Trump's 03 Tacoma

Trump

Adventurist
Senior Staff
Founding Member
2003 Toyota Tacoma Extended Cab SR5 4X4

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Engine:

-2.7L (kept stock)
-Safari Snorkel
-Die-hard Platinum P-5 Batteries

Suspension:

Approximately 3 inches of lift

-Icon Vehicle Dynamics coilovers
-Removed swaybar
-Deaver Springs custom 11 leaf pack
-Bilstein 5125 shocks
-OME HD Greasable Shackles
-Energy Suspension Bushings

Wheels & Tires:

-Toyota Steel Wheels 16x7 (4.75"BS)
-BFGoodrich M/T KM2 255/85/16

Drivetrain/Steering/Brakes:

-Early Tacoma manual hub conversion (Aisin)
-Regeared to 4.88 (4.30 stock)
-Front and Rear ARB AirLockers
-Energy Suspension steering rack bushings
-Toyota Tundra front disks/calipers (13WL)

Armor:

-All-Pro Offroad APEX Front Bumper
-All-Pro Offroad Skid plates
-DeMello bolt-on tube sliders
-CBI Offroad Fab Outback 1.0 rear bumper with:
AT Overland Equipment jerry can carrier
Spare tire mount
60" HiLift

AT Flip-Pac:

-Battleborn Batteries 100 ah LiFePO4 house battery
-Red/White LED Lighting
-Maxxima LED Worklight/Reverse Light
-Custom interior storage
-Thetford 135
-Reliance 7 gal water container
-Engel MT-45F Refrigerator/freezer
-10# CO2 Tank w/Powertank HPX adjustable regulator kit
-HiLift Slide-N-Lock Tie-down system

Communication:

-Yaesu FTM-350AR
-Larsen 2/70B NMO Antenna
-Custom Uniden ESP5 External Speaker

Navigation:

-Android based nav via Android auto
-Good'ol Compass and maps

Accessories:

-Lightforce 240 Blitz Aux lights
-Blitzpro LED Fog lights
-Warn M8000
-Masterpull winchline
-Factor55 ProLink Loaded
-Perfect Switch Powergate single rectifier
-BlueSea Systems fuse blocks (x3)
-Scangauge II
-Off Road Only LiteSPOTZ Rocklights
-Powertank CO2 ARB connection kit
-20oz CO2 with CGA-320 adapter
-Recovery gear/tools/spare parts
-60" HiLift xtreme jack

Future additions:

-3RZ Turbo setup
That's it (Pfft! ...yeah right! :rolleyes:)

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Flip-pac interior

One of the newer additions to the truck has been building out the Flip-pac to my liking. This has been the part of the build that I have deliberated over many hours and thus, taken my time to ensure a quality result. I still have finishing touches to wrap up on it, but it's getting more dialed in every time I take it out.

Here's a picture of the interior for its maiden voyage on a three day trip through the worst of Death Valley's washboard roads.

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The interior held up great. No shifting. No cracking. No issues to report. So, I felt safe getting the woodwork protected. First step was a good base coat, so I went with a waterproof deck paint in the manliest color I could find. I wanted to stay away from a black paint on the inside of the benches so it wouldn't be like trying to find camping gear in a black-hole at night... so, battleship gray.

:destroyer

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This gave me good protection from moisture, but was not the final plan for the surface. I wanted the exterior to be bomb/dog proof and bed-liner is probably the best thing for that. The problem of course is cost. Line-X is my coating of choice, but the price is astronomical. I looked around the web until I found a DIY solution that was similar in texture and had favorable reviews. UPOL Raptor came out the winner...

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The results are impressive. This was confirmed after getting an attaboy from Mario Donovan of Adventure Trailers at the recent Desert Rendezvous. The UPOL Raptor kit is very easy to use and costs a fraction of what Line-X charges.
 
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Flip-pac interior mounting

It's important to point out the mounting system of the Flip-Pac interior. Mitch, pointed out during the design the problem of having a rigid structure hard mounted onto a dynamic surface. As much as we'd like to believe that our trucks are completely solid we really know that they bend and flex when driving through the back country. A hard mounted interior made from wood could tear itself apart or eventually fatigue if it wasn't able to twist and bend a bit. He offered an excellent idea for a "floating" mount that would keep our hard work intact on even the worst roads (i.e. Saline Valley Road.)

The whole setup would consist of three separate benches that would mount in place. The front box would span the width of the Flip-pac and was designed around concealing a Thetford 135 Marine cassette toilet. The drivers side box would hold the majority of the camping gear but stay narrow enough to maximize aisle width for the dogs to stand in. And, the passenger side that would fill the gap between the fridge and the front box and hold items that we might need to access roadside via the windoor (recovery gear, tools, first aid kit, etc...)

Here during my Raptor Bedliner treatment you can see the three boxes. Notice that they've been designed in a way that they provide plenty of strength to stand or even jump up and down on, but remain open on the backside. This eliminates wasted space for storage that slide-in campers can't make use of.



At the back of the side boxes, D-rings are mounted on the inside and anchor the benches to the bed with turnbuckles. The turnbuckles hook onto tie down rings mounted on my Hi-Lift Slide-N-Lock tie down system. The nature of the ringed tie down allows for swaying and doesn't fully restrict movement. The side boxes bolt through the front box with a single centered eye-bolt and three fender washers. This allows them the ability to twist instead of buckle. The eye provides a spot to anchor to the bed, again using turnbuckles and the tie down system.

Rear mounting point


Eye-bolt tie down point


A dark shot of the same eye-bolt and its location


That's it. Four mounting points for the whole thing! Everything stayed in place without any loosening or shifting.
 
Wheels and Tires

After discovering that I would actually drop un-sprung weight by moving from the ProComp 7089's with BFG A/T's (285/75R16 D-Load Range), it made it easy to switch. I moved to narrower (16x7) Toyota steel wheels with the tall and skinny 255/85R16 in a mud terrain today. Initial observations are: noticeable reduction of steering effort and increased response; acceleration is less labored; and they look bitch'n.

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More to follow after I get to evaluate them off road.
 
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Great looking truck! If I was able to keep my 03 I would've gone the route you took. Well done... or, better yet, nice progress:)
 
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I made a number of small changes to the truck recently due to a much necessary overhaul of my navigation equipment. My Garmin GPSMap 478 was never really suited for off highway vehicle use. It was purchased for use with my boat and worked well for that and while on the road, but it was starting to show its age. The only functions it provided while off highway were a set of coordinates and “breadcrumb” trail, so I was long overdue for an update.

The answer came to me after purchasing a tablet for my most recent deployment. I got the tablet for entertainment and computing needs while I was deployed, but after making the purchase I discovered how well some of the mapping applications worked with the unit. With two $10 apps my Nexus 7 made my Garmin hopelessly obsolete in just about every way. It was an easy decision to put a mount for it in the truck and call the job done.

A good friend had an extra tablet mount hanging around that happened to be the exact make and model that I had been looking at online. The Ram Mount “Tab-tite” quickly and securely holds the tablet in place. The mount is fastened to the dash with the use of a bracket from Panavice made specifically for the interior of the Tacoma. I also hardwired a USB cable into the dash to keep the tablet charged.

After installing the tablet I pulled the CB radio out of the truck. I can remember the last time I used the thing and honestly would rather sit in silence without communication than have to try and understand anything broadcasted on it. With the space freed up, I made a little modification to my existing bracket and moved the ham radio down to the former ashtray location.

The end result is something that at one time I would have considered cluttered. Now, after years of use I value the ergonomics of this setup far more than tucking equipment out of the way.

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What apps do you use? I'm about to use one of my tablets as a dedicated gas. But mot 100 percent sure what apps work best

Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2
 
I use Backcountry Navigator and on the road Copilot. Both are feature rich and have been top notch. I have made many areas available offline with backcountry navigator and will continue to do so. My only complaint is the speed of the server that the maps are downloaded from... Download early.
 
Having seen this tablet nav setup in person I have to say, it is the cat's meow. :thumbsup

I will be following suit ASAP as my Garmin is also showing its age as demonstrated by a couple wrong turns on the trail during our recent trip to Saline Valley and China Gardens.
 
I use Backcountry Navigator and on the road Copilot. Both are feature rich and have been top notch. I have made many areas available offline with backcountry navigator and will continue to do so. My only complaint is the speed of the server that the maps are downloaded from... Download early.

That is the same setup I am running for Navigation, it works great. I also just set it up to do APRS via APRSdroid. I am hoping to do thread on it tonight.
 
Just for my info but I'm assuming you can use these in areas where there is no cell reception? Or do u guys buy an external gps unit that connects via Bluetooth?

Sent from my KFTHWI using Tapatalk HD
 
Just for my info but I'm assuming you can use these in areas where there is no cell reception? Or do u guys buy an external gps unit that connects via Bluetooth?

Sent from my KFTHWI using Tapatalk HD

You can download areas that you select to make them available offline. As mentioned, download early... the map server is not very fast.

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The Copilot App includes a map pack that is all offline as well.

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That is the same setup I am running for Navigation, it works great. I also just set it up to do APRS via APRSdroid. I am hoping to do thread on it tonight.

APRSdroid also followed its way onto my tablet. Another very useful tool for the just in case situation is RepeaterBook. It uses GPS location to give a proximity listing of the closest ham radio repeaters, and their info. That makes it easy to find a repeater to talk to help in a hurry.

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I am really liking this setup. I am considering a cheaper android tablet to do something similar. I've been trying to read up on back country navigator.. But I can't figure out, is the $9.99 price a lifetime price with no subscription fees, or is there a separate subscription fee for the program?
 
So i just got home from our trip and the app worked amazing when my tablet had gps signal. Unfortunately the on board gps on my tablet blows. Anyone know of am aftermarket external gps I can use for my tablet? It has blue tooth and both standard and mini USB ports

Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2
 
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