Well shoot, guess it's my turn

Louisd75

Adventurer
So, back in '07 or '08, I decided that I needed a car that was slightly more reliable than my 1970 VW bus. I'd always liked the look of the older generation of Tacoma, especially the 4wd ones. As luck would have it, I found a 2002 4x4 V6 TRD extra cab with 114k miles on it, a shell, roof rack, and a price tag that I was comfortable with in the SF Bay area where I was staying at the time. The weekend after I bought it, I did a road trip up to the North American Handbuilt Bicycle Show up in Portland Oregon. It was on the way home from that trip that I made the phone call that would change my life. A friend and his family were taking their jeeps out to Death Valley for a weekend, and did I want to come along? Not really knowing what I was getting into, I said sure. I swung by the storage unit that I was quasi living out of, picked up my camping gear, and off I went to his house. Turns out that 8 people, 3 dogs, camping gear and food for a week (not weekend as I'd heard over the phone) don't really fit into three in three jeep wranglers. My truck was about to play the pack-mule role:

DeathValley08013.jpg


Yes, all three jeeps were as loaded down as the one in front of my truck. And yes, inside the bed of my truck is stacked that high all the way forward. Not exactly a "fast and light" sort of trip. It wasn't until the 2nd day of the trip that I had my "aha!" moment. I'm even lucky enough to have a picture of it, taken as we came out of the Eureka Dunes area heading towards the hot springs:

DeathValley08043.jpg


My first time ever in 4wd, and I had a blast. Heck, the entire trip was a blast, with day after day of that stupid grin on my face. I got home and started looking around at what I could do to make my truck more capable. I had crunched in the stock front bumper when I bounced into a rock, and I figured something a little more stout was needed up front. I found a sale on the ARB and a Warn 8000, so out came the wallet. That worked out great right up until I got on the freeway. With the stock suspension up front, every time I hit a bump the truck would porpoise down the road for a few up and down cycles. So I started looking around at suspension. I found another sale going on with a set of ICON coilovers, so I swapped them in and dialed them to the stock ride height. What a difference that made! Now we're cooking.

I took out the stock double DIN radio and installed a single DIN aftermarket radio and a DIN sized Cobra 18 WX ST II CB radio, mounting the CB mic bracket above the airbag on/off switch. The picture was taken after I installed the HAM radio you'll read about later:

DSCN4389.jpg


I wandered around the US for a little bit before finally stepping up to a slightly more aggressive 265/75/16 General Grabber AT2. I was also sick and tired of having to climb around in the bed of the truck anytime I wanted to get something that was up by the cab. I asked around at the Leer shell dealers and was told repeatedly that I couldn't retrofit my existing shell with windoors. I tried selling mine for a couple of months before finally giving it to a friend that was trying to upgrade his truck on a highschooler's budget. I replaced it with a fancy Leer with the windoors, a locking gun box, and the 12v outlets. I also replaced the rear leaf springs with a set of Deaver's and adjusted the coilovers to level the truck out a little better:
DSCN2428.jpg


I did a little more wandering before deciding (at the prompting of my then fiancee) that sleeping in the bed of the truck needed some improvement. I poked around for a bit before coming up with a sleeping platform idea that met my needs for a platform that could sleep two people, allow for storage underneath, and allow for two bicycles to fit in the bed:
DSCN4296.jpg

The build thread for the platform can be found here: http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/50667-Hey-look-another-sleeping-platform?p=731228#post731228. In the picture you can also see our home-made bug screen on the driver side windoor. We made a template out of cardboard then transferred the pattern onto some screen material, then ran some velcro around the edges. We put the loop side around the perimeter of the window frame. We've since made another one for the passenger side and made curtains that velcro to the inside of the shell.

While I was in the woodworking phase, I also made up a little shelf that can be attached to the side of the truck for cooking. Additionally, I installed two studs in the roof rack rail on top of the shell that allowed me to attach a tarp to the top of the truck with some wingnuts. Combined with the cooking shelf, it makes a nice little food prep area:
DSCN4108e.jpg


The build thread for the shelf can be found here: http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/57972-Cooking-shelf?p=839932#post839932. I've since replaced the plastic tarp with one made by a local canvas shop using the plastic one as a template.

The test run for the sleeping platform did not go very well. I hadn't installed the fabric yet, and the sleeping pads were about 3" too thin. And then this happened:
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Somewhere east of McCall Idaho, I tried squeezing between a tree and a rock, and, well, the tree won. To add insult to injury I'd been hemming and hawing over sliders for several months before this. I'm not sure that they would have helped, but they might have. I was also down to my last two payments on the truck.

Fortunately, I had comprehensive insurance. The fender flares had gotten pretty scratched up along with the rest of the truck, and my insurance wanted to replace all four of them. The damage was strictly cosmetic and you couldn't even feel any of the marks. I was able to work with the body shop and got the fender flares coated with Line-X. The price difference between the new flares and line-xing was more than enough to cover my deductable and result in a check back to me, which still seems odd. Since my insurance rate didn't change after the accident, I basically got paid for crunching up my truck.

Right after I got the truck back, I was on the road again, off to Idaho to visit with some friends:
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Since I new I would be nearby, I called up CBI and ordered up a set of bolt on sliders and frame reinforcements. I dropped the truck off at CBI for the day and they installed the sliders and welded on the frame plates:
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As a result of the whole truck crunching incident, my fiancee expressed concern as to what would happen if we were in the middle of nowhere and needed to get the word out to someone. We frequently travel alone and we're not very good at picking a route and then sticking to it. At the same time, my dad was getting his HAM license and sent me his study books when he passed the test. I studied for a couple of days and then was off to get my technician and general ticket. My fiancee picked up her technician ticket too, and then we were off to pick out a radio. We opted for the Kenwood D710, in part because it allows us to monitor 146.520 and nearby repeaters simultaneously. Eventually I might mess around with some APRS stuff too, but I'm not quite there yet. I looked around at various ideas for mounting the radio, but many of them looked too much like an afterthought to me. So I built an overhead console to store the radio, head unit, 2 speakers, and a scangauge:
DSCN4341.jpg

The build thread can be found here: http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/63521-Working-on-my-setup?p=911248#post911248. It's still a work in progress, but it's very nearly finished. My plan is to move the switches for my auxiliary lighting to the console to put them in a spot where either myself or the passenger can operate them. Once that's done I'm going to cover the console with something a bit softer than the coat of paint that's on it now.

I was also able to parlay the accident into a new synthetic winchline from Viking offroad. It's much easier for her to handle than the wire rope. I also talked her into going to the Overland Rally in Ellensburg WA. We both felt that it would be helpful for her if she had a chance to get some instruction in a controlled environment. We had a blast, and if work permits we plan on being there next year:
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After a few more adventures I realized that it was time to do something about the fiancee situation, so we fired up the bus (yes, I still have it) and got hitched:
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The most recent addition to the truck is also the favorite of my (now) wife and myself:
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Yep, seat heaters. I ordered up a set of the WarmSeat heaters for the driver and passenger sides and spent a couple of evenings before Thanksgiving installing them and wiring them up. I don't know why I didn't do it sooner. Their maiden voyage was a short jaunt out to visit a friend in Absarokee, Montana and they performed like a champ. *edit* Here's a link to the seat heater install: http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/70223-Seat-Heater-Installation?p=997914#post997914

And that's pretty much where things stand. I'll try and keep this up to date as we make improvements on the truck. Hope you enjoyed!
 
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trailsurfer

Explorer
Great Truck and fantastic build summary. Let me know when you are headed towards Durango and we can do some bike riding and Overlanding.
 

TangoBlue

American Adventurist
^ Agreed! Nice job. Build and market that console and you could start a new industry for yourself.
 

FLYFISHEXPERT

LivingOverland.com
Nice truck! I am glad the two of you are getting out and seeing the world!

Okay, I need info on the seat heaters...Where are the pics? ;-)
 

4x4x4doors

Explorer
Nice build. Ditto on the overhead console idea. I believe the market is there. You "build it and the orders will come" (IMO).

Seat heaters have crossed my mind more than once -- (not just when my head is up my #$$ either). I'm getting close to hearing "these seats are cold" too many times. So share a link and some impressions of the install.
 

SWITAWI

Doesn't Get Out Enough
Wow. What an adventure, Louis. Congrats to you both, on owning both a nice Taco and that sweet Bus, and for living life in grand style!

Thanks for sharing and keep us updated.
 

Petrolburner

Explorer
Sweet rig! Also interested in more info on the install of the seat heaters. Did you have to remove the factory upholstery to install them and then re-secure the factory upholstery?
 

NorthernWoodsman

Adventurer/tinkerer
Love your truck. Looks like a newer version of mine. Also love your town. I used to live in the 'ham and hope to be again in the near future. Thanks for posting links to your build threads too, very helpful.
 

NetDep

Adventurer
Great thread - and was a pleasure meeting you in E'burg!! Congrats on the nuptials & very cool shot with the VW. Some great ideas as I put mine together - truck, already have a wife!! And agree - seat heaters are great!!!
 

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