New 19 TRD Off, have $1500 to spend need advice

Dumbass! We mock what we don’t understand

 

TIRES

 

I'm worried someone would steal it!

 

Also looks like a great way to break a leaf spring.

 

$1500 in gas and oil, then go drive it a lot

 

Your first upgrade should be really be LED headlights (low beams are most useful, of course). The stock bulbs are beyond crap and you need strong lights to overcome the crappy projector lenses. I recommend Xenon Depot H11 upgrade kits, which I used without problems. Very white light without being blue, fairly simple install, no need to align after installing, doesn't mess with truck electronics. Yes, they are quite expensive at 120-150 a pair (depending on sales), but you get what you pay for:

https://www.xenondepot.com/2017-tacoma-h11-led-kit-p/30si-0000-h11-led-kit.htm

 

- Seat covers
- Tires (Falken Wildpeak AT3W are pretty highly recommended, should be like $500-600 installed, then sell your stock tires)
- Some recovery gear - no point going off-roading if you can't get unstuck or get help. Maxtrax (or knock-off brand) traction boards, CB/2 way radio, shovel/pick, recovery/tow straps
- Emergency essentials - flashlight, first aid/blanket, batteries, fuel and water
- OEM bed mat, but you already have that
- Upgraded LED interior lighting and headlamp bulbs/fogs, LED light bar, bed lighting
- Locking tonneau cover
- Tailgate lock
- Ratcheting tie down straps to secure stuff in the bed, trailer hitch if you need to pull something
- If you wanna do suspension, you can get a mild lift with Bilstein 5100s or similar and come out around $600-800 or so I think, maybe a little less if you install yourself, or wait for a lightly used setup on craigslist or tacomaworld classifieds.
- Armor - sliders/skid protection (pretty expensive), or just some cheap nerf bars/steps if you don't need sliders.
- If anything is leftover save it for future upgrades, or fuel/oil and just put some miles on it and enjoy!

I personally would hold off on suspension until you really know what you want and have the cash for it, and it can be pretty pricey to do it right the first time around.

Welcome to the club, stuff adds up pretty quickly around here, get ready to empty your wallet!

 

Before you spend a dime on lights, read this thread that is backed by science - https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/3rd-gen-hid-vs-led-vs-halogen-h11-projector-headlights.589465/

 

I popped the stock halogens back in before my lemon law inspection. No, they were not superior to the XD led's; in fact, they were far inferior, had a sickly warm light by comparison to the LED's, and the light intensity dropped off noticeably compared to the LED's.

 

If you're going to do some trails and FS 4WD designated roads, then you might consider a real skidplate and other under-armour. Seat covers are great protection especially when it comes time to sell/trade.

 

I will admit to not understanding it, definitely way different than any other leaf spring suspension upgrade I've seen. But I also don't understand why you would spend more on what seems to be a bandaid than you would for a quality replacement leafpack.

 

I think fuzzy dice are making a come come back

 

I don't see where the stock lights fall short in any way. I can see where the light that the LED's produce looks prettier but I doubt they're any better than stock in reality. They're just good for blinding other drivers.
How often do people flash you thinking that your brights are on?

 

Looks like you're in the PNW...wanna buy my brand new Mobtown sliders? Still haven't even picked them up UPS depot here in Seattle.

 

Not weak per se - soft. Purposefully, for the rigors of offroading.

The king of soft is the range rover classic - best off-road ride comfort out there, but cornering /will/ scare you. They used a

$1,400 self-leveling 165FT/50M, drain pipe inspection camera built-in 512hz transmitter, meter counter, with microphone speaker DVR recorder, 16GB TF card, guide wheel (5mm cable)

self-leveling strut to handle load so the springs could be soft though, no such counterbalance on the Taco. I personally find the nose dive, and nose-rise, quite humorous.

And i’ve done stupid things with the factory good years, no complaints

 

Sliders! And you can get a eibach pro truck lift for 395 I believe right now like some members have from wheelwell.com with code SUMMER.

 

I'll throw $1.5k to my insurance bill LOL.

I would get some seat covers!!!! at costco

 

New tires, something better for off road durability and sliders is my .02

 

I have fox’s internal bypass. The springs are more ridged...the shocks are soft...for the rigors of off roading....and with no nose dive.
Im just saying, as I have been off road for an entire year with the stock off road suspension, it’s weak, especially in the rear. It’s fine when your driving on a dirt road.

 

Weathertechs do suck the OEM ones are good enough unless you're a gorilla that tortures the hell out of them