First Gen Tacoma Build Advice

[HAB]

Hi everybody,

I bought a 2000 Tacoma TRD V6 MT last summer, and have been outfitting it as an overlanding/camping rig bit by bit. I've been reading a ton on here and elsewhere, and seeing how other people have done things has been hugely informative. Here's where I'm at so far:

• 2" lift, 32" BFG KOs (on the truck when I bought it)
• Snugtop Canopy
• Homemade bed setup for the shell, with storage for 7 gallon water jug, stove, cookware, etc
• Some basic recovery gear: shovel, recovery strap, shackles

I'm happy with the camper setup, but the biggest thing that I think I need to improve is ability to self-recover. My primary use is going to be overlanding and camping around the western US (I'm based in Seattle) to ski and mountain bike. I'm not really aspiring to rock crawl seriously or anything like that, but want to be careful to be able to get myself out of wherever I end up.

My to-do list is as follows:

• On board air. Best way to recover is to not get stuck in the first place.
• A roof rack for some extra storage. Extra fuel for one, the tank in first gen trucks is small.

I'm not sure what else makes sense. A winch would obviously be great insurance, but they're expensive, especially once mounting gets factored in, and I'm not thrilled about adding weight and length to a daily driven truck that gets street parked in a city regularly, when realistically the winch would be used very irregularly. A high lift for the very occasional manual winching might be sufficient? On the other hand, a high lift won't be much use as an actual jack without metal bumpers and/or sliders, neither of which I have at present, and the same aversion to adding too much weight still applies. Maxtracks or similar seem like they could be useful, perhaps more so with a high lift and lift mate to actually get them under the wheels? What would you all recommend?

 

[HAB]

And some pictures!

Edit: Picture fail, trying again...

 

[Klierslc]

Sounds like you are pretty well set up. Nice rig btw! Based on your stated preferences, a removable winch cradle seems like the right answer. Adding a front receiver and quick disconnect cables will be minimal weight and no length. This gives the ability to winch from the rear also--just use your jumper cables to reach the winch if you don't want to run big cables to the rear permanently. Store the winch in the bed and it stays clean and dry until needed.

 

[HAB]

Thanks for the reply!

That's certainly an option. I'd need to think a bit about where I could actually store it when not in use- maybe the best option would be to leave it in my garage day to day, and break it out when I might actually need it. Leaving it in the bed won't work great for my purposes, since I'd need to move it all the time when packing and unpacking the camper setup. Winches are heavy!

 

[DaveInDenver]

If I owned a 1st gen Tacoma I would consider one of the several options for frame reinforcement plates. I owned a 2001 briefly and thought the CBI plates were well made and fit well.

 

[bkg]

If self recovery is a concern, you need a winch and a number of other items. If weight is a concern, then adding roof rack and more carrying capacity doesn’t make sense.

I’ve DD’d many winch equipped vehicles. Never had any issue parking

 

[HAB]

The biggest reason for the roof rack is to more easily carry skis, with the camper setup in place. Currently I have risers for the bed to make room for skis underneath, but those eat into the headroom more than I'd like. There'd be little weight up there most of the time.


I'm not opposed to a winch necessarily, I'm just not sure if it's worth the investment for how I plan to use the truck. What other gear would you recommend to go with one? I assume a tree saver, snatch block, a few shackles, and maybe an anchor?

 

[Klierslc]

A tree saver is nice, but any old strap will do-just try to keep the cable off the tree if possible. Your spare tire will work as an anchor in a pinch, just make sure you have a shovel. A couple of shackles and straps will round out the kit nicely. If you are going to go out solo consistently, a winch is a solid investment. You can get by with a come-a-long and a couple snatch blocks, but do you really want to deal with that? I have used a come-a-long to recover a 1 ton Chevy and it was not fun..

 

[Louisd75]

I honestly couldn't tell you the last time I used my winch for recovering myself. I've had great results using a hi-lift with the lift mate attachment on whichever wheels were having traction issues. The bonus is that you don't need bumpers or sliders. The other two recovery tools that get the most use on the PNW are my long handled shovel and a garden hoe. The hoe works better than the shovel at clearing snow from the underside of the truck.

I'm not personally a fan of the receiver winches. They're not a bad idea, but I feel that I'm more likely to get hurt trying to lug a winch from one end of the truck to the other in mud or deep snow.

There was a guy on here (I think) who made a hidden winch for his first gen that came out pretty nice... 01Tundra was his username but I haven't looked up his thread on a while.

 

[HAB]

As I understand it, there's room in the '01-'04 trucks for a hidden winch in the stock bumper, but not really in the '98-'00s like I have. They got a facelift in '01 and there's apparently more room in the newer ones.

I'm thinking that a high lift and a lift mate to get stuff under a spinning wheel might be a good cheap and easy point for me to get to right now. With good tires, onboard air to air down, and the factory rear locker the truck should be able to get through a lot.

 

[DaveInDenver]

It's easy for me to say since I have a winch, but I put them low in priority. I made due with a Hi-Lift and a kit to make it into a winch for a long time and only had to use it a couple of times. Unless you're seeking to go very remote the chances are even if you're inescapably stuck eventually someone will come along to give you a tug or winch. Or you'll have walked to a road where you'll find someone who does.

Also, I actually don't usually end up solo that much in places that difficult. If we're by ourselves (which we are a fair amount) we don't go looking for particularly hard trails so being stuck is somewhat avoidable and by using your head you can lower the risk.

You'll get more use from some straps and traction mats. But the first step on any truck for off highway use should be to figure out recovery points, be that new bumpers or bolted/welded connections of some sort. No matter what hardware you end up with you'll need safe, rated places to connect.

 

[HAB]

That's pretty much my thinking too. A winch certainly wouldn't be a bad idea per se, but I do think it's overkill for what I'm aiming to do.

I've got a shackle mount for the rear hitch, but haven't yet done anything to beef up the situation at the front. It's got tow hooks, but they probably could be sturdier.

 

[bkg]

A winch is overkill for solo exploring? No. No it is not.

 

[DaveInDenver]

We might not survive! Of course it's overkill, people cheat death all time without them.

 

[HAB]

Point taken. What I meant though is that I don't foresee myself being in a situation where getting stuck for a bit is life threatening. I'll have supplies to survive where I'm at for a while, and with a high lift and gear to winch with it I'd be able to self rescue. It might take longer and more effort than with a winch, but that's alright. Not to mention that I really don't plan on being anywhere where someone wouldn't come by sooner rather than later.