2Xplore 2017 Taco build.

Dan GRiffin

Dan GRiffin

Adventurist
Well after 9 years of running my Land Rover Discovery II I decided it was time for an upgrade. Two weeks ago I purchased a 2017 Tacoma TRD Off Road with the sole intention of outfitting it for back country travel & camping. I have run allot of miles with 2 buddies Mike & Will who both have Tacos and fell in love with the versatility of the platform. I had originally planned on picking up a low mile "untouched" Gen 2 with less than 15k miles but I reached out to my friend Doug who works for a local dealer and was offered a deal to sweet to pass up on a 2017. I have never written a build thread so bare with me.

As you can imagine I have a lot of plans and have already set several of them in motion

Build Spec:

  • OME/ ARB BP-51 remote res shocks and coil overs with 660 over rear springs.
  • tires 255/85 R15 BFG KM2
  • Timbren rear bump stops
  • Metaltech sliders
  • CBI- Front aluminum bumper
  • CBI- Rear Swing away
  • Safari Snorkel
  • Leer 100RCC canopy (wanted an Alu Cab but they wont be out till late 2017)
  • Front Runner roof rack
  • Dual battery set up using National Luna controller and a Optima Yellow top
  • Lighting will consist OF a 20 inch LEd in the bumper with 2 Ridgis hood mounted lights
  • I will also pl;ace 2 10 inch LEd bars on either side of my rack and 2 lights off the rear of it.
I have a few bits an pieces i took off my Discovery that will be going back in as well

  • Warn Zeon Platinum 10K
  • Yaseu 7900 HAM radio
  • ARB Drawer system

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Thanks Mike, Ya so the "Test Drive" Well I met Doug at the dealership and we headed out for a drive through an industrial area. I got a good feel of the truck on the road and did a little threshold breaking and moved on to full ABS breaking..Truck felt great. I then found a few mild obstacles to go over so I could "get a feel" for how she would drive off road. There where a few drainage ditches that I drove through and then the last one was a doosy keep in mind I am in 2WD the whole time. So I drove in the bottom looked like it was just gravel. I obviously hadn't accounted for our record rainfall and the 10 inches of mud under the 2 inches of gravel. As I drove in the truck immediately sunk to the frame... This is when Doug started getting REAL NERVOUS I said dude relax it says "Off Road" on the back of the truck im just taking it there. I engaged 4 L and hit the locker to no avail. We ended up flagging down a fellow "offroader" who drove by and he gave us a quick tug out. Then it was off to the car wash before returning to the dealership to sign some papers. Doug had made it clear "Dude you just bought this thing!!!"

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I could not have resisted the urge to tell Doug in the middle of the mud, "Apparently this one's no good, I think I'll keep looking," and started to walk away.
 
My Front Runner order came in so I put my Slimline rack that will go on the canopy together. I sure love how well crafted their products are. On my last rig I had a Rhino Rack and it was okay but I think Front Runner has a better product. Along with the rack I picked up a prep table with under mount and a set of cross bars for my bed. My goal is to use the cross bars as a platform to mount my air compressor & tank as well as my electric H2O pump for my integrated water system this will allow for more room on top of my ARB Drawers for other gear.

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I'm thinking Dan, contact FR and see if you can get shorter legs for the cross bars. Once you put the canopy on it'll be to tall.
 
I have been working out the spec for electrical on the Taco and this is what I have come up with. Does anyone have any thoughts or ideas?


2017 Tacoma Electrical & Dual Battery Build Specs

Battery controller – National Luna battery isolator and in cab control

Accessory and light control – Switch Pro 8 switch controller

Accessory battery- Optima Yellow Top

Rear control panel – Blue Sea 4switch panel


Phase 1


Engine Bay:

1. Install Optima battery in Off Grid Engineering battery tie down.

2. Install and wire National Luna Battery controller and in cab controller.

3. Install Switch Pro control module.

4. Install CBI hood light brackets.

5. Install and wire Ridged Industries hood lights.

6. Run power wire for 20” LED light bar to be installed in CBI bumper.

7. Install Ham Radio antenna with fender mount.


Cab:

1. Install Switch Pro control head.

2. Install National Luna controller.

3. Install and wire Ham Radio.

4. Install Ham radio speaker in overhead console

5. Wire and install 3 gang 12V outlet on passengers side of center console.
  • Two 4.2 Volt USB
  • One Standard twist lock power port

6. Wire and install 2 gang 12V outlet at rear of center console for second row.
  • One 4.2 Volt USB
  • One Standard twist lock power port

Phase 2

Truck Bed:

1. Run power minimum 2 ga wire (100amp) from accessory battery to fuse panel

2. Install switch control panel

3. Wire H2O pump

4. Wire Air Compressor

5. Wire fridge outlet

6. Run wires from switch Pro Under Hood and install 3 lights (2) 6” Led (1) 11”LEDA
  • One 11 inch LED light Installed on each side of Canopy rack
  • Two 6 inch LED lights installed on rear of canopy rack
7. Run 2 extra power wires from under hood to rear of truck for future use.
 
Dan GRiffin said:
Thanks Mike, Ya so the "Test Drive" Well I met Doug at the dealership and we headed out for a drive through an industrial area. I got a good feel of the truck on the road and did a little threshold breaking and moved on to full ABS breaking..Truck felt great. I then found a few mild obstacles to go over so I could "get a feel" for how she would drive off road. There where a few drainage ditches that I drove through and then the last one was a doosy keep in mind I am in 2WD the whole time. So I drove in the bottom looked like it was just gravel. I obviously hadn't accounted for our record rainfall and the 10 inches of mud under the 2 inches of gravel. As I drove in the truck immediately sunk to the frame... This is when Doug started getting REAL NERVOUS I said dude relax it says "Off Road" on the back of the truck im just taking it there. I engaged 4 L and hit the locker to no avail. We ended up flagging down a fellow "offroader" who drove by and he gave us a quick tug out. Then it was off to the car wash before returning to the dealership to sign some papers. Doug had made it clear "Dude you just bought this thing!!!"

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Click to expand...

Best test drive ever...
 
Well the build continues today I dropped the truck off at Land Cruiser NW Tony and Matt will be installing the ARB BP 51 suspension system as well as a set of Timbren bump stops and my Safari Snorkel. While I was at the shop I had the opportunity to talk with Matt about a new Overland trailer project they have been working on. The trailer are very light weight and well designed. It looks like i will be taking one for a road/trail test when I head to Moab in May.

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After a quick run up to Seattle this past weekend and watching my 13 year old son make a complete mess out of the cloth seats I decided to order s set of Coverkings that match the truck, hopefully the neoprene will help keep the cloth in good shape.

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Well after a bit more research and a phone call over to Coach Leather in Beaverton Oregon I have cancelled my order for Coverkings and decided to go with leather. My last few vehicals have all had leather and I swore I would never go back to cloth interior. Well that is till I found out I t really wasn't an option in the Tacoma. Coach sells and installs Katzkins which are a simple replacement for the cloth covers on the factory seat. Although a bit more expensive than a set of nice seat covers I believe this will serve me much better. Below is a picture they sent me of a Tacoma. I am doing the same set up with blue stitching to match the truck.

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Dan GRiffin said:
How has that effected on road handling for you?
Click to expand...

I removed mine yesterday after the Fox 2.5s got settled. Zero difference. I drive a wickedly dangerous mountain road to work every day and wanted to test the sway with no stabilizer. Since you have adjustable shocks, you can dial up the compression or the preload slightly to compensate if you feel the need. I added the RTT and rack today and increased my compression by one click, and it's perfect. The nice thing is I get better articulation, but not at the cost of stability.
 
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