New member, new truck, new cap, etc

Have been looking at Tacoma's for years, but never had the justification to get one (too many cars in the driveway with a kid in college, and a free company car). A job change , losing the company car, and selling my Acura TL finally opened the door, and I picked up a 2011 Red SR5 Vr towing package Tacoma with 27K miles just coming off from lease. I ordered my ARE MX topper with windoors, fold down front slider, and carpeted interior last week, and just ordered some dark smoke ERG window deflectors from JC Whitney today.

The truck came with General Grabber tires, but I plan on swapping in some Bridgestone Blizzaks for the winter. I was toying with the idea of getting some Goodyear Durotracs or Wranglers instead, but I live among some steep, hills, and my town seldom sands or salts (or plows) so I have ice to contend with. I understand the Blizzaks are better for this. (Also picked up a couple hundred pounds of sand just in case...which I likely wont need now that I ordered the cap).

I am looking for a set of TRD Beadlock rims, vs the stock rims on the truck, and have been researching TPMS cloning on this forum to setup a second set of wheels ( I still need to check with some local dealers and see if they will clone the ezsensor schraders before I pull the trigger.) This year, I will probably just swap wheels on the rims I have. I like the look of darker rims against the red truck. The beadlocks are stupid pricey, so I may settle for some alternative aftermarket option (Mickey Thompson has some pretty reasonable black rims with a chrome outer ring.)

I have been brainstorming a couple of different designs to ease cap removal, as I anticipate needing to take it off a few times a year. While most videos on line show people using a winch or pulley system inside of a garage, this isnt an option for me (the garage is irreconcilably congested). I have been toying with the idea of mounting rails around the bed which have roller blade wheels facing the inside of the bed. (picture a 1x4 frame around the sides and cab side of the bed, with 6 wheels along each of the side rails.
To remove the cap, I would route a channel in some 2x4's and rig a "prop" inside the truck to lift the cap and rails resting on the wheels, and then roll it off the back onto a stand. This may seem overly complicated, but the area I want to store the cap, just behind the corner of my house, is raised , and so I cant really back under a stand I would put there, but I could park just in front and slide the cap back. I may just sink 4x4's in a different location I can drive under and pull it off the old fashioned way.. levering 2x4's under the cap and hoisting it onto a frame.

I will post pics of the truck once I get the cap on. Right now, it looks like a stock red Tacoma 4x4 DCLB. I have been spending WAY too much time researching cosmetic mods...step bars, grill guard, roof racks, in bed bike racks, diamondback tonneau covers, radio upgrades, speaker upgrades, etc etc.

Its just a road hauling truck, so no off road mods expected...for now, but it is something I expect to hand down to my son or daughter (after I am dead or too blind to drive). There has been some debate about what I should name the truck. My first inclination was tacocat (palindrome)..but this has been met with general disdain amongst friends and family alike, so I thought I would drive it for awhile and get a feel for the personality of the truck before committing. We didnt name my first born daughter until she was home from the hospital for 2 days, either.

This is a long introduction, sorry, but I thought I would get all of this out of the way right off the bat.

Excited to join "the club"

 

Welcome to TW Justin. Congrats on the Tacoma! Post up some pics! Good luck on naming your truck haha!

 

welcome to the family Justin

 

Welcome to TW!