Canoehead's 2007 DCSB Sport 6MT build... for carrying canoes

Purchased this black '07 double cab with 123,000km on 14 April 2015.



I need this truck to run as the second family vehicle (two young children in child seats) commuting to work and all. The real reason I bought it is to bring me, three friends, two canoes, and gear for two weeks in the wilderness to remote sites that require several hours of highway driving and then a good stretch on a completely unmaintained woods road/skidder trail. I may be driving alone, so my truck has to be capable of handling whatever conditions I find. The best paddling is in the spring when water is high and roads are quagmire.

Right now my truck needs maintenance, rehabilitation, and modification.

The plan:

Canoe rack - I will weld up a custom rack to hold two canoes side by side over the bed and cab.

Mechanical.

Release bearing chirps, will look at URD upgrade and probably a stage II clutch.
Carrier bearing has a lot of sag.
Rear diff breather relocated to fuel fill cap.

Wheels - Truck came with 265/70r17 Duratracks on RTX OR rims with 1.25" Spidertrax spacers. Looking to move to a set of 5 rims that don't need spacers, and I think I'll want to run 255/75r17 tires.

Suspension. Don't want to lift any more than I have to. Currently running stock, but have a set of Bilstein 5100 ordered. Probably want OME package.

Rear - Bilstein 5100 shocks. Leaf pack rebuilt by my favourite local spring shop, replaced one broken spring on each side and added an extra. 2" of lift before settling and one million times better drive!

Front - Will replace worn stock shocks with Bilsteins set at stock height, have not decided on springs but am leaning toward OME 885s.

Bumpers. Want to run stock as long as I can. Might buy a plate front bumper, would prefer to weld my own tube rear bumper.

Recovery Points - shackle on a drawbar for the rear, need to upgrade factory front recovery point to take a 3/4" inch shackle. I carry a shovel, 48" Hi-lift, 20' of Grade 70 3/8" chain, and of course a recovery strap.

Interior.

Weathertechs, black
Neoprene CoverKings, black and grey
ScanguageII

The plan is a work in progress, as is the truck. With TW for advice and inspiration this will go well!

Pics will follow as the work progresses.

 

If you're looking to keep the stock bumper look but you want recovery points you might want to check out this winch bumper. It's what I'll be doing when I get the cash for it.

http://usoffroad.us/store/tacoma-bumper-2012

I'm very interested to see how your build goes. I have a DCSB as well and am looking to do a very similar setup for transporting kayaks. I've been kicking around the idea of a roof rack or possibly going with a rack spanning the top of the bed (on the rail system) and then being supported in the rear by one of these, raised up to be above the tailgate.

TMS T-NS-HITCH-BED-EXTENDER Heavy Duty Pickup Truck Bed Hitch Mounted Extender Rack Ladder Canoe Boat

http://www.amazon.com/TMS-T-NS-HITCH-BED-EXTENDER-Pickup-Mounted-Extender/dp/B005KVLX50

Part of me is thinking though that a roof rack will just flat out be better since it keeps them well within the bumpers of the truck and allows the use of the hitch still.

I'd love to see what you end up with.

 

Welcome to TW! I'm definitely interested to see what you do with this truck.

 

Updates.

Since purchase leafs broke on both sides and rear shocks blew also. I removed the fiberglass bed lid.

Added:
Bilstein 5100 shocks on rear.
Replaced broken leafs with new, and added a leaf (about 1.75 inches lift from the height it was at with the old leafs).
Replaced factory front recovery point with Gladfab upgrade that will take a 3/4 inch shackle:


Black weathertechs.
Black and grey neoprene Coverkings.
Scanguage II.
DeeZee truck chest, and begun work on custom headache rack and canoe rack.


Soon to come:
OME 883 front coils (looking for 1.5" lift in front)
Bilstein front shocks, set at 0.
Completion of canoe rack.
Swap 4 RTX rims for 5 factory alloys, painted matte black, with 265/70r17s (for now).

Possibly also a CB radio. Ultimately it is a HAM radio I want, but I am not licensed yet.

 

A big step forward, the canoe rack is ready to be painted!

 

You should post up a couple pictures of how it looks now! It looks great with the factory alloys and the painted rack