Getting stock 2017 tacoma OR ready for mild offroading

Hi,
I have a stock 3rd gen tacoma off road and very little experience with working on cars/trucks, and after paying for the car, very little money in this year's budget to make mods. I am not trying to make this truck "battle-ready" by any means, but I need advice on a couple of things :

1) I noticed the limited edition comes stock with 18'' tires, does that mean I can put 18'' tires on my OR trim without having to lift it or making any modifications ?

2) I mainly want to use this vehicle for camping/overlanding, and will never attempt anything more than a 3 rated trail (at least not with my 3 year old in the back). Other than skid plates, what modifications, or gear would you recommend ? I'm mainly looking at 1 - 3 rated trails in Colorado, and UT.

3) given that i won't be attempting any serious off road trails, do I need the thick metal skid plates, or can I get away with aluminium ones ?

4) Should I get truck bed cover, or would you guys recommend tops ?

5) the TRD PRO has fox by pass shocks, can i get those for my OR ? And when I say "can I", I mean without having to do anything other than just swap one out for the other. Is one better than the other ? Do I need the upgraded shocks for my specific mild overlanding needs?

Thank you , and sorry for all newb questions.

 

Stock Tacoma OR is already capable of mild trails if you take an off road course and get some recovery gear. "Stay the trail" and other organizations have virtually free courses just to educate people so they are safe, capable, and respect the areas so that trails arent shut down. Save your money and spend it on gas for trips. If you must, upgrade to a LT rated all terrain, but the goodyears are plenty capable.

Most will ignore that advice, spend thousands on uneccessary mods, and then be surprised to see a stock OR (or subaru forester) at the end of a "3" rated trail out here.

 

Save your money. You don't need anything for what you want to do with your truck.

 

keeping the 16" wheels will probably be a better idea though, youll get more tire sidewall vs going with some 18" wheels.

 

Your truck will be fine stock for what you want to do. I would consider a cap for the bed and then spend your money on recovery gear as already mentioned.

 

Recovery gear and/or added protection like skids n sliders

 

Thank you so much guys. I'm glad that i can keep the truck stock. However, i will try to get the 265/75/16 s. I noticed the FAQ thread about the tires in the welcome email only after i had already posted my question about the tires. Also, I was able to find the c4fabrication instructions for replacing the front bumper and stuff. So i will be using those couple years down the road to upgrade. I was skeptical about getting any useful responses, but tacoma world lived up to its rep. Appreciate the input.
cheers.

 

Tires is a good choice. If you get skids, don't get no crappy trd pro plate and waste your money. Go with steel or if you don't want something too heavy go with the 1/4" aluminum.

 

first thing, OP, be patient and don't make decisions based on a single forum thread. sit back and see what others do and don't do, and the resulting discussion. you're asking some q's that are routinely answered here with good info. hang out and let some of the answers come to you. it's true that tons of folks around here spend many thousands for stuff totally unnecessary, expensive, and often troublesome in terms of modding your truck.

 

Your truck is very capable right out of the box. Put some decent tires on it and go play. You will very quickly see what you need and don't need for the type of off-roading that your into.

 

Stock is plenty capable. With 4lo and a locker you can get through most mild obstacles. I haven't had any issues with the stock tires spinning but doesn't hurt to get you something with a little more grip. A mild lift wouldn't hurt too, I've dragged my tail on a couple of hills because the stock departure angle isn't the greatest. The shocks on the TRD pro are not necessary. Unless youre prerunning dont bother upgrading them unless you do previously mentioned lift and even then don't go to the pro shocks unless you want to pay up the nose for a set.

 

Should have bought the PRO bro!

 

You recommending Tacoma now.

 

Had mine about a month now and was all stoked to start modding. Went wheeling a couple times at the local OHV (Hollister Hills) and found that my stock OR model is far more capable than what I thought it would be.

List of inexpensive things I might eventually do (but really don't even need):
1. Exhaust reroute (most tempting; already scraped once) - $350
2. Diff breather mod - $20 - $25
3. Skids/sliders - $500 - $600
4. 265/75/16 tires - $800
5. Camper shell - $2k

All that for less than the cost of a legit 3" lift. The stock tires are not as garbage as some will have you believe. They are good in snow, in dirt, and on highway. Acceptable in moderate rock; basically terrible in mud.

 

The tire upgrade is a good idea based on the fact that a SL/P metric tire is more prone to puncture and you can air down an LT tire with less worry of the bead popping off.

I do agree that the stock tires are good and I am surprised at their winter performance. I just like the insurance that I wont have to limp out with a spare tire on a mild offroad run.

The Offroads already have an extra skid that is shared with the 4runner and outgoing FJ. I don't see any reason for more armor if you don't rock crawl.

 

I had my Tacoma 1 month before I was on a trip to CO and doing "3's" all stock, with steps still on it. Didnt have any issues and the truck performed great. It was also my first time offroading. Since that trip I have upgraded the tires along with adding sliders for peace of mind. I did dent a step after leaving CO and going to Moab. Took a bad line on a drop off that was a little too tall for my lack of experience, I didnt even notice the dent for over a month after.

 

What sort of terrain are you going on? The stuff I've done here in AZ did a number on my stock wrangler tires. They started chunking started almost immediately... replaced them with K02's.

I would go recovery gear, tires, sliders and then skids. FWIW, the only time I've had impact on my skids is when driving in stream and before sunrise when heading out to hunt.

 

The KO2 is not a good tire for me hunting in winter rain and snow here in AZ. They are as slick as snot.

 

Last year I did 21 offroad trails here in Colorado. Trails were a mix between easy to moderate with a few tougher ones thrown in (black bear, red cone, governor Basin, china wall, radical hill). Truck is virtually stock, except for 265/70-17s KO2 and rock sliders. Honestly, the KO2 were the best upgrade and took a lot of beating, but stock Wranglers that come with the TRD OR were actually decent but didn't inspire me longevity.

Get some recovery gear, tires, rock sliders and go have some adventure. As you get to know your truck and get more experience behind the wheel off road, you'll know what you need. But for now, you're pretty much all set up. The truck is plenty capable stock.

 

Yeah the ko2 is a good tire for drier conditions dirt /rocks and pavement