Hi from Cave Creek

New to Tacos, but not new to offroad or Toyotas.

Bought a Red 2012 DCSB TRD offroad about 6 weeks ago, so now both of our cars are Toyotas. I took it down NewRiver Canyon 2 days after I drove it off the lot. It only had 100 miles when I hit the dirt for the 1st time. Had to pay the carwash guy $45 to buff out my desert pin striping. But - that's what I bought it for, so I figured I might as well start using it that way!

My old off road rig was a 67 Ford Bronco. It would go anywhere, but was no longer practical to wheel due to the size of the family and the "unplanned breaks" we would have to take sometimes. My daily driver was showing it's age too, so I decided to sell the Bronco and trade in the DD.

Had the truck out a few times already and I'm pretty impressed with the stock abilities. The ability to blow cold air on myself while wheelin is definitely a novelty. I'm already getting used to the length of this truck off road - mostly by avoiding anything that could hi-center me.

A couple of things I'd like to address in the future:

• Front mud flaps - these seem to be just waiting for a rock to tear them off - WTF was Toyota thinking making them so long? Should I rip them off or let a rock do it for me?
• Suspension/lift - as all of you AZ guys know, flex is king around here for traction. I'll need to research what will give me good off-road flex but will still have on-road manners. The Bronco was a white knuckler on the road and a Cadillac off road. The Detroit locker in the rear definitely raised the pucker factor on ice! I'll probably wait until I toast the stock tires before modding the suspension.
• Locker - I want to do that mod for the anytime locker. Why would Toyota think that we'd only want it in 4 lo? You practically need a locker at 1/2 of the boat ramps around here.
• Tires - seems that the stock running gear can hold up to 33's just fine, but going to 35's would probably mean new gears and more breakage. Any feedback here would be appreciated.

Still getting used to all the electronic LSD, DAC, ABS, VSC, etc..... Of course I'm a lot less adventurous with my 4yo in the truck than I was BC (Before Child).

 

Welcome to TW!!

 

Welcome to the forum Mike!!! Enjoy

 

Welcome aboard!

 

Welcome from Tempe! Gongrats on the truck. Check out our Az section.

 

Welcome from the north valley!
hope to see you around town some time!

 

Welcome to TW!