New Bumpers - Talk me out of them

Hi everyone,

First time Taco owner, first time posting! Take it easy on me!

Sold my 2.5RS Impreza for a Taco because I wanted more room and it's always been my dream truck! Turns out my dreams are easily attainable!

100K, 2004, TRD 4x4, mint condition - for $11.5. I feel as if I robbed the PO, but I may have under sold my Impreza so there you go. Good car buying karma I guess.

First thing I did was replace the blown suspension with OME 881 and Dakar rear leaf setup. Then came the 15" Mickey Thompson Classics with BFG AT KO2.

Got an Engel 17, huge Odyssey Extreme battery with monitor, installed my old sound system in, and getting ready to hit the road.

I'm currently working on building out the bed for long distance travel. The plan is for my dog and I to travel from San Francisco to Montreal over 4-5 month starting in February. Trying to keep the conversion simple. Metal frame around the edge of the bed, 1/2" ply bins underneath. Regular height shell because thats what came with it and I think the tall ones look dorky.

What I'm struggling with is whether to upgrade bumpers or not. I like the idea of having swingout fuel and water holder, and a place to mount my hi-lift (which I currently do not own yet - maybe you want to talk me out of that too...). I would also like to get the best MPG as possible and I'm thinking that adding more weight will just hinder my mileage.

I also like the idea of my truck keeping a somewhat stealthy appearance to that we don't draw too much attention, and so we don't have to tell everyone where we came from and where we're going (the CA plate won't help with that). Bumpers = expedition = visibility.

At the same time, without new bumpers (or at the very least sliders), I can't really use the hi-lift, and I'm concerned about protecting that sweet motor of mine.

So, what say you? Help a brother out! Should I just ride as is....?!

My old Impreza. I miss her!



The new Taco with a 3" lift and 33s...!


A 31M battery in the factory location using the factor strap. Couldn't find a thread on whether is could be done. It can. Just needed a longer J hook for the strap.


And the work in progress camper build. 1/2" multiply sitting on 8 FrontRunner Wolf Pack bins at this point. Square stock metal frame coming soon. Picture a scepter water can on the right.


Dog tax. Roger's on the left. He's mine. LeRoy on the right, not mine.

 

Nice dogs and truck.

 

Oh, and welcome to the forum!

 

Do you ever get into situations where you need a winch yourself or to be winched out by someone else? Bumpers are for a purpose and i wouldnt tell somebody to spend $2000 on a set of bumpers/winch if their never gona need them. If all you want is a place to put a couple water or fuel jugs there are probably cheaper options for you.

 

Realistically, probably not. My plan is to go across the US and travel on dirt roads as much as possible, but I'm probably not going to be traveling down crazy trails alone. Mostly secondary roads, fire roads, that kind of thing.

But lets be honest, they look pretty cool! But not $2000 cool.

I guess the next question is - what's the best jack that will allow me to change a tire on a Taco with a 3" lift - possibly trailside? I need a bumper/sliders to use a hi-lift to swap tires right?

Will a bottle jack go high enough?

 

should have kept the RS, that car looks clean

 

Tell me about it. Should have kept it and garaged it until I could drive it again. But, that wasn't in the cards. Wanting to pair down my lifestyle, not add to it!

That being said, driving that RS around was a liability. KBB says its worth about $1800. I sold it for $8k - 3K more than I bought it for 5 years ago and 50,000 miles ago.

Had I gotten into any sort of accident with it, it would have been easily totaled.

 

Get yourself some stout sliders and you are good-to-go with the Hi-Lift. Pass on the bumpers. You already have a forward frame attachment for recovery and get a receiver hitch and the D-Ring adapter/insert when you need the rear attachment point. Bottle jack won't do you much good once you bury yourself in the sand or mud.

 

You could get an Inflatable jack.

$306 ARB Bushranger Inflatable X-Jack - 72X10

http://www.4wheelparts.com/Winches-...2Y4-6JeCs2C9h7QEMfA61OSU5-7ZzL8Cb8aAlD08P8HAQ

They can be really handy on a trail and you don't have to worry about hurting body panels with a hi-lift. You do have to have an air compressor but that is good to have anyway.

 

Looks like I'll be ordering sliders from Relentless Fab. I can drive up there and get them installed before my trip.

Other option is to not get stuck, and use a bottle jack with bits of 4x4 and 6x6 to help make up for that extra lift. True that it won't work in sand though...

 

Take a couple 12"x12" pieces of 3/4" ply wood

 

Nice truck. Great deal.