How to remove entire doors?

How difficult is it to remove the driver side and passenger side doors? I have 08 base 4x4 regular cab, I think the only electronics in the doors are for speakers. I'll probably need to get some kind of replacement driver side mirror to make it street legal? Anybody try doing this yet? Not sure if I want the removable bar doors yet like on the other thread, just want to drive around without a door first.

 

Thread revival! I'm in the same boat as this guy^^^

So TW what info you got for us about removing base doors and driving doorless? Personally I think it would look badass on my reg cab and especially badass after I get my aftermarket bucket seats in.

 

Check the door, the hinges probably bolt to the body. You say badass, I say ghetto... To each their own but I don't think the doorless look is a good look for most vehicles unless you're using low-cut doors for better off road visibility.

 

there's only one brand of vehicle that can pull off that look imo.
they are the taco's off road rivalry. can you take a guess?

but here's what your'e looking for:
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/226290-too-hot-take-doors-off-pics.html

 

ya that does look pretty bad - might be a mind changer right there

 

Doors protect you; why would you remove them?

 

They also offer some structural aspect to the cab to keep it from twisting, hope they go back on OK when you are done fucking around.

 

it looks awful on a tacoma. Only looks good on Jeeps. Also a tacoma is not set up structurally to take the doors off and drive around. Like someone said above, good luck and hope the doors go back on nice and flush when ur done offroading. YOU CAN TWIST AND TORQUE THE BODY OUT OF WACK WHILE DRIVING WITHOUT YOUR DOORS FYI!!! (seen it done on tacos in Moab before.)

 

Well I tinkered and tried it out. I had the base pkg standard cab so the only connection I had to worry about was the speaker wiring, but there is a quick disconnect for that inside a rubber boot near the hinges. Seat belts weren't an issue and functioned properly. After I did it once or twice I could remove both doors in about 15min. The dome light did stay on so if I left them off overnight I would disconnect the battery. I know Jeeps have clips you can buy that clip to the door panel to shut off the dome light, but I never tried one to see if it works on the Tacoma.

It felt awesome driving around like that and I thought it looked pretty cool on the standard cab. It was definitely fun and got a lot of heads turning. My mom thought it looked red-neck though lol. Having said that I'll confirm what everybody else is saying about the safety issues: doors protect you. Even on some tube-door websites they post disclaimers warning you not to go off-road without doors because of the lack of side-safety in the event of a rollover. Tacoma doors are pretty beefy and have a built-in I-beam for protection (I know because a deer hit mine and bent it in, costing me over $800 for just the exterior door panel + I-beam).

I never had any problems with the cab torquing, the doors always went on fine afterward. But I also wasn't doing anything as extreme as guys in Moab; my truck was still kinda new and I didn't want to f* it up yet. For the side mirror issue, I fabbed up a bracket from a piece of metal conduit, spray painted it gloss black and mounted a cheap mirror from auto-zone to it. Drilled some holes to match the door hinges and bolted it on. I'd pull up next to cops at stop lights and got passed by one on the highway and nobody ever said anything to me about it; I just figured if Jeeps can do it why can't I?

I would recommend having a safe place to store them with some carpet or towels on the ground and all around them or they will scratch pretty easily. If you like the look, try it, but be safe while having fun. I also can't guarantee you won't get pulled over by a Statey lol.

 

All in all brother, I give you creds for even trying this ...

 

Why didn't you just pull the dome light bulb?

Seems easier than having to get wreches out, disconnect the battery, reconnect the battery then having to reprogram all your radio stations again.

 

I can't remember. It was over 2 years ago when I tried this and I don't have that truck anymore. Upgraded to a 2012 Tundra for work purposes. Miss that Tacoma though... I can't remember how easy it was to replace that bulb, but I think I was more concerned with the battery powering something else I didn't know about or couldn't see. Maybe a door ajar indicator in the dash if it had one. Better safe than sorry; I only left them off over night once or twice. The wrenches were already out to take the doors off.

(Side story: I broke the leaf springs and considered putting an OME lift on it, ARB bumper, armor, etc., but it would have been a little too expensive and would have taken too long to order the parts and install. I needed a truck so the dealership took it and gave me $3k over KBB value for it despite the broken springs, a F* up seat belt, and some other damage/wear/tear).

(Another side story: I also installed exterior speakers in the bed liner about the same time I took the doors off and never took pictures or made a write-up about it. Maybe it's about time for that write-up...)

 

I'd be more concerned about torquing an Xcab than a single. Will both doors lay in the bed?

 

Thread Resurrection!!!!

 

I think it would only look good if you had some fabricated tube or net doors but you would have to set up the wiring harness to be a quick disconnect so you could remove easily without messing with the inner panel and pulling the door guts out and messing with all that crap.