Ellie The Lost Taco! Stage 1

[Zeezal]

Greetings friends!

Zeezal & Ellie here with your first installment of my build series. So it Begins, so here is my plan and train of thought as I progress through this wonderful world that we call overlanding. As stated in my Introductory post
Ellie is my daily driver and as such we are in this for the long haul, that being said I want to be a very capable vehicle On road before we start going off since that will be where we will spend most of our time. Now break-downs can happen anywhere, so I figure step one is to outfit myself with tools necessary to get me back on the road if a break-down does occur.

One of my complaints about the Tacoma is I feel it lacks in cab storage, in my Sport Trac the rear seat was a bench that allowed me to store all types of things underneath the back seat and pockets behind the driver and passenger too, not to mention the included hard shell Tonneau cover. While the Tacoma does have ample storage for Drinks (ie 13!) and 1 passenger pocket, the behind and underneith storage of the back seat seem lackluster.

Which brings us to the very first Build!

Stage 1: Tool storage and Recovery Gear

Previously I had a Craftsman 95pc Mechanics tool set that came in a nice hard plastic case. Now since storage is a premium, I've stripped the tool-set down to only metric tools, and replaced the hard case with a nice tool roll I found on amazon. Also transferred my recovery gear which includes chains, tow strap, few shackles, and a basic road side emergency kit. Currently not in setup is my Hi-lift jack(waiting on Diamondback cover which should solve all my storage woes), basic first Aid kit, and fire extinguisher.

Now I still need to add in some basic tools to the mix, but is there any tools that any find super valuable and would highly recommend adding? Also where do you keep your tools? Ideas on where to put the First Aid kit(thinking under driver seat) and Fire extinguisher?

Tell me what you think, would love to hear the feedback. Thanks!

 

[HappyOurOverlanding]

Nice Rig. Look forward to seeing your build out. I have a 4Runner so I can't speak to areas in a Taco to put stuff. However, I would consider adding the first aid kit to the back of either you passenger of driver seat. If you need it fast it's more accessible on the seat than tucked under a seat which could get stuck on some of the wires or seat mechanisms when you pull it out.

 

[Ben Cleveland]

You can remove the plastic trim behind the rear bench seat, and you will almost double your storage space. When I had my Tacoma, that’s where I kept most of my emergency supplies, with tools in a bed tool box.

 

[Zeezal]

You can remove the plastic trim behind the rear bench seat, and you will almost double your storage space. When I had my Tacoma, that’s where I kept most of my emergency supplies, with tools in a bed tool box.

You sir are a saint!

 

[Ben Cleveland]

You sir are a saint!

Honestly, I have no idea why they put that plastic bin thing behind there. Its a woefully inefficient use of an otherwise very useful space. FYI I remember road noise increasing ever so slightly after I removed it. It has some insulation on the back side of it, so I guess it cut down on the noise slightly. Wasn't really much, just a small thing I noticed.

 

[Jrahn0822]

If you get on TacomaWorld there is a guy who makes a molle panel for behind the rear seats where the plastic bin thing is. There is also a company who makes an overhead molle rack for in the backseat as well.

In my Taco I utilize the under rear seat for recovery items(chain, tow strap, shackles, hi-lift handle and lift mechanism), behind the rear seat for some tools and other things that should be kept out of the weather. My toolbox holds most of my other tools that are needed to work on things and an air compressor.

Once you get your diamondback and truly start to kit out your truck you will find different ways that suit you for storage.

 

[Zeezal]

If you get on TacomaWorld there is a guy who makes a molle panel for behind the rear seats where the plastic bin thing is. There is also a company who makes an overhead molle rack for in the backseat as well.

In my Taco I utilize the under rear seat for recovery items(chain, tow strap, shackles, hi-lift handle and lift mechanism), behind the rear seat for some tools and other things that should be kept out of the weather. My toolbox holds most of my other tools that are needed to work on things and an air compressor.

Once you get your diamondback and truly start to kit out your truck you will find different ways that suit you for storage.

Saw overhead rack wasn't impressed, I'll look into the behind the seat bins, and correct once the Diamondback cover comes in, I'll have way more options, I have seen molle panels for the sides of the bed but not sure if they will interfere with the cover or the small storage boxes which I do plan to put a compressor in.

 

[Jrahn0822]

Saw overhead rack wasn't impressed, I'll look into the behind the seat bins, and correct once the Diamondback cover comes in, I'll have way more options, I have seen molle panels for the sides of the bed but not sure if they will interfere with the cover or the small storage boxes which I do plan to put a compressor in.

The overhead rack wasn't something I was impressed by either but it's an option. You could easily do totes in the bed and use a load bar to keep them situated across the front of your bed so they didn't interfere with your compressor in the side bins. There's a lot of random after market support for the Tacoma.

If you want to see someone who has a super decked out Tacoma using a diamondback look up Last Line of Defense on YouTube. He has a pretty good set up I'd say.

 

[Zeezal]

The overhead rack wasn't something I was impressed by either but it's an option. You could easily do totes in the bed and use a load bar to keep them situated across the front of your bed so they didn't interfere with your compressor in the side bins. There's a lot of random after market support for the Tacoma.

If you want to see someone who has a super decked out Tacoma using a diamondback look up Last Line of Defense on YouTube. He has a pretty good set up I'd say.

Yeah I really like his set up, it's where alot of my plans come from.

 

[coffeeshark]

There are some seat covers with MOLLE channels on them, you could put a tear-away first aid kit towards the top so you just have to reach back and rip it off. For me, I have a MOLLE visor wrap that I might use for the same thing, depending on how much it obscures my view (hopefully not much). I'm not sure how much room there is under the seat in Tacomas, but I always disliked having stuff under the seat, especially vital things like that. I mounted my fire extinguisher on the passenger side seat sliders, so that it sticks out in front of the seat, but it was such a pain in the ass that if I was to do it again I'd drill straight into the floorboard.