First off roading experience -

Well I took some advice and took my stock 2022 TRD Off Road to a trail in the Uwharrie Forrest here in NC. Just for back ground I have done a bit of beach driving and have some recovery gear and an air compressor and I am familiar with airing down and back up but off roading on trails is a totally different ball of wax obviously. BTW I only got stuck once on the beach (well once where I couldn't get myself out) in all the years of beach driving.

First Lesson: Predator Steps have to go - they got in the way and seemed to rub on everything.
I guess I will have to get rock sliders but they do seem really expensive and I have seen some rigs without them - so I am not sure if that is the first off road mod to get.

The BIG question: Is a 2" lift with 32s (265/75R16) really enough to do any real off roading - like the type trails in the Uwharrie Forrest that are classified easy to intermediate ? Would the trais designated as difficult require significant mods or would 33s be enough?

I plan to start out on the easy stuff: 1) to learn and gain experience and 2) I don't have lots of $$$ to mod out a full blown rock crawler.

 

So you didn't share how you felt the truck did on the trails you tried.

Predator steps do hang down a bit and are attached to the bottom of the cab, so I'd ditch those for sure. I replaced mine with sliders that have served as a step and nothing more, so far. Good to have when you do need them, but not necessary for most stuff.

I'm not familiar with the Uwharrie Forest or what they consider difficult and intermediate. But I've done fine on CO and local Ozark trails with 265/75R16 and no lift. The next weak point is departure angle, and I did drag the hitch a few times before I went with a high-clearance rear bumper, but no damage. I've been fine just with the tire upgrade. But, your trails may be different.

 

I don't know what your trails are like, or what your long term goals with the truck are. I'll share my view on things. I have had TONS of fun with this truck stock, and have no intention adding lifts/bumpers etc. As you say, your first goal is to start on the easy stuff to learn and gain experience, and for that in my opinion, the truck is perfect stock. I'd say save your money for now and focus on having fun!

 

No Pics??!! WTF

 

Had the same problem with my Predator steps and pretty much destroyed my stock skid plate when everything was OEM. A 1.5” lift with 265/75/16 fixed all that for me. I don’t rock crawl but do run lots of “moderate” to “hard” trails in Arizona with no problems. Anything more, and I’d want a modified Jeep.

 

You can run 33" tires if you will keep stock wheels and go to 255s in width. Lots of threads on that set up here.

No lift, rubbing or cutting.

Yes, ditch the steps.

With a bit taller tire (what lifts the axle line, as well as the whole vehicle), a tire with a bit more grip than OE, and picking a good line, you can go many many places just fine.

 

After owning 8 Jeeps, going on 6 different EJSs in Utah, including 8 years with my last Mopar/Fiat product,( a 2013 JKRU) and now owning my first Toyota, I can emphatically say you shouldn't.
While the resale is there, the build quality/reliability is NOT.
I've seen some well, well set up 2nd and 3rd gen Tacos in Utah, and I'm 100% convinced a well set up Taco can go on 95% of the trails a well set up JK or JL can
Granted, I'm not talking custom rock bouncers on some of the crazy BLM trails or anything, just a 4x4 you can purchase and mod to take 4,5,6,7 and even 8+ rated trails.
No 9s or 10+ craziness, but at that level your rig WILL take damage no matter how well set up.
My Tacoma blows every Jeep I've ever owned out of the water in reliability, craftsmanship, and and over all build quality.
Toyota however I have found does make it way harder to mod Tacomas for hard core rock crawling, but nothing a little time, research and most of all money can't fix.

 

Little different terrain, but 33s will get you into and out of some fun places.
Let us know what issues you were having and we can suggest fixes, but a whole lot of it is just getting out there and playing, seeing what the truck can do and learning your angles/how to pick a line. If you can find a buddy or club to wheel with, you'll both help the learning curve and be more comfortable doing so.

 

I had so many plans for my truck before I bought it but after driving it around stock for awhile im like, I dont even need most of this shit. My next thing is just getting better tires cause I was getting stuck in deeper snow. I dont even really want a lift anymore lol. If i did it would just be an inch or 2 to clear water a little better

 

Yup, I ran my Tacoma every year in Moab on every trail, literally every trail so Tacos will pretty much go anywhere a Jeep will. The guys I roll with on 40s arent doing anthing significantly easier than I am, if I'm winching, they are as well.

 

Dude. 90% of off roading is the driver. 10% is the vehicle. Get some talent. Do not run out of talent.

 

Well it's a perfectly stock Taco Off Road - OK it has an X-trek grill and a few red chrome delete accents so that's not stock but you can see the grill on my
avatar. Again - she's bone stock as far as suspension and wheels ect. so . . . . . . . . . . anyway here is a pic.

 

haha we meant pics of you offroading it silly goose

 

My truck has gotten me in and out of many places with 265/75/16’s and a 2” lift. I don’t do any rock crawling, I do mostly easy to intermediate trails like you mentioned. I also do a good amount of beach driving in the OBX.

I am on a cross country road trip at the moment and planning on going up to 33”s after this trip. TBD if that will be 285 or 255 tires. The 265’s have served me well but that extra inch of height would be great and IMO the 32”s look a little silly on my truck with the lift now. Pics just for fun because everyone loves pics.

 

The truck itself actually felt strong on the trail (I only did one) I never needed to get out of 4Hi and it felt strong the whole way. Same with the stock tires - plenty of grip in the loose stuff - I aired down to 15psi like I do on the beach but wonder if that may be too low for trails as it may lower the clearance. The big thing was the steps rubbing (more like grinding) over humps - I tried to take them on an angles but they still rubbed on most of them.

A lot of it is just plain experience and confidence - the beach is way too easy and literally really easy to get out of almost anything, well unless you do something really stupid. But the trails seem way more challenging - which is why I want to do them.

 

Doh !

 

Yeah.. offroading on beaches is totally alien when you get out on the trail systems and such. Im right down the road from you and there's plenty around to test your rig.

15 psi is plenty enough. the fact you're not even in 4-lo means the truck wasnt sweating much either lol. Dont know if you have a sport or off-road but the rear locker is a game changer as well.

Personally i think you should link up with a small group and go try and get your truck stuck lol. Its super fun pushin the truck to it's limits. You'll find out that you can go plenty far with sliders/skids/tires. Suspension is a luxury item. Nice and easy with good lines will get you further than a 2000 suspension setup on the rig.

 

Your truck looks great IMHO - I notice in the bottom pic the rock sliders - what brand are they? I would like some but everything I look into is big $$$.
Yep do OBX as well.

 

cut the steps off and leave the rails then you got trail rails for free

 

Thank you!!

Those are SOS off road concepts sliders and yeah they are all pretty expensive but it is better than smashing up your side panels I suppose.

I actually sold them a while ago because I never used them and i wanted to ditch the weight. My build thread is in my signature if you feel like checking out more of it. My truck is my DD and I also use it for extended road trips and light/medium trails. It’s a 2021 and I bought it new but I’ll already be hitting 40K miles within the month.

If you do get sliders, I recommend trying to find used ones on TW if you want to save some money. People are always selling them here. You’ll save a ton just by avoiding shipping costs if you can find someone in your area.