What to do with $1500

I just picked up this Tacoma. The end goal is a supercharged long travel overland style truck. I am ready to start with $1500 and am wondering what to do first and what I should skip on now to save for later when I have the money.

I'm thinking (no specific order) Retro Headlights/ Bumpers/ Spacer lift, toytec coilover lift & UCA's, long travel/ K&NAir filter/ Vynl Wrap (don't like the current blue)/ tires/ ARE or Leer 100XQ.

Anyone have suggestions on a good approach to starting?

 

Baseline all the safety systems and fluids in the vehicle.

Use the vehicle as it is. When you spot a weakness for how you are using it 80% of the time, address that with a change to something.

Save your money as you go, and buy good stuff. Some of the things you have listed are magazine fodder, not quality bits.

Do a lot of reading here with folks who have built out what you think your end goals are

Save more money.

Leave the cosmetic stuff for last. 'not liking blue' doesn't make the vehicle functional. Wrap is not cheap. If you are going big time overlander, consider the products at www.monstaliner.com when you get to the time for refinish work. It's not cheap either, but it will be extremely durable over wrap or paint.

 

If you want to create a serious overland rig be prepared to spend $10k- $20k. Supercharging alone is $6k just to buy the S/C... then someone has to install it. I'd do the SuperCharger later to be honest - once the truck gets really heavy from other mods.

Forget the K&N Air Intake. I did one. $180 or something like that. Did nothing for me realistically.

Headlights are cosmetic and won't help with off-road or overlanding.

If you truly want to plan overland trips spend good money on a real suspension system. That will make a big difference in ride comfort and capability on varied off-road terrains. If you want to go Long-Travel I'd just save up the money and do the long travel mod at the same time you do your suspension. Otherwise you'll be buying two suspension systems over time. And skip the spacer lift...

Armor (bumpers, skid plates) can be important too depending on where you actually want to go. A good winch is probably key if you plan to go anywhere alone especially! And don't forget all the other recover gear you'll need to go along with it! You could spend $500 just on recovery gear (not including winch).

Tires are critical. The wrong kind of tire can dramatically impact the vehicle's traction ability off-road (sand, snow, rock, gravel, etc).

 

You don't happen to be in Denver? I've got some bolt on sliders for sale.

But $6k, I would:
-topper (used)
-lift (ome) or at least rear full leaf pack replacemtn
-tires
-front skid
-front bumper
-winch
-bed platform / misc other stuff (straps, tools), etc

 

I agree with @Clearwater Bill in the "don't cheap out" department (and pretty much everything else he said). Buy quality the first time and you won't regret it.

If you're building slow, make a list and prioritize it. If your first item is unattainable at $1500, out the cash aside until you've got enough...don't settle for a spacer lift if you really want that ICON Stage 4. Also, know that some flexibility will have to be built in to the list in case a great deal comes up and you need to jump on it (lightly used part, GB, vendor sale, etc.).

Recovery gear is always a great place to start too...

 

1st thing I got was a bumper. It's saved it once so far and many more to come I'd say.

But like the others say, do the stuff that actually makes a difference. Tires, suspension, recovery gear, armor, ect...

 

Hookers and blow

 

I am! I'd be interested. I'm in Arvada. Do you have pictures?

 

Armor under the truck and sliders. You're sitting low and gonna drag.

 

for what its worth, ive had a 4x4 long travel truck, and i can go the exact same places in my current stock dclb 4x4, just not as fast.

drive it as far as you can stock, see where your weak or lacking areas are, modify from there.

if you are going to sleep in the bed, get a mid or high rise topper, the headroom is absolutely worth it!

I've built my own sleep/storage setup and im about $200 into it minus the tools of course


In my stock configuration, id invest in skid plates first as thats been my biggest "Hangup"-- hit a cut tree stump and the factory skid folded around it and stopped the truck lol

drive it as it, camp in it often. write notes of what you wish you had on each trip, after 4-5 trips out whichever comes up the most, do that first

 

Taking it out to find the lacking points is great advice. A couple guys have said the same thing and it's makes a lot of sense. I work in cabinetry so the bed system is going to great. Just am waiting until I find a topper. I just like the look so much of the 100xq. I didn't mention it in the original post but I would like to do a cvt tent or something similar mounted on top of the shell. So head clearance in the bed isn't necessary.

 

Well if ya work in cabinetry you likely have access to some fancy tools or at least the know how.

I will be back in Denver around the 24th of this month, you're more than welcome to take a look at what ill have done. dual battery- LEDs, fridge, bed/storage, clothes drawers. etc.. (Im living out of my truck in leadville while finishing school)

But i 100% believe you should get out in the truck and see what works for you and what does not, before throwing money at the truck.

 

Tires and lift.

 

Id say buy sliders because they are beneficial on and off road ( parking lots) or just keep saving.

 

As others have mentioned, use your truck and then look to spend the money where you want to improve the capabilities due to a shortcoming. Then do your homework on those parts. If your true goal is long travel, save. Don't waste money on an intermediate lift. That said these trucks are far more capable than most will use them for, so unless you are doing some crazy desert running, standard/mid travel will likely suffice at a fraction of the price.

Also retros are crazy expensive. If you want the performance (not the look) this costs $150 and will drastically upgrade the stock light output:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-ultimate-headlight-upgrade-not-led-or-hid.398066/

 

If you got $1500 to blow you could just give it to me

 

I will definitely try this first. I've never heard of doing that but I like the results. Thank you for the link and suggestion.

 

It has been one of my first mods on every one of my Toyota trucks.

 

Do you think it's worth it to go oem on the housing for $300 or just get some cheap plastic replacement lenses/assembly?

 

Do not go cheap on replacement assemblies. Quality and optics will not be the same. Every time I've done it they have ended up in the trash and then I end up paying 2x as much for new units when if I just bought quality once it would have been cheaper.

If your lights are just hazed you can try using a headlight restoration product, wet sand the lenses then polish and apply a headlight protectant like Meguiars. The headlight protectant will likely not come in a "kit" and needs to be purchased separately. When restoring you remove the UV stabilizer and the headlights will re-haze quickly without it. It should be reapplied somewhat regularly like wax, like 2x a year.

If you have the burned DRLs or leaking seals, go with new units. I'd suggest OEM or CAPA certified (engineer certification they are equivalent to OEM).

After my last bad experience with aftermarket, I went with OEM on my Gen 1. Then when swapping headlights on my 2nd gen, I was only interested in upgrading to OEM.