"Oh Gawd! Not another 16 Taco TuRD build" Build

[mmrocek]

Hello ladies and gents, and welcome to the white 2016 Tacoma TRD Off-Road 4WD (I learned that there are 2WD trd offroad so figured I'll specify) build of the day. Anyways, long story short, I have a fully built Jeep XJ that is great, but it has over 200k miles on it and does not do so well in heat (and I live in AZ) and until recently I had a 2011 Grand Cherokee with a hemi and the best 4wd system known to man - QDII. I had to get rid of the grand due to engine, tranny and suspension issues (adjustable air suspension) and decided to just bite the bullet and get a new taco. Anyways, had it for a couple months, and here it is as it stands right now at the parking lot of my work.










And here it is having fun at the beach in Mexico a couple weeks ago: http://whereismatus.com/el-golfo-de-santa-clara-2/




Pretty happy with it sofar, just wish it had more power.

 

[whwv]

Nice truck!

I've been thinking about adding a baja rack and awning. Any additional noise or MPG hits?

 

[mmrocek]

Thanks! ok here is a mini review on the two:

Baja Rack:

Built quality is great, installation is easy with great instructions. They even include rubber pads so contacts don't make any noise.
The wind deflector on the rack is pretty much useless (or so it seems) as the noise is very noticeable when driving at higher speeds. I think this is partly due to the fact that the deflector doesn't actually touch/get's close to the roof/windshield to bond. So the 1 inch or so space get's all the air that goes over the windshield. This in my mind defeats the purpose of a deflector. Other than that the rack itself is actually very good. As you see I have the fuel canister and a couple boulder 30 solar panels on it. It has provisions for lights in the front - light bar that I will mount soon (40 inch) as well as tabs in the back corners for additional lights.

The ARB awning (smallest one)
the awning itself is great quality and easy to setup even for a single person. I mounted it on the rack using the ARB L brackets and u bolts. This seems to work well and the awning has not moved at all even while running the truck at high speed through some rutted out, washboard roads.

Noise:
Yes, you can definitely hear noise at higher speeds. Even with nothing on the rack. Again, I think it's the air that hits between the deflector and the vehicle. Of course it get's worse the more items you add on top.

MPG:
Yes, mileage did drop down, but I can't tell you by how much because I wasn't paying attention to it. Between the truck being brand new, the bedrack with tent and the roof gear I average about 15mpg mixed driving.

 

[whwv]

Cool, thanks for info!

 

[bdp1978]

Thats a good lucking truck. A Tacoma has never been on my radar, but all of these '16 build threads are starting to give me Tacoma Fever. That, and a guy in my neighborhood just brought home a new Blue one......sharp truck!!

 

[iRagedoYou]

Great setup! Truck looks fantastic!

 

[4runnerteq]

Nice truck

 

[DesertFZJ80]

Great looking truck! I need to find a solution to mount my Maxtrax under my tent like that your setup looks perfect.

 

[mmrocek]

Thanks guys. Just got back from Moab so sorry for the late reply. I took the stock taco on Fins 'n Things and it did great aside from some hitch scratching and the front bumper digging in the sand a bit.
Here is a video my mom took: [video]https://youtu.be/0Jpq_YtBP4I[/video] It was just her and I (she is an avid hiker so we did both hiking and wheeling) and she never spotted before.

Anyways, we did a couple easy trails - Gemini Bridges and Geyser Pass, one medium trail - La Sal Pass and one hard - Fins 'n Things (rated by the book I had)
Here is a photo from La Sal Pass (mountain range just outside Moab, still had snow)

@DesertFZJ80
As far as the attachment of the sandladders, I am sure that your Maxtrax have similar attachments. I just welded on a hinge and a flat piece of steel which, when closed, is secured by a bolt. Here are some photos:





but hey, you're in Phoenix, so just come to the next meet and greet and we can talk.

 

[iRagedoYou]

Very nice looking setup!

 

[Captain Texas]

Looks great!

 

[CaliMobber]

Looks amazing man. solid adventure rig.

 

[JakeH]

Do you have any problems with glare off the hood when the LED's are on? I was considering that location, but I was worried there might be a lot of light bouncing on my white hood...

 

[mmrocek]

Do you have any problems with glare off the hood when the LED's are on? I was considering that location, but I was worried there might be a lot of light bouncing on my white hood...

Yes, there is some glare when pointed forward. I got these to point the pods to the side a bit. I have the headlights and the future light bar pointing to the front but I wanted something pointing to the side. It comes in handy when looking for camp spots in the middle of the night.

 

[mmrocek]

Looks amazing man. solid adventure rig.

Thank you. Question for you - How do you like the Wilson 4G booster? I do IT for a construction company and some of our projects are in the middle of nowhere. Getting a 4G booster that actually works would be great.