After market seems to forget 1st gen??!

I ran into this problem when I first got my first gen. I was kind of pissed about it too but after a while I got over it. I made friends with a talented fabricator and we built everything I wanted. Design something you like or if you see something you like go to a fabricator and say I want this for my truck. Anything can be done bud. Cars/trucks are expensive hobby...just gotta make that choice for yourself

 

As a completely new member I'm a little hesitant to dive into this conversation, but I'd still like to offer some personal insight as someone who bought a 1st gen, and have spent the last 1.5 years replacing/restoring almost anything and everything you can think of.

To preface, I've got a pretty good network of friends that own and work in car/truck shops, including a Toyota service manager, and you’d be surprised how difficult it is to find and replace a lot of totally mundane parts - even from the factory - because it's pretty much what a lot of the vendors here are saying.

The fact is, the number of people buying 1st gen Tacomas is inevitably dwindling - it's a 20 year old platform - and the subset of people within that group that are turning their trucks into overlanding/rock-crawling rigs is considerably less than that. A lot of times parts for these trucks will sit on the shelves for years at a time because there's simply little to no demand for them anymore.

As some examples, I had to have my KING shocks custom made, my BAMF LCA skids were literally the last pair made, my Relentless Fab standard rear bumper was the last made, my OEM fender flare replacements from Toyota factory were the last, non-damaged pair available, and as for the center console I wanted to replace, we ordered the last one ever made by Toyota and it came with broken tabs.

Finding standard engine components and whatnot is one thing, but custom stuff or random parts is something you just gotta do your research with - sometimes even checking eBay or your local Pick ‘N’ Pull.

There's still a good number of shops and manufacturers making all kinds of quality products though, so it shouldn't be too hard to find what you need within reason.

As for OP's original question about roof racks:

Prinsu is by far the best roof rack option for 1st gen. As for RTT's, take your pick.

 

My man, you can't bait us into your post talking about your sweet Tacoma and not give us some eye candy!! Sounds like you have a very nice taco and I definitely wouldn't mind seeing some pics of it

 

I’m sorry haha - that’s one of the reasons I was hesitant to post because it’s currently in the shop for paint and a couple other side projects or I totally would. I had planned on making an official “New Member” post and introduce myself in a couple weeks when I get it back and have a chance to take it out for a few shots.

 

Cool man. I look forward to it

 

I just had someone e-mail me this morning asking if we still made them. Post it on craigslist if you wanna sell it. I see them all the time on there. people e-mail us to make sure it's one of ours.