Jeep refugee

About a month ago I was starting my 4th Jeep build in the last 6 years and I started to get this new feeling...boredom. Maybe it was a mistake to even buy that 2000 TJ. It just felt like I was repeating past steps ( because I was) and the thrill was gone. One day early in the build I came across some previously unrealized frame rust. The deeper I looked, the worst it became. I raised the rear of the jeep to get a better look under the frame, and found that the rear wheel bearings were blown.

That was it. I normally wouldn't have blinked at a bearing job, but in light of the frame rust and the sense of boredom...I was done. I went inside and told my wife and she said " thank god! Can we have a pickup again?" I love that gal! I dropped the jeep, picked up my ipad, and started searching for pickups. I was pretty sure I would end up with a first gen Tundra ( I had one in the past and loved it) but I searched Tacoma first just in case. You almost never see first gen 4x4 Tacos for sale around here unless they are beat to hell or priced in the ridiculous range. And there is was...a 2004 TRD DC with only 90k on the clock in Impulse Red sitting at a local dealership at a great price. The jeep was traded in that very day.
I love this truck! Learning a whole new power train and suspension system is proving to be a thrill and finding this online forum will, I'm sure, enhance the experience. I can't wait for the snowstorms to stop ( although the taco has proven extremely useful in the storms that we have had in the short time I've owned it) but I'm ready to get her out on some dirt and take my son trail running and fishing up in the local mountains.

All I've done so far is...
Swap in a bluetooth enabled head unit
Winch bumper with my Bulldog Alpha ( scavenged from the jeep before I ditched it- the 9300 is a great winch!)
Adjustable billy 5100s up front set at .85
Added a tow hitch to the rear to tow all of the crap branches that have fallen in my yard over the course of this nasty winter.

 

Welcome and have fun with the experience.

 

Welcome to the forum!!!

Been there done that myself.... (well, kinda). Had 2 built Wranglers (separately) that were built up for wheelin. After about 10 years (wonderful memories mind you) of wheelin & wrenchin...... it was time to move on. I'd spent 20 years wrenching on my job and at home...... I'm getting older and just don't feel like doing it anymore. Granted, I still wrench from time to time....when I want to.

Congrats on the truck!!! The truck has breathed new life into your automotive slump!

 

Welcome to TW!

 

Welcome... Good choice on the upgrade

 

Yeah - I'm only 46 but too much garage time was starting to take its toll on me physically. Time to just enjoy a truck, and work on rebuilding my chassis

 

Welcome from TN! hid the wallet NOW!!

 

Timing; it's everything. Congrats!

 

Welcome to the club, about a year ago I was in your same boat, there was a killer TJ built for Moab in the driveway and I was bored with it. I wanted something off-road capable but daily driver friendly. So I bought a used 2nd gen Tacoma, over the objections of my wife. She hated pickup trucks. I say hated, because now she loves the Tacoma. She says she feels safe in it and it's about a million times more comfortable than the TJ. I like it because in the past 10 months and 15K miles exactly nothing has gone wrong. There was always something needing to be fixed with the TJ.

 

Yup - my wife was a truck hater at first but my old Tundra converted her. I can already tell that she is angling to make it her DD but I beat her out the door every day so its mine!
As for safe…I lost that Tundra when a teen driver crossed the centerline and hit me head-on. The truck was totaled but I walked away with zero damage. I'm running on the assumption that the Tacos are similarly well constructed from a safety standpoint. This 04' DC that I'm driving feels an awful lot like my old 1st gen Tundra so Im feeling pretty safe in it.

 

Pace yourself with that chassis.... Nothing like a few beers and a bottle of Aleve to get you thru it.

 

My wife gets a kick out of it when she wanders through the garage and sees me balancing in precarious positions in the engine bay or under the truck. She calls it "car-lattes".

All I know is that once I start a build I can't turn myself off and I tend to work it in every spare moment till it's done. I came out of the last jeep build feeling like a medieval peasant.

I think I'll try to dial it back on this truck. I wasn't yo keep it highway and DD friendly anyhow. So...aleve, beer, and more camping instead of spending days wrenching in the garage.

That said - time to start shopping for a fab shop to make me a bed rack, and a RTT!

Any members out there in the Northern Va area? Interested in putting together some family friendly (11yo son) light trail running and camping?

 

One day I dream to have a nice wrangler and a taco to wrench on. Gotta get out of high school though first

Welcome to the site! Get your wallet ready...you're gonna need it here lol

 

Now, you've gotta post some pictures!!

 

Nice find have any pics?

 

So far…
Winch mount bumper with my trusty Bulldog Alpha mounted up


and picked up this skid plate