Suspender's Prerunner - Daily Driver & Adventuring Rig

6/26/2017


Howdy,

First time Tacoma owner... This truck is to enhance my ability to get off the grid. I grew up camping and I'm getting back into it as an adult, and then some.

I'm not particularly experienced in automotive mechanics, but I've always wanted to learn and I make a point to know how to take care of my own vehicle. Some day I'd like to have a Weekend Warrior 4x4 expo rig, but for now the daily driving will limit the extremity of my mods... Probably to lighting and cosmetic stuff.

I picked up this stock PreRunner off Craigslist in May 2017, with 112,000 miles on it for $9,000. I plan to use it mainly for mild excursions, since it's 2WD on the smaller engine. Until such time I discover I need more, this thread is mainly to document anything related to this truck.

The day I bought it:


Specs:
- 2004 PreRunner
- 2.7L
- Automatic
- Current Mileage: 120,000

Suspension:
- Stock

Lighting:
- 48 LED dome light (5/25/17)
- 31" CREE LED light bar (12/31/17)

Wheels/Tires:
- Stock Tacoma 16" steelies
- PTF Pathfinder 265 75R16

Exterior:
- Debadged tail gate and SR5
- Custom made RTT rack (6/1/17)
- Tepui Baja Ayer (6/1/17)
- Arrow antenna (10/15/17)
- Removed fender flares (10/16/17)

Extras:
- Added automatic lock actuators (10/1/2017)

Building a custom rack, first time welding as well:



The metal supply store actually ran out of this gauge so I was forced to proceed as far as I could before getting materials for the last legs....




Debadging. Previous owner already debadged the PreRunner part:




+5 HP American flag mod.



Added central locking actuators (with keyless entry) to stock manual locks. Don't know much about wiring, it's been fun to use this as a learning experience.



Plastidipped the emblems.



12/2/2017 - New spark plugs, scheduled 120k maintenance. First time doing plugs on this vehicle, had fun getting to them.

 

Saved

 

Saved.

 

Saved..

 

My next project will probably be a grill modification. I really like the Satoshi style but I also might want to add lighting behind the grill so I'm not sure what kind of mesh/perforated sheet will be best for that - balance between too transparent or blocking too much light. My other option is forego the lights in the grill and opt for a light bar, but I've heard the hood-glare is pretty bad especially on white/silver.

 

Weekend trip through Joshua Tree; exploring the sights and trails. (10.28.2017)
Gonna need a better camera for these night time photos...

 

Looks good! With that mileage you should have a ton of life left on that thing!

What did you use for the locks and keyless entry? Are you happy with it? I was just thinking about this the other day.

Andy

 

Thanks! Failing to find one sub-100k I settled for one slightly over. Unluckily, not a single 4x4 sub-150k popped up in a month of looking.

Here is a picture of the lock system I used. It's just a cheapo kit that my wife gifted me, I think she got it for $25 from Walmart online. It's 4 actuators, 1 master 3 slaves (the box lied). Two fobs were included. I've only put a few hundred clicks into it so far but no issues yet. Installation was a bit of a pain, because the locking mechanism in the Tacoma is a rod sleeved in a plastic housing so I had to pull out that plastic sleeve housing and slice a channel in it so that the rod could be linked to the actuator rod.

 

What grill? How you like it ?

 

I haven't pulled the trigger on a grill mod yet, I'm thinking the Satoshi style but I haven't decided on what style mesh.

Or did you mean the Coleman propane grill? haha

 

The Coleman! Lmao

 

It's the $40 basic propane grill, the classic. I bought the Triton 2 alongside this to compare and decided it wasn't worth the extra $30 for +1000 BTU per burner, I just love the classic. Simple, effective, immortal.

 

You able to throw hot dogs and burgers on it ? Maybe some steak?

 

You could toss dogs or steaks right on top of the bare grill, probably not burgers, but it would probably be wise to buy/make a grill with more struts since these are a couple inches apart. But we usually use one of these to prevent dripping right into the burner tray

 

Good on you getting out there with the prerunner. That's what it's made for. Nice truck

 

Added a 31" light bar.

 

Nice truck OP...
If you have yet to complete the grill mod, may I suggest the Grille Craft unit. Looks great and is durable.

 

Nice build so far. Your story reminds me a lot of my white regular cab - helping me get back into camping which I had not done in awhile but grew up doing. Look forward for more mods & adventures.

 

Looks awesome on your truck! I may end up going the same way you did, my only reservation is which material to use - I don't want too much transparency, but I also want to put lights behind it. For now I just painted the chrome black haha.

Thanks! And I hope 2018 is a great year to mod and adventure for us both!