PcBuilder's 2018 Tacoma Build

Finally found my clunking issue that has been going on for nearly a year. Turns out the front body mount has enough flex that it was causing the inner fender sheet metal to hit my shock reservoir on bumps.

Adjusted the hose slightly to force it back a little and should be good to go now. Don’t know why I didn’t think to check them last time I tried to locate the sound. Luckily it didn’t dig all the way through, but I’m sure the housing and the cap will have to be replaced when it’s time for a rebuild. I’ll also be having them re-run the fittings to use their new reservoir mounts that are vertical so this can’t possibly happen in the future.




The area where the light is shining was the metal hitting the reservoir.

 

Spent our first camping trip in our Go Fast Camper. It's safe to say we're pretty happy with the purchase already. Much faster to get everything set up compared to setting up the RTT and annex just to have enough room for us, the kid, and the dog. Just a few pics of camp as well as how we kind of organized everything.


_DSC0006 (2) by Brent Prater, on Flickr
_DSC0007 (2) by Brent Prater, on Flickr
_DSC0010 (2) by Brent Prater, on Flickr
_DSC0012 (2) by Brent Prater, on Flickr
_DSC0022 (2) by Brent Prater, on Flickr
_DSC0025 by Brent Prater, on Flickr
_DSC0026 by Brent Prater, on Flickr
_DSC0030 by Brent Prater, on Flickr
_DSC0034 by Brent Prater, on Flickr
_DSC0035 by Brent Prater, on Flickr
_DSC0036 by Brent Prater, on Flickr
_DSC0041 by Brent Prater, on Flickr
_DSC0042 by Brent Prater, on Flickr



Camping counts as "temporary use", right?
_DSC0044 by Brent Prater, on Flickr

 

Looks like you had some nice weather!

 

It was about perfect, except the wind during the late afternoon. Was low 70’s during the day and low 50’s at night.

 

Decided to go ahead and do what’s called the “viper cut” before the new tires go on.

I don’t necessarily think it looks better than stock, but at least I shouldn’t have to worry about rubbing the bumper.

 

Definitely makes the front end look taller. Really shows off those baby tires from the head-on view!

 

That combined with the fact that I adjusted the coilovers to actually lift the front of the truck makes it look even worse haha

 

Was finally able to get my cab mount relocate done thanks to @STravis .

Now time for 35’s

 

New wheels and tires are on. I’ll get better pics later. Got some trimming to do!

 

That's an entirely different truck you've got now... can't wait to see more photos. Great build and learned a lot watching this thread. Maybe the most amazing/ informative thing about it to me is your patience- But now that those 35's are on it must feel good- that was a long wait!

 

Are those alpine designs? Lil BS?

 

Thanks! It’s change quite a bit just over the last few weeks.

Trust me, it hasn’t been easy making myself only change things when needed to make trips better. But being my third Tacoma I’ve decided it’s better so I don’t waste money on stuff that I’ll regret later. I’ve had those SCS wheels sitting in my garage for 14 months and now they’re finally on. Definitely thought I’d need new tires a long time ago! Haha

They’re Alpine Designs. Definitely give more than enough clearance. You’d have to tub the wheel wells before ever hitting these.

 

Another crappy cell phone pic for now after trimming some plastic and hammering back the pinch weld.

 

Drove up to this overlook to test out the clearance and get some better pics. Tires clear really well for the most part. It of course rubs the top of the wheel well when fully stuffed, but otherwise it does much better than I was expecting. It does also rub the UCA just slightly, but only if I'm at full lock and going in reverse. Just have to back off full like very slightly and it's good. I don't think it would be a problem if I had tubular UCA's instead of boxed UCA's.

I forgot how capable a Tacoma with good suspension and tires is! I know it's not, but it feels unstoppable rolling over large rocks and doesn't lug at all with the 5.29's. It finally feels like what I wanted it to for off roading. Now I just need to deal with the saggy rear leaf springs.


_DSC0001 by Brent Prater, on Flickr
_DSC0002 by Brent Prater, on Flickr
_DSC0003 by Brent Prater, on Flickr
_DSC0006 by Brent Prater, on Flickr
_DSC0008 by Brent Prater, on Flickr
_DSC0010 by Brent Prater, on Flickr
_DSC0015 by Brent Prater, on Flickr
_DSC0016 by Brent Prater, on Flickr
_DSC0017 by Brent Prater, on Flickr
_DSC0024 by Brent Prater, on Flickr
_DSC0025 by Brent Prater, on Flickr
_DSC0026 by Brent Prater, on Flickr
_DSC0027 by Brent Prater, on Flickr
_DSC0028 by Brent Prater, on Flickr
_DSC0022 by Brent Prater, on Flickr
_DSC0018 by Brent Prater, on Flickr
_DSC0023 by Brent Prater, on Flickr

 

The truck looks great with the 35's

 

Finally isn't boring and stock looking! Haha

Trying to convince the wife that I need a swingout bumper now...

 

It was already an awesome build, the tires just finished it out.

Convincing the wife is always the hard part

 

Pictures from our weekend in the Gila National Forest. Tons of trails and history to explore. Definitely need to make another trip out there once more stuff opens back up.

We followed the New Mexico Backcountry Discovery Route to where we camped for the night, starting in Chloride, NM. As you can read in the pics, it was a mining town that did fairly well compared to most others. Thankfully, this town has turned it's history into something that keeps the town operating, not to mention the active St. Cloud mining operation nearby. It's too bad that everything is closed due to Coronavirus, because there seems to be a lot of history here.













Their famous "National Forest". Better known as the hanging tree, but I guess that's not exactly PC anymore
_DSC0017 by Brent Prater, on Flickr


After airing down and a quick diaper change, we continued on through Chloride Creek which is about a 9 mile long trail that winds through the creek between the walls of the canyon. Lots of colors as the weather changes and just a bit of water near the end.



We decided to stop at Monument Park cabin for lunch. This was unfortunately closed off as well...






We continued on to camp for the night, passing by multiple primitive camp sites and old cabins. At some point during this section as we were driving about 15mph down a straightaway, two ranchers on horses were coming towards us out of a valley. We stopped to see what they wanted, and the older gentlemen immediately began yelling for us to slow down as it was a 5mph road and I was going to hurt his cattle. Confused, I double checked our maps to ensure we were still on public property and ensured him that I didn't see any signs stating the speed limit. He shortly took off and yelled, "You heard me!" Later we did see a handmade sign that said, "NOT A UTV RUN. SLOW DOWN, 10MPH!" Safe to assume that this guy has had issues with UTVs in the past and doesn't care for people driving too fast near his cattle. While I understand his concern as ranching is hard, he doesn't get to set the speed limits for Forest Service roads. I would be interested to know the law on this. As far as I know the Gila National Forest does not have any specific laws governing speed when not posted, so it would rely on local and state law. But, I'm not sure.








We got to our camp and Dripping Vat Campground which is a really nice site with 40 primitive spots with firepits, picnic tables, and grills. There were about 5 other campers there, so we had plenty of space to feel secluded beside Snow Lake.



Some interesting rules regarding the Mexican Wolf. Not sure how I feel about the pets and cattle ones...

 

I've been reading through this build thread- giving me a lot of ideas, and feel you have a rational and patient approach. Seems you always knew you were going to 35's, but did an awful lot of off-roading on stock tires. I am considering bumping up in tire size eventually, but not sure on 285 or 315- so let me ask: 1. What was your major consideration for 315's seeing as how much you were able to do on the original tires, and 2. you went straight to the cab mount relocation- is there any reason not to just start there (and skip the CMC) even if I'm not sure I'm going to 35's immediately? Oh and lastly, I see you're headed toward BAMF hangars- any insights on those vs archive garage? Let me know if you don't want to answer a bunch of questions in your build thread- and thanks for posting pics that show the real reason some of us bought these trucks- which is to get outdoors with the family! I sometimes get too caught up in what I should do to my truck and need to focus instead on what I should do with it.

 

I have no problem at all answering questions, that's what the build thread is here for!

My reasoning for going straight to 35's was for a few reasons. I never wanted to go with a smaller size tire and regret it later one day if I got hung up on a ledge or something. This was my same justification for mud terrains instead of all terrains. In my opinion fitting 35's on a 3rd gen Tacoma isn't much more work that a 33" tire anyways as long as you're willing to trim a little more plastic and metal and don't mind the occasional rubbing at full stuff (Need to tub or get longer bump stops to prevent that). This thread is largely what made me confident in going straight to 35's.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/intro-to-fitting-35s-3-lifts.594309/
Another reason is just because I wanted to and it looks cool

As for the cab mount relocate instead of the cut was because I never wanted to get into a situation where I'd have to redo it. Is it needed for 35's? Maybe not, but buy once cry once. Now I don't think I will ever go to 37's, but who knows. Now the cab mount is one less thing to worry about.

When I originally listed BAMF hangers as a future mod Archive was having issues with their V1 design allowing the shackles to invert and lock out. Now, from what I know they have since eliminated that issue and are even on V3 which may provide better results than the BAMF hangers. Honestly, if I was going to buy some today it would be the Archive hangers. They seem to be very well thought out at this point and from what I've read they fit better than the BAMF hangers do during install. This was according to somebody that has installed both brands. Now, I would never hesitate to buy a product from BAMF as they have great customer service and have been a part of the community for years. But, sometimes you just have to go with the seemingly better product.

Trust me. I have the same issues with modding. I've been so busy over the last couple years between work and having a kid that I haven't had time to think about mods, only to get out and use the truck. Now that things have slowed down a lot more mods have been happening, but not necessarily in a good way. I think it's good to slow down and take your time figuring out what you actually need to make your experiences better. I so badly want to upgrade the rear suspension right now, but between the tires and having to pay for the GFC to get delivered to New Mexico due to work restrictions I just can't responsibly drop the cash right now. So, instead I'm going to enjoy how capable the truck is and just deal with using my bump stops a bit more than normal. That's what they're there for, right? Haha