TheTacoShack - LT Rock Crawler Flatbed Build

Well...here it is, my build thread... finally. My name's Elijah Nesbitt, I am a huge Toyota enthusiast , I love camping and off roading and spend most of my free time doing just that...or at least day dreaming about it! I am a Toyota technician and love wrenching. I have always been good with creatively using my hands to build things even from a young age. I used to save up and buy whole LEGO sets just because i needed a part from it for something else i was building on the side. I am largely the same kid at heart these days, but now its full size trucks and off road parts instead of LEGO pieces!

My First Car: 1977 Toyota Celica GT Liftback
I was 15 , i had my learner's permit and was anxious to get my own car. My parents quickly told me that i would not be getting my own vehicle anytime soon, instead I was told i would be sharing the family learner's car (2001 Corolla) with my older brother and my older sister. Splitting a high mileage automatic Corolla did not seem like something i was evenly remotely interested in so i called my grandpa and set out a set of loan terms for a first car which he accepted. I found a 1977 Celica GT Liftback in Palm Springs and had to beg my mom to drive me out to pick up this POS. Driving it home I was on cloud 9, until it overheated. So we pulled off to a Rest Stop, waited for it to cool down and then continued on the journey home, I limped the tired old 20r Powered Celica home doing my best to keep it away from the red zone until I was within AAA towing distance. I got it towed to my part time job at a small local private Toyota mechanic's shop where i apprenticed for two years. Long story short, i rebuilt every part of that old Celica , Motor, interior, exterior you name it. This car really solidified my love for making a vehicle your own and really paved the way for my career and passion for Tacomas.

My First Truck :
Skipping past a few cheap first generation Miata's, a killer 2001 5-speed V6 Solara, an overpriced second generation Miata we get to the truck that stole my heart. 1998.5 Dodge Ram 2500 Heavy Duty 24-Valve Cummins. She was my first truck and at the time, the most expensive vehicle i had purchased (10k ish). She ran like a queen, made 36psi of boost and got 24mpg + on freeway road trips. I put 25k on her in the first year and she was nearing the 300,ooo mile mark. Sadly she was in need of a third transmission replacement and her being a 2wd tease of a perfect 4x4 pickup truck, i chose to sell her and ride my motorcycle until the proper truck came along.

Around this time, the Tacoma Leaf Spring replacement campaign was in full swing across the U.S. as I'm sure thousands of users here are aware. I knew how to do leaf springs efficiently and didn't mind the weight of lifting them over the axles so gradually i began doing every leaf spring replacement that came through our dealership. At first i kept my callous "Full Size Diesels are the only trucks worth a damn" mentality. But Truck after truck, Tacoma after Tacoma i began to really appreciate these weird "little" trucks. As i test drove them 10 times a day, i began to feel really at home behind the wheel and becoming accustomed to repairing them i began to see the appeal. I started looking for my Tacoma in July of 2016. I wanted 4x4, Manual, Double Cab, Low Mileage. After months of searching as driving a dozen different Craigslist Tacomas, I was just about done looking for more. I was convinced that there was NOT the perfect truck for me and i began looking at any off road oriented truck. I was sick of riding my 636 Ninja to work everyday and rain was becoming more prevalent and the pressure to get a truck was turning up. I was working late and was having a crap day when all of a sudden a silver immaculate double cab passed me as i stood outside taking a break. I did a double take and then immediately followed the truck to where it parked in the Used Car Inspection Parking area, it had 4x4 flaps, it was clean, it was a double cab and more importantly to me at the time, it was right there in front of me. I bought it that night before the Used Car team had even looked through it. I ended up with an immaculate 2010 Tacoma fully loaded 4x4 Double Cab, it was a single owner (retired gentleman) and only had 31,ooo miles on it. It had a full service history and had been absolutely babied. The only problem was/is that it is an automatic (future FJ swap plans?) .


I will post pictures labeled corresponding to this post soon, I am writing this all in the past tense because I am months into my build now and am just horribly behind in this build thread portion. I will be posting often to catch everyone up on what has been done so far! I will attempt to post the first set of pictures including the first mods tomorrow!

 

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CHAPTER 1 : The Beginning


Stock and optioned out with 31k Miles , my baby the first time i saw her ! (Used Car team put "Eli's Truck" on the windshield before i could even talk to any of the salespeople.

Before I took the truck home, i removed the shell (A move i would later regret) and the tube steps (a move i absolutely do not regret)

My Babies all in one picture 2006 Kawasaki 636 , my Snap On Toolbox (in the rare Cranberry) and my 2010 Taco

The first "mod" was installing a pro comp spacer up front for that "I want to be a PreRunner" Stance , brand new TRD Beadlock 16's and Federal Couragia MT 33s

Front and Rear bumpers - I picked them up from a fellow Tacoma enthusiast. One of his many tacomas had been T-Boned and he was able to cut the welded-on bumpers off and i picked them up knowing the challenge ahead of me to get a slightly twisted welded on bumper to fit my frame .

One long night welding and cutting and straightening with my friend Sean and the front bumper was straight and on my truck.

The moment i knew that the rear of my truck needed to change...badly


Thanksgiving Day 2016 ~ Less then a month into ownership , this is one of my favorite pictures of the Taco even though she looks completely different now
This will be the end of CHAPTER 1, i will do my best to upload CHAPTER 2 tomorrow at some point. I have months and hundreds of photos of this thing to catch up on, so please bear with me. My work schedule is crazy but i will try to update this build thread once a week at least! Thanks for stopping by and subscribing to the see how the TacoShack ends up! Leave any comments or questions and i will reply to them all !

 

Looking great I'm a huge fan of that front bumper, and love the stance...

 

I Apologize for the scattered posting, I have been swamped at work but will hopefully make good progress with this post about where the Taco Shack is at currently. I hope you enjoy the recap of this build journey as much as i have enjoyed it !

CHAPTER 2 : Testing The Taco


- installed OEM Crossbars

- I was given this rack from the guy who bought my hard top shell as part of the payment, it is a Smittybuilt JK Wrangler roof rack and it fits nearly perfectly to the stock Toyota crossbars. This shot was taken off Tujunga Pass heading towards the Imperial Dunes for the Taco's first expedition . We had to pull over when the XJ Jeep in front of me started smoking on the ascent.

- Big Tip of the Century: When you forget a whip flag.... duct tape, a tent pole, 2 zip ties, and a large In n Out Soda Cup work well

Imperial Dunes - December 2016

- A little Flexin' on my buddies XJ (the one smoking up the incline)

- I was still getting comfortable with the truck and its dimensions and ended up high centered on the crest of this dune (a few feet past the edge of the front bumper, it is a significant steep drop) . With the TRD E-locker engaged and a quick tug from one of the envoy, the Taco was quickly freed.


Azusa OHV Park - Jan 2017

A gorgeous, gloomy day in Azusa OHV - Jan 2017

Cleghorn - Jan 2017

@mahaloTaco @CAHAWKR & I on Cleghorn in January 2017

-Late Night Snorkel install at @CAHAWKR 's house

The first day , or fateful day , in which I met @Shmellmopwho and he fabbed my Rock Sliders on . During the install, we got to talking and realized we got along and both were extremely interested in doing a high clearance flatbed for a rock crawling inspired build.
Side Note : These sliders kick @$$ , look amazing, priced perfectly and ready in a timely fashion.

Keeping the Rock Crawler style in mind, we (me and @Shmellmopwho decided a fender bar would be different, functional and look killer as an alternative to the fiberglass fenders
popular for long travel trucks. We have plans of aggressively trimming the fenders to fit 35's+ as a breeze .


A quick test fitting of the light bar on the JK Rack

Last for tonight, but certainly not least, a Teaser of where the Flat Bed Taco Shack is at right now. Next posting will be a very detailed and lengthy visual walkthrough of the custom flat bed building process. Thank you guys for being patient with my sporadic uploading, please expect part 1 of the Flat Bed
build to be uploaded early next week ! So Until Next Time!

 

Yeeehaw, dis gettin good!!!

 

Here are some detailed photos of the custom flatbed built by Ryan aka Shmellmopwho here from TW. He's a great friend of mine and has been absolutely worth his weight in gold on this build.

 

I will be posting the detailed photos of me installing my Total Chaos long travel kit tomorrow on my lunch break! Keep your eye out for the notification ! Let's get this build thread hoppin' ! Thanks for checking in!

 

I told myself I'd keep my truck stock. *proceeds to browse tacomaworld everyday and gets inspired by stuff like this*

 

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This is going to be an interesting but at the same time awesome build.

 

Bad ass truck. In for sure.​

 

So in... love it keep up the awesome work guys