How do I build my truck

Hey fellas, Recently bought a 2023 Tacoma trd off road. Been reading a lot and watching videos but I just don’t know what to do for a lift/ tires. Stock I’m 265/70/16. What should I do ?

 

If you don’t have a reason for doing something, leave it stock. There is no good in changing things just to change them.

 

V8 swap for sure

 

Yeah you may want to first evaluate why you need the lift / what it is you intend to do with your truck.

A truck used for 4-wheeling forest and/or mining roads will need a very different setup than a rig used for rock crawling will need a very different setup than a rig used for blasting through the desert at 50+ MPH.

 

A V8 makes all of these easier

 

OffRoad is already plenty capable right from the factory. Go out and hit some trails, drive it stock for a few months and learn what the limitations are. Then start with what is needed - probably tires first..

 

Happy Friday!

Deciding your lubricant selections should come before any building.

As far as building, when in doubt, don't.

 

Exactly. If you don't know what you need then you don't need anything yet

 

Honestly I’d trade it in for a F-150 Tacomas are underpowered. You really need something with a V8

 

Welcome. Before i got my truck i read & looked & read on here, & went TRD Lift & 265-75-16 the (KISS) approach 60k+ miles & All good.

 

Tailgate theft is a real thing ... Sabellco ($100) or @christian06 on TW ($30) sell one to help prevent the theft of the tailgate. If halogen headlights, change the H11 low-beam bulbs for H9s (remove the green insert is easy ) ... about $30/year.

I live in AZ and do not want to ruin my cloth seats so bought Rough Country neoprene seat covers for $200.

Aside from that, like the others said ... wait for the need before spending the money.

 

6" lift
/thread


Happy Friday!

 

^this^

How you plan to use your truck and how much $$$ you have to spend will determine what if any mods to make. The only thing I would add is getting a tune like an OTT tune is the one thing I think every new Tacoma will benefit from.

 

Lots of great advice above. However, if you want a lift and bigger tires for looks that is okay too

Welcome to TW.

 

I’ve had it for about six months, and I mainly just want to improve the look. The only time I really go off-road is when I go skiing. I live in an area with a lot of snow, I’m not planning on heavy off-roading, it would be nice to do some light trails every now and then.

 

This is a good suggestion also - I went one step further after installing the anti-theft device . . . I drilled the torq bolt heads on the anti-theft device just enough to render the torq wrench useless and then got carried away and put a washer behind the bolt head where the tailgate cable is attached and drilled those bolt heads as well. So even if the robber has a torq wrench they are not getting the tailgate off. OK that is overkill - just butcher the head of one of the anti-theft device torq bolts so if the tailgate does ever have to be removed only one bolt needs to be drilled out.

 

Now that we know you drive in the snow, the very first thing you should do is spray the frame inside and out with Fluid Film, Woolwax, Amsoil HD Metal Protect, Cosmoline, or similar. I prefer Amsoil as it’s a waxy coating but Woolwax is very popular too. The coating tends to be an annual application at least until you have a very good build up. Then, depending on which coating, you may be able to skip a winter. Tacoma frames do rust.

 

The truck comes with a "splash guard" for the engine (IFS ... independent front suspension) ... thin plate that does little on trails. Without going overkill you could get the TRD Pro aluminum IFS skid plate, but if you barely go even into maintained forest roads, even that may be too much to spend.

 

The TRD Off Road is more than capable stock for what you want to do - I think Dudeman has taken a pretty good approach - looks good and will be more than adequate for what you want. So yeah, a TRD lift and some 265/75R16 AT tires that are good in snow. Some folks, including me, are not fans of the TRD lift for any off roading beyond the easy trails and then there is the argument that will send you down a rabbit hole of all the ways you can get a similar but "better" suspension lift for the same $$$. And believe me you don't want to go there, at least not here. Let Toyota do the lift and the 32s will fit with no problems - you will be fine.

Here is how I started out with a bone stock no lift 2022 Off Road (a few cosmetic changes) - 265/75R16, steel engine skid plate and rock sliders (you don't need the armor) - and I hit the trails (some I had no business doing). So sounds like your truck right now can do more than what you are planning off road - you are just going give a little more aggressive off road look.

 

What's the use case? What have you done with previous vehicles that you'd like to do the same or better with this one?

If your truck has the halogen headlamps, a very effective and practical upgrade is to change from the H11 it comes with, to an H9 bulb (please check and adjust the aim) for a significant improvement in low beam performance.

If you want better fog lights we have a huge test thread in the "Lighting" subforum. We also have a huge test thread of different driving lights to pair with your highbeams if you want more light on the road. Lots of excellent data that shows you can have very good performance even without spending tons of money.

Offroad lighting? Lots of opinions here, not as many apples:apples comparison though.

Do you tow or haul frequently/a lot of weight? You can get good suspension improvements with or without much lift. Skys the limit there.

Tires? What have you run, what have you liked/disliked, what sort of weather and terrain do you need them to perform best in?