TACODOC

I am a big fan of Toyota trucks - Hilux, Tacoma, 4Runner and Land Cruiser.

My first experience with Mr. Toyoda's legacy came in the form of a used '79 Toyota Hilux 3/4 ton long bed with a 20R/4 speed tranny, an old school Timberline shell, and some rust. That thing ran like a swiss watch and never complained through almost 200,000 miles of abuse from me with nothing but routine maintenance and tires. So began my love affair with all things Toyota.

My second Toyota was a 1988 4Runner 4WD SR5 with the 22RE, R151 5-spd, and all factory options. That thing could go anywhere I pointed it with ease so long as I didn't try to go fast uphill on a long highway grade! 1st Gen 4Runners are solid machines and excellent off road in all conditions.

My third Toyota was a 2002 Toyota Tacoma TRD PreRunner Xtra-Cab with the V6 in Lunar Mist which my wife sold when I was in Iraq in 2003. I came home to my fourth Toyota, a brand new 2003 Toyota Tacoma TRD 4WD SR5 Xtra-Cab in Lunar Mist. We quickly outgrew the cab size which brings us to my fifth and "final" Toyota, a 2005 Toyota Tacoma TRD 4WD Double Cab in Silver Streak Mica with all available factory options.

The 2005+ Tacoma was based on the international Land Cruiser Prado 120 chassis and came the 1GR-FE 4.0 Liter V6 gasoline engine that produces 236 horsepower (176 kW) and 266 ft·lbf (361 N·m) torque. This Tacoma is the North American version of the Toyota Hilux pickup sold in international markets.

The project vehicle was purchased new in February 2005 at Toyota of San Juan Capistrano, CA, with a build date of January 2005. It is one of the very first trucks of this generation built at NUMMI in Fremont, CA, USA http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NUMMI and was a dealer trade from Reno, Nevada.

My buildup is an ongoing strategic process of parts selection and vehicle modification focusing on reliability, durability, and comfort in the field. The end result of all the time, money, sweat, and busted knuckles has been all the great memories made while enjoying the wonders of Overlanding in North America with family and friends!

Make: Toyota
Model: Tacoma Double Cab 4WD SR5 TRD Off Road
Year: 2005

Engine: 4.0 1GR-FE
Trans: 5 spd Auto A750F, 3.35 low ratio: A750F
T-Case: VF2A, low ratio 2:57:1
Front Axle: Stock Toyota IFS, 4.88 Nitro Gears, Donahoe (Icon) 2.5 Coil-Overs
Rear Axle: Stock Toyota E-Locker, 4.88 Nitro Gears, Old Man Emu HD Dakars w/extra leaf
Tires: 255/85 R16 BFG MT/KM
Wheels: Stock Toyota TRD Alloys

CURRENT MODS:
3.0 inch lift via Icon Vehicle Dynamics 2.5 CO's and Old Man Emu HD Dakars w/extra leaf
BFG MT 255/85R16's, Stock Toyota TRD Alloys
4.88 Nitro Gears from East Coast Gear Supply
ARB bull bar w/ARB fogs (Gen II) wired to OEM fog switch
Warn M8000 winch w/Viking Delrin rollers
Warn wireless winch remote
Viking 3/8 synthetic winchline (80ft) w/Safety Thimble and Winch Saver
LightForce 240's wired to 2nd OEM fog switch
Bentup square rock sliders
CBI Off Road High Clearance Wrap Around Rear Bumper with Swingout Tire Carrier and AT can carrier.
Trimmed Rear Bed Quarters
Trimmed Exhaust Pipe
Cobra 75 WX ST
Garmin Nuvi 3750 GPS
Hella air horns x3
TRD Sport hood/grill
Rear Diff breather extension
TRD neoprene seat covers
Weathertech floor mats
Kenwood Excelon KDC-994 Head Unit, Bluetooth and iPod
Kenwood KAC-7202 Amp
PAC SWI-X steering wheel audio control adapter for Kenwood
Image Dynamics IDQ10 v.2 D2 Sub
Alpine Type-S Door Speakers
Total Sound Deadening - eDead v1 SE2 - Fatmat
Ventshades
Quick Fist 4-D Mag Light mount
Sears Die Hard Platinum P5 Group 35 Battery (main)
Blue Sea Systems negative bus 12 circuit fuse block (cab power)
National Luna Power Pack w/remote dual battery monitor and Odyssey PC1700 MJT Battery (house)
Blue Sea Systems negative bus 6 circuit fuse block (house)
Viair 400C onboard air system
Safari Snorkel SS135HF
Console Vault
On board hard mounted First Aid kit and 2.5 lb ABC fire extinguisher
Full trauma kit
Full recovery kit
Frame and sliders corrosion proofed with full POR-15 treatment
Hi-Lift
ARB Bushranger X-Jack
Engel MT-45 Fridge W/New Gen Engel fridge slide & Engel remote thermometer
Snow Peak Kitchen - Iron Grill Table with Baja Burner and single BBQ box
AT FlipPac, color matched w/AT LED lighting upgrade and custom interior module
Fiamma F35 Pro awning w/custom enclosure made by SLO Sail

FUTURE MODS:
Yaesu 2M Radio
BudBuilt or Asfir Skids

My complete Hilux Safari Snorkel install write up for 05+ Tacomas featured at Cruiser Outfitters:
http://www.cruiseroutfitters.com/tec...o_snorkel.html

Feature Vehicle, Overland Journal Summer 2010 issue:
https://www.overlandjournal.com/stor...4&cat=8&page=1

States, Destinations and Events visited so far in this vehicle:
-CA, OR, WA, NV, AZ, Baja California
-Grand Canyon NP, Death Valley NP, Anza Borrego SP, Mojave NP, Joshua Tree NP, Olympic NP
-Parque Nacional de Constitucion de 1857, Mexico
-Expedition Trophy 2006; 2nd Place finish on the Sand Course
-Overland Expo 2010, Amado, AZ
-Overland Rally, Hollister Hills SVRA, CA - Expedition Trophy 2010
-SoCal Desert Rendezvous 2011
-Overland Expo 2011, Amado, AZ
-Overland Rally, 4W Ranch, Ellensburg, WA - Expedition Trophy 2011
-SoCal Mountain Rendezvous 2011

Trails and Destinations completed in this vehicle:


WA
Wynoochee River Valley
Quinalt River Valley
Chehalis River Valley
Humptulips River Valley
Columbia River Gorge
Upper Columbia River
Lake Quinalt
Olympic NF
Olympic NP
Okanagan NF
Wenatchee NF
Cascades

OR
Rogue River Valley
Siskiyou NF
Crater Lake NP
Columbia River Gorge

CA
Big Bear
Calico
Cleghorn
John Bull
Holcomb Creek
Gold Mountain
White Mountain
Rattlesnake Canyon
Bradshaw Trail
Coyote Canyon
Johnson Valley
Saline Valley Hot Springs
Panamint Springs
Darwin Falls
Death Valley NP
Teakettle Junction
Ubahebe Crater
Mengel Pass
Striped Butte
Geologists Cabin
Stellas Cabin
Briggs and Stone Cabins
Titus Canyon
Panamint City
Ballarat
Mesquite Springs
Furnace Creek
Toro Peak
Anza Borrego
Ocatillo Wells
Bailey's Cabin
Hauser Geode Beds
Joshua Tree NP
Tenaja
Salton Sea
Lake Shasta
Lake Tahoe
Pickle Meadows
Mojave Desert
Colorado Desert
San Bernardino NF
Cleveland NF
Sierra NF
Inyo NF
Angeles NF
Tahoe NF
Lassen NF
Sequoia NF
Kern River
Lake Isabella

NV
Rhyolite
Las Vegas
Hoover Dam
Valley of Fire

AZ
Colorado River
Hassayampah River Valley
Coronado NF
Kaibab NF
Coconino NF
Grand Canyon NP

MX
Tijuana
Tecate
Ensenada
Sierra de Juarez Mountains
Laguna Hanson
Puntas Cabras
Parque Nacional de Constitucion de 1857

Then:


Now:


Rack and Eezi-Awn version


Coyote Creek, Anza Borrego, CA


ExPo trip with HMR's rig and ours, Anza Borrego, CA, 2006/7-ish


ExPo Death Valley trip


Camped near Striped Butte with the new FlipPac, Nov 2009


Joshua Tree NP, rarely seen snow-capped Idyllwild in the background, photo by Chris Marzonie






MAINTENANCE CORNER:
New BFG MT KM's at 56,500 miles (21JUL09)
POR-15 corrosion proofing project on sliders and frame completed (23JUL09)
OME Dakar HD rear springs and OME Nitrocharger shocks at 57,500 miles (28JUL09)
Nitro Gear 4.88's from ECGS at 58,200 miles(30AUG09)
New cataytic converters x2 and new MAF under warranty at 80K (20OCT10)

ROUTINE SERVICE:
- 60,000 Mile Service (12OCT09): Front and rear diff fluids changed. Transfer Case fluid changed.
Engine Oil and filter. Transmission fluid flushed @ dealer. New OEM front brake pads, rotors machined @ dealer. OEM air filter, new wiper blades.
- 72,500 Mile Maintenance (5JUL10): Denso spark plugs, OEM engine air filter, OEM cabin air filter. Engine oil change, OEM filter. U-joints greased.
- 77,000 Mile Maintenance (10OCT10): Engine oil change, Bosch filter.
- 80,700 Mile Maintenance (6NOV10): Engine oil change, OEM filter. Tires rotated. U-joints greased.
- 85,420 Mile Maintenance (22FEB11): Engine oil change, OEM filter. OEM engine air filter. New wiper blades.
- 86,500 Miles (26MAR11): New OEM rear drum brake shoes (replaced early, 30%+ remaining on old shoes). Tires rotated.
- 90,700 Mile Service (21MAY11): Denso spark plugs. Engine oil change, OEM filter. MAF cleaned. Front and rear diff fluids changed. Transfer Case fluid changed. U-joints greased.
- 91,500 Mile Maintenance (3JUN11): New OEM front brake pads. (only 31k on this set...) Topped off coolant with OEM Toyota pink engine coolant.
- 93,768 Mile Maintenance (17JUL11): Engine oil change, OEM filter. U-joints greased. Brake fluid flushed and replaced at dealer.
-

Next up: cooling system service, belt and hoses.

Spark Plugs: If it's your first time changing the plugs, you will notice that the Driver Side has NGK, and the passenger has Denso Plugs. Toyota has been doing this for eons, and I really cant confirm why they do this.

Using 6 identical Denso plugs is what I recommend, gapped @ .040 to .041. OEM does not use iridium so I recommend non-iridium plugs per OEM engine build specs.

1GR-FE Spark Plugs:
HOW TO CHANGE SPARK PLUGS ON 1GR-FE

1GR-FE Throttle Body Cleaning:
HOW TO CLEAN 1GR-FE THROTTLE BODY

Great Electrical Reference:
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/tec...reference.html
http://www.the12volt.com/

FLUIDS:
Diffs:
Hypoid gear oil APL GL-5
Above -18 °C (0 °F): SAE 90
Below -18 °C (0 °F): SAE 80W or 80W - 90

HOW TO CHANGE DIFF FLUID

Transfer Case:
API GL-4 or GL-5
SAE 75W-90

Rear Diff - 3 QTS, APL GL-5 SAE 90 (torque fill and drain plugs (24mm socket) to ONLY 36 ft lbs per OEM specs!)
Front Diff – 2 QTS, APL GL-5 SAE 90 (same as above, 10mm allen socket)
Transfer Case - 1.1 US QT, APL GL-5 SAE 75-90 (same as above, 24mm socket)

Engine Oil – SAE 5W-30, OEM recommended. 5.5 US QTS, 4.6 Imp QTS

ONLINE TOYOTA SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE GUIDE!
http://smg.toyotapartsandservice.com...=2005&int_id=6

ONLINE TOYOTA TACOMA FSM!
http://www.ncttora.com/fsm/05+/local...es/repair.html

TACOMA TSB INFO!
http://www.tundrasolutions.com/forum...ice-bulletins/

Resetting the "Maintenance Required" light on 2005+ Tacoma:
1. Turn ignition key to 'ON' and press the odometer button until the display reads actual mileage... not Trip A or B.
2. Turn ignition key to OFF.
3. Hold in the same button you used in step 1.
4. While holding the button in, turn ignition key to 'ON'.
5. The 'Maint Reqd' light should blink and go out!

yotaboy82

dude. thats my dream truck right there. except i want it in 5 or 6 speed standerd and blue.

dropzone

iTrader: (6)

Very cool...thought that i had saw a 4 sale thread on ttora for your truck awhile back.
Glad to see you kept it...Makes me wish I had hung onto my '05

The EZ -Awn was a nice tent but the Flip Pac is just awesome

welcome to YT

Fink

Dude...so glad to see you on YotaTech.

Like I said over on the other board your rig is truly an inspiration.
I'm already pricing out some of the mods you've got.

Very nicely done.

Fink

TACODOC

Thanks!

Pumpkinyota

I'm in love.

I have basically the same pickup, in the same color, but a year newer. I am going to shamelessly steal some of your ideas =)

How do you like that Eezi-Awn? If you don't mid my asking, what model did you buy, and what was the price range? The wheels in my head are turning, and I am thinking about something like a Snugtop XTR shell (I can't find a weight rating for the rack yet) with an Eezi-Awn installed up top...

Nice work man, that is truly beautiful.

Fink

According to SnugTop when I called them a little over a year ago they said it was rated for 400lbs.

Fink

TACODOC

I had an Eezi-Awn 1600 on the rack, pretty nice tent and it was about $1500 new a few years back..

I cant vouch for Snugtop strength, but BajaTaco aka Chris Marzonie of Overland Journal has a Hannibal (similar to an EA 1400) on his shell and it does fine.

We did a photo shoot of the truck out at Joshua Tree NP last weekend so stay tuned for a magazine article in the near future

TACODOC

Hollister Hills SVRA 2010

What a great event, pics courtesy of barlowrs, Christian and Mr. Leary!

Complete after action thread with pics here:
http://www.expeditionportal.com/foru...ad.php?t=49735

dark_fairytales

i got to show this thread to my mom. she loves her 2005 taco and she will dig that awesome taco you set up.

Corey

iTrader: (1)

Dave, just noticed you were over here on YotaTech too.

I dig the Flippac, have seen your buildup thread over at Expo, and saw you mentioned in Walt's thread on the new AT Flippac he just bought.

Looking forward to seeing your rig in the OJ.

TACODOC

Thanks, I'm lurking around here mostly but love the direction this site has taken - I was on here years ago before I was on ExPo or TTORA and it's amazing to come back and see the growth

samster0077

Great looking Taco.. That thing got a Kitchen? Inside pics perhaps?

clarky_007

Yes, some inside pics would be cool.

06StormTrooper

Man, that thing looks great! I like the E-Z-Awn version a little better.

atomicsloth

Nice truck thanks for sharing

iamsuprman13

Nice truck not a big fan of the full cab short bed, but yours looks good...and ready for the trail.

TACODOC

I arrived at the 4W Ranch near Ellensburg, WA on Tuesday night and saved a nice spot for the crew from Northwest Overland Society (NWOS) who were out doing the Washington Back Country Discovery Route (WABDR). This pic was taken Wednesday morning after their arrival in camp, note CoastalDefender's 8,000 lb antichrist black Nissan


All the comforts of home. The new hot water shower room was the source of many new friends in camp and assured me of a steady supply of free cold beer

TACODOC

Left San Diego saturday morning headed for camp at Castle Crags in NorCal


Mt Shasta


Shasta's child


Oregon via the Siskayous


Camped at Lake Sylvia in Western WA


Detail of the rain fly, mounted just in case


My well known signature dish


Headed south to Portland and up the Columbia river gorge via 84 to Biggs Junction


To be continued!


Sam Hill Memorial Bridge (U.S. Highway 97, "Biggs Rapid Bridge"). View from Biggs Junction, Oregon.


http://columbiariverimages.com/Regio...id_bridge.html

Crossing the mighty Columbia


Stopped on the bridge between Oregon and Washington looking west towards Mt Hood


Stopped on the bridge between Oregon and Washington looking east towards Idaho


View from the Washington side, Mt Hood in the distance

TACODOC

Canadian Dave Blair gave an excellent class on 12V welding in the field at the WA Rally. I really enjoyed all the Candians in attendance and look forward to meeting them again.

The pictures are self explanatory, note the 12GA fence wire between the batteries... that's the key to regulating amperage to enable smooth welding. Dave recommends you use "farmers rod" for this application as it is very forgiving and works on rough, dirty surfaces. I was able to easily lay a bead with this setup. Dave recommends that you use starting batts for this vice deep cycle types. Total cost for this setup is about $25USD not including batteries




Canadian Dodge Ram 5500 4x4 in the mud pit at the start of the Expedition Trophy.
This thing was a Boss and had an Arctic Fox camper that he dropped for trail runs. Very skookum!


Team Nissan in the mud pit


Time for Max Trax!


H3 mired in the mud


NWOS member Mike Block came up with the "mechanical challenge" where competitors had to quickly use any ONE tool at a time from their vehicle to open the multiple fasteners securing the ammo cans shut...
... some chose to use brute force vs hardened aircraft grade fasteners...


... while others chose teamwork and hand tools. Dave aka EVLDAVE and Will from RMI eventually took First Place and won the PNW Expedition Trophy!


EVLDAVE and Will in the winning Hummer H3!


After the dust had settled from the Trophy it was time for me to break camp and make the long haul back down to SoCal. I took a few parting shots on my way back through the Cascades...




Headed south... It was one hell of a trip and I can't wait to go back next year!!!