Barnes' First Truck Progress/Question/BS thread

I thought I'd start one of these things. Not really sure where its gonna go. This isn't going to be much of a build (yet) but more of a thread for me to track any stupid things I do with the truck.

I got the truck in November (2014) with a hair less than 70k miles on it. I've always wanted a Tacoma and time finally came that I got my own. I love it and I don't think I could ask for anything more. It's my first real 4x4 so hopefully I can stay out of trouble with it.....

How it sits today:


2006 Access Cab SR5
V6 4x4
Manual transmission

Interior:
Weathertechs
Pioneer MVH-Xblahblahblah(has aux, usb, cd etc.)

Exterior:
Mudflaps removed
Toyota, SR5, V6 emblems removed
Leer 100R

Wheels/Tires:
16x8 TRD Team Trail...knockoffs
Cooper Discover S/T Maxx 265/75/16

Suspension
Front: Bilstein 5100 @ 1.75
Rear: Stock/Rear leaf spring TSB (June 2016)

Future:
Dakar leaf pack & 5100s or icon

Any ideas anyone has for cheap mods or any suggestions let me know. Thanks for checking it out.

 

First time playing around with my buddy's hoe. While I got stuck on my slick 245's, he has fun giving me a bath with his 285 toyo m/t's. Washing it isn' t as fun as it is getting it dirty....


3/22/15
Took it on the beach at Fort Fisher with the gf for the second time yesterday. Performs great in the sand. This guy got stuck trying to pull out a 2wd Chevy Traverse that tried to get its fat butt on the beach...the outcome was not pretty. I wasn't much help due to my lack of experience with recovery while working a clutch and also the guy being buried to his frame. Oh well, it'll just take some practice. It was cool to watch though lol

 

Nice!

We're pretty much in the same boat, I just picked up a a/c same color as yours, my mods will be slow as well, good luck w/ everything!

 

Just ordered the adjustable 5100s for the front. Should be here on Tuesday. Nothing much, but the stoke is real....

 

Can't wait to put them on

 

Got the 5100s at 1.75 and Cooper S/T Maxx 265/17/16 installed today with 74080 miles on the clock. Rides much better than stock and stoked on the new look.

 

Haven't posted in a while so heres a pic of the truck doing some work. I work for a boat yard in the summers and they assigned me some grunt work, taking boats and trash to the dump. Did 3 trips, rode about 15 miles there, 15 back and part of it on the interstate. Rode the bump stops most of the time. These loads were pretty heavy, but I tow our 17' Boston Whaler (about half the weight) and still squat very noticeably in the rear. Can anyone recommend a rear setup? I'm new to this but I was thinking about Wheelers 5 leaf and the Icon v.s. series 2.0 shock. Will this reduce squatting when I tow? How much will it lift the rear? Any advise/recommendations are very welcome. As I said I am new to this! Thanks for checking it out!
Ian

 

Bored in class so...photos!
Spent a week in Nicaragua over the summer surfing/fishing/drooling over all of the toyotas...
The first Hilux I saw upon arriving at the airport

Crappy pic of my dream ride...I just want to be like Steve Irwin:

Diesel 4Runner:

Probably the sweetest truck I've ever laid my eyes on...the almighty Hilux:

Surf wasn't macking, but still super fun...consistent surf in baggies is always worth bragging about:

 

Haven't posted in here in a while...but I got a cap today and I'm pretty stoked about it! Craigslist find. Color doesn't match but it fits like a glove and it keeps everything dry. Going to build some kind of sleeping platform for some of my trips this fall.

 

Got these things in today and waiting for the lights to come in. Went with the dually fogs. Everything came in a nice little package with very simple instructions. The reason I'm doing this upgrade is because my passenger side fog is busted (and no, its not just the bulb) and I have always had my eye on this little set up since it came out. More pics to come when lights arrive