Great White Buffalo Build

2006 DCSB in the TRD Off-Road flavor
Super White
Purchased Dec 30, 2020 at 161k miles

This is my second white tacoma build. I had a '02 TRD OR for like 12 years with some mild additions like 33's and sliders, there she is next to the new truck after i put a raptor-bro grill on right when i bought it

Bought this baybee from my father who had it since 9k miles. It was always serviced at the stealership and most of the miles are from 10 hr road trips. Shes clean, so what do i do after 3 weeks of ownership? Cut that shit up of course


WHEELS+TIRES
-285/77/R16 Duratrac's taken from 1st gen
-3rd gen 4Runner factory 5-Star wheels (here)

Future:
-315/70/R16 Duratracs
-16" FN or SCS or Method or cheap alloys with the hole cutouts, dunno

SUSPENSION
-Toytec Alumina's (here)
-SPC Adjustable UCA's (here)
-Toytec Front Diff Drop
-Icon 3-leaf AAL
-Wheelers rear Superbump and U-bolt Flip (here)


AMROR+RECOVERY
-Custom HC rear bumper, in progress (here)
-C4 Fab front plate bumper on order- delivery around May 1
-Cali Raised LED trail sliders (here)

Future:
-RCI front skid set
-All-pro gas tank skid


UNDER THE HOOD
-Redline tuning hood struts, best $100 ive ever spent
-Cowl intake Mod (here)
-Smittybilt 2781 compressor (here)


INTERIOR
-RAM iPad stuff with 3D printed dash mounts, to run backcountry maps (here)
-Volt meter // dual USB charger (here)


RICERBRO MODS
-EAG Raptor style grill
-customcargills.com Tri-color TRD grill badge
-Lamin-x yellow fog light covers


MISC
-JessicaAlba brand A/C knobs (here)
-Ebay camping tailgate flat plate, made from food grade plastic




DISCLAIMER: All mods, future and past, are done with vehicle longevity in mind. Expect the 35's, that will be for fun

 

first off were ricerbro mods since they are cheap and readily available. its a little busy so ill probably do something different when i get my front bumper in

-Raptor grill: EAG is the brand and they are about $150, id suggest color matching the grill surround for a much cleaner look

-TRD tir-color emblem: customcargrills.com about $35, podwercoated stainless steel with colored vinyl stickers

-Yellow fog light covers- Lamin-X.com, $20. i will be going with an LED fog in the amber so wanted to test out the color first



this is just the raptor lights and the factory DTRL's

 

i ended up swapping wheels and tires from my 1st gen before selling 'er, the 285/75/R16 on stock 161K suspension was nOt CHILL. so needed to hand out my credit card like candy to get a lift

-old Duratrac's on factory 3rd gen 4runner wheels, i liked the 5-star

-Toytec Aluminas

-SPC adjustable upper control arms, will help getting 35's in later

-Toytec dift drop- gotta do this if you want to keep your CV axles happier

-Icon 1.5" AAl with 3 leafs

-Eibach whatevers rear shocks, need to go extended later

-Wheelers Superbump bump stop with the U-bolt flip kit

 

2nd Gen HC Rear Bumper! (in-progress)
will be selling CAD drawings of each plate, stay tuned!

here is the current CAD model of the wraparound bumper, can easily be modified to a non-wrap around if that tickles your fancy.

still working on the overall shape, need to add recovery points, cutouts for LED lights, and need to find some low-pro license plate lights




this was a test cut, once the wraparound bumper is coming together, the fenders will actually be cut higher up, in line with the bottom of the taillight like these 'coma pals

 

HC Bumper Progress

Since we will be providing the CAD schematic for sale for that DIY welder that wants a fun project, we are working through a few iterations to get things correct. Here is the current version tacked up. Still need to figure out a solid support for the side wrap arounds. More to come...

Plates should be CNC plasma cut (or Laser or Waterjet) and are all flat plates with no bending required

 

Reserved

 

Reserved

 

Sweet, lookin good so far! I'll definitely be watching your progress on that bumper!

 

Repainted the old 4Runner wheels, it’s been like 8 years since my original black paint job. went with a more metallic grey since I’m thinking I will get something this color when I get nice wheels.

Was thinking I wouldn’t have enough paint for all of them but I ended up using a little more than half of a can for 2 medium coats on all 4. Didn’t sand shit, no primer and barely masked the tire

make sure you warm up your paint, ESPECIALLY in winter but recommended in summer to ensure proper emulsification.



old vs new

 

Cowl intake mod

The cowl intake mod is a great option for those that hate the look of the a snorkel and also if you have removed the fender liners like I did since I’ll be going 35’s. I followed this thread but did it a little different. The aluminum pipe tends to rattle loudly from what I’ve heard and this specifically calls for a 3-1/4” hole saw but I used a 3-1/2” since they are easier to come by. This is what I bought...

• 4” to 3” reducer/elbow here
• 4” t-bolt clamp here
• 3” OD aluminum coupler
  $15 Autobahn88 Aluminum Alloy Hose Joiner Pipe, OD=3" (76mm), L 3" (76mm), Glossy Polished, Includes 2 G-Clamps
  here (I didn’t use those included hose clamps as I went for the t-bolt clamp style for extra fancyness, but those hose clamps will work fine)
• 3” ID silicone hose here
• 2X of the 3” t-bolt clamps here
• Rubber edge trim for the hole, I just had some leftover from another project but you can find it easily

 

Air compressor-

$164 Smittybilt 2781 Smittybilt 5.65 CFM Air Compressor - 2781

Smittybilt 2781

Since the cowl intake cleared up so much space under my hood, I went ahead and mounted my Smittybilt 2781 compressor on the passenger wheel well. I used their stock bottom plate and just drilled holes and bolted ‘er in. Now this unit is designed as a standalone unit with alligator clips but there are rubber isolators mounted between the compressor and plate and I don’t plan on jumping my truck so I’m thinking the unit will be fine under the hood.

Since this unit has a switch, relay, and circuit breaker mounted on the compressor unit, I just cut the alligator clips and wired it directly to the battery with no additional fuse/breaker. I confirmed this will be fine with a friend who is an Electrical Engineer. But we will see once I start using it regularly

Im thinking about making a sturdy mount for the air hose, but I might not care. I do want to cut all the stock air connectors off though, they come in some Japanese spec size so I’d like to swap them to standard connectors so I’m not limited by what I can hook up.

 

SLIDERS! - from Cali Raised LED (the trail editions)

CRL has two styles of sliders, a trail edition which I super low-pro and has a 25 degree upturn, and a step style that comes out flat and sticks out further to use as a step also. Both of these are available in bolt on or weld on. This shop also currently has the most reasonable lead times right now, I think I got mine in 2.5 weeks.

I went with the trail editions and they're so sleek, but I would have liked something that stuck out just a little more to use as a small step, like the ones on my 1st gen. But I enjoy the look and off-road benefits of these low-pro ones

I opted for spray paint since I know I will have to touch them up later. Wire wheeled the shit outta them, then primed/painted and my buddy welded em up.

 

RAM mounts for iPad and phone // Volt meter and dual USB charger // JessicaAlba Knobs

I got the idea for the RAM mounts from an old yota friend, @Ripcord. He, like I, has access to 3D printers so i CAD'ed up some mounts copying him. Check out his post here since it has more details than i care to include, and check out the rest of his build thread, very . These are so i can mount my iPad to use backcountry maps, and eventually my phone for hands free. I have the iPad Air which is giant and heavy so these mounts might have to be made out of an aluminum chunk but for ~$4 worth of printing material, its worth trying em out.

Another idea i took from a local taco guy is a volt meter and USB charger. The version i bought just pops into the 12V accessory plug but @deekyn originally had one that replaces the accessory plug, but according to his build thread, it seemed like a PITA so didnt go that route. This thing is great since it has both the USB type A and type C and charges pretty fast, this is the unit I bought...

$17 [Pure Copper] USB C Car Charger, SUPERONE 45W Dual USB Car Charger Adapter with 27W/20W PD Port, Fast QC3.0 LED Voltmeter for iPhone 15 14 13 Max/Pro/Plus/Mini, Pixel 7/6/5, Samsung S22/21 More

https://www.amazon.com/Charger-SUPE...voltmeter&qid=1615765742&s=automotive&sr=1-13

The most popular and cheapest mod for the 2nd gen are replacing the A/C control knobs. For $10 they feel great and look much better than the stock ones, and i think its hilarious that the brand is JessicaAlba....

$10 JessicaAlba Set of 3 - Control Knobs Dials Heater A/C or Fan for Toyota Tacoma

https://www.amazon.com/JessicaAlba-...ords=jessica+alba+knobs&qid=1615765956&sr=8-1

 

I've got one of those RAM mounts, but aluminum, on the driver side to hold my phone it works really well. I bought another set so I could install it on the passenger side but haven't gotten around to it. You're welcome to check out the difference next time we get together.

 

Yeah it would be great to pop my heavy ass iPad on yours and feel the difference