RocheesterUE's 2004 Reg Cab 4x4 DD

My love for Tacoma's started back in 2007 when I got my 2000 Regular Cab 4x4. Her name was Shirley:



Unfortunately, I only really had time to do one modification to Shirley before 2008... Custom made shifter!:





In 2008 Toyota bought Shirley back, giving me about $4500 more than what I had paid for her a year before!! I really loved that truck and knew I would get another one. Enter Tiffany:



Tiffany is a 2004 Regular Cab 4x4 SR5. She's got the 4 banger 2.7 liter. I got her with 45k miles, and fell hard and fast. The only modification that had been done by the PO was the Leer shell.

Tiffany is my daily driver, but also a vehicle I enjoy weekend adventure trips in and the occasional mud session. The first modification I did was installing a Thule Top Track system and roof rack on the cap. No pictures of the install, but it wasn't too interesting anyways.

Next up was a new skid plate, I discovered I was in desperate need of a new one during an oil change... The old:



And the new:



Since Tiffany is used quite often for camping, I wanted to build a sleeping platform while still retaining some storage capacity. I spent a day or so doodling, then went to work that night:










Final step was to install a carpet, and my ambulance responder bag:



After much lusting, I found a used ARB Bumper on Craigslist for $500 about an hour away. The install was pretty simple, but took a while:







That winter got pretty chilly, so I installed an oil pan heater as well. To be honest, I don't notice any difference even when left plugged in all night long, but hopefully Tiffany does.

 

Last winter brought my worst stuck of all time... I was on a seasonal access road, which had been groomed and packed down for the snowmobiles. All was great for the first two miles, but on a long stretch across a pond my truck left the hardpack and went into the soft powder along the trail... It was quite deep:



And my friend wasn't too happy:



The snow was quite deep... And we weren't even touching the bottom of the base:



We were about 2 miles from the mainroad, and another 5-10 to the nearest houses or town. I had no winch, no hi-lift, just two shovels. We started digging... and digging.... and digging... and 3 hours later it was dark and we were still impossibly stuck. Several snowmobiles passed by, and one or two stopped and said they would see what they could do. After a couple more hours, THIS guy shows up:



$300 later, and he agreed to pull me out. My only other option was to wait until spring and let my truck melt into the pond. No thanks. It was an expensive lesson to learn.

Since then I invested in a Hi-Lift Xtreme, and an XRC8 winch. The winch comes Wednesday, update to follow.

 

You need to find some other wheeling buddies that can come pull you out next time. I promise that you'll have opportunities to return the favor. That's what I love about our local wheeling group. If someone is in trouble, there's always someone to come help.

 

And so it started yesterday.... Off with the ARB...


And on with the winch, a new XRC8. Note I have not clocked it yet:


Then its off to my buddy's shop for a spot of machining and a cleaner place to work: Oh, and pizza.


Machining slots for the 4.5" bolts (the ones from the endcap to the bumper mounts)


Wire up that wench!


Mount her back up:


Now, who can tell me what is wrong with this picture?...


Crap. Yup, forgot to sandwich the crossmember in there. Take bumper back off, mount again:


Ahhhh, thats better. Bolt up the skidplate and we're off! Total time, about 9 hours. Demo'd the winch in the shop, works great. Pumped!!

 

Aside from the error with the cross member, I ran into one other snag... I am brand new to winches, and although was following the directions when I was clocking the motor, I ended up pulling the case off too far, which made the brushes get in the way of sliding back on. Eventually I figured out how to take it all apart, and reassembled it.

Here's what an XRC8 motor looks like, for kicks:

 

Along with installing the winch, we did another upgrade that I would conservatively estimate adds 40-50hp: