Irresponsible 3rd Gen Build - Super White Tacoma

After about a year and a half lurking on this forum I think it's finally time to show what I've been working on. I moved to the Tacoma after having a Jeep Grand Cherokee Ecodiesel. Even though my truck has been an endless money pit, I've learned a ton from Tacomaworld, done most of the modifications myself, and enjoyed every second driving it.

As mentioned, I am a college student and will be going to vet school soon but I frequently need to do truck stuff such as towing and hauling tools/materials to some side jobs. I also wanted a vehicle that I felt confident off-roading alone in. Since I'm only doing day trips in the moment I've been able to keep my truck pretty lightweight making it a decent daily driver. All of these things have factored into the modifications I've chosen to do.


I'm going to try to break down my build in categories in chronological order and I'll be including photos what most things cost for the heck of it. So here we go:

• • 1/30/21 | Purchased 2021 Toyota Tacoma DCSB TRD Off Road 4x4 in Super White ~$45000
    • It took about 3 months for me to find this truck at a decent price for the time. I wanted a pretty specific configuration which didn't help. However, it ended up being the exact truck I wanted because it had the premium package and LED headlights.

• Accessories
  • 9/10/21 | Installed AFE Dry Air Filter $85
    
  • 9/24/21 | Installed MESO Customs Gasshole $25
  • 11/15/21 | Installed Bay Area Metal Fab Bed Rail Mounts with Quick Fists to mount shovel $60
  • 11/22/21 | Installed MESO Customs extended interior fuse box cover $16
  • 12/8/21 | Installed Scosche Magnetic Dash Mount $25
  • 1/1/22 | Installed REK GEN mudflaps front & rear $96
    • I removed the stock mudflaps when I had 265/75r16s because they were rubbing but when I went to 255/85r16, they were kicking up a lot of debris. With a little bit of cutting, molding, and a good alignment I was able to fit these mudflaps without any issues.

• Off-roading
  • 5/20/21 | Installed ARB single compressor and remote hose coupling on DIY bracket (relay wired to Switch Pros) $350
    • I made a mount out of sheet steel to fit the compressor between the airbox and firewall on the passenger side of the engine bay. It fit really well, I might have even been able to fit a dual compressor. I also bought a short stainless hose and remote coupling kit from ARB so I could plumb an air connection to the front passenger side wheel well for easy access. With the ARB air up kit I'm able to reach all four corners of my truck and even another vehicle parked close enough if needed.
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  • 11/7/21 | Installed Total Chaos Bed Stiffeners $180
    • I bought these mainly so I'd have a place to mount a cell signal booster. After having the booster for a couple weeks though I decided it wasn't worth the money and I went a different route. However, I kept the stiffeners and found that they've been really useful as a tie down point.
  • 12/26/21 | Installed OEM TRD Skid Plate $350
    • I contemplated on skid plates for a long time and decided that the TRD skid would be enough for what I typically get myself into off road.
  • 6/3/22 | Installed BAMF Bolt-on Rock Sliders $1030
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• Drivetrain
  • 12/22/21 | Revolution 5.29 Gears and CV Axle Bushing by Premier West Gears $1,935
    • I did a lot of research and asked several different people after finally deciding to regear and get 5.29s. What really pushed me over the edge was getting 255/85r16s and having the transmission constantly shift on flat stretches of highway. I was lucky that Premier West was close to me since most off road shops I asked said they would've charge almost double the price and kept my truck for 1-2 weeks.

• Lighting & Electrical
  • 2/10/21 | Installed Baja Designs Squadron SAE Amber Fog Pocket Light Kit $387
  • 4/8/21 | Installed Switch Pros
    $659 SP-9100 8-Switch Panel Power System With Concealed Mounting Hardware
    SP-9100 on SDHQ mount with Blue Sea Systems Ground Busbar $595
    • This has made wiring my lights and accessories much easier and I think it was well worth the price. I slightly modified the SDHQ mount so I could add a ground busbar. I mounted the switch panel on the headliner between the sunroof and map lights. This was the sketchiest part since I was making holes in the headliner of my new truck. I included photos of how I connected my trigger wires to the fuse panel if anyone needs it.
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  • 4/8/21 | Installed Baja Designs Squadron Sport White Driving Combo Lights on SDHQ A-Pillar Light Mounts $327
  • 6/17/21 | Installed MESO Customs Ultimate Dome and Map Lights $78
  • 6/17/21 | Replaced ditch light lenses with Baja Designs Squadron Wide Cornering Amber Lenses $30
  • 7/11/21 | Installed 6 KC Hilities Cyclone rock lights $200 (wired to Switch Pros)
    • I mounted 2 in front of the front wheels, 2 on the rocker panels in the middle of the truck, and 2 behind the rear wheels. They have a pretty even spread however I'd consider mounting additional lights in each wheel well or another pair on the rocker panels.
  • 7/11/21 | Installed 2 Baja Designs S1 Flush Mount Work/Scene lights in rear bumper (wired to Switch Pros) $200
    • These fit really well below the sensors in the rear bumper and help a lot when backing up at night or when I need extra lighting. If I had mounted them a hair lower I could've avoided cutting the bumper reinforcement behind the lights.
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  • 7/11/21 | DIY wiring harness for rock lights and reverse lights $30
    • I did both of these at the same time so I could make one harness to go from my Switch Pros in the front all the way to the rear. The rock lights are wired in parallel and controlled separately from the reverse lights. The reverse lights are triggered by the Switch Pros automatically when I shift in reverse.
  • 8/17/21 | Installed 2 Baja Designs LP9 Pro (wired to Switch Pros) $1000; DIY wiring harness and behind the grill bracket for LP9s $80
    • The LP9s are definitely overkill for what I do but they're great to have. I decided to mount them behind the grill to have a more minimalist look. With the stock TRD Off-road grill there aren't any shadows and the light output isn't diminished very much. I think the only benefit of the LP9s that I'm missing out on is the peripheral lighting but my ditch lights make up for that. The amber backlights are triggered by the Switch Pros with my headlights which act as my version of raptor lights.
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  • 9/14/21 | Installed Garmin Dash Cam Mini with Parking Mode Cable $160
  • 9/24/21 | Installed MESO Customs V5 Switchback Mirror Turn Signals $175
  • 11/8/21 | Replaced DIY LP9 bracket with Bay Area Metal Fab Behind the Grill Light Bar Bracket $80
    • I originally had the LP9s mounted on bracket I made out of angle iron but I noticed that my light beam vibrated a lot on rough trails. The BAMF bracket was definitely beefier and solved this problem. However, I had to mess around with the horns in order to fit the everything in front of the radiator.
  • 12/12/21 | Installed OEM TRD Pro Tail Light Housings $250
  • 12/24/21 | Installed MESO Customs Stage 1 Total Tail Light Kit $170

• Tuning
  • 4/20/21 | KDMax 6.0 Tune
  • 12/30/21 | Retune with KDMax Pro for 33" tires and 5.29 gears

• Suspension
  • 6/6/21 | Installed Fox 2.0 Performance Series Coilovers
    $480 985-02-002 Fox Shox Fox Racing 98502002 Shock Absorber
    985-02-002, drivers side turned up 6 turns and passenger side turned up 3 turns, about 2 inches of lift $821; Installed Camburg X-Joint UCA with new OEM frame bolts $708; Installed Fox 2.0 Performance Series Rear Shocks w/ Remote Resovoir and CD Adjusters 985-26-117 $684; Installed Fox Roost Shield on left rear shock 803-02-052 $38; Installed All-Pro Off Road 3 spring Add-a-leaf kit $217
    • I really wanted King's but I settled for this setup at the time. I definitely can't complain as it was very formidable and a big step up from the stock suspension.
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  • 6/6/21 | Front end alignment $80
  • 7/20/21 | Removed 1 add-a-leaf spring and re-installed OEM overload spring
  • 8/13/21 | Re-aligned front end $60
    • I learned that messing with the height in the rear could change the alignment in the front.
  • 12/13/21 | Installed Wheeler's Off Road Superbumbs Front & Rear with U-Bolt Flip Kit $340
  • 12/30/21 | Re-aligned front end $100
    • This solved the rubbing I was having in the front passenger wheel well after I got 255/85r16s and I was able to fit my mudflaps.
  • 3/21/22 | Welded on Marlin Crawler LCA Frame Brace $155 and DRT Fabrication spindle gussets $106
    • After sending it a little too hard while off-roading I knocked my truck out of alignment and that was when I learned about the weak factory LCA cam tabs and spindles. I figured out I wanted to get them gusseted but the off-road shops were pretty pricey. For about the same amount of money I bought myself a MIG welding setup and after some practice this was my first welding project.
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  • 3/21/22 | Installed King Coilovers Extended Travel 25001-119-EXT, drivers side adjusted 2 turns up $1,655
    • I wasn't planning on upgrading my shocks again but then I found these in stock. I convinced myself to buy them since I was already gonna have the front end apart to weld the gussets and I'd have to get an alignment after.
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  • 3/23/22 | Re-aligned front end $80

• Wheels & Tires
  • 4/20/21 Installed Fifteen52 Turbomac HD Classic 16x8 Wheels & Goodyear Ultraterrain AT tires in 265/75r16 from America's Tire $1,813
  • 11/17/21 Exchanged tires with Cooper ST Maxx in 255/85r16 $550
    • The Goodyears were great at first but soon after my first rotation and balance at 5k miles I began to get some vibrations through the steering wheel at highway speeds. Then I had them balanced again and it was fine until a couple weeks later when the issue came back. This happened at least four more times until I was able to get America's Tire to swap them out with the Coopers. I've had the ST Maxxs for about 7k miles with no issues and they've been excellent on and off road.
  • 1/1/22 Replaced lug nuts with black lug nuts $60
    • This was purely for looks because the shop didn't have black lug nuts when I bought the wheels.
• What's next?
  • BAMF rear shock relocate with King 2.0x12 remote reservoir shocks w/ adjusters
  • BAMF HD shackle hangers and shackles
  • Deaver U402 Stage 1 Leaf Springs

 

Reserved for adventures

 

Love the progress and amount of detail man! I’m looking to go down the rabbit hole of lifting my taco, but I cannot go higher than 2-3” max (work parking garage height limit).

Above when you had the fox setup did you mean 2” lift all around or just for the front?
Can you compare your experience with your fox setup vs your kings?

fwiw I’m stock height with sliders, skids, bedrack RTT etc.

 

Your truck looks great man!

With my first setup, I got about 2” of lift in the front with the Fox 2.0 coilovers. The add a leaf in the rear got me about 1.5” of lift.

You’ll be able to dial in the ride height of any higher end coilover for your setup. But from what I understand, you may want to consider different spring rates for your coilovers because of the added weight on your rig. For the rear, a whole new leaf pack may be a better way to go for the same reason. For example, Icon RXTs allow you to add and remove leafs depending on your desired ride height and added weight.

My first setup with the Fox 2.0s was a great improvement over the stock shocks. I noticed that the ride quality on and off road was definitely smoother and more controlled. However, the rear is stiffer than the front which I’m assuming is the limitation of how I have my leaf pack set up. Going to the Kings, I noticed that bumps and potholes are even less jarring than with the Foxs. I haven’t taken them off roading yet but I’d assume they’d handle better there as well. One of the reasons I decided to switch to the Kings in the front is that they have more travel than the Foxs. In the summer I’ll probably be doing the shock relocate in the rear and mounting Kings and a Deaver U402 leaf pack.

 

Updated with photos of Switch Pros panel, flush mount reverse lights and BAMF rock sliders