@Socalexpeditions Vagabond Drifter Build Thread and Trip Reports

Oh yes! I'll run through it all.

Exterior: This is completely subjective. The 2nd gen was.. . I loved the bumpers, the headlights and retrofit, etc. However, I love the third gen color and headlight. The front bumper looks like a cleft chin, and the rear bumper is chrome...Why would Toyota ever do that?!

Interior: The 3rd gen takes the cake on this by far. The steering wheel is leather and has buttons on it. I've never had a steering wheel with *working* buttons. The gauge cluster is amazing - You have digital and analog gauges. There are tons of menu settings showing digital odo, speed, pitch, roll, mpg, music, cruise control settings, tire pressure...It's mind blowing. The headunit is awesome too - It always connects with my phone when I get in, and shows the album cover. Maps works perfectly too. The audio system in the 3rd gen sounds much more refined and the bass actually does something. I much prefer the knobs in the 3rd gen vs. the switches in the 2nd gen. The seats are 100x more comfortable in the 3rd gen - I used to have really bad lower back pain in the second gen due to the lumbar support not working. Overall, the third gen interior is a spaceship and the 2nd gen tacoma is outdated.

Driving experience: The 2nd gen 4.0L is by far a better feeling driving engine. The 3rd gen lacks torque down low, or feels as if it does. On the 400 mile drive home, I was constantly shifting between 4-5-6th gear. The two overdrive gears make it extremely annoying to drive. However, I drive slow and don't like to put my foot down much, so I'm to blame. A comparison I can make is that the 3rd gen stock feels like my 2nd gen with full armor and 35's before the regear. I really do think a tune or gears is necessary on these 3rd gens. However, I was averaging 22mpg the whole way home, with the cruise control w/ radar set. I turned lane assist on too - I just steered the truck and it drove itself home, braking and accelerating for me. Absolutely love this feature. Since the 3rd gen is pretty much stock, it doesn't wander on the freeway like my +2 LT 2nd gen did. I honestly would get burnt out on road trips driving my old truck, but this one is very easy to drive.

If you're considering making the switch, I'd say do it. I use to think turd gens sucked, but I can happily say I am enjoying it stock more than I enjoyed my 2nd gen stock.

 

Shell is up for sale

 

I feel your pain. I got hit by a rock off a construction truck on the way home from Bell Toyota. It's not cracked but there was still a ding on my windshield before I even made it home from the damn dealership.

 

that was predictable

 

Cracked windows suck

I took delivery of my first Tacoma with a cracked window from the dealer because it was cracked while it was being moved between delearships and I was head to Vegas the next day.

 

I paid $300 to get mine replaced and that’s with the TSS thing. It sucks but it’s not too bad. I’ve spent more on Girl Scout cookies.

 

I have to recoup some of the money I spent on it. Also, I have a Vagabond on order. So it’s either I sell my spot or the shell...

and I just got accepted to a few colleges so I don’t know what to do yet. camping the next 2 years is going to become limited.

 

I’d take the vagabond spot off your hands but I just dropped 29k paying off a new roof on the house.

 

Hey congrats on that man! Why'd you need a new roof?

 

it leaked

wife and I sold our condo bought a house at the end of 2018

We only planned to do like 70k in reno but as we dug into it we found mold everywhere, the electrical needed to be replaced, full repipe, etc. basically we tore it down to the studs and it was like a 250k+ Reno on a 798k house.

Btw home inspectors are a fucking rip off.

 

Nice truck! I like what you did.

 

Glad you're ditching the hard shell. Mine was the single biggest and most expensive PITA ever.

 

I'm actually a huge fan of shells. I mean...I'm selling this one to buy another

 

Can’t wait to see more of your build! I’ve been on the fence about going long travel or not, did you feel like it was just overkill?

 

Socal, nothing beats having the desert so close to us. Nothing is as fun for the taco as fast stuff over woops and sand!
Going from daily driving a fully caged LT truck to the current taco with extended travel c/o's I would say good call on keeping it stock length with a good extended travel coilover setup. Turning radius is awesome, parking all normal, and you don't have to worry about axles the same way. With 9" of 4x4 travel upfront you can soak up quite a bit. Anything faster and you probably need to cage the truck. I also don't like the oversprung feel or lack of down travel , so I'm on 650 lbs coils with only 0.75" of lift. No sway bar, and 1.25" camburg uniball uppers for trophy truck aesthetics. I might add a secondary bypass shock or short hydro bump stop upfront at some point for the "oh shit" moments.

The only thing I would recommend is going 14"+ travel in the rear. Going spring under leafs and new upper shock mounts for 14" + shocks, you will notice a night & day difference at speed vs add-a-leaf, or any spring over pack you can buy with stock shock location. I'm sure you are already fully aware of this. Only difference is going LT in the rear doesn't have the same negative effect as front LT. Plus at the cost it takes, you will notice a major difference in ride quality at speed for how much it will cost. Rear suspension travel and bottom out control is much more important at speed. Most everyone with a taco I know goes through all the stages before finally getting 62" springs in the rear.
You spend a bit more money but if you keep the shocks mounted between the bed / fenders , you can keep your bed without a bed cage (might limit your travel to 14ish"). If $$ was no worry you can go cantilever and pull the full 18" of travel without hacking through the bed or worry about shocks rubbing up against the tire.

With the above setup you don't need fiberglass fenders but with all the suspension movement up/down I wouldn't go over a 32" tire unless you want to trim away a lot of things.

 

Some good shit. I'm in the boat of back and forth of getting a better suspension. As of now stock is fine for me but if/when I upgrade it will be 14" rear shock relocate and read up and reach out for shackles/hangers/spring under

 

If you are planning on going faster, I would set it up for at least 9" of just uptravel from the axle to the bump stops, while your truck is at ride height. More rear uptravel is going to do wonders to the rear stability and prevent it from "bucking" up.

 

Not at all, I loved +2. I just don’t want having custom axles anymore.

 

Still have yet to spend a dollar on upgrades. This is unlike me

 

Lots of truth in here. I’m going to be running 35s again so I need to plan accordingly.

I think I can shove a 2.5x14” with the Archive Kit. I don’t plan on cutting into the rear bed. Still not sure if I want to do SUA.