My Broke College Student Status 2012 6-Speed 4x4 Commuter Build

Welp, Hello Tacoma World Yes I know it's another broke college kids build thread, but I've been a member on here for quite some time now and I figured I might as well make a small build thread since I finally got the truck where I like it I'll give a little back story to the truck, and there should be a decent amount of pics and sorry about junky cell phone pictures, and in some of the pictures the truck isnt 100% clean, so again, my apologizes lol.. but try and enjoy none the less

So, I special ordered my Tacoma from the Toyota dealer I used to work at before I went back to college in mid April of 2012. It is a Base model truck with only the convenience package on a Double-Cab Short bed Taco in 202 black with the 1GR-FE V6 and the 6-speed 4x4 and a TRD cat-back exhaust, this was the first day the truck was home from the dealer:





Just to shorten this up a bit, I'll provide just a tad more back-story... I messed around with small front end leveling lifts using bilstein 5100's, toytec/eibach coil springs, and different tires; BFG A/T KO's, Cooper Discoverer A/T3's etc but couldn't find a combination that fit my needs or provided good end results because everything I changed/messed around with caused problems for my particular truck... items such as drive-line vibes, weird/strange vibes from my transmission in 4th gear, and all the fixes were too going to cost me ridiculous amounts of money to fix/get right, and being a college student who drives on the highway a lot, that stuff just wasn't on my priority list, so I just decided to make the truck look and perform as well as it could to the best of my abilities. I eventually settled on the OEM factory TRD sport spring/shock setup that I got for a great price from an awesome member on here, they were full, assembled take-offs from his 2014 TRD sport Tacoma. Then I, for what felt like forever I messed around with finding the right tires for me. I first tried some BFG All Terrain T/A KO's in 245/75/R16, but they were borderline scary in the rain for me. Then I tried some 265/70/R16 Cooper Discoverer A/T3's, those were pretty good but was then told they weren't warranty complient, so I got roped into buying some meh Dunlop Grandtrek AT21's and at this time, got the 16 inch baja alloys painted black by a professional shop by me, but those tires on those particular wheels gave my truck the shakes badly. So i finally got fed up with that and with the Black-On-Black look, so i craigslisted some SR5 wheels with the BFG Rugged Trail tires that were take-offs from a 2015 TRD Off Road Tacoma. I had them professionally balanced on a hunter road force machine with "The Claw" attachment and hammer on weights and it cured the truck. This setup works the best for me since I'm always on the highway and desired a slight off-road look for ages. Here's the most recent pictures of the truck after I finished it... Just a few images of the add-ons and mods as well as the finished product. Thanks for checking this out everyone I appreciate your time

SR package OEM black-chrome housed headlights



OEM fog-light install, just had dummy knock-outs originally, but it was pre-wired







OEM aluminum powder coated skid plate



OEM roof rack and avs in-channel vents



OEM black powder-coated tube steps



TRD cat-back exhaust



All Emblems painted 205 black sand pearl





TRD Sport Springs/Shocks






TRD QuickShifter and Shift Knob (thanks to my Girlfriend! thx! <3)





UltraGuage 1.2 w/ windshield mount



taillight guards, 7-pin relocation bracket, prerunner rear flaps, pop n lock tailgate handle



Finished Product with New SR5 Wheels, BFG's and the TRDpro Grille + Current Day After the Removal & Downsize of some items, and the addition of some new ones. ✌







thanks for checking this out everyone!!!!

 

Looks great! Like that little Toyota decal on the bug deflector.

You've got some nice, classy mods going man!

 

thank you so much man! i really do appreciate it very much!

 

No problem!
Where did you get those tail light guards?

 

I ordered those through www.trdsparks.com , I actually called them up and the found some for me. But I believe you can also order them through AVS by calling them, or on their website. I believe they are on ebay as well if you're in need of a part number I could try and find them again lol, they are called the 'slot series'

 

Ight, I'll try to find them. Thanks man

 

For sure man, not a problem at all

 

Hey, found your build! Looks cool man

 

Nice truck! FYI if you're a broke college kid, your ride is minimum 15 years old, LOL. You're doing alright.

 

Many thanks my friend! Always appreciated

 

Haha, for sure lol, can't argue with that I'm always extremely thankful that i am able to own a newer vehicle ^^

 

Great truck. I was wondering where to look to see if your truck has the wiring for the fog lights?

 

I would assume wrapped up by where the fogs should be or attached to the fog light blanks. Then get the OEM switch for in-cab and try and check behind dash for a wire harness that fits the fog switch

 

Hmmm, the first two pictures are the truck in Australia and the rest must actually be in New Jersey


Man this truck really gets around!!

 

Nice build!!

 

How'd you find me? LOLOL

 

lol wut

 

Hey, thanks a bunch and the simplest way to check and see if you are prewired for fogs is to pop the hood, then pop the lid of of the small fuse box that sits directly behind the main engine fuse junction box and if there is an open relay plug in with the bare copper wire end plugs showing, then you are pre wired. Also, as matt stated, the will be harnesses taped up right under the headlights that are for the fogs. Very generally speaking, 9 times out of 10, only the V6 second gen tacomas that have only the plastic knock outs for the fog lights are prewired, if you have a 4 cylinder 2nd gen tacoma odds are you are not prewired and will have to invest in the full fog light wiring kit. I do hope this helps

 

Thanks a bunch my dude! means alot !!

 

Lol, yeah right?? I guess you can say that NJ is sometimes nice in the early springtime lmfao xP