The d00kie Build (and a dingleberry)

As It Sits Right Now



History
I've owned lots of different 4x4's, for example: a couple full size Chevy's (one with a 350 in it and another with a 6.2L Diesel), a Dodge Ram (the Blue Orange on account of its "orange peel" blue paint job), a Wrangler, a Blazer, and most recently a FJ Cruiser before this Tacoma. All my trucks before the FJ Cruiser were older trucks that I could wheel on a tight budget. I used to do a lot of bartering so I've had a lot of different vehicles come under my ownership.

Seeing how this is a build thread for the Tacoma, I'll quickly get to how I got into the Tacoma and move on...

July of 2015 I decided to sell my FJ to buy my wife a brand new Sienna. I didn't think I was ever going to get what I was going to ask for at a dealership, but I did.







I tried to drive the wife's car and be happy about it but that lasted about four months. Seeing how the car was a 2014, I gave it to my mom and bought the Tacoma!

The Day I Brought it Home
November 2015



I was in the market for a TRD Off-Road for the rear locker and ATRAC but this 2011 TRD Sport was just too damn clean to pass up! The previous owner was an older retired gentleman who traded this in on a brand new Explorer. He definitely loved this truck and put a bit of money into it.

When I bought it, it already had:

• Remote start alarm system
• Fully integrated bluetooth
• Toyota bug deflector
• AVS window visors
• ACCESS LITERIDER tonneau cover
• BACKRACK headache rack
• Coverking seat covers
• WeatherTech floor mats

Wheels & Tires
I ordered some new wheels and tires from @Discount Tire Direct and went with a set of five Level 8 Bully Pro's with 265/70/17 GoodYear Duratrac's.



Suspension
I still had the Walker Evans suspension and All Pro UCAs I pulled off the FJ and was planning on using those for the Tacoma; however, I changed my mind and went with an ICON Stage 4 w/ Billet UCAs instead that I bought from Metal Tech 4x4. I also opted for the ICON Rear Hydraulic Air Bump Stops.





In this picture you'll notice the shock on top is longer than the one on the bottom. I was comparing the two because I changed direction on the rear and decided on an OME Dakar Leaf Pack and custom built longer ICON rear shocks. I had no problem selling the ICON AALs and rear shocks that came with the Stage 4 kit.



Here is the delivery from Wheeler's Off-Road. I opted for their SuperBumps for the front and you'll also notice the new 700# ICON springs. I ended up changing my mind on all aluminum armor and went with steel.


ICON U-bolt Flip Striker Plates. These are needed to do a U-bolt flip while using the ICON hydraulic bump stops.


Armor
I went with an @allpro steel APEX front bumper, full steel IFS, T-case, & transmission skids, and APEX sliders. @Tracy@All-Pro Off Road is great to deal with and a pleasure to speak to on the phone.




Sliders powder coated by @Tacomaski


For the gas tank, I went with an @Pelfreybilt Gas Tank Skid that I ordered from Satin who is also an absolute pleasure to speak with.


Got my @Mobtown Offroad Tailgate Skin and Cap!


LCA skids from ICON


Drivetrain
I ordered ARB front and rear Air Locker's during the group buy put on by @.45 JHP along with an air compressor and Safari snorkel.





Electrical & Lighting
Custom overhead console prewired with switches, Blue Sea 12 Circuit Fuse Block, two Hella 4-way Relay Boxes (total of 8 relays), and super easy to install instructions with color matched and labeled wires all from @3378jakesr5.






Pelfreybilt Blue Sea fuse panel.


I needed to get the low-hanging trailer harness up and out of the way so I bought a relocation bracket from @bullaculla. I got this thing in like three days from Hawaii and I'm in South Carolina!


Needed some lights for the front bumper, so I went with @RigidIndustries Dually's in flood pattern to hook up directly to my OEM foglight harness.


The harness in the above picture is for the Rigid Industries D2 driving lights I bought from @csjumper2003 to go on the @CBI Offroad Fab ditch light brackets I also bought from him.


On impulse, I bought a Pelfreybilt battery cage from @AaronArf because it was too good a deal to pass up! I'll end up installing this when the current battery goes and I replace it with a Group 31.


Had to replace the CB antenna that I left on the FJ so I went with all Firestik products again.



Cargo, Storage, and Misc.
I was originally part of the Baja Rack group buy put on by @ramonortiz55 but I decided to support @SoutheastOverland, a local vendor who's customer service and communication is second to none!


Needed a clean way to mount the Hi-Lift, so I grabbed the @allpro Hi-Lift Mounts and a Factor 55 aluminum hawse fairlead from All Pro.


MOLLE panel for behind the back seats...should make for a much more versatile storage solution.


Slee Offroad mount for the ARB Twin Compressor.

 

Installs & Mods

Wheels & Tires
Here I tried to install the wheels and tires without a lift since I was still waiting on the ICON Stage 4. The front rubbed the bumper like nobody's business so it was either throw the stocks back on or install a spacer lift. After seeing the wheels on the truck, no way was I going back to the OEM wheels so a spacer it was!


Here it is with the spacer lift just so I could keep the wheels and tires on it.



All Pro Hi-Lift Mount


Fits under my tonneau!


The mounts come with the ability to lock the Hi-Lift.


Bullaculla Trailer Harness Relocation Bracket




Pelfreybilt Gas Tank Skid
Only the TRD Off-Road comes with the necessary tank hangers to mount a gas tank skid so I had to order a set.


Skid installed! Mounting was easy and all the holes lined up without issue.


ICON Stage 4
Big thanks to @ahspurlock for the install!









All Pro Skid Plates
These bitches are heavy... Again, thanks @ahspurlock for the install!



ICON LCA Skids


All Pro Front Bumper
HUGE thanks to @EddyRRT of SOS Concepts for the help with installing the competition's bumper. I cannot say enough about the amount of class Eddy has. I'm buying SOS Concepts products as much as possible moving forward! Once again, @ahspurlock FTW.


Putting in the Warn M8000 and Rigid Dually's.


@scottalot supervising with beer in hand!



All Pro Sliders



Mobtown Offroad Tailgate Skin & Cap
Awesome addition to the truck for sure! High quality and really strengthens the tailgate while giving it some heft and making it actually feel like a tailgate should. As much as I'm in and out of the bed of the truck, I was glad to get rid of that plastic!


Safari Snorkel
She's a behemoth but she grows on you...and makes a good place to hold your drinks.








ARB Twin Compressor w/ Slee Offroad Mount

 

Meet & Greet's

Conquest Brewery on January 23, 2016 in Columbia, SC
Put on by @Daria!
Left to Right: @Acerwin, @dan0mite, @Unner, @ahspurlock, @Hard Luck GraphiX, @Daria, ?, ?, @JimboAnz, @SC2SC, @SGTCap .




SC TW M&G on May 1, 2016 in Mount Pleasant, SC

Hosted by @ahspurlock and had a great turnout!

@rogs6266 and I showed up early to setup.



@EddyRRT of SOS Concepts set up a display and did a raffle. @MKW was the big winner and walked away with a brand new IFS skid plate!





@ahspurlock, our host, worked on multiple trucks the whole day. I don't think he came out of the shop much...





@rogs6266 getting his SOS Concepts high clearance rear bumper installed and was lucky enough to have had steady Eddy to cut the bedsides:



@rogs6266 and @Acerwin with freshly cut bedsides and SOS Concepts High Clearance Rear Bumpers!


@Daria stopped at Conquest Brewery in Columbia, SC and provided the tasty adult beverages!


@ahspurlock mounted @EddyRRT's new 40's in preparation of his F250 front and rear axle swap.



Random pics of the M&G. We had a great turnout!

 

Adventures Off Road

Gulches Off Road Park - May 14, 2016

Did some light wheeling at Gulches to stretch its legs and see how bad the rubbing was going to be without the CMC. Surprisingly, it never rubbed on the cab mount and only rubbed on the fender liner once. I'll still get the CMC done just to keep it a non-factor in case the alignment gets knocked out or it really gets flexed more than what I was able to do that day.

Was also reminded how much open differentials suck as I was trying to follow Jimbo and Andrew through a tight corner that had wheels at opposite corners of my truck up in the air...hence the motivation to get my lockers installed ASAP.















Had to leave early to make the 3+ hour drive home but 7 hours of driving for 4 hours of good times with friends was worth it...

 

Reserved

 

dude! badass build! you surely move fast with building it

 

Very nice!!

 

Thanks!

 

Thanks Jonathan!

 

How do you have the rear resi's mounted?

 

did you go with a spod or blue sea? or anything yet?

 

Awesome build! Can't wait to see more!

 

pyrite brothers? Is a MGM not welcome here?

 

Right now the mounting brackets are temporarily bolted into existing holes in the frame with no rhyme or reason other than to hold the resi's in place until I get the air bumps mounted. Once the air bumps are mounted, we'll know how much hose is necessary to get over/past them then we'll drill new holes and mount. Resi's are just zip tied to the mounts since they're not perfectly centered and didn't want to scratch them up with the metal hose clamps.

Going with blue sea. When the custom overhead console and switches come, everything will be prewired for super easy install. I'll be sure to post info and pics of the setup when it comes.

Thanks!

Everybody's welcome...even MGM's on Tuesday's, Thursday's, and every other Sunday's.

 

Sweet man I've been on the fence between rtmr Becuase it comes with the relays or a blue sea

 

Sub'd cause I know this guy

 

WHAT DID I JUST STUMBLE ONTO!!!

good looking build so far!

 

beautiful work man!