How much did you spend building your rig out.

Damn, that reminds me, I need to order one of those for the Mazda. I put one on the truck for the lulz, but the car's side-mount drain plug is a genuine pain in the ass.

 

I only finally put it on the GX because I bought it for the Tacoma some 4 years ago but never installed it.

Kept forgetting to put it on the 4Runner.

Then I had the LC and thought...I don't need it.

Found it in my parts bin (along with a bunch of other shit) and figure "why not"

 

Very subjective as others have stated. I am well into over 25k at this point for the build. Is it worth it? That depends on what your intended use is and what you like. I'm happy with what I was able to put together and everything except the lockers and re-gear, I was able to do myself.

 

For real
Haha

 

5k just on rims and tires te37's and nitto grapes maybe a lift to run trash and set up targets nowadays we get atmospheric rivers so i might need a snorkel i dont know how much the new turbo down pipe and cornhub tune gonna be so another 8k

 

I don’t keep track like some people do but I believe I’m around $10K in mods at this point. Some you can see and some you can’t. That would include any labor for parts I didn’t install myself.

BUT, that was my plan all along and that’s why I purchased an SR5 and not an Off Road or a Pro. Got my truck for $32K brand new so I had money to build it exactly to my needs. I’ve still spent less than many pay for new Tacomas.

 

I just did the math on what I've spent over the last 4 years on my 2020 TRD Sport. I've gotten most of what I wanted so anything else will not likely be a big dollar expenditure. So, for $7758 I have:

ARE CX Classic camper shell with interior lighting and factory roof rack tracks.
Warn Semi-hidden bumper and Evo 12S winch.
Front Bilstein 5100 shocks for the front to help with winch and bumper increased weight.
Hondo Garage phone mount.
Garmin Overlander GPS.
Garmin Mini dash cam and Donger power adapter. (On order, should be here in a few days)

The last 3 items might be considered accessories rather than modifications, but all are useful. At my age, my plan is to take this one to the grave, so I'm not terribly concerned about trade-in values. This is my third Toyota 4x4 since 1982. Average length of ownership on the first two is 19 years. If I just get the average from this one, it will take me to 86 years of age.

 

Does it include repairs, or maintenance? Or just mods and upgrades?

 

Disagree, regardless of how sound your logic is. There are some people who will never be able to do anything with their vehicle if they follow that strategy, and with the way inflation has taken things more out of reach, waiting will just cost more, because short of a serious recession I doubt any of those prices are coming back down.

Plan for a part a paycheck or two was how I played it, and what the guys on Horsepower TV were telling their viewers. If you gotta save for it, save for it, even if it’s $50 a check.

Staying stock because you can’t afford to do it all at once makes no sense to me. You learn how your vehicle reacts to weight distribution, height, clearance, braking, acceleration (or lack there of) as you build it.

It’s taken me 18 years and over $20,000. Several things were overly expensive so I bought a welder and built my own bumpers, rack, reinforcement, other pieces. I’ve had multiple suspension setups, and have gone back and tweaked things and continue to, but that’s the benefit of doing it yourself, you can afford to make a mistake or two and go back and fix it if you don’t like it.

 

One rule of fight club is we do not talk about fight club haha. i lost track ages ago

 

Now you’re just talking crazy

 

I’m about 12k in and my truck doesn’t even look that “modded”. It adds up real quick.

2” OME lift
Winch
Front aluminum stump bumper
Steel Sliders
Steel bed rack
RTT
Borla s-type
OV tune
SEMA wheels
OEM roof rack
TRD skid plate
2WD low mod
Weather tech mats
Tint
Brake controller
Bed stiffeners

Probably forgetting something.

 

I echo this comment.... I would put it in a range between 30-40k... LS9s are expensive to transition too.

 

Hours over weeks, months, adds up as well as the $$ by DIY on the garage floor. $5K may only get you wheels and tires.

 

$6k - $7k and this is just exterior and interior mods - an additional $6-$7k on suspension and wheels this summer.


Forgot to add, if you’re going with aftermarket “build” then check out the used/secondary market and send offers on what you want. It’s easy to want everything at once (that’s me) but take your time to appreciate the journey.

 

I put that into a different category, and honestly haven't been tracking closely. I probably should.

Repairs, maintenance, gasoline, and insurance are all filed under cost-of-ownership in my book (with one exception, and I'll explain that in a bit.)

Non-essential aftermarket accessories are on the mods list.

The one exception is tires. Tires are a maintenance consumable that I do list as a mod. My reason being that if I installed a tire that was similar to stock spec, I'd probably be out 600-700 dollars. But my new C-load pizza cutters just yanked 1300 bucks from my wallet (not including TPMS replacement which was an additional 250, but filed into the maintenance column) and they will have an unknown difference in lifespan. So the tires are a cheat item to pad the mods list by a few hundred, but with justification.

 

Here's my full build list starting from Nov 2022 thru today:

Vintage Toyota Retro Style License Plate Frame $15.44
3rd Gen Tacoma 3D Printed Magnetic Phone Mount $33.11
OEM Mudguards $73.04
OEM Exhaust Tip - Chrome $62.02
Glove Box Inserts - MGM $18.77
Vintage Toyota Retro Style License Plate Frame $15.44
Tire Valve Stem Caps for Toyota Retro Racing Livery (Set of 4) $18.76
Tufskinz | Gas Cap Holder $22.07
Lamin-X Tacoma Fog Light Covers $17.95
BAKFlip MX4 Hard Folding Truck Tonneau Cover $1,175.39
Garmin Dash Cam™ Mini 2 + Dongar Adapter Kit $163.47
OEM Bed Mat - Short Bed $103.36
OEM Bed Lighting Kit $62.02
Ideal Turn-Key Clamps 5Y020V 3/4"-1 3/4" $7.89
OEM TRD Front Skid Plate $357.21
SanDisk 512GB Ultra MicroSDXC UHS-I Memory Card $66.23
OEM Remote Tailgate Lock $164.00
OEM First Aid Kit W PPE $20.67
703 - Gloss Titanium $1,446.05
Spline Lug Nuts - Black $81.69

$98 VIAIR 88P Portable Compressor Kit (12V, 120 Psi, Forup to 33" Tires)

VIAIR 88P Portable Air Compressor $99.30
Staun Automatic Tire Deflators (Standard Duty 6-30) $110.38
Total Tail Stage 1 Kit $157.72
Front Bed Molle System $256.50
Window Tint - Llumar Ceramic CTX25 $187.68
8 piece Quick Fist Clamp Mounting Kit $28.52
All-Pro Off-Road Apex Rock Sliders (Black Powder Coat) $1,630.63
Falken Wildpeak A/T3W $1,156.58
AVS 194768 In-Channel Ventvisor Side Window Deflector $48.07
Toyo Open Country AT3 - 265/75R16 $276.97
DEWALT 32 in Fiberglass D-Handle Digging Shovel $36.40
MolleMounts - Modular Storage Panel Mount Solution $24.96
AC Drip Relocation Kit for Tacoma $19.99
9-Piece Interior LED Light Kit $28.73
Blackout Emblem Overlays - Black. Exterior Emblem. $144.70
Fog Light Trim Bracket (Right, Front) $33.54
Fog Light Trim Bracket (Left, Front) $33.54
Tacoma Lifestyle Carbon Fiber Mirror Caps (2016-2022) $173.98
Rear Skid Plate. Steel. Powder Coat Black $873.40
Gas Tank Skid. Powder Coat Black $690.18
Prinsu Cab Rack $878.47
Toyota Fuel Tank Straps $178.66
Ridgeline Handles $247.74
Tailgate Panel $200.00
Seal Strip Automotive Universal Self Adhesive D-Shape Door Seal 0.47" Height X 0.55" $34.88
PU Leather Center Console Lid Armrest Cover Pad $43.76
Bilstein

$455 B8 5100 Series Set of Front & Rear Shocks fits 2016-2023 Tacoma with 0-1" Rear Lift | Provides 0-1" Front Lift | Includes TrendsAuto Decal | 24-263108 24-186728

B8 5100 Series Ride Height Adjustable Shock Absorber - Front $573.95
Bilstein 5100 Series Shock Absorber - Rear $469.99
Icon Suspension 1.5 Inch Lift AAL $440.97
OEM TRD Performance Air Intake System $368.00
Maxtrax MKII Black Vehicle Recovery Board $342.49
Maxtrax Universal Mount $84.53
Maxtrax Mounting Pin Set $66.24
ScanGauge II $155.74
OTT Tune $500.00
Borla Cat-Back Exhaust System S-Type $987.86
TOTAL SPENT TO DATE: $15,509.62

 

i dare not calculate how much i have in current mods and how much i plan to spend in future mods.

I noticed, the more i put into the truck, the more things break so please take that into consideration and prepare a budget for when shit hits the fan. I generally dont hardcore offroad but i do like to test the limits of the truck.

 

You can't put a price on happiness can you?

 

I'm dumb, but I'm not "add up all my truck expenses" dumb. Turbo project alone was probably more than the truck was purchased for.