2011 TACOMA BUILD

My Tacoma build. She is a 2011 Tacoma with roughly 137K on her. My plans are to turn her into a quick weekend getaway vehicle. She will have a roof top tent, DIY built rear pull out kitchen and other cabinets/drawer system. Im looking into putting on a 2" or so lift. Lockers front and back.Front and rear bumpers with a warn winch in the front. New wheels and tires and the list goes on and on.

My first priority is to the mechanical side of the build. I know she needs new front bearings so that's my first project. I found the perfect set of NSK bearing/hubs. Will order those next Friday and should have them in hopefully by the following weekend.

Here are some pictures as she looks now. Needs some TLC.

 

For a 2" to 3" lift do I need longer IFS CV Axles? Trailing arms A arms? I would like to keep everything as much as possible stock but I do need at least a 2" lift after everything else I'm putting on her. Im also putting on an ARB front bumper with a synthetic rope warn winch. Im not sure how much that will drop my front end as well as the rear bumper with tire carrier and 2- 5 gallon fuel cans not to mention the roof top tent and and loaded drawer system in the rear bed. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Looks like I'm gonna go with 4X Innovations rear bumper and swing out tire carrier system.

 

No, you don't need longer CV axles or trailing A arms, front diff drop kit is debatable (theres a thread on this somewhere), new upper control arms (SPC, JBA, etc), heavier springs (700lb?) and an HD leaf pack (Dobinson, OME, etc). I'm sure I'm missing things, but this will get you started

 

If I were you, I'd PM @Crikeymike I was in the same boat. I have an ARB front bumper sitting at my house, decked system, full skids, sliders, etc. I went with the Dobinsons IMS adjustable fronts and Dobinsons HD rear leafs.


Both pics are 255/70, I will run a 255/80 when these wear out.
Went from 125K stock susp, full skids, sliders, decked, and camper shell



To Dobinsons IMS/HD with all the previous stuff listed

 

Is that a Volvo C304 in your driveway?

 

Good eye. Its a Volvo TGB1314. Its the 6x6 Ambulance version. Portal axles and Lockers in each axle. Im currently picking up a Mercedes OM606 Diesel engine and a conversion kit to bolt it to the stock driveline. Crazy thing is its actually shorter than The Tacoma by a few inches.

 

Thank you. It looks really good.

 

Thanks for the fast response. Im pointed in the right direction at least.

 

I spent most of yesterday cleaning the truck and fixing the fender flare issue. After taking off all the gorilla tape (what a gooey mess) I could see some of the moulding clips were broke. A trip to Toyota and a few hours later the flare was back in place. The Gorilla tape gooey mess was washed off with Goo Be Gone. The product worked great. That and a bunch of elbow grease.

 

Looks good.

 

The Tacoma is starting to look good again. Ive fixed pretty much everything that needed some TLC. The items Im gonna replace like the head lights, tail lights front grill and both bumpers will remain until their replacements have arrived. New NSK front bearings/hubs will be ordered tomorrow and will be installed the following weekend after they arrive. New wheels will arrive sometime either late this week or early next. Still looking for a lift that I think will work for my needs. A bit bummed on the lack of available Lift Kits/Shocks on the market as everything seems to be sold out. Just gonna have to wait for the right system to get back into stock. Im not gonna settle for anything less.

 

Hey guys. Sorry I've been out. Had some medical issues and spent the night in the ER/Hospital. I am scheduled for Surgery Tuesday. I will keep you posted. Haven't ordered what I planned to. I should be back on the road to recovery after Tuesday. On my way to the ER I must say I was thinking how much I Regretted always being away from home working. Regretted not getting out and exploring as much as Ive always wanted too. So if you always wanted to do something but kept putting if off and always told your self I will have time later to do it. Just remember we are not Promised Tomorrow. Stay safe and get out there and do the things you always wanted to do before you cant.

 

Very true I often remind myself of that, especially when I'm invited on trips or opportunities arise. Good luck with your surgery and hope you get healthy.

 

Surgery has been postponed until the morning of the 21st. Im going to get back to the Tacoma to keep me busy. I have a few things to order like Hubs and Wheel Bearings I put off. I will be Ordering those today from a Vendor here on Tacoma World. Ordering some new Falken MT tires as well. The TRD wheels arrived last week. I want to get everything done before the 21st rolls around. Im feeling better but have to take it easy for now. I will do the wheel hub and bearing install. That should be pretty easy. Tires and wheels will be done by someone else so no worries there. After my surgery I plan on ordering an ARB front bumper and Warn Platinum synthetic 10K winch (if it fits the ARB). Need to check on that. Either way I want a synthetic rope. Ive pretty much decided on Deaver Expedition series rear leaf packs with Fox DSC(?) 2.5 shocks with remote reservoirs front and back with 3" lift. Of course those are on Back Order. Im running 285/70R17 tires so 3" lift will give me so extra room. My Taco currently has a spacer front 2" lift and 2" lift blocks in the rear. The rear leafs have a slight bend in them. I will be adding Flippac type camper shell and your typical drawer system with a bunch of weight. Front and rear bumpers plus a winch won't help in the suspension department. So maybe its better I build her out the way I will have her set up then get the suspension installed so I end up with a true 3" lift. God Bless, stay safe and get out there and explore.

 

Installed my new tires and wheels today. Picked up the TRD wheels for a pretty good price at Toyota and got a smoking deal on my tires from Simple Tires. They arrived in two days (today). Went to Discount tire and they mounted them right up. Love these Falken tires!

 

My Hubs should be in Friday. The drivers side is bad. I will be replacing both. I will take a few pics. Nothing you guys haven't seen before but goes with the theme of this build. Cant wait for my ARB bumper to arrive.......

 

Hubs arrived over night thanks to excellent customer service from "Chad"
05Taco4x4
. High quality product and a great price. I suggest anyone in the need of new bearings order them from
05Taco4x4
. Typical pictures I'm sure of Bearing/Hub install. In one of the pictures you will see the top hat reversed and held on with two lug nuts loosely. This allowed me to use it like a slide hammer to pull off the old Hub/Bearing assembly. Real easy that way. OH YAH THAT SEAL IS TOAST!

 

More pictures.