Off-roading without lift

Depends on the level of off roading.

Guys I wheel with mostly have 2” to 3” lifts and one with a 4”. 33”,34” and 35” tires for Tacos. 35” to 40” with Jeeps.

On my Taco I have a 2” lift. guys I wheel with have 3” and 4” lift scrap less on a lot of things I scrape on.

The lifts helps with approach, departure and break over angles. Tires help with clearance.

1” of tire size might not sound like it helps but it does drastically. Also tire width helps a lot when aired down by how much the tire will contact the ground. (Especially on rocks).







No chance would I take a stock truck up that stuff.

 

The nice thing about the OR is it's basically ready to go, out of the box. ONLY downfall is the Highway tires.... Heck, even a stock SR5 is quite capable.

 

I did a ton of wheeling without a lift but it's much better now that it's jacked up on 34s.

Fully capable out of the box but definitely gets better with mods

 

Those guys typically will just go buy another $500-1000 junker and repeat. I have a buddy who does that exact thing. Seems like headache to me, but there are those dudes who live for that shit.

 

Yep. Saw a guy this weekend in a lifted Jetta on KO2s. A Jetta. That was a new one for me!

 

The stock truck is incredibly capable. More driving experience/training will give the best return. Tires are a close second. I thought I was doing well on some trails in Vermont with my mud tires, then a buddy cruised up a red trail just picking a better line in a new truck. Of course, I'd feel way better with more clearance and lockers, but that doesn't build character.

 

Awesome pics! Looks like a lot of fun!



I can’t believe you are still rocking the stock skid plate haha.

 

I destroyed it and now I have a RCI lol.

 

Nice man!

Yeah my stock one wasn’t doing so well so I just installed TRD.

 

I am about to answer this question for myself...will add a RCI skid plate and some basic recovery gear, and take 'er for a whirl on some easy trails nearby. If that goes well, move up. When I get close to feeling unsettled, I'll upgrade tires to 265/75/r16s, as the truck is mainly for daily driving. Probably keep it that way for a few years, build some experience, then upgrade to bilsteins or similar as my competency grows.

I already installed Total Chaos bed stiffeners. I will also throw a SnugTop on there now and a bed mat. That may necessitate Sumos in the rear.

I guess what I'm trying to say is build skill, build the truck, repeat. I'm no expert, but that's my plan.

 

Awesome. The TRD Pro skid looks good.

 

What’s everyone’s opinion on the lift in general on the Tacoma? I have been reading post after post about issues after a lift, vibrations ext…

 

I’m happy with my 2” lift.

Forums are the vocal minority. There are far more people without issues than people with them.

 

Staying stock is fine until you bottom out. A small 2/1" lift and taller pizza cutter tires solves everything. But realistically, your only getting about 1" lift from the Diffs.

Every inch counts, ask your wife!

 

From the offroad thread. These trucks are very capable stock. You will knock the lowest points though on rocks. If it were mine long-term I'd have sliders and a better skid plate right off the bat, followed by more aggressive tires. Unless you really want to be rock crawling, you really don't need a lift right away though it would help. Job #1 is to better protect the tender bits.

These were far more difficult than what you guys out west call "fire road." Lots of rocks, climbs, ledges, tire-deep water and mud, all on squeezy typical New England forest trails.

 

I off road with my stock DCLB OR, I did upgrade the tires to 265/75/16's, upgraded the skid plates to RCI's and added rock sliders. Good thing I updated the skids and added the sliders, they have done their job.

 

As everyone has said you can go very far without a lift, and it's almost never going to be the limiting factor unless you're getting into some serious trails. For me, the big reason for a suspension upgrade was to carry more speed on rough fire roads and trails. I'm usually trying to get to some campsite or destination when I'm offroading rather than doing it for the hell of it; so if I can rip along at 80km/h instead of crawling through stuff on stock suspension at 30km/h and arrive at camp still feeling fresh instead of beat up I'll take that option every day and twice on Sundays. Shock fade is a real problem if you're doing hundreds of kilometers on dirt, there are lots of places I probably wouldn't have gone to if I didn't have the ability to run fast on rough roads for literally hours on end.

 

We did just fine before lift with same size tires. No rock crawling here either. A few sketchy moments and scarred up factory armor lead me to where I am today though.

 

A couple of things here...

Stock, we took my OR DCLB when it was minty new on some easy/moderate trails for a few days in Colorado. It was very impressive "as is" with good tire placement and prudent judgement. To be fair, I'm old and have been moderately off-roading my whole life and am not inexperienced. In any event, I still managed to beat the shit out of the front skid on day one. I now have a slight lift, tires, and a winch (not the Mrs.) and for the stuff I do, I don't even blink anymore. That said, a word about tires and skill...

Back when the FJ Cruisers were about to be released, and I had an interest, there was an article in some 4WD magazine (remember magazines?) where Toyota allowed a test driver and the author to take one of two FJ's destined for SEMA to the Rubicon. Yes, that Rubicon. Toyota was reluctant to let them go and warned them, "Not a scratch!" because the vehicle had to be show ready when they returned. The article stated that, the driver's only modification to the FJ was to add a set of BFG All-Terrain's in the OEM size...that's it! Fast forward, this guy negotiated the entire route with better tires, by using good tire placement, picking the best line and stacking rocks at a few entry points. No winch, no lift, no shocks...just tires. And not a scratch on it.

So, what many here have said...tires and skill. And of course, have fun!