Hello from NEPA!

[Mike_570]

Hey everyone,

Glad I found this forum. I frequent a few other Tacoma-based forums but I haven't really posted on them, though this one definitely seems to be the one for me.

I bought a new 2021 TRD Offroad Tacoma back in August 2021 after wanting one for years and finally having an excuse to purchase a new vehicle.

I haven't done too much with it as of yet - the suspension has been enough thus far and while the tires that came on it aren't the best I'd prefer to get my money out of them and wear them out before putting new tires on the truck, at which point I will probably go up a tire size and level the truck and leave it at that.

The only things I have done thus far are minor - oil catch can, rerouting the AC drain, swapping the fogs with Baja Designs SAE fogs, etc. I also sprayed the entirety of the underside of the truck, inside the doors, inside the tailgate, inside the bed, inside the fenders, and the entire engine bay with cosmoline.

I have an uptop overland rack and baja designs s8 light bar to go up when it's warm enough to want to be in the garage, plus a switch pro and all that jazz to hook up, too.

Obviously, my truck is going to look like every other barely modded TRD Offroad, but I may as well share pictures.

This is the day I bought it...

This was the day I took it down back to the range to get the rifle ready for hunting season

And this was taken last Saturday while going for a snowy drive

I now have roughly 8100 miles on the truck with many, many more to go. I don't intend on trading this in or selling it in the future, so a lot of my immediate projects (such as the cosmoline) are geared towards ensuring a long life.

I look forward to building the truck up more and being a member here!

Current modifications:
Total Chaos Bed Stiffeners
JLT Oil Separator (Catch Can)
Baja Designs Squadron SAE Fog Lights
Weathertech Bug & Rock Deflector
Weathertech Window Deflectors
Carhartt Fitted Seat Covers
Cosmoline undercoating

In Progress:
Uptop Overland Alpha Rack is being put together
Baja Designs S8 Lightbar is going in the rack
Switch Pro SP9100 for roof rack light and future accessories

Future Modifications:
More skid plates
Different wheels
bigger tires

 

[Tyler]

Glad I found this forum. I frequent a few other Tacoma-based forums but I haven't really posted on them, though this one definitely seems to be the one for me.

Welcome and thank you for the early donation! I'm glad you found us. Mind if I ask what you searched on Google that made the forum show up?

the suspension has been enough thus far and while the tires that came on it aren't the best I'd prefer to get my money out of them and wear them out before putting new tires on the truck, at which point I will probably go up a tire size and level the truck and leave it at that

Usually a good way to do it. See where you can get with the truck in its stock form. Eventually go bigger in tire size like you said. Then go back and see how the new mods feel in those places that felt too risky back when the truck was stock.

Obviously, my truck is going to look like every other barely modded TRD Offroad

Eh, that's most of us. Nothing wrong with that at all. Besides, the 3rd gen Taco is the best looking truck from the factory, at least in my opinion. Sometimes I wish I kept my truck mostly stock just for the looks.

I now have roughly 8100 miles on the truck with many, many more to go. I don't intend on trading this in or selling it in the future, so a lot of my immediate projects (such as the cosmoline) are geared towards ensuring a long life.

I was going to ask about that when I read all the areas you it with cosmoline. I too bought my truck with no intention of ever selling it but I never took care of it in that way, which I kind of regret, but I guess it's still not too late. My dad pushed a 2001 F-150 to about 370,000 miles on the original engine so I want to follow suit with my Taco.

I look forward to building the truck up more and being a member here!

You picked a great color for the truck. If you didn't notice, you can make the website Army green if you want: Style chooser (https://tacoma3g.com/misc/style). Works in light or dark mode.

 

[Meclizine]

Welcome! There's a dude who comes to work as I leave and he drives one like this. I always drool at the color

 

[Mike_570]

Welcome and thank you for the early donation! I'm glad you found us. Mind if I ask what you searched on Google that made the forum show up?

I just searched Toyota Tacoma Forum on google and found this one. I'm a member of another well-known forum...but the mentality and friendliness here seem to fit my preference more.

Usually a good way to do it. See where you can get with the truck in its stock form. Eventually go bigger in tire size like you said. Then go back and see how the new mods feel in those places that felt too risky back when the truck was stock.

Due to where I live and where I will really go offroading, I probably won't ever need more than the level and a bit bigger tires. I don't really think I can stomach rock crawling with this truck! I'm mostly into offroading in the woods on old cattle trails and fire roads and whatnot.

Eh, that's most of us. Nothing wrong with that at all. Besides, the 3rd gen Taco is the best looking truck from the factory, at least in my opinion. Sometimes I wish I kept my truck mostly stock just for the looks.

It's true, I love the look of the Tacoma. Always have, the only vehicle that I thought was as aesthetically pleasing was the 4Runner but I wanted the bed.

I'm also actually quite partial to the Offroad grill with no intentions of changing it to the Pro.

I was going to ask about that when I read all the areas you it with cosmoline. I too bought my truck with no intention of ever selling it but I never took care of it in that way, which I kind of regret, but I guess it's still not too late. My dad pushed a 2001 F-150 to about 370,000 miles on the original engine so I want to follow suit with my Taco.


You picked a great color for the truck. If you didn't notice, you can make the website Army green if you want: Style chooser (https://tacoma3g.com/misc/style). Works in light or dark mode.

You should definitely look into doing the cosmoline - you're correct that it's never too late. Any minor surface rust underneath can be cleaned up and painted with Rustoleum to prevent any further rust and then coated with cosmoline. Check out Cosmoline for Sale - Cosmoline Direct Rust Preventives, Sprays & More (https://www.cosmolinedirect.com/) - that is where I ordered mine. I ordered the "RP-342 Heavy Formula" which dries to an amber color.

They also have a black version if you're concerned about how it looks underneath. After a while it doesn't matter anyway, the stuff is waxy and stays slightly sticky so eventually, your frame is going to be brown simply from dirt sticking to the coating.


Wow, the style settings for the site are badass, thanks for pointing that out!

 

[Bird dog]

Welcome aboard.

 

[Mike_570]

Welcome! There's a dude who comes to work as I leave and he drives one like this. I always drool at the color

Believe it or not, I actually didn't even have a color preference. I was looking for a gunmetal grey one initially, I've always been boring with vehicles and wanted a "simple" color. BUT none of the dealers had any coming in. The only dealer that had some arriving only had Army Green ones coming. I couldn't really wait and didn't want any other vehicle, so I said screw it and went with the AG. I'm so happy that I did, I'm obsessed with the color now.

 

[Biohazard]

Green is awesome. I like my white one, but very nearly went with green.

Welcome to T3G. It's a great place. Lots of good information, minus all the bragging about one's chest hair.

 

[Mike_570]

Green is awesome. I like my white one, but very nearly went with green.

Welcome to T3G. It's a great place. Lots of good information, minus all the bragging about one's chest hair.

I mean let's be honest, they all look nice. Aside from maybe that new lime green color...not my jam.

I bet the white doesn't show scratches as bad as the green...dear god the scratches.

 

[Tyler]

Aside from maybe that new lime green color...not my jam.

Never seen one in person aside from Overland Expo so I’m not sure if they are even selling? Or maybe it has to do with the shortages.

 

[Mike_570]

Never seen one in person aside from Overland Expo so I’m not sure if they are even selling? Or maybe it has to do with the shortages.

Probably due to the shortages - I saw a lime green 4Runner driving around with a dealer plate and haven't seen any others yet. All Toyota lots around here are void of any new vehicles. Tons of overpriced used vehicles, though! I'm definitely glad I got mine when I did, but even then I had to drive an hour and a half to avoid paying over MSRP.

 

[Tyler]

Probably due to the shortages - I saw a lime green 4Runner driving around with a dealer plate and haven't seen any others yet. All Toyota lots around here are void of any new vehicles. Tons of overpriced used vehicles, though! I'm definitely glad I got mine when I did, but even then I had to drive an hour and a half to avoid paying over MSRP.

Did you get yours last year?

 

[Mike_570]

Did you get yours last year?

Yep - August 16th 2021 with 3 Miles on the odometer

 

[Tyler]

Yep - August 16th 2021 with 3 Miles on the odometer

Ha, something about very low odometer miles like that when buying new makes a difference to me. I remember, back in 2013 when we were looking for @Paige's Jeep JK, the first one we considered had like 95 miles on it. It obviously doesn't matter but it made me feel like "meh, this doesn't feel like the one". Then at a different dealer we found the Jeep in the color she wanted hiding in the way back of the lot and it had like 7 on it.

 

[B-Man]

Welcome!

 

[Mike_570]

Ha, something about very low odometer miles like that when buying new makes a difference to me. I remember, back in 2013 when we were looking for @Paige's Jeep JK, the first one we considered had like 95 miles on it. It obviously doesn't matter but it made me feel like "meh, this doesn't feel like the one". Then at a different dealer we found the Jeep in the color she wanted hiding in the way back of the lot and it had like 7 on it.

There's really nothing like knowing everything that has and will happen with this truck has been with me behind the wheel. It was my first new vehicle ever, hell it was my first ever sub 90k mile vehicle let alone my first truck. The only thing that I ever had that I could even remotely compare to it (capability-wise) was an old Jeep TJ that I no longer have.

I will say, though, the first time you get a rock chip on a brand new vehicle (regardless of whether it's a truck or not) is gutwrenching - or at least it was for me. I feel like that aspect wouldn't have been as painful had the vehicle been pre-owned with a few chips and scratches already.

 

[TCOTUE]

Welcome! It's really a cascading effect. I started with wheels and tires (mine were about 1/2 life), but I was wheeling with my Jeep buddy (who's on 35's and a 3ish inch lift) and the tacoma was just as capable as his Jeep. Shortly after I bought a lift.

You'll love just how capable they are stock for sure! Welcome again to the best forum on the interwebs!

 

[Mike_570]

Welcome! It's really a cascading effect. I started with wheels and tires (mine were about 1/2 life), but I was wheeling with my Jeep buddy (who's on 35's and a 3ish inch lift) and the tacoma was just as capable as his Jeep. Shortly after I bought a lift.

You'll love just how capable they are stock for sure! Welcome again to the best forum on the interwebs!

Thank you!

Yeah, it's one of those things where I haven't even had a reason to upgrade (although the stock tires and mud are not good friends) and I honestly will be surprised if I ever "have" to update.

So really, the tires are just because...bigger tires are cool. The level is just to remove the rake, I don't feel like I actually need any more clearance than I already have.

I'm more interested in getting rock sliders and skid plates, at the moment. That way, if I start hitting those, then I didn't do any damage and I have a valid reason to get a lift.

 

[Tyler]

There's really nothing like knowing everything that has and will happen with this truck has been with me behind the wheel.

Same! There's nothing objectively wrong with a new-used car but it doesn't have the same sentimental value as one that you were the only owner of. Imagine a one-owner truck with 500,000 miles (like you see on YouTube sometimes lol). That type of dude probably knows the truck better than the manufacturer does at that point.

I will say, though, the first time you get a rock chip on a brand new vehicle (regardless of whether it's a truck or not) is gutwrenching - or at least it was for me.

For sure. The silver lining is that once its happened, it only gets less painful each subsequent time. I speak from experience.

 

[406Camper]

Welcome. Love that Army Green!

 

[bonifacio]

Where in NE PA? Always down to meet Tacoma people.
Doing new wheels? If you are, you can always move the factory tires over. Then go different size later. That's what I did.

 

[Mike_570]

Where in NE PA? Always down to meet Tacoma people.
Doing new wheels? If you are, you can always move the factory tires over. Then go different size later. That's what I did.

2.5 hours away, as you mentioned in another thread. It always seems like there's never anyone close to me.

I would like to do new wheels, yeah. I need to do my research, but I'm pretty sure I want bead lock unless there's some reason it's a bad idea, and I'd most likely stay with a 16" wheel.

Part of the problem that I'm going to run in with this sort of thing is that I only have so much height clearance in my garage and I need to be mindful of the total height of the truck or else I'm not going to be able to get it in there anymore.

 

[bonifacio]

I have 6112/5160, AAL, 16", 33", UpTop Roof Rack. I could get a rough height measurement for you.

 

[Mike_570]

I have 6112/5160, AAL, 16", 33", UpTop Roof Rack. I could get a rough height measurement for you.

That would be great!

 

[DavidLReid]

Hello and welcome from SW MO.

 

[Mike_570]

Hello and welcome from SW MO.

Thanks David!