Off roading stock Taco

So trying to get an idea of what the limits are of my truck(17 trd 4x4) without finding out the hard way.

Post pics or stories of what your stock 4x4 taco can do!

Also, for Back Country trails, when the sign says "High Clearance", how high is that? Is a stock truck high enough?

Thanks.

 

Or am I the only chump on here off roading a stock taco?

 

It all depends. "High Clearance" might simply be a warning to people with Subaru's to stay away.

Unless you know someone who knows that trail you might only be able to find out by driving in and turning around if you have to! Unless the trail guide has a key.

 

No been doing it for years. They have a lot of off road ability just get out there and take it easy until you realize it's potential.

 

Congrats on the new TRD ! I've got a 16. Mine is lifted and I didn't do any off roading when stock BUT there's a good amount of youtube videos/articles online about the capability.

Although, replies from people on here will no doubt be more entertaining/informative/real world

 

go out and find your limits and your trucks limits. some good guidelines are: don't be an idiot, start mellow and slow, invest in a nice tire gauge and let some air out of your tires(which are hopefully decent), and don't be afraid/too proud to turn around. oh yeah, and bring some friends, couple rigs is better than one if shit goes poorly.

i bought my taco stock and started offroading that weekend and continued to offroad through a couple stages of mods till it got to where it is now. i just started on forest service roads and started challenging the truck and myself more and more as i got more comfortable.

 

No you're not alone. Im stock on the off-road, important areas (suspension, engine, etc...) and I have been very impressed with my 08. Regularly explore the lake access roads around ky which are pretty soft, soggy dirt and loose gravel. no issues even on the inclines. Just go slow, let some air out of the tires, don't hit the throttle wide open (yet) and a little observation and awareness go a long away. Paying attention to what is in front of you and driving accordingly, putting yourself on the right track/ smooth path makes things a lot easier than trying to fight a bad line in a truck with less than desired clearance.

Best way to get a feel for it is to explore on something you know you can handle and just keep slowly progressing as you feel more comfortable and learn how your truck handles

 

Depends on terrain. It REALLY depends on terrain. You need good ground clearance for some things like washouts, ditches, stumps, large rocks, and steep breakover angle (peaks). Your truck already has relatively good ground clearance and approach/departure/breakover angle. Just go slow and you're unlikely to damage anything. Don't go alone if you're worried about getting stuck or don't have really good self-recovery options.

If you're new to this, there are tons of good write-ups for off-road beginners. What to bring, how to drive, how the 4wd systems work, etc. It's all good reading.

Also... Replace your tires with LT rated tires for stronger sidewalls and puncture resistance if you will be traveling on broken or sharp rock that is hard on car rated tires. Or be ready to change a flat and drive home very carefully without a second spare.

 

@Z50king off roads his stock 2016 DCLB quite a bit. Has more than a few pics to prove it. He's a local also and knows a few trails.

 

Off-roading in any vehicle, stock or otherwise is more about the driver then the truck. Mine is a first gen so apples to oranges, but if you go slow and learn you'll be surprised just what they can do stock.

I'm not sure what your experience with off-roading is if any, but if you're new just take it slow and learn how the truck moves and articulates, and how to use that to your advantage.

Also, as far as "high clearance only" in my experience that basically means any 4x4 truck or suv should be fine with a decent driver. I have taken a 2wd car down some of those types of roads and it wasn't a big deal, just had to go VERY slow and take the right lines to not bottom out.

All in all, go out and have fun, enjoy the new truck!

 

Thanks for the call out. I always love writing about my truck and experiences. I live down in socal-proper. I can tell you about all my wheeling trails and where to find mines and workings if you are into that kind of thing.... I am

You bought the Off Road 4x4 and chose the right one.

I have been all over in mine, but I have a DCLB model of yours, so I'm 12.5 inches longer than you. I'm completely stock except for some skid plates underneath. I also have a rear differential breather that I pieced together from a Camry diff vent and Lowes hardware and rubber hose.

The limitations of the stock truck are mostly the exhaust crossover. It is, effectively, the lowest part of the truck because it's not between the front or rear wheels. I believe the front cross member and rear differential are lower, but they are between the wheels and, often, do not see much action. I have dragged my stock exhaust a few times and you can even see it smash into dirt in one of the videos and the cats float in the chassis from the whole system moving around. I installed a full set of RCI skid plates in September. I chose to keep the exhaust stock due to vehicle warranty and emissions warranty so I lost about 1.5 inches of clearance from that area. There is a large space between the transmission and the ground and then the exhaust hangs way lower behind that, so I don't call the area under the transmission 'usable clearance' anyway. I drag the skid plates more now because of the lost clearance under the cab but I feel safer dragging than not know what things were being hit down there.

While I have done crazy things in off road parks, the most serious wheeling I've done in the last year was on a mine-to-mine road across the side of a mountain. I had my wife, mom, and stepdad in the vehicle and we went between the Grand View and Ford mines in North Johnson / Rodman Mountains area. It started with a road that pinned my nose-down angle on the tiltometer past the red markings. My mom had her eyes closed and everyone was bracing to the dash or seat in front of them. Then we had to make some turns through sharp washes that could have flipped up because all the weight of the tuck is up on the front wheels. I'm glad I have that stiff sway bar keeping the front end flat, although it doesn't always help to be kept level with the terrain. Then we came up to a hill that I didn't want to attempt due to its side-sloping nature. I went down the wash 50 feet and made my own line up the 100 foot climb. That's when my mom started praying in the back seat. I knew we would be fine, though.

We recently attended a mine exploration group camping trip over Veterans Day weekend. I went up a waste pile road with tight switch backs in the long bed with just a simple 3 point turn up and down. At the top, there were several head frames on inclines, several ore bins, in place tracks, a burnt out mine with hoist inside, part of a trellace bridge, and several mines on other hills. It was an amazing weekend of above and below ground exploring. I've been posting those photos to my instagram from a few weeks, now.

We spend a lot of time in Yucca Valley because my wife's family lives up there. We are beginning to explore the Old Dale mining district. I took my dad last time and it was very late and got dark on us, but he was impressed with the way the stock truck wheeled a few mining roads. He spotted me on some of the turns and I clanked the skids on a big rock. It barely nicked the side of the plate after I got out and looked at it.

We went wheeling on Saturday night with my brother and sister in law.We went through Sunfair and then ended up in Landers at Giant Rock. The high beams do not do well in heavy dust due to their height. My wife got me a single row lower grill light bar for Christmas. That will make it much better.

I could go on for days about this and post hundreds of sweet photos, but I'm at work and need to prepare for the 110 students I'll see today...

Take a look at my Instagram page. There aren't any pictures of the hardcore wheeling because I usually stay in the truck and drive during those situations... haha
https://www.instagram.com/z50king/?hl=en

Here are some cheesy videos I made of the truck over the last year. They aren't very good but they show some things. I've done much harder stuff than this....

Water crossings, mud, climbs, etc. The big water crossing was over the front tire, around 32 inches deep
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQy4nzL5FtA

general wheeling, 2 wheel drive up a steep hill, under belly drive overs, etc.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvXHO3weGe0

 

Thanks for the response Z50king!

 

Took mine to Big Bend with only 265/75/16 MTR tire upgrade.

 

I've done OHV parks with my wife's 4Runner Trail stock and my Tacoma stock. No lift, OEM tires, no sliders (yet...currently installing and painting them).

Thing is pretty good stock as long as you don't follow the guy with a lift and big tires and armor down the hard trails and think you'll be fine. That isn't to say it's not capable, it would probably make it, but you'll probably take damage.

 

Within the first 48 hours of purchasing , I took my stock '17 OR camping up a "High Clearance" road in White River National Forest Colorado. There were definitely places where if I wasn't paying attention to wheel placement, I could have done some damage, but we did just fine. Trust me, you are not the only one out there that goes wheeling in a stock truck. In fact, I might argue that you will see more stock vehicles wheeling in Colorado than modified ones. But that might be because I stick to fairly easy roads, haha.
Every road is different. Do research ahead of time and look for trip reports for certain areas or roads. In Colorado, there is usually a mountain (pun intended) of data from people who have driven particular roads before. You have a VERY capable truck, so as long as you take it slow you should be fine. You could always have someone with you to spot obstacles when you go too.

 

My fav place! I have some friends who have 400 acres out in Study-Butte Terlingua. We were just there for Thanksgiving. Quite the drive from Houston. Worth it!
They have a guest house we stay in, over looks Terlingua creek from a few hundred feet up.
Took my 2016 Tacoma TRD Off-road, never really had to use 4x4, though having some clearance helped ( mine is stock with Nitto's G2's and 17" FN wheels).

 

Head out to Hungry Valley in Gorman and check out the practice area. My stock regular cab an does all of the trails there fine.

Also check out:
4x4training.com
They do classes out at Gorman, and they are well worth it. Better than any mod

 

The Off Road 4x4 Tacoma is ready to go anywhere!
I have taken my three Tacomas all over Baja California and the Anza-Borrego Desert with ease.
The only modifications I have done were minor, like replacing the stock tires (265/70-16) with the next size up (does not require a lift), 265/75-16. Last year, after 6 years driving my 2010, I did modify the suspension with replacing the shocks with Bilstein 5100s and adding Ride Rite air bags to the rear. While I am not going any bigger on the tires, I did raise the truck slightly.

Here is my 2005 stock Tacoma on one of Baja's challenging roads (Mission Santa María trail):




See the videos in my sig for my 2010 Tacoma performance...

 

I took my basically stock '09 Access Cab TRD Off Road 4x4 through a lot of stuff that I didn't think I'd get through. Granted I do riskier/tougher stuff now with my '14, but you'd be surprised what a stock truck with good tires can accomplish.

If you did the extended diff breather, got some good LT265/75/16 tires, and some basic recovery gear, you'd be able to tackle most terrain. That being said, I would recommend, silders, skids, and front/rear recovery points.