Colorado Blue build - 2019 TRD Pro headlight swap

I like stopping at Crosscut Pizzeria in Ned. Real good wood fired pizza.

 

We haven't tried that one yet. Will check it out next time we're up that way. Thanks for the tip.

 

@thetwood is it the new RCI 1 piece design skid plate ? I have the older 2 pieces design.

 

@TheBeast, it is a one piece engine skid. I can't compare to others, since it's the first I've had other than the TRD, but seems beefy, fit well and had no problems getting it on.

 

First work on the truck this new year. Added an Undercover Swing Case for extra storage. Install was straightforward. It is a bit disconcerting drilling directly into the bed, but everything went smoothly. Works perfectly and was able to load up with a bunch of Christmas swag.

This box arrived in good shape. First one came damaged and the Swing Case had a big crack in the lid. Took a few weeks to get the replacement here.


After removing the tie down, I reinstalled the bolts, masked off and put a layer of paint over the bare metal.


Installed and swinging freely:


Swag from Christmas. Snatch and tow straps. Receiver shackle, two extra shackles and a Boulder air-down kit.


All stored snug, along with a few tools. Still some shopping to do there.

 

P&P Engineering sliders arrived today. Their new design. Had them shipped raw metal, so first project is to clean, sand and paint. Planning on priming and then using a textured spray paint (black). Then the fun of installing.

Have a couple of other projects lined up too. Will have details on those as I finish up.

 

Finished and installed P&P Type 4 Tundra Sliders this weekend (their new design). Cleaned really well, sanded down with 120 (and some 60 for a few tough spots), then three light coats of self etching primer followed by three coats of paint. Ended up deciding to go with Rustoleum Textured in flat black. Enough texture so your foot doesn't slip, but not as deep as bed liner. Am hoping this will be easy to clean while still non-slip. Will see how it holds up.




Install wasn't too bad. Had to drop the gas tank protection on drivers side, but after that wasn't bad. Lines got in the way on the passenger side, but was able to move them enough to get the work done. So far so good. They're nice a solid, look nice and the kids already like having a step. Now just need to get out onto some trails.

 

Since I didn't have enough other stuff going on this weekend, I decided to finish out another project too. Used 1" x 3/16" steel to fab some supports for Quick Fist clamps so that I can mount an ax and shovel in the bed. With the cover, I don't have to worry about locking them, so just having clamps is good enough. Cut and bent three supports, then self etching primer and flat black paint. Then plasti dipped the bottoms so they both don't scratch and provide some grip.




To mount, I drilled holes in the rack system, then mounted behind it using 1" by 1/4" bolts. Seems pretty secure and it's more recessed than if I mounted on the outer side. Everything just fits and seems secure so far.

 

Installed a set of MattGecko LED bed lights. One of my sons plays hockey and we'll throw all his gear in the back. With the cover on, it's hard to see his stuff at night (it's all in black bags of course). Install was pretty straightforward and didn't have any issues. But I wasn't happy needing to flip a switch to turn the lights on/off, as that's just too much work (and I needed even more projects), so I modified the install to include a magnetic reed switch. Mounted below the bed and put a magnet on the tailgate. Now, light comes on when the tailgate is down and turns off when it's closed. I can still use the switch to turn off manually. I won't be able to turn it on manually when the tailgate is closed, but didn't see that as too much of an issue.

Here's what the lights look like after install. Nice a bright. When installing, I left an extra ~4 feed of cable at the rear drivers-side bumper area for use in adding the magnetic switch.


The magnetic reed switch I used. Hardest part was finding one that would handle the amperage needed for the lights. Most magnetic switches you see are for security systems and can't handle the load. This one is plenty beefy. It's also configurable for both normally open and normally closed, which is nice. I then primed and painted blue to match the truck, because why not right? If we're doing this much, might as well go all the way.


I wanted the switch to only turn on when a magnet was close to it (Normally Open). This way, I don't have to worry about the magnet shifting and the lights staying on all the time. To mount, I put the tailgate down and determined where I could put a magnet on the tailgate. When down, the lower lip shifts towards the bed frame. I then mounted the magnetic switch on the bed frame opposite that with a couple of small bolts. I pulled the extra loop of power wire from the light kit up from below, cut, trimmed and connected to the switch. Had to remove the tailgate for mounting, which was a bit of a pain with the pop-lock cable.


After reinstalling the tailgate, I positioned a magnet. I bought a couple powerful magnets as I wanted more range than the standard with this switch. Ended up going with the largest one, as I had mis-positioned the switch slightly. All worked out fine and works exactly like I want. Light goes on when the tailgate is mostly down, then turns off well before it's fully up.


So far I love it. Works exactly like I want, I can see everything in the bed and I don't have to toggle the switch ever time I open the bed.

 

Here's a video of the magnetic switch in action.

 

Any info on where you picked up the magnetic switch?

 

Sure thing. The magnetic switch I got through Mouser Electronics:

https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetai...4jWpAt9DtwQ==&countrycode=US&currencycode=USD

The magnet I used is this one. It might be a bit bigger than actually needed, but worked fine. Just be careful playing with it. It has a lot of pull:

https://www.magnet4sale.com/n42-1-1...-magnet-w-2-6-countersunk-holes-epoxy-coated/

Both together are only about $11, but you'll pay a bit more with shipping.

 

My youngest son and I like to go out fly fishing. Often, we'll move around to multiple spots. We'll break-down our fly rods each time, which can be time consuming but is safest (vs leaving them in broken in half and putting in the bed, where things can roll around). I don't have a shell or roof rack, so the most common fly rod carriers don't fit well (and are expensive). I thought about the magnetic or suction carriers that go on your hood/roof, but those have max mph restrictions. So did some searching and came up with this solution.

I started by purchasing some T Slot nuts for the bed rails from Amazon. Just needed two, but got more in case I need them for another project. Then bent some 1" x 3/16" steel into an L shape. Drilled a few holes, primed and painted black. To these, I attached stainless steel hose clamps.


I cut a 10' section of 3" ABS pipe to 57" each, then used a large bore drill bit and saw to cut a notch about 4" into one end. This notch will be on the bottom and is where the reel slides in so it's protected. I drilled two small holes in the sides about 8" back (one on each side) and added shock cord. I tied inside on each side, leaving just enough to create a loop that doesn't quite go back past the end of the pipe. Finally, I sewed black felt into a tube (with a notch cut and sewed) and inserted into each pipe, pulling the ends back over the outside of the pipe. This secured everything well and adds a bit of protection for the rods as they slide in and out.


Once the supports were installed and the pipes placed in the hangers, I have room for two rods. We'll leave our rods rigged, breaking in half and placing the two pieces next to each other tip to butt. We'll use a couple of Velcro cable ties to secure, then place tip end first into each pipe. The shock cord keeps them from moving around.


Should allow us to leave our poles rigged and easily move from spot to spot. Now just need to get out to the stream and try it out.

 

Very clever and a great idea. May have to steal this idea. Hope you don't mind

 

I basically stole it from someone else, who had something similar. Take it and run with it. Just post what you've done so we can all see what you come up with.

 

When you say pushed front wheel well liner forward, did you have to drill or cut the wheel well? I put 33s on my 2018 and I get a little rub at a full turn.

Shawn.

 

I removed all of the screws under the bumper that connect the liner, along with a few of those on the inner part of the wheel well. When you do so, there's a small bar of metal that's inside that will come loose and fall out. Just take that out. I then was able to drill new wholes farther in to reconnect the liner and hold it forward. Hope that helps. I just kind of tried it out till it worked.

 

Thanks. I appreciate the response. Once I get it done I will let you know and post some pics. Thanks again. Shawn.

 

Just got the truck back from hail repair. They had to cut the roof off, weld in a new one, replace the hood and paint all. Then paintless dent repair for every other panel on the truck, including the tailgate. Took over a month, and had to go back in for a few small fixes, but it looks great now and glad to have the truck back. Since my original bed cover was a Toyota that I had installed at dealership when I purchased, it was covered by insurance. The auto body shop couldn't get the BAK Revolver X4 I wanted in time to replace, so they instead refunded me the $ for the original replacement. I then jumped into the BAK group buy here on Tundras.com and got exactly what I wanted for 20% off and free shipping. Saved me hundreds of dollars.

Ordered my cover on Wednesday and it arrived Friday. Had a friend come over today and we installed. Old cover came right off and the Revolver went right on. Instructions were clear and everything fit in place well. So far, everything looks good.

 

Since I already had help, decided to install the rear shock skids that I got from P&P Engineering (thanks @mac11). They're beefy and strong, but didn't come with any instructions so took a bit of trial and error to install. Since the rear shocks alternate directions for mounting, you get two that are exactly the same. Took a minute for my mind to realize why... With King shocks with remote res., these are bigger than technically needed, but I didn't mind.



Here's what it looks like before:



We ended up deciding to jack the rear of the truck to extend the shocks, but left the tires on the ground. We disconnected the shock from the lower mount and loosened the upper bolt, compressed the shock a bit and swung it out of the way. We could then place the shock skid in place, put the lower bolt through to hold there and install the shorter bolt above.

The upper bolt was the hardest part. Getting the nut on through the shock mount then tightening was a bit of a challenge. If you're installing, we found it way easier to tighten the upper bolt just enough to hold things together but leave the skid able to move around. Compress the shock, swing into place and let it down enough to get the lower bolt through. Took a few swings of the rubber mallet while compressing the shock a bit, but it went through. Once it's all in place, tighten the lower, then upper. The upper is difficult now that the shock is in place since its in the way. With both a short and long extension, we were able to get a socket just through. After tightening, the socket was stuck inside but a quick hit with a hammer on the outer side of the bolt loosened it right up.



Overall, install wasn't too bad and it's super solid now. Hopefully I'll never hit anything with these. But given that I'm just learning to offroad, sure makes me feel better to have them.

 

I like it might do something like that but for a bait caster

 

They are large to accommodate the trd pro reservoir shocks which is mounted unconventionally at the bottom.

 

Saw that in some of the pics you have on your site. Makes sense and I get why. It just feels strange when you're putting them onto non-trd pro shocks. Still haven't had a chance to get out and romp around with these on yet, but hopefully soon before the snows really hit.

 

Now that all the hail repair work has finally be finished (see this thread if you want all the details: Six months dealing with Hail) and we had a decent weekend of weather, I was able to tackle a couple of projects that had piled up. First was installing the RCI Transmission/Transfer-Case skid plate. I installed the RCI Engine Skid last year and this Thanksgiving when they had a sale I ordered this one. Slowing working my way back on the truck.

Install was pretty easy, even just doing it on my own. I jacked up one side of the truck just to get a bit of extra room for myself. The only real issue was reaching some of the nuts to tighten. My big hands just don't want to reach into some of the small spots. But went on fine. Matched up perfectly with the engine skid and all looks good now.





Ready to get out and have some fun on the trails.

 

Since I was already wrenching on the truck, decided to keep going and install an ESP CrewMax Long Box Under Seat Storage unit. I have an Undercover Swing Case in the bed, but found it didn't hold as much as I'd like and I'm always wanting more storage for gear. I was originally going to go with one of their plastic units, but wanted to store longer items (fishing poles, ice scrapers) and wanted it covered for when I transport with seats up. Install looks a bit daunting at first since you need to take so much apart. Will admit that it's a be nerve wracking when you first start cutting carpet and foam. The instruction video from ESP lays everything out really well and takes you through step-by-step. I watched through, then started again and just paused between steps. Took a couple of hours to do, but no real issues and went really well. Unit is very solid and does exactly what you want it to do. Haven't fully filled it up yet, but have plenty more to add and room for it. Will probably keep my straps in the swing case and other stuff up front.

 

Nice Build!