Topic: BigMike's Big Journey: A 2016 Tacoma Build Thread

[BigMike]

Winter & Spring 2018 Trips

Feb 5-9: Drove the Tacoma for the first time on 40s + stock steering to the King Of The Hammers (Johnson Valley/SoCal) to feature it in our vendor booth
Apr 27: First test of prototype V1.0 MarRack at a local trail called "Cheapo Saddle"
May 1-8: Drove to east Texas for the Toyota Jamboree. Live! Trip Report: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/lone-star-toyota-jamboree-live-2018.547019/
May 14-21: Drove to Southern Utah and wheeled the Hole In The Rock trail as well as over to Moab for a few days
June 1: Went up to a local trail called Bald Mtn to take some awesome videos for product marketing
June 21: Returned to the Rubicon for my 3rd time north and 3rd time south through the trail. Triple Marlin Crawler + 40" tires + HD IFS steering worked flawlessly

[BigMike [OP]]

June 3, 2018: Installed LED interior, license plate, and backup lights

I don't have images for all of these but I installed LED dome and map lights, license plate, and reverse/back-up lights. The main priority was LED backup lights which I'll post about later.

The LEDs I went with are as follows:

SMD License plate (and I think also map lights? can't remember)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MAG6RMM/

SMD Dome Light
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0142WSPA8/

SMD Backup Lights
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01CRGU91Y/

Much better lighting all around. Will be posting pics on lighting later

[BigMike [OP]]

June 18, 2018: Update photo with my '81 Hilux

It had been a while since my two rigs were side-by-side so here come some pics.

The Hilux is on USA-made Marlin Crawler leafs and 37x12.50x15 IROKs on 66.0" WMS front and 64.0" WMS rear axle widths

Cab height compared to the '16 Taco on 40s is within an inch

[BigMike [OP]]

Mid June, 2018: RCV Prototype work

Around this time I was on my second replacement RCV boot which had also tore. As a result dirt had gotten into the CV and it had begun clicking. RCV promptly replaced the joint for FREE and also sent me some new prototype boot and CV designs that I was helping test for them. This is old news today, but they are working on some really neat updates that I'll be posting about soon!

[BigMike [OP]]

July 11, 2018: New Tailgate sticker and Subaru Tweeters

*Finally* did something I had been wanting to do ever since installing the Triples. Finally, these idiots in full-size American trucks can get it through their thick skulls that I am not competing with any of them.





After reading many recommendations on these, I finally pulled the trigger and upgraded my tweeters. It was a big improvement on maximum volume output; No longer am I constantly maxing the headunit out on low volume / poor quality podcasts!!

Genuine Subaru H631SFJ101 Tweeter Kit -- 100% direct plug'n'play upgrade
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PV6F8I2/ (price has increased $15 since)

[BigMike [OP]]

(Prelude) July 15, 2018: Driver Rear E-Brake Repair, Longer E-Brake Cables, Mounted CB Antenna

During the Rubithon, I pinched my driver rear e-brake cable between a rock and my leaf spring. I'll need to post these to my Trip & Trail Report thread, but figured I'd share some here. Pics incoming!

Climbing out of the new RTF Property







Dropping into Buck Island Campground



Dropping down the Big Sluice

[BigMike [OP]]

The famous Rubicon River Bridge



Southern entrance to the Springs Campground



Leaving Springs property in route back to Loon Lake



Back up the Big Sluice



Just after the Loon Lake Gatekeeper.... or what's left of it anyway

[BigMike [OP]]

And here is how the cable got pinched. It happened somewhere between the Little Sluice and Walker Hill.

Extra bummer because I had just done the above Driver Rear brake repairs only two months prior...





Tried everything I could and the emergency brake would not release. So out came the tin snips!

Sorry little buddy. Thank you for your many miles of service!

[BigMike [OP]]

July 15, 2018: Driver Rear E-Brake Repair, Longer E-Brake Cables, Mounted CB Antenna

So back at the shop I knew what needed to be done: LONGER CABLES!! With longer cables I can (1) route them up higher and out of harm's way, and (2) be prepared for a certain long overdue upcoming modification...

Obviously both cables needed to be replaced with longer Double Cab Longbed versions so I began tearing both sides down...



Here is the length comparison!

Toyota P/N for 3rd gen Long Bed cables. These were sourced from the VIN of a random 6cyl DCLB Longbed TRD Sport.
46420-04140 Passenger side
46430-04110 Driver side

and just in case anyone needs it, here are the P/N for my stock 2016 AC cables:
46420-04130 Passenger side
46430-04100 Driver side



Sorry I only have this image, so an approximate length improvement is ~ 9-1/2 inch. Very nice!

[BigMike [OP]]

July 15, 2018: Driver Rear E-Brake Repair, Longer E-Brake Cables, Mounted CB Antenna (continued)

So I go to remove the passenger side cable, and look at this crap!!!



GEEEEEEZ!! Both rear brakes are badly worn out! What the heck Toyota! This is only from half a year on 37s and then two yrs on 33s. It is true that I now have Dual E-Brake handles, but at this time I've only _just_ gotten those into operation; My e-brake woes began the year prior.

[BigMike [OP]]

July 15, 2018: Driver Rear E-Brake Repair, Longer E-Brake Cables, Mounted CB Antenna (continued)

I have never been a fan of rear drum brakes. What a joke!



As I recall some of these parts were not available individually from the dealer so I decided to make my own repairs.

Welded half a washer on to prevent the shoe from rocking over



And also welded up the back side of the large rivets in the same manner as I had done to the driver side two months prior



Additional notes: As discussed before I do not race this truck and try my best to predict light changes and conserve energy for lighter braking. I have yet to hammer on the brakes thus far with this "new" truck and have yet to need ABS. I am very careful and for the most part I drive it like a grandpa in the city; Just consider how I am making 19 and 20 MPG with this thing. I'm not making that mileage from flooring it all the time and slamming on the brakes. Really disappointed with these rear brakes...

Thank you factory cable, you won't be forgotten!

[BigMike [OP]]

July 15, 2018: Driver Rear E-Brake Repair, Longer E-Brake Cables, Mounted CB Antenna (continued)

Finally mounted an antenna for my CB!!

Parts I used as as follows:

Wilson 305-4FD Silver Load Series 4' CB Antenna Whip
I've ran this antenna on my Hilux for almost 15 yrs and love it so much I got one for the Taco
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005ALD33K/

Firestik Fire-flex Cable Assembly W/low-profile Fire-ring and Stud
Really, really cool low-profile CB cable
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EARXF06

FireStik K-1A Push-n-Twist quick disconnect
It took a few extra days for delivery and got it installed a few days later. Sorry don't have pics of it at the moment
I disconnect the antenna and store it neatly in the back of the Access Cab.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000UTQUAK/

CB Antenna Mirror Mount
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075TJ1DDJ/

Very simple install. I know the cab blocks the base of the antenna rendering this not the best location, but I installed it here because I wanted to match my Hilux







And to close the day out, a much needed full-service car wash

[BigMike [OP]]

Summer & Fall 2018 Trips
July 19: Imogene Pass, FJ Summit, Colorado Rockies, Live! Trip Report: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/fj-summit-xii-live-2018.559164/
July 20: Poughkeepsie Gulch, FJ Summit, Colorado Rockies
July 21: Black Bear Pass, FJ Summit, Colorado Rockies
Sept 12: 17th Annual Marlin Crawler Round-Up / Rubicon Trail

[BigMike [OP]]

August 7, 2018: Front Tube Bumper Pics

Haven't posted about the front bumper in a while so I took some extra pics of it for the thread. We are hoping to have them in production later this year!









Early in 2018 my wife and I began parking away from establishments in what we call living as "Hong Kong Citizens"

Has been providing interesting picture opportunities with the Taco

[BigMike [OP]]

August 10, 2018: Work pictures with both my 1981 and my dad's 1980, aka "The Crawler Truck"!

We recently expanded another 3,000 sq ft and have been busy moving equipment and vehicles around. Was awesome to get these guys parked together again!

Both 1st gens are running the same 37 x 12.50 x 15 IROKs. The Crawler truck still has factory-style F&R axles for that awesome classic look

Click here for larger version



Click here for larger version

[BigMike [OP]]

November 27, 2018: Created an Instagram Page for the Tacoma!

This was when I finally created an Instagram account for the Tacoma. It has been slowly growing now to 3,900 followers. It's been tough keeping it updated; I'll resume posting there as I'm doing here as well!

@SlowestTacoma -- https://www.instagram.com/slowesttacoma/

[BigMike [OP]]

November 30, 2018: SlowestTacoma turned 30k!

Nice milestone! At this point I had...

21,018 miles on the Marlin Crawler Dual Ultimate / TacoBox Supreme setup (installed at 8,982 miles)
14,606 miles on the 40" tires (installed at 15,394 miles)
and
12,817 miles on both the Triple Ultimate Marlin Crawler T/Case setup & MarRack prototype (both installed at 17,183 miles)

Note on the MPG: My normal daily city driving with 40s is usually in the 16.x MPG range but it had been slowly dropping to the low 15s and high 14s. More on this soon!

[BigMike [OP]]

2018 Wrap-up

And that was it for 2018! The truck was LARGELY neglected from August 2018 through March 2019 while I was designing and building  #RCLT. Muuuuuch more on this soon!

Here come some misc 2018 pics from around town!

Another white 3rd gen!



Love this pic with my MR2





This is CruzrDave's 80-series Lexus LX450

What.... has.... happened??!! The 80-seires Land Cruiser used to be a humongous BOAT of a vehicle and now the "mid-size" Tacoma is even larger!! WOW TOYOTA PLS STOP





Love messing with different views of both forward facing cameras while in the car wash

[BigMike [OP]]

2018 Wrap-up (continued)







I found this desert race build 2nd gen backed-in at a local grocery store and immediately had to park next to him. Then when I came out, the owner had MOVED his Tacoma one row over and re-parked it. Whaaaaaat?? lol Dang so sorry

[BigMike [OP]]

2018 Wrap-up (continued)

In the early summer my neighbor enjoyed seeing my 3rd gen so much THAT HE WENT OUT AND BOUGHT ONE!!! TOO COOL!!!!

Hello from one TRD Sport to another!

[BigMike [OP]]

2018 Wrap-up (continued)



Gotta keep her clean!





California wildfires :'(

[BigMike [OP]]

2018 Wrap-up (continued)







At our Round-Up event while heading up Cadillac Hill in the dark I hit a rock so hard on my front-right that it whipped the wheel outta my hands, brought me to a stop, and killed the engine. It also caused the lower cam bolts to lose their adjustment. Like an idiot however, I continued to drive the truck for 3 or 4 months until I realized I was badly wearing the inner tread of both front tires so I finally took her in for an alignment.

It was a very, very long fall and winter let me tell you.



Pretty fall colors!



Spotted!

[BigMike [OP]]

2018 Wrap-up (continued)

And last but not least a Trail Sign Update to close out 2018!

[79coyotefrg]

BigMike, I am wondering how hard it would be to flip the backing plates of your ebrake so the cable comes out on top.  rotate 180 * and flip sides

[arlindsay1992]

That would put the hard line going into the wheel cylinder right at the bottom in a vulnerable location. I'd rather lose parking brakes than a service brake.

[Hilux_Max]

BigMike, I am wondering how hard it would be to flip the backing plates of your ebrake so the cable comes out on top.  rotate 180 * and flip sides

He would be better off fitting a rear disc brake conversion.

There is a company that does em here in Australia for the Hilux...not cheap thou. Or look at bringing in a Fortuner (Hilux Wagon basically) factory rear disc setup and making it fit. Both run the same diff as the Tacoma does.

[BigMike [OP]]

Winter/Spring 2019: An Overview

If I may speak freely for a moment, before our Round-Up I had torn both CV boots (again) back in Aug/Sept, at a time when I was originally planning to install the first prototype Rock Crawling Long Travel IFS kit (RCLT) to my Tacoma. I told people it would be on the truck for the Round-Up, which came and passed, with more plans and scheduling going to sh*t among a really long and messed up fall/winter. Many plans were shifted around on a number of projects. I've had my share of things to be upset about over the last 8 or 9 months, including re-tearing the meniscus in my left knee while finishing up the RCLT KOH project 4Runner... During all of this I've let the Tacoma run itself into the ground.

After getting the first Prototype RCLT HD done on January 3rd, I took a two week break and then began on V2 Prototype.

I know many are asking for RCLT and MarRack updates. These things take time and we've only produced one article; It will be longer until we start on pricing. It feels like V1 Prototype MarRack has been on my Tacoma for many years but in reality it was only finished two months before starting on RCLT. I've been working extremely hard on everything plus I have a company to run. Here is an updated project summary:

Prototype MarRack & RCLT Updates
Spring 2018: The MarRack is born & V1 Prototype installed to my Tacoma
Spring 2018: RCLT is born
Nov 27, 2018: Work on V2 Prototype MarRack begins!!
Dec 25, 2018: V2 Prototype MarRack design is finished on Christmas Day
Dec 27, 2018: V2 Prototype MarRack installation on KOH 4R is finished!
Jan 01, 2019: V1 Prototype RCLT HD installation begins on New Years Day
Jan 03, 2019: V1 Prototype RCLT HD installation on KOH 4R is finished!
Jan 16, 2019: Work on V2 Prototype RCLT HD begins!!
Feb 06, 2019: V1 Prototype RCLT HD + V2 Prototype MarRack competes in the King Of The Hammers. It was the only Toyota-based IFS system in all of KOH!!
Feb 21, 2019: V2 Prototype RCLT HD reaches Feature Lock with more than 100 (mostly small) improvements over V1
Mar 07, 2019: V2 Prototype RCLT HD starts pre-production!!!

The first big event of 2019 for us is the King Of The Hammers, which came and passed. SlowestTacoma did not attend. Continuing forward I've missed Black Tie & Boots, CAL4WD Convention, CAL4WD-sponsored Kingsburg Snow Run, TLCA-sponsored Mud'N'Yer Eye Frolic, and the Texas Toyota Jamboree. Not having my typical fall/winter to work on the truck really pushed things back, and this is probably a good time to re-group and go over whats been done thus far.

I've loosely mentioned "Stages" over the duration of this thread and while dates/info mentioned in the past might not line up with this, after going over my notes this is how I Officially view the build process as of April 28 last year:

Click here for a larger view



In a Facebook comment I compared the above Stages to the percent value I've been envisioning the truck being completed to as follows:

Stage I - Completed May 2, 2017 (estimated goal progress: 25%)
Stage II - Completed Sept 12, 2017 (est. goal progress: 35%)
Stage III - Completed April 29, 2018 (est. goal progress: 65%)
Stage IV - Hoping to be done by MCR18!! (est. goal progress: 95%)

STAGE IV HAS OFFICIALLY BEGUN!!

I am expecting Stage IV will take me deep into August to complete. I am encouraged that this winter/spring will be the last big push to get this truck up to par for my wheel'n and marketing needs.

So after having submitted my 2nd Prototype RCLT HD design, the waiting game had begun and I began attacking some basic tasks with the Taco

[BigMike [OP]]

March 14, 2019: Changed engine air filter

While waiting for my new V2 RCLT HD parts to begin trickling in, I began attacking basic things with the truck.

Sometime late fall 2018 I began noticing MPGs drop so I looked at my air filter and IT WAS A FREAK'N MESS. I have no clue when I last changed it.... in fact..... it's very much possible.... that this is my original air filter!!! I cannot find in my notes when I first changed my engine filter and that much is obvious from the following...

I simply placed the old filter atop my tire a ton of debris fell out. Poooor... pooooooooooooooooooooor 2GR :'(



No excuse for how much I've been neglecting this awesome beast of a machine!! >_< I will discuss more about this after a few posts.



Then, knowing if one is filthy I'd better change the other, I proceeded to replace the interior cabin filter... and you can guess what's coming I've yet to replace the cabin filter also. Another original filter from the San Antonio assembly line. Man oh man...



Just because this truck has turned into what I call "The Beast, Junior" doesn't mean sacrifices aren't being made. It's a process of give-and-take and I am looking forward to finally addressing many little things this year.

[BigMike [OP]]

March 16, 2019: Pressure washed SlowestTacoma

At this time I was pretty pissed at myself. Both CV boots were ripped and had slung grease all over the dang place. Everything was a mess. Spent over an hour just cleaning... Felt good to do this!

[BigMike [OP]]

March 19, 2019: New Headlights

I never liked how my nice LED Fog/Flood lights contrasted with the warmer temperature stock headlights, and not wanting to do anything crazy, I upgraded the H11 bulbs.

For me it was a toss-up between Sylvania Ultra & Philips X-tremeVision, and I went with the cheaper option

Philips H11 X-tremeVision
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00U1OIESK/

Left: X-tremeVision, Right: Stock 2016 Tacoma TRD Sport



It was incredibly difficult to get a comparison photo with a camera that has auto focus so here is only just the aftermath photo. It is only just slightly cooler in color temperature but overall I am pleased



Not expecting either sock to get knocked off, I was happy to find an increase of 30 lux as registered by my iPhone resting on the wall untouched between bulb swap. Happy with the $20 results