Longtime Toyota Fan, First Taco!

Hey Y’all! I’m Cam and I am in the SF Bay Area.

I have always loved Tacoma’s and finally pulled the trigger! It’s my dream car!

I have loved Toyota’s forever, and had 2 4runners but always knew I wanted a Taco! Finally found myself in the position to afford one and have been working hard so was able to pull the trigger!

Already added TRD Bro Grille (of course) along with a ton of little MeSo goodies and a full exterior chrome delete! Excited to get these clunky looking wheels off and really kick the build off over the next few years!!

My dream is a very off-road capable but OEM+ style looking build for a little show and go! I can’t wait for some local meetups to see you guys and get out to the trails!

 

Welcome to TW Cam

 

Welcome aboard Cam

 

Same here!! I’ve always wanted a Tacoma since high school back in first gen era. Finally pulled the trigger and got rid my soccer mom Mercedes GLC 300. Absolutely lovin my Taco !!

 

Welcome to TW!

 

Welcome to TW!

 

Hi there, is that the OEM skid plate that you had someone powder/bed liner coat? This is exactly what Im thinking of doing.

I also want to get rid of my stock wheels (It's an SR5 - not TRD). I love the way the TRD wheels look, and was considering them - but wondered if it's 'lame' to have TRD wheels on a non-TRD model. Thoughts? (ps - I know Im the only one who should care?)

 

I don’t think that’s lame at all! People swap different Toyota wheels to all kinds of models! I am looking to upgrade to a new set of wheels soon and will be selling my OR stocks for this exact purpose!

 

Yes that’s the stock skid plate. I painted it myself, and I have to that I think it turned out great! Wife doesn’t care for it, but we usually disagree on style, lol. I love it and so do my friends. I just removed the air dam and removed the plate. Cleaned it with alcohol and a rag. Primed it with rustoleum, then sprayed it with caliper red rustoleum. Just waiting on my red and black d ring shackles which are being delivered today! Thinking about vinyl wrapping my hood scoop red too. As for the wheels, if you like the look you should definitely go for it! It’s no worse than putting on a TRD Pro grill onto a non Pro truck. At the end of the day, if it gives you satisfaction than do it! I would definitely recommend upgrading the tires when you do. Putting on a set of 265/70r17s or 265/75r16s All Terrains really give the Tacoma a nice and aggressive look, even without a lift!
Good luck on your project and send some photos!

 

I'm probably going to wait to do that, mostly because 1) Yes, I want new tires too, 2) I already have spent a solid $2k on personal projects for the truck in the last month since Ive owned it, and 3) The tires it came with are in excellent condition.

Air damn came off over the weekend. On a gray truck, the air damn makes the front of the truck feel way too ... cheap SUV-ish

As far as painting it, I was actually thinking of painting mine that exact same red and maybe going white on the tow hook. I have a professional paint setup, so Im going to go that route.

I was thinking of getting done w/ bed liner spray.

 

Yeah, the wheels are definitely something to do when you have to replace the ones.

Does the SR5 come with a tow hook? I thought that was only on the Off Road. I purchased a set of the All Sales Demon Hooks so that I can attach 2 Shackles under the front of the pickup.

All in all, that’s why I love the Tacoma. There are so many different mods you can do to personalize your truck.

 

Hey man, don't SR5 shame me...

There are two tow points on the SR5, but I dont believe you can add in d ring shackles that I know of.

I actually just got back from the hardware store - I was bummed to find out they don't sell anything but latex... in gloss. Ew. Im looking for satin or matte. Exact same color as yours.

 

no shaming man, all Tacos are beautiful. I was just wondering bc I don’t have a tow hook on my truck. There’s just two tie downs that are too small for shackles.

 

Yeah I got my paint on Amazon. Real quick delivery too!

 

Rustoleum Caliper Red, it’s got pretty good resistance and dries pretty quick.

 

Im debating if I want to break out the spray gun for this or not. That's a bit too glossy for me, but I suppose if its facing down, it's hardly noticeable.

(ps - was kidding about the SR5 shame :-D. )

 

the paint was still wet in that photo. When dry, it gets pretty matte.