Run to the Hills! - Jason's Completely Stalled Colorado GTFO Build

Thanks for the responses, fellas!

Let me give a proper reply when I get back home safe. Single digit temps and a fair amount of snow have already brought out the derp on the roads...

 

A bolt in standard travel shock is a MT setup, IMO you only gain 1" of droop with the spacer shortened in the shock and upper arm.

LT isn't cheap or needed, but it's comfortable and the extra travel is a little easier to tune. The same can be said for SAS on harder trails. It's all on how you want to use it and what your budget is.

A old friend in AZ has the similar truck as you, Reg cab, Tons, 42's he boat sided it and there isn't much Tacoma left.

 

I love the extra travel of front lt. My current setup front and rear pulls about the same or so. Makes driving much easier and way more fun when pushing the speed, can't let a lot of stuff go as opposed to slamming on the brakes of a mt setup.

 

I've done all but the hardest trails in CO and UT with my setup. For example Holy Cross has a low end of 7 on TD, and there's not a whole lot of trails with a low end rating above that (for what those subjective trail ratings are worth). I see no need for an SAS in this state unless you specifically want to run those handful of 'extreme' trails.

I'd rather be comfortable and going fast(er) on all the other trails, versus being able to run an additional couple of trails.

 

I really enjoyed the recent dialog on linking. Good stuff!

@jubei777 Great job on the seam sealing

 

Exactly.

 

I am a bit rusty in my IFS terminology. I thought MT was crankin' the coilovers or running spacers with factory units

Dude, my truck is nothing compared to that one! I may have seen it around a few times in the past - though I do not know the owner personally. That thing is an insane rock crawler! Wish mine came even close to it!!

Very good points. And that's exactly what people should do. In other words, the vehicle one drives should reflect the environment where one wheels. If a hard core rig is not needed to wheel the trails where you are, then no need to go crazy.

However, once you get into the sport/hobby seriously enough; eventually you will travel to other parts of the country, joining other groups in other types of terrains, etc. That's when people usually start getting serious about modifications.

I have wheeled my tacoma all over the country literally, then I moved to AZ and soon after the SAS followed lol. it feels good to know that I can join groups in various parts and tackle a variety of trails.

But I conquered a LOT over the years with IFS and 33"s.

 

Man! Lots of good information and opinions in here lately, fellas. I really appreciate it.

I'd still like to get a few more opinions, but so far it sounds like I really need to get a season or two under my belt with the truck at the stage that it's in now, which is basically Jack of all trades MT with an overland bias. Then I need to be very honest about what the truck does well and what needs improvement based on those experiences.

Because I don't seek out super gnarly rock gardens or run 80MPH through the desert on the regular. I get on a freeway, then maybe a highway, then a fire road, and then maybe some more varied and difficult terrain until I find a place to camp. Then I drink bourbon and think about how grateful I am to be able to do all of this!

All of that said, I'm positive that I can find my 'style', save some funds, and gain a ton of knowledge over the next couple years. Then I can decide how to proceed for what's best for me.

Thanks for your input, Tim!

Your point (and Monte's, Osvaldo's, and Brett's as well) about my use and driving style is a very good one. That's why I wanted to get a diverse sample of opinions together on this so that I can think critically about where I want to go with the truck.

If I ever go beyond a good, solid MT setup, then the budget will be appropriate for the route that I take. And honestly, it seems like you can spend well over $10k moving from MT to even just a basic LT or SFA setup. For that kind of money, I'm not going to do anything unless I research the shit out of my options and save accordingly.

Thanks, Monte!

The appeal of being able to really cruise over rougher terrain on loooooong approach trails is really appealing to me. Growing up in Southern Utah, you could go fast through the desert for a bit, but every so often there would be a small drainage or wash that would have you jamming on the brakes. Otherwise, you'd break something!

Thanks a lot for stopping by, Brett!

For what it's worth, I think you are probably the guy on TW whose style and focus is closest to where I see myself going. I love difficult trails, but that has never really been my focus. It's always been about seeking out some solitude and quiet. And a lot of times that means being able to get out further than most of the other people out there. So having a truck that can get one 'there' fast and then be capable in rough and rocky terrain is crucial.

I'll be picking your brain on this in the future for sure.

Nick, I always appreciate you stopping by. I respect the hell out of the way that you go about your build as well as your focus on experiences and memories with your loved ones.

Very good things.

Thanks again, Osvaldo!

Your point about keeping an eye on where the hobby might take me is a very good one. I like to be challenged, for sure, and wheeling is one of the areas where that definitely applies.

That said, I've never been a 'beat the piss out of your rig' type of guy. I never had the money to fix the broken stuff back in the day! On top of that, when I have to depend on the truck to get me sometimes hundreds of miles back home safely (as well as my girlfriend, who has two kids that need her), it becomes very important to overengineer and overbuild a bit.

I think that's a big motivation behind this discussion, actually. If going next level, whether SFA or LT or some hybrid makes the truck more capable of getting further away from people and then getting back home safe, then I'm interested.

 

You re very welcome

You are approaching things the right way man. It's all about doing research, talking to people, etc.

For a multi-purpose rig, you definitely want to "overbuild/over engineer" in order to be able to drive to/from trails safely. Just make sure you do not end up with an overkill suspension that will see 0.000001% of its intended potential

It would be easy to assume that I wheel like a maniac because of the SAS I have. Quite the contrary, I am actually a conservative wheeler LOL. The heavy duty axles and big tires are actually my attempt at having a rig super strong and safe. Anything can break, but it would take quite an enourmous amount of abuse to break those axles. The big tires keep the rocks and other nasty things away from the truck.

Eventually you will find a your own formula to make your truck super strong and reliable. For me it was a SAS. For you it might be something else. You are actually half way through the BEST modification anybody can do to a tacoma; and that is the crawler box. Seriously, even before any suspension mods, getting lower gears in the transfer case is without a doubt the first and most important modification.

Best thing is to go slow. That makes it easy on the wallet too haha

 

Get out and get to know your current setup before making any changes. I'm sure you won't have any problems with this, but get it out on everything from as challenging as you're comfortable with, to multi-day adventures on easier terrain. I think you'll be happy with how it performs. If not getting comfortable in your rig will help give you a better understanding of what changes, if at all, you want to make.

One thing I always notice is far too many people on here are too quick to build up a rig, without knowing how to use it or what they'll use it for. Mine's been a slow evolution over the years based on how my uses have changed, desired performance, and how much money I have to spend on it. But over those years of a lesser build, I got really comfortable with what my rig was capable of, and exactly what changes I wanted to make.

 

excellent points.

My IFS saw a LOT of use over the years before I did the SAS. I got to the point in which my driving ability exceeded what the IFS could do.

I have to say...people don't know what they are missing by not having very low gears and a lot of axle flex. It's a whole different experience all together with those...., and It makes wheeling really more enjoyable and less stressful.

 

Quick question I guess because I've never seen anybody do this. But crawl box and LT?

 

Why not? Crawl box is not engaged all the time and LT still helps keep wheels on the ground longer when you are going stupid slow.

 

Holy shit no kidding. I hate how a large portion of people believe they need their truck built up with all these mods before they can go use it. It's depressing.

They are modding blind. Have no comparision to base anything off of. And then they haven no experience and don't know how to drive the truck well and it get under used or hardly ever used.

When really what they needed was to just go out and drive.

I remember wheeling stock. And no recovery gear at all because what is that even? Lol

Sure why not? Actually several people have done it.

Now that said there is still the debate on the 4.7 gears. Idk if Id run those or not in a crawl box with a go fast aimed truck out of fear of damage. But I don't read much of them breaking a lot so may as well..

 

This points out several things to me..

1)

You don't need lt or SAS from what you have described to me(or those 35s or crawl box)

Yes it'll make things easier but it will also make them boring. A trail that would be fun to drive on a truck with mid travel, 33s and skids. Will be dull on 35s lt and such. Trust me. My friends go down stuff and say "that was rough". Where I barely have to pick lines.

Why's this matter?

Well because then you'll want to find something challenging or a way to push it.

Which breaks shit. Haha

Granted you may not seek out hard stuff, but you'll wanna test out the components at some point.

2)

Since you're stressing reliability has a huge factor, understandable, honestly you should have stayed 33s haha 35s are huge stress on our rigs ifs all around. Our diffs are maxed out with 35s easily for instance. It's a ticking time bomb.

Not to say get rid of them and go back to 33s. You're already there and they are great offroad. I am saying. Start preparing for the worst. Spare parts and such.

Either way you've got the right idea. Just drive it now. Figure what works best and you may find you only need subtle changes. Or big changes. Time and experience shall tell!

 

Was just curious, in the first gens I've seen (that I remember) it's either a super crawler or LT. Can't recall one that has both. Didn't think there would be an issue with it just curious. Stuff to look into down the road if I get into a situation that I'll need it

 

Paul's old double cab comes to mind as the best example.

 

If you're talking about the best of example of money spent and never used, yeah, his was a good example.

 

Lol also true

 

Didn't know he had a crawl box but that makes sense