recently bought my 2006 double cab long bed and need some good advice

So basically this is my dream truck and I plan on it being my rig for the next 15 or so years but I have no knowledge or experience on what to get for upgrades. I have done little stuff so far like adding nice weathertec mudguards, bug guards, rain deflectors, and am currently upgrading the stereo system. But now I'm ready to do some more serious upgrades but I want to make the right educated decisions that don't cost me in the long run and give me the most satisfaction. So quick personal backstory because I think it will help explain what I'm looking for.

The truck is my daily driver and does an average of an hour and twenty minutes of no traffic commuting a day. When I have time to go out and have fun I am an avid hiker, skier, and hunter so I want to make it a little off road/snow friendly because I will put it into situations that are a bit tougher than daily commuting and want to feel confident that she will get me out no worries. I wont ever take her mudding or serious offroading but I want her to be more capable.

So I really want to start budgeting my next upgrade or it will never happen. The first first project I want to take on is lift/suspension/tire/wheels upgrade. I am totally clueless on what to get how to do it etc.. I'm looking for a 2-3 inch lift, with improved suspension performance, better off road tires (but ones that perform well on the road), bigger tires or wheels, making the truck look even more bad-ass and all while not compromising the longevity and reliability of the truck. That's what I want but I don't know how to get there and how much it will cost. From the bits I have read it sounds like buying the stuff online and then having a good shop install them is the way to do it. My best friend has a 3 bay shop but this project is above my pay-grade. So all advice is welcome.

2nd stage is getting a cover but I think I can handle that pretty well. I think I'm going to go with a leer.

Any other 2006 Tacoma advice or ideas is warmly accepted.

Last couple of questions they may or not be related to each other.

A couple of months ago my truck started creaking and making noises when going over varied terrain(my driveway is not exactly level or free of potholes) or when turning and is doing it more and more. I have no idea whats causing it and don't know how I should approach fixing it.

Last question: So I have been following the frame recall and just 2 weeks ago when I went to the dealership to get my oil changed I asked them to check on it and the guy said there wasn't a frame recall. I just want to get my frame checked out and I'm starting to get paranoid that the noise is related to the frame.

Cheers and Muchas Gracias.

 

Would like to see pics

 

I'll get some up tomorrow

 

Alright sounds good, and welcome to TacomaWorld!

 

Try soaking the LCA bolts with PB Blaster to see if your creaking stops. It could be the bolts are rusted to the bushings. It dosen't really fix anything, just lets you know where the problem is.

 

Congrats on the new-to-you truck! Hang out in this forum and you'll learn a ton of good info...the search feature is your friend too.

My truck is pretty much stock all the way around but I'm old (55) and got the need for 'mods' out of my system years ago. Good luck....

 

Welcome to the forum. Since the rig is 10 years old and you want to keep it for a long time I'd suggest making sure all basic maintenance items (fluids, filters, belts, etc.) are in good order before the mods empty your wallet. There are lots of great write-ups on this forum for the maintenance items.

 

Thanks for the heads up on the basic maintenance. First thing I did when I bought her was take to the dealership and get her caught up on just about everything. It cost a pretty penny but afterwords she was twice the truck. I also have her now up to date on all the routine maintenance and have future visits scheduled w/ the dealership.

 

Sweet looking truck. That blue has always been my favorite color on the Tacoma.

 

I agree...looks nice!

 

2nd this. I bought my 2006 a couple years back and needed to replace things such as the linkages between the steering knuckle and sway bar, amount other small fixes. Get the truck running nicely before you start adding on to it.

 

Welcome to the TW,nice truck,congrats.

 

Thanks for all the replies so far. But I'm going to bump this back to the top because I haven't gotten any responses on my main question yet.

Before anyone tells me that I need to do basic maintenance before upgrading again I'll say again everything is completely caught up within the last 3 months from new transmission fluid to replacing a dead fog light. (I'll add a list of everything I've had done so far). And I am going to have her looked at for the noises she's making this week.

Cheers and thanks again.

 

If your looking for a reliable lift, I would look at Old Man Emu lifts. I just installed mine, and what drove me to them, is that I wasn't willing to deal with the maintenance required for the coilover type suspensions. I already have a race car/ project. This is my daily driver and I wanted to maintain reliability. With an OME lift, you can install 285/70R17 tires, which equates to a 33x11.5 tire.

 

is it 4x4? I did OME 885 coils with Bilstein 5100s on my suspension in the front. Rear I put the 5100s with a single Deaver AAL. Its a good lift and stiffer drive for under a grand easily. Hit up @HeadStrong Off-Road for some great prices and knowledge.

 

also for the tires I went with K02 from bfg in size 265/70/17. They are c-rated. Good for street and really good for fire trails and moderate offroading