My mild Tacoma build and why I don't have money to buy you dinner; by rnish

I now have enough pictures and have accomplished enough mods to call it a "build"; so here is my "build" thread:

My Tacoma story starts in early 2014 when this guy T-bones me on my way home.



His car:



My Highlander:




He (who remains nameless), did a left turn on red into me. Neither of us were going that fast, maybe 30 MPH. He hit me just behind the driver door and spun me around. I did a slow 180 for about 25 yards. Nobody was hurt. Damage didn't look too bad at first. However, he raked me down the side and hit my driver side rear wheel. I will skip the story of dealing with his insurance company, (they lost my Highlander).

After 2 weeks of deliberations between the shop and the insurance companies, they totaled my car. Last number I heard was over $8,000 in damages and climbing. The last issue was the rear axel was pushed back a few inches. My Highlander was an AWD vehicle and so they decided to total it.

I looked at:

Audi's, almost bought an A3 but they would not deal.
Hyundai's, the best deal.
Ford, F150's nice but too big for my purpose.
Finally settling on a Tacoma Sport.

Imagine a picture of stock Silver 2014 Toyota Tacoma Sport here. I don't have a day 1 picture.

I de-badged, trimmed 6 inches off the mud flaps and added a U.S Offroad winch bumper, lights and Ergo E10000 winch in the first year.











Year Two continued:

Year two revolved around the sound system.

RAAMAudio:

RAAMmat BXT
Ensolite Foam
​

SoundDeadener Showdown LLC:

MLV (mass loaded vinyl)
vinyl cement
​

Infinity:

Kappa 62.9i
Kappa 693.9i
Kappa standalone tweeters​

I pulled the interior of the truck apart. Applied RAAMmat and Ensolite to doors, back wall and roof. Added a layer of MLV to doors, back wall, and the rear floor. I did not pull the front seats out. Otherwise the truck would be undriveable and this took a few days.




The Infinity speakers are 96dB 2 ohm. These speakers are very efficient. This allows me to keep the stock head unit and listen to tunes while the window is down.



Year Three continued:

Added lockable storage in the back and misc:

PopNLock - POPPL8540
Mobtown - tailgate skin
RollX - lockable cover
D-rings
Fire extinguisher
QuickFist to hold shovel
Built a removable shelf for the Hilift and Maxtrax.

Replaced tires with 265/70-17 Cooper ATW


HiLift and Maxtrax shelf


Shelf with HiLift and Maxtrax


Mobtown tailgate skin and fire extinguisher


Locked under RollX


Rear Dif Breather Mod


Year Four continued:

Added IFS and Transmission skids (no pics, not much to see).

Mobtown Sliders







NorthStar 27F Battery


Just picked up a lightly used PTR13-35150 (2nd gen) TRD Pro Kit. Previous owner had it installed on a 3rd gen with mixed results. With warmer weather I will start the the install.


Ground Clearance Pre Lift..1/2 tank........full tank........Lift full tank & rear blocks

F jack point.......................9"...................9"................11"
R diff pumpkin..................9"...................9 1/8"............9 1/8"
Tow Hitch........................n/a.................15 1/4"...........16 1/2

Driver F Hub to Fender....19 3/8"............19 3/8"...........22"
Driver grnd mid slider......13 1/8"............13 1/4"...........14 5/8"
Driver R Hub to Fender...21 3/4"............21 5/8"............22 1/2"

Pass F Hub to Fender......20 1/4"............20 1/8"............22"
Pass grnd mid slider........12 7/8"...........12 1/4".............15"
Pass R Hub to Fender......19 3/4"...........20"...................22"



Old vs New


Front installed


Rear installed


Old beach picture

 

​

 

those Maryland drivers..

Welcome!

 

Build update (5/2019).

Pre lift (~late 2017 early 2018):



This is how the Tacoma was (5/2018). The Pro PTR13-35150 (2nd gen) kit was on for about 1k miles and about 100 of that running on the beach. Picked up 2" lift on the front and just under 2" on the rear (including 1 1/2" blocks). Ride is firmer in the corners, nothing to object to driving around town.

TRD Pro PTR13-35150 (2nd gen) kit with 1 1/2 inch blocks on rear:




OME 95R rear springs install finished (5/11/2019).



Kings (09/18/2022). Maybe 1/2 - 3/4 inch more lift. Added a 1/4" lean plate on the driver side.

Factoid: Went to the Alpha Ridge Recycling Center (it’s not a landfill and don’t call it a dump). Drove the truck on the scale, 5300-5400 lbs with 3/4 tank of gas and me in it. The skids were not on the truck.



Ground Clearance Pre Lift..1/2 tank........full tank........TRD PRO Lift full tank & rear blks…….OME 95R rear springs

F jack point.......................9"...................9"................11"...……………..………………………………...n/a armor
R diff pumpkin..................9"...................9 1/8"............9 1/8"...…..……….….…………………………...9 1/2"
Tow Hitch........................n/a.................15 1/4"...........16 1/2...…………………….………..………………18 1/2"

Driver F Hub to Fender....19 3/8"............19 3/8"...........22"
Driver grnd mid slider......13 1/8"............13 1/4"...........14 5/8"...……………..………………...……....15 1/2
Driver R Hub to Fender...21 3/4"............21 5/8"............22 1/2"...……...…….…………………………...24"

Pass F Hub to Fender......20 1/4"............20 1/8"............22"
Pass grnd mid slider........12 7/8"...........12 1/4".............15"...………………….…………………………...15 1/2"
Pass R Hub to Fender......19 3/4"...........20"...................22"....…………………….………………………….24"

-------------------- KING's - 9/2022 -------------------

F jack point.......................12 3/4"
R diff pumpkin..................10 1/4
Tow Hitch.........................18"

Driver F Hub to Fender.....22 1/2
Driver grnd mid slider......16 3/4
Driver R Hub to Fender.....23 3/4

Pass F Hub to Fender........22 3/4
Pass grnd mid slider.........17 1/2
Pass R Hub to Fender........23 1/4

 

You keeping the R bedside decal for any reason?

 

Yes, its the R in rnish. My first initial.

 

F that guy! Nice truck. And the thread title

 

Super clean little truck man, much cooler than the highlander and an audi

 

I did the same to my interior this year. It was a pain in the ass and took several days... but sooooo worth it!

 

​

 

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CB antenna mount
………………………………………………………………………………………………….



CB antenna mount from BAMF. The rest: coax, spring, quick disconnect & antenna was ordered from Right Channel Radio.

https://www.rightchannelradios.com/



Firestik CB Antenna Quick Disconnect 19.95 USD


Heavy-Duty CB Antenna Spring 16.95 USD


Firestik FireRing CB Coax with FME - 18' 29.95 USD

FME screw-off connection allows for easier cable routing through holes and/or firewalls


CB Antenna Stud Mount (PL-259) 7.95 USD


Firestik FS CB Antenna4' / Black 29.95 USD


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"Yellow Wire Mod" (10/2018)
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………...

Provides "Trac" or "limited Slip" when in 4Lo. Not too much to see. Just cut the yellow wire with the black tracer as per the mod thread. I made it harder by adding a "Traction" button, to turn yellow wire mod on/off.

 

OME 95R spring installation (5/2019)

2 degree shim added to OME springs


​

Old spring and block out



New OME vs Original Equipment and 1.5 inch blocks



New spring in:




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Dobinsons greaseable shackle/leaf spring bolts:
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Tried to use Dobinsons greaseable bolts on all three leaf spring bushings. The front eye bolt and the bottom rear shackle bolt work fine. The top rear shackle bolt that goes through the rear spring eye, no such luck, the Dobinson bolt rubs on the shackle mount. Thought about gaining some clearance by using a washer to push the bolt away from the shackle mount. I eventually just went with a OE stock bolt (for that spring eye).

Dobinsons bolt Part #



Dobinsons bolt vs OE bolt



Top shackle bolt rubbing on the left.



Final shackle/bolt configuration. Top bolt Toyota OE, bottom bolt Dobinsons greaseable.



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U-Bolt flip and Timbren bump stops:
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U-Bolt flip: original U-bolt, U-bolt flip



Timbren bump stop



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Installation Finished. Final rear lift 24" from center hub to fender.
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Added: Rauch Creek 7/2021

https://youtu.be/8za_c7MbWpQ

 

reserved #2

 

reserved #3

 

Hot water dent challenge. Kissed a tree this summer; leaving a dent in the passenger rear quarter panel. Time to try the "Hot water and toilet plunger dent removal mod". Boiled 2 gals of water, poured over the dent, place the toilet plunger on the dent and pull. Had some success, enough to try it again when it gets warmer and I can get behind the dent and gently hammer it out.

Before:


After:


Had a few dents removed via “paintless dent removal” PDR (~2019).

 

That'll buff right out.

 

Good job !

 

sick truck!

 

2018 beauty shot post TRD PRO suspension install.



As it was (5/11/2019) with OME 95R's installed. Replaced original equipment rear springs & blocks with OME 95R springs. Rear center hub to bottom fender went from 22" to 24" lift.



Update: New Tires and 4Runner wheels (4/12/2021) Cooper 255/80-17's ST Maxx. New to me previously owned Prinsu roof rack.



King's (09/18/2022)