My 17' TRD Sport AC LB - Returning Taco owner - Mini build thread

Hi guys. I've been on this forum since about 2011.

I used to own a 2007 Tacoma. It was a black standard cab Tacoma with manual EVERYTHING. Manual transmission, windows, and the seat was a bench. Mainly purchased it because I needed it for work and to transport my dogs to / from the park. I loved that truck because I could just drive the crap out of it.

After spinning out and nearly getting t-boned by a school bus, my parents advised that I trade it in for a Tundra (bigger and more safety features). Did just that about a month later and ended up with a 2012 Tundra.

Many of you will consider the Tundra as the bigger / badder brother of the Tacoma but it just wasn't for me. It became a huge hassle for me to park whenever I went to the city, and for my aging family (my parents and my dogs), it was increasingly difficult to get up on the truck. So I ended giving the Tundra to my cousin so he could use for work.

From there, I ended up picking up a Ford SUV. Entered into a two year lease while I sorted out my family structure (got married and considering kids). It was a great vehicle but I started to realize that once you've had / owned a pick up truck, life becomes really difficult without one. For example, every time I move something slightly bigger, I had to 'borrow' my cousin's Tundra now. Or whenever I wanted to take the dogs to the park or somewhere farther, it just stunk up my SUV.

So about two months ago, I started researching into pick up trucks again. I was set on getting a Ford Raptor until I talked to my local Ford dealership. Due to the "demand" they have for the truck, the sales manager there was basically not willing to let anything sell for less than 15-20k mark up on MSRP. To top it all off, because each dealer was allocated a certain amount of trucks, I would be limited in my choice of options and the truck would be delivered to me close to May / June of 17'.

When a friend of mine heard that I was looking for a pick up truck, he suggested that I forego the Raptor and take a look into the Tacoma again. He told me that based on my current needs, the Tacoma would be perfect. Plus he had one that he could sell to me (he works at a dealership) for a good deal. So he brought me in and man did it feel like seeing your old first love again.

Everything was so familiar, except improved now. Where my previous Tacoma was devoid of any options, this had it all. Nav, power windows..etc. What a well packaged truck.

I signed that same day and picked up the truck the following day after it got detailed.

 

I have had the truck for about a week now and I'm totally in love again.

There are a few cons to it such as the bad gas mileage, the power, and the headlights kind of suck. But other than that, it's a great truck and I'm so happy to be back in a Tacoma.

The Raptor is still on my mind but I figured I can drive this for now until I decide if I really want the Raptor. By then, I'm hoping the demand will be less crazy and that I can pick one up closer to MSRP. It'll also give me some time to actually see the Gen 2 Raptor in real life to see if it's too high or to read some reviews so I'm not just jumping in blind.

Meanwhile, I love this Tacoma and I've got some mods planned for it. Stay tuned!

 

congrats on the new truck! definitely a little different than a raptor, but assuming you knew that going in, its a great truck. now get modding! sub'd because i have a similar truck and love the looks of AC sports

 

Nice truck.
Interested in the modding!

 

Congrats

 

Congrats on the 2017

 

Hi guys.

Alright time to chime in here to give you guys some updates since I last got my truck (about two weeks ago).

This is how she came on the day I got her:

 

I originally wanted to purchase a TRD PRO but couldn't find one that came in AC and the manual transmission.

Decided I never really liked loaded cars anyways as I like modding them, so I bought a TRD Sport with the configuration I wanted.

Started with wrapping certain parts of the car black to replicate the TRD Pro look.




My wrap guy did a little custom wrapping on the back tail gate.



I think it came out great. What do you guys think?

 

Next up. Some parts came from Jordan (thanks Jordan!). First up was the Rigid fog lights.



Just a comparison:

 

Next up were rims / wheels. I looked into the TE-37's but the wait time was anywhere from 2-3 months. Price was about 2500 per set. So I ended up getting the next best thing, FN Wheels.

If any of you guys have any hesitation, just stop. Go buy a set of these wheels. Great customer service, extremely fast shipping, and a excellent product. You'd be stupid to choose anything else with a similar look. haha.

Wheels:

 

12/8/16: Some minor interior mods.

Installed the TRD PRO manual shift knob.










Also wrapped my orange interior with some CF vinyl i had laying around. Not the best job I have done as I was rushing but it'll do. lol.

 

Nice

 

Nice truck! Congrats! I am just wondering how is a 2012 tundra safer than 2007 Tacoma?

 

haha. The Tundra is obviously bigger so there's that.

I also felt like driving the Tundra, it felt way more stable. Even after changing tires on the Tacoma and having everything inspected, it never felt like I had the car under control. It always swirved a little when I was making a turn or lose traction randomly on the freeway. So the incident where I almost got T-boned by a bus was the last straw.