Help on a slight Buildout

So I have an old 05 Tacoma TRD offroad, I want it for Highway friendly commute from Medford Oregon to Redmond Oregon, some times that pass can have feet of snow, Ice and pot holes, as it does now. (those snow plow guys are road warriors I tell you; there the best!) And of course I use it off road, gently but over serious stuff for a stock pickup.

I didn't want to lift it at all, but in order to fit Fox Reservoir Shocks under it, my mechanic Todd dufer at Lockwood's Automotive may have lifted it an inch.

In this order
1. Wheels/spacers for increased width
2. Michelin tires Highway/Offroad
3. Front and back bumpers and winch.

Disclaimer I am in no way a car guy I just need to pick brands for my mechanic to do for me. Money is tight, but I don't want crap.

If you have some ideas on how you would do/have done I'd be grateful.

Merry Christmas,

 

When it comes to spacers, I think the general consensus is Spidertrax are great. Price is good, they're well made, and are hub centric so tire shops will still work on your vehicle.

 

I'm a Les Schwab guy, love their costumer service and the less I have to do the better. I run those TRD wheels and I like them but I wonder what they would look like if they were bumped out and inch.

http://www.spidertrax.com/Toyota-1-1-2-Wheel-Spacers?sc=2&category=9985

 

Hi there, and welcome to TW! Let me throw some suggestions to you based on my own opinions and experiences.

Tires:

Keeping in mind that you are on a budget, I would consider Cooper A/T3 Tires. These are consistently ranked and reviewed very highly by many. In fact, they won both Editors Choice and Best Value awards in a tire shootout by Expedition Portal (see article here). There are numerous reviews of this tire our there, but this and this are also good ones. I chose another Cooper tires (the ATP, a Discount Tire exclusive) as it is very similar to the AT3, but has a slightly more aggressive tread and I am still as happy as can be with them.
​

Wheel Spacers:

I do not have wheel spacers, but I agree with @TacomaColorado that the general consensus on here points to Spidertraxx. Wheel spacers are not something to go cheap on....get something hub centric and well-reviewed.
​

Bumpers:

This is where things can get tricky, as a lot of this is personal preference on looks. Many of the vendors on here offer great bumpers, and take your time in looking at them and researching. That being said, I just bought a @Pelfreybilt front steel bumper (link to their bumpers) for my 2010 Tacoma and I highly recommend them. Another company as a suggestion to look at would be Demello Offroad @JDEMELLO .
​

Winch:

I personally do not have a winch yet, so I cannot give firsthand feedback here either. However, I think I will go with Warn when the time comes. I am currently looking at the M or VR series (especially with the new redesign on the VR series). In addition, Warn has a rebate deal going right now on a bunch of winches. Another brand I have considered as a more affordable option is Smittybilt for their X20 line. This guide is a great help when considering winches.
EDIT: I believe you will need a winch that has a control pack that can separated from the top of the winch and mounted elsewhere (simply for space requirements in the front bumper). I recall I found a Warn 9.5cti at a good deal once but it was too tall and the control pack couldn't be relocated. Someone else may have better feedback on this.​

Hopefully this helps!

 

This bumber is amazing,
http://www.pelfreybilt.com/product/05-11-tacoma-steel-front-plate-bumper-2/

But would you spend $400 more for aluminum? It is 40 lbs lighter. That front end is already so heavy on these small trucks. I LOVE THAT WEBSITE!

Those Cooper tire are impressive, I've heard Michelin tire ware better.

What is your opinions on ply? My family has always had full size trucks (Dodge 3500, Ford Excursion, and 350's) so we always did 10ply I think? If I did 10 ply could I run them at lower pressure? Or will 6 do everything I need it to? Any pros or cons when considering ply I should take into consideration?

 

Yep, that's the bumper I just got! Check out my build thread to see it on a silver Tacoma.

That Cooper AT3 has a 55,000mi teadwear warranty, but I am not sure what the Michelins are. As far as ply goes, I always like the extra peace of mind when I air down to ~15-20psi for off roading. My LT287/75/16s are 10ply which I chose with the intention of airing down on occasion for wheeling. I usually keep them at 32psi on road.

 

One upgrade you might consider is Wheeler's Super Bumps in the front. Super Bumps were my first suspension upgrade and they made a huge difference driving rough roads and highways in addition to the forest roads.

 

Taylor that is what I was thinking with 10 ply, If I need to I'd drop it way down. I had a set of Toyo AT's and they are great, but just like that shoot out said they have very shallow tread.

Random guy, I have aftermarket Fox Reservoir Shocks, I'll ask what Model they are because I really don't work on cars or trucks much. I want to learn though. But I know rigs last way longer the more smoother the ride is.

Better yet I'll take a picture or them and show you guys.

 

The Super Bumps compliment any shock. They replace the rock hard factory bump stops. $55 and pretty easy to install.

 

Cool thread. I think there is a lot of merit to keeping your daily driver road worthy and capable off road. Super Swampers are cool but... I love the functionality of the lower (relatively) stance that you have your trucks sitting on. What about tire size on the Taco? With the aftermarket bumpers you could go up a bit in size but do you think it's worth it? Toyo's seem to be pretty sensitive to tire size with their gearing.

 

So I made some purchases at Les Schwab this Christmas Eve.
Back Country All Terrain 10 ply syped, I wanted and thought they were mounting the Touring H/T but I didn't notice the mistake until I took these picture, but no matter.
I put on Raceline Raptors wheels and will be putting them to the test this new year traveling from Medford Oregon to Star Valley Wyoming.

And while they had the wheels off, I took a picture of the reservoir shocks from Fox.

 

It looks great! Time to go test out that suspension and the new tires!

 

I will test it out on the Winter Highways!

I should tell all of you, my truck has just rolled over 250,000+ mIles and my engine mounts are shot; completely gone so I'm getting that fixed Monday morning.

All in all I will spend over $1,000. just to go on this trip ($550 for the down on the wheels & tires[$1,800 total when paid off] and $500 for the mounts).

 

So over New Year's weekend I drove from Medford Oregon to Aspen Wyoming. Did 1,800 miles over black ice on the freeway outside of Boise, snowpack roads just north of Twin Falls, on the way back we had snow storms from Ontario to Medford. I pulled a Jeep out of a ditch, almost getting hit by a Semi, and trail blazed 4 inches of powder,then slush snow for 100 miles.

My rig was awesome! I did the natural speed limit through it all except the slush and black ice. I could stop reasonably well, though it did help that I was loaded down with 500lbs worth of weight and gear.

Then on top of that I went shooting up Anderson Butte put it in 4x4 and it went up steep grades and turns just fine for my tastes!

QUESTION: I want to change out my head lights and tail lights, what

 

Dude that looks like a great time! Glad to hear it is performing well.

For headlights, I upgraded mine to an HID projector retrofit from a kit from The Retrofit Source. That's all diy stuff though and you can save a lot of money doing it yourself. It's actually fairly simple with the great DIY guides on here as long as you take your time. If you don't wanna do it yourself, there's a few companies that sell headlights already retrofitted with projectors. @RECHELON/@RAD is one of them, but there's a couple more on here that are also reputable that I cannot recall off of the top of my head. No clue on taillights really. If you go with a plug and play aftermarket light (headlight or taillight) most folks recommend adding some extra sealant to ensure they'll keep water out.

 

I was having a hard time finding good photos, do they look something like this?

 

Check out all of these threads below. The options for how they can look are nearly limitless, whether you do it yourself or if you pay someone else to do it.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...oma-retrofitted-headlights-aesthetics.454787/

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/retrofitting-services-for-all-tacomas.342693/

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...leted-headlights.300140/page-18#post-14022482

 

So how do you like the Back Country AT's? Sounds like you've got some miles on them by now?