Long-winded. Hoping for comprehensive answers!

Hello everyone! This is going to be long-winded so I am hoping a few will bear with me! I am exhausted with trying to decipher. My name is Billy J and I am a recent new owner of a 2001 Xtracab V6 MT SR5 TRD! Life has been intense these last few months as my pops passed away in September. Spurred me to quit my only job, which I had the past 13 years, working at an outdoor store which specialized in bicycles in the summertime and which switched over to skis and snowboards in the winter time. I have never been a truck guy and know little about it but this past summer decided I needed a truck when I was out in Idaho scraping the hell out of the bottom of my Subaru on an unmaintained FS road. And so I found a way to get exactly what I wanted.

The plan is to build a dirt-bag camper shell and live in and out of it from at least June or so until Fall but likely until the following spring. Will have to see how long I can pull it off. Anyway. Long-story-short I had flown down to GA from WI to pick this truck up. After having it inspected by a local Toyota dealer in GA and assuming it was A-OK. Just to get back to WI and find a gaping hole in the frame. I guess I got lucky based on where the vehicle was originally sold which qualifies me for frame-replacement. I was told the frame would take several weeks to come in but I got a call yesterday (within a week) saying that the frame was in. I have several questions and would GREATLY appreciate any and all help.

I have been attempting to decipher through the forums but am royally confused and now on a bit of a time-crunch. I want to figure out exactly what I want done ASAP so when I take this into Toyota I can have it all done at one time. I figure it would be best to have the lift kit, cap, bumpers, and wheels and tires installed right off the bat so that the alignment is done well when the frame-replacement is completed.

Goals: Building a capable truck-cap camper. I am not planning on camping at RV parks or just 'mall crawling' but I am understanding that 'capable' is an extremely broad term when it comes to trucks. I do not want a rock-crawler. I just want to be able to comfortably drive severely unmaintained FS roads, fire roads, old logging roads, cross the occasional slow stream, etc, without having to worry about not making it. I do not want to be severely limited as far as where I can go.

I want to do this 'right' the first time. I def. have an issue in which I always assume there is a 'right' and 'wrong' way to do things and I know that is not the case. Yet I search for the 'right' answer.

CAP: ARE MX
LIFT: OME COMPLETE WHEELERS OFF-ROAD
F BUMPER: CBI MOAB 1.0 WITH WARN M-8000
R BUMPER: CBI TRAIL RIDER 1.0
WHEELS AND TIRES: TBD

As far as the frame replacement is concerned. I understand it will be a major job and many things will be done simply inherent in the repair. I am also going to have the timing belt and water pump done. Spark plugs and wires. As per the knowledge of a friend I guess I need to have the r axle seals done and fluid in the f diff. He also recommended I do trans fluid right off the bat and a fuel filter. I am guessing the fuel filter will be included with the job?

From the sound of it if there is any other work you need done, it will be either free of labor cost or significantly reduced. Is there anything else I should have done right off the bat? If so, what? I want to go into Toyota and say this is everything I want done. I understand that this, this and this is inherent in the repair. I also want this done...what is it going to cost me?

Lift kit questions. OME full kit. Was recommended, by Wheelers off-road, that given the amount of weight in bumpers and cap I will be putting on that I get the AAL for the dakar leaf pack and do the 883 coils up front. Also recommended was.

10mm enhancer kit? Yes?
proportioning valves? Yes?
coil isolators? Yes?
Sway bar bushings? Yes?
Steering rack bushing kit? Yes?

At one point I was also recommended an E-locker guard?

Wheels and tires. This is without a doubt where I am most confused. I have called this place and that place and seem to be getting nowhere. I want an aggressive tire and have been highly recommended the KM2. I have been thinking wheelers off-road steel wheels. Wheel size? Tire size? Backspacing? Rubbing? Trimming? Rubbing on the calipers? I want to have the wheels and tires be drop in. No spacers. No trimming and pounding required. Just not something I will be comfortable doing. I do not want to go bigger than 33. I have been told that 285/75/16 is kosher and will not rub. I have been told it will. Is 285/75/16 a 33" tire? Will these wheeelers steel wheels work in 15" or 16" with either the 4 inch or the 4.5 inch backspacing? What would you get? I will be loading this thing down. Want to avoid anything beyond minor rubbing. Minor rubbing from time-to-time which will not cause any harm or damage is fine by me.

I hope someone takes the time to read this! Thank you in advance!

 

I read it!
As far as maintenance goes, what mileage is on the truck?

Sounds like you have a plan. I can't speak to everything but i can speak to some aspects of your build. I spent over a month on the road a year ago, drove from winnipeg (central canada) all the way down baja and back camping in the truck.
What i learned from that trip:
Stiff suspension is important. There was lots of mountain driving and a few high speed evasive maneuvers and my shit suspension set up completely failed on me by San Fran. (granted this suspension was installed by the P/O). So the 883/dakar+AAL combo is a good choice.

Tires choices: On my trip i ran 235/85/16 BFG AT's. These tires wear like iron, dont rub (im pretty sure 285's will rub) and I never had a puncture, even driving on shit mexican backroads with way too much psi in tires. So the heavy duty BFG tires will take a beating. As for the KM2 in particular, I cant say, although as my AT's are now wearing below 50% I will be replacing them with 255/85/16 KM2's. I will have them siped though in an attempt to make them at least semi-servicable for winter use.

Finally, and this does not have much to do with your frame replacement, is that camping in the truck bed can become dificult.

Sleeping in the bed.
Pack light, I brought to much peronsal gear and it took up alot of space.
My cooler was too big and i lost a lot of food to melted ice. If i lived out of the truck again I would not do it without a 12v Fridge/freezer mounted in the cab. In the cab because you will want to keep as much of your shit out of the bed as possible. Also the temperature is more stable in the cab.

Roof rack on the cap, Get one, you will need it. I didnt have one and it sucked. Its a great place to store tools and other hard goods that otherwise take up valued sleeping space.

Build yourself a sleeping platform with storage underneath. Again you will need this. Everytime i went to sleep in the bed of my truck i had to unload everything and sometimes this was a security risk (random theft of my shit sitting out) and sometimes it was just a pain.

If you are going for a bigger tire (one that wont fit in the stock spare location) either put it on the roof rack, or ideally on a tire swingout on the bumper.

Conclusion. Have good suspension, sturdy tires (probably dont need the wide 285's for the offroading you are talking about and would be better off with tall and skinny tires like 235 or 255 85/16).
And try to keep as much stuff out of the way of where u will be sleeping so that you dont have to unpack the truck to nap or rack out for the night.

Also get a high-lift jack and learn how to use it for recovery. It will save ur bacon.

 

One thing I'll add.

If you're dropping this much money and "want to do this 'right' the first time" I suggest putting rails on top of your topper and buying a roof top tent. That way you have the storage in your bed and an ideal sleeping platform.

Talk to the guys in the "overland expedition" thread and see what all is involved with the rails, and how to mount them safely, that you would need for the topper and RTT.

 

Talk to baby taco on here since he is living out of the back of his Tacoma. If you want maintenance done then just change oil and do all the fluids and you should be good.

 

A Lot of the "While they are in their" work is dependent on how many miles are on your truck. Things like clutch and rear main seal.