Build Thread: '05 Tacoma for Search & Rescue

[DarkHelmet]

The SARcoma build - as named by my unit's Medical Director no less - has begun.

I use this truck as a volunteer for an area Mountain Rescue unit. I am both an EMT and a technical rope rescue guy. We get into some pretty hairy territory here in Idaho and I wanted a capable vehicle with all the equipment (and creature comforts) to get the job done. My wife and I also enjoy exploring in our free time. The truck is becoming less and less of a daily driver as the cost of gas goes up. My wife and I work together in the same office so we drive her Prius to cut down on fuel costs.

I have been inspired by a great number of people here on ExPo and for that I thank you all! I will be incorporating many of your ideas (and some of my own) as this build progresses.

Make: Toyota
Model: Tacoma Double Cab 4WD SR5 TRD Off Road
Year: 2005
Purchased as Toyota Certified Used 3/2007 :birthday.sml:
Miles when purchased: 26,000
Miles to date: 49,873

Front Axle: OME 886 w/N140S
Rear Axle: Stock Toyota E-Locker, OME Dakar w/N182
Tires: 255/85 R16 BFG MT/KM (w/Full Size Spare)
Wheels: Stock Toyota 16"
Engine: 4.0 1GR-FE
Trans: Auto A750F

CURRENT MODIFICATIONS:
OME 886 w/N140S front
OME Dakar Spring Pack w/N182 rear
ARB Bull Bar
Warn M8000 winch
Icom V8000 2m Mobile (wide Tx mod)
Whelen CenComII Siren/Light Controller
Whelen LED Warning Lights
Whelen Traffic Advisor
Whelen Hide-A-Way Strobe system
RAM Laptop Mount modded as Radio/CenCom mount
Garmin GPSMap 60CSx w/City Navigator and Topo base maps
RAM Garmin Mount

Future Mods:

Phase 2:
Vision-X 6503 Adjustable Beam HID

Phase 3:
Custom Bed Rack
Roof Top Tent
Rock Sliders
GoLight
Vision-X Xmitter LED Light Bar

Phase 4:
Engel MT45 Fridge
Dual Battery Set-up

Other:
Additional VHF Radio
Diff Breather Mod
Backlit 4WD Switch Mod
Trailer Harness Relocation Mod

BEFORE:
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/resqman2398/Tacoma-1.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/resqman2398/LicensePlate.jpg

NOW:

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/resqman2398/DSC_0003-1.jpg

[DarkHelmet]

Update 1: The truck is off at install.

Yes, against all commonly accepted rules of ExPo I am having the lift installed by someone else.

1) I don't have the proper equipment at my house to do it myself.

2) My main auto/mechanical advisor - my younger brother who spent 7 years as a Mercedes technician and has installed several lifts on his own trucks - broke his hand last week... entirely screwing up my install plans.

3) Cost of gas to drive to my brother's place in Seattle was going to run about $200+. I negotiated locally to have it installed for about that price, including mount/balance all tires and 4 wheel alignment.

4) They are also installing my bumper and winch and wiring the winch.

5) I am flat out of time. Our rescue unit is running our big yearly fundraiser right now and I am also the unit's training director. Not to mention my actual paying day job. They will be done in 48 hours with the whole thing. Hard to beat.

6) When I am driving down the road and something comes falling off... it will be their fault and not mine. :)


Pics to follow when I get the truck back tomorrow.

[HMR]

Nice truck!

I spend a fair amount of time wheeling/riding/sledding/hiking in the Frank Church Wilderness and I'm very impressed with the capabilities of the volunteer SAR crews in the McCall/Donnelly area. What areas will you be covering?

Does the county pay for your mods (particularly the Whelen gear)?

[Jacket]

Welcome. Nice rig!

Your plan looks pretty sound, and uses equipment proven itself worthy and reliable for these trucks.

If I was to offer 1 differing opinion, I'd move sliders up higher on your list if you'll be venturing into "pretty hairy territory." Nothing more frustrating than smacking and damaging your rocker panels, and with a 120+" wheelbase, there's a good chance you will.

[DarkHelmet]

Nice truck!

I spend a fair amount of time wheeling/riding/sledding/hiking in the Frank Church Wilderness and I'm very impressed with the capabilities of the volunteer SAR crews in the McCall/Donnelly area. What areas will you be covering?

Does the county pay for your mods (particularly the Whelen gear)?

I am part of the Idaho Mountain Search & Rescue Unit based in Boise. Our primary coverage area is Boise County, however, we will respond anywhere that we are requested (including E. Oregon, N. Nevada, and Utah). We are not directly affiliated with any specific Sheriff's Office so all the equipment is paid for out of my own pocket. It was a recent mission to the Stanley area that pushed me over the edge to get crackin' on my modifications.

[crawler#976]

Looks great!

As a fellow owner of an '05, I recommend you check this out:

http://ttora.com/forum/showthread.php?t=35345

There is a fairly specific range of VIN's involved that have had ring and pinion failures. Under hard use, they fail pretty regularly.

Mark

[Mcfly]

Being a fellow search and rescue guy I look forward to your build. Maybe even steal a few ideas for my own rig. ;)

[DarkHelmet]

Picked up the truck today. It looks good. Even the wife was impressed to see it in person. The locals did a good job on the install. A few questions now.

1) There is a bit of frame rub and left UCA rub at full lock on the steering. Suggestions on how to correct this or should I even be concerned by it?
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/resqman2398/DSC_0010.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/resqman2398/DSC_0008.jpg

2) Front fender "cowling"? The bent them up and zip tied the plastic to the bumper. Is that normal install or should they be removed, cut off, other?
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/resqman2398/DSC_0012.jpg

3) ARB Bumper:Isn't supposed to come with some front "bumper" pads that align with the uprights? I see slots for them but they were not included.
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/resqman2398/DSC_0005-1.jpg

4) Winch Clutch Access. Can the clutch housing of the M8000 be rotated? The installers simply trimmed the factory brace for the grille so the lever would rotate back. It is difficult to access through the cutout in the bumper.
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/resqman2398/DSC_0030.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/resqman2398/DSC_0027.jpg

So far I am really happy with the outcome. Can't wait to road test.

-DH

[CYi5]

sick license plate :victory:

[Scenic WonderRunner]

Welcome to ExPo..........!:beer:


Your Lic. Plate just has to be one of the All Time Greatest!


...........hum! ......I'm wondering if we should All get your Number!!!! ....:elkgrin:




.

[TRDPARTS4U]

Lookin' good!


Yes the bumper should have the pads for the front.

[EXP-T100]

As for the rubbing you need wheel spacers or new Wheels with less back spacing, i think factory wheels are at 4"?? so go to a 3.5" or 3" and no more rubby, My wife 02 taco had the same problem so i put 1.5" wheel spacers on front and rear (rear so it would not look all Baja). You don't need 1.5" spacers, thats just what i had laying around. Good luck, Looken good. O and i would leave the "fender splash guard" just like it is. That will help keep some of the mud and what not from building up under there.

[crawler#976]

Offset rims can be a problem on the new Tacos. It looks like you've got enough lift to counter some of them, but I know on our '05 that even after a 2.5" lift I still had to trip some plastic after swapping from the stock wheels to MB Rockers. Moving the tires out really changes the clearances in the fender well.

The easiest way to counter the minor rub you have now is to use a slip over 1/4" spacer vs. a full blown bolt on wheel spacer.

http://store.summitracing.com/egnsearch.asp?N=700+400330+301078+115+4294906445&autoview=sku

The best way to counter the rubbing is an after market set of upper A-Arms.

http://www.chaosfab.com/96504.html

Mark

[DarkHelmet]

Thanks for all the replies. I stopped back by the installer's this morning and picked up my old bumper (Craigslist here I come). I am having them check on the bumper pads with ARB. They didn't have any shipped with the bumper. I also asked them about the winch clutch lever and they said that was as good as it gets... :(

The short drive to work this morning went well. It drives nice. A little bit more noise from the tires and a bit rougher on pavement with the knobby tread, but not bad. I had the GPS running to check the speedometer. Looks like I am about 2.5-3 mph low on the speedo vs. actual speed. Not bad, I can live with that. I'll keep an eye on the tire/frame rub and see if I am going to do anything about it.

- DH

[Jacket]

1) There is a bit of frame rub and left UCA rub at full lock on the steering. Suggestions on how to correct this or should I even be concerned by it?

2) Front fender "cowling"? The bent them up and zip tied the plastic to the bumper. Is that normal install or should they be removed, cut off, other?

3) ARB Bumper:Isn't supposed to come with some front "bumper" pads that align with the uprights? I see slots for them but they were not included.

4) Winch Clutch Access. Can the clutch housing of the M8000 be rotated? The installers simply trimmed the factory brace for the grille so the lever would rotate back. It is difficult to access through the cutout in the bumper.

So far I am really happy with the outcome. Can't wait to road test.

-DH

1. Your call, but I'd just leave it alone and try and see if you can deal with it. Avoid full lock steering, especially on the trail.

2. I left mine like yours. Helps to keep mud and debris away from the important parts of the truck.

3. Yes - you should have bumper pads.

4. Yes - if you loosen all the allen head bolts, you can pull the head up a very small amount (1/4" or so) and rotate it to the position you like. Just don't lift it off too much!

[viatierra]

Looks like I am about 2.5-3 mph low on the speedo vs. actual speed.

Spiffy truck! If you do the Algebra and check it against various speeds, you'll see that your speedo will always be off around 10%. So on the highway you will be off more than just tooling around town.

On to the next Phase!
:lurk:

[DarkHelmet]

Spiffy truck! If you do the Algebra and check it against various speeds, you'll see that your speedo will always be off around 10%. So on the highway you will be off more than just tooling around town.

On to the next Phase!
:lurk:

Danke! The speedo was a bit higher than actual before the lift according to the GPS and now it is a bit lower than actual but less than 10% off so I am fine with it.

Phase 3 involves a rack. I showed my wife a pic of yours and she REALLY liked it. This is gonna get expensive quick!

- DH

[Overland Hadley]

This is gonna get expensive quick!

- DH

Things have a habit of working like that when you spend time here.

[offroad_nomad]

SAR vehicle mods are a slippery slope. One thought for consideration, you may want to work on improving your vehicles capabilities before adding all the expensive Whelen gear unless it's actually needed immediately. You're more likely to use offroad-related, recovery, communications, lights, navigation and personal sustainment (food/water, fridge, clothing and other storage) mods before all the auxillary warning lights and siren.

[DarkHelmet]

SAR vehicle mods are a slippery slope. One thought for consideration, you may want to work on improving your vehicles capabilities before adding all the expensive Whelen gear unless it's actually needed immediately. You're more likely to use offroad-related, recovery, communications, lights, navigation and personal sustainment (food/water, fridge, clothing and other storage) mods before all the auxillary warning lights and siren.

The Whelen gear was in before the truck got lifted. It is used more often than the truck leaves pavement as I am also an EMT for a rural agency. I am a big fan of warning lights as my previous SAR rig was hit from behind by an inattentive driver (luckly I wasn't in it).

But, point taken and the RTT, fridge, etc. is going to be coming soon. :)

[DarkHelmet]

1. Your call, but I'd just leave it alone and try and see if you can deal with it. Avoid full lock steering, especially on the trail.

2. I left mine like yours. Helps to keep mud and debris away from the important parts of the truck.

3. Yes - you should have bumper pads.

4. Yes - if you loosen all the allen head bolts, you can pull the head up a very small amount (1/4" or so) and rotate it to the position you like. Just don't lift it off too much!

2. I added a few more zip ties to help secure them and I am going to leave them.

3. Bumper pads were left out by ARB. They are shipping some over.

4. Success! I took the lower plate off my bumper last night and got out the allen wrench. Loosened them all and rotated the housing. Much easier to get to now. I also discovered one of the allen bolts head was snapped off. I'll need to call Warn for a replacement to keep dust and moisture out of the clutch housing.

Thanks!

I also found a great location to remount my siren/PA speaker behind the grille while I was in there.

Next phase - VisionX Offroad 6503 HID lights on the bumper. Those should be here in a couple weeks.

- DH

[DarkHelmet]

Anybody else with the OME 886 set-up please chime in.

I am getting a clunking noise when I hit bumps in the road. Not when I'm hitting small bumps but if I tag a depressed manhole cover or something like that I am getting a clunk noise.

I had the install shop check things over and they say all is well but it still doesn't sound right.

Looks to me like my sway bar may be hitting the lower spring braces on the shocks. There is very little clearance (less than 1/4") at rest. I can see the smallest hint of a rub mark on the shock tower but no dents. There is a minor depression on the back of the sway bar about the same spot.

Anyone run into this problem?

Thanks,

DH

[Jacket]

Interesting.....I responded to this thread a day or two ago, but I guess whatever outage Expo experienced lost the post. Anyway....

Yes - I have it too. For me, I have been swaybar-less for about a year and a half, so I don't think that's the issue. But some other coilover vendors sell a swaybar spacer to keep it off the coil, so it is certainly possible that you have the same problem as them. My theory is that the upper control arm makes contact with the coil at full droop - but I haven't spent time under there to investigate and validate my theory.

It's annoying for sure, and I've slightly adjusted my driving style to try and prevent it, but it still comes up every now and then.

[DarkHelmet]

Interesting.....I responded to this thread a day or two ago, but I guess whatever outage Expo experienced lost the post. Anyway....

Yes - I have it too. For me, I have been swaybar-less for about a year and a half, so I don't think that's the issue. But some other coilover vendors sell a swaybar spacer to keep it off the coil, so it is certainly possible that you have the same problem as them. My theory is that the upper control arm makes contact with the coil at full droop - but I haven't spent time under there to investigate and validate my theory.

It's annoying for sure, and I've slightly adjusted my driving style to try and prevent it, but it still comes up every now and then.

Thanks Jacket! I took a look and no evidence of the UCA making contact with the springs. I spent the weekend supporting a bike ride for the MS Society up in McCall as an EMT. Fun weekend and I put about 300 miles on the truck.

I spent the weekend on some bumpy paved roads and had a few days to chase down gremlins causing rattles. I think I have found most of them.

1) License Plate and plastic frame. Fixed by removing plate frame and chucking the frame in the trash. The frame only hung around on the original bumper to keep the metal plate from rubbing on the paint of the bumper. Now that that is gone... no more free advertising for my dealership! I may need to use some steel stays to strengthen the plate as it is prone to flexing and bending now.

2) Missing bolt on right rear side of one of my factory skid plates. Fixed with zip ties for now until I can order a replacement bolt.

3) More fairings in the wheel well. I may need some washers and self tapping sheet metal screws to secure these down better.

4) WINCH ROLLER FAIRLEAD. The vertical rollers are bouncing all around. I secured them with zip ties as a temporary means of verifying they rattle a bit. Seemed to cure the worst of the noises.

I need to chase down a few more possibilities. I'd like to get rid of as many of the rattles as possible but more importantly make sure the suspension and bumper are secured and installed properly.

Cheers,

DH

[HMR]

I spent the weekend supporting a bike ride for the MS Society up in McCall as an EMT.Sorry I missed it. McCall is my home away from home...
What was the route for the ride?

[BriansFJ]

Nice rig! I'm working with a lot of similar goals for my FJ Cruiser for El Paso County SAR in Colorado. I'm also an EMT so looks like we have a lot in common. I'll have to watch this thread closely and maybe someday get off my duff and do a build thread of my own.

[DarkHelmet]

Sorry I missed it. McCall is my home away from home...
What was the route for the ride?

Day One was from Camp Pinewood (300 S. Mission St.) to the Burghdorf turnoff and back along Warren Wagon Road (60 miles).

Day Two was from Camp Pinewood to Tamarack Resort and back via Farm to Market Road.

Good times. No major injuries to riders. Just a few band aid wounds. We did have a citizen along the course that a couple of our EMT's just happened to pass that was having a cardiac event.

We spent Saturday night at one of our member's house on the lake. It was a great weekend.

- DH

[DarkHelmet]

Nice rig! I'm working with a lot of similar goals for my FJ Cruiser for El Paso County SAR in Colorado. I'm also an EMT so looks like we have a lot in common. I'll have to watch this thread closely and maybe someday get off my duff and do a build thread of my own.

Thanks! Always great to meet other rescuers. While I was up in McCall over the weekend we stopped by the fire station for a tour and to meet the crew. I walk in and meet one of the FF on duty and think to myself, "he looks familiar." Turns out he was part of Seattle Mountain Rescue while I was part of the ESAR team in Seattle. He moved to McCall the same year I moved to Boise. Small world.

- DH

[Spikepretorius]

I'm loving this thread. :)


(It would be nice to have some SAR threads on this forum. I'm pretty new to the whole thing and am keen to learn. My 2nd rescue this past saturday)

[BriansFJ]

Always great to meet other rescuers.

Agreed!:rappel:

Maybe in addition to all the great truck buildup detail, you could include some info on what team and personnal gear you will have as your SAR loadout?:safari-rig:

[BriansFJ]

I'm loving this thread. :)


(It would be nice to have some SAR threads on this forum. I'm pretty new to the whole thing and am keen to learn. My 2nd rescue this past saturday)

That's a good idea!:wings: If you don't mind, I'll roll over to the Fireside Chat area and propose to the mods that they create a SAR sub-forum in the Adventure Activities area. Seems like more than a few of us into SAR here.

[Desertdude]

Copied this thread over to SAR :wavey:

[jeepmedic46]

Nice set up, Truck looks awesome.:victory:

[Something]

any updates?