Request for Advice for a serious beginner

[QUOTE="koditten, post: 16597632, member: 112077
Is the truck paid for and can you afford to make repairs when you break it?
[/QUOTE]

I am hesitant to go wheeling with a brand new daily driver. But that is just me. When I go wheeling I go and don’t care about scratches, dents, dings and damage in general. That said I have gone wheeling with guys with brand new equipment who kept stopping to check his vehicle and crying he thought he scratched it. I wanted to take his keys from him. I have straightened fenders with sledgehammers so you get where I am coming from.

My last wheeler was a ’93 Jeep YJ. It was battered and bruised but went literally everywhere. Would I even attempt to take my Tacoma where I took my YJ? Not in a million years. Now ask me in a few years once mine is paid for and I have another truck I might build this one up. But as a daily driver? Not me. But that all depends on how hard you push your equipment which in my case is hard.

 

@friendlywithbears has an excellent point. All my upgrades where purchased for my piece of mind and I decided on the upgrades based off my experiences with the truck. I took trips, went to OR parks and found out what I needed to be happy with my truck.

 

Well so far my experiences have made me wince quite a bit about the underbelly and side. I've scratched her up a bit, but nothing really major. I think the sliders and skids are a must. Also, I was on a bit of sand and felt the gross inadequacy of the tires. I also scraped bottom a couple of times, making me wish for a lift. I think everyone's advice here is great.. I guess it's just time to start taking the plunge one at a time. Expensive stuff! I'm most concerned about the suspension lift as I have NO IDEA what to do about that and it seems like if you lift that may affect a lot of other things (like leaf springs and drivers side bushings and so on). It seems I'll need the lift and wheels+tires at roughly the same time as it all kinda needs to be picked together.

 

Solid advice!

 

Pretty sure you need all of them as the trans a tcase bolt together and attach to the front skid.

Besides factory skid on these trucks sucks. Good for one good blow and that's it. I've put my mobtown through hell

 

A lot of not scraping the bottom has to do with choosing lines, and knowing your truck. This is why you see these old veteran off-roaders getting around just fine in a Land Rover with 4” of clearance. They know where to place their wheels so they do not scrape. Speed is also something to keep in check on an IFS vehicle. If you hit stuff too fast, the front suspension compresses and you lose your clearance. Take it mellow on the throttle when driving over or around obstacles and you will scrape less.

I like the OEM TRD Pro aluminum skid plate. Lightweight, but has been tough enough so far and will fit your limited with no mods or drilling. I agree the factory skids are garbage. They are only for appearances. I dented mine driving up onto a grassy berm.

 

Its good you have been seeing what you want out of the truck. There are a lot of lift options out there from lower budget like Bilstein and OME(Old Man Emu) to more expensive higher end options like King and Icon. Budget and use will determine what to go with. I would recommend reaching out to @HeadStrong Off-Road and speak with marie either on here or by calling/emailing them. She is very knowledgeable and can help get you setup with what would work best for your use and budget. They also have good pricing and free shipping.

 

Y’know, people might laugh, but I think these old Toyota vids have a lot of good info if you can sit them out. The principles have not changed. Here is part 1 and 2:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Xz0hN05GyLQ

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_D2rWt9M1q8

 

You win 10 gold stars if I could give it to you. This is EXACTLY what I needed. Visited her website. She has full combo kits already put together. This is what I like to see, full solution kits that take the guess work out. So happy with that, I really want to buy from them. I need to see if I can buy the equipment from them and have the local offroad shop I'm eyeing install it for me, or if they're going to demand I have to buy from them.

 

For minimal investment; tow strap and don’t go out alone. Tires, then maxtrax, then a winch if you have the $ to throw around; but that’s just me. I might even put tire on the end of that list depending on the type of off-roading you are doing. As many have said, these trucks are very capable in stock form. Starting out without a bunch of mods will make you a better driver. Often times, a factory truck will go where a modded one does, you just have to work harder for it... I consider my factory skid more of an audible warning device than load bearing structure. When it starts talking to me I know to back up a few feet and pick a different line.

 

I don't know if it's because of the huge importance of the safety factor involved in offroading, the sheer amount of information, or the passion but this Tacomaworld forum has been the best online community I've seen. Thanks!! This is exactly the kind of thing that I love watching. I watched every minute of the two videos below and now I'll be really interested to compare to your links:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcTTPV9JmIE&t=3725s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QySKRuHI-8M&t=1626s

 

Well......if we’re going down the rabbit hole:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TOweeVYkyps

 

My recommendation came from my personal experience when i was deciding on my lift. After Maries help and information I decided to not even look at any other places to buy my lift. She earned my business by answering all of my questions and providing her recommendation based on what I was looking to get.

 

OK. I'll contact her. Thanks!

 

#1 advice: Take a off-road trip following an experienced buddy!

 

If your off-roading by yourself, forget about a winch and get the Wyeth-Scott more power puller. Can be hooked any where needed, or used to clear a trail of a tree or anything else in your way.

 

Go for a Griphoist - or at least a cable puller type of winch. They can pull with any length of cable! The original and best one, Griphoist, costs a few grand too, but there are cheaper copies of them out there now since I used one with a fire crew in the ‘80’s.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hIHcHt8Mmp8

 

Do these types of hoist setups put you next to the strap/cable with high tension on it? That would seem pretty dangerous... or do you basically set it up somehow where you are out of harms way?

 

I'll be the lone voice of reason...

Add tie downs to the bed.

Instead of sliders for your $40k truck ... spend $1000 on one of these from Craigslist, and place in truck bed.



When the road looks like it might require you to go less than 5mph in a truck... unload the dirt bike.

Where your truck needs a spotter will be solo, 40mph throwing roost. It would not occur to you that it was even an obstacle. And it will go to places no truck, side-by-side or ATV ever will.

Don't make the woods harder than they need ot be.

 

Mod away! I take my daily driver off roading all the time. That's the best part of these trucks. Dual purpose. I see got a lot of feedback on mods. Far as trails, just go with someone that knows what there doing and have fun. Don't go alone.. if you get stuck, your screwed until someone comes by and tows truck will probably not come to you. Also invest in a recovery strap at a bare minimum and carry extra water/food and blanket.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yINLMyIG5pA&feature=youtu.be