Negative, Arizona. The Cruiser will get a New York though.
Trump's 03 Tacoma
- Thread starter Trump
- Start date
Negative, Arizona. The Cruiser will get a New York though.
I still have my AZ plates on the Land Cruiser, too. 
It’s been a long, long time since I last updated any part of this build thread. I feel that’s validation that this truck has been functioning well for my needs for years now. I think you’d be hard pressed to find anyone that have seen it operate on the trail or in camp that would disagree with me. Every time I start dreaming about something new and shiny, I hit a trail or go camping and find myself reaffirming that I’d be crazy to try and adequately replace it. It has remained mostly unchanged since 2014, but the changes that I have made have gone undocumented here. So, I think it’s time to dust off this thread.
Three years back or maybe it was four now... I'll have to look... I was getting ready to head to Moab with the staff here, but was not happy with my aged NATO style jerry cans. I got a Scepter as a replacement, a can that I now feel is far superior to the NATO. I also replaced the CBI jerry can carrier that I’d had for ages. It was a tough can carrier for sure, but damn, was it ever heavy. Made entirely out of steel, this boat anchor weighed, no joke, 20-25 lbs alone. Add a full NATO style steel jerry can it was designed for, and my bumper swingout could double as a wrecking-ball.
AT Overland’s Aluminum jerry can carrier dropped the weight to 6 lbs, and properly secured the Scepter jerry can, further reducing weight.
AT Overland’s Aluminum jerry can carrier dropped the weight to 6 lbs, and properly secured the Scepter jerry can, further reducing weight.
Also, before my trip to Moab, I knew that my house battery was completely toast. The dual battery tray I had been using for years had its flaws, but the biggest was, it was designed around a particular battery case (Odyssey PC-1200 or Diehard Premium Platinum P-5’s). When the rebranded Platinums went away along with Sears, it made it a tough financial decision to replace with two brand new Odysseys that were ~$50 more a pop. Truthfully, with only 68 amp/hrs if fully depleted, and not being a true deep cycle, that battery was not ideal for my needs anyway. I made the decision to "buy local” and get a Battleborn 100 amp/hr LiPo battery. These batteries are assembled less than a mile away from my work and have an outstanding 10 year warrantee. Being LiPo, they also have the ability to discharge to 0% and provide a true 100 amp/hrs. The Battleborn installed in the Flippac near the fuse block that distrubutes power to everything in the camper. It is charged via a Victron Orion 12/12-30 Isolated DC to DC charger, also located in the Flippac next to the battery. It’s a very simple, hands off solution, that provides more than enough power for my needs. It also helps me shed more than 32 lbs of battery
weight off the truck. Admittedly, this upgrade was far more expensive than just replacing it with two new Odyssey's that would've likely fit my battery tray. But, it was an substantial upgrade to my capacity all while putting things on a diet. I'll edit this post with pictures later, but there is nothing landmark here.
Just this...
...In this...
...Charged by this...
Also, I finally returned back to a stock (larger group 35) battery size after the lone remaining Diehard P-5 battery bit the dust in December 2022. It was replaced with an Odyssey.
weight off the truck. Admittedly, this upgrade was far more expensive than just replacing it with two new Odyssey's that would've likely fit my battery tray. But, it was an substantial upgrade to my capacity all while putting things on a diet. I'll edit this post with pictures later, but there is nothing landmark here.
Just this...
...In this...
...Charged by this...
Also, I finally returned back to a stock (larger group 35) battery size after the lone remaining Diehard P-5 battery bit the dust in December 2022. It was replaced with an Odyssey.
Good grief... looking back through this thread I noticed this and wanted to address it:
These weighted shift knobs sure looked cool together, but this was dumb as hell... don't do this. It took me a short commute during my first upstate New York winter to teach me that lesson. The stock knobs went back on and saved me from commuting with ski gloves on.
These weighted shift knobs sure looked cool together, but this was dumb as hell... don't do this. It took me a short commute during my first upstate New York winter to teach me that lesson. The stock knobs went back on and saved me from commuting with ski gloves on.
Those floor mats are the bees knees
They are great, but I secretly wish I had the drain plugs that you have in the Gladiator.
It is a nice feature.
I love having manual hubs on this truck. All parts from the swap I did are OEM from an early base model 4x4 Tacoma. But, those Aisin hubs can be tough to turn the dials. I had used a set of Channel-Locks I kept for years in the glovebox, but wanted something better suited and smaller. I found a guy on Etsy 3d printing this:
A simple tool that makes the job easy. Available here.
A simple tool that makes the job easy. Available here.
I would've kept the ADD system for convenience, but the electric actuator failed on me twice. Once when I needed it for a trail with Dave... I was able to make it fine with 2wd low without issue, but that wasn't cool. The second time I caught the failure of the used actuator before a weekend trip. That has been the only system on the truck that has failed me, so it had to go.