Switcheroo - 1 Bored Clerk's 2013 Tacoma Build

[1 Bored Clerk]

Honestly that's whats stopping me at this point. Between buying a welder and the time invested in learning how to fab it all up it might be more time effective to just buy one. Of course that rationale only applies to the first few before the ROI flips in favor of making one yourself. There certainly is something to be said for making it the way you want it with your own two hands.

There is a lot to be said for just buying the 'thing' and then going outside and enjoying it. I like designing things but I go back and forth on whether or not I REALLY enjoy making them. I want my ideas to become reality: the only way for that to happen is to pay someone else to do it ($$$$) or do it myself ($$). Plus, I get the added experience and knowledge (and pride) that goes with learning to do it myself. I guess that's why I buy some things and make others. If I can buy something well made that's pretty close to what I'd make myself, then I'll do that (skid plates and my us off-road winch cradle). If not, I'll be in the garage spending tons of time and some dollars making it myself.

 

[1 Bored Clerk]

The main part of the bumper is done. It's been done for a few weeks but I haven't posted yet. A lovely week in Iceland may have been a contributing factor.

Here are some update photos:

Got the swing stops put on both arms

Added the UHMWPE glide pad for the swing arms

Bench tested everything

Disassembled for powdercoat

Assembled everything and mounted it on the truck! I looks good to me. Seems to work well...just need to get it off road and work it out a bit to make sure it'll hold up.

I also cut the bedsides in preparation for the wrap around wings. I'll start working on those soon.


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[1 Bored Clerk]

I also started a second project in there: my Engel fridge mount!

This is the general idea. We wanted the fridge on the 'camp' side of the truck even though it makes more sense from a traveling in the truck perspective to have it behind the driver (passenger reclineability) however, neither of us tend to recline much if at all when in the passenger seat so the decision was made.

Did some tape measure work to get a close idea of what I needed. Then had a plate laser cut...which I've since modified to fit properly. Then I made up various braces and whatnot.

Took out the passenger side rear seat (and headrest) which left three mounting holes. I used some heavy duty spacers to keep the plate up high enough to clear the small center console in the back of the truck.

The front passenger support leg bolts here. Interestingly, there is a nut welded to the sheet metal right behind the carpet in this location. Easy! I just used an awl to poke a hole in the carpet and, BAM, done! I bent the support leg out of some 2" x 3/16" steel I had. I used my big vise and a single jack sledge hammer. No sweat.

The driver side front mount bolts to a mount under the center console. I drilled a through hole in the center console and will use a spacer to make everything perfect. You'll see!

Used two angle pieces of steel for support (probably not needed) under the fridge and using the same fasteners used for the Transit Slide Lok. You can also see here that I still have all of the floor room under the fridge mount because my support legs aren't in the way. This makes me happy.

Here's everything in place. I put the fridge in there and drove around a bit to make sure it all seemed good. It did so I took it all apart and sent it off for powdercoat. I'll have it back Friday or early next week. I'll update when it's all mounted for good.

So far, I'm really happy with it. I'd make it out of aluminum or something if I did it again to save some weight but it's fine as-is.


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[1 Bored Clerk]

Finally got my fridge mount parts back from powdercoat!

Here they are! In my favorite coating: BK01. Simple, durable.

Everything assembled

Mounted the subframe for the rear center console. Just the drivers side bolt for now.

Bolted down the console. You can just see the through hole I drilled in the main pocket of the console which will become the front mount for the fridge mount.

Blocked the seatbelt hole for the passenger side. Won't be needing that! Also set the spacer in place.

Put the other two spacers in place.

2x4 to hold the mount up while I fuss with fasteners.

Set the mount assembly in place and start bolting it down!




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[1 Bored Clerk]

A terrible detail shot of the front drivers side mount in the rear console. The spacer passes through the console and bottoms out where the missing mounting bolt should go. It's pretty slick.

Pull out the 2x4 and tighten everything down. Then lock the fridge in place. Easy!

Clean.

Anti slip mat and grocery basket in place.

"Plenty" of clearance for the lid. It's very close but it clears!

Cozy

Plenty of room for our 5'11" bodies up front and still enough room the open the lid of the fridge without hitting the seat.

Just enough clearance when the back door is closed. I could mount both handles but I'm not sure I will. If I need a place to hang a hand towel or something like that, I may add them on.

That's it! I'll be sure to report on the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly!

Now, back to the bumper. I need to wrap the project up!



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[mouse007]

The main part of the bumper is done. It's been done for a few weeks but I haven't posted yet. A lovely week in Iceland may have been a contributing factor.

Here are some update photos:

Got the swing stops put on both arms

Added the UHMWPE glide pad for the swing arms

Bench tested everything

Disassembled for powdercoat

Assembled everything and mounted it on the truck! I looks good to me. Seems to work well...just need to get it off road and work it out a bit to make sure it'll hold up.

I also cut the bedsides in preparation for the wrap around wings. I'll start working on those soon.


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This is awesome, really like the way it looks. Did I miss it, are you not running a tail gate..?

 

[1 Bored Clerk]

No tailgate. I'll be building a camper over the winter and it'll take the place of the tailgate with two drawers and the camper door. So, I went ahead and tucked the bumper in tight in anticipation.


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[wrenchMonkey_]

Great fab job on the rear bumper. I am going to be starting mine soon. No swingouts tho. I plan on doing flat deck down the road on my Tundra, so I'll have one jerry behind each wheel by the cab and the spare against the rear window.

Looking great.

 

[1 Bored Clerk]

Great fab job on the rear bumper. I am going to be starting mine soon. No swingouts tho. I plan on doing flat deck down the road on my Tundra, so I'll have one jerry behind each wheel by the cab and the spare against the rear window.

Looking great.

Thanks! Your plan sounds good for the tundra. I'd like to see that develop.

I've got a few plans (more like ideas without any time to actually implement) for using wasted space behind the bedsides on my Tacoma. Would sure be easier with a flatbed, but I'm a terrible glutton for punishment it seems.


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[1 Bored Clerk]

Did a little work today:

Rotated the tires - cleaned/inspected the wheels and tires.

Cleaned and inspected front and rear suspension

Installed a hypertech speedometer corrector. I've had this sitting around for a year and a half and just now got it installed. Took some tweaking but I'm 1 mph below gps speed so I'm happy.

Nice to get some stuff off the list.


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[Scott B.]

Tell me about the speedo corrector - I have been planning to get one.

Easy to install? Easy to adjust/calibrate?

 

[1 Bored Clerk]

I dreaded the instal because you have to take the drivers side dash apart and it looked 'messy'. I don't care for messing with plastic bits as they tend to break when I touch them. The instructions that come with the calibrator are plenty good and I would say the install took all of about 30 minutes from start to finish. One thing they don't mention that I would recommend is to tape the USB to Micro USB cord (supplied) to the black box that you mount behind the instrument cluster. The cable is used to program the calibrator. I inserted the cable into the black box then taped it up really well to make sure it won't fall out. Then I ran the cable down the left side of the dash (behind the dash so it's hidden) and then I just coiled it up and put it in the little cubby door by my left knee. I never use that for anything else anyway. If you didn't permanently attach that cable, you'd have to pull the dash apart to make adjustments. Not cool. And, I had to make a few adjustments to get it right. The programming interface is stupid simple but I found that I had to tweak different values until I got it to read properly. It gives you options for tire size and gear ratios. I entered everything by the book and it was WAY far off. Im running 255/85 R16 tires and 4.56 gears. I ended up removing the gear ratio change altogether and using a stock tire diameter of 31.4" and a non-stock tire diameter of 33.5". That put me less than 1mph (indicated) over my GPS reading.


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[Wasatch]

Nice details on the fridge mount.

One recommendation:

It's very easy to remove the rear headrests. As a fellow AC owner, it's the first thing I did to help open up the cab a little more.

Cheers.

EDIT: Saw you already did it on the passenger side! My bad.

 

[Scott B.]

I dreaded the instal because you have to take the drivers side dash apart and it looked 'messy'. I don't care for messing with plastic bits as they tend to break when I touch them. The instructions that come with the calibrator are plenty good and I would say the install took all of about 30 minutes from start to finish. One thing they don't mention that I would recommend is to tape the USB to Micro USB cord (supplied) to the black box that you mount behind the instrument cluster. The cable is used to program the calibrator. I inserted the cable into the black box then taped it up really well to make sure it won't fall out. Then I ran the cable down the left side of the dash (behind the dash so it's hidden) and then I just coiled it up and put it in the little cubby door by my left knee. I never use that for anything else anyway. If you didn't permanently attach that cable, you'd have to pull the dash apart to make adjustments. Not cool. And, I had to make a few adjustments to get it right. The programming interface is stupid simple but I found that I had to tweak different values until I got it to read properly. It gives you options for tire size and gear ratios. I entered everything by the book and it was WAY far off. Im running 255/85 R16 tires and 4.56 gears. I ended up removing the gear ratio change altogether and using a stock tire diameter of 31.4" and a non-stock tire diameter of 33.5". That put me less than 1mph (indicated) over my GPS reading.


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Thanks for the tips. Leaving the programming installed sounds like a really good idea.

Oh well - another project to pull the dash apart for!

 

[1 Bored Clerk]

Save 'em all up and do it at once!


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