First gen Tacoma's don't see much love from the fabricators these days. It's understandable, really - these trucks are getting older and there aren't as many out there as 2nd and 3rd gen Tacoma's. Plus, those of us that own 1st gens are cheap - that's part of why we're still running these older trucks! Knowing that this was the case even a few years ago, I eagerly awaited a sale to purchase a rear diff skid from Jerry @JLee and the good folks over at Bay Area Metal Fabrication (BAMF). One came along for Black Friday, and despite the…
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General catch-all category for content relating to 2000 Tacoma modifications.
I don't know when I first noticed the terrible windshield sprayers on the Tacoma, but it was probably right around late 1999. I figured there was nothing I could do about it, and so for 20 years, I just suffered through the single-jet-stream-that-gets-spread-by-the-wipers. So, when I saw various folks on TacomaWorld talking about Honda Odyssey replacement nozzles that would spray across the entirety of the windshield - you know, like you would expect - I was intrigued; I never realized that the nozzles were a reasonably standardized item across vehicle manufacturers. Now, not all nozzles will work - the replacement…
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With the interior removed for my sound deadening project, it was the perfect time to install a dashcam that I've had sitting around for - I don't know - call it four months or so. I've wanted a dashcam for quite some time - not so much for the safety aspects that some feel it provides - but to capture video, and possibly even stills - of various things we see out the windshield but are unable to grab the DSLR to photograph. So, when I saw a good deal and great reviews for the Viofo A119 v3, I picked…
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I just got done camping in one spot for three days. Temps were in the high 80's, the ARB 50qt fridge was set to 35ºF, and the 175W inverter was running much of the time charging various electronic devices. The whole time, I didn't start the truck once. A couple weeks ago, my dual battery system would have been hosed by the end of this trip - probably wouldn't have even lasted the entire time - but when we pulled out of camp this time, the batteries were topped off and had power to spare. This my friends, is the…
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Anyone who owns a 4WD Toyota and has dealt with the drain and fill plugs on the IFS front diff knows that they generally suck. They use either a 10mm or 12mm hex key, and that can be a problem for many reasons: The recess that the key fits into can easily get filled up with crud. If the recess isn't cleaned and the hex key doesn't fully seat, it's easy to round over. Hex key's aren't generally all that long, so it's hard to get the leverage needed to loosen the plugs. The plugs can get extremely tight, making…
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It's not natural. It's uncomfortable. It's hard. And, I know it's the right thing to do - I want to find a way to cut some weight off of the Tacoma. When I purchased the truck, Toyota listed the curb weight of a 4WD SR5 V6 Xtracab at something right around 3,500 lbs, and the gross weight (GVWR) at something near 5100 lbs. Or at least, that's what I can find on the internet in 2019, since I wasn't at all interested or concerned with those numbers at the time. Unfortunately for me - and the truck - when I…
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It's no secret that the the quickest way to massive numbers of broverlanding points is by adding more lights. Light bars, rock lights, ditch lights, reverse lights, amber lights, raptor lights, camp lights, interior LED lights - you name it, and you can drop a few hundreds or thousands of dollars to make your truck look lit - literally - in daytime photos. That's not what this mod is about. I mean, it's about auxiliary lights, but it's about how to make them more functional. Specifically, how to make it so that extra light can be switched by both your…
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If you're just here for the brake line kit, you can pick one up here: Tacoma-to-Tundra Hard Brake Line Upgrade Kit We all have to eat crow sometimes. We've all made mistakes. The most important thing is how you react in those situations. So, "give me a fork!" A couple years ago, as one of my early modifications, I added Tundra brakes to the Tacoma. This isn't anything out of the ordinary - it's one of the more common mods in my opinion. In doing so, I had a decision to make - the same decision that everyone who does this…
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Well, this post is a long time in the making. In fact, I assumed this was a project I'd get taken care of in the dead of winter, since much of it would be done in the wood shop, and none of it required the truck to be outside in the rain and cold. But like many well-laid plans, mine got comfortable and took a six-month nap. So let's start at the beginning... My Battery History To date, I've only had to replace the battery in the truck once. I did that back in 2011 after owning the truck for…
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June 12, 2019. (and really, the preceding two weeks) It's no secret that over the last few years, I've been through quite a few sets of wheels. I started with my stock 15" aluminum alloys, which "had to go" as part of the most expensive brake upgrade ever and resulted in the Tacoma wearing a set of steel wheels for a couple of months. I knew these were temporary - and the long-term solution was yet to come. I knew when I bought them that the SCS Steath6s were the last wheel I'd ever purchase for the Tacoma. I mean, what more could…
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May 10, 2019. When I originally built my bed rack back in 2016, I was sure that the rack was going to be something that was only installed when we were out on an adventure. The rest of the time, I'd remove it using the pulley system in the garage so that the Tacoma could be it's natural self. Oh how naive I was. Turns out, there's no reason to stop adventuring in the winter, and quite frankly, the rear suspension on the truck is much more comfortable with the couple hundred extra pounds from the tent. Plus, I don't really…
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I love the look of the SCS Stealth6 wheels that I've been running for the last 14 months. The dark bronze and six spokes are fantastic. Even the lug nuts are significantly better than OEM. And, as much as I hate to admit it, I really do like stance added to the truck by the 3.5" backspacing - having the wheels and tires pushed out a bit wider makes the truck look ready for anything. But, I can't stand the mud. That same backspacing that gives the truck a cool stance also pushes the tread of my 255/85R16 Cooper ST…
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January 15, 2019. What can I say? It's the end of an era, sort of. Really, it's the end of a transition period for the Tacoma - a time when it was transitioning from daily driver and home renovation hauler to a more dedicated exploration vehicle. It was nearly three years ago that this transition started, one of my first modifications being a new Toytec BOSS lift in order to support the Relentless armor I was soon to install. Over the last three years, that @Toytec Lifts setup has done everything I could have asked of it. No, that's not right…
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December 17, 2018. I'm generally pretty good at building things with my hands, but in relocating the rear shocks on my first gen Toyota Tacoma, I'd royally screwed up. If you haven't read about that, I'd recommend checking out the previous post in this series - Rear Shock Relocation - Fabrication and Failure, where after I'd permanently welded a bunch of stuff to my truck, I'd discovered that I couldn't go over bumps taller than about 2-inches. Not good for adventuring out on dirt roads. But, failure is a great learning tool, and I'd spent some time figuring out why…
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December 3-4, 2018. Rear shock relocation day was finally here! Zane @Speedytech and I were up bright and early so we could be at ADS right around their opening time of 8:00am to pick up the rear shocks they'd been holding for me for the last couple of months. As generally seems to be the case when it comes to truck parts stores, we were both like kids in a candy store as we ogled around the ADS facility. Definitely quite the setup they've got going on there! Tyler, who'd been helping me with my shocks, walked us around for…
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December 1-2, 2018. For years now I've run what I'd call "work shocks" in the rear of the truck. First a set of Gabriel Hi-Jackers that I put on to carry heavy loads, then a set of Monroe MaxAir MA820's when I installed the rear lift - these shocks were great for carrying heavy loads since I could add air pressure to push the rear of the truck higher. But as truck use has changed to more exploration (perhaps even the overused "overlanding), it's become clear that the ride provided by these shocks is not ideal. The rear end takes…
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Ever since building the bed rack, I've been happy with it. It's done everything I've asked of it and more. The CVT tent @cascadia tents has always been secure, and it's been a great way to carry the Hi-Lift, supply power to the fridge, and keep everything in the bed secure. It's also been a great height, leaving the tent even with the roof line, and allowing a good amount of space underneath for storage, not the least of which is the custom bed slide I made to hold the ARB fridge. Until now that is. You see, I've recently…
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It's been about six months since I drove over to eastern Idaho to pickup and install the CBI Outback 1.0 rear bumper with dual swing-outs on my way down to The Maze in Utah. In that time, the bumper has performed well - I'm generally really happy with it, save a couple niggly things that I should probably write up as a "what do I think six months later," sort of post. But, one thing that I've been missing - and knew I was missing when I purchased the bumper - was a fold-down table on the swing-out. This was…
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May 12, 2018. We all know how it goes - the list of things to do to the truck is so long that we have to prioritize. And often, that prioritization favors form over function. And from time to time, I've been as guilty of that as the next guy, for sure. But not this time. This time, I knew that I needed the function with the form, lest I do irreparable damage to the Tacoma. So, when I installed the dual swingout CBI rear bumper in January, I purchased a set of frame reinforcement plates at the same time from @cbi offroad…
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April 23, 2018. A 2000 Toyota Tacoma only comes with so many safety features. Built two decades ago, there was no traction control; no forward, backward and side cameras; no blind spot radar; and definitely no Toyota Safety Sense™. These were the days of kids riding in pickup beds for fun, seat belt warning chimes that buzzed twice and shut the hell up since they realized that if you were going to wear the belt, you'd have put it on already, and ABS-as-an-option. These were the days before SMS; before we needed our cars to protect us from ourselves. Of…
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