First Post! Question about Prioritizing Mods on a Brand New Tacoma

Hi TW,

I own a brand new 2021 TRD offroad Tacoma. I've thrown about 9k miles since I picked it up in February. I've taken her all over Arizona and SoCal so far.

The only real "upgrade" I've done is a rear bumper.

I'm ready to purchase a roof rack and sliders (I really like C4 for both), but a friend is telling me to get a lift and suspensions instead (2.5 adjustable Kings in particular).

I'm currently riding on Falken ATW3 265/75/16. I'm still not sure if I want to throw 33's with all the fender work and upgrades needed to run with 33s. 265/75/16 has been very capable in some pretty steep and gnarly terrains so far. My stock shocks are bang average Bilsteins.

Should I save my money and get Kings or should I stick to sliders and a roof rack first?

 

Welcome to TacomaWorld
Keep it stock
Roof rack and sliders

 

All I can tell you is that it's a very slippery slope. Tires and sliders are very functional upgrades, the rest is really dependent on your use-case.

 

Welcome to TW!

 

Honestly it all depends where you plan to go and what you plan on using the truck for. When I started out roughly 2 years ago, I did the same tire upgrade that you have, followed by rear bumper delete (tired of hanging the hitch in cross-ditches lol) went with the bedrack & rtt afterwards since it's what we wanted to use the truck mainly for in the first place. Quickly upgraded the foglights since our PNW weather in Canada is really iffy with fog, rain, snow.
Roof rack was shortly after to load our kayaks. We used the little pool noodles or kayak pads but they were always flying off on the hwy. We pushed the truck to what the oem suspension could take within reasons and slowly started to save up for a full overhaul. Pull the trigger on extended Kings 2.5 w/resi & DirtKing UCA for the front and Icon RXT (lvl3) Kings 2.5x12'', Archive Garage almost everything, so on so forth. Buy once, cry once.
Since then i've added and changed a lot more.

But really it's all up to you, is it a "need" or "want"? Let's be honest the list never stops growing regardless lol. Over the winter I plan on doing front bumper & sliders.

 

Thank you Sir! I think I'm just going to save up for suspension and lift, then get sliders ASAP. Cheers!

 

I have 33” with 2.5 lift bilstien. So no cutting or rubbing. Why do ppl keep saying that you have to cut?

 

Questions for you to consider.....

Has the truck been able to do anything you like?
Doing the mods for function or appearance or bro brag?
Will the mods impact your new vehicle warranty?

 

I did sliders and roof rack first. Then real skids. THEN some 32inch bfg at's. Its your truck and money. Opinions are like assholes remember, everyone has them and they all stink. You cant go wrong with your initial choice. And fyi, King shocks arent your only option.

 

I am in the same taco boat, figuring out what I should get first. Purchased the truck last month, did the factory TRD lift kit and now looking at tires. But I am sure I will be looking for some sliders and some new skid plates

 

The stock skids are better than nothing. But that gas tank skid is a joke. A plastic lunch tray from a cafeteria is just as protective. Caliraised just released skid plates, and do not have 8 month lead times. I got mine in weeks, and they are just as heavy as others.

 

Just checked out the video on the Caliraised skids. Getting the gas tank skid pronto. Thanks for the info, new to the Taco world and got my first taco about a month ago

 

Its an easy install, but 2 floor jacks helps. The bolts on the tank straps you use aren't straight, so it requires some wiggling, but it works.

 

This is what happens when n00bs like myself follow what everyone else says. I don't have a lift so perhaps that could be it? If a lift is all it takes to fit 33s without chopping the fenders and front bumper, then I'm sold on 33s.

Solid points. While I'm not EXACTLY sure which direction I want to take the truck (prerunner or crawler), I don't think suspension and lift will void warranty. I recently purchased a switch panel and have been told electrical mods will definitely void warranty. Apparently if you remove your modded wires prior to your dealership check-ins, you'll be good (again, I'm just parroting info I've been told/ read.

In short, the truck does what I want it to do (baby crawls, trips to the mountains, desert runs, 2 night camping trips, etc. I get hyped when I see gnarly crawls on youtube (4wd247 in particular), but I'm contemplating buying an old truck for a build project.

 

Verify with your dealer about mods impacting your warranty.

Many times what you hear or read is not accurate.

 

I recently banged up my stock skids on a rock garden crawl and it's pretty worn out now. I'm considering alloy for weight but need to consider constant replacements. Are Caliraised steel?
I'm also considering full armor for the type of crawls I'd like to get into.

 

First mod would be rear diff breather. Then sliders. Window tint. window visors, door guards, dashcam, shell, front and rear bumper, lift, wheels, tires, suspension.

all depends what youre into

 

I don't even know what a rear diff breather is

I'll be getting back to you with some questions after I do some research on that.

Solid points on everything else - thankfully I drove off the truck with tints and door guards. The rest is definitely on the list!

 

I think it's valuable to 1) be realistic about what you will be doing with the truck and 2) identify and prioritize mods that will make it better at #1.

In my case, my truck is not my daily. It is basically a toy for camping, now at further and further distances, with forest service roads being about as gnarly as I care to off-road alone, 2000 miles from home.

My priorities are comfort, longevity and a moderate boost in off-road ability/survivability, all these things carried out with low weight as a theme.

I would think very hard about anything that does not plainly meet your priorities.

 

Are you planning on the complete skid collection from caliraised? and yes it is 'Crafted from American 3/16 Steel' I am considering front and fuel tank skid right now.