The Golden Triangle (Beaumont, Port Arthur, Nederland)

I looked into the 4runner Sema rims a lot after I got my truck and they are not 8" wide. Is it a local seller or online?
I likelty wont have a replaced my bumper by the time you are ready to buy.
HC stands for High Clearance. It requires cutting off part of the truck bed to fit. Heres my post from when i installed mine a few weeks ago.

Here it is with the bumper installed.

I had sliders before I did any suspension on my truck. It handled the weight fine but I put off skids far too long. My stock ones where beat up really bad when I finally removed them.

 

• The seller for the rims is online (eBay) so I'll take your word over theirs regarding the width (although I'm curious what 1/2" of width would do in terms of the appearance of the rim/tire combination on my truck? Would it make the rims and tires sit under the fender well instead of being flush?)
• I'm not in a hurry on any of these modifications so if it works out then I'm good with buying secondhand (especially with having the opportunity to learn from others on how to do all this).
• I don't think HC (thanks for explaining) is what I'm looking for. I am NOT good with my hands nor am I mechanically inclined; I'm really looking more for bolt-on options rather than cutting, etc. which honestly scares the hell out of me thinking of trying to do it on my own.

 

Deciding to cut up your bedsides takes some commitment. I damaged my bedside slightly coming off a rock and figured cutting them off was the best fix. There is a lot of options for a standard(No cutting) rear bumper replacement. Check out this thread, post 1 has just about every 3rd gen rear bumper available. https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/3rd-gen-rear-bumper-thread.530302/
While you have a nice option chosen for the front heres the front bumper thread if you want to see what other options are available. I really like my SSO Slimline hybrid even though it no longer suits my needs. https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/complete-third-gen-tacoma-front-bumper-thread.502517/

 

@Talmek

Welcome to the forum! Looks like everyone has got you headed down a good starting path. If you need any mechanical or welding work or advice let us know. I do a lot of fabrication at the house and the garage has become a TW community garage dubbed HackJobGarage Fabrication.

 

Love me some good HJ's!

 

Wheels: you can find people selling them on here from time to time. Otherwise the link below always seems to have authentic ones for the cheapest...

https://parts.olathetoyota.com/oem-parts/toyota-trd-17-in-matte-black-alloy-wheel-ptr2035110bk

Tires: the KO2's people seem to either love them or hate them. I've ran the old KO's before and had no problems. If you ask around you will get different opinions. They do make good all around tires.

I run the Goodyear DuraTracs as they offer more off road performance, they are lighter and have wonderful on road handling.

Front bumper: I like the decision of the SSO slim

Rear bumper: you could go with SSO and save on shipping for both. I also have that CBI certificate for $750 I'd be willing to part with for less if you like theirs.

Sliders: be prepared to drill into your frame. Almost everyone who claims to have bolt on sliders still requires a couple of extra holes to be drilled. I believe BAMF is the one fabricator that requires the least holes. (Someone correct me if I'm wrong)

Skids: there are plenty of options out there but none that will beat HJG skids, hands down without question.

Suspension: the 5100's and springs (887's) will be a great place for you to get out there and see what your truck will do. It will give you better off road performance while helping with the additional weight of the bumper and armor but still provide a comfortable ride on the road.

Everything you buy can be removed and upgraded as you continue to mod your truck. You can sell all your parts on TW to help someone else build their truck while recouping some of the cost of the new upgrades.

No worries if you don't have a lot of experience, like we talked about on Monday, we enjoy doing this kind of stuff and bringing more people into the group.

 

So pricing everything out (based on the recommended materials from the group) comes out to be about $5,500 (skid plates from CBI look like they come bare metal - anyone know how to powder coat or recommend someone who can???). If I were to get all this in one shot (empty garage luckily for me) how many weekends/months would it take to install all of this? I have to get a pretty clear idea of what installations look like for each part due to my family situation (single dad - 3 kids full time) so when I commit to something I've got to plan it out accordingly. Barring saws within 100 yards of my truck is this a six month gig?

 

Do not powdercoat skids just spray paint because the will get scratched and gouged.

Doing all that with 1 guy probably day to 2. Multiple people helping, a day easy

 

TRD rims are 7.5”, I went with RCI skids and they come powder coated. I bought them on a group buy and saved a couple hundred bucks. I’ve already scratched them and when they get a little worse I’ll just spray paint them as I go. I’ve had the KO2s for almost 30k Miles so far and have had no issues with them. They do get a little noisier as they wear but it’s not bad. I believe mobtown makes the only true bolt on sliders, my buddy at work has them so I’ll ask to make sure.

 

Houston area

 

Hey John,
Glad you posted finally. Welcome to the group.

Just FYI,
@Talmek isn't just another Tacoma wielding internet warrior, he's a personal friend of mine for about 10 years and I'm glad he's finally getting interested in the overland scene.

While he claims he's not mechanically inclined it's a bit incorrect. He's actually very process oriented, he's got the right learning abilities, just needs someone who break the ice with him on vehicle mechanics. He's done survival training, so field repairs and learning on the fly are second nature. Our chief hackjob (Chris...or @Tacodriver08 ) along with @Overkill07 and the crew will get you moving in the right direction.

There's a gaggle of us now, and even though I'm in Tennessee I'm still close enough to join you guys at every place but Hidden Falls.

Also, @SuperBad - You keep saying you're about to come off that bumper. I'll believe it when I see it. Also, you only recommend a rear bumper first because of the Jambo incident Your poor truck took a beating that weekend man.

@TACORIDER Jake, I bet we can do his truck in 1 day easy if Barry helps.....

Finally, pretty sure the TRD SEMAs are 7.5" but I personally don't care because 285's and 7.5" are fine. Going bigger would be a problem.

@TRD493 Has the FN replicas of those wheels but are 8" wide because they are aftermarket and runs the 265/70/r17 size rims. You might have him post a pic of his truck with a straight on shot of the front to see how they line up with the fenders. I'm pretty sure they don't stick past it.

Just FYI John, the people posting in this group, with the exception of maybe one, I have regularly wheeled and camped with for the past 2 years. I know them personally, one of them even fist bumped me in the middle of the night while we shared adjoining bunk beds in HOT SPRINGS! Then there was the time Jake drove over that tree so he could burn it to get Rachel to come out of the tent because she said she was cold.

These people aren't right. That's why I love 'em so much.

 

That tree looked at me funny I told you, it was chilly.

 

None of these people are right.

I still don't know why I thought it was a good idea to go wheel with them the first day at Jambo 18 which turned into night wheeling past "curfew"... I should have brought more beer with me in the buggy...



But at least I know I can count on yall to have fun.

 

You mean Susan’s “ BUTTPLUGGY”

 

Sure do. It was pretty damn fun.

 

I'll come off the bumper once I can manage saving the $$$ for a new one. I keep spending it on other mods like my bedslide, prinsu, new tires, electrical stuff and maybe some other things I cant keep track. One day I'll show you I'm serious about replacing the front bumper.

@Talmek Heres a couple pics of my FN's after I installed them back in Nov 2016 with 265/70r17 KO2's on a stock truck.

 

Thanks for posting the photos Jason. They are pretty dang flush.

 

@Talmek i remember when I first met @fajitas21 he followed me to Barnwell. I took him to a special spot and we had lunch at a Mexican meat market. Oh memories...

 

Oh the memories of Juan's meat at Barnwell.

 

Was better in that cabin in the woods.