The 4cyl that could

Favorite picture of the truck.

A post rain storm night in Montana on the backside of glacier national park.


This thread is to intended to share some of the things I've done to my tacoma in an effort to hopefully inspire others. I am a visual guy and this will be a picture heavy thread! I will also share some of the trips I have taken the truck on and will do my best to explain why I built the truck out the way that I did! Ask questions if you have them and enjoy!


Why I bought the tacoma and what I wanted out of a vehicle.

Bought the 4cyl because it's reliable, fuel efficient, and because it was what I could afford. Needed to be a DD as well as a rig that would get me to camping, hunting, and fishing spots. I also knew that I wanted to take a big road/camping trip summer 2018 and that went into my decision as to what to buy.

Hindsight: love the truck, but wish it was an automatic (I have a hard time driving it in big boots).

A list of what you'll see on the rig (might not be everything)

Engine

Secondary air pump filter
K&N air filter
Oil change every 3k
Diff, 4x4 trans case fluid change - 170k ish
Hood bug deflector
Diff breather
New wheel bearings/hubs
New rear axle seals
New rear brake shoes and hardware
New calipers, rotors, and pads
New AC compressor
New AC engagement arm/pully
New blower motor
New ABS/wheel speed sensors front

*new frame from Toyota along with lower control arms, brake lines and leaf springs

Electrical mods/Interior mods

White/red led map light
LED reverse lights
LED tail lights
Offroad driving lights
Side shooter ditch lights
Ditch light brackets (cali raised)
Suitech “S-Pod”
LED bed light
CB radio
Midland CB antenna
Midland GRMS
Ram mount Ipad
Inverter
Battery volt meter & plug panel
Aftermaket pioneer stereo
Door mag lite mount
YI dash cam
Mirror relocation bracket
Magnet phone mount
Aftermaket shift knob
Seat covers
Center console organizer
Weather tech floor mats

Bed

Bedmat
Extra tie downs
Vodoo short bedrack
Total Chaos bed stiffeners
Tailgate theft clamp
Yeti bottle opener hard mount
Curt trailer receiver
Yamika Ski/rod clamps

Wheels/tires

KMC enduro wheels w spacer
235/85/16 Falken wild peak tires

Suspension

3rd gen TRD OR coil overs and rear struts






This is what the truck looked like when I bought it. 162xxx miles on the clock.



I was able to buy a used Tepui Kukenam RTT, and home made rack

Love the tent but the rack, while well built, was too high for me...the tent sat 1ft above the cab and I wanted the best possible mpg for my trip and that meant low weight and no drag.


bought a voodoo short rack off of someone on TW and sold the other rack. This made things tighter in the bed but it dropped the tent way down giving me the look and performance I was looking for. The Vodoo rack was also more modular as well as lighter.




I also added some bed stiffeners and changed out lic plate, reverse, and interior lights to led's. Went with a red bulb on one side for night driving....hands down one of the best mods I've made.





I knew I wanted new wheels and tires for the trip. I found some KMC enduro wheels which were significantly lighter than my steelies and went with a 235/85/16 falken wild peak. I wanted an E rated tire (because of the rds in Maine I frequent) but wanted to offset the weight as much as possible. Im super happy with how the setup has performed and am happy to say that I did not notice a change in MPG coming from 245s. I get 20-23 in the summer and 18-20 in the winter.

I did have to do some "trimming" with a heat gun on the front as the tires rubbed on the plastic when in reverse at full turn.

also added a class3 hitch (brand: curt)







LIGHTS! before I forget lights.... I wanted some offroad illumination but am not a huge fan of light bars....everyone and their mother has one and I reeally like the look of the round lights on the ARB bumpers....I didn't want to get a bumpers at that point (weight and money) and opted to attach them to what I had for a bumper. pretty happy with the result! also installed side shooter light on cali raised ditch brackets and a bed light. everything is wired to a Sui-tech switch panel inside.



regular low beams:


ditch lights plus round driving lights:


Coms and interior

added a dash cam, Ram mount for an iPad mini for navigation, new single din radio (mostly for the aux cord). also added an inverter next to the passender seat and a little 12v, usb bank with a battery monitor.

Also added a CB radio and a Midland GMRS 115.






Took a trial run up to northern Maine and got the truck super dirty... everything performed well... although I realized I wanted more room for the tires and better springs in the back.







Then came a the trip...plans for the summer got bigger and bigger until I ended up with two buddies (one on the way out and one on the way back), a 2 month time slot, and a route to take me from NH through the midwest to CO, all around Utah, Idaho, Arizona, into Cali...up the west coast into B.C. and then into Alberta...then down through Montana, and Wyoming, back into CO and then back to NH. Camping every. single. night. The trip was epic and I'll include pictures below! If you have any questions, I can be much more specific regarding what we did! we put right around 10k on the truck.

First and only issue I ran into was a seized parking brake in the back country in CO. nerve-racking because the truck wouldn't move and we were in the middle of nowhere but ultimately nothing that some banging not the brake drum didn't fix...













After returning from the trip I was well aware of how tired the factory suspension was. I didn't want a 3 inch lift because of the potential issues that can come with that (vibration, mpg decrease etc) so I opted for a 2018 TRD Off road "take off" set. The heavier coils lift the front by about an inch and the ride is about a million times better than stock. "taco lean" is already adjusted for and all I need to do now is slap on an AAL to support the weight in the bed and give me a level look....leaning towards the ICON 1.5, coming this spring.





here is how the truck currently sits.

 

Really clean build an love your setup...subbed

 

Thank you! hopefully more to come!

 

Epic. Just epic!

 

That tire size is exactly what I want to do on my 4 cyl, glad to hear you liked them.

 

deepest water the truck has ever been through... meant to mention the rear diff breather extension in the main post! definitely a "peace of mind" mod that doesn't cost a lot...


also have plans for a rifle rack in the truck... Expedition overland has one in one of their Tacomas mounted on the ceiling inside but I haven't figured out how I want that to work, and don't want something lacking me in the back of the head in an accident...this is the solution for now...

 

I did a ton of research and you'll see pics and reviews of the tires of mine on threads like "the skinny on skinny tires". They cut through snow and mud super well, are really comfortable aired down, and I really like the look. (hard to notice unless side by side with another tacoma)

 

Sweet truck. Looks like you’ve taken it to some pretty awesome places. Can’t wait to see more.

 

thanks! me too!