New Tacoma need help

Hello, I'm a broke college student who just bought his brother's 'old' tacoma and could not be happier. It's a 2001 PreRunner TRD Off-Road. Im very new to trucks and really want to learn how to work on it. My brother has left is pretty much stock other than new shocks, a bluetooth system and a new grille and headlights due to an accident. Im excited to get some upgrades for it as I want to go camping with it and drive down to Mexico with it. Im not sure where to start and which upgrades are unnecessary. This will be my daily driver but looking to have some fun camping and light off roading. As of now this is everything I want to have done to it:

Priority

• Hood and fender repair and painted
• Timing belt replacement
• Battery replacement

Build

• Camper shell $300-600

• Black out logos
• Black out chrome bumpers
• Tires: 265/70R16
• Rims: 16x8 inch
• New bilstein front suspension 2.5 inches leveling kit
• Rim spacers
• Rubber floor mats
• Foam tape for liner shell
  
  
  The car now has some minor rust on the left hand side fender due to a little mishap my brothers wife had. Im going to get this fixed and painted first.
  
  As of now, i have gotten a camper shell for the back and I purchased a new fender from a junkyard which Im going have installed as well as the trim restored.
  Picture with the new shell, which I think looks really good if I do say so myself:
  

After that is done, I would like to get new rims and tires. I actually like the stock rims but the back right rim got completely curbed and looks pretty bad. I'd like to get some AT tires and black rims, any recommendations? I think the biggest I can go tire wise is 31 inches but I'd like to get 33s installed once the current ones wear out. How much trimming would I have to do?

Im also looking to get leveling kit in the front just to remove the rake the car has. I think ill leave the back stock since it has new shocks already.

Anyway, I will be updating this thread gradually, Im really excited to see what you guys have to say and any tips or recommendations. Thanks for reading!

 

Honestly, LBJ supersedes all other upgrades. I would swap that out while changing the wp/tb

 

Priority list before going to Mexico:
Hidden kill switch.
Good tires (Don’t worry about new rims, spend your money on good tires).
Shovel and traction boards (Two wheel drives will probably also need a tow strap)
Battery jumper pack (If you get cables, you probably won’t be able to use them because locals may not have a car or will typically jump cars by pulling the batteries out of their own and temporarily swapping them).
Surfboard rack (or kayak)
Refrigerator, tall enough for Cerveza 12pk
Box of small goodies for friendly “bribery” at checkpoints and for local gifts (slim Jim’s, jerky, chips, other salty snacks, etc.)
Extra fuel container with mount.
Music, lots of it

have fun!

 

I’d save your money for repairs. It is a 23(24?) year old truck.

 

I didn't know there was a TRD OR PreRunner.... huh.
Nice looking rig, congrats!
+1 on the kill switch.
I'd focus on safety/reliability first. Oil, flush brake fluid, trans fluid.
Other stuff probably depends on what you intend to do in Mexico. Camp off the grid? Park in a motel parking lot? I don't think you need fuel cans and tow straps if you're touring on-road. Off-grid, you might want a battery with a solar panel or even a small generator.
Should be fun regardless. Post pics!

 

I have a 2002 pre-runner

1) I took the flares off the truck
2) Painted with spray paint “colour match Toyota black”
3) Then sprayed them with a clear top coat
4) let dry and re-applied the flares with plastic pop screws from princes auto

 

I also grabbed the “weather tech floor mats”. A couple of hundred dollars, but well worth it.

 

My spacers for my tires I got on eBay. Shipping was expensive.

It you have a “princess auto” nearby by, that would be your best price.

I used 3” spaces and 17” tires to get a boast in height in my truck.

BEFORE

AFTER

 

Installed security system and debadged the entire truck, but kept the TRD decals, painted the front and rear bumpers, and installed fender flares I had painted at a local pro shop to color match the truck.

 

Depending on the maintenance history, look at post #2 and post #5. Make a priority of changing all the fluids, including the brake fluid. If the ball joints haven't been done recently then make them #1. Just google 1st gen Tacoma ball joint failure, and you'll understand. when was the last time the spark plugs were changed. I'd make sure the truck was absolutely mechanically sound before you head to Mexico. A Breakdown there would not be a good thing.
if you need to change the ball joints, don't go cheap. buy only Toyota ball joints, in the long run you'll be glad you did.

 

Big wish list for a “broke college student”…..I’d forego the paint and “looks” and focus on the mechanical aspect of the truck and making sure its road ready and reliable

 

Pleas please please don't do the "black out"

 

What happened to the weatherstripping?

 

Weatherstripping went like that after I sprayed known rust proofing on it

 

Do you have the service records for it?