Stock toyo mods for weekend expeditions.

[jim532]

I'm new to this site, I'm not a gear head, I took autoshop in high school but instead of learning what I should have I washed cars and fixed bicycles for money durring shop class.

I've got a stock 04 Tacoma 4 cyl 2.4 ltr with manual transmission. It's been a great truck but I want to turn it into my weekend vehicle and buy something else for a daily driver. I drive up to the mountains durring the winter for snowboarding so sometimes gotta deal with snow and ice, the rest of the year i'm fishing in the eastern sierras or other local mountains, sometimes I go off the beaten path where the roads aren't paved, have a lot of ruts and dips or aren't maintained to well.
I'd like to better equip my truck for these situations. I don't need a rock crawler or a mud romper, and I'm not going to drive through the river testing the door seals. Like I said i just want to have better traction and equip my truck for the areas I shouldnt have taken my truck through but did it anyways.

The suggestions I got so far is as follows,
get larger tires, like tires from a 4runner (if they will fit) lift my truck a couple inches, and install a Toyota E-locker.

don't know if that will do it, so I thought I'd get out here on the forum and seek advice from others.

thanks

 

[winkosmosis]

Get some skid plates. That way having a lot of lift isn't as necessary

 

[CA-RJ]

We're talking about a 2wd (non Pre-Runner) Tacoma right?

 

[ryguy]

Thats what I understood from the 2.4L

 

[jim532]

We're talking about a 2wd (non Pre-Runner) Tacoma right?

Yup, 2WD

 

[njtaco]

I think you can forget about the e-locker then. The whole rear is different, including the springs. The springs on a non-prerunner are narrower, and sprung under instead of over.

Just to be certain...5 lug wheels, right? Are they 14, 15, or 16 inch, and how wide are the rims. That will open up discussions on tire choices available to you.

 

[ryguy]

If you don't mind me saying, why not turn the truck into a daily driver and buy a toy.

 

[CA-RJ]

It should have 15" wheels, 5 lug pattern on it. There's not a ton you can do to these trucks without going full custom. You can put a larger tire on it. I don't think anyone makes a locker for it. Total Chaos has a nice long travel kit for it.

I agree, you should keep this as your daily driver and maybe look for an older 4Runner. There's a nice 2nd gen in the for sale section right now.

 

[jim532]

If you don't mind me saying, why not turn the truck into a daily driver and buy a toy.

the truck has been my daily driver since it was new, and now I want something comfortabe to drive like a sedan.

This truck has been such a blessing for camping, snowboarding, fishing, and moving I don't want to get rid of it.

 

[ryguy]

I can understand that. I'd get some strut top spacers for the front, add-a-leafs in the rear, and some biggger tires. That way it keeps it relatively inexpensive and looks nice.

 

[CA-RJ]

If you want some ideas, check out Customtacos.com. There are some 2wd guys over there that have larger tires, lifts, ect. on their trucks. I had a 96 2wd Tacoma years ago that had some 235/75-15's on it. It looked pretty nice and was fun to drive off-road.

If I remember right, Daystar makes a spring spacer for your Tacoma.

I can understand that. I'd get some strut top spacers for the front, add-a-leafs in the rear, and some biggger tires. That way it keeps it relatively inexpensive and looks nice.

 

[02tacotoy]

^^^^I have some Tacoma *DayStar* strut spacers that I had on my truck before I got Bilsteins

- Pm me if you're interested

 

[winkosmosis]

Wait... it's a 2WD truck? Why dedicate a 2WD to offroad?

Can you convert these to 4WD?

 

[jim532]

Wait... it's a 2WD truck? Why dedicate a 2WD to offroad?

Can you convert these to 4WD?

don't want to convert to 4wd or dedicate it to offroad, just looking for ways to customize it to better fit my weekend excusions.
my original post explains what i will and will not be using it for.

 

[tacomadave]

Spacer lift front, don't know if someone makes a lift leaf pack for these, I remember mine could use a thicker leaf pack for a bit more load carrying ability... front skid plate, 29" or 30" all terrain tires, BFG, Toyo, etc. Good quality shocks like Bilsteins, or even something like 2" coilovers:

http://f-o-a.com/index.php

or

http://www.fabtechmotorsports.com/applications/toyota/2wd95-04tacoma5lug.html

If you want to go hard core with it.

I had a 98" 2wd Taco for years as my only vehicle I took it fishing camping all over the place.

Dave