What is the single best improvement you've made to your 3rd gen that makes your life easier?

Most useful mod I have done yet was I took the fuse panel out and soldered a jumper wire from the cig lighter fuse to a constantly hot fuse so that the power outlet in the console is always on when the truck is off.

 

I used some Gorilla glue mounting tape cut to size to stick it next to the emergency flasher button. It’s the perfect spot for me.

 

Spend the extra few dollars and buy the OEM tailgate lock.

 

Because I have a manual transmission, you can’t get a remote start, from Toyota. So I upgraded, and got an aftermarket remote start. Because this truck is my winter driver it is so nice climb into an already warm vehicle.

 

I have had few a pop and lock tailgate locks they install fast the one on my current truck took 20 minutes to install and has worked flawlessly.

 

They don’t install as quickly as the OEM. You have to cut wires. I’m glad they work for you.

 

Plug and play took a few seconds no cutting no splicing

 

I got "lucky" and my truck came with both the OEM all weather floor mats and a tonneau. (i picked a truck that had them)

 

KD Max Tune and OEM Bed Mat both quality of life mods.

 

So many to choose… IMO full skids and sliders for off-road protection

 

My suspension makes me smile every time I walk out to the truck.

 

I want to get the trd skid and paint it black, but I’m still on stock suspension

 

I know you asked for one but for me its a combo of gears, lockers and the KDMAX tune. With those 3 upgrades your entire driving experience is enhanced on and off road. On road the drive is more fun and the drivability is greatly improved as the shifting is way better after the tune. Off road you get the improved capabilities of both lockers and at least for me the feeling of 1st gear as almost a granny gear after the 5.29s. The whole truck is transformed into a well rounded more capable vehicle on and off pavement. It became a more enjoyable vehicle in all the situations I normally get into. I don't really tow anything and I don't drive it like a race car. I know it sounds expensive but I feel like people spend insane amounts of money on things like headlights, which to me look nice, but didn't really improve any capabilities. I try to make my mod/installs with improved capabilities and then have some for fun or just looks.

 

Doesn’t matter stock or lifted great investment if you want to off-road

 

I bought one of those for my previous Ford Ranger. Between the freezing in winter and all the corrosion caused by rock salt on the roads, they don’t last. Worst mod money I ever spent

 

I use my Taco Garage DMM more than anything else. Honorable mention goes to the additional tie downs (mine are CaliRaised) that I added at the front of the bed.

 

Seems a lot of guys use the DMM mount. I’m leaning towards just a magnet mount

 

Best mod on my 2021 OR so far has been the tires. Toyo Open Country A/T 3s.

Did the Rubicon recently with zero slippage. Only 31" tires, cheap 2/1 lift, and some spotting from the wife required. Tires at 15/16 PSI. Extremely difficult (would not recommend unless you want an extreme challenge and high chance of messing up your truck, the 35" tire minimum recommendation for this trail is smart) but a big reason we got through it unscathed was the tires never slipping. Sometimes the truck would force rocks to slip on other rocks, but the tires never slipped off of rocks. Zero damage to the tires, even in places where the rims got gouged pretty bad, the tires held up 100%. I've also run these tires in other conditions - deep snow, deep sand, dirt, mud, forest trails, these tires are extremely confident in all situations. They are nearly unbeatable on asphalt/rock surfaces. You can hear them gripping if you roll down the windows at low speeds, but at highway speeds they don't add any road noise at all.

Also, the Taco is a general beast for getting through that trail without heavy mods. All it needed was an alignment afterwards, no damage after getting rocked hard for a day straight. We picked the right truck.



Honorable mentions:

• KDMAX tune for making the on road driving dynamics a lot better. off-road as good or better than before as well. Dune climbs are noticeably stronger, with the better shift points and extra beans.
• Anytime front camera making it easy for myself and my wife passenger to spot obstacles and align the tires properly. Also helps with parking.
• Cali-Raised rock sliders for taking some BIG hits on the Rubicon.
• Traction boards for helping my friend get unstuck in deep sand. Even cheap boards will work well in 99% of situations and should be your first piece of recovery gear if you don't want to get bogged.

 

Makes my life easier? Tires. Cooper st maxx. Ive never had a tire failure from anything other than low tire pressure. Im on my 3rd set.


Makes my truck perform / more enjoyable?
5.29 gears
ADS suspension
35s
Archive shock relocate
Scangauge 2

 

OVTune, which I now run the KDMax tune. Second is my Bilstein suspension upgrade.