TRD Sport Build

[sargeek]

Greetings,
Another lurker who is going to slow build a 2006 TRD Sport into a expo truck. A TRD off road would have been nice, but I needed the long bed and double cab, an option not available on the off road.

Question 1 - What skid plates is the sport missing compared to the off road? Transfer skid plate? At this point going to try find one OEM skid plates in the junk yards.

Question 2 - Toyotas have a factory inverter with an outlet in the bed. Where is the actual inverter located? I am considering adding an additional outlet inside the cab of the Tacoma. Anyone done this?

Question 3 - Tire Size. The truck comes with the goofy 17" wheels. Stock size is 265-65R17 - I am considering putting on BFG AT LT245/75R17 - Do you think these will fit with the stock suspension and still have clearence to run tire chains x4 if necessary.

Question 4 - The OEM trailer electrical connector hangs below the bumper. Has anyone relocated it to avoid damage when dragging the bumper?

Some questions to get me started

 

[Applejack]

If you check out dave ramirez's (daverami) build thread I believe he added and extra outlet inside the cab.

I am not sure of the skid plate differences, but I would assume they are minimal ones if any.

Yes, the trailer light harness location is a drag, pun intended. I thought about relocating it as well but really if you drag it that much it may be in your best interest to replace the whole bumper/hitch. The reason being is that the way the bumper is positioned, if it takes a good hit from underneath you may just take out your taillights. I've seen this happen a few times, so I'm just getting rid of the whole setup and building a new bumper with integrated hitch.

Oh and welcome to ExPo!

 

[Overland Hadley]

Welcome to ExPo.

I think the inverter is located in the center counsel between the front seats.

 

[HMR]

Welcome to Expo...

Question 1 - What skid plates is the sport missing compared to the off road? Transfer skid plate? At this point going to try find one OEM skid plates in the junk yards.

Don't bother going to the junkyard. The OEM skids on both models are designed for light duty use and will work fine for gravel roads or "normal" 2 track. If you plan on doing anything more aggressive, it's money well spent to invest in aftermarket skids (BudBuilt and AllPro are two examples).

Question 3 - Tire Size. The truck comes with the goofy 17" wheels. Stock size is 265-65R17 - I am considering putting on BFG AT LT245/75R17 - Do you think these will fit with the stock suspension and still have clearence to run tire chains x4 if necessary.

245/75 might be a little small. FWIW- 16" OEM wheels can be found cheap on Craigslist (I paid $200 for a brand new set of 4). More choices and better prices are available for the 16" size. I kept my 17" rims with highway-friendly tires and swap the wheels to match whatever trip we're taking. Depending on where you live, maybe put a set of snow tires on the 17" rims for winter and use the 16's with an All Terrain or Mud tire for summer?

Question 4 - The OEM trailer electrical connector hangs below the bumper. Has anyone relocated it to avoid damage when dragging the bumper?

Just unbolt the connector and zip-tie it up out of the way. No need to disconnect the wires. Takes 5 minutes to reattach for trailer use. If you're going to regularly be on terrain where the hitch is a problem, you're going to need a lift, sliders, bigger tires and possibly a front bumper before you need to worry about the rear.

 

[sargeek]

Thanks

Thanks for the advise, I will keep the world posted as the build continues.

 

[daverami]

Welcome,

You will find so much awesome information here. The only problem that I have found is that my wallet keeps going flat!

I have a write-up on putting a 110 outlet in the cab from your stock inverter. If you want it, PM me and I'll give you a link.

Looking forward to seeing your rig progress.

David