2 Likes
The truck bed spent a decent amount of time loaded up for trips the past 6 months. A spring project is going to be to work on a small cabinet build to hold the water, recovery gear, tools, and electrical bits.
This is how it looks packed for a week long trip we recently took.
A week after the supercharger was installed we took off on a 3 week trip up to Orcas Island, with a bunch of stops on the way out and back.
On that trip we started a routine where we leave breakfast on the fridge for the kids when they climb down from the GFC in the morning. They loved the pastries and we loved the extra 30 minutes of quiet time before they made it to the trailer to wake us up 
One week after we got back from that trip our fridge in the truck died. I replaced it with an Iceco that opens from the right or left so it can be accessed easily from inside the truck bed, at the tailgate, or from outside the truck with the side panel on the GFC open.
The most recent trip I was able to dial in a hammock setup for locations we don’t have trees.
In October I picked my old car up from my parents…it’s been parked most of the past 10 years and only had 500 miles on the tires that were installed in 2012. This was the first vehicle I purchased so it has some sentimental value and I’ve decided to restore it with an OEM+ style build.
Hauling the seats to get recovered was a reminder that it’s nice to have the bed not built out with permanent cabinets so I can still fit large items back there still. The old Z3 has taken most of my attention off the truck build while I get it prepped for the spring. I’m working on installing a new top while the seats and door cards are with the upholstery shop. Once the interior goes back together I’ll focus on refreshing the nearly 30 year old rubber bits on the suspension.
5 Likes
The Z3 is back together…don’t mind the dirty interior, I’ve been driving it while waiting for the last few trim pieces. The top is done but it hasn’t been back up since March.
The upholstery shop did a nice job on the seats and door cards.
It took some liquid courage to install the new top but I’m happy with how it turned out. I broke the install up over two evenings.
Once the top was done I got to cutting up some NLA parts which is always fun
Fortunately I didn’t screw up and the roll bar fit, with some encouragement…
I also replaced the wood steering wheel with a recovered wheel from a euro early e36 M3…the build date on the wheel was 1 month before my Z3 but it’s from a later model year car.
1 Like
On the GFC, I’ve been working on a diesel heater and proper dual battery setup instead of the isolator and old AGM that I have been using.
I put the diesel heater in a Plano box that is large enough for a fuel tank and all the ductwork. I’m using a 5KW heater and will heat the GFC and put trailer with it.
I should be set to test the solar this weekend. I’m working on layout and building the wiring harness currently. The 100ah lithium will be fed through a Renogy 50A MPPT controller by a pair of 100W panels and get an extra boost from the alternator using a dc-dc charger when the truck is running.
2 Likes
Brackets for the first panel cut last night. Working on cutting the second set while the adhesive for the carpet dries.
1 Like
Wrapped up the solar installation and took off on a trip and forgot to post the update but here’s where it stands now…I have some more work to do when I build the cabinet but I intend to run it like this through the winter at least.
I fabricated mounts out of some angle aluminum and riveted the two 100w solar panels to the mounts so I don’t have to worry about bolts rattling loose off road. The panels are about 1/2" below the top of the beef racks and spaced to allow for the installation of my ski box in the winter.
This was the point of no return…with the amount of times my truck has seen a cutoff wheel I still have anxiety leading up to the point of no return on projects.
I spent most of my time on the wiring but I’m happy with how it’s coming together. I need to finish installing the exterior camp lighting and wrap up the fridge wiring (I want to use an Anderson plug instead of the lighter socket)
2 Likes
Had back to back mechanicals on the last two trips and was wondering what the third issue was going to be…tonight I found it.
Inner fender is failing on the driver side…right under the battery
On my last trip I snapped 3 lugs…only thing I can think of is that they got stressed when I slid the loaded up truck into a ditch with the trailer in tow in the Bear River Range and again a few days later in the Wasatch Ramge. There is a dirt mark on the sidewall of the tire and new rim rash opposite where the lugs snapped and the nuts had been torqued as part of my pre departure check. They had enough after 120k miles of stress and that shot did them in or stretched them enough to loosen them, leading to the failure.
I ended up swapping a lug over from the driver side in the campground at craters of the moon and then limped into twin falls to pick up parts. I was going to find a parking lot and swap in the new lugs but decided against doing the work in 95° heat with limited tools. Fortunately this held for the trip home.
On my previous trip I knocked my alignment out and had to remove and reinstall the upper ball joint on the driver side SPC UCA.
1 Like
Dang. Is that inner fender crack a common thing on that generation of Tacoma?
It’s a known issue on the 2nd Gen that see a lot of off-road use. There anre options for either reinforcement or replacement of the inner fenders.