Stealth Custom Series 2013 Holiday Contest

I'm contemplating it...but I am more with you on this one, Jason. Despite being in the market for a new set of wheels for a new truck after having to replace my previous '06, there are others out there that could use this more than I. Still tempting, though...haha!

 

BRADY FOR THE WIN!!!

 

No great story here.... other than I used to drive an XJ and now I have a Taco. Love both, but my Taco is on it's way to becoming an Expedition Vehicle! Already in Baja Sur, and we are enjoying her, and the kayaks.
Going home to winter in Canada in January, likely Northern BC or further.
Have some interesting stuff coming for my expo build, as I can afford it.
Decided the F5s are THE wheel that fits my idea of what a Taco should look like, and I'm looking forward to getting some.

Can't compete with some of your stories, and hat's off to you who sacrifice for us!

Following to see this thread through.

 

Im not sure how this is going to come out but here goes....Im 30 now. Ive got an older brother and when he was 16 my dad gave him his car and when he graduated high school he wanted to go to a 4 year college so my parents did everything they could and took out loans to make that happen. When i turned 16 i had to pay for half of my first car which ended up being a 1991 chevrolet
cavalier. My dad had a 1994 two wheel drive Toyota pick up and really wanted it but had to get the car. After i worked and finished paying off my atv i bought off i went truck shopping. I knew i wanted a toyota tacoma 4x4, i went to a couple of dealerships and test drove a couple but i just couldnt afford a tacoma. Everyone wanted too much money for them(good resale value of course), so i ended up settling for a 1999 nissan frontier. I graduated from high school and i didnt feel like my parents could afford to send me to college so i just went to work. I started cutting grass on the side while working at food lion. I bought a silverado 1500 and kept that while i was towing my mower. In the meantime my wife and i got married and after 5 years of marriage we had our first child in 2012, things were tight money wise then but now even tighter. Last december i set back and thought of my options and didnsome research, found thijs site and finally got a tacoma that ive always wanted. I havent done any mods to my truck except plasti dipping my front grill bc we dont have any extra money to put aside. I get on tacomaworld everyday a couple times a day and i just look at all these amazing trucks and wish i could have something like that. Ive posted about new wheels in threads that ive made but just wishful thinking. Im not mad at my brother for going to college or my parents for not giving me my first car. We have a good relationship so i dont want yall to think that, its just the way it happened. Ive always wanted to put aftermarket wheels on my nissan frontier and my tacoma but just cant when money goes to$130 a week for daycare and other needs for my wife and daughter. Well that sounds like a sob story, wasnt trying to make it seeem that way. If i make it to the voting stage i would be greatly appreciated, and would love to support SCS and would be proud of my truck and wouldnt quit looking at it if it had new wheels.

 

I would make an entry, but I would ruin them if I won.

 

sub'd! looks like I need to get typing! awesome contest.

 

Bump, for Vin and SCS being awesome. Good luck to the most deserving TW member winning!

 

My love of the Toyota truck started with this:


Back to the Future was a great movie no doubt - but it also made me realize that this was the vehicle I wanted to drive.


So, after leaving college I got a loan from the old man & bought this:


87’ 4x4 extra cab w/ the carbureted 22R motor. As I recall it had 40K on it…

I don’t have a shot from when I bought it new but the above was after my first accident! (I rear-ended an Oldsmobile)

Modding started back then too... I picked up a replacement bed & did a swap. The beds on the mid eightes toyota's rusted really bad.






This truck was just a great big TOY! I had a roll bar, cap & tonneu cover & I would switch it up for the seasons… I also went a little nuts with the pinstriping…. That grid pattern took several days. (give me a break – it was the 90’s)


Spring dance with my GF at West Chester University:


A snowboarding trip to my parents vacation house in the Poconos…


We had a hell of a time together! Then in the summer of 1999 I decided I was due for an upgrade so we parted ways and I bought my first brand new Tacoma:




My 1st get Tacoma was a 99’ TRD Off Road Extended Cab 4X4. 3.4 V6 w/ 5spd manual. Surfside Green Mica exterior & Gray Interior. 1st Gen TRD Supercharger, K&N Intake, Sony HU Carpet Bed liner Custom Diamond Plate mud flaps & Bed Rails + all the Lund Crap I could get for it.









At 178K she was recalled for the frame rust issue & Toyota bought her back for $11,970.00!!!
(1.5X the “excellent” Kelly Blue Book Value)


I was happy with the deal of course, but it was also very sad. I did EVERYTHING with that truck. I drove coast to coast in the spring of 2000 & camped out in YellowStone National Park. I cruised through the Bad Lands in North Dakota. Numerous trips towing my ATV's all over the Mid-Atlantic.

I took as much of the aftermarket items I could off before she went to be put down. This is the last picture I have from where she sat in Team Toyota's Shop waiting to be hauled away...




There are a few parts from her in my new truck…


As luck would have it, the day I got the check from Toyota for the buyback I found this:




07’ double Cab TRD Sport 4x4.
4.0 V6 6spd Manual
36K on the ODO and bone stock, save for the Wade vent shades the day I got it.

Here is a more recent pic of what she looks like today:



And with the current 35's:


I won't list all the mods but instead I'll post a few shots of the places I've been blessed to visit:

Montana



Wyoming:


Beech Creek:








Baltimore:


Centralia:




Rausch Creek:






Abandoned Pa Turnpike:


Texas Gulf Coast:


Moab:







And of course my tag:


I honestly can't see myself driving any other truck - I've only owned 4 vehicles since I got my drivers license at 16 yrs. old - My first car (a 69" Chevy Malibu) My 87' truck the 99' 1st gen taco and now the 07'

I've been very blessed by this website and the people who are on it. I've made a lot of new friends and have had some amazing experiences all thanks to TW.

I'd love to get a set of SCS Wheels - if I were to win I'd sell my current set as well as my set of Moto Metals and give the proceeds to someone in need. Gotta Pay it forward!

I've had the honor of doing this in the past. link link

Props to the OP for a unique and fun way to conduct a giveaway/contest!
It got me to go back through my TW history to post up some fun times.

If nothing else this post was a lot of fun to put together.

Thank you,
~ Craig

 

Another reason why I'm proud to sport my SCS. mine have some nice rockrash and could always use that spare (one day), but there are plenty more deserving. Good luck to participants I can't wait to read the top 10.

 

Tag. Time to start writing. Props to SCS for doing this contest.

 

wow. i won't expect much love for me after reading those other stories, but i can try a little anyway.

I began driving with a bit of a slow, and late start. My parents, like any good parents, told me they wouldn't pay for me to get a learner's permit and eventually driver's license until I got my grades in school up. I was always a bit of a slacker in junior high and high school, so I had issues. Finally, it got the the point where my parents were sick of driving me to school everyday (divorced parents, I went to school based on mom's address, but drove dad & stepmoms car when I was living with them every other week). The drive wasn't exactly horrible, only about 25 miles or so each way. I unfortunately had to learn to drive on a 94 ford explorer. Once I had things pretty well figured out there, my parents pushed me to learn to drive the car, a 1990 Camry, 4 cylinder, 5 speed. My stepmom had bought the camry brand new back in the day, and that car had a few miles put on her from the drives back and forth for school for me and my brother, a family vacation for 4 from western washington to south dakota and back, and all the other driving that goes on in life. Finally I graduated high school, and got a full time job working as a night loader at a beer distribution company. Great job for an 18 year old right? well, it started as a great job, but then I got bored with it. I was originally supposed to be seasonal labor, but proved to the company that I was worth keeping, so they kept me past the summer rush, and moved me into recoup, repackaging the broken cases of beer, and sending them back out to hit shelves and be sold. I got that all caught up, and cleaned up and the company ended up buying out another distributor, and expanded their territory. In that process, I got bumped back to night loading, where I was bored out of my mind again, and later did a few stupid things that got me fired. Meanwhile I had also gotten a few speeding tickets. The car was still my parents' vehicle, and I was on their insurance, which is Pemco. Of course 2 tickets got me booted from their insurance. That meant that I had no access to their car anymore. They ended up buying a new car (volvo) and sold me the Camry, which I loved, used, and very much abused. After I put about 40,000 miles on that car, it was stolen then recovered, I sold it at 208,000 miles for $500, half of what I paid for it a few years earlier. That led me to the next car, a 2003 Matrix XRS.

When I first went looking for a replacement for the camry, I didn't even consider a hatchback. After driving the Matrix, I was hooked on it, and in particular, the XRS with the performance motor and transmission. So I bought a used one from the same dealership my stepmom had bought her camry years before. I learned about modding with that car, as well as naming her. I called her Trixie, because she was always up for turning a lot of trix. The power band in her ran from about 6200 to 8200 rpm, and I learned how to drive fast in her. I was doing some pulls with a z28 camaro from the late 90s, and we held dead even from 60-120 mph. We had some good times together, and I found out after I wrecked her that I had put about an extra $5000 into her between getting her fixed up from a spun rod bearing, blown up transmission, wheels, polyurethane bushings all around, sway bar, strut bar, and more. I felt like I had barely started modding her out. I hadn't even lowered her. Strangely enough, I still have her, even though I wrecked her 2.5 years ago.

It was shortly after wrecking Trixie that I got married, bought a house, and bought a new truck all within a 3 week period of time. The wife and I had a horse given to us for free. My wife was ecstatic because she loves horses, and has always wanted to have some. I wasn't so enthusiastic about having a horse, but it made her happy. for those of you who have horses, you understand how expensive they are. for those of you without horses, try to stay that way. I knew that in getting the horse, we would need a place to keep him, so we were looking for a house that is on some land and has a barn. That of course meant that we would be turning this into somewhat of a farm. Every farm has at least one truck. Being in the market for a new vehicle, I had a truck in mind. I did my best to look at the "competition", but found that I loved the looks of the gen2 Tacos. I also knew that I wanted to have a truck with a full size bed, or at least 6 feet long, but i also wanted to have some space in the cab behind the seats. The answer to that was access cab. The next part came to the motor and transmission. Due to the wedding and house buying that was about to happen, I had to skimp a bit, and went with the 4 cylinder and 5 speed. Both my camry and matrix had also been manual transmissions, and truth be told, I like having the control over my truck to make her shift when I tell her to, not when a computer tells her to. the other thing I had to have in a truck is 4x4. I went back to the same dealership my parents had used, and who I bought the matrix from, and they came up with the truck for me, with everything I asked for. magnetic gray metallic, 4x4, 4 cylinder, 5 speed, access cab, and she even came with AC, power windows and locks. I named her Chaquita Magneta Taquito, but call her Magneta for short.

Fast forward a little more, and I have since found out that I didn't skimp on the motor or transmission. Toyota knows what they are doing, and quite well. I went to visit my cousin on the other side of the state and he had me come out to his property with my brand new truck. his property was still mostly wooded with a single building, generator power with battery backup, and woodstove inside for heat. While out there, I got Magneta stuck for her first time. We went across a little creek with a bank on one side that was about 16" tall, and steep. On the way back, I couldn't keep traction and climb up that bank. One of the neighbors came by to help with a come along. I learned a little about off roading that day.
Later, my parents helped me out by paying for a tow package to be installed on my truck. That towing ability has helped me out tremendously, from pulling a trailer full of tree to be turned into firewood (many many times), to bringing 3 yards of dirt to mom for her mothers' day present of a raised garden box. I have even pulled a horse trailer around to take the wife and her horse out to some trails so she could ride while I was on foot running the dogs.

My poor Magneta is going to be in need of new shoes soon as she is still running the factory tires. the only real mod i have been able to afford for her are lower control arm skids, and I got those discounted because they were blemished (thanks BAMF for the deal). Here is where I bring in the sad part. I have been trying to get my wife to go out off roading with me a few times, but she always says no, and hints that the truck isn't stylish enough for her. If I am lucky enough to win a set of SCS wheels, it will be completely up to her to decide which wheels (pending choices offered by Vic), and hopefully that will be enough for her to go out with me to muddy up the wheels. I am hoping to win these so my wife and I have something else to bond over. I am sure the other furry children in the house will love car rides even more with new wheels too.
How can you say no to a face like this?

or this?

Please can we win some new wheels?

We all love our truck rides, especially with some awesome wheels

without new wheels, we may have to just lay around

They aren't even allowed in the truck...

And in loving memory of our little old lady, Queen Midget Molly Brown, who made it to the ripe old age of 16, and was diagnosed with congestive heart failure 7 years earlier: Anywhere we went with her, when she got in, her seat was always up front. If you didn't want her on your lap, you can ride in the back.

My furry children and I would like to thank you for your votes.

 

BTW, huge thanks to SCS for supporting us as TW. Without vendors who care on here, so much less matters.

 

I'm not even going to try and participate in this as there are a lot cooler stories out there than my truck and I, but kudos to Vin and SCS for this giveaway. Truly awesome. Either way your wheels will make their way onto my rig as soon as winter is over!

 

Thanks Vin! Honestly don't visit T4R much anymore but would love to get in on this! Two finals tomorrow than I'll put something together

 

You guys are rad for doing this! I would participate but I have finals and also feel there are more people on here that contribute a lot more to the site and the world so good luck guys! cant wait to vote and see who wins

 

Ill give this a go



My story starts a long time ago when I was 7-8. I saw my first Tacoma. It was a teal 1st gen 95-97 and I LOVE it. I told my mom, “thats what I want when I can drive mommy!”. Little did I know it would come true. But I continued to tell my mom for years, I wanted a TacoMa.


My first toyota came when my parents bought a small 85 toyota pickup. It was dark blue and STUFF with character. I got to know it very well riding in it with my Dad all over town and the mountains. Lucky for me. I finally got to call it my “own” when the big day came and I turned 16. I came to love this truck. Even with its gutless 22re match with a 4 speed auto tranny. The thing would just not die. Unfortunately, just after my dad and I finish my first big truck related project of installing this custom stereo we built.



A “neighbor” across the alley way got in a fight with his girlfriend and decided to break into my Dads JUST built garage that we had been constructing over the last two years on his time off from his job in AK. He stole the stereo, most of my tool, a bunch of my Dads and other things. He then went to my Lawn buissness trailer, grabs the gas tank and soaked the bench seat and lit it up. This is what was left..






Needless to say, being a 17 year old who had just put some of my own money into my own truck...I was crush Granted it took a long time to figure out the whole back story on it but for a while, I thought I had caused the fire from an electrical mishap in my wiring of the stereo.


I went 2 weeks without a vehicle which in Wyoming is rough since to get out of town and do things..you need one. Vehicles are key way of life there and of course I was a stuborn junior in highschool. Bikes were so middle school! One day I was with my Dad going to Cody the town next to us and I just happened to glance over at the back lot at the local toyota dealership and saw my baby sitting there.


I freaked.


DAD DAD DAD DAD DAD DAD!!! I yelled tapping the window of his brand new 08 tacoma furiously.


LOOK LOOK LOOK!!!


we whipped in and what do you know. Had just been dropped off for a trade in no even a day ago. They hadn't even put it through their shop for service.


It was beautiful. A cool metallic silver 1996 4x4 5 speed V6 Tacoma extended cab with only 96k miles on the OD. I couldn't ask for a better god send. They wanted $9300 for it after it went through service. Or $6300 as it was.


Its a damn Toyota..give it to me now please


And bam. I had my first Tacoma!











Needless to say it was awesome but I had to learn to drive stick on it and it was quite a challenge. My High school friends Im sure have many funny embarrassing stories about it as I was the guy that drove our group to lunch.


I also owned a 1987 supra at the time and had been pouring my money into. Then something dawned on me. I wonder if there are forums like my supra forums for my truck.


And TW was found.


Before long, I was drooling over truck mods and started diverting my own funds to the truck. The build had begun.


At this point my Truck started going through Phase 1 of its life. My brother and I started exploring the back roads more and more alone in my truck. Soaking in the great and vast Wyoming landscape. I slowly put upgrades in it like new tires, a lift. A bumper. Then new tires again. My truck was a gem. Beautifuly playful. I love it and so did others. The more I poured into it the more heart and soul that came out. Little did I know how much of a drama queen the truck would be.











At this point I had met several wonderful people through TW and had become fast friends with the great and welcoming community. I had my first TW meet in MT where I met my very good friends that I still wheel with at least 1-2 times a year even though we are states apart. But, my truck didn't seem to like wheeling. He broke down blowing out a freeze plug and my Dad had to come save me. Then on my second meet we got totally rained out on.


Next somehow I ended up going to Moab in May of 2012. I often refer to it as the most amazing time and worst time ive ever had. Not only did I break my hand on the first trail I went out on. I also rolled my baby due to fatigue, too much speed, no 4wd and a broke hand with a manual tranny. Then when I got home..my grandma had passed away the same night. It was one hell of a week.

















But, my fellow TW friends rallyed and supported me pushing me to make the truck into a monster. And Phase 2 started: Rebirth.


I bought a 5 lugger 2wd body in Idaho for 500 bucks. My Dad bless his heart drove his truck out and picked it up. I then spent EVERY single FREAKING damn minute of my time over the next 2 months of my summer in a shop working on my truck. I swapped cabs completely over and armor and added some new touches.










Frankenstein was born.











I then proceeded to wheel the piss out of him for 5 weekends straight including a full week long expedition across MT and ID. Everything worked wonderful. Some how drama free. It was like the rebirth made Frankenstein happy and he just worked. I was back in business.


I spent the next winter months pouring more blood and sweat into the truck rebuilding more parts. Tweaking things and adding more mods. I was readying Frankenstein for The Epic trip of 2013.








Many have seen the photos of The Epic trip. Few will know what it was like. IT was amazing. 2 weeks on the road living out of my truck and with good friends. Frankenstein still kept things interesting and broke down a few times, but this time nothing we couldn't handle. It was pure perfection of a trip and what I love doing.



IMG_0324.jpg by Phull Mon-T Photos, on Flickr















My truck has brought great wonderful people into my life. He has brought me closer to my home state then ever appreciating what I have taken for granted most my life. He takes me places I never thought id go and does it in a style all its own that turns heads and makes people point. HE has brought my brother closer to me then I ever thought id get. And more importantly, my hero, my Dad. My Dad has supported Frankenstein and I through it all. So much that his truck is named The Frankenstein Recovery Vehicle. The FRV. He helps me with everything and I love him for it. Getting to hang out with my dad in the shop and the trucks has been some of the most fun we have ever had together. I love Frankenstein for that. And The FRV.


My Soul is in my truck. Its part of me. The hours I have spent with it on the trail and tore apart are uncountable and precious.


Ya know Vin...i started this story thinking, YA! Win some wheels! Cool!...really though...i thank you for letting me get to fully reflect on my truck and my life with it. Even after all of you have read this...i don't think you can understand the passion I have for Frankenstein and Toyota. And thats okay. Because your here, learning and modding your own truck. Falling in love with it even more with every mile traveled and every bolt torqued.

My family is now a toyota family due to me mostly: Dad owns a 08 Supercharged beast, my brother drives a 87 pickup, i own Frankenstein and an 03 double cab, my mom drives a mini van from toyota, my aunt drives a 2nd gen 4runner, my other aunt drives a 4th gen 4runner, my cousin has a 03 tacoma, and my other cousin has a Rav4. Toyota for life.


So...thanks Vin. I enjoyed the moments of reflection. Didn't expect that to happen from the notion of a set of free wheels.


No matter who gets them. They will be highly appreciated. I have seen your wheels in person and they are TOP quality. I hope whoever gets them truly appreciates the art and work you do. I would love a set of 17s so I could do the tundra brake upgrade to stop my trucks fat ass safety.




Happy holidays guys. I love you TW and all you have made me do...most the time

See you on the trail i hope!


(Sorry for the pic whoring and all...i love my truck )

 

I've always been a car fanatic ever since I can remember. When I turned 16 the plan was that I would get my dad's 1995 Acura Legend. As a 15 year old high school kid I though this thing was sweet! Big engine, leather seats, sunroof, and a sweet sound system. At the time the car was 13 years old but only had 85k on the odometer. Unfortunately, during a routine service they discovered that the transmission was going to need to be replaced in the near future.

My parents decided to sell the car and my dad bought a new 2008 Highlander. While my parents and I were at the dealership I decided to do a little shopping of my own. The only 2 cars within my budget were an 05 base model Prius, which I didn't even fit in and a 2004 Nissan XTerra SE. Since I had my learners permit at the time my parents humored me and let me take it for a test drive. Three days later while at an event at my church my dad asked me to go get something out of the car. At the time I didn't realize the set of keys he had handed me were to my new XTerra so I walked out and found this waiting for me.

This is the picture from the dealership site


Over the next two years I took this truck on many different adventures and learned a lot about myself in the process. It was the first vehicle I ever took off-road and the first one I got stuck. Both of these happened many times.







When I started my senior year of high school my parents had to tell me, 9 months early, that they wanted to help me get a newer car for college. The reason for this, as my parents put it, was because if I kept drilling holes in it no one was going to buy it. I think that was the day they came home to find this.





I actually ended up melting a few of my fuses when I turned the lights on that first night. Even though they had told me it would be almost a year before I would get anything I immediately started car shopping. I test drove everything from new model XTerras to AcuraTL's. I found an amazing 2006 BMW M3 Convertible for $20,000 with only 40k miles and BMW certified at my local dealership. After a conversation with my parents that consisted mostly of "not if but when you wreck it I started looking at trucks. I went back to the dealership where my dad bought his Highlander and started looking at Tacomas. While I was there I saw, for the first time, what would later become my 4Runner. At 23k it was well out of my price range that my parents had set for me (15k from them plus whatever I had saved from my high school job which amounted to about $3,000). What I didn't know at the time was that the salesman's wife had gone to school with my dad and,after a few phone calls, a few days later I left lunch wit some friends to find this where I had originally parked my XTerra.





When I asked my parents about the price gap they gave me some story about how they had found an awesome deal and I could repay them the rest later. To this day they haven't asked me for a single penny. Not even a week later I got to take my first trip in it. My friends and I took it down to Orange Beach, AL for our senior trip. Here is the first picture I have of it in my possession at the Flora-Bama.



It wasn't long after that trip I started taking it offroad. I was more than impressed with it in it's stock 2wd form but after joining both T4R and TacomaWorld it didn't stay stock for long.

After my 1st trip offroad (Hella 500's and brush guard added)


Around this time I started what would eventually become Cajun Yotas with 4 other people from TacomaWorld. It started off as just a few friends on Facebook but after our first meet, everything changed. During our meet, someone told me to go on TW to find the LED dome lights I had been inquiring about. (I still haven't ordered them) Although I had been a lurker on the site when I first started Tacoma shopping I hadn't really ever posted. I have TacomaWorld to thank for showing me what wheeling really meant, along with spending all of my money. We got a group ride organized and over the next two years the people I met would become like family to me.

My first ever meet


Some of my first actual "mods"








Thanks to TacomaWorld, T4R, and the Cajun Yotas community I have learned more than I ever could have imagined about my vehicle. If it weren't for the people I met on this site my life would have been drastically different. I've been fortunate enough to see my 5 member club grow to over 330 people. I've been invited to weddings and baby showers for people who, if it wasn't for this forum I never would have met. I'm proud to say some of my best friends I have made from this site and I hope to meet many more. My rig has made quite the transformation over the almost 3 years I've had it and although I'm looking forward to finally being able to afford a 4x4 I'm not sure I can let my 4Runner go. It's as much a part of me as my red hair.

It's been quite the journey and hopefully it's far from over. Thank you Vin and SCS for doing this. I didn't realize until now how lucky and blessed I am to be where I am today. Without the support of my parents, family, and friends and the help of more people than I can possibly name my truck would be nowhere near where it is today.

I didn't realize when I first started typing how much this contest would make me thing about my automotive life and hopefully one day soon I'll be able to own a set of your wheels.











For those of you that are still reading this I applaud you. I'm glad I was able to share my 4Runner story with you and am thankful of how accepting you are to a 4Runner amongst Tacomas. If any of you are ever in Cajun Country feel free to hit me up. And remember,

"The trail goes on forever, and the party never ends."

 

I'll give it a shot as well For me, my story begins long before I bought my tacoma. My dad raised me right and owned multiple toyota pickups ranging from the tan 1986 through the red 2004. I fell in love with the little beasts and I wish I had pictures of them. I have the best childhood memories, from shooting my first deer with my dad sitting in the back of his 99 green tacoma to watching my little brother shoot a pellet into the bed of his 01 white tacoma haha. Great times, but onto my beginning...

January 26, 2011, I randomly washed my little green 01 Civic and stopped by the Toyota dealership. I called my dad after looking at a used 08 Black Tacoma and asked what he thought. Right off the bat he said I was probably going to pay too much and that he wanted to be with me if and when I signed for it. I fell into the trap when the dealer said that was fine and offered that I take the truck home to my dad by myself and see what he thought. Well it was inevitable, as much as he was mad, he couldn't help but say how nice the truck was. Couple hours later.....boom!


It only took about 2 weeks before the mod bug hit and I was looking into LED tail lights. From there I wandered onto TacomaWorld. Most would say it was the beginning of the end, but I have learned so much from this site and made so many new friends that I trust and respect.

(PlastiDipped to HomerTaco Grill Mesh and Satoshi)


After doing small cosmetic mods in the first couple months and yes, playing with PlastiDip, I was that new guy asking what size tires fit our trucks and what the hell AAL meant There were some members such as Andrew H, Kris TRDguyKC and Jake Kyouto42 that stood above the rest, putting up with all my frequently asked questions that could have been found with a search bar haha and of course providing inspiration to mod my truck the way they had. I must say again how little I knew about anything relating to trucks and suspension. The AZ community specifically is and always has been a great help and it's where the big mods starting playing a huge role in my build.
(First Suspension Upgrade & New Wheels)



June 25, 2011, I went to my first Mod Day in Buckeye, AZ hosted by Himmie (Sarah) It was a long day but I learned a ton! Steve OH-MAN was a huge help! Everything made sense after this experience as I'm more of a hands on learner.




Then of course the famous Sockmonkey became a part of the build


After studying AsianAnts first retrofit and walk through I made my own retrofit headlights without knowing a single thing about wiring and electrical components


Met some more awesome AZ members including Chris4x4 at the first AZ TW Meet




As time went on from here I was gathering more ideas about what big mods to do next. Mods that would separate me from the rest of the crowd and be original. My love for Tron was growing stronger and stronger so the Orange and Black theme I already had going would only create a name for my truck, Rinzler.



Once I had just about every interior and exterior cosmetic mod I could think of, I moved onto bumpers and starting analyzing where I wanted to take my build. A mix of BruteForce Fabrication and HomerTaco's Raptor Grill took my truck to whole different level of Original





Once I had the set up, I pretty much set my calender for offroading about every other weekend. I literally could not get enough of it. At the same time I was getting PMs left and right about my setup and showing others inspiration for their own builds. Nothing could make me more happy than being an inspiration to others when so many other guys before me inspired me to do my own. It's also kinda funny to see other tacomas running around here in Tucson that have similar mods

More onto the topic of my love for tacomas, it's actually become more of a passion. I feel like my life revolves around TW, wheeling, camping, and helping others with their own builds because I was once there too. My closest friends today are tacoma owners. Even my girlfriend who I am crazy in love with, and have a strong feeling that we will be taking that next big step soon is a result of my close Tacoma friends. I would have never met her otherwise. All these factors play in and I am sure that I will be a Tacoma owner for life, no question about it! Instead of going through every detail of my build from here I'll just post some pics of where I've been and the gradual mods that have been done.

Glamis, CA


Rice Peak, AZ



4 Peaks, AZ


Spindle Lift and wheeling in Sonoita, AZ


Inspired my lil bro to get a brand new 2013

New tires which would support some SCS wheels nicely!

Tucson, AZ Rep

Dragoon Mountains, Tombstone, AZ


Pantano Wash

Ahwatukee, AZ Meet


New fenders

Show Low, AZ


The Girlfriend


Chiva Falls, AZ


Pistol Hill, AZ


Needs an SCS wheel update





Florence, AZ


Mt. Lemmon, AZ Christmas Eve 2013



Like Craig said, it's okay if I don't win, this was a fun post to put together even though it is probably my longest one to date! I appreciate the opportunity to represent Vin and SCS wheels on my truck. This would help greatly in the bank account since we only continue to lose our pay at work making mods harder and harder to purchase. Thanks for reading

 

These are great stories keep them coming I like reading them

I'd make my own but like Dalton said earlier... I'd destroy them so I'll opt out

 

Craig's already gotten plenty from TW.