Hi all, new here and just picked up my '09 Tacoma on Friday. It's a base access cab, unfortunately not the double cab TRD I was hoping to find. I'm a long time 4x4 enthusiast but have been out of it for a while, and am now building a house and needed a truck. As time goes on I hope to transform it into my off road excursion vehicle. It will be an ongoing project. I like the "expedition" style vehicles- not too big, and functional. Tall, narrow tires with as little lift as possible. So here are my plans as time goes on:
" As I get to it..."
-Install cruise control
-Intermittent wiper switch
-Custom front and rear bumpers with front winch mount and rear hitch integrated
-Additional storage, including a bed rack which extends over the cab with a basket
-Aux lighting, including front off road lights, rack mounted flood lights, and rear work lights
-Raptor line the entire body. It was a work truck and has plenty of scratches and scuffs, but no rust, so a perfect candidate for it.
"Stage 2"
-A bit of bargain lift, using front spacers and rear AAL. Hopefully it will clear narrow tires in the 33-34" range, even if I have to trim a bit.
-Rock rails
-Skid plates
-Rear locker
-Snorkel
"Stage 3" (probably won't happen, but nice to dream...)
-Solid axle swap, but keeping minimal lift for reliability and stability off road. This front axle will have a locker (preferably ARB)
-Custom bed with emphasis on storage and utility, but lots of cargo room for kayaks, camping gear, etc.
The truck will be doing duty hauling building materials for a while, so it will have to stay pretty much stock. Plus we have no time to do much to it while building the house. But once the house is done, full speed ahead! It has been a long time since I've had a good project, or been off road. For now I'll be lurking the forums and learning what I can about 2nd gen Tacomas. My last Toyota truck was an '82 SR5 4x4, trimmed with 33s, snorkel, waterproofed, and flat bed. It was an amazing truck for near stock!
Jim
New Hampshire
" As I get to it..."
-Install cruise control
-Intermittent wiper switch
-Custom front and rear bumpers with front winch mount and rear hitch integrated
-Additional storage, including a bed rack which extends over the cab with a basket
-Aux lighting, including front off road lights, rack mounted flood lights, and rear work lights
-Raptor line the entire body. It was a work truck and has plenty of scratches and scuffs, but no rust, so a perfect candidate for it.
"Stage 2"
-A bit of bargain lift, using front spacers and rear AAL. Hopefully it will clear narrow tires in the 33-34" range, even if I have to trim a bit.
-Rock rails
-Skid plates
-Rear locker
-Snorkel
"Stage 3" (probably won't happen, but nice to dream...)
-Solid axle swap, but keeping minimal lift for reliability and stability off road. This front axle will have a locker (preferably ARB)
-Custom bed with emphasis on storage and utility, but lots of cargo room for kayaks, camping gear, etc.
The truck will be doing duty hauling building materials for a while, so it will have to stay pretty much stock. Plus we have no time to do much to it while building the house. But once the house is done, full speed ahead! It has been a long time since I've had a good project, or been off road. For now I'll be lurking the forums and learning what I can about 2nd gen Tacomas. My last Toyota truck was an '82 SR5 4x4, trimmed with 33s, snorkel, waterproofed, and flat bed. It was an amazing truck for near stock!
Jim
New Hampshire