CO06TaCO's Same Ol' Build

Hi Everyone, originally I wasn't going to make one of these threads, but I figured what's the harm, and it will give me a place to look back on everything I've done and where the truck came from. So, here it goes.

Suspension:

Toytec Adjustable Coilovers 3 inch lift
SPC Upper Control Arms
Deaver 10 Leaf Rear Springs
Toytec Boss Rear Shocks

Tires:
265/75/16 Cooper Discoverer ST Maxx

Exterior:
2011 Honey Comb Grille
Smoked Headlights
Smoked Fog Lights
AllPro Expo Bed Rack
Odin Designs Type E Series II Roof Top Tent

Interior:
Kenwood Head Unit with Bluetooth
LED Map Lights

Purchased 2006 DCSB TRD OR with 172K miles 1/22/16 from a dealership in FL.



My girlfriend and I drove it home from FL to CO, driving straight through 24 hours during the weekend. The truck never missed a beat, however we did get to listen to a nice wheel bearing growl for the duration of the trip. One thing I noticed, this truck had gobs of power in FL at sea level. By the time I hit Denver she felt only adequatly powered. Oh well, that's the cost of living a mile high.

I didn't have the truck home for more than a couple hours before ripping off the bull bar, grill inserts, and nerf bars. Much better.



Then it was time to replace the failed right rear wheel bearing. This will be easy, I thought. I'm a Porsche mechanic and know what I'm doing when it comes to auto repairs. Well- I don't know who has ever had success with slamming the axle on the ground to get the bearing off, but it required all 20 tons of our press to make that bearing come off. Our homemade removal tool broke several times at the welds before we finally got the bearing to detach itself from the axle. This bearing was STUBBORN! Anyway, got the new bearing installed and all was well. While I had the truck on the rack, I did a full drivetrain flush including the auto trans. I used factory WS fluid this time. Everything went smoothly here and I feel much better that there are fresh fluids in the truck.



Next came lifting the truck. I do a lot of exploring in the Rocky Mountains and need clearance to get me where I want to go. I decided to do a 3 inch lift, consisting of Toytec front adjstable coilovers, SPC upper control arms, Deaver 10 leaf pack, and Toytec Boss rear shocks. I will say, I am very happy with this setup currently. The lift was exactly what I needed height wise, and it rides great. The Deavers ride very nicely and there is still some rake which was important to me. I hate a saggy rear on my vehicles.





Tires. The truck came with 265/75/16 crappy, although brand new, Nexan Roadian AT's. Clearly these had to go. I was glad they were at least 32's but they weren't going to cut it in the conditions this truck will see. So, on went some 265/75/16 Cooper Discoverer ST Maxx's. These tires are heavy, agressive and extremely tough. They almost seem like overkill but I would much rather know that my tires are going to be there for me. Upon removal of the Nexans, it was clear I would have seen sidewall failure in short order with those flimsy tires. I have a ton of confidence in these Coopers, and they aren't too loud and perform perfectly thus far. As far as sizing goes, you can see in one of my threads that I was conflicted with going to 33's or not. I decided that for my purposes, 33's just aren't the right choice. If I were at sea level I probably would have went that route, but this truck never goes below 5K feet in elevation, and is at times towing at 11K feet and wheeling up to 14K. These elevations DRASTICALLY reduce HP available. Load Range E 32's suck enough HP, I didn't want the weight and resistance of 33's to hurt me even further.



The only pic I have from a distance with new tires...



And lastly for this initial post, after years of wanting one (and probably what I am most excited about with this entire build), I finally got myself an All Pro Expedition bed rack and a Rooftop Tent. I was researching RTT's and was honestly also looking for used tents locally to save some money. But in my research, to my surprise I found that a new RTT company recently started right here in CO. To make it even better, they were only about 45 minutes from my home. That company is Odin Designs, and they are located in Castle Rock, CO. The beauty of this is that I could go see the tents in person and ultimately not have to pay for shipping a RTT across the country. What's better, is I got to work directly with the owner of the company - Reuben. He took the time to explain his tents to me, and allowed me to check out the tent thoroughly. Quality was awesome, with YKK zippers, telescoping ladder, 2.5 inch high density foam mattress, annex, skylights, etc. It was everything I wanted, so I had to have one. If anyone is interested in a tent, I strongly suggest Odin Designs. Reuben is great to deal with, passionate about camping and exploring, and he even offers free shipping. www.odindesigns.com I was so excited to show my girlfriend that when we stopped at Ikea on our way home I went ahead and opened up the tent in the parking garage since it was too dark to see well outside











As I continue to add things to my truck I will update! Next up are wheel spacers, mostly for looks, bed storage and lighting, rock sliders, and some drivetrain vibration cures.

 

Looks great, nice write up!!! I live just down the road in the Denver Tech Center. I bought my 2015 Off-road in September and told myself I would not lift it due to the fact that I have a Wrangler on 35s locked front and rear for off road, and the Taco is my daily driver... Needless to say, I started looking into lifts and bigger tires this week. Hahaha I'm thinking I don't want to go crazy with it and have to swap out a ton of stuff chasing bottlenecks and weak links since "it won't see much off road" (we'll see) so I was leaning towards just doing a 2.25" Readylift leveling kit and 32" tires. Just signed up to this forum tonight and after doing some reading I'm starting to second guess, so only time will tell what I end up with.

 

Thanks man! Yeah, once the mod bug gets you it's hard to stop... I do know a guy running just a Toytec spacer lift in his 2014 and he is happy with it... If it's mostly for looks I don't see the issue with that route.