trekker's taco and Melly's 4R

Welcome to our joint build thread!



The Truck Build...





Like many of you, I've been hanging around TW for years. I finally signed up once I knew I was serious about building my truck and started to post and lurk in the group buys section. I'm still learning what my truck can do and how I can improve its capabilities and my skills behind the wheel.

In August of 2014, after hearing the news about the upcoming 3rd gen and decided it wasn't for me... I bought a new 2014 Toyota Tacoma DCSB TRD Off Road in Magnetic Gray Metallic. I did a few tweaks and mods till I paid it off in the summer of 2016. Since then I've gone wild with this project! My goal is to wheel some of the Texas offroad parks several times a year and travel and explore a bit further away from the usual tourist crowds and jeepers. Secondary to that goal is to maintain diverse utility, drivability, and reliability. I think I'm on the right track.

Suspension:
King 2.5 remote reservoir extended travel 700lb coils
Wheelers super bumps bump stops up front
SPC Light Racing upper control arms with new generation zerk ball joints
ARB Old Man Emu Dakar leaf spring packs
Armor Tech Offroad rear shackles with zerk fittings
Archive Garage Hammer Hangers and HD leaf packs
King 2.5 extended travel remote reservoir rears
Timbren u-bolt flip kit and bump stops

Powertrain/Drivetrain:
Magnuson Supercharger
ECGS Dana 60 4.88 with OX e-locker
4.88 stock e-locker rear
4.88 ARB air locker front
Cracked my stock t-case so I swapped it out
Airflow snorkel
Fumoto quick valve oil pan plug drain
Toytech font differential drop kit *will remove next time I take off the skids*
Carrier bearing drop kit
Rear differential breather relocation to beneath the driver side bed rail
EBC Stage 4 brake upgrade kit with slotted rotors and green stuff brake pads
Extended brake lines
URD Competition Y-pipe
Thorley/Jardine cat back exhaust

Tires:
Maxxis Bighorn 762 Mud Terrains 255x85x16 (tall skinnies 33")
... sitting on the stock OR aluminum alloys (derp'd of course)!

Stealth Custom Series 17" Ray10s in Matte Bronze wrapped in 35/12.5 MT/Rs
Fall of '23 switched to Mickey Thompson Baja Boss A/T in 35/12.5/17

Armor:
SOS Offroad Concepts front plate bumper with full hoops and 20" light bar cutout and winch mount
SOS Offroad Concepts rear high clearance bumper with tire swingout, dual jerry can holder, and fold down table
Bay Area Metal Fab DOM sliders with kickout
Bay Area Metal Fab lower control arm skid plates 3/16" steel
RCI Metal Works IFS skid plate, mid skid plate, and transfer case skid pate (all 3/16" steel)
RCI Metal Works fuel tank skid 1/4" aluminum
Total Chaos Spindle gussets

Exterior:
De-badged and de-chromed to meet my personal taste... other looks-cool-but-that's-about-it stuff includes blacked out headlight bezels and homertaco's mesh front grill
CBI offroad ditch light brackets
Redline Tuning hood strut install to delete the prop rod... so handy during SC install
Trail Toys EZ View mirrors
Rad Rubber replacement inner fender aprons
Prinsu Design Studios cabrack roof rack
2x Plano All-Weather tactical gun cases mounted on the roof rack, one for recovery gear the other for tools/spare parts
Softopper black canvas folding bed topper
All-Pro Offroad expedition series pack rack DIY kit
All-Pro Offroad expedition series aluminum modular bed rack basket
Toytech 1" body lift kit (to help clear 37"s in the future )
Some sweet stickers for extra horsepower
Pocket style fender flares trimmed to fit on trimmed fenders for 35s
Harker Outdoors EDC truck cap camper

Electrical:
Off Grid Engineering dual battery wiring kit and battery trays
2x Odyssey PC1400 Group 35 batteries
2x Autozone Group 35 AGMs, whatever their primo brand is nowadays
Blue Sea Automatic Charging relay and battery isolator
Bussmann RTMR relay fuse panel and breaker with custom wiring
Modified stock interior power relay to allow constant hot 12v outlets
Added 12v and usb outlets in the bed wired to the RTMR
6 circuit Blue Sea fuse block mounted in the bed cubby
Midland CB
4 channel video selector and three front facing cameras for wheeling

Interior:
Accessory switches mounted in one of the overhead sunglasses holders
Custom Qi wireless phone charging cell phone mount
Voltage meters mounted in the console
Weathertech Floor Liners
RAAM Audio sound deadening throughout the entire cab
400w inverter anytime mod plus additional interior outlets
Kick ass patch collection

Lighting:
40 watt LED ditch light pods
40 watt LED back up lights in the rear bumper
110 watt LED light bar in the front bumper
Custom waterproof LED rock lights
Under hood LED lights with pressure switch
Bed LED lights with button switch and remote control
4x 10 watt LED pods mounted on the bed rack for camp lighting

Camp Gear:
Onboard water pump with 35psi pressure switch, quick connect hoses with filter, spray nozzle, and portable propane water heater
Indel-B refrigerator/freezer on a slide platform in the bed
Outer Limits Supply fully featured first aid kit
All-Pro aluminum cargo basket on the bed rack for gear hauling
Trasharoo spare tire trash bag
Tepui Tents awning on roof rack
Tepui Tents Gran Sabana rooftop tent on camp trailer
2x 5 gallon Scepter military water cans in NATO blue
5 gallon Scepter military fuel can in red with fuel cap wrench
Assorted Scepter spare parts and fill nozzle
...need to update this as the camper build continues

Recovery Gear:
Smittybilt X2O 10k weather sealed winch with 100' synthetic rope
4x 3/4" screw pin shackles on the bumpers full time
60" high lift jack
High lift off road base plate
DLA shackle high lift adapter
Lift mate high lift adapter
4x Maxtrax MKII traction boards mounted to the bed rack
Shovel mounted to the bed rack
4x spare 3/4" screw pin shackles
3x snatch blocks
2x Trailtoys soft shackles
High Lift 15' tree strap
Trailtoys 10' tree strap
Cheap tow strap (need to replace with a winch line extension strap)
Bubba Rope "Big Bubba" 52k lb 30' snatch rope
TracGrabbers traction aid
ARB twin air compressor mounted under the hood
ARB tire inflator and rapid deflator
Spare generic valve cores and valve caps
Colby Valve no-tool replacement valve stems
Tire repair kit
Full size spare mud terrain tire on bumper swing out
Custom LED work light
Portable Jump Starter

Maintenance Items:
Mileage as of Feb. 2018: 75000
One rear ring and pinion destroyed and replaced at 71000 (Oct/Nov 2017)
One CV axle destroyed and replaced (Oct/Nov 2017)
Driver axle seal and pinion seal of front diff replaced, modified breather (Jan 2018)
x15 oil changes
Replaced green stuff brake pads (installed at 50000) at 70000
New front diff fluid at 73000
New rear diff fluid at 71500
New coolant at 50000
New batteries at 45000 (Oct. 2016)
Maxxis 33s replaced stock tires at 40000 (July 2016)
35" MTRs replaced Maxxis 33s at 74000 (Jan 2018)
Replace both lower control arms, bushings, and all four ball joints at 75500 (Feb 2018)
Latest oil change: Early November, 2023
Replaced both lower control arms again with new ball joints and tie rods at 99500 (Feb 2024)

Upcoming Projects:
Oil catch can... need to find some room under the hood for this over due project.
Air tank under the bed to plumb to the air compressor.
Possibly add a fixed water tank.
Possibly add a fixed additional fuel tank or replace current tank with a larger one.
Harker EDC camper build out
Big brake kit
Trans cooler
Tundra steering rack


I've had a lot of inspiration and EXCELLENT information to digest on these forums. I can't think of all the great build threads on here that I've referenced, but I'll try to note the ones I remember drooling over during my own planning and building process.... Crom, DoorDing, HomerTaco, ETXTacoma, Scocar, Nate87, jberry, stronghammer, ChandlerDOOM, n0rth... look those guys up if you haven't seen their builds. We could all use more Tacoma porn in our lives, right?


@MellyMel and her 2016 T4R TRD Pro Build

I met my better half while out wheeling. I've been working with her to build up her 4Runner so she can rip it on the trails too.

Suspension:
Toytec 3" Ultimate Suspension Lift
Wheelers super bumps bump stops up front
SPC Light Racing 2nd gen upper control arms with greasable ball joints

Powertrain/Drivetrain:
Fumoto quick valve oil pan plug drain
Toytech font differential drop kit

Wheels and Tires:
Stealth Custom Series 17" Ray10s in Matte Bronze wrapped in 285/70/17 MT/Rs

Armor:
CBI front bumper with full hoops
CBI rear bumper with dual swing outs
Shrockworks rock sliders
RCI lower control arm skid plates 3/16" steel
TRD Pro 1/4" aluminum IFS skid plate
RCI Metal Works transmission skid plate, transfer case skid pate, and fuel tank skid plate (all 1/4" aluminum)

Exterior:
Rago Fabrication ditch light brackets
Prinsu Design Studios full roof rack
Some sweet stickers for extra horsepower

Electrical:
SwitchPro 9100 and Blue Sea aux fuse panel
Midland CB
Firestick II 2 foot CB antenna on ditch light bracket mount
4 channel video selector and three front facing cameras for wheeling

Interior:
Husky Floor Liners
Dog mat in the back
Kick ass patch collection

Lighting:
Rago Fab LED ditch light pods
30in light bar in the front bumper
dual pods in the rear bumper as back up lights
camp light pod on the rear bumper swing out

Recovery Gear:
Smittybilt x2o 10k weather sealed winch with 100' synthetic rope
Pink maxtrax, cuz girl and whatnot
Portable Jump Starter
Viair Heavy Duty OBA system with 2.5 gallon tank

Maintenance Items:
Mileage as of April 2018, most recent oil change: 43,500
33" MTRs replaced stock 32s at 42,000 (Feb 2018)

Upcoming Projects:
rock lights and OBW setup

 

Custom Projects

Camp Lighting:
I got more @Iggy pods to play with, so I stuck some on my bed rack. I used a relayed switch through my Bussmann RTMR fuse/relay panel under the hood to send power to a 6 circuit Blue Sea fuse block in the bed with four switches on it to isolate each light. I mounted the Blue Sea fuse block in the passenger side bed cubby on the underside of the top portion to keep the space available for ratchet straps or bungies.


Maxtrax mount:
I wanted a way to mount my maxtrax to my bed rack without taking up valuable roof space. I wound up using a piece of plywood drilled out to mount it to the tubes of the rack using u-bolts. I cut a bit of weight out of it with the hole saw bit I had left over from my snorkel install. The holes in the middle of the board helped make install easier by allowing access to behind the panel. Once I was finished cutting and drilling I finished the board with roll on bed liner that was left over from finishing the tub of my camp trailer.


Prinsu rack install:
Zach makes a great racks and accessories for them! I was so happy to get my Cabrac from him but I didn't have a buddy around to assist me with the installation at the time. Zach suggests assembling the rack on the ground prior to installing it on the cab, but some guys install it in pieces on the cab if they are by themselves. I wanted to stick to Zach's suggestion, so I built my rack on the ground and let it sit on my dining room floor while my buddy was out of town. Impatience got the better of me and I wound up rigging up a block and tackle in the garage that I use for cleaning deer. It made one-man installation very easy!


Hot Water on demand:
I got an on-board water kit from @ProForce and adapted a tankless propane water heater for hot water. CAMP SHOWERS!


RTT Overhang Mod:
Climbing in and out of the RTT is kind of a pain when ducking through the overhang of my Tepui Gran Sabana. I had some leftover tent poles laying around and decided to put them to good use, by drilling a few holes in the overhang support bar angled just right to hold the tent poles. The poles lift the center of the overhang material enough to give more head room when climbing in and out with the added benefit of preventing rain water from pooling up.

 

Tales, Travels, Tacos, and Trails

Got that new car smell and all that jazz.


I had hiked over his exact spot a few months prior to buying my Taco. Tin Cup Pass, Co.


A juvenile Taco in its natural habitat. Pomeroy Lakes, Sawatch Range, Co.


Camping in the bed of the truck for the 4th outside of Salida, Co. See that spare tire? Yeah....


Got into a little bit of mud near a local hunting spot I like to frequent.


I can go from sub 10 pound load outs in the mountains to full on lazy man camping in about 2 seconds lol


Latest full camp load out:


I got to meet a lot of you fine folks at the 2017 Lone Star Toyota Jamboree.

And here's why I used to run stock OR wheels with derp:


And this, this is just awesome.


Other Fun Stuff:

First day to work from home... the employees in my office back in Fort Worth got the day off since their weather was a bit worse.


Fun stuff indeed.


I like her topless sometimes.


BEER FRIDGE. One of my recent additions that's quickly becoming a favorite.


(Mostly) cleaned up


And I'll end all this with some words of wisdom.

 

Most Recent Wheeling Trips and Treks - PIC HEAVY(ISH)

*alright I admit it... been a bit lazy with pics while wheeling the past several trips, so there are a few trip photos scattered throughout the thread from more recent ventures, but not a ton*

HIDDEN FALLS ADVENTURE PARK 2018/03/16-18

Went wheeling with some fine folks @SuperBad @n0troublen0fuss @MellyMel and a special appearance by the one and only @ChadsPride

It was my first time at HF and it did not disappoint. Beer, whiskey, and rocks were abundant. I had taken my truck out once before after stepping up to 35s but it was rainy and muddy which made for some slick wheeling. This trip out was the real test of the tires, front locker, and updated suspension. Everything worked great, and my truck is feeling strong.




THE BIG ONE

August of 2017 I took off for the mountains once again. The goal of this trip was to see a little bit of everything, hit some trails, hit even more beer, and escape the peak of the oppressive Texas summer heat.

I started in Colorado of course... home base for me is in the Salida area most every time I go up that way. I did some more trails in the Sawatch and tore up some pizza and beer. You ever got to Salida, go to Moonlight Pizza, (Amicas is good too, just not as good), and thank me later. Soulcraft Brewing is legit, but most every brewery in CO has something good to offer. Elevation Brewing is in in the next town over from Salida and it's my favorite brewery of all time. You ever go to Telluride, go to Brown Dog Pizza. I forget the name of the local beer joint there, but Brown Dog had many of their beers on tap and they went down really effing easy after the descent from Black Bear Pass.

After a few days in the Rocky Mountain State I scooted over to Moab. It's no secret that Moab gets damn hot in the summer just like Texas does (aside from the humidity), but what most people don't realize is that you can drive 45 minutes southeast of town into the La Sal mountains and camp for free in the national forest at a higher elevation where the temps are amazing. Moab brewing is badass, they do a lot of red ales and ambers (naturally, with all the red rocks around and whatnot) which I'm a fan of. The imperial red rye was mighty tasty. I was out there as a solo rig, so I didn't go crazy on the trails given this is my first time there (to wheel), but I did manage to have some fun. I love Utah. I spent a few weeks out there in 2011 and get questioned a lot on my old pictures from my friends. They are often surprised to learn of the diverse landscapes that make up the state.

After a brief stint around Denver it was time to figure out wtf to do for the rest of the trip. I had planned up to this point, but really I'd been so busy with work and prep that I didn't nail down what I was going to do for the duration of my time off. I heard some mess about an eclipse or some crap like that and figured why the hell why not, I'll go take a look. I thought it'd be a lame novelty to be in the path of totality, but I was dead wrong. I made it to Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming to watch the sky get dark at 11:26 am. It cooled off a good bit and the sky looked as if there was a fading sunset to the south and to the north. It was unreal. Afterward, the suds at Snake River Brewing continued the euphoria of the day, despite fighting the massive crowds on the roads.

I then made my way over into Idaho to see a longtime friend and his family. We decided to check out what Montana and Idaho had to offer, and we hit the road together. What we didn't realize is that there were dozens and dozens of active wildfires all over the northern Rockies just north of where he lives now. We found out the hard way on our way to Missoula, Montana. We had to go out of our way to find a national forest that was clear of smoke and clear of fire. We did find a ton of great beer though, which was half the point of traveling up to Missoula. We then wound around the Lewis and Clark Discovery Route back into Idaho to meet up with the rest of my buddy's family for his daughter's MTB race. I was back on my own now and decided I wanted to give Montana another shot... Glacier National Park has been high on my list for so long now, and I couldn't be this close to it and not go. It's true what is said about Glacier, it really is the crown jewel of the National Park system. It was packed when I went there, which was a bummer, but I still had an awesome time cruising up and down Going-To-The-Sun Road and hiking a few trails to get away from the crowds.

Afterward I decided to head back into Wyoming on my way to spend more time in Colorado before it became time to head home. I went through Yellowstone National Park which was really cool, but also a bit of a beating. The crowds were stupid thick. I picked the wrong time of year to show up, but still found a few ways to enjoy myself.

I did a few other things here and there on my way back to Texas, but those were most of the highlights. Unfortunately I had to get back to my family for a medical emergency.

Critter tally: Elk, White Tail Deer, Mule Deer, Turkey, Owls, all sorts of high alpine mammals, no bears and no moose , no bigfoot and only one chupacabra

Pics are mostly hi-res from my camera, I still have some on my phone to go through (like all of my Moab pics...). Sorry if you have potato internet like I do, because it's about to get reamed.

 

I like it ... it's purdy

 

Also how do you like the 255/85s? Have you used other brands and if so which ones do you like the best.

 

thanks, I like it too!

The 255s have worked great for me and have yet to let me down. I'm nervous to air them down lower than 18-20 as I'm not sure if they'd be more likely to pop a bead than wider tires, but at that psi I've been able to overcome most obstacles.

I've never used another 255, but if I did I'd go with another mud terrain. My next tires won't be so skinny, and will be a bit taller, too.

 

Later today I'll update those other posts with some trip report stuff and photos, as well as some build process pics for some of the more interesting stuff or uncommon projects.

 

So like Interco 34x10.5r16s?

 

Those should get the job done... the numbers on them look like they're load range D but I can't confirm that.

 

In, sweet truck man.​

 

Thanks buddy, welcome to the shit show party!

<--- me patiently working and waiting on my ChadsPride patch to show up, so I'll have official confirmation that you do in fact like this lol

 

Haha!!! Pretty nice club you got here!!

Lmao!! I can't wait for mine to get here. Some local members actually want me to install it for them too!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBH3EFUgq1o

 

My buddy has them on his FJ.

 

Nice. I haven't given any real thought to my next set of tires... mine have a bit of tread left and hopefully last me till I can re-gear

 

Lack power?

 

I'm supercharged so I have power, and before I added the SC and all the armor it still got up and went... I just want bigger and better when the time is right. I don't regret these tall skinnies one bit, but they won't perform better than 35"+

 

Nice man! The truck is killer. You decide on paint for the basket?

 

Thanks Andre!

Man, I cannot decide what to do with that basket lol I'm probably going to leave it for a while.

All those brackets holding on my lights and quick fists have a silver finish to them so they kinda allow the basket to match them. I'll probably take it all apart during the dog days of summer that are ahead of us and get it all looking good once and for all.