate, and GPS/APRS dedicated phone on the track mount now.