avw4x4's 2010 Reg Cab

As it sits now

 

Alright... I think it's about time I make some sort of build thread. I guess mostly for myself to keep track of what I've done and where I'm headed so here goes nothing.

In November I was at wits end with my 2004 f150, I had more problems with that truck than I could even imagine so I traded it in on a 2010 Tacoma Regular cab. My brother had a 2003 regular cab that has been very good to him and I always thought it was a fun little truck so that's what really pushed me towards Toyota.

Honestly, I really had no idea what I was getting myself into when I bought this truck. Joining this site has been a blessing and probably the worst thing to happen to my wallet in a long time

I picked the truck up bone stock with 60k on it for $13k OTD, thought it was a pretty good deal. She looked great and I just started with basic mods.




First thing I bought was a tri-fold tonneau cover, there was going to be snow soon and I knew I was going to need some more dry storage space during the winter than what the cab could offer. Had to cut the bedrails a bit to get the clamps to work, no big deal though. Next was extra bed D-rings which I don't have a picture of but you can imagine what they look like anyways.



Started reading around this site and saw how capable some of you had made your trucks offroad. I had to see what my little guy could do stock. Here are a couple pics I'm almost embarrassed to put up, but hey we all start somewhere.






After driving around for a little while the stock height of the truck really began to bother me; especially coming from a full size truck. A lift was in order!

Picked up a used set of Bilstein 5100's with Eibach springs from a member here and bought a 1.5" Toytec AAL. I got everything for under $350 shipped so I can't complain about anything! Install was pretty simple, it did take me just about 8 hours from start to finish though. Results totally worth it!



Front up, still no AAL



AAL in!







After installing the lift my driveshaft made a terrible grinding noise on deceleration, flipped it around; problem solved!

Drove the truck around like it was for a few weeks but man those stock tires looked small. Bought myself a Christmas present



16X8 Level 8 Mk 6's with 285/75/16 Hankook Dynapro MT's (Love these tires!)

Installed them that day and went out for a few more poser flex shots





Me and my brother, reg cabs FTMFW!





Heres a comparison of how it sat next to stock with the 285's, 3" up front and 1.5" AAL.



With the new tires and everything I couldn't wait to get it out in the woods and pop my little taco's offroad cherry. First time out with this truck I learned it's wider than jeeps







Made it out with a few dents and scrapes in the door, much better than I had thought here's what the trail looked like:



Another crazy jeep guy from that day, almost broke his rear windows here.



Learned how important recovery points were that trip so I bought myself a hitch. I was amazed that there was literally nothing to hook onto in the back of the truck in stock form. To get myself off the tree we ended hooking up a tow strap around my wheel



Install was pretty simple, some of those factory bolts were a bitch to get out without heat.

Went back to the same place a month later (Southington Offroad in Garrettsville Ohio, great place!) Don't really have any pictures because its hard to drive and get pictures... Just me and a couple jeep buddies.



Got muddy in NY





I still hadn't had the opportunity to meet anyone from here or wheel with any other Toyotas until the NJ guys got together a Rausch Creek meet. Probably the most fun weekend of my summer there with those guys, great dudes and amazing trails. If you like food beer and offroading you gotta make it to one of those meets. Saw some incredible trucks there and made some new friends









On the way home checked out Centralia, took the required poser shots







Would have thought that after a full day of wheeling Rausch Creek that Centralia should have been a walk in the park... Nope. On the way out, I went to go back into 2wd and what would you know, transfer case actuator had shit the bed

We pulled the rear driveshaft and I drove home in 4hi, at the time I didn't know you could just pull the transfer case actuator cover off and manually put yourself in 2wd



The culprit:



At this point I had the option of shelling out ~$350 for another transfer case actuator or making a big change

Decided to get ahold of Wyatt from Rock Solid Toys and he built me a twin sticked FJ cruiser transfer case to replace my electric one. Booyah!



Transfer case for me, lingerie for my GF... was a good day







Twin stick from front range offroad



They're bent more than this now, I don't have a good pic though.



This is why that didn't work:



Switch from OTRATTW for the ADD (I know it's not a locker, but it was the closest switch I could find)





Also got an IFS skid from Eddy at SOS Concepts, great guy to work with!



And BAMF weld on sliders with a kickout.













Got a grillcraft from a member here.



Got bored so I blacked out my headlights.





Got bored again so I hooked up some LED's for rock lights, still have to finish wiring them and get them hung up better... not bad for $20, that pic is only 4 LED's on, I got 20 for $22 shipped.



Read up on the chevy 63" leaf spring swaps so I decided to get a pair from the junk yard. Picked up a pair for $60 and an air conditioning compressor for a future project for $20 at a local junkyard.



Started refurbishing the springs... it's messy and getting those bushings out was a royal PITA!





I set my phone down for like 10 mins and this was how much dust had settled during that period. Respirator is mandatory for sanding down those leafs!



Results are worth it though!



Aside from the additional flex and the fact that the springs are dirt cheap this is why I was interested in the swap:



Frowny ass stock leafs lol

Then I got supplies for the weekend and headed to a buddies place to begin the swap!



12" 5125's



Everything ready to go!



Out with the old and in with the new!



Work in progress:









Bump stop extensions.



Shackle angle didn't end up quite where I wanted it, I set it to be vertical at full droop but apparently they don't compress as much as I thought to get ~45* at ride height. I'm planning on a plate rear bumper in the future with a swingout tire carrier so I may leave it like this until then and see where that puts me. Would hate to do it 3 times



She's definitely ass high right now, but whatever it was a long weekend to get that far. Driveshaft is pretty mad at me for the angle it's at now. I definitely need shims in the rear end and probably going to go with a 3rd gen 4runner driveshaft in the near future.



That's how she sits for now, stay tuned for updates although they're probably going to be slow and far between currently...

Oh and I picked this up last weekend, not happening anytime soon, but I figured I could play around with it while I wait to save the coin for Wyatt's kit

 

Reserved.

 

Ooh shit! Can't wait to see your truck again this weekend.. It's come a long way in just a few months!

 

Thanks man, been having some fun... It'll be "in progress" when you guys see it this weekend. Functional but definitely needs work to be as I'd like it, tough to get it all done being a DD. I know you know the feeling, Tyler!

 

I think all of our trucks are "in progress" but that's what makes it such an awesome hobby; and I def know about the whole DD thing... some day, some day

 

Good job on the swap. You cleaned those springs up like new. What's the rear axle for? You need a front

 

You're right!

I got the rear from a local guy dirt cheap, figured it's the easiest way to learn how to setup gears etc. I'm keeping my eyes peeled for a cheap front to match and doing as much research as possible. I figure it's a minimum of 1.5 years before the 14b is under my truck... I have a lot of learning and even more saving to do

Thanks again for all the help and inspiration Pat!

 

Yeah no worries. It's great to see others with 05'+ go the Chevy route. It's not too common yet. They are epic for the droop too.

 

Solid build man!

 

Thanks! Hope to get some good pics this weekend, bummer you can't make it!

 

Due to this weekends events a new front bumper has moved up on the priority list... Thinking DIY Relentless, any opinions?

 

Nice build..are your billies set at 0 with those eibachs?

 

Yes, they're on the lowest clip.

 

Thanks for the pic, Murph!

 

63's FTW

 

which trail took a bite out of you?

 

It was on cemetery, I thought I had more room in front of me and kinda drove into a tree

 

At least it was on a black. I still have yet to try a black yet. So you think a locker is in the works next?

 

Yeah, one would be awesome... I'm thinking about maybe just a locker and no gears. I don't want to go crazy with these differentials because I'm hoping not to have them forever