3rd gen SR 4 cylinder 5-speed AC adventure rig build

Aloha all, I’ve been asked by some to write a build thread so here goes.

I purchased a 2017 3rd gen Tacoma I4 5-speed manual access cab on October 2016 in Hawaii. Got a decent deal on it d/t the original buyer backing out last minute and an inside source letting me scoop it up.



Originally went with the I4 over the V6 d/t my experience with numerous 22re engines and their reliability and ease of fixing. Also I went with the I4 because I thought it would be an island truck for all its life, max speed limit is 60 mph with no real steep grades. Here are pics of my old Toyota Pickup.



My original plan for the truck was serious mall crawling. Aside from sand, there really isn’t much off-roading offered on Oahu, at least nothing like the mainland. My first upgrades were a set of sema 4Runner rims, 255/75r17 duratrac tires, and a toytec 1.5 suspension lift. I then bought a used set of side steps from a second gen double cab and modified it to fit the truck.



Something felt off up front and realized it was the lack of fog lights. So I installed some cheap fogs from Amazon. I also installed a hitch.




Then my world got rocked! January 2017 my wife and I moved to Washington state and the damn passes and hills have been the bain to my 4 cylinders existence!




The next upgrade was a canopy. The original plan was to turn the bed into a sleeper unit for camping. I opted for a snugtop with the sportsman package. Chose snugtop over other brands because of previously owning one and liking their build quality. I chose the sportsman package for the extra fiberglass to handle extra weight on the roof.



On our trips, our dog comes with so I built a dog platform.



Sleeping in the bed and having to unload and load gear at every camp site became a choir.


So we opted for a Yakima roof top tent and a prinsu bed rack to allow the gear to stay in the bed.


After two nights with the Yakima roof top tent, we returned it. We awoke to heavy condensation buildup twice and we were done.


We then replaced the Yakima with a Tepui Ayer Sky. The Tepui was a much better investment over the Yakima. It was built better and the condensation was minimal.



After a trip to Moab, the lack of power and the block lift had to go. So when we got back to washington I got 488 gears, front and rear ARB lockers, and an old man emu heavy suspension setup installed. To prevent rear sagging, I installed rear firestone airbags.






D/t the 488 gearing and the higher RPMs on the hwy, I swapped out the duratracs and sema wheels for taller KO2s 34/10.5r17 tires and wider SCS stealth 6 rims.


I installed an ARB rear diff breather mod.



At this point of the build, my wife and I had visited over 20 National Parks, slept over 70 nights in the tepui, and logged in 30,000 plus miles on the rig. Since being new to the mainland, we did majority of our traveling alone. The uneasiness of not having help or being stuck somewhere bothered me. So I purchased a Warn VR 10,000 winch and a SOS Offroad Concept streamline bumper. To save on shipping, I purchased sliders in addition from SOS Offroad Concepts. As for skids, I thought the TRD pro skids looked sexy so I went with it. To help with more lighting, I installed Cali raised ditch lights.



Because of the larger tires, I purchased a Swingout Wilco offroad hitchgate for a full spare.


I liked the look of the TRD offroad and Pro fender flares so I picked up a deal on Craigslist from a guy who took it off his rig.


Being from Hawaii, I’ve had a love for the ocean since I can remember. The only ocean I haven’t seen was the Arctic Ocean. So planning for the Arctic circle began. First we bought an ARB fridge and installed it in the cab for food and drinks. I went ahead and installed an X2 power premium 27F deep cycle/dual purpose battery.




We knew we would be seeing a ton of wild life (8 grizzlies, 20+ black bears) so we were uneasy with the RRT. So we decided to sell the Tepui and retry sleeping in the camper shell and we acquired a bed platform for gear organization to minimize loading and unloading gear. Also got rid of the Yakima awning and replaced it with a foxwing awning.






Post trip Arctic Ocean: somehow mosquitoes and dust still found a way into the bed so we ditched sleeping in the bed and we got our hands on a CVT hardshell RTT tent.



With the CVT tent, we did our first adventure with other rigs. With a bunch of friends, we took 5 days to complete the Washington BDR.




After the trips, I noticed my composite bed beginning to flex so I pulled the bed back in half an inch with ratchet straps and installed cali raised bed stiffeners. Do to the bed platform, I cut and modified the bed stiffeners to fit.


When fully weighted, the I4 suffered even more on the hills, to the point of barely being able to pass semis on the steepest of grades. So my quest to shed weight has begun. So far, the Wilco will have to go to lighten my load by 90 lbs. To add some power, I’ve just purchased LCE headers. Also, dust was bad being behind 4 other vehicles during the BDR so I’ve just purchased a snorkel. Still waiting on the headers and snorkel to arrive. I’ll keep you folks posted on installation.

Hope you’ve enjoyed my truck build so far and I’ll update with new mods and adventures moving forward. Feel free to also follow on Instagram, Taka_The_Tacoma.

Also, if you are looking for armor, SOS Offroad concepts is the way go. Eddy, the owner, is a class act! If interested use code takathetacoma for a 10% discount.

Mahalo, Roy








August 2018
- Installed LCE header and Safari snorkel.



December 2018
* Arizona trip

March
- Swapped out old man emu suspension for 2.5 Kings mid travel 650 lb springs with total chaos upper control arms.
*California coast trip

April 2019
- Installed SOS aluminum full front bumper and rear steel SOS high clearance bumper with swingout.
- removed Firestone rear suspension airbags (driver side leak) and replaced with superbumps front and rear with rear u bolt flip.
- removed front sway bar.
* Moab in May!

Feel free to also follow on Instagram, Taka_The_Tacoma for more up to date adventures and pics!

 

Very nice!

 

LOVE it man.....

Except for one thing though!!!

Your tires are on backwards...



You have a great rig there man, and being a 2.7 it's even better.

 

Very nice! I have your exact same truck Silver 2017 4x4 SR 2.7L MT AC and you gave me some great ideas. Love the pics.

 

Wow.
Awesome!

 

Thanks guys! It’s been a fun build and for the short time we’ve had it we’ve definitely gone places. More to come! BTW, look what came in the mail...

 

Cool rig and set up! Having an 86 4runner I agree on th 22re convincing me over the v6. Let us know how the LCE header works out for you, I'm thinking about that one or the Doug thorley... Keep up the good work

 

The 22re is a phenomenal engine. I got a confirmation the header will arrive this Thursday. Unfortunately I won’t have time to install both the header and snorkel till next week. I’ll keep y’all posted.

 

dude your rig is awesome and your wife is a classy lady, keep up the adventures man and the arctic circle sounds amazing super jealous on that one, and Washington is fantastic

 

Thanks Raymond! The wife is awesome! She lets me mod (with much begging on my end lol) and is always down for an adventure! Aloha

 

Holy crap! Welcome to the mainland. You made quite the entrance. You’re about to enjoy tf out of the rest of our beautiful nation and it looks like you got a wonderful start too!


I plan on doing exactly this with my 4banger! No regrets at all.

 

Thank you sir. Never been out to North Carolina but I hear you folks got good surf! May be down your neck of the woods to explore and surf next summer.

 

Yezzir! We got mountains too, and everything else in between. It’s like it’s own little country really.

Let me know if you’re out this way. I’ll grab the gf and we can go on an adventure.

 

Subbed and followed.
Looking forward to the snorkel & header install / results.

 

Sweet ride!

 

Looking like I’ll be doing the install either Tuesday or Wednesday. I’ll keep y’all posted.

Mahalo!

 

More goodies have come in!!!!

 

Cherreh truck!, I need one 1.5” lift for now... Loving that old school. How you like the artic ocean vs the Hawaii waters in the pacific?

 

Da buggah cold, cahz! Cheeee


Little update on life. Took the Wilco offroad swingout off then spent 4 days up north this last weekend.



Even got a poser shot. Lol

And after all that nature stuff, I installed the LCE header and snorkel!!!

 

man.. great story! love all those pictures and places you guys been!