Just bought a 2006 Tacoma I am stuck on what mods to do first

I just bought my first Tacoma I’m 17. I don’t know what to do first, I could easily build tube bumpers at home, I am thinking I will get the rough country 9,500lbs winch. For a lift I was thinking the rough country 3.5” lift with 33,s on bronze trd rims. Any tire suggestions I will obviously use it as my daily so I want them to not be super loud on the highway, but I live around mountains so I like adventuring on deactivated forestry roads and that type of stuff. I was also thinking of getting some led light bars. Any suggestions for tires, light bars and any thoughts on the rough country products, thank you.

 

I would recommend watching tinkerer's adventure YouTube channel.

https://youtube.com/@tinkerersadventure?si=zmTdoQlQyxNoP9EL

Also FN wheels makes TRD style wheels with 4.5 backspacing. Good guy with great prices. I went with the star design.

 

I would wait on the lift and winch. Get good tires and do all the maintenance. Check your fluids, grease the drivetrain, make sure your oil is clean, clean the air intake and check the filter. You don't want to drop money on fun extras if you're behind on the items that keep the truck running.

You can do a *lot* without any mods. Go take a drive in the woods and see how it performs!

 

At the very least, you can get a kinetic rope, shackles, and a come along. It would be recommended to wheel with another vehicle until you get comfortable with yours in case you need a tug.

 

THIS^^ These trucks are very capable. I wouldn't go wasting money on a Rough Country lift...
Maintenance first, don't go running up your credit cards on stuff you want, do the things the truck needs!

 

I agree, do all the maintenance first. Drive it like it is and then decide what mods you may want. As for a lift, based on the research I did before I did mine. I would recommend 2" to 2 1/2" max. Anything more than that puts a lot of angle in the shafts.

 

Agreed! Came here to say Congrats and to take it slow and easy on the mods. I know it's fun to turn it into the ultimate truck, but I see a lot of guys with an ultimate truck in progress but they are broken down on the side of the road because they didn't prioritize basic maintenance. Then they end up getting chased by the maintenance dragon and it keeps them from getting the other stuff done.

Change all of the fluids.
Change out Belts and Hoses.
New brake pads and shoes
Good set of tires - I prefer BFG ATKO

If your shocks are worn out do replace those and if you want to do a little lift here - again modest - that's a good time. I'm talking 1" maybe 1.5" Max 2".

I'd stay away from Rough Country. Had their shocks in the past - meh. But I hear from reviews their other accessories are more for show and not for go. In other words they will lift the truck, but then you lose the performance gains of the lift. Less articulation, etc. Get a quality set up instead of buying future you some problems.

But yes - After you get the Taco back to bullet proof status with all of the maintenance (it will last 100,000's of miles - dependably) then take it out and wheel it. See where it does well, see where it fails or struggles. Then the trick is to enhance the points that struggled w/o losing the parts that did well. And winches... I'm 51. Have never needed a winch or been on site where a winch was needed for off roading. All of my "winching experience" comes from farm work where we needed a winch to do do farm stuff and land management and most of that was using a winch on a crane on the back of a truck or a come-a-long hand winch. A front bumper winch was almost useless there too. I think a lot of guys add them because they think it adds girth to their dick but it doesn't. And the only people it impresses is other guys. No woman has ever said, "Oh you have a winch? Let me get my good eggs ready!"

 

“Rough country” how about no

maintenance on an 06 would be better than butchering it. Maybe figure that out first.

not sure why you would lift beyond recommended to put a stock 4runner tire size. I have like 2” lift on 35’s.

 

I'd go thru the entire truck first to see if it actually needs anything and inspect the frame very VERY well. Then, drive it for awhile to make sure the engine and drive train is mechanically sound. THEN I'd start researching.

 

???
Cat got your tongue?

 

This ^^^

Make sure you have a truck worth fixing up. No point in doing mods if the engine and drivetrain needs some TLC to keep going. How many miles are on it? You can Google the model to check for typical problems and recalls. A good set of shocks is probably in order if those are originals on it now, and then a good set of tires that don't rub with every bump you hit (properly sized). You can turn it into a mall-crawler or offroad beast later.

 

06? Get an oil analysis to check on the head gasket… thats a good “mod”