My Suburban Taco Build Thread

So I've been wanting to put together my own thread for a while and have some free-time today.

My truck is a suburban family daily. Increasing usability and practicality is the philosophy behind all the changes I've made. The truck spends the majority of it's time going from home to daycare to work and back 5 days a week. A few times per year we'll be taking it camping and on long summer road trips during our major annual vacations. The most off-roading it will ever see might be a seriously rutted out fire road or driving on the beach. There are a lot of threads documenting the evolution of seriously beautiful off-road beasts, but this will not be one of them. It's not necessary for me personally to spend a lot of time and money increasing the truck's off road capabilities because this already provides what I need. To be honest, I'll probably never push this truck even close to it's limits (Note - At some point in the future when these tires wear out, I will put more aggressive tires on it purely for cosmetic reasons. Nothing too crazy or expensive... probably just some Goodyear Wrangler Duratracs).

Here it was on day of purchase with my big guy:



All of my upgrades/changes/additions are focused on improving the day to day functionality of the car. As I run into a new problem or shortcoming, only then will I start looking into what can be done to improve it. And most of the things you'll see here are simple and my no means impressive or special. Still each one of them has improved the truck for me so I figured they're worth sharing.

I'm going to try to list everything I've done with it so far, and then going forward I'll post new things here as well. So following are my list of simple little upgrades that have made me enjoy my truck that much more:

1. Mirrors - Added these cheap little blind spot mirrors. It's always the first thing I do when I buy a new car. Typically I buy them on the way home from the dealer/seller. If you don't have blind-spot monitoring, these work just fine.



2. Windows - Tinting Windows is always the second thing I do anytime buy a new car. I used to live in Arizona where the darkest tint possible was required to make driving in the summer bearable, and I've never gone back. It's really hard to drive around in a fish bowl once you've driven in the privacy of a cave. Got a 5% tint on the sides and back and a 5% stripe at the top of the windshield (first time I've ever done the windshield stripe and I love it).



3. Center Console - I saw the center console divider and shelf here on Tacomaworld and had to have those. I love them both. I also solved my eyeglass/sunglass storage problem with another 2 dollar purchase at Autozone.







4. Side Steps - I very quickly realized that helping my 4 year old in and out every time was going to get old. So I bought simple side steps. Nothing fancy. Not the most expensive, not the cheapest. But they work well and look very good IMO. Build Quality is great and I have no complaints so far. A coworker showed these to me after he put them on his truck. These steps are on sale right now too. My 4 year old can now get in and out no problem.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076VPT6Q3/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1






5. Bed Storage - I bought this cheap black box a Walmart for about 40 bucks or so. I was hauling around my kids soccer gear in it for a while and then my own biking gear. The box is lockable and I can lock it to the tie down to discourage theft. I was very happy with this cheap little box. Nothing inside ever got wet. It served it's purpose well before I put the cap on. I'll be using the box for years to come when camping. The only shortcoming with the box was that the top would flop all the way back when I opened it. So I solved that with some spare chain and hardware laying around in my garage.







6. Bed Mat - Like many of you I also quickly got tired of things sliding around in the back so I bought the bed mat. That may be the best 100 bucks I've spent on the truck so far. My dog too can now ride back there without sliding all over the place.



7. Seat Covers - I haven't had cloth seats in my past three cars and have been neurotic about keeping them clean right out of the gate. I bought this kick ass $55 bench seat cover designed for dogs and am using it for my kids. Love this thing! I've also put kick mats on the back of the front seats which is a must with little kids, and am using these cheap seat covers up front. The front seat covers will be replaced at some point since they're so ugly, but they work for now and are waterproof. I'd love to figure out a way to get the top corners of these front seat covers to sit back on the seat (please share if you have ideas). But they're perfect for when I'm sweaty after a workout or am eating/drinking in the car. Likewise the backseat cover catches goldfish crumbs and spills very well.

$60 4Knines Dog Seat Cover Without Hammock for Cars, SUVs, and Small Trucks - Heavy Duty, Non Slip, Waterproof (Black)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00R1JMGE6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

$47 Gorla Gear Black Premium Universal Fit Waterproof Stain Resistant Car Seat Cover Neoprene Non-Slip Bucket Seat Dog Kid Protector Save Your Leather Cloth Seats Van Truck SUV Auto

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LBRDARU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1



8. The Kicker Speaker Upgrade - I did this at the urging of the same coworker who pointed me to the cheap side steps. This changed the stereo in the car from crap to awesome IMO. I started with the tweeters and that alone was an incredible change, but I couldn't resist doing the full thing.Very pleased with the end result. Replaced all 6 in the end.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/premium-audio-upgrade-for-less-than-250.510424/



9. Topper - And then there was my cap. I ordered it six weeks ago and it finally came in this week. Total purchase out the door including taxes and accessories was about $1,900.00. It's an ARE V-Series. Options include pet screens in the side sliders, a fold down / sliding front window and the Yakima Core Bar rack system. The total for the entire rack system including tracks was $350 from ARE. Much more cost effective than trying to do it myself after the fact because Yakima hoses you for every little thing. ARE has a good deal worked out with them. I'm very pleased with the cap so far. It's been through a major downpour and didn't leak inside. This purchase was made for many reasons, but one big reason was so we could start taking the dog on family vacations. It will be a huge help the next time we go camping too. Having massive dry storage is going to be killer.







10. Radio Knobs - Just got me new radio knobs last night!!! They are sweet. The stock knobs are too short and very cheap feeling. I've never liked interacting with them. Sorry for the dusty screen today. I bought them here from Tacowiede.

BTW I just figured out you can use the tuning knob to select and scroll across menus when I replaced these knobs.



That pretty much sums it up to date. I'll update in the future as I add other accessories.

 

Nice start. I’m pretty partial to BBP myself.

 

Beautiful truck and mods!
I'm almost ready for a shell.

 

Thanks!

 

Like the build! In the end its your truck built for your needs not the needs of Tacoma world! Keep it up

 

OP, I like your sensible upgrades that add value to your everyday needs. Not over the top and are adding value to what you use your truck for. Very cool..

 

Beautiful truck! You’ve done a good job with that Tacoma. It will give you years of enjoyment for sure. And that co-worker of yours...he must be a helluva smart guy!

 

Haha. HI

 

Great write up.

 

So I was pleasantly surprised to see that my bed lamp is still useful even with the cap on. Obviously not as bright back there as without the cap, and the spread is much more restricted. Not sure the pic does it justice, but I can still easily see in the bed at night without a flashlight.

 

11. Overhead Storage - I purchased this car top carrier for $250 bucks on Amazon. It's marketed as a Pep-Boys Voyager XL. But it's the exact same thing as a Sportrack Vista XL. Interestingly the Sportrack branded version costs $338 on Amazon. I spent a lot of time shopping and couldn't bring myself to spend $400+ for something I'll only use a few times per year during vacations and camping excursions. This thing got great reviews for the most part. Should work out perfect when we go on our upcoming 600 mile road trip in August. Trying to free up as much space as possible in back for the dog. The truck looks hilarious with this thing on top. It opens from the back and is very easy to load/unload while standing on the tailgate.

PepBoys Voyager
https://m.pepboys.com/product/details/9511536/00800

Sportrack Vista

$485 SportRack Vista XL Rear Opening Cargo Box,Black

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BCLL8C...VYwR-uXq5rNU1wPjUbdLBXipCU_CS_xMaApJ5EALw_wcB

 

12. Bike Rack - Bought a 12 inch hitch extension so I can lower the tailgate with my old Yakima Ridgeback attached. Again, looks hilarious and the truck is ridiculously long now with the bike rack arms extended. Only time I'll be using this extender is during our vacation roadtrips when I need to easily be able to lower the tailgate multiple times per day. Normally I don't care if I can't lower the tailgate while my bike rack is back there.

This should work very well and is rock solid.

https://www.amazon.com/your-orders/...ryId=&returnUnitIndices=&shipmentId=DsqdYVCBb

https://www.amazon.com/your-orders/...ryId=&returnUnitIndices=&shipmentId=DsqdYVCBb

 

13. Seat Covers Update - This is a very small simple little purchase but it made my inexpensive front seat covers look much better IMO. I found these short elastic straps designed to hold pants in boots. They worked perfect for holding back the upper corners of the seat covers. I like these covers enough now that I'll keep them for as long as they hold up. They clean up very easy with a vacuum and I'm pretty sure I'll be able to just throw them in the laundry machine on delicate when they really need to be cleaned. Thought I'd throw up a link to the straps in case anyone else ever buys these seat covers.

$12 HOLD’EM Boot Straps Leg Pant Stirrups Elastic Adjustable/Straight 3/4" Elastic -6" Inch

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B017MJNSCI/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

@Vanderjdm Great write-up! I believe many use their Tacomas far more for commuter use. I know I do.

 

14. Phone Mount - I meant to add this to my list earlier and forgot. I've been using this iOttie mount for a year and a half and it carried over well to the Tacoma. I was thinking about buying one of those nice mounts for the vent, but decided I didn't want to lose the vent nor spend the money. I don't use it all the time for short drives as it's just a couple inches farther than I'd prefer to reach, but it works great for long drives. Doesn't block my view of the road. My torso is long enough that it only blocks the dash and hood. Highly recommended. Great bang for the buck and very solid. It's also very easy to move over to my wife's car if we take it for a long drive.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JRGOKQ8/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1



My view while driving.

 

Thank you.

 

15. Cosmetic Upgrade - Joined the crowd with the Pro knockoff grill. I also bought the OEM badge blackout kit and tailgate decals. Debadged the ARE topper as well and purchased swirl bumpershellz.

 

16. Window Vents - Installed these this week. Really like the look and they do serve a practical purpose. Nice to be able to crack the windows for fresh air when it's raining.

$65 Auto Ventshade [AVS] In-Channel Ventvisor / Rain Guards | Fits 2016 - 2023 Toyota Tacoma Double Cab- Smoke, 4 pc. | 194768

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B018AIGLSI?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_pd_title

More importantly I got the truck out in the snow for the first time today! Man was that fun. Think I'll start calling it the Suburban Tank! I was pretty impressed with the stock Wrangler Duratracs. They're surprisingly good for all seasons. Even in 2wd they were pretty much unstoppable in 4-6 inches of snow.

 

17. Replaced my "look at me" chrome sidesteps with the Predator steps. Those big chrome sidesteps were actually easier for my kids, but I've been blacking out the truck slowly and got tired of looking at all that side step chrome. I like how much more subtle these are and they sit at a better height for me. Bought them from a member here for a good price.

 

Nice stuff. I'm more of a daily driver guy myself. It's nice to see some "normal" mods. Definitely think I'm going to have to invest in a bed liner. Then it's onto ways to make my life easier for fly/ice fishing