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.
Lighting technology has improved greatly over the last two decades and this truck’s stock headlights were already behind the curve when it was built. I had more-or-less required the LED driving lights I’ve used for years as a supplement for lack of output. I noticed how bad the lighting was after retrofitting Morimoto M-LED 2.0 projectors into our Xterra. Those projectors are simply brilliant… Bright, well focused, very sharp cutoff. After the Xterra was totaled, I yanked them back out and retrofitted the Tacoma with them. The fitment is tight in these headlight housings, but totally worth the effort.
Last edited:
The fancy electrical panel that I had made back in 2012 had been happily doing it’s job since it was installed.
It isolated the two batteries and distributed power to all accessories. But... it was dated and in need of a simpler solution. The cutting-edge solid-state isolator on it was replaced by the Victron Orion with the battery upgrade and relocation. That charger/isolator, with its bluetooth app, removed the need for the Xantrex dual battery monitor back in the Flippac, so the shunt located on that panel could go. I also had plans for an extensive lighting update. I decided to make life easier with the addition of an sPod BantamX. That meant the relays on the underside of the panel and fuse block were obsolete as well. The sPod went right into the same location and was mounted with its included bracket. I took a torch to the bend and massaged it a little beyond 90 degrees to aid in keeping it horizontal and allow the use of OEM bolt holes in the inner fender.
The touchscreen control went above the rearview mirror. I flipped the mount on it 180 degrees and sandwiched it between the roof structure and the rearview mirror bracket. Turned out super solid.
The deletion of the panel and wiring probably resulted in an additional 5 lbs or more of weight loss from the truck.
It isolated the two batteries and distributed power to all accessories. But... it was dated and in need of a simpler solution. The cutting-edge solid-state isolator on it was replaced by the Victron Orion with the battery upgrade and relocation. That charger/isolator, with its bluetooth app, removed the need for the Xantrex dual battery monitor back in the Flippac, so the shunt located on that panel could go. I also had plans for an extensive lighting update. I decided to make life easier with the addition of an sPod BantamX. That meant the relays on the underside of the panel and fuse block were obsolete as well. The sPod went right into the same location and was mounted with its included bracket. I took a torch to the bend and massaged it a little beyond 90 degrees to aid in keeping it horizontal and allow the use of OEM bolt holes in the inner fender.
The touchscreen control went above the rearview mirror. I flipped the mount on it 180 degrees and sandwiched it between the roof structure and the rearview mirror bracket. Turned out super solid.
The deletion of the panel and wiring probably resulted in an additional 5 lbs or more of weight loss from the truck.
Last edited:
WashingtonTaco
Adventurist
I will be ordering my LiPo Battle Born soon! I plan on getting the smart version with the Bluetooth app. Currently running a Northstar thats just 4 1/2 years old but want to reduce weight and free up some space in my recovery gear hutch.
Nice! You will not regret it. Having built-in battery management and a true 100 amp/hrs on hand is a game changer. I don't even consider solar charging anymore unless I'm staying put for more than three days.
The Lightforce 240 Blitz offroad lights I added way back in 2012ish had been great. They throw a beam into a galaxy far, far away... But, they are huge, and they have always been taxing on my alternator (IIRC, around 30 amps when powered). The biggest reason for replacing though, is because they are better suited for a distance spot beam. The focusing of them was done much like a MagLight flashlight... not optimal. The combo filters I used with them helped, but it still wasn't great for flood and spot duties simultaneously.
Replacements come in the smaller sized Baja Designs LP9 Pro’s. I thought that was somewhat ironic, since so many talk about how large the LP9's are, and futher highlights the size of the LF240's. These are wired up through the BantamX with touchscreen switches for the amber backlight, lowbeam, and highbeam. The LP9’s high beam is triggered automatically with the truck’s highbeam, but can be manually operated by the touchscreen as well.
For those not familiar, the LP9’s low beam, uses only the lower three LED’s in the light housing. Some users skip the lower power option, but I wanted to have the ability to bridge the gap between my headlight highbeam, and the roadsign melting, LP9 highbeam. The low beam circuit and high beam circuit cannot be powered at the same time or you will let the ‘magic smoke’ out of the lights. I hope Baja Designs will build protection into their circuitry in the future to simplify this. In the meantime, it’s up to the end user to prevent that from happening. I started to draw up a schematic that would still use the sPOD for control, but add a remote 5-pin relay to lock-out the ability to simultaneously power both circuits. When I was confirming my circuit diagram, I found a copy of an sPOD’s schematic that already addressed the issue. It was done in the same manner as my own solution, and since it is better than my hand drawn work, I'm including it below:
Thanks goes to Trail4runner member Nicholas "4lzunner" for posting that sPOD schematic in his LP9 review here. It was the only place that I have seen it anywhere on the internet, and I’m confused why it couldn’t be found on their website. If you backup to my post with the sPOD install, you can see the additional relay that was added for this purpose mounted underneath the sPOD.
The addition of the LP9’s and the need to control three lighting functions, sparked the end of my two switch panel. I had made it to fit the stock dash clock location many years ago, but had no need for it now. Fortunately, I had kept my OEM clock in storage, and was able to stick that back in place.
Replacements come in the smaller sized Baja Designs LP9 Pro’s. I thought that was somewhat ironic, since so many talk about how large the LP9's are, and futher highlights the size of the LF240's. These are wired up through the BantamX with touchscreen switches for the amber backlight, lowbeam, and highbeam. The LP9’s high beam is triggered automatically with the truck’s highbeam, but can be manually operated by the touchscreen as well.
For those not familiar, the LP9’s low beam, uses only the lower three LED’s in the light housing. Some users skip the lower power option, but I wanted to have the ability to bridge the gap between my headlight highbeam, and the roadsign melting, LP9 highbeam. The low beam circuit and high beam circuit cannot be powered at the same time or you will let the ‘magic smoke’ out of the lights. I hope Baja Designs will build protection into their circuitry in the future to simplify this. In the meantime, it’s up to the end user to prevent that from happening. I started to draw up a schematic that would still use the sPOD for control, but add a remote 5-pin relay to lock-out the ability to simultaneously power both circuits. When I was confirming my circuit diagram, I found a copy of an sPOD’s schematic that already addressed the issue. It was done in the same manner as my own solution, and since it is better than my hand drawn work, I'm including it below:
Thanks goes to Trail4runner member Nicholas "4lzunner" for posting that sPOD schematic in his LP9 review here. It was the only place that I have seen it anywhere on the internet, and I’m confused why it couldn’t be found on their website. If you backup to my post with the sPOD install, you can see the additional relay that was added for this purpose mounted underneath the sPOD.
The addition of the LP9’s and the need to control three lighting functions, sparked the end of my two switch panel. I had made it to fit the stock dash clock location many years ago, but had no need for it now. Fortunately, I had kept my OEM clock in storage, and was able to stick that back in place.
Last edited:
I love my AllPro Apex bumper. I was lucky enough to be the original '01-04 model year test fitter for back when it was nearing its release. But, the thing I have never been in love with about the design is the turn signals. It's made for the use of 2.5” grommet secured clearance lights as turn signals. It has always been a cheap and untidy look for an otherwise best in class plate steel bumper. I lived with the low light output of those clearance lights as turn signals for years due to a lack of better, easy to integrate, options. I started looking around again last year, and discovered that the flush mount adapters for KC Cyclone V2 lights are a darn near perfect fit in those bumper cutouts. After drilling 8 holes into the bumper, these amber Cyclones took over as a much-improved turn signal.
These were added at the same time as the LP9's, so you can also see them in the post above.
These were added at the same time as the LP9's, so you can also see them in the post above.
Yeah, this is an LP9 issue that I find super annoying. Glad you found a solid workaround!