Pictures of frame replacement process!

Looks great! Time for another 200K miles

 

Awesome thread dude and beautiful truck you have! I have no doubt you could drive it for the rest of your life, same with mine too. Probably wont get my frame replaced, it was coated and I've inspected it closely and can't find any serious imperfections to it that would warrant a replacement. That said, I love my truck to death too and can't imagine life without it, I had a 2011 access cab before which I liked a lot, but not as much as my first gen double cab! I just worry that one day some idiot on a cell phone is going to pull out in front of me or sideswipe me and total it out and I would probably legitimately cry to be honest. They say trucks can be replaced which I know is true, but a low mileage first gen double cab like mine (85k) is so tough to find.

They truly were the last of a great breed, the closest thing we had to the original Toyota Pickup, but with modern interior, styling and safety. All that went away when the Tacoma grew to midsize in 2005 in my opinion. The second gens definitely have their pros over the firsts, but they are too plush and will never be as spartan and utilitarian as the little first gen Tacomas and the Pickups that came before them.

 

This is probably the cleanest picture I have of my truck, it's a full time job trying to keep any vehicle clean in Montana during the winter! It's like that all year though it seems, in winter it's slush, mud, and road grime, summer it's bugs and dust. No happy medium here!

 

If Toyota would sell replacement frames it isn't that hard a jog for a compedent wrencher to pull off if they have the room and the tools. I've done a few full frame off restorations and it isn't much different than that(less body work even).

 

2004TacomaSR5- I couldn't agree more! People will laugh but IMO my truck as it sits right now is irreplaceable. Don't get me wrong, I'm realistic enough to understand that it's not some ultra-rare, mega buck Shelby Cobra. BUT, the odds of replacing my truck at this point are very close to impossible unless you plan to scour the nation.

I bought it for a fair price with low miles. I had some light routine maintenance done (water pump, timing belt, o2 sensors), and while the frame was replaced I had struts, shocks, valve cover gaskets, rack bushings, fluids, etc, done. Since then I replaced headlight lenses, put the wheels off of my 4Runner Trail on it, Magnaflow cat back and I just changed the head unit and added a backup camera. I've spent a little money on it in the year that I've had it (not as much as Toyota spent on it) but I have a practically new 14 year old truck! I'm going to keep this one a long time.

I agree with what you said too about these being the end of an era. The trend for at least the last 10-12 years has been "we MUST BUILD IT BIGGER!", well in most cases I don't need bigger. I need a truck for some 4wd duty during snow/ice in the Appalachian mountain winters and I need a bed for light household hauling. I don't tow anything, I'm not hauling 8 adults, I don't need 900 ft/lb of torque. I do enjoy the 4 doors for versatility but when they changed in 2005 the trucks were just so much bigger and I fear the 2016's will do that again. Heck, my first Toyota 4x4 was a 1983 SR5 and even that size suited me fine. I realize a lot of people want a larger truck, but is there no longer a mini-truck segment to the population? Or does it seem there isn't because no one has the option anymore so people buy the mid-size which is the smallest segment left.

Kind of like when we bought our 2013 4Runner....we bought the smallest Toyota SUV with body on frame construction. While we do love it, our 4Runner is basically the same size as the first generation Sequoias! Stop the growth hormones Toyota!

Anyway, a few current pics.

 

looks great! glad it all worked out for ya

 

Thanks for the pics. Before you was scheduled to bring your truck in for the frame swap I wonder if the dealer would have let you take the new frame and have it professionally powdercoated to help prevent future rusting. Do the new replacement frames come with any rust prevention coating that the original frames didn't have? I always wondered if these new frames will have rust issues in 10 years or so down the road. Thanks again for the pics!

 

Very nice! Hey, I'm interested in your backup camera install, did you do a writeup about it? That's the one thing I really miss about my 2011 is that silly little backup camera that I had in the rearview!

I think a lot of the reason compact trucks and SUV's are no longer offered is the tigther than ever safety regulations we have now make them extremely difficult to pass the standards without adding a bunch of extra weight and the like. But yeah, I totally get where you're going with that and why you prefer a compact, I myself love the versatility and ease of maneuvering with mine. But I also own an older 7.3l Powerstroke diesel for all my real heavy hauling needs, but I never drive the truck unless it's doing one of those things. Too expensive to fill up all the time and the thing is a mammoth to park and maneuver around tight areas, it's an extended cab long box and is roughly 20ft long!

 

A bit late to thread but I just bought a 2003 double cab 4wd that had the frame replaced in 2012. I'm curious how the new frame is holding up compared to the old one?

 

Thanks for sharing the pic's. Never got a good look at that crossover pipe...
Now time to remove the stickers and fluid film the daylights out of it..... While it will never be cleaner. I have a 2004 TRD that I bought in SC and had to move it up to MA. I have been FFing it for 3 years now in the fall. I am convinced that is a good thing to do......