new taco owner stupid questions (2 Viewers)

[70seriesaddict]

took delivery of an '06 tacoma dbl cab trd 4 weeks and three days ago, looking to accessorize as budget allows.

1st - does any one make a snorkel for this year taco? ARB only goes up to '04. anyone make a water proof ignition kit for an '06 taco?

2nd - we like the best top soft topper but they only make it for the long bed, any suggestions for bed tonneaus/toppers for the short bed? also interested in a tent for camping that fits in the short bed, a topper/tonneau that works as both would be great

3rd - apart from a tonneau cover, any other ideas on increasing fuel economy?

4th - we are thinking of waiting until the solid front axel swaps come out for the new FJ as they share a front before we decide on a suspension upgrade, any thoughts on this?

thanks, alex

 

[WristPin]

I dont have any answers for you.
But I must say I think its awesome you wanna take yer brand new truck wheeling.
If I was in a finacial situation that would allow me to own a new taco, it would DEFINATLY make to the trails before it's first oil change.

As I think about it, there are some shops locally here, that do some work like building roll cages, bumpers, etc.
A place like that could biuld you a frame for the bed top, and you could stich some canvas around it.
Like a Can-Back.

Also, I dont belive a taunno cover would help gas milage.
If you have ever watched myth busters, they covered the tailgate ope/ tail gate closed trick.
It turns out driving with it shut improves milage.
It creates a locked vortex flow.
that flow assists air traveling over the bed, to improve arodynamics.

 

[WristPin]

Actually, I did have some answers for you!

 

[bkg]

Also, I dont belive a taunno cover would help gas milage.
If you have ever watched myth busters, they covered the tailgate ope/ tail gate closed trick.
It turns out driving with it shut improves milage.
It creates a locked vortex flow.
that flow assists air traveling over the bed, to improve arodynamics.

The tanneau will provide essentially the same results plus more. The tanneau will improve mileage, but not significant enough to quickly recover the costs.

 

[WristPin]

The tanneau will provide essentially the same results plus more. The tanneau will improve mileage, but not significant enough to quickly recover the costs.

if you have used it, and had luck, there ya go!
good enuff for me.

 

[nullifier]

no one makes a production snorkel right now. It will most likely be awhile since 99% of the new taco's will not see dirt for a long time.

Tanneau will not help fuel mileage. It has been studied. Generally speaking the bed will "pressurise" with air doing essentially the same thing as a tanneau. If you want it it for dry storage go ahead.

A better air filter might help a bit but the best thing is to not put your foot into it when you drive off. Trucks get bad mileage no matter what. Heavy, blocky, usualy geared higher. All the things that go against good mileage.

As for SAS it depends. Where are you? What kind of wheeling do you want to do? Is this a daily that the wife and kids have to go grocery shopping in? I mean if general trail use is your goal you can do alot with the IFS. If you want to go rock crawling then you will want to sas. Of course real rock crawling in a truck that long is not going to be a succesful experience no matter what kind of suspension you got. The length will make you get hung up and make negotioating tight turns even harder. With a truck that size I say do a Donahoe /deaver lift, wheel it on trails that are realistic for a truck that long and enjoy it for 10+ years. Then get a older reg cab taco or truck to build up for extreme stuff.

 

[Good Times]

took delivery of an '06 tacoma dbl cab trd 4 weeks and three days ago, looking to accessorize as budget allows.

1st - does any one make a snorkel for this year taco? ARB only goes up to '04. anyone make a water proof ignition kit for an '06 taco?

2nd - we like the best top soft topper but they only make it for the long bed, any suggestions for bed tonneaus/toppers for the short bed? also interested in a tent for camping that fits in the short bed, a topper/tonneau that works as both would be great

3rd - apart from a tonneau cover, any other ideas on increasing fuel economy?

4th - we are thinking of waiting until the solid front axel swaps come out for the new FJ as they share a front before we decide on a suspension upgrade, any thoughts on this?

thanks, alex

Alex:

1. I believe ARB is working on a snorkel system (read it in TTORA's site)
1a. water proof ignition... dunno
2. dunno ya got me
3. easy on the skinny pedal
4. is the sac really that necessary? unless you start breaking stuff I'd say it's an overkill. As nullifier states, the length will make the trail more difficult and challenging. don't knock the ifs on these newer tacoma's until you've tried it out on the trail. you'd be pretty impressed at how much stronger they are compared to the previous gen. lastly expect it to be $$$ as all things are.

good luck

 

[70seriesaddict]

NOW, a stupid electrical question, okay, so got the brake actuater and gonna put it in today and the Taco came with this nice ready made wiring for hooking up electric trailer brakes, only for the stupid life of me I can't find where it hooks into the Taco's wiring and there is nothing in the manual about it, so, anyone want to point me in the right direction?



Thanks all for the input on the other stuff. I am stating to think I should go with a 2.5 to 3 inch lift with the IFS and 33s, though we just blew all our available cash on All Pro's package (both bumpers, sliders, skids, hitch) and a winch, so it will most likely be February after my big show till I have the cash to do a suspension.

So, the f--ing neighbor swerves out of his lane right head on into my husband while driving the Taco, did $2500 in damage, hence the new bumpers, sucks, you know it had been over 15 years since either of had purchased a brand new vehicle, not fair.

So, gonna go to the off-road park in Gilbert this weekend, I want to wheel the Taco while the hubby wheels his FJ40, he is making it sound like I gotta ride shotgun with him and I am not happy about it. So what are we gonna do when we bring the Taco to the BHCC this summer, park it? I wish I had the $ for the suspension now, I think he'd be more wiling to let me wheel it if it were done being set up and capable enough to not get hurt on the kinds of trails we both want to take it on. Wish me luck this weekend.

 

[spike6901]

Good luck and happy wheelin'

The brake actuator might plug into your tail light plug. I installed one of those on a Jeep and you simply popped out the tail light, unplugged its quick disconnect plug, and plugged in the actuator plugs into both sides. I dont' know if that helps.

For fuel economy, a cat back exhaust (unless you already have the TRD one) and an air filter will help a little. It will probably take you 100k miles to make up the cost in economy but it would sound cool.

From what I have found, the lift kits are ranging in the 2.5 - 3" range right now. My advice, what ever you decide to do, is NOT use one of those spacer lifts. Go with a full spring lift or not at all.

It is good that you got sliders because you will use 'em with that long wheel base.

 

[haffi]

The electric brake plug is located right above the drivers side kick panel. Might be hidden behind some other wire-looms but you should find it.

Good luck with your truck

 

[70seriesaddict]

i hadn't even looked in that kick panel yet, found it just after i posted, i guess i should've spent more time looking before i asked, sorry.

went to Donahoe's site and liked their stuff, no prices listed so i fear the worst, anyone wanna say what their stuff runs?

where does one buy Deaver leaf springs?

in another thread someone said they'd go OME if they had to do it again, can you all compare contrast this with the Donahoe/Deaver set up?

gonna stick with IFS and go with a 2.5 to 3 inch lift and 33s. we need better skids, but after tires and suspension i think we should be done (except for a bed tent whcih i still really want).

i was a little disappointed in how the All Pro bumpers lined up, the front one really i guess, there is a lot more clearance of the fender on one side than on the other. the rear fibergalss corners were terrible, they didn't line up well at all and the way the mounting bolts were fiber glassed in there was just crap, they had to be bent and manipulated to get them to go on with any semblence of decency and it still looks terrible, better than a big hole though i guess. but other than that i am really happy with All Pro's stuff. painted the bumpers/sliders with rock guard, should be an interesting experiment.

went with the warn XP because of the remote solenoid, didn't wanna cut the grille, have it mounted on the driverside fire wall, went with synth. rope and now we are totally broke for like the next year.

we did wheel it at Gilbert Memorial day weekend, kept it to the easy trails as we were still on strete tires and had nothing by the stock suspension, biffed the new rock sliders in three places so they did their job. it sure was a gas hog hauling the FJ40 on the trailer up there though with the Taco, think we got 10 MPG. i tell you, i could get used to wheeling with a working CD player and air, i must be getting old.

 

[2Tense]

went to Donahoe's site and liked their stuff, no prices listed so i fear the worst, anyone wanna say what their stuff runs?

where does one buy Deaver leaf springs?

Give Jason a ring @ Demello Offroad, He can fix you up with the DR's, he can also get you the right set-up on the deavers. I had him do a 12 pack for the rear for mine. Just so you know, I cranked the DR's to achieve 3" of lift (no alignment problems) running 33x11.50x16 Mud Grapplers (no rubbing).

went with the warn XP because of the remote solenoid

Very nice, good choice. I did one on the front mounted on a ARB bumper and mounted one thru the rear bumper (where the license plate was mounted).

 

[Tatunka]

I have the Hoes and 9 leaf custom Deaver setup on my 04 Dcab and absolutly love it. This ifs setup in my opinion suits 96-98% of off-road situations and handles great and is comfortable on the hiway. SAS is the ultimate in off-road situations but the performance of the system lacks hiway comfort and handleing. Unless your brand new truck is a trailered rig and not a DD, I wouldn't worry about the less then 4% of off-road terrain I couldn't reach.

If I remember correctly Tacos have direct ignition type system with no distributor, or distributor like mechanicals. This lets the Taco have extreme water resistance during water crossings in stock form. I believe very few vehicles have this system, Tundra dosen't, but maybe LC, FJ and 4runner. Maybe someone will chime in that has more knowledge about the system.

"To provide improved reliability and reduced maintenance, all three Tacoma engines are fitted with Toyota’s Direct Ignition (TDI) distributorless ignition system, which replaces the distributor with crank and camshaft position sensors, the Engine Control Module and individual coils for the cylinders. This results in more accurate ignition timing, and aids the On Board Diagnostic system (OBD-11) in misfire detection."

Waterproofing Stuff
http://www.ttora.com/forum/showthread.php?t=19552&highlight=waterproof

 

[coonass]

The Best Top short bed soft top should be available by the end of the month.