The Grey Mouser: Reboot
- Thread starter Haggis
- Start date
Scott B.
Adventurist
I am running custom Deavers (and I had a custom set on my Ranger) - great springs. Just be sure to weigh your truck before ordering the springs.
I am also running Bilsteins - very happy with them.
You have plenty of options - most of which will work fine for you.
With Fafhrd gone, the Mouser has to step it up to fulfill its new role as the work/hunt truck. The main thing that needed addressed was hauling capacity. Not wanting to lift the truck any more than possible we went with a set of Firestone airbags and the Daystar lower cradles as we figure that even if we swap leaves out at a latter date we will still enjoy the benefits of the bags.
Installation was easy, no drilling necessary thank you very much. I did switch out the 90* airfitting on the passenger side bag for a straight fitting as it was easier to route the air line for that side.
Instead of bumper or license plate mounting the air fill valves I elected to mount them inside the drivers side storage box. This was mainly to protect them from the ice, snow and road salt we see here. This worked out well as they are still easy to access and gives the install a stealthy vibe.
That contractor cap gave the Mouser a slight take to the rear but just 15lbs of pressure in the bags nets a nice factory rake.
A couple weeks back we did a weekend run to the center of the Keystone State with our BaseCamper in Tow. 20lbs seemed to be the golden pressure for towing and gear hauling. The ride of the truck is so much better than stock. The rear is more planted and the truck handles better both solo and towing. Couldn't be happier with the airbags.
Next we had to ditch the factory tires. Just 32,000 miles and those 265/60/17 Bridgestone tires were all but whooped. What a crap tire. With the reality that this truck will need to crawl it's way up to our hunting grounds, those weak treaded Bridgestones weren't gonna cut it. So on went a set of Hankook Dynapro ATMs in 265/70/17 flavor. Excellent reviews, especially for winter traction, tread wear and a reasonable price ($133 mounted) were the main deciding points here. Also Michelle dislikes the factory rims and was wanting something different. I began to show her options (ProComps, Methods and what not) when she noticed Fafhrd's factory rims sitting in the shed. "Those are nice, I want those on my truck". Ummm, Ok. Damn if they don't look good on that Taco, and I get to clear some space in the shed and not have to spend any additional monies. I'm all for that.
Installation was easy, no drilling necessary thank you very much. I did switch out the 90* airfitting on the passenger side bag for a straight fitting as it was easier to route the air line for that side.
Instead of bumper or license plate mounting the air fill valves I elected to mount them inside the drivers side storage box. This was mainly to protect them from the ice, snow and road salt we see here. This worked out well as they are still easy to access and gives the install a stealthy vibe.
That contractor cap gave the Mouser a slight take to the rear but just 15lbs of pressure in the bags nets a nice factory rake.
A couple weeks back we did a weekend run to the center of the Keystone State with our BaseCamper in Tow. 20lbs seemed to be the golden pressure for towing and gear hauling. The ride of the truck is so much better than stock. The rear is more planted and the truck handles better both solo and towing. Couldn't be happier with the airbags.
Next we had to ditch the factory tires. Just 32,000 miles and those 265/60/17 Bridgestone tires were all but whooped. What a crap tire. With the reality that this truck will need to crawl it's way up to our hunting grounds, those weak treaded Bridgestones weren't gonna cut it. So on went a set of Hankook Dynapro ATMs in 265/70/17 flavor. Excellent reviews, especially for winter traction, tread wear and a reasonable price ($133 mounted) were the main deciding points here. Also Michelle dislikes the factory rims and was wanting something different. I began to show her options (ProComps, Methods and what not) when she noticed Fafhrd's factory rims sitting in the shed. "Those are nice, I want those on my truck". Ummm, Ok. Damn if they don't look good on that Taco, and I get to clear some space in the shed and not have to spend any additional monies. I'm all for that.
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Scott B.
Adventurist
I am glad to hear you like the air bag solution.
While on our trip in Montana, while talking with some fellow travelers, I decided that air bags are the right solution for me, too.
Unfortunately, mounting mine with the cradle will be more difficult than yours - I have flipped my spring shackle. I need to build a lower mount that clears the ends of the u-bolts. But not to fear - I picked up metal this week, and have started the design!
While on our trip in Montana, while talking with some fellow travelers, I decided that air bags are the right solution for me, too.
Unfortunately, mounting mine with the cradle will be more difficult than yours - I have flipped my spring shackle. I need to build a lower mount that clears the ends of the u-bolts. But not to fear - I picked up metal this week, and have started the design!
Once upon a time I was not a fan of airbags but now that I've had them awhile (with the cradles) I've become a believer. The only downside I notice is that they rebound like a basketball and can feel "boaty" in turns when fully loaded which is all the time for me. That can be tamed with the right rear shock/setting and is far from a deal breaker.
Those rims look perfect on the Mouser too!
Those rims look perfect on the Mouser too!
Recently the Mouser hauled us up to the Canadian Maritimes for one hell of an awesome trip. The new air springs and tires preformed excellently both in travel mode and on what few dirt roads we found ourselves on. For some reason the trucks average loaded/towing mpg actually increased over our last road trip (we netted 16mpg) despite having the kayaks on top this time. Maybe it was because the truck was broke in more or because of the improved rake of the truck versus the stink bug stance of before...
Anyways heres some glamour shots from that trip...
Trip report is this way...https://americanadventurist.com/forum/threads/north-by-northeast-a-nova-scotia-adventure.5308/
Anyways heres some glamour shots from that trip...
Trip report is this way...https://americanadventurist.com/forum/threads/north-by-northeast-a-nova-scotia-adventure.5308/
Well the universe has its way sometimes and the normal order of things gets shuffled. Case in point, the Mouser is now my ride.
Not really what I wanted,I didn’t want to give up my FJ but at least I still own it. Cam is piloting Muninn now, Michelle’s got a new Subaru, the silver FJ was traded off and I got a slightly used but meticulously clean Tacoma.
To be honest it’s taken a few weeks to get over it being the wife’s truck as it’s not the flavor of truck I would own myself. But it’s growing on me and with the wife’s blessing I got a plan to make it more mine so to speak.
It’s going to transform into a newer version of my old truck Fafhrd. Just enough mods to make it a bit more functional and to give it some character. The Plan..
>First up will be an 2” OME suspension lift utilizing the heavy version. This will work well for the addition of some front armor, winch, skid plates and sliders.
>Next will be Sliders and some addition skid plates. Not sure which brand yet but I want something not too obnoxious to live with daily but with a bump out at the rear fender well. I’m thinking White Knuckle at the moment but haven’t committed yet.
>Front Bumper. More than likely the AiiPro Aluminun Apex with the full hoops. Though I’ve really been happy with the ARB on the FJ, I want to watch the weight on this little truck .
>I dislike the cap, but it cost a bunch of money and it’s good for traveling. I would like to sell the cap and our Maggiolina and use that as seed money for. GFC or similar variant pop up. It would be nice not to have to shift around the RTT, despite how comfortable and warm it is. Another advantage of the GFC is that it weighs a lot less than the contractor cap and I could remove it easier to convert the truck back to pickup mode when I wanted.
Anyways that’s the plan, waiting on some Memorial Day sales to drop the coin on the lift and get things started. Until than I’m going to make sone smaller changes to my truck.
Not really what I wanted,I didn’t want to give up my FJ but at least I still own it. Cam is piloting Muninn now, Michelle’s got a new Subaru, the silver FJ was traded off and I got a slightly used but meticulously clean Tacoma.
To be honest it’s taken a few weeks to get over it being the wife’s truck as it’s not the flavor of truck I would own myself. But it’s growing on me and with the wife’s blessing I got a plan to make it more mine so to speak.
It’s going to transform into a newer version of my old truck Fafhrd. Just enough mods to make it a bit more functional and to give it some character. The Plan..
>First up will be an 2” OME suspension lift utilizing the heavy version. This will work well for the addition of some front armor, winch, skid plates and sliders.
>Next will be Sliders and some addition skid plates. Not sure which brand yet but I want something not too obnoxious to live with daily but with a bump out at the rear fender well. I’m thinking White Knuckle at the moment but haven’t committed yet.
>Front Bumper. More than likely the AiiPro Aluminun Apex with the full hoops. Though I’ve really been happy with the ARB on the FJ, I want to watch the weight on this little truck .
>I dislike the cap, but it cost a bunch of money and it’s good for traveling. I would like to sell the cap and our Maggiolina and use that as seed money for. GFC or similar variant pop up. It would be nice not to have to shift around the RTT, despite how comfortable and warm it is. Another advantage of the GFC is that it weighs a lot less than the contractor cap and I could remove it easier to convert the truck back to pickup mode when I wanted.
Anyways that’s the plan, waiting on some Memorial Day sales to drop the coin on the lift and get things started. Until than I’m going to make sone smaller changes to my truck.
Had to work overtime this Saturday to correct the ignorance of others..ie...if you don’t fully understand how a machine works keep your mitts off it...but still got home shortly after lunch. It was such a beautiful day I had to stay outside so after handling a few chores for the wife I took a gander at this truck.
The tool boxes were showing some paint wear from the adventure gear stored in them and it was bothering me. I grabbed some masking materials and a couple of rattle cans of Duplicolor Bed Liner and took care of that...
Better. I think I’ll add some tool box liners to the floor as well. Now I’m looking at some LEDs to light up the boxes interiors and provide some camp kitchen lighting for late meal prep. Gonna set up a Blue Sea fuse box inside the cap with a disconnect to run shore power back there. Than wire up lights for box boxes, modify the caps factory light off from the running light pigtail from the dealer and have a power outlet for the 20 gal onboard water tank utilizing said fuse box. That way I’m not running multiple power leads all the way back. Mmmm...the woman is shredding some pulled pork...gotta go!
The tool boxes were showing some paint wear from the adventure gear stored in them and it was bothering me. I grabbed some masking materials and a couple of rattle cans of Duplicolor Bed Liner and took care of that...
Better. I think I’ll add some tool box liners to the floor as well. Now I’m looking at some LEDs to light up the boxes interiors and provide some camp kitchen lighting for late meal prep. Gonna set up a Blue Sea fuse box inside the cap with a disconnect to run shore power back there. Than wire up lights for box boxes, modify the caps factory light off from the running light pigtail from the dealer and have a power outlet for the 20 gal onboard water tank utilizing said fuse box. That way I’m not running multiple power leads all the way back. Mmmm...the woman is shredding some pulled pork...gotta go!
That pile of stuff looks familiar.
WashingtonTaco
Adventurist
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Love those wheels! Maybe change the color?
Love those wheels! Maybe change the color?
Nope. Everybody and their brother has black rims on their Tacoma, some have gunmetal. I’m sticking with Fafhrd’s original shoes just for sentimental reasons.
WashingtonTaco
Adventurist
Wasn't sure what color I would have. But agreed black is WAY over used.
Yep, just no white wagon wheels please.
The hardest thing about fitting this truck is trying not to replicate the same old Tacoma formula. Despite the myriad parts available for them, Tacomas all seem to start looking very similar. Vendors abound but seem to copy each other’s trendy items with very little innovation or creativity. Could be worse...Jeeps are even more homogeneous when their kitted our.
Scott B.
Adventurist
I know what you mean, but don’t worry too much about that. Do what works for you.
Gallowbraid
Adventurist
Only more Squatch and less sea monster.