Pyrotaco's 2013 Tacoma

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Pyrotaco

Rank 0

Contributor I

60
Fullerton, CA, USA
First Name
Dustin
Last Name
Rachuy
Ham/GMRS Callsign
Kk6knd
Howdy, everyone! Dustin here, AKA Pyrotaco. Just thought I'd go ahead and start my build thread.

So to start off, I started with a Regular cab 2013 Tacoma base model truck. I know, I know... it's 2wd and low slung. Well, that's partly true. I bought "Paige" from Riverside Toyota a few years back having traded in my 2011 Smart Car. Her original duties were for a bug spraying company who wanted to upgrade their fleet. She was the last regular cab on the lot and instantly knew I wanted to purchase her.

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Simple, fairly clean... Time to jump into upgrades!

Nearly immediately I started ordering things from Amazon and truck accessory suppliers trying to rectify any "issues" and making her more capable. First came the tailgate strengthening plates, bedliner refinisher, and bedrug. These items kept the back looking clean while I worked on finding a shell for the bed. Also during this time, I put a black seat cover over the tan bench seat, an aftermarket centre console, black dash cover, put on an AVS Bug deflector and tinted the windows all around. This cleaned up the interior a lot and covered the "sins of the past owners" as well as spiffed up the overall exterior of the truck.

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With the small stuff done, time to install the lift. I went with a fat bob's 3in lift with an AAL. Relatively simple to install and provides a good amount of clearance. To go along with this, I upgraded the tires from p215/70r15's to Cooper 30.5/9.5/15's. Also bought a used Snugtop for $550... granted the wrong color, but does the job. Added a Surco roof rack to the shell as well.

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Looking pretty good and with the lift and larger tires, I now have plenty of clearance for when I'm out and about. The one thing I wasn't happy with was that I was still "peg-legging". Fixed that up by installing a rear diff lunch box locker which has been working splendidly. I will say that the install is not for the faint of heart and it requires a significant amount of work to make it fit properly. The payoff is a significantly more capable rig... granted it's still 2wd, but with it locked you can still get pretty far.

Now, it's time to make the back more usable through its utility! Time to build drawer slides that I can sleep on top of. Off to home depot to buy about $300 in wood, some hardware, and flex seal to seal out the wood from moisture. Picked everything up, busted out the circular saw and jigsaw, used my imagination, some rough measurements, and BAM! working full-length drawer slides!

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Tossed the bedrug on top of the slides and its good to go for sleeping. Simple, clean, and overbuilt for sure. As for how it slides, I didn't want to spend a ton on actual drawer slides as they are super expensive. I ended up using furniture slides under the drawers and it works just fine. I'm able to hold a ton of equipment and it presses up against the tailgate which now locks thanks to a new handle! To go along with it I also installed a backup cam into the handle with a diversion harness to make it feed into the head unit screen. Not to let that be all, I also installed a rear view mirror dual screen unit with an anytime cam for the rear and cresting cam for the front. Also, added a Viofo Dual Channel Dash Cam.

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With the main items done, I figured its time to add some light to the inside of the shell. My second job requires me to work late into the night and I'd prefer to be able to see in the back when I'm at a job site. Out came the LED strip lights to be mounted under the utilitrack, overhead, and on the door so I have plenty of light. Also, have under the hood lights too!


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And just for good measure, let's add some light pods on top of the shell (currently removed, but will be reinstalled shortly and was actually installed prior to the drawers... got a little out of order, but oh well). You can kind see it on the roof of the truck, but have 3 antennas on the roof. They are for my Yeasu 400dr, Icom 4100A, CB, and then there's a splitter with a switch inside for misc HT's to be connected. In my current config, I'm capable of running Comms on most available bands allowed to the Technician level hams (KK6KND is my callsign) as well as most common place public access bands (CB, FRS, GMRS, etc). Lots of time went into this setup and its nice an clean as well as hidden in the cab.

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Lastly, installed a few other electronic toys and cleaned things up even more. I put a PA in the truck for trail communications with a spotter so I don't have to yell as well as it allows music playback at job sites. Also installed an XM radio module for those long trips, cruise control (base models don't have it from the factory), and a rather large power inverter to boot. Again to make things clean, i ran wires behind the seat in the cab, did some power distribution, and made it all work. Also made a carpeted mounting plate for the back wall of the cab and installed my safety equipment too (fire extinguishers, first aid kit, and other misc.).

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For some reason, I can't find the latest photo, but you get the idea. On a quick side note, during all of this, I also installed a class 3 hitch onto the truck. Hardly ever gets used, but is always great to have.

So there are plenty more things I want to do, but the money simply isn't there... yet. I want to get armor all around (plate front bumper, rear bumper, and sliders), but it'll have to wait. In the meantime, I have Roadmaster active suspension coming in to assist with the rear squat and should be installing that next week.

Think that about does it for now. Hope this wasn't too boring for anyone!

-Pyrotaco (Dustin)
 
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Chadlyb

Rank V
Launch Member

Advocate III

2,779
Bend, OR, USA
Member #

7632

Great build so far. Love your ideas for the truck. Can't get enough of the regular cab Toys because they are rare out there. Look forward to seeing more.
 
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Pyrotaco

Rank 0

Contributor I

60
Fullerton, CA, USA
First Name
Dustin
Last Name
Rachuy
Ham/GMRS Callsign
Kk6knd
Thank you. I plan on doing more as money permits. There's also a limit to some things as well. For example, suspension is limited due to it being a 5lug truck... 6 lugs have more options. We only have so many options until we have to go long travel which is stupid expensive and fairly difficult to find. However, I find my current setup perfect for the moment... Well, minus the need to install the Roadmaster kit.

-Dustin
 
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Pyrotaco

Rank 0

Contributor I

60
Fullerton, CA, USA
First Name
Dustin
Last Name
Rachuy
Ham/GMRS Callsign
Kk6knd
Added some sumo springs to the back to give it a bit more support when loaded down heavy. The roadmaster kit will enhance this further and keep the rear from sagging. The parts are here, but will have to hold off on the install for another week or two.