Where Have You Off-Roaded Today? 3rd Gen

Quick question...I have a 22 TRD Sport. I like to take my family off the grid for camping mostly and do moderate off-roading. How much of a difference is there between the OEM suspension in the Sport vs say OEM Off Road suspension or Bilstein? Is it something I absolutely MUST upgrade, or is it just a comfort thing? Any insight is appreciated.

 

OR susp is way comfier(softer) than sport susp esp while off road. MUST upgrade = no

 

I have a 2018 Sport. Before the lift, it was soft and rode like and SUV passenger vehicle. The OR suspension is a little stiffer ride, and more truck like than SUV.

I have Bilstein's 5100 all around and heavy springs and leaf's. Depending on your definition of "moderate", I would at least upgrade the shocks. It's capable stock, but it's better with the suspension / lift. Are you talking fire roads or trails?

First time out was stock and the truck did well. I kept up with two other stock trucks and some modified as well. Second time out was with the lift.

If your not planning on bumpers and bed caps and such, you probably won't need the heavy springs / coils. I did a front bumper & winch and had a RTT, so I went heavy. My rear leaf's were flat, so those were getting replaced either way. Look at Headstrong Off-road. Good resources and help, and if you decide to buy there, complete set ups are available. I would recommend getting the extended travel 5100's for the rear. I didn't and had one leak.

PM me if you want. I also have a build page linked below.

 

No need to upgrade.

i have been at this for 40 years, and the Taco is my 4th 4x4.

About 500 solo remote trips throughout BC. None of my trucks were ever lifted.

All had slightly better than OEM shocks installed, and better tires. Better as in more durable, in my case load E as I find them to be more puncture resistant.

I am on bad pothole roads, washboard roads, and even ATV trails on many occassions. A lot of scary roads as well.

I do it for the love of remote nature, and nothing to do with testing my trucks limits. I let the rock crawler guys take care of that side of things.

Picture shows my typical type of trail this spring and summer. Single track, mud, boulders, water holes, etc.

Do go prepared. Spare food, water, emergency gear (tire repair kit, axe, shovel, saw, etc) and first aid, and some recovery gear and recovery plan if you go alone.

I am retired and never tire of what nature has to offer. 4x4s can be fun, but for me they are just a means to get out and enjoy nature. The 4x4 stuff is secondary to that. Have fun!

 

Just did a little casual off pavement driving around New River, AZ and then up around Table Mesa East and West. My Father In Law hasn't ever been off road except for when he was in the Military so he was always "working" when he was off road - never for the pleasure of it. Drove him around and showed him what lies off the paved roads.

I LOVE how the Taco handles the terrain. Super cushy. However I was a little surprised at how much dirt got into the bed - even with a bed topper.

 

I think there's a thread for that...

 

These helped me keep the dust out:

$19 ESI Ultimate Tailgate Seal with Taper Seal 6ft for Either The Sidewalls or The Tailgate Bottom

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B019QFCZ7A?ie=UTF8

$36 ESI ROK BLOCK Tailgate Gap Cover 4.25" width

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BPE4AP6?ie=UTF8

Been working well for the last couple of years.

 

“However I was a little surprised at how much dirt got into the bed - even with a bed topper.“

Ok, this gave me a chuckle, I am for sure the opposite.

I have had my Taco for 5 years now. After my 140 or so off road trips, the outside and undercarriage are kept pretty clean after every trip.

However, I have yet to even once run a hose to clean the inside of the pickup bed. Its a bush truck and each trip it gets loaded up with so much crap and critters from these narrow trails, so why bother. The amount of odd looking bugs in the back can be pretty interesting.

Most of it blows out anyway once I hit the highway home, and rain and snow wash the rest out. Whats left over feeds the displaced critters…

 

I am also topper-less, so I couldn't offer much help. Rain and wind do a decent job.

But I know a few guys who camp with a topper, so I get it.

 

First real work for Luna this past weekend, and not really that. Went to cabin in Alta Sierra above Lake Isabella. Saturday afternoon I decided we were taking the logging road, where we normally ride the ATVs, back to the cabin from town. Did put it in 4-H, but probably wasn't really needed. NICE views of the lake.


Down Old Cemetery road to recuse my little brother in his Tundra needed the 4-H, but mostly because so many people go down there and the ruts are pretty hairy.

 

Yeah, everyone uses their truck for different reasons. I used to have a camperette on my old 86 F150. I would always clean the pickup bed nice and shiny before mounting it in the truck.

 

Those last two are almost Squatch-like

 

lol it’s funny you say that, I posted them in my build thread and said that the last one gives me “raptor in the bushes” vibes.

 

Went to Brown Mountain on Saturday, don't have pictures right now since I'm posting from a work PC. Did all of trail 1, some of 8, then accidentally went down 1b and 6 (which were SxS/bike trails)! Ripped off both of the front steps, but damn that was a good time. In unrelated news, now I need a set of sliders. The 4Lo and MTS worked amazingly and all the rocks and uneven terrain was no issue at all. Definitely going back sometime.

 

Yesterday started out real nice, and got in some fishing. Then had to row over a mile like a son of a bitch to get back to shore when an intense thunderstorm rolled in.

Forced to sit inside the truck for over an hour with non stop monstrous thunder cracks right over the truck. Natures boombox. Finally got a 3 minute break to race outside and load up my boat and gear.

Made for some slippy slidy and the storm did not let up for the drive out.

Fishing days…

 

Down and round the Daniel Boone Backcountry Byway in Lee County Kentucky! If you're ever in the area, you got to check out the trails.

https://www.ridethedbbb.org/map

 

SoCal high desert, southeast of Cuddeback Dry Lake, unnamed arroyo

 

You went to the Motorcycle Memorial?