Next up, install kb voodoo bed rail caps. Notice i dont have the shark fin antenna that everyone is talking about. So I figured i can take advantage of the loss of height from the caps
the factory 2nd gen bed rails are a tall plastic piece - and tends to get destroyed over time. at the bare minimum its best to seal under them to stop dust intrusion, the 3rd gen ones are much more lower profile and don’t seem as effected by the weight (currently). need to seal under them too thou (as well as other parts of the truck bed)
I think ive been way overthinking the bed side caps over the past couple days. Luckily a couple very nice people have been able to help me out with measurements, and ease my stress about leaving them on the truck. @BVRC and V1 #991
The kb voodoo bedside caps are 1/8" thick. The 2nd gen Tacoma stock caps are 3/4" thick. Which translates to 5/8" lower than stock.
Now, for my truck, I already have the lower satellite antenna, which is the same height as the low profile one from Totally Rad Products. The height of that is 3/4".
So from the top of the bedside to the top of the antenna is right around 21". If anyone with a V2 on a 2nd gen Tacoma could confirm what their measurement from bottom of overhang to top of bedside mount, i will send you some beverages of your choice!
Also to note, the second picture might not be exactly right. I want to say +/- 1/4". I really need to get another person to help me measure, and keep things level.
Ive been thinking about my options since the release of V2…
-black panels (I would like to compare the white panels to my truck, but I dont want my truck to look like a work truck, so 99% will go with black)
-tent double doors
-tangerine fabric
No other options. I am grandfathered into the old pricing, so should be $7k.
Ive already ordered the awning kit from Gzila, and 28 t nuts for 3x DIY roof bars and my GMRS antenna mount. Just need to swap back to my kb voodoo bed rails once @DonnieUtah confirms fitment
Just ordered the parts to make the DIY roof rack. Going with 3x cross bars. The cost difference between silver and black turned out to be ~$5 each, and i know that i can get a can of spray paint for $5. So silver it is! Total came to be $156 shipped for the cross bars and brackets. My Gzila t nuts should be shipping next week, and then ill partially assemble everything before road trip 3000 miles to Montana. Im planning on picking up some Loctite 243 soon also, but that can wait/be acquired locally.
@fatfurious2 i thought the same once and painted some. couple years later they don’t look great, and the paint fills in the rail so sometimes any hardware you are putting in the doesn’t slide well -of course if you are just placing something there that doesn’t move on or off… personally wished i had just brought black
oh thats a good point that I didnt think of. I will try to email 8020 tomorrow to see if I can change my order. Thanks!
A trick I learned when I had my Prinsu is, 1/4" carriage bolts slide in there. That was my plan with using some of these Z brackets to mount my solar. It will be up there permanently.
Also, I previously used some universal clevis pins welded to flatbar, for the “maxtrax” mounts, along with stainless steel wire, and a clip
@fatfurious2 also took enough time to paint, and cans (i had 7 bars i think) i would have easily made my money back in time… oh well painted will still work for what you are doing if they cant change it. we drilled thru ours for maxtrax mounts, you can see how much of the paint has come off. i used a wheel paint
Hey! Just wondering how those voodoo bed rail caps are working out for you? I have had the same problem with the original plastic moulding. Do you think the height difference will be problematic with the GFC?
I dont have my V2 yet. Hopefully scheduling the install next week for July.
The rails themselves are great. No issues there. Someone else on the Facebook group got a V2 with the same low antenna that i have, and Relentless Fabrication bed rails, and they have no issues. I am going to trust in that with mine.
Hey! I’m the other person in the FB group just mentioned. I have the Relentless rails and stubby antenna (not the TRP one) installed with the V2. No issue, just have to make sure the tailgate has a similar replacement cap or remove the plastic rails.
Looks great @DonnieUtah, thanks for the reply. I installed the kb voodoo rails and took off the tailgate cap to allow it to close with my current topper. I just ordered a new tailgate cap from mobtown offroad which looks like it is very low profile as I have only a few millimeters to spare on the tailgate. Overall seems much better than the plastic.
I think I have one of their original ones. Its definitely lasted the abuse I’ve put it through.
I haven’t done much else to get the truck ready. When I get my install date, going to do an oil change, diff fluid change, grease my driveline, change pulleys and serpentine belt. And if i have time, i will replace my water pump and put in my aluminum radiator.
I ordered some Z brackets for my solar panel, and my DIY beef rack parts should be shipping soon. Ill get an update in when those come in.
