New Tacoma Owner, New to Off Roading and New to Tacomaworld

Hello TW World! I'm new to this forum (obviously), but I'm also new, really to any sort of off roading (always owned cars in my life). I'm also a complete novice at truck work, etc., so forgive me if my questions/posts seem very rudimentary. Purchased a new 2018 Tacoma TRD Off Road a little over a week ago and LOVE it. We have done some things to it already, mostly cosmetic mods (vent deflectors, window tint, tonneau cover) and added side steps. We've already taken it to some easy off road trails here in AZ, but we've certainly realized that more will be needed to the stock disposition of the vehicle.

So my first question to the audience is what would be the top 3 upgrades recommended? Currently my order seems to be as follows.
1. Skid Plates (full)
2. Front protection -- undecided on bull bar or full front bumper -- thoughts?
3. Lighting -- ditch lights for sure, but also looking at bar lighting

I intend to upgrade when I have the $ for items so as to not get overextended on anything so these would certainly be gradual unless I can do a couple for relatively cheap.

 

Welcome!

 

Welcome from another desert dweller, with the same truck lol. Brand new stock wheels and tires will fetch 700-800 pretty easily on offerup craigslist etc around here if you're thinking new wheels and tires.

I'd go tires first for sure, then depending on how much serious off roading you're planning add armor. Dont need skids etc for running forest roads so it all depends on what you're really gonna be doing with the truck.

I went
Tires
Lights(I spend a lot of time driving FS roads pre dawn on my way to trailheads so lights are pretty important to me.
Cosmetics


Dont forget to check out the AZBS thread, kinda slow since the mods hit eject on half the locals a couple weeks ago
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/az-bs-thread-5-0.431790/page-4715#post-18894089

 

Welcome!

 

Thanks @OnePuttBlunder for the picture! In terms of off roading, really it would just be some ruts, a little water here and there, and some climbs. We take the kids and would like to get to some places to just do distributed camping, etc. Is that an aftermarket grill you installed? If so, it looks like one I've been eye-balling for a while too. Seem like a pretty easy upgrade/mode. Did you just do new tires without any sort of lift, etc.? If so what size are your tires? I love your lighting too!

 

Welcome from SCS!

 

@azstruble OEM Pro Grill and garnish. for a couple hundred bucks was not worth the hassle to take a flyer on a knockoff as far as TSS and fitment goes. Tires are Toyo Open Country AT2 LT265/70/R17 on 17inch 4 Runner TRD Pro wheels. They're heavy and gas mileage will suffer over the P rated version. No lift until warranty is up, not worth the hassle to me. Plus the truck is pretty dang capable as it sits stock. Tires gave me about an inch of overall height increase. I run mostly FS roads with some easy to moderate off roading here and there, down the road Ill look at adding some sliders and a skid or two as the truck ages

 

Congrats on your new Tacoma!

 

Welcome and congrats on the truck

 

Welcome to TW... Nice looking ride!!

 

Welcome aboard and nice choice for a first truck

 

WOW! I'm glad I joined this forum, seems there are such nice folks on here. Thanks all for the kind words. And @OnePuttBlunder, I have some AZ garage overhang storage installed so only about 1" lift would be nearly perfect! The truck is mostly my wife's commute vehicle as I work from home, so gas mileage isn't too important. The most traveling it's going to make is anywhere that we choose to pull our pop-up. And by pulling that, we were already going to vary on MPG. That size you mentioned, I assume that is pretty much the biggest you could get without having to lift?

 

@azstruble 265/70/r17 or 265/75/R16 are the biggest without rubbing issues. The 16s if you keep your stock wheels. Either way both same overall height

 

@OnePuttBlunder I haven't been able to find the 265's around the valley (only 285's), mind sharing where they could be purchased around the valley?

 

Welcome to TW and congrats on the new ride! Careful asking about upgrades, these guys will spend all your cash

 

Any particular tire you looking for or just 265/75r16 in general? I'm assuming keeping stock 16s. If looking for the Toyos total auto pros is a dealer and can install(ask for gregg) or you can just order them on Amazon prime. @Discount Tire Direct has a bunch of 265 options as well but personally I'd never let them touch another ride of mine. Too many bad experiences with my last 2 cars and witnessed in their shops

 

Hey, man. Nice truck. We're in the same boat
I got mine in late August. I've been reading a bunch of threads.
For me the top three are:
1. sliders (I am choosing @Mobtown Offroad weld-on sliders, I recommend finding the thread about bolt on vs weld on)
2. skid plate (factory skid is thin as tin and I've already dented it. I am choosing @mobtown aluminum skids. I think TRD skids also a good option. Since my build is going to be extremely slow, I chose aluminum for the weight savings. Extra weight will trigger a need to upgrade the suspensions. I figure I'll ride out the current suspension. Eventually, I'll want to get a lo pro bumper and winch. At that point the suspension is going to be upgraded to handle the added weight.

I plan on traveling slow and methodical so I dont feel a steel skid is warranted. I just needed something stronger than stock for the unavoidable bonehead moves (like the dent I put in the stock).
3. Everyone says TIRES! Since I am building up my skill, I am going to easy trails and the stock tires should suffice. When it comes time, I will see if the Falken Widepeaks are still a good buy. Currently it is by consensus.

Lights. Lower on my list but I am going to install amber fogs. I road trip a lot and found myself in white out situations in rain and fog. Amber helps you see and others see you in those situations.

Recovery gear. If you're going to travel to remote places, folks recommend having recovery gear. This stuff is not cheap and not something to cheap out.

If you're not already familiar with how differentials operate, I suggest brushing up on it. YT engineering explained has some good videos. It'll give you the principles that will come in handy and help you decide how to operate the truck in an off road setting.

Also, I recommend reading the manual a copy of times over. (I am not a manual reading type of guy.)
From the manual, I learned that the truck needs to be in 4x4 once a month so that they gears get grease.

You're gonna have a bunch of fun with this truck!

 

Welcome from Texas

 

Welcome to TW! Stock tires gotta go and that will be a huge offroading upgrade for your truck. Of course lifting it to fit larger ones for more ground clearance will be nice too.

 

I would plan your wiring now for the accessories you will add.

Front light bar, rear light bar, hood cube lights, winch, onboard air compressor etc.

Adding something like a wireless accessory control system can keep the install of all accessories really clean.

Do a search for "Trigger Accessory Control System".