New 2025 Tacoma next week - what mods to do first

2015 SR5

I’m getting my first ever truck. Buying off a friend that has treated this truck like a baby for the whole life he’s had it and it was a lease before then with super low miles.

I’m a firefighter, new home owner, and soon to be boat owner. Having a truck is a key thing I’ve been missing in my life. From trips to Lowe’s to hunting, off-roading, camping, towing a small aluminum boat (16-18’ max), snow driving, etc. I’m over the moon that my wife and I are going to get to experience that very soon

My dilemma, I am in a unique position where I had a side hustle that I did years ago… blow up and put a significant amount of money in my pocket. Meaning on day one I could literally drop $20k into this truck if I wanted. (I SHOULD NOT DO THAT AND BE RESPONSIBLE)

I bought a used vehicle because it’s reliable, will last long, and makes sense for the lifestyle enhancement that’s right for me and my partner. I do care about getting the most bang for my buck to make this truck look great, perform well, and make me feel proud to own for the first time ever.

Things I know I WILL do to this truck this year:

Suspension lift (Bilstein seems to be the go to)

33” tires

Headlights/ taillights

New sound system (door speakers, amp, head unit/ display, sub woofer)

Skid plate (s)

Good/ bright blue lights for the grill (firefighter)

Undercoating

Very much into this being a black and red truck. All chrome is subject to be converted to black.

————————————-

Outside of that, everything else starts to get way more into the want/ just for phone zone

Light bars

Front and rear bumper

Winch

Back racks, tents, compartments for the bed

New grill

Etc. Etc.

I’m about 5 hours into YouTube videos of what to do to tacos and it’s just endless, LOL.

Looking for sage advice from owners/ Tacoma enthusiasts.

I don’t need crazy stuff like advanced cold air intakes, snorkels, 35s, gigantic lifts.

This truck will be around town with low miles (I work remotely), driven hard to fire calls, and used for some light off roading. I won’t be rock crawling but certainly have some local trails to hit that arguably could mostly be done with a stock truck.

All opinions welcome!

 

Congrats on your truck, probably want to fix the typo in your title.

 

LOL idk how I did that thank you.

 

Supercharge it!

 

okay so.. what’s the cost (roughly) and main reason to do this?

and doesn’t this add risk to the reliability of it?

 

Looks good already, personalization is cool don’t get me wrong but other than undercoating/rust prevention (if you are in an area it’s an issue) and maybe some new leafs or something depending on setup with boat..

pump the brakes, and skip all that shit at least for awhile..

you said yourself it’ll probably do it all as is..

spend your money on home improvement projects, truck isn’t going to be an asset or worth much more cuz you slap stuff on it.. also pay for experiences, more fishing/hunting trips..

 

certainly appreciate this feedback. Thanks friend. I’ve been pretty responsible thus far and “fun” money has been going into my house.

it is a super nice looking truck out the gate

 

Congrats on new house and truck either way, wasn’t trying to tell you how to live life just know it’s also easy to see hella sick Toyotas and want to start trying to keep up. Fun vote then is blow it all and get that bad boy on 40z and tonnes plus previously mentioned super charger

 

Congrats on the truck and house. I would drive it for a bit the way it is and then do things to it as it needs it. I have a stock ‘08 OR and it’s done everything I’ve asked it to do off-road. These truck are pretty capable stock. Anyway, enjoy the truck and the house…

 

Leave it as is.
New home will drain your bank. Boat will drain your bank. Wife...

 

It's the little things that make it yours that counts. But once you start you don't seem to want to stop so in moderation.

 

Keep it stock until you see a need to upgrade. I.E. wait till things wear out to upgrade.

On my current F150 and on my old Taco I've upgraded as I've gone as things have worn out or seen an area I could improve for what I use it for. It's really worked out quite well for me and others on this Forum.

Take note on what you like and if you ever get another truck you'll know the core things you know you'll want to do to the new one out of the gate.

You really can go crazy with these trucks and can get out of hand fast especially if you peruse this forum often

 

I bought a Tacoma because on a hunting trip, in Colorado, guys were running circles around me on FS roads and jeep trails in them. Then I lifted it a bit (5100’s and AAL) and did the mods to get taller tires because of a trip to a remote area in Big Bend where I was told I would have to have more clearance. Then I upgraded the suspension further (remote reservoir coil overs and RXT leafs, upgraded UCA) because I couldn’t keep up with guys in a group I did a trip with, with the 5100 set up. Now with even bigger tires I’m getting ready to re-gear.

Point is, once you start down this road, there’s lots of mile markers on it, lol. If I had realized where I was headed I would’ve skipped some intermediate steps and saved a little long run money. So my advice to you would be to think about what you want to do with your truck, then make it capable of doing that. I’m also a big believer in buy once, cry once. Put quality components on your truck, shortcuts generally lead to more work.

Congrats on your new truck…and welcome!

 

I would start with a SMALL lift. If you go more than 2" in the front, you'll likely have driveline issues. Keep in mind also, a one inch taller strut will give you about 2" at the wheel. You get double in the front because the mounting point is about half way from the inner pivot point to the wheel.
Then, you can get taller tires.
Other than that, I would drive it for a while before I started throwing mods at it, but that's just another guys opinion.
Congratulations and welcome!

 

Firefighter and a red Tacoma ! Ladder and siren. Done!

 

3in lift, 33s, take off the mud guards so you fling rocks on drivers behind you, put LED bulbs in your factory headlight housings so you blind everyone at night, don't do any scheduled maintenance, and then come back in 6 months and post your problems here and pretend like it's due to everyone else around you

 

LMAO I really don’t want to be this guy. I want to buff the truck but not be a dickhead about it. I also do want LEDs because I live in a rural area with no street lights so when I’m responding I want to be able to see things / deer well ahead of me so I give myself maximum reaction time

 

im fighting the urge to put my own extrication tools on it LOL

 

Yeah I really don’t want to overdue it and fuck it up in terms of the stock performance. No regearing or any of that shit wanted for me…

 

Diode Dynamics SS3 Max fog lights and a Diode Dynamics light bar are what you want if thats the case. That'll turn night into day!