[rodneyk]

I picked up a 2010 Trail Edition a month ago after the untimely demise of my 4th Gen Limited V8.

The old truck was quite a workhorse, it did 300,000 kms of mostly city or trail driving yet still ran as smooth and quiet as day 1.

I'm still getting used to the lack of turning radius of this 5th Gen. Overall it doesn't feel quite as well built as my old 4th Gen. The plastics and the doors feel clunkier and its generally less quiet and isolated. It's not all bad though, the old one was a pig on gas, and the rear locker and KDSS will be nice features to have on the trail with this one.

This is the truck being replaced:
[/url]
OME lift, ARB Bumper, Smittybuilt winch, dual battery with painless controller, Edgestar fridge, sliders, Full RCI aluminum skid plate package, 275/70/17 KO2s

Onto the new truck: Its nice to have a second chance for a do-over. All the experience I had with the last truck, everything I'd do differently in hindsight. I get to try again with this one.

I never bothered taking any stock pics. Everyone knows what a stock Trail Edition looks like anyways.

First item: Xuji leather steering wheel cover

I hate plastic steering wheels. Quality of the kit is decent. What a pain in the ass to stitch it on though. I pulled the wheel, airbag and all the trim to install it. It'll never look clean if you don't, there's quite a bit of material to stuff under the trim pieces. $55 on Amazon and a bit of tedious but easy work sure beats paying several hundred at the local stealership.

Suspension: The old truck had a tired, old set of OME shocks with 886/895 springs. They'd done about 120,000 kms and were pretty much begging to come out. I had a set of Radflos ordered for it ready to go in. Thankfully the new suspension never made it onto there.

Extended travel Radflo 2.5, Total Chaos UCA's, Bilstein 5125 rear with Toytec superflex 2.0 springs. Ride is superb, even at stock weight in the front, the Radflos soak up the bumps. Very impressed with their product. Tires are 275/70/17 BFG KO2. So far, it doesn't look like I have to trim anything. They don't even seem to rub the mudflaps.

[GRIMACE]

We need to meet up soon. Just to let know I got my TE before you. lol

[rodneyk]

Its been a while! We should definitely get togther even for a half day run at Harrison to get them dirty

[GRIMACE]

Originally Posted by rodneyk

Its been a while! We should definitely get togther even for a half day run at Harrison to get them dirty

Make it happen.

[rodneyk]

Update! Finally got a chance to install a few items that have been collecting dust on the shelf.

Dual battery setup! (excuse the dirty engine bay)


Shrockworks aluminum battery tray w/ Optima bluetop


IBS dual battery system. Automatically charges the auxillary battery and allows for manual linking of the system to jump start if necessary. Charge and battery voltage displays are nice to have.


SPOD SE System w/ digital touch screen display. Accessories can be wired directly into it, eliminating the need to run any relays or multiple switches and wires into the cabin.


I mounted the display to a 1" ram mount ball bolted to the stock stereo trim surround, and ran the wiring for it behind the dash. You can program the switch displays. All my lights, my compressor, and fridge wiring will be hooked into this.


Ram Mount X-Grip cell phone holder mounted to a 1" ram mount ball that I drilled a hole and bolted to the gauge cluster bezel. I hate using suction cups on the windshield that block my field of view, so this cleans things up a bit.


Current dash setup


Thats it for now!