New Guy w/Couple Questions

Looking at buying my first Tacoma and wanted to find out a few things first...

1. Definitely want to lift it (reasons: looks and being able to do fire roads but no actual rock crawling)... how many inch suspension lift should I be looking at?

2. Besides the lift, I'll be looking to bump up from the stock tires... without big time cutting, what can I bump to in tire sizes along with the various size lifts (question #1↑) that are suggested?

3. Definitely don't want to go with coilovers for my needs so, any recommendations on a solid (both in reputation and dependability) company for the lift and shocks?

4. Pros and Cons on a cover/cap/tonneau?

Thanks much!

 

1) don't need a lift for fire roads. 3" max. 2" or less better.
2) lifting doesn't help to fit bigger tires. 265s if you don't want to trim. 285s if you are willing to trim some and chop the cab mount. stock or lifted.
3) tacos run coilovers up front so you already have them technically but I know what you meant. don't get spacers. bilstein 5100s is cheapest acceptable lift.
4) dunno

 

Well, I'll be the first to say "welcome to tee-dubya!"

Please understand that your questions have been answered a thousand times over. If you search through the 3rd Gen forum, you'll see several threads dedicated to each question on your list.

As for tonneaus, I have a Extang Solid-Fold 2.0 that works great, and I understand the BakFlip MX4 is really good too.

 

A=You should be good to go on run some fire roads stock. No issues for me, so I'd say go try it out and see if you even need mods. That said, tires are one of the best upgrades for money spent, in my opinion.

With regard to the tonneau, I have the factory model on my '17. It's well built, looks good and has minimal leaks that are mitigated by having a bed mat.
It's also easy enough to remove once you open it up. Perfect for my purposes, may or may not be depending upon your needs.

At the end of the day, do what makes you happy and enjoy your truck!

 

Welcome. There are actually lengthy and informative threads addressing each of these questions.
1. You don't need a lift for fire roads. Your truck is rad as is.
2. 265's MAYBE 275's.
3. Check with @HeadStrong Off-Road
4. Hard is lockable. Soft is more versatile.

 

Hey friend I just recommend you really test drive the heck out of the new tacoma first and test other trucks in the segment as well because I am really regretting my purchase of the turd gen and I know I am not alone because you see a ton of other complaints and quality problems popping up on the forums every day!

 

I don't know man. Some do have issues. The Tacoma is still the leading seller in the market for a reason. Go to any auto forum and you'll find more unhappy people than you expect. Except for Jeeps, but those folks have just accepted the issues and call them "Jeep Things."

 

Welcome to TW!

 

You can go up to 33" tires if you go narrower without a lift. People here are running 255/85/16 on stock suspension without issues. When you go wider you'll run into rubbing issues.

Cool beans bro.

 

Welcome aboard!!!

Not going to beat the dead horse, but you'll be just fine with a stock 4x4 or Pre-Runner. I'm running all stock with 265/65/R17 Dynapro ATMs, and I can go just about anywhere. Not trying to discourage you, but I also understand the "looks" factor.

Again, welcome to the forum!

 

Thanks for all the replies, much appreciated!

Yeah, as I said it would mostly be a visual thing (the lift and tires), and also, sorry I didn't just use the search feature -- my only excuse is, I also wanted to use the post as an introduction too.
Regarding the 3rd Gen issues, yeah I am reading many forums and seeing quite a few unhappy folks which truthfully does leave me scratching my skull because...

A. How can so many be upset while so many others are so pleased?

B. I've always thought Toyota had exceptional QC?

 

↑ truthfully, that's the world I am leaving, and why I am heading into Toyota country... tired of "Jeep Things" and "It's a Jeep" echoing through my brain and wallet daily.

 

just saying...for all those thinking you need so many mods etc for 'fire roads and light off roading' well fire roads are a given but explain a little more what light off roading is.

Just to be clear this
Rear wheel is completely off


And these videos https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9dyA2yXpw0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jjoj3G4mRv0
The 3rd gen is mine, aside from 265 70 17s, breathers and armour my truck is completely stock. No lift and I got through these trails with pretty much no problem after a little bit of a boost of confidence from the guys on the trail, @tacoma16 @NorilskSever. All it took was some good spotters and being careful. went through all the same water
I'm doing a lift but I also want the extended travel of my Fox suspension I bought. I also intend on doing much harder trails than this eventually. Second video I was right behind that 2nd gen for pretty much all of it aside from the muddy parts. And all he has is a leveling kit and the 265s same overall height as mine but I think his are 16s

But for these trails which are all rated as a 2+, 3 and 3+ (logging roads and fire roads are usually rated a 1+) I can pretty much get through them how my truck is.
The stock truck is actually pretty capable relatively stock. and you can fit the 265 70 17s with relatively no issues. My only issue with mine was they rubbed the front mud flap and that is from my wheels being 0 offset.
Skids, breathers if you're going through water crossings and maybe sliders and you can do a lot.


And I personally love having my OEM tonneau

 

This is my 9th Toyota since 1977. I love the truck - no complaints (even through the leaky rear diff incident). But it suits me, and I really like it. It really is a great truck when it actually fits your needs. Many people end up going on to Tundras or 4Runners because of their own reasons, but that doesn't take away from the truck.

This forum is full of fantastic advice and how-to mods to get the most out of it for the least amount of money. And then...there's what you can do if have some money to spend.

It bears repeating (not my original words) that TacomaWorld is the most expensive free membership you can ever have!

 

for OP, on that note, yes if you are wanting to spend money the possibilities are endless haha.
If you go in my build thread in my sig you can see my suspension. I'm coming close to $7kCND now since our dollar sucks, but even still its close to a $5kUSD setup. Its likely overkill for my needs but oh well. Buy once, cry once. Rather do it right the first time than do a cheaper option, then not be happy with it etc.

If you have the money to spend you can have a lot of fun, take a long travel setup, will easily run you 12k.
You can do a nice quality lift though for around $2k and that will actually be pretty decent stuff. No cheap shitty riding block lifts.

Take this kit for instance http://www.headstrongoffroad.com/st...mu_Kit_w/_Dakar_Leaf_Pack_-_2016__Tacoma.html
A lot of guys run it and have no problems. hell if I remember right @dorton is running that in his rig, and if you check his instagram of rockcreek overland you can see he's not doing little soft trails. So really its all about what you're willing to spend and how much you really want to get out of it.

I'm not even looking at doing hard trails for the sake of just doing them its just all the good camping spots here are down those really hard trails. I'm not a fan of going to the provincial parks etc where anyone can go camp. I like the secluded hard to get to site so that way the people there are likely only going to be people you like, and they're all crown land so its free to camp. Either way dude, do some research and decide what you really want to do etc.
Use the search feature, can find lots on this site. Avoid making threads like 'what do i need to do to fit 285s' or 'what lift to fit 285 ko2s' as they are so overdone and you'll just get blasted lol.

 

Welcome to TW and hopefully you will find a Tacoma that will suit your needs. Now some of the questions you are asking will depend on the trim of Tacoma you go with so some of that may need to be figured out first since options can vary from trim to trim (2wd vs 4x4). We can help you out. Feel free to PM me

Thank you so much @Thunder Fist for the recommendation. You Rock

I think this is very solid advice! I have many people who contact me right after buying their Tacoma's and tell me that they hate the stock ride. Which makes me wonder why they purchased the trim that they did. With that being said, personally, I wouldn't just get a trim because it has wheels/tires, suspension, grills, etc. All of that is cosmetic and can be changed after the truck is purchased and the money goes a lot further outside of the dealership.

There are a lot of solid kits out there that is for sure and they can add up quickly!

Another thing to note op, is the ride quality can be directly affected by tire choice. I get a lot of people who end up getting the suspension dialed and love the ride then put a near 33" tire on it with an E load rating and they are then disappointed by the ride quality from the tires. Just food for thought

 

hell my kit was based off yours haha. Just didn't get it from you cause I'm in Canada and it was cheaper to get it locally.

But the tires are a really good point we all missed.