Mabett just picked up a Tacoma to start building parts & accessories — would love your input

[Mabett]

Full, pass through grab handles for driver and front passenger that are sufficiently low profile to avoid blocking visibility or be a hazard if airbags deploy.

I have some ideas on how to explore achieving those design objectives. Am in your general neck of the woods in Ventura and am retired and a woman (atypical demographic around here).

Sent join request to you on FB.

Thanks, Lauren. Completely agree that anything in that area has to be designed with safety as the top priority, especially when it comes to visibility and airbag deployment. Given how many people are bringing this up, it’s definitely something we need to take a closer look at and move forward thoughtfully

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[Mabett]

Are the parts built in North America?

Great question — and happy to be transparent about it. We do have a product development and testing team based here in the U.S., where a lot of the design, fitment validation, and iteration work happens.

Our manufacturing and assembly are currently done in China, which allows us to balance quality and cost while still maintaining tight control over the production process.

 

[Mabett]

I’ve worked with Jeremy on some other projects. Really excited to see the products Mabett will come out with.
starting with asking what the community needs is a great first step. Good luck out there.

Really appreciate you stopping by and showing some support, means a lot to me. Looking forward to having you in the discussions as we get deeper into this platform.

 

[Mabett]

I love the performance of my Toyota OEM bed mat on my long bed (6’2”). Saves my knees when working in the bed. It doesn’t dip inside the truck bed grooves. Its grippy surface keeps most cargo from moving. Keeps things in place while I tie it down. It has nubbers on the bottom to aid in drainage and drying. It doesn’t stink under my tonneau cover so far, after 10 months. It is fantastic for those reasons.

BUT. It weighs a crap ton and is very difficult to remove for cleaning.

Sometimes I’d like to lighten my load and leave the mat at home. Sometimes I like to get everything squeaky clean.
The perfect aftermarket mat would let me roll it up a bit more easily yet be rugged enough to save our knees.

That idea of something lighter and easier to roll up, while still being tough enough to protect your knees and keep cargo in place, is a really interesting direction. Feels like there’s a good balance to be found there....I’ll make sure this gets passed along to our team as well — this kind of real-world feedback is super valuable.

 

[lauren01]

The other mod-making companies sell molle panels for visor storage.
Idea: replace the entire visor with storage solutions.
Option 1 has a vanity mirror and retains OEM lighting.
Option 2 removes mirror and makes the full replacement visor capable of storage. Maybe lighting is utilized, maybe not.

 

[Mabett]

How about a mount that clips to headrest posts on the front seatbacks (or flipped to front of front passenger seat). Create a few different storage pouches or boxes to hang down.

Small items: Snacks, tools, dog leash. Med kit. Charge cables.

Medium sized items: CCW safe, shoes. Water bottles. Trauma kit.

Larger items: laptop sleeve, boots, rain gear, spare clothes, gym gear kit.

Any storage can be optioned with RFID blocking material.

The split armrest extender idea is especially interesting as a way to balance usability for both driver and passenger without fully sacrificing cupholder access. The tradeoff with shared space is definitely something we’d need to explore further.

The headrest-mounted modular storage system is also a strong concept. I like how you’ve broken it down by use cases (small/medium/large items), which makes it feel very practical for real-world use. The idea of optional RFID-blocking inserts is a nice added layer as well.

We’ll take both of these into consideration as we refine the concept. Really helpful input.

 

[lauren01]

Tundras have a bed step on the left. We have them on the right. We want steps on both sides.
I tow and am 5’1”. It’s a long way over the hitch. Wife is 5’6” and also dislikes the hop over.
On my right I have the bed step off an Amazon seller for less than $60. Am using the SXTH bed step relocation bracket to retain my ARB recovery point.

A bed step for each side that attaches some other way is highly desirable. It’s a PITA of an install and (in my book) requires me to recheck torque periodically.

 

[Mabett]

I would like to see a lifting system to take the RTT off my bed rack. I currently use some 2x3 wood that I lash to the rafters in my garage. Can get it on/off in about 10 mins, but I do need to walk around the truck about 5 times to do this.

This is a really practical point.... Moving RTTs on and off racks is definitely one of those “simple but annoying” tasks. I do believe what you’re doing with the wood beams is actually very close to what many people end up improvising.

A dedicated lifting system is absolutely feasible. Most solutions today fall into either a ceiling-mounted hoist or a gantry-style lift. The biggest tradeoffs are usually cost, installation effort, and whether the garage structure can safely support the load.

Anyway this is exactly something that needs further research on the solution side.

 

[Mabett]

Is anyone making an interior molle panel to mount on headliners? My truck doesn’t have rear seat headliner grab handles (they are on B pillars) where either metal molle or fabric mesh “attics” are typically installed.

The mounting would ideally be done with clips installed onto the door frame under the door seals.

maybe this one

 

[lauren01]

maybe this one

Yaaassss! I’ve seen a lot of requests for overhead storage.

 

[BIGPZA]

One thing I'd love to see is an adjustable bracket for mounting jackboards to a roof rack.

There doesn't seem to be any sort of standard regarding the distance between crossbars on a roof rack, or the size and mounting hole locations of jackboards. Would love a bracket that can move forward or backward on the crossbar to accomodate jackboards without having to drill additional holes in the boards.

 

[Will721]

Personally I'd like to see interior accents, but not all the stickers and junk on the market. One thing that sort of bugs me about these trucks is every interior is the same. They're all black with just some little colored trim bits. All seat options were also black, with the exception of the TRD red.

Currently, there are of course seat covers on the market. There are also some console covers. But what I would like to see are color matched trim kits. For example, if I wanted to replicate a 1794 edition interior into a Tacoma. Saddle tan seat covers with MATCHING arm rest, and matching soft touch panels for the doors. Could actually make them bolt on by sending drill templates. Matching soft touch panels for the dash. Could even do the steering wheel.

 

[lauren01]

Personally I'd like to see interior accents, but not all the stickers and junk on the market. One thing that sort of bugs me about these trucks is every interior is the same. They're all black with just some little colored trim bits. All seat options were also black, with the exception of the TRD red.

Currently, there are of course seat covers on the market. There are also some console covers. But what I would like to see are color matched trim kits. For example, if I wanted to replicate a 1794 edition interior into a Tacoma. Saddle tan seat covers with MATCHING arm rest, and matching soft touch panels for the doors. Could actually make them bolt on by sending drill templates. Matching soft touch panels for the dash. Could even do the steering wheel.

I second this! Talked myself out of the 1794 and into a Tacoma.

 

[BIGPZA]

Personally I'd like to see interior accents, but not all the stickers and junk on the market. One thing that sort of bugs me about these trucks is every interior is the same. They're all black with just some little colored trim bits. All seat options were also black, with the exception of the TRD red.

Currently, there are of course seat covers on the market. There are also some console covers. But what I would like to see are color matched trim kits. For example, if I wanted to replicate a 1794 edition interior into a Tacoma. Saddle tan seat covers with MATCHING arm rest, and matching soft touch panels for the doors. Could actually make them bolt on by sending drill templates. Matching soft touch panels for the dash. Could even do the steering wheel.

This is an absolutely brilliant idea. I'd go batshit for this.

 

[lauren01]

P

Thanks, Lauren. Completely agree that anything in that area has to be designed with safety as the top priority, especially when it comes to visibility and airbag deployment. Given how many people are bringing this up, it’s definitely something we need to take a closer look at and move forward thoughtfully

Invent a collapsible “strap.”

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