$15k Buildup Recommendations for Security Contract

Good Evening,

Finally found time to sit down and write this up! I hope I'm posting this in the right spot... I see other sub-forums that are more specific but I don't know how much traffic they see. The company I work for is interested in placing a bid on a private security contract to provide 4 off-road capable vehicles. We haven't yet made final selection on the base vehicle, but I'm a fan of Toyota and want to spec something out to present to the team I'm on. I used to own an old Tacoma back in college (so I may be a bit biased!), and am aware they continue to have a good reputation for capability and durability off-road, wich is definitely the vibe I'm seeig here on this forum. I also read that some Tacomas have been purchased for use in the middle east in support of military missions, so this is the vehicle I want to pitch! A family friend has one and he pointed me to this website as a good resource, so here I am to ask for your advice and wisdom.

Fortunately, it looks like the security company already has their own source for actual armor and protection upgrades (windows, plates in the doors, etc.), so we only need to focus on offroad performance and durability.

Everything is obviously still on-paper at this point, and we're supposed to make a final decision by May 15th. One of my coworkers is looking at the Chevy Colorado, and another is researching the Chevy Tahoe for an SUV option (I believe U.S. Border Patrol uses these vehcles). We had talked about diesel for a short bit but there don't seem to be that many diesel options in the light-truck category (?).

I've already worked a tentative quote with a local dealer on the 4x4 "TRD Off-Road" (which I presume is a good place to start?) for approximately $135,000 for 4 trucks, but we may try to shop around for a better price or work through corporate sales (?) -- not sure yet. My boss wants to keep the project under 200K for everything to ensure we're competitive on the contract bid, so that leaves about $15K available for each truck for upgrades and modification.

I must admit that I'm not a big off-roader and so I don't know a lot about what would make a good/great off-road vehicle... hence my post. I did spend a few hours going through the forums here and have taken a few notes, but there also seems to be a lot of different opinions.

So the question I would like to openly pose to the community is: If I needed to spec and modify a Tacoma to be the best, most capable, most reliable, most bad-ass truck it could be, and you had $15K to spend per truck (ignoring labor costs; a different team will handle that bit of the budget), what would you buy?

I have questions but I don't want to prematurely steer the discussion too much at the moment -- I imagine there is an order of precedence to some of these things (i.e. do you select a type & size of tire based on the suspension, or do you select a suspension based on the type & size of tire you want?)

Here a couple of requirements as described in the contract listing (paraphased):

• must be capable of clearing obstacles 18 inches high
• must be capable of fording 3 feet of water
• must be capable of 300 miles range on open & improved roads
• must be capable of 100 miles range on rough terrain
• must meet all federal emmissions requirements
• must not be equipped with any modifications that prevent or inhibit routine maintenance

The contract listing doesn't really specify a type of terrain (mountainous, desert, etc) -- I sent them a question about it but haven't heard back yet. The rest of the contract is quite long but most of it is just contractual overhead -- what I wrote above are the 'big' requirements that I see... so it looks fairly wide open in terms of what the bids can look like.

I hope nobody minds me doing this -- I figure this is my greatest chance of finding good advice on this endeavour. Thank you so much for any assistance you can provide!

-Dan

 

$7500 or less for the suspension wheels and tires, the rest is play-money.
Range isn't a problem, those requirements can be met stock, although after modding maybe look into larger fuel tank?
I guess spend the rest of the money on armour!

Good luck on your quest, I'm sure you'll get lots of great advice here. Now to let someone more knowledgeable chime in...

 

Contact SOS Concepts for their "Zombie Kit" which is a great deal on a package deal for front and rear bumpers, and rock sliders. He can add skids too. That will cover the armor.

 

SAS ftw that is all.

 

Upgrade suspension to midtravel with heavy springs front and rear to compensate for weight of body armor and rock armor.
Snorkel for intake
Front, transfer case, transmission, gas tank and rear diff skids to protect vitals
Oversize tires
Probably regear differentials for added weight and over size tires
Front and rear locking differentials
Front and rear aftermarket plate bumpers for protection and recovery options
Winch
Steel brake lines
This would be a good solid set up. I'm sure others could add or subtract. My two cents worth. I would get with one of the fabricators on here who has done customs trucks before who could look at the whole picture of what would be needed and could guide you in what options for you would need and want.

 

Are you going to be able to fit 4 of these with modifications needed in the OP's budget?

 

Tundra or F-150

 

Armored as in bullet resistant? 3ft of water? Drive over an 18" obstacle? The military already developed a vehicle for this, it's called a Humvee. Surplus ones can be bought for 10k. Not sure about the emissions requirements.

Maybe a Ram 2500 with the AEV suspension and snorkel.

Sounds like you need to send them an RFI.

 

Thanks! If I need to be concerned about range after some of the upgrades, would it be a replacement fuel tank or a second auxillary tank?

 

I will take a look! Appreciate the tip.

 

We had briefly talked about jeeps but were concerned about cargo space (hence our primary focus on light trucks).

 

Thanks for the tip! We hadn't really looked at that one. I'll shoot an email to one of my coworkers.

 

I had to google what "SAS" was -- solid axle suspension?
Looks like a lot of the pictures that come up are of some pretty extreme rock climbing type stuff. I presume it would still be OK for normal off-road use, but perhaps overkill? Is it really pricey?

 

Alright -- thanks for the tip! My thinking was that all the wisdom resided with the enthusiasts
Can you recommend any particuar companies? Like SOS Concepts that somebody else mentioned?
Thanks!

 

Thanks! I'm going to have to research some of these. That's quite a list -- all achievable for about $15K?
I'm not sure who those guys (fabricators) would be -- anybody in particuar I should reach out to?

 

Very interesting! I will look into the Ram. Thanks.

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/bumpers-2nd-gens-only.164975/

Here is a link to bumpers but some of the fabricators in the link above also do the skid plates and stuff also

 

The specs on the protection aspect aren't written in the contract listing, so I don't know exactly how beefy they want to make them at that point.
With regard to the Humvee, everybody got the sense that the contractor is wanting to stay clear of actual military hardware (at least with regard to appearance). The request (as we read it) is for a standad looking vehicle that will blend in better.

Several other folks have mentioned the Ram, so I'll bring it up tomorrow at work and start looking at that option. Thanks!

 

Be sure to ask your question at the expeditonportal forums. There are people there who have been prepping, and driving, their vehicles all over the world in all kinds of terrain and conditions for years. Decades in some cases. Take advantage of their real world experience.

 

Thanks! I'm shocked with the number of responses. Very friendly community.
Sorry, good question -- I should have written it into my main post -- 4 passengers is the requirement, so we were looking at crew cab / double cab type vehicles.

There was no requirement listed for payload or cargo weight would be required, but we have figured trucks are a good place to start researching since they are built for durability. We wanted to offer something with cargo room, so are not looking at things like Jeeps because there's not a lot of space. An open bed isn't explicitly required (one guy is looking at a Tahoe SUV), but I personally feel there is a certain appeal and simplicity to a truck. Throwing things in the back is nice and easy!

No size or weight restriction listed from what I can see. I know there are some larger chassis out there (several have already recommended the Ram), but we hadn't initially looked too seriously at them with the thinking that smaller/lighter would be more agile. Sounds like we need to look at some bigger trucks based on some of the recommendations so far, though.