Skip to main content

2021 Toyota Tacoma log

A log of my 2021 Toyota Tacoma’s milestones and modifications.

  1. Front camera
    July 1st, 2023
    I added the Anytime Front Camera Kit, purchased from Trail Grid Pro, which made parking quite a bit easier. The install was at the upper-limit of my skill and comfort level, but it worked out and I’m very happy with it.

    Here’s a video of it helping me pull into a parking space with big rocks at its end:

  2. Glove box organizer
    January 24th, 2023
    I was tired of hearing the owner’s manuals slide side-to-side in the glove box every time I took a turn, so I bought this simple glove box organizer. It’s fitment isn’t perfect, but it did the trick.
  3. Bed mat
    June 14th, 2022
    I’ve heard great things about bed mats—most importantly: nothing slides around—so while I was at the Toyota dealership getting an inspection sticker, I figured I’d get one.
  4. First full year
    May 24th, 2022
    3,583 miles on the odometer and some thoughts: the truck’s nearly perfect, but if I had to nit-pick I’d say that the interior plastic was selected by an idiot (because it scratches far too easily), and the tune I had done back in December is an absolute requirement; whatever was done to the ones and zeros in there should’ve been done at the factory.
  5. Garmin Mini 2 dash cam
    April 6th, 2022
    I added a Garmin Mini 2 dash cam and used a Dongar Technologies adapter to power it from the factory rear-view mirror harness, which keeps everything discrete and tidy, and it’s practically invisible from the driver’s point-of-view (see the fifth photo).

    Here’s a minute of day footage:

    …and a minute of night footage:

  6. A/C drain tube extension
    March 27th, 2022
    From the factory, the A/C drain tube drips water right onto the truck’s frame, so I extended it using a handy kit sold by a fellow on tacomaworld.com.

    Here’s what it looks like before the extension is added, as seen from above:

    Here’s what it looks like after the extension is added:

    …and here’s an under-the-truck view:

    I’m pretty sure those white zip-ties won’t last more than a year or two, but they’re all I had on-hand; I’ll replace them at some point.

  7. Low-beam bulb upgrade
    March 1st, 2022
    I swapped the stock Osram H11 low-beam bulbs for Philips H9 bulbs. The H9 bulbs are intended for high-beam use, but with a small modification they fit perfectly in the low-beam halogen projector. Learn more in this exhaustive lighting thread on Tacoma World.
  8. Third utility rail
    January 1st, 2022
    I added a third utility rail at the front of the bed, right beneath the rear window. I have no particular use for it at the moment, but I like that it’s there to match the two outside rails.
  9. Tuned
    December 11th, 2021
    I got the KDMax-Pro tune which, in a manual gearbox, primarily improves accelleration. Read my initial questions about this as well as my short review after it was done.
  10. Bike mounts
    November 1st, 2021
    I added two pairs of INNO RT202 truck bed bike mounts, which attach directly to the bed utility rails. I like these because they don’t require removal of the front wheel and there’s still plenty of space between the two bikes.
  11. Bed extender
    October 2nd, 2021
    I installed an AMP Research bed extender for two reasons: it creates a small, contained area when the tailgate’s up, and it extends the bed space when the tailgate’s down.
  12. Fluid Film
    July 27th, 2021
    I had New Meadows Auto Repair apply Fluid Film to its underside, then set an annual reminder to get it reapplied every fall.
  13. All-black TRD bed stickers
    June 20th, 2021
    I wasn’t happy with the color of the factory bed stickers—too much red—so I replaced them with an all-black version from somebody on Etsy.
  14. Center console organizer
    June 9th, 2021
    The center console is just a large open container which isn’t as useful as it could be, so I added this handy center console organizer.
  15. Neoprene seat covers
    June 2nd, 2021
    I installed these EKR brand neoprene seat covers, front and rear.
  16. Silly sticker
    May 31st, 2021
    I added this silly manual gearbox preservation society sticker to the rear window.
  17. Tint
    May 26th, 2021
    I brought it to Darker Visions to get the front windows tinted to match the rear windows.
  18. Purchase
    May 24th, 2021
    I purchased it from Ira Toyota right as the vehicle market was starting to skyrocket. In hindsight, I was somewhat lucky to get it at sticker-price: about $41,000.