Should I enjoy my new Tacoma stock before I mod?

That's pretty cool. The rack still looks good with the cutout even though you don't have any lights installed.
That's something that I was wondering about because I want to order a cab rack but might not wind up getting lights for a while.

 

That is what I did, exact same thought. I couldn't go a week without buying something new though so I unintentionally purchased a lightbar for it. Looks good either way, though.

 

That's a very common problem around here

 

I like your truck’s stance as is, I would hold off on the lift. The tires and wheels gave it a nice look!

 

I'm at the 11 month mark and barely just bought my first "upgrade" - A Bakflip bed cover. However, I got lucky in that my taco came with the 17" TRD SEMA wheels plus some Nitto Grappler G2's and all the good offroad-related bells and whistles from the factory. Including all weather floor mats!

Its conquered tall sandy tunes, seen mountain tops and multiple trails, towed my new camping trailer about 1000 miles, and decent amounts of street time. Barely due for its 2nd service at 10,000 miles.

Suffice to say, I think I've explored the limit of the suspension with regards to how I want to drive it. It seems to be a bit softer/more bouncy than when I bought it meaning I've probably run the shocks a bit too hard. I scuffed the lower front bumper on a downed fence. I accidentally bumped my bikes in the garage and scuffed the rear bumper. And most recently I earned my first trophy pinstripe set even though I was trying my hardest to avoid it.

I'm glad I waited this long! Now I know its time for a suspension upgrade suited to my needs and won't feel bad chopping my bumper. In fact, now I have an excuse to upgrade!

I can't think of any other way to go about it where I wouldn't have felt guilty chopping the poor girl up.

 

I added a few things, lift, tires and after a few days in Moab, I wish I had did more. An old friends ask me to go to Moab so he could hang out with his old friends, they have been doing Moab for years, I said sure, he only has a full side F250. We did Kane Creek that up to this year was rated as a 4/7 and now it’s a 6/7, we didn’t see the site that up graded it, only had old information. I don’t blame anyone but me as I could of said NO, but I went with their information.
A stock Tacoma would of had to turn around about 1/3 into the trail at obstacles I went over easily. My damage happened about 75% into the trail as I slid off a rock at a place where everyone winched up.

again it is up to each of us what we want to do with our trucks, I will add protection to keep this and other stuff from happening in the future. I don’t normally rock crawl, but I have been on some trails with my Jeep JKUR and Lexus GX470 where my stock tacoma would of had me turning around, so to me this is a lesson learned and great information gained.

 

I just sold my 2006 Xterra. Had everything done to it but a SAS. Putting parts on a new truck is so much easier than one that has been driven a while, at least in NE Ohio it is. I say do what you want now, why wait? Have fun.

 

Get the lift and have it installed when you take delivery and it extends the warranty on it.

 

I think from the whole thread you bring up a really unique though regarding the expected length of time that I will keep the vehicle. I am consistently telling people I want to watch the odometer to roll past 999,999, and that I have full intentions of loving it through the rusty years 20+ from now. Considering I have had "Putty" for more than a month and I still genuinely feel gratitude for the truck every time I see it and get in, I assume it is a lifetime vehicle.

I have made a decision to keep parts stock at least till their warranty is up, cause there is no point in replacing a brand new part, unless the aftermarket change is necessity for activity.

Update on the build on mods so far(setting for extra flair):

 

As a new Tacoma owner myself I have really enjoyed reading everyone's comments and ideas in this post. I had my truck less than a month and have only made a few appearance mods and added a tonneau cover. I have learned that getting a bed mat is almost a must already and that will most likely be my next investment.

I just wanted to thank you all for helping new owners with all your insights!

 

6 months ago to now
Bumpers, sliders, skids, suspension, 1 pc driveline, 35s, etc. Skids are as bashed up as they can get, sliders have dents, and every bolt underneath is rounded off

 

My 2017 is 4.5 years old, and still stock. I have never regretted leaving it stock.

 

No- you should enjoy it now AND enjoy modding it!

 

Okay, that's hilarious! And...correct!

Seriously though, I drove my '20 Off Road for a year before winch, bumper, tires, tune, lift, etc. All I did was install the camper shell for security and convenience as I use it frequently. I took the Mrs. out for some 4wd fun a few times and limited us to the "easy" and a few "moderate" trails. I have to tell you the truck is really capable in stock configuration. The only real need is ground clearance IMHO. Now that it's June the mountain trails here in Colorado will start to thaw and we'll get to try it with all mods complete. I'll post our first trail pics too!

BTW: you MUST add KDMax 6.0 tune to your truck. Do your own reading, but it's a whole new truck after the tune.

 

Looks great bro. Just got the tune wow!!! Love it different truck

 

OP, I have really enjoyed this discussion. What a fun conversation and a nice distraction from all of the craziness going on in the world!

Last year, right before the pandemic I upgraded my 2005 SR5 to a 2020 TRD Off Road. My strategy was to create a simple roadmap of what I think I might want to modify on the truck. This is just my opinion but I tend not to modify things that don't have a real function. For example, I could care less about the whole chrome delete thing -- unless it really bothers me, like on the bumper caps. I did take the ugly side bed stickers off though. That designer should be fired! Ha !

My roadmap is something like this:

1) New tires. I needed new tires for what I will call light to medium off roading.

2) Functional things that I wanted to do fairly quickly: Tailgate pad, license plate covers, hitch parts, tie downs, bed mats, tonneau cover, recovery kit, etc. Things that were not costly. Fairly standard and were of short term practical use.

Now that I have driven the truck for a year (and this pandemic is thankfully coming closer to the end and things are opening up), I am moving to assess things that support what I want to do with the truck. This includes seat covers, a roof rack and probably a front skid plate. The next wave of modifications will be all about seeing what I need based on what I am seeing that I need given how I am using the truck.

After that, I will move to more substantial bed solutions, such as a cap or soft topper and them possibly look at a rear bumper and then eventually a front bumper, if I need it.

Just throwing out the idea that it may be interesting to put together a plan based on a few general categories, such as short term practical, functional, full on support for how you use the truck long term. That will help shape the truck but also keep you on track. I know that for myself letting my needs drives the mods -- and not the other way around -- has helped me make better decisions. For example, I am now getting close to getting a roof rack and my opinion has changed three times, at least, about what my needs are and what rack best meets those needs.

Overall, it is a fun process and you have time. Frankly, it is not about the money for me. My approach is based on doing a little at a time because that is all that I have the time for, unfortunately.

Look forward to continuing to follow your journey!

 

I wonder which camp I'm in? Truck is set to deliver between the 21st and 28th.

 

When I added the winch and lift to my truck after using it in stock configuration, I saw that I beat the shit out of my skid plate! I was soooooooo proud!

 

These, and the wheels other than the tires, basically leave the truck stock.

I am still stock -- and take it in the woods. I have skids and sliders, though, so I'm stock but protected.

I still keep up with some decked out trucks. These things are pretty capable stock. I have an OR stock so I have a locker but I didn't even use it last week. There was one section I didn't do, not because I couldn't but because I was tired, it was late, and I didn't want to break something because I wasn't paying attention. I walked it, truck would have done fine, might do it in the fall when I go again.



Anyway. For looks, do whatever you want. For off roading, remember everything you do that makes it better off road makes it worse on road. I even am considering cycling through stock goodyear kevlar shenanigans since they're capable enough and readily available. People (like you buy a stock truck and then rip everything off and sell it unused pretty cheap. I'm not picky

Anyway - long of the short, you know what you want for looks. For that, do whatever whenever. For performance either on or off road, wait. And, do one thing at a time. Don't do wheels, tires, lift, CAI, bing bang boom etc etc etc all at once - because maybe you don't like how the tires feel, but you'll spend weeks narrowing down what it was that changed that made you not like it.

 

Yo peeps, Stoked on the thread, Had you researched the "Orange Virus" tune? My rig is still stock but the warranty is up so.......