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All-Terrain Family Tacoma Build Thread!!!!!!!

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StormRnr

StormRnr

6️⃣ Aficionado
Tacoma3G Supporter
This first post in this thread is going to serve as a disclaimer. So here goes.

2017 TRD OR DCSB Silver with 36000 miles. Came with matching SnugTop GB Sport, and rack and the KO2s and weather tech liners.

Price was $29,500 in April of 2020. I thought that was a pretty killer deal then and was fining 2nd gens with twice the miles and half the features for very nearly that much at the time. I just saw one identical to this yesterday asking $39,000!

Untitled by Mike Henderson, on Flickr

First, I've never done a build thread before. Never really felt the need. But also, never had this much to do on a vehicle.

Second, I'm going to start this build thread with a post and a video about how great the Tacoma is stock (mostly). In that post and video there are a bunch of digs about dudes who do build threads. The joke is that I'm doing a build thread. It's in the video, but not in the writeup.

Third, I do a bunch of video work in the off road industry in addition to my YouTube channel so a lot of the parts were sent in conjunction with that.
  1. I got Nitto tires as partial payment for the work I do on Driving Line
  2. ARB sent the suspension in exchange for video footage, photos and content
  3. Warn gave me wholesale pricing
  4. Method gave me wholesale pricing
  5. I got a 10% discount on the UCAs from Sale off road cause I know the manager
Fourth, We've been using and adventuring in our 2017 Tacoma for a year and here are some photos from those adventures.

Untitled by Mike Henderson, on Flickr

First day with the truck. Went to shoot a Driving Line channel video and smashed the skid plate.

Untitled by Mike Henderson, on Flickr

Untitled by Mike Henderson, on Flickr

The boys are almost always with me.

Untitled by Mike Henderson, on Flickr

We tow a trailer. Sometimes to the wrong places...

Untitled by Mike Henderson, on Flickr

Lots of mines to explore in Nevada.

Untitled by Mike Henderson, on Flickr

Flag over smoky valleys by Mike Henderson, on Flickr

Top of Mt. Patterson

Camp East of Kumiva Peak by Mike Henderson, on Flickr

Flexing out by Mike Henderson, on Flickr

Flexing out!

Tacoma Drawers by Mike Henderson, on Flickr

I built some drawers for the bed. They are awesome.

Stay tuned...

-M
 
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There's this recurring dream I have. Off and on. All my life. As long a I can remember.

It involves that perfect smooth stretch of dirt road. Not one that was graded flat by a metal blade. Altering the surface temporarily. A road that was naturally smooth. Minimal rocks, no washboard. In the dream we roll from rough road all chaos and interruptions onto the smooth road and the hum of the engine, and the wind and the tires and the dust flying up and particles of sand hitting the undercarriage.

If we pick up speed the undulations in the surface will sway the truck and the rattles and squeaks will come back. If we slow the resonance will set in and we'll be jostled and polished by the scratchy seatcovers. Only here, in the magic speed, on this magic road in this magic ship transiting the land can we feel this flow: joy and contentedness with the present peace set against the horizon of its fleeting nature.

It's being in the right place, at the right time, with only what you need to exist there.

Cause there's always a rough patch of road ahead somewhere.

Hi, I'm mike, I'm an adventurer and a dad and today i'm here to tell you don't need a "rig" with a "build thread" and it's own "instagram profile" to drive out to the middle of nowhere, cook some hot dogs, and watch the sunset.

To illustrate this point, I want to show you our 2017 Toyota Tacoma TRD Off-Road and why I think a vehicle like this it a great minimalist vehicle for overlanding, off-road exploring and camping with your family.

Exterior
On the outside, the Toyota Tacoma is a good looking vehicle. The TRD Off-Road adds a few good styling elements like this grill which started it's life with a chrome look and has been updated with Rustoleum truck bed spray, and these black plastic fender flares. This vehicle has the paint matched rear bumper which indicates that it is equipped with the blind spot monitoring sensors. The vinyl TRD Off-Road vinyl decal rounds out the exterior trim level cues.

The topper is a SnugTop GB Sport with the sportsmen package which includes the roof rails and rack as well as a 500# dynamic load rating. While the paint matched shell matches the design of the truck perfectly and looks great, the low profile and limited rear opening isn't ideal. But it came with the truck.

This vehicle is also equipped with a towing package which includes a hitch rated for 6400 pounds and a 6 pin and 4 pin connector.

Interior

The interior of the 3rd gen Tacoma hasn't to my knowledge won any design or functionality awards. It does however look great and function adequately. It has all the things. The head unit is good, not great, but it pairs with a phone via bluetooth or wired connection and a phone is a far better infotainment source anyway. Apple Car Play would be nice, but isn't a deal breaker. It has the capability to change some of the functions of the vehicle as well as track maintenance.

The climate controls control the climate (only inside the truck) so count the bucket for Toyota on that one.

Comfort and Safety

For the last 20 years at least, all vehicles have had power windows and door locks. And for the most part, they have settled the reliability issues of the 1980's when grandpa use to yell at us for cycling the locks and windows constantly on the way home from church. This truck has more nice features than any vehicle I've owned. Heated Seats, sun roof, back up camera, Parking sensors and Blind Spot Monitoring.

I've added the Anytime Backup Camera with front facing camera. Being able to turn the back up camera, when in drive is helpful when hitching up to the trailer, and the front facing camera can somewhat make up for the poor visibility around the hood.

None of these things are particularly necessary for overlanding. Just small things that are sometimes nice to have. Ok most of the time. Ok all the time.

Suspension

The biggest complaints I have with the 3rd Gen Tacoma come with the suspension. While the TRD-Off Road has a slight upgrade in the suspension over the SR and Sport models, it isn't much.

This truck comes with Bilstein 4600 shocks that are pitifully small. While the ride is OK, it suffers on long sections of washboard and rocky bumps which is the bread and butter of overlanding. The front springs are perfectly fine, but the rear leaf springs, while they do have a robust looking overload leaf, are woefully inadequate for any kind of load. Still, many Tacoma owners don't find this to be a problem and you see a lot of leveling kits to make up for the modest stink-big rake of a stock Tacoma. So it clearly suits the majority of Tacoma buyers needs.

With the load of my topper and gear I found we were riding the bump stops quite frequently. I upgraded the stock bump stops to Timbren Active Off-Road Bump stops and added Icon Add-A-Leafs. This mostly solved the problem and while I still ride the bump stops when fully loaded with the trailer, the Timbrens have more travel and a softer overall feel when loaded.

Drive Train

Like steak a french fries, the drive train is the meat and potatoes of any overland build. The difference you get with real 4 Wheel Drive over the all wheel drive you see in many crossovers and SUVs is important, even if it isn't ALWAYS important.

As such, this truck has true 4 wheel drive with a 2 speed transfer case. That means you have a way to send power to all 4 wheels. Yeah, I know that isn't strictly true, but it's kinda true. This vehicle also has some really great traction control features including Auto LSD, Stability control, Crawl Control and Multi terrain select. I admit to not fully understanding how these really work, however the basic traction control works really well. In a situation like a rut where a standard open differential would slip and slide backwards, the Tacoma Traction control powers you right through in 2 wheel drive.

What I do understand quite well is the electronic on-demand electric locking rear differential. This locks the rear axle when in 4-low and makes low traction situations much less challenging. I have a full video on how locking differentials work here.

Power Train

Everyone has an opinion about the powertrain of the 3rd Gen Tacoma. And they're almost all unqualified. The 3.5 v6 on this vehicle has plenty of power and needs no mods.

Sure, it has that power and torque at places in the RPM range that you might not be familiar with coming from your dad's '83 bronco with that big straight 6 and NP435, but really, really, just between the two of us, was that really all that great?

The transmission also has no mods and is another thing that your average forum OG who has more money unvested in woofers and ceramic coatings than camping gear thinks is the worst thing Toyota has ever done.

Come on guys. If you put 1200# of junk on your truck and run 35s on stock gears literally every vehicle is going to suck.

I've definitely had to adjust my expectations with respect to how the engine and transmission work together to respond to torque requests, but in the end, the truck does everything I ask it to do without complaint.

NECESSARY UPGRADES

The most common question you see from people are what are the necessary mods I need to do overlanding in my truck, and my standard answer is: "beer and dirt." But that's not completely true, so here are my recommendations.

Tires

The tires that come stock on these vehicles are clearly designed for the dudes who get leveling kits and only haul around detailing products and wikid rad amplifiers. They are designed for efficiency and comfort. For extended dirt road adventures, you need at least a C load range tire with the equivalent of a 6 ply sidewall, but I run E range tires with a 10 ply equivalent.

These tires are rated to cary well more than the GVWR of the Tacoma, and since most overlanders are doing just that, it's a good idea to have the right tire, even if you are using the wrong truck. The E rated tires will also be a lot more resistant to punctures than the stock tires, which should be the main concern anyway.

For now, I'm running BF Goodrich, All-Terrain KO2s in the stock size. I have had one puncture on these, but that's sometimes unavoidable. BFG, Nitto, Cooper, Falken, General, Goodyear, and Toyo all have great all-terrain tires suitable for overland travel.

Suspension

If you're loading your Tacoma for camping and overlanding you might find that it's sagging a lot. If so, an Add-A-Leaf system like this from Icon will help level you out and ride better off road.

I also opted to get these Active Off Road Bump Stops from Timbren. They help with harsh bottom outs over the stick bump stops. I have a whole video on those that you can check out for more info.

The Timbren kit came with a u-bolt flip bracket. This points the u-bolts up instead of down for improved rock clearance. This is not strictly necessary, and I probably wouldn't just fo this one mod alone, but if you're replacing the springs you might as well.

Performance

As I said, this power train is really quite good as it is and doesn't need any power mods, but if you are going to tow, you absolutely need to get a trailer brake controller. The extra braking will help in every situation.

While I said the stock transmission is good if you have one of the early years of the 3rd gen Tacoma you need to make sure you have the most recent update to the transmission programming. It takes care of a lot of the problems these early models had.

And while you're in there with the transmission, you might as well add a decent shifter handle. The GettaGrip shift handle adaptor lets you run any standard bike grip as your transmission grip. But honestly, I'm not sure why anyone would use anything other than an Oury.

Skid Plates

The first thing I did when I got this truck was add a good ceramic coating and install a subwoofer. Kidding.

The morning after I got this I took it on a super rough road with Harry so shoot this video for Driving line. Along the way I smashed the crap out of the skid plate, which is made out of metal in name only.

With the proceeds of that shoot I ordered a full Engine, transmission and Transfer case skid set from RCI. I opted for Aluminum to save weight , and bare metal to save money. I would definitely recommend something like this, though with a little care spotting, you can obviously get by.

Organization

While not a mod per se, good organization is key for camping and overlanding. Honestly, if you work out of a vehicle that you also camp out of that you also run soccer mom out of, this kind of organization is key.

I built this drawer system and you can check out the full run down in this video.

The Bungie storage up top is super handy as is this Gear Spear I got from Action Quest. That lets me snag items from the back of the bed without crawling in.

Tools and Preparedness

Just because you haven't modded your rig with a lift, big tires and a bunch of other stuff it was never designed to handle, doesn't mean you aren't going to break stuff. I cary a basic set of tools here at the back of this drawer and when we're going big "O" Overlanding. I'll also throw in a recovery strap,, shackle and spare receiver pin.

For long stretches of dirt road, it's a good idea to lower the pressure in the tires to increase comfort and lower the chance of a puncture. So I cary this deflater kit from Boulder Tools and a PowerTank for inflating. A power tank is quiet, fast and doesn't use electricity. It lasts a good number of fills, and can easily survive a season of use before needing a 25 dollar refill.

I also cary a gallon of water in this steel container as well as a first aid kit that I haven't checked or restocked in 6 years. Should probably do that one of these days.

Cons

Since Toyota failed to hire me, a guy with a creative writing degree, as an engineering consultant on this project, they made a few mistakes, and I'll go over them now.

First, the hood is huge. It's a beautiful, full figured, ample and shapely and I really like it, but let's be honest, it's impractical and hard to see around.

Second, the side mirrors are small and inadequate. Coupled with the beautiful and vision obstruction design of the 4 door cab, it's impossible to see anything out of the rear view mirror, especially with the topper on.

The forward facing camera, and backup camera mitigate these issues to a certain extent, and the anytime backup camera helps more as well. With these visibility issues, the parking assist and blind spot monitoring aren't just nice things, they're kind of necessary.

Lastly, the vehicle is geared for the fuel efficient city and highway driving that 90% of all Tacoma drivers use it for, and it lacks the punch for really hard off-roading. But it's not really hat bad, and the crawl control is designed to mitigate that anyway.

Conclusion

So, to get right to the point, you don't need a bunch of mods and fixtures on your 4x4 or SUV to go out and explore. All the major car manufacturers have vehicles similar to this Tacoma that will get you 99% of the wild places that 99% of the people never go.

And all the major car manufacturers make something like this turn-key overlander. There's the Chevy Colorado zr1 or Bison, the Ram Rebel, Nisan Frontier Pro 4x or the Ford Ranger FX4.

With a vehicle like the Toyota Tacoma TRD Off-Road You really don't need new suspension, high tech wheels or tirws. And a lot of heavy recovery gear. You dont need a build thread on then forums. It can go to the end of the trail as it is.

-M
 
Here are the mods I felt necessary to add before moving into a "build"

Anytime Backup Camera:
www.anytimebackupcamera.com

Anytime Backup Camera

Unleash the power of your factory backup camera and add a front camera!
www.anytimebackupcamera.com

Visibility is bad in this truck. This helps, but not really that much. It's too wide and I mounted it too low. I'll address that when I move forward with the build.

RCI Full Slid for Tacoma: https://rcimetalworks.com/product/05-19-tacoma-full-skid-package-deal-copy/

The stock skid plate is worthless. Barely stops water.

Getta Grip Transmission adaptor: https://www.gogettagrip.com

This is an accessory. It's completely unnecessary.

SnugTop GB Sport: https://www.snugtop.com/product/gbsport

For my purposes, the top is required. This one looks great, but is kinda small.

BFG All-Terrain KO2 in stock size

The tires that come on these trucks are worthless. You need C or E range for dirt road driving.

Transmission program update

Did this at the dealer for $200 IT was worth it.

Trailer Brake Controller

This is necessary for towing. Even if it's under the 2000# limit.

WeatherTech Floor Mats

These are nice, but not necessary. Truck came with them.

Wet Okle Seat Cover

I have this on the rear seat to protect it from the monsters I cary back there. Kids are worse than dogs.

-M
 
Just got it weighed as we're getting the tires and suspension installed tomorrow.

5,073# with half a tank of gas BEFORE lift and tires.

GVWR is 5,600#

Even with the winch it'll probably be just barely under without gear and passengers.

-M
 
I got the whole install on video. A shop here let me get in the way. Mounting the Methods was pretty extreme. The bead takes a lot of pressure to get over the internal hump and snaps in loud as a gunshot.

I will need a week or two to get the footage edited. Smoke has settled in over Reno so I will be spending some time in the office.

-M
 
I had the ride height adjusted on the front coilovers. It involves pulling them off the truck and placing the in a spring compressor. They are now at 15mm of thread.

-M
 

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Had the differentials re-geared as well.

Stock gears on this are 3.90:1 (I counted the teeth)
New gears are Nitro 4.88:1

The gears are 25% lower than stock
The tires (Nitto 255/80R17) are 10% taller than stock

So the gearing is 15% lower than stock even with the tires.

So far It's much better on the highway at speed. It climbs hills in 4th instead of 3rd and when cruising it cruises in 6th and accelerates in 4th. This is an improvement as before, even with the stock tires, it coasted in 6th, cruised in 5th and accelerated in 4th and climbed hills in 3rd, even at 70. Here are some snap shots of the RPMs in 6th, 5th and 4th.

I drove a Tacoma with 529s and 285/70R17. I felt that was far far too low for normal use. That truck's owner is into rock crawling and such, so it suits him fine. My tires are actually taller than his, and I still don't think 5.29 would be good. Even if I go to a 34 x 10.50 or a 285/75R17 The gearing would still be lower than stock with my 4:88s. That said, a 285 is much heavier than the setup I'm running and the extra gearing might be nice.

One thing to note: The rear is 8.75" and the front is 8". BUT the front is reverse cut, or high pinion. So while the front may be smaller gearing, it's on the drive side of the teeth so it's as strong as it can be.

The front clamshell it tiny though and the whole front differential seems not that robust. But what do I know. I don't know that I'd put a locker in one.

-M
 

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Just ordered the Randy Ellis Designs Sliders.

Toyota Tacoma Rock Sliders Body Armor Gen 3 #Rock-Taco-3

Light bars, LED Mounting Solutions, Rock Sliders, Mud Flaps, Battery Boxes and accessories.
www.randyellisdesign.com

They mount to the body rather than the frame. And before you get all Tacoma World on me, I have direct experience and video evidence of the designs value. Here they are holding up a Power Wagon:
Original link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Br6sH_pjouY&t=605s


I don't necessarily plan to "rock crawl" or really use them on a regular basis, but I do want the protection for the rare instance when I do.

-M
 
TW peeps can stay over there. I had some frame/body mounted sliders on my XJ way back when, though that was a unibody...so it was all "body." But they worked fine for light duty. Let us know how they work out for you.

All that said, I was really thankful for my side-step, frame mounted SSO tubes a few weekends ago, where I was riding up a steep hill climb and slid into a wall. They kept said wall out of my door's sheet metal. ☠️
 
Biohazard said:
TW peeps can stay over there. I had some frame/body mounted sliders on my XJ way back when, though that was a unibody...so it was all "body." But they worked fine for light duty. Let us know how they work out for you.

All that said, I was really thankful for my side-step, frame mounted SSO tubes a few weekends ago, where I was riding up a steep hill climb and slid into a wall. They kept said wall out of my door's sheet metal. ☠️
Click to expand...
I made that TW comment because there's a thread over there about what a stupid idea they are and I posted that video of my friend sliding his power wagon on them.

I figure that as they make the body stronger and the framer weaker, the design only makes more sense.

-M
 
PIZZA CUTTERS

For the most part, when you choose tires you have to decide between two basic tread patterns All-Terrain or Mud Terrain. Generally, All-Terrain tires are less aggressive, quieter and more fuel efficient. Mud Terrains have more traction from bigger blocks with bigger gaps between blocks to squeeze mud out and keep digging in sticky mud.



If you want a full breakdown of the differences between Mud and All-Terrrain, check out this video Harry Wagner and I did for the Driving Line Channel that compares the two on dirt, snow and rocks. We don't have mud here in Reno.

Speaking of Driving Line, these tires were sent to my by Driving Line so that this vehicle could be used in the videos we produce for Driving Line. Those videos are a paid gig and the channel is sponsored by Nitto so this will mean I don't have to blur out my BFGs again when they show up in one of the videos. Check those out over on the Driving Line YouTube Channel

Hybrid Terrain Tire
Nitto 1.webp


So for the last few years manufacturers have been making what they call a hybrid terrain or R/T tire that combines the big tread blocks and voids of a Mud Tire with the siping and efficiency of an All-Terrain. I actually shot a promo for Kenda's R/T out in St. George a year or so ago.

I decided to go with this tire primarily for size reasons. I wanted to try the 255/80 R17 and this is the tire that they had in that size.

This size, commonly referred to as the "pizza cutter", is 33" tall and about 8" wide at the tread surface and 10" wide at the casing. It's only about 1cm narrower, nominally, than the stock tires, but 2 inches taller.
Nitto 4.webp


They're also taller than a 285/70 17 which many Tacoma owners like to run. How can that be? Well, it's because the first number, 255 is the width in millimeters of the tread of the tire. The second number is the height of the sidewall as a percentage of the tread width. so the side wall is 80% of the width. The third number is the diameter of the wheel in inches.

So find a tire size calculator to find the tru diameter of the tire and you get about 33" for these.

There are various advantages to going with a narrow tire like this for a vehicle as light as a Tacoma.

First is weight. This tire is only 4 pounds heavier than the BFGs I have on it now. Rolling mass has a great effect on the performance and efficiency of a vehicle and keeping it as low as you can is a good idea. The Method 703 wheels I'm using are also only 3 pounds heavier. So the wheel and tire package is nice and light comparatively.

Second is rolling resistance. The narrower tire has less contact and less friction with the road surface and should get better mileage.

The Tire

These tires are LT255/80R17 E 121/118Q
Nitto 5.webp


The LT stands for Light Truck rating. The Tires that come on a Tacoma are P, for passenger car rating.

The E stands for Load Range E and these are rated for a 10 ply sidewall. That means the sidewall is stiffer and thicker than the tires that come stock on a Tacoma and will be able to carry a heavier load and resist puncture. They'll also be heavier and rougher riding than stock.

the 121/118 is the load rating and these are rated for 3195# at 80 PSI.

The Q is the speed range and these are rated for 99 MPH. Though if this truck ever goes that fast it'll probably be falling off a cliff.

Tire Design:

Nitto 6.webp


Like most tires these days the tread pattern on the Ridge Grapplers is designed to be quiet. They do this be setting the tread blocks so that the sound waves come off out of phase so they cancel out. It's kind of like how noise-canceling headphones work.

The tread pattern has a criss-cross design with big center daggers and blocky side lugs set apart with big voids like a mud tire.

But like an all-terrain tire, the lugs are cut with thin sipes to aid in flexing of the tire, and evacuation of water.

The side lugs are staggered to provide more grip and the tread blocks have various features to aid in grip and ejection of rocks and mud.

Like most aggressive off road tires, these have tread lugs built into the sidewall. This will be especially important for such a narrow tire, and certainly help protect the tire when I air them way way down.

Unlike most other tires however, they have different sidewall tread patterns on either side. One side is simpler and less aggressive, while the other is more detailed and aggressive. So you can choose which side shows to the world when you mount them up.

I don't know that it matters much from a performance standpoint. It's random where the tire is going to need grip. Nitto doesn't make any claim as to which is better and lists this as a design feature not a performance feature.

Nitto 3.webp
 
Just a photo. Was out shooting content about the Method Trail Series wheels and though I'd get a beauty shot.

I have one last exterior accessory to install in the next week or so. It's not a light bar, or a roof rack (although I'm putting the ski box up for the winter).

DSC01557.webp
 
In this update we're going to talk about wheels, and why you might want to use a wheel that's different than the stock wheels that came on your 4x4.



So, I've been modifying our 2017 Toyota Tacoma TRD Off-Road with suspension and tires, and if you want to learn about some of the decisions I made to enhance the performance and comfort of the vehicle for our off the beaten path adventures, check out the playlist in the card.

Method 3.webp


In order to open up some more options in tire sizing, I needed to change the wheels from a 16" wheel to a 17" wheel. There are a lot more options from almost every manufacturer if you have a 17" wheel.

I decided to go with the Method Race Wheels trail series 703. These are a 17 by 8 and a half inch wheel with 0 offset and 4.75" inch of backspacing. Which makes for a nice tucked in wheel tire setup.

There are three main reasons I went with Methods, and the 703 specifically. Other than the fact that Michael Shaffer from Rogue Overland is running them. But if I'm being honest, that's the main reason.

Anyway.

Bead Grip Tech



The main reason to choose these wheels is that these have what Method Calls, Bead Grip Technology. To understand what that is, you need to understand what a bead is.

When they make a tire they start with two coils of steel wires wrapped tight, then encased in rubber.

These beads are the interface point between the wheel and the tire and are the basis on which the rest of the tire is built.

Check out the video in the description for how tires are made.

These are the stock Tacoma wheels and they have a little cove that is an extremely tight fit with the bead. When pressurized, the tires will snap into that cove and the air pressure keeps it seated there and the friction of the bead on the rim transmits torque from the axle through the tire to the ground. So the bead has a lot of work to do.

If you are lowering the pressure in your tires for improved traction, at some point when you get down below about 12 PSI, there isn't enough pressure to keep the bead in that cove and they'll slip off and basically unmount the tire completely. At which point, you'll have a bad time.

The Method Wheels have two things to prevent this and allow you to go down to a lower pressure than you would with a regular wheel.

First, and most obvious, they have these rough ridges where the bead rests that dig into the rubber and make it harder for the tire to slip sideways out of the cove.

Second, they have what Method calls an "Enhanced Safety Hump"

This enhanced safety hump keeps the bead from sliding off to the inside of the wheel.

Lastly, Method has a whole range of wheels that use Bead Grip Technology, but I went with the 703 specifically for weight reasons. This wheel weighs 27.6 pounds while the 704s are 32#.

These Stock Tacoma Wheels are 25#. And of course, anything with a fake bead lock ring is going to be considerably heavier which is not what you want.

Check out Michael Shaffer's Little Black 4Runner on the Rogue Overland channel for some footage of what the Bead Grip Wheels can do. He told me he has no problem going down to 10 PSI with these and not loosing the bead.
Original link: https://youtu.be/vXY5zIA8QOY


So how strong is that bead grip thing really? Well, I can show you...

When we mounted these up at Silver State Off Road, Lance had to use a lot of air pressure to get them to slip over the enhanced Bead Hump. The inside bead snapped on first and it was pretty loud. But you can tell from the camera shake here when the outside bead went on that it was quite loud and shocking. All 5 times.

It took several minutes to develop enough pressure to snap them on and it surprised us each time. I've even heard of tire shops having trouble getting them to de-bead with standard tire machines.

So The take home is that they are strong enough for anything I'm likely to ever do with this Tacoma. Unless things get really crazy...

How low can I go?

That remains to be seen. I got these mounted up towards the end of summer and haven't had time to get them out and really stretch their legs.

For overlanding, these are great down at 20 PSI. I've run them at that pressure a bit and they do really well.

For rougher stuff I'd probably lower them to 15psi. I've had good luck with my 4Runner at that pressure.

If we get into sand and snow, I might try taking them down to 10 PSI. In those situations, flotation is really important.

Thanks for checking out this video, If you found this helpful please hit that like button and if you have a question or comment please post it below.

And you can follow our adventures in the upgraded Tacoma by hitting that subscribe button.

Happy Trails
 

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Just calibrated the speedometer with the Rough Country Calibrator: https://www.roughcountry.com/speedometer-calibrator-90043.html

It was a pretty easy install. Hardest part was installing windows on my MacBook.

You enter your old tire size, new tire size, and all the vehicle make model year info then the software programs it.

Then you just plug it in inline with the wiring harness to the instrument cluster.

You have to take the two dash trim pieces off but that's easy.

I verified it with GPS on my phone and it's spot on.

YAY!

-M
 
Regarding the Speedometer Calibration.

MPGs as displayed on yet dash are up by 2 mpg so far. Probably due to me driving 5 mph slower and it not being 10% off at 70.

Shifting seems better too.

I think having the right information helps make decisions better...

-M
 
when you did the icon aal and timbren bumps, did you have modifications to the front suspension or just stock? Really like your build up and youtube coverage. Nice truck! Ordering one alot like it Saturday. Going MT but kinda kicking the auto around. Liked the MT better 2years ago when I last test drove both.
 
Treadway47025 said:
when you did the icon aal and timbren bumps, did you have modifications to the front suspension or just stock? Really like your build up and youtube coverage. Nice truck! Ordering one alot like it Saturday. Going MT but kinda kicking the auto around. Liked the MT better 2years ago when I last test drove both.
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When I had the AALs the front was stock. I was carrying extra load. Even with just the topper, it was saggy.

The auto is OK. It's growing on me. I'd say that after this last weekend in Death Valley doing some "rock crawling" the auto is definitely superior when paired with the re-gearing and the MTS. If you have oversize tires and stock gears, the auto is more forgiving, but lurches more than a manual. I had manual in my 4Runner that was under geared and it wasn't bad, but when things got slow, it stalled a lot or burned the clutch.

-M
 
Thank you for your reply. Value the opinion and information.


StormRnr said:
When I had the AALs the front was stock. I was carrying extra load. Even with just the topper, it was saggy.

The auto is OK. It's growing on me. I'd say that after this last weekend in Death Valley doing some "rock crawling" the auto is definitely superior when paired with the re-gearing and the MTS. If you have oversize tires and stock gears, the auto is more forgiving, but lurches more than a manual. I had manual in my 4Runner that was under geared and it wasn't bad, but when things got slow, it stalled a lot or burned the clutch.

-M
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From the suspension video, it doesn't look like you did any trimming or a CMC. I'm leaning toward the 4.88 gearing and 255/85/R16 as the next big upgrade.
 
Had the exhaust pipe re-routed.

I have the RCI Aluminum skid kit and from day one it was rubbing on the exhaust pipe. I bent the exhaust hanger for clearance, but it wasn't enough once I "used" the skid plate.

The crossmember you can see in the image comes with the RCI kit. It's almost enough now without putting the skit back on. I'll put the skit back on anyway. Cause I have it. Also, I'm sure to "use" it again so we'll find out how strong that bump down for the pipe is.

-M
 

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I used the Randy Ellis Sleekster Sliders. Minor slight scrape. Might not even have saved me body damage, but they handled it well!

I definitely feel like the tube is worth getting. A friend who was on this run in a Tacoma got body damage that would have been less with the slider, but the tube would have prevented any.

Now it's not a slider you can use to pivot around a rock, because it doesn't stick out far enough, but minor stuff, definitely.

-M
 

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