Do You Ever Miss Your STOCK Tacoma? | Which mods couldn't you live without?

If it survives me, whomever buys my truck when I’m gone can have all the fun undoing what I did to it if they want. I like all my mods!

 

This is some incredibly helpful info. Thanks for responding.

Yeah, I haven't experienced any back pain with it stock - I've made 5 or so 2000+ mile road trips. I have back pain when I'm driving my wife's Audi Q5 (fancy 2 bagillion-point seat adjustment).

 

If I see this truck in the wild, I would have to assume the owner is likely strapped with firearms. Looks like a utilitarian camping setup, but still with a "Stock+" look. Cool rig.

 

Interesting - I am the same height and inseam. I tried jackers but didn’t really like them. I already have enough trouble squeezing between the seat and steering wheel as is. I’m not always comfortable in the stock seating arrangement, but for the most part make it work. Must come down to preference to some degree I guess.

I’m a low riding sloucher that likes to sit as far back as I can (while still reaching the clutch), so that probably helps me fit.

 

Haven't done many but the Fumoto valve and LEDs for the interior for sure.

 

No. I don’t miss stock.

It’s taken me 4 years to get where I’m at and I anticipate moar upgrades.

BTW, what a tremendous amount of work you put into the intro to this thread! lol

 

Basically stock 2022 TRD OR owner here.

I can’t help looking at old stock unmolested Tacomas/Tundras and be in awe of them. Usually some old man driving.

And that’s what I hope to hold out for.



Reality is,
My 8yo will probably inherit it in 10 years and immediately put Raptor lights on it

 

DDI seat jackers
Spiker Engineering hood struts

 

I miss dearly the MPGs. With all the crap we add to these units, plus our fat @$$es...the mpgs are not as good.

 

I believe you also have a power seat which should help.

It is funny, the first test drive I went specifically to see if the seat hurt my back, I need to sit quite vertical and have had problems in the past, especially with the older Chrysler bucket seats that wouldn't go vertical enough.

It never crossed my mind that I would have a problem with the cushion part of the seat because It hasn't been a problem for some 30 years, dating back to those old Chryslers.

I swear the entire interior design team for these trucks was under 5'6".

 

You can take a look at my build page to see what i have modified on my Taco but yeah im slowly going to go back to stock except im gonna put on a OEM lift kit thats sitting in my basement once these Fox2.0 shocks start to wear out. Already back on oem leafs after using Old Man Emu Leafs for a couple years. Ill probably keep the KC lights and ill keep the larger tires. But aftermarket leafs sucked and the fox shocks just aren't worth it. At least they are rebuildable. I have had the reservoir hose get pinched on the tower mount on both sides when off road. That truck can take a beating.

 

I'm happy with all of my mods so far, but I certainly won't be taking the truck as far down the modding path as I originally intended when I bought it. I went to Moab about ~9 months after buying the truck, so I put on 255/85R16's, skid plates, sliders, and my softtopper at that time, all of which are still on it. Those things helped immensely in my enjoyment out there and seeing what the truck could do without sustaining major damage. The capability of what I could drive over blew me away, especially having never wheeled before. We made a subsequent trip to Moab the following year, my truck was basically in the same form, only I added the anytime front/rear camera, which helped a ton while wheeling. I still use it all the time for parking close to bollards/etc.

I was planning on 35's, CMC, high clearance bumpers, a regear, suspension lift, maybe a crawl box. All of those things would still be cool, but maybe I'll save those for ~15 years down the road when I buy a new daily and the old taco can turn into a dedicated trail rig.

I haven't been on a wheeling trip the last few years for various reasons, but would like to head out west again soon and find some more cool places to see in my truck, so I've left all the heavy steel on it. I've since added a high clearance rear bumper as well after I smashed the chrome corner up both years in Moab, which I consider the weak spot for these trucks offroad (long rear overhang, never had a problem with the front bumper clearance), so I'm really not worried about it's capability now at all for whenever the next trip comes.

My MPG's are very similar to pre-modding surprisingly, I'm not particularly bothered by how the E-load tires ride, and I like that my truck stands out visually from other stock trucks in town. Future mods might be in the lighting/audio realm, but I think I've found the sweet spot for mods for me personally. If I had to buy another stock Tacoma tomorrow, I'd put all my mods back on it without hesitation.

The day I bought it, stock, 2020:


Top of the World, Moab, 2021:


Current:

 

Thanks for your input.

I'm very happy with thee OEM TRD Lift (2") using Bilstein 5100s...way better than the Hitachi's they replaced. (Took almost 47months to save for this upgrade!)

Very happy with the OTT Tune.

Love my vintage grill with smoked amber inserts.

Redline Tuning Hood struts are fantastic!

Total Chaos Bed stiffeners, OEM Remote Tailgate Lock, OEM Bed Lights, and SaBellCo Tailgate Lock all perform as advertised.

Locking gas cap and gas cap holder are nice to have...as are the side steps and Bushwacker Fender Flares.

That's just what I recall in my cabeza at the moment. lol

 

Great point. The valve is definitely essential.

 

lol thanks! I write articles a lot for work and enjoy writing in general

I also enjoy procrastinating at work!

 

Eventually, when I buy another truck, I’ll keep one stock, and hold on to my current truck, build it out further over the years, and maybe hand it down to my first born… MAYBE

 

I’ve never missed stock cause I’m still stock.

 

ICON Stage 4. So far so good. And hell yeah to my ricer antenna!

 

My favorite so far is the OTT. I cannot imagine driving without it.