plasti dip your tacoma! i did

I get tons of questions and people stopping me to ask about it so ill share a little of my experience.

I had a 2008 tacoma and it suffered massively from tree scratches etc from wheeling and exploring and rescuing my play truck

i had a 2012 tacoma and in the 5 months i had it with very little offroad usage it had a handfull of permanent scratches mainly from one trip through the bushes and brush to drag my busted 81' out fo the woods.

Realizing that i may someday want to sell my 2013 tacoma or just clean it up really good for some reason i looked around.

Bed liner would be great, but over time it suffers do to UV rays etc, and its permanent. how many people want to buy a bedlinered truck? some but i would take a serious hit on the value in the long run and be out of pocket for the short term to pay linex or similar company to do it.

I knew of plasti dip from tool handles (which its ok for but not amazing) and i have seen many plasti dip wheels and emblems etc.

I got bored one day and wanted old school SR5 stripes on my 2013 and rather than pay $400 bucks for custom vynal stripes to test the idea i gave it a shot with plasti dip for $20 bucks. well it didnt turn out very well so i peeled them off. And it hit me, why not do the whole truck?

So i did. well i left the roof white because its cooler in the sunlight, not a huge fan of the two tone but its worth it in the summer.

So far it has worked great and saved my paint from a few scratches!

 

more pics,

i added red to the front "valance" although i really dont think they should call it that anymore its more just a stupid plastic trim piece and it makes the 2012-13 looks like it has a goatee

i also added the red trd decals (have to have them)

 

And i changed the wheels, first stock, second loaners from the family car (4runner) and the new ones are trd trail team FJ wheels


and new tires today!

 

Looks great!

 

please tell me you are doing the rest of the cab...?

 

I kinda like it! I would have done the entire cab!

 

Im going to for sure do the bumper the rest of the way black, but im not sure on the rest of the cab

I am torn between two tone finishing the top with a lighter color, or going all black (its sooo much cooler in the truck sitting in the sun being white than dark)

 

It looks like you drove through a really deep mud puddle.

 

its funny you say that here is my 2008 with a really deep mud puddle line

 

Hmmm... Can't decide if I like it or not. Props for going for it!

 

Its got its pros and cons, and thank you i do my best to do whatever i want while i can.. if not there will be a day when i look back and say "why didnt i at least try"

I would rather, "what the hell was i thinking"

,, or is always better than

 

Well at first I was like but then I wondered why not the whole thing so I was like but then I decided it was a ballsy thing to try so I was like

 

Well on the plus side if you dont like it you can peel it off.. I would have done the entire cab.. not really digging the valance red.. but to each their own.. But the rest of the truck looks tight.. I do like the TRD on the handles and rear... Props for doing it!!

 

I am of the school where I use things for what they are and if I get a scratch in the process so be it, stuff wears down, it is life, so I'd never usually go for a full truck treatment.

But, the plastidip is always a nice choice, especially since it is removable, and you didn't go over the top and plastidip the whole truck, just the areas that see the most abuse, so overall good choice! I'll never understand the people that plastidip the entire truck just for the sake of plastidipping it a new color.

 

i agree i dont like the valance red either, its stock greyish color again now and when i do the bumper here in the near future (plasti dip in the mail) its going to be black

the trd stickers on the handles came as a free "bonus" with the bed stickers and i was scratching my head like what do i do with these? so on the handles they went, and thanks

 

people never understand how i dont stress over the wear and tear of working and having fun

my 2008
ate 3 alternators
shitcanned 1 engine (hard life)
lost the drivers front wheel bearing 3 times
throwout bearing FAILED once and went bad twice
enless scratches
5 .40 cal bullet holes (that was in response to my ex who said i couldnt do it while we were together, started mostly as a joke and became a sign of opression)
broke front diff
broke cv shaft
2 x worn cv shaft
full set of brakes
water pump failed
lost front bumper skin (stupid plastic)
broke a fender flare on a tree
bent the rear bumperskin
exhaust broke and busted the brake line offroad
abs sensor went bad
busted the seal on a rear shock

in the 75k i drove it the truck saw around 25-30% wheeling and towing (4cyl only rated for 3500#)(my trailer is 1900lbs plus whatever is on it usaully 81 toyota) taught a couple people how to drive stick, and the basics of driving a stick off road.

when it used to break i had friends and acquantiances who were quick to think the truck was a lemon. no worrys, i think for what it was that truck always gave 130% and really never let me down. i still miss it, but the 2013 truck i have now does all the work without breaking a sweat and plays just as good without pushing it beyond its limits.

 

What kind of box is that in the bed of the 2013? I could use something like that in the back of my Land Cruiser.

 

thats basically a pelican case footlocker (military contracted box no real name i know of) its got locking latches and its water tight and all that good stuff. i keep my tools and cables and chains/trailer stuff in it and its easy to take out when i need more bed space. i dont have any other pics of it right now but should be able to get some tommorrow when i go home

 

I'm liking it. How much plasti dip did you use? And how long did it take to put on?

 

Orca.