2nd cheapest mod on the Taco...The youngest family member helped with installation!

Yesterday I got my console organizer delivered and had my daughter, Joanna, help me install it.

It cost me $19.99 which is my 2nd cheapest mod. The cheapest was the $2 blind spot mirrors.

I bought it here on Amazon:  Click to buy

I want to say thanks to my most valuable mod...my daughter.

My Arlo Pro by Netgear stuff I've used to watch out for the bad guys and weirdos...

I bought a Arlo Pro camera system to help watch my house and record anyone who wants to trespass. I see you!!!!

So I've had a few reviews about some Wasserstein products. I thought I would recap the goodies that I got and also post up a few pics that will help answer questions of my YouTube viewers.

I will update this post as needed. Thanks for checking out my blog, Youtube and Instagram @photos_by_rob

So there were 2 questions regarding the 20 feet usb cables and if they would fit the magnetic dome mount and the screw mount.

For the magnetic mount the angle cannot be too steep if the camera is upright. However if flipped upside-down it works. The arlo website or mobile app has a camera setting to flip the image. I have had zero problems with this.

max angle when upright

Little bit more when flipped upside down

Screw mount goes 90 degrees with no issue.

This is how I have one of my cameras attached using the screw mount which addresses the other question. The cable works with the screw mount in either orientation.

Just tested a few other products that mount the Arlo. I  really like them and have a great hold. (see first 2 videos below)




Here are the products I've reviewed so far.


Anywhere mount: http://amzn.to/2s7q0ia
Silicone skin covers: : http://amzn.to/2iyBCaR
20 foot usb cables: http://amzn.to/2s2LEp5
magnetic / ceiling mount review: http://amzn.to/2eS94rV
suction mount : http://amzn.to/2v2QT9x

I'm a Wolfgang fanboy - My BMW E30 is shiny and slick!

This weekend I decided to wash my wife's car then after get into cleaning up my Bimmer. It's been sitting for weeks collecting dirt. I have plantar fasciitis in my left foot so I've been avoiding the heavy clutch. My Taco is stick but it's just way too easy and painless but that's another story.

So this Wolfgang sealant does not clean up the paint in any manner. It's a straight sealant that lasts longer than a wax but gives that deep shine. You can in fact put wax over it.

The key is curing time. You need to let the car sit as long as you can up to 14 hours to really cure and away from moisture. My cars are outside so I have no choice to be less time. My Taco has a coat of that stuff and it's been 3 weeks. It's still super slick.

I got it on Amazon in case anybody wanted to order some click to go to Amazon

I put it on the windows and if you have any chrome put it there too. I also added them to the wheels. Just a fyi, Ronal LS or other BBS mesh style suck to clean. Major PITA to get all areas free of brake dust.

Check out my video and some unaltered pics of the shiny beast!

Taco gets greasy... fresh oil change!!! 2017 Toyota Tacoma

Taco turned 5000 miles and the truck was lighting up as a reminder to do scheduled maintenance.

If you didn't know the scheduled oil change is at 10,000 so forget about getting a freebie anytime sooner.

This video I talk about the tools needed and some tips. I tried to streamline it when possible but it's a tad bit lengthy.

Feel free and ask questions. Subscribe if you would like to watch my updates.

Plastidip... many love it and many hate it. Can't deny that it's a cheap mod though...Taco time!

So after getting my TRD "BRO" Pro grill I decided to fiddle with accentuating the letters.

I had extra cans of red so here I went...

Yesterday I decided to shoot my Quicksand basecoat on the letters and tone it down. I even used Plastidip Glossifier on top and it's holding fine.

Give the stuff a try if you want to see what a color looks like before you make it permanent. It helps protect it from the elements too. Just be sure to put plenty and I mean PLENTY  of coats of you'll be hating life trying to pick up small remnants of the stuff.

Yo bro where'd you get that TRD PRO grill?!!?

So I caved in got me a grill. I got it used so it helped with the cost. The cheapest new one so far is $393 from ebay. I just can't pay that much for one. They are nice but damn it's still $$$$. The metal grills out there are even more. I've seen some up to $800! Yikes, no thanks.


Anyhow I'm basking in my BROness.

Big TV against little Taco....

Picked up a 75 inch TV the other night. Guess who won?

Taco!!!! 

I could have loaded it flat but I didn't want the tailgate flapping around. If I had a tailgate extender that locks down the gate I would have done it. It was a 25+ mile trip all freeway and I didn't trust my luck.

So if you guys are pondering if a Tacoma short bed can take a TV...here's the proof it can!!!!

Taco Tuesday side shot using Samsung S8+ and Adobe Photoshop Elements

My recently acquired Samsung S8 plus has a 'pro' mode where you can save pics in in RAW form. For all the non-photographers out there it is an uncompressed picture file. What that does is not to shrink the shot into a jpeg with some algorithms to make the pic look nice. RAW sounds what it means. It's literally a raw file for someone to tweak the way they want. A typical jpeg file size on this phone is around 2-3 megabytes. A RAW file is around 24 megabytes so you can tell there's a lot more info to work with.

So yesterday I took a few shots and I used a sideshot which came out decent. I wanted to remove a few things to reduce clutter and distractions.

If you look at my before and after you can see the trailer on the right is gone and so is the light post. A few other things were removed too. I'm pretty slow at it so this took me an hour and while I could have done more I didn't since it's not going to be for distribution.

Check it out and let me know what you think.

after and before pics. Oh what an hour makes!

same pic as above but I wanted to go big

Picked up some Kbros I mean KO2

Today I found a deal on a set of TRD Pro wheels from a 17 Tacoma with BFG KO2s. The price was too good to avoid. The current wheel tire set up has some sort of vibration coming on and off at around 65-70 mph so I thought I may as well try another set of wheels just to make sure it's not something on the truck. I mean make an excuse to get more wheels and tires that is. haha.

The Goodyear Duratrac tires do look really good and aggressive but there's a hum that unless you turn up the music it's there and you can feel the tires wind down to a stop.

No freeway tests on the Kbro yet but I'll post some youtube feedback on it soon.

Kbros

duratracs

got dark quick so the pick isn't that clear but you get the jist.

gansta lean using a slider adapter

So since I was getting my sliders put on the Taco, I asked Ryan from Shmellfab to hook up his Hi-Lift jack using this custom adapter to lift up the side of my truck. Everybody who sells sliders like to do this to show how strong their sliders are and how it can support the weight of the truck so why not me, right?

Check out the video...the slider didn't budge

Sliders and Tacos do mix!!!

I recently decided in case my mall crawler ever hits dirt I should have protection. After doing research and seeing the costs of shipping a set to me I decided to see if there were any local fabricators.

I found one on the forum I've frequented a lot Tacoma World in the 2nd gen forums. Ryan of Shmellfab only has 1 thread posting about his work. The good thing is the mounting points of a 3rd (2016-2017) gen Tacoma are exactly the same as a 2nd generation (2005-2015) Tacoma. He does have to make an adjustment to the front of the slider when he builds it but that's about it. Another reason I wanted to go local is that he would install it. I'm a DIY guy as you know but certain things I leave it to the professionals especially when it comes to something heavy above my head.

I stopped by his home where he builds the sliders and we did a video to showcase his work and install.

I have to say his work is clean and they are solid on the Taco.

If you're local I'd recommend buying his products.

Video and pics of his work.

mall crawling door ding protector

custom removable step

My son Jesse supervising Ryan's install