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Marc Amos

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.
    The entirety of the kit laid out on my work bench; it looks like a mess of wires with plastic connectors.
    It’s a view of the center of the truck’s dashboard, with the plastic bezel that surrounds the stereo removed.
    It’s the plastic grille on the front of the truck, with a small hole already drilled to (eventually) accept the camera.
    It’s the plastic grille on the front of the truck, with a small hole already drilled to (eventually) accept the camera, but viewed from behind the grille, making it easy to see how the hole had to be off-center in order to fit between two existing bumps.
    I’ve partially inserted the camera into the hole in the truck’s grille.
    Another view of the partially installed camera, but viewed from the back of the grille.
    Inside the truck, down by the left foot, I’ve removed the plastic cover to give me access to the rubber grommet in the firewall.
    Inside the truck, down by the left foot, I’ve removed the plastic cover to give me access to the rubber grommet in the firewall, then I gently peeled back the carpet to gain better access.
    Inside the truck, down by the left foot, I’ve now got access to the rubber grommet and gently pushed a very long screwdriver through a small hole in it.
    Under the hood, focusing on the area in the firewall where the rubber grommet is, I’ve put my thumb on the tip of the long screwdriver I pushed through.
    Under the hood, focusing on the area in the firewall where the rubber grommet is, I’ve now pulled through the two wires that need to connect to the camera in the grille.
    Inside the truck, I’ve pulled more of the plastic trim around and below the stereo off in order to give myself access to the wires that eventually need to fish up to the back of it.
    I have the very long screwdriver gently inserted behind the dashboard, below the stereo, so I can tape wires to it and pull them through.
    I successfully pulled the wires from the footwell up behind the dashboard and am now holding them in my hand.
    Another photo of the large collection of wires, now resting on the removed stereo.
    Under the hood, I start to wrap the camera-specific wires in a black loom.
    Under the hood and at the top of the grille, I highlight the path I took with the camera wires by way of a drawn-on yellow line.
    Under the hood and on the driver’s side, I highlight the path I took with the camera wires by way of a drawn-on yellow line.
    Under the hood and down behind the grille, I highlight the path I took with the camera wires by way of a drawn-on yellow line.
    In the truck with the dashboard put back togther, the kit’s front/rear camera switch is installed next to the truck’s other factory switches.

    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.
    The interor of my glove box without the organizer in place; you can see how the owner’s manuals have a lot of room to slide around.
    The glove box organizer assembled, in my hand, so it’s easy to see its shape.
    The glove box organizer, now inside my glove box.
  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.
    A factory bed mat in the bed of my Tacoma
  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).
    Behind the rear-view mirror, with its factory harness unplugged
    Behind the rear-view mirror, with the Dongar Technologies adapter between the mirror and its factory harness
    Behind the rear-view mirror, with the dash cam plugged into the adapter
    Behind the rear-view mirror, with everything buttoned up and the dash cam stuck to the windshield
    A view from the driver’s seat, showing just how hidden the dash cam is behind the rear-view mirror
    A side-profile photo of the dash cam and the adapter after finishing the installation

    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.
    The inside-front of the Tacoma’s bed, with arrows that point to the third utility rail
  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.
    A zoomed in photo of a rear wheel well, showing the recent application of Fluid Film on the Tacoma’s frame
  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.
    A close up view of the all-black bed sticker
    A zoomed out view of the all-black bed sticker
  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.
    An interior photo of the organizer that sits at the top of the center console
  15. Neoprene seat covers
    June 2nd, 2021
    I installed these EKR brand neoprene seat covers, front and rear.
    An interior photo of the rear seats, with neoprene seat covers installed
    An interior photo of the front seats, with neoprene seat covers installed
  16. Silly sticker
    May 31st, 2021
    I added this silly manual gearbox preservation society sticker to the rear window.
    A close-up photo of a sticker, on my back window, that reads 'The Manual Gearbox Preservation Society'
  17. Tint
    May 26th, 2021
    I brought it to Darker Visions to get the front windows tinted to match the rear windows.
    A side-profile photo of the Tacoma, now with tint on the front windows
    A zoomed in side-profile photo of the Tacoma, now with tint on the front 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.
    The Tacoma, outside of the Toyota dealership, ready for me to take it home
    The Tacoma’s first time in our driveway, front three-quarter view
    The Tacoma’s first time in our driveway, rear three-quarter view