Atl-Atl's 2018 Tacoma TRD Off-Road Access Cab "documentation" thread!

[s.e.charles]

I have no idea. I went there on a weekday in the winter when 90% of the place was under water. There were people doing all sorts of "questionable" things. My donut wouldnt even have been on the police's radar if they were around.

well, as long as y'all were Treadin' Lightly and stuff ...

 

[Atl-atl]

Broke in the rig this afternoon. It was nice to hit some rough dirt roads. First time turning off traction control, airing down the tires and seeing how the truck acts. Didnt use 4WD yet, mostly 20-40mph dirt road blasting. I drove out to Sheeps Bridge (north of Scottsdale AZ, about 30 miles of dirt road one way, along the Verde River) during Golden Hour. Making iPhone 6 photos look good since 2014. Saw my first Roadrunner and Tarantula in the wild too! Sorry no pics of those.

 

[Atl-atl]

Well Ive been trying to figure out what to do for a cover over my bed without spending $1000 on a retrax tonneau. I want to be able to wash the truck and not get water inside the bed. I also hope to seal it off, for the most part, from dust when offroad. Lastly I wanted some semblance of security which this one actually offers. There is a local truck accessory shop advertising $250 tonneau covers so I went to check them out. The guys were cool and wound up selling me this one for $220. Its a Stampede which is actually made by Lund so its pretty decent quality, especially for the price. After looking at ten different styles of tonneaus, how they mount, how much they cost etc. in the showroom, this one seemed like it will do the job best. Obviously its material you could just cut with a knife but it covers everything and without destroying it, you cant open it when the tailgate is closed.

Its a trifold, which I cant fold because of my bedrails, but I can at least tilt up the rear most panel if I need to. I was hoping for a velcro rollup type tonneau but apparently they all mount using the factory rails where the voodoo rails mount so they would not be compatible.

It uses these billet pieces that slide into the rails. They are actually pretty cool and could definitely be modified for different use in the future. Im slightly concerned about some of the plastic pieces that are under constant stress but I guess we'll see. Installation only takes a few minutes. The whole tonneau is assembled in the box. Just slide the billet mounts into the rails, adjust the clamps and clamp it in place. Simple design, I like it.

It seals quite well against the voodoo rail uprights.

The way its constructed has me thinking about getting some thin sheet metal and screwing it to the underside of the rectangular support bars. This way it would actually be secure even if someone tried to cut through the tonneau material.

It has almost an identical curve to my wooden platform which is cool. So Ive got about 9" of dry storage underneath the tonneau for things like folding chairs, misc. camp gear, fishing gear, bike gear etc.

Lastly I was able to leave my CB antenna mount in place which is cool.

 

[Atl-atl]

Finally got around to seasoning my tent. 3 rounds of rain with the fly on and 3 with the fly off. I hadn't opened the tent since my first offroad trip and there was a lot more aluminum shavings than expected. I guess I need to check it a few more times before climbing into bed and getting metal shavings in my sleeping bag or somewhere worse...Also cleaned, re-seasoned and baked my cast iron and spent way too much money adding to my gear at Sportsmans Warehouse this weekend. Having one three miles from my house is a blessing and a curse.

 

[tennesseewj]

I feel your pain trying to find any decent bed cover without dropping $1.5k! Truck is looking good

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

 

[Atl-atl]

Oh boy, more goodies started showing up today! Front facing camera and the actuator for the DIY keyless tailgate lock.

 

[Atl-atl]

Did a little trail ride this evening to Tip Top Mine which is about 35 miles north of Phoenix. Its a mild trail but it was still fun to get out of the city. Saw a Western Diamondback rattlesnake, a wild horse, a Javelina and a bunch of idiots on ATVs with no helmets! We were graced with some amazing golden hour light as well. You can really tell its still monsoon season because it was remarkably green in the desert. Also, crappy air quality makes for some amazing colors at sunset.

 

[dman93]

Not sure why a roll-up tonneau would interfere with the KB Voodoo rack brackets. My Tyger rollup uses just two clamps, that slide into the OEM tracks. You’d have to locate them staggered with the KB clamps, but probably one in front and behind should work, so you wouldn’t need to even remove the KB clamps ... just remove the plastic track ends and slide one in from each end. Oh, and notch the foam that’s under the tonneau rails to clear the KB brackets, but I think you had to do that with your tri-fold. Though I’m not sure your KB towers are tall enough to clear the rollup as you go under the front crossbars ... it needs maybe 5”. Perhaps you could slide it through folded flat, then roll it up ahead of the crossbar if there’s room.

 

[Atl-atl]

Not sure why a roll-up tonneau would interfere with the KB Voodoo rack brackets. My Tyger rollup uses just two clamps, that slide into the OEM tracks. You’d have to locate them staggered with the KB clamps, but probably one in front and behind should work, so you wouldn’t need to even remove the KB clamps ... just remove the plastic track ends and slide one in from each end. Oh, and notch the foam that’s under the tonneau rails to clear the KB brackets, but I think you had to do that with your tri-fold. Though I’m not sure your KB towers are tall enough to clear the rollup as you go under the front crossbars ... it needs maybe 5”. Perhaps you could slide it through folded flat, then roll it up ahead of the crossbar if there’s room.

When I was at the topper store, the ones they had on display would not have worked with the location of my kb voodoo bars. Im sure there are other brands that would work but nothing I was able to see in the showroom. In theory I could moved the location of my tent/bars but I dont want to. I wanted to buy something I knew would work. The topper I got installed basically the way you described how your rollup installs. The KB towers are definitely tall enough to clear the rollup, theres a bout 8". I might change it in the future but for now it works.

 

[Atl-atl]

Well I disappeared for the last month. Been super busy with work and travel. Also picked up a new toy so the tent and slide setup is for sale! Details will follow soon. Check the classifieds for my previous setup.