mcharfauros: Mike’s Budget Build which is getting out of hand.

[mcharfauros]

After almost a year of ownership, and multiple trials and errors, I decided to start documenting the build process of my 2017 TRD Offrod Tacoma. Looking forward to all of your thoughts and feedback.

A little background about myself and my family since the decision to buy the Taco was based on a desire to enable my family and I to experience outdoors and hit the trails together. I’m a Soldier in the world’s Greatest Army and will leave it at that, my wife and I have 3 children ages 18,16, and 6. My wife works with the local school district, so you can imagine with all of our schedules, I does get challenging at times to step back and spend good quality time with my family. With that said my wife and I decided to take on Toyota ownership head on as a team. Follow along and hopefully along the way we can all learn some things beneficial to us all.

 

[Silent_Taco4x4]

Welcome to T3G @mcharfauros, I love seeing build threads, especially budget ones since I am on a budget too. Do you have any current pictures to post?

 

[mcharfauros]

Welcome to T3G @mcharfauros, I love seeing build threads, especially budget ones since I am on a budget too. Do you have any current pictures to post?

@Silent_Taco4x4 thanks, yes working on getting some photos uploaded. I just became aware of tacoma3g.com only 20 minutes ago, so definitely looking forward to getting started.

 

[mcharfauros]

I bought the truck on 30June2017 after a 2 month stint with my 1st 2017 Tacoma which was a 2WD SR5. My wife and I drove to two dealerships a total of 9 hours away from our home. After having the previous 2WD SR5 my truck requirements where pretty simple and specific. 4WD was a must, it had to be a 6-Speed Manual Trans, and the pricing had to be competitive. After multiple online searches we found 2 trucks in a 500 mile radius which met out criteria. So I called my credit union and told them my intentions to trade in my SR5, they sent me a check and we were off on our way in search of the rig.

This is what I started out with: 2017 2WD SR5

We drove roughly 7 hours to Schererville, Indiana to take a look the 1st one which was a 2017 TRD Offroad 4WD 6-Speed Manual in Quicksand. I test drove it and loved being back in a stick shift. Unfortunately this dealership was asking way to much, I knew I was gonna take a hit on the trade in, but for what they wanted simply did not make sense financially.

So off we went across another state line into Illinois, to take a look at the other one on our list. We arrived in St Charles, IL a few hours later where we found this one hidden in the rear of the dealership. The sales associate drove us out back in a golf cart to see the truck, because he didn’t know how to drive stick and couldn’t bring it up front to the indoor showroom.

At this point they had my SR5 appraised where we would take a $1000 hit for the trade in. My wife and I sat down and ran the numbers, and decided to make an offer on the truck based on real invoice pricing. To our surprise they bit on the offer, we went a step further and took advantage of their financing incentives for Military personnel as well as college graduates pricing. So we went ahead and financed the truck through Toyota to get the $1500 incentive in order to recover from the trade in value depreciation. Since we already had a check from our credit union, we paid off Toyota in the following 2 months, and refinanced with our credit union.

After a whole day we did it! Paperwork was a breeze, since we did our homework. They handed me the keys, I kissed my wife and told her “Thank You”! Said goodbye to the SR5, and off we went in the new rig.

 

[mcharfauros]

On 13July2017 Having had my previous SR5, I had already ordered a set of aftermarket wheels, which were sitting in my storage. I went with a set of 16x8 Stealth Custom Series SR8’s in a Matte Dark Bronze finish. At the time SCS was out of lug nuts, so I ordered a set from Wheelers. This was my first major purchase for the truck, and really the first time I ever bought a new set of wheels so the options were pretty overwhelming. I wasn’t sure if the color would be too much, but when they showed up via UPS and I opened the box I really didn’t care. I kept hinting to my wife that the wheels were collecting dust in the storage and needed some tires, so she was kind enough to sign off on some new tires provided I could find some type of deal. Having had the BF Goodrich A/T KO2’s on my work truck, I decided that those where the set is look for. It just so happened that Sam’s Club had a promo going on, so we loaded up the wheels and off we went.

Cash into the truck Totals:


Wheels: $715
Tires: $630
Lugnuts: $45
Total: $1390

Wheels/Tires/Nuts: $1390
Sold OEM Wheels/Tires: - $900

Total Cash into truck: $490




29June2017 Wheels Arrived

12July2017 Wheelers Lug nuts arrived.

13July2017 Off to Sam’s Club for Tires

 

[mcharfauros]

Looks like I missed a step if I’m trying to stay in chronological order.
On 2July2017 2 days after I brought the truck home, I got to work on the chrome rear bumper caps. I pulled the bumper assembly, with little to go on I just took my time and worked my way through the process. Once I got them removed I sanded them down with 300 grit sandpaper, hit them with bare material self etching primer, wet sand with 400 grit, and top coats of rattle can gloss black and clear.

 

[mcharfauros]

22July2017

I came across a Craigslist post for a lift kit. A local 3rd Gen Tacoma owner stated he recently bought a new home, and had to trade in his truck. So he was selling his brand new lift kit which was still in the packaging. I wasn’t really looking to do a lift at the time, and still not to knowledgeable on all the major components. I looked into the kit which contained assembled Bilstein 5100 front struts with Old Man Emu 887 coils, rear Bilstein 5100 shocks, new U-bolts, and a set of Maxtrack 1” cast lift blocks. I looked into what the kit would cost online, and at the price he was asking compared to retail, I thought it was a great deal at $300, so I went ahead and bought the kit and had it installed at my local dealership.

Lift Kit: $300. Sold:OEM Suspension $250
Install: $180
Total: $480

Total: $230 into Light Lift Kit


Before:

After:

 

[Rob Daman]

Thanks for sharing. Now I know a little more about one of my followers.

 

[mcharfauros]

Thanks for sharing. Now I know a little more about one of my followers.

Good to know brotha, yea my family and I dig watching your videos. Thanks for sharing good useful content! Keep up the great work.

 

[mcharfauros]

25July2017

By this time I was getting out of control, and started looking into more mods and upgrades. I found a 3rd Gen Limited Grille from a local owner who upgraded his grille to the Pro grille. I picked it up for $50 and started toying with the layouts. I ultimately ended up buying a knock-off pro style grille and setting on it.

Limited Grille: $50
Knock-Off Pro Style Grille: $250
Total: $300

Sold Offroad and Limited Grilles: $175

Total: $125 into Grille upgrades.

With Chrome

With Black

Final decision

 

[mcharfauros]

14September2017

With our anniversary right around the corner, and my wife constantly making little remarks about my new truck, I dialed down on the little spending I was doing for the truck worked some numbers and added a 4runner to our driveway for our anniversary. She was a trooper and my main support system for many years. Her Honda Pilot was never really her first choice. She always wanted a 4runner, but with the growing kids some 10 years ago, the Pilot was more of a practical choice at the time. With the trade in value of the Pilot, and some cash down I think we did okay. Well now she got her 4Runner, and couldn’t be happier for her.

 

[mcharfauros]

5November2017

My wife and I went to a local event called “Stocker No Locker” at Moonlight Offroad Park in Missouri, which was put together by M.T. Scheiele Auto Repair. We decided to bring both trucks to get a feel for Offroad driving, and see what our rigs were capable of in a controlled environment with experienced folks to help up out along the way. We met some awesome people, saw some really nice rigs, and took away allot of really good information. Most important the experience for the whole family was priceless.

Getting fuel ready to head out.

Lining up for beginners course

 

[mcharfauros]

12November2017

After attending the Offroad event, and seeing what potential damage we could encounter, we decided that we wouldn’t go Off-roading again unless we at least had some rock sliders. I order a set from 4XInnovations for the 4runner which were in stock and ready to ship, so we went to a buddy place and had them welded on.

Sliders: $270 shipped
Weld Job: $20 and a 12 pack of Beer

 

[mcharfauros]

18November2017

I picked up my Mobtown Offroad sliders from the FedEx Freight Facility on 13Nov2017. Got to work on prep and paint, and installed them with the help of so local Tacoma guys I met. I was fortunate enough to catch Mobtown doing a free shipping promo, and stacked that with a military discount I got from Joe at Mobtown which saved me a good chunk of cash.

Sliders: $434

 

[mcharfauros]

2December2017

I came across a Craigslist find for a Wilco Hitchgate Tire Carrier with a Hi-Lift, and Rotopax for $300. We scooped it up real quick, a little too quick, it was originally on a full size Chevy 2500. We bought it anyway and fit it to both our truck to see if we liked it. We didn’t, it sat to low to the ground unlike the high clearance model Wilco Offroad offers. So we sold the Hitchgate for $500 and kept the Hi-Lift and Rotopax.

 

[mcharfauros]

a

 

[Rob Daman]

awesome deal.

2December2017

I came across a Craigslist find for a Wilco Hitchgate Tire Carrier with a Hi-Lift, and Rotopax for $300. We scooped it up real quick, a little too quick, it was originally on a full size Chevy 2500. We bought it anyway and fit it to both our truck to see if we liked it. We didn’t, it sat to low to the ground unlike the high clearance model Wilco Offroad offers. So we sold the Hitchgate for $500 and kept the Hi-Lift and Rotopax.

View attachment 1989View attachment 1990View attachment 1991

 

[mcharfauros]

@Rob Daman yea I couldn’t believe it. His reasoning for selling it was even more outrageous. He just said “I’m not feeling it”

 

[Rob Daman]

I've heard that before. lol

@Rob Daman yea I couldn’t believe it. His reasoning for selling it was even more outrageous. He just said “I’m not feeling it”

 

[951_yota]

After almost a year of ownership, and multiple trials and errors, I decided to start documenting the build process of my 2017 TRD Offrod Tacoma. Looking forward to all of your thoughts and feedback.

A little background about myself and my family since the decision to buy the Taco was based on a desire to enable my family and I to experience outdoors and hit the trails together. I’m a Soldier in the world’s Greatest Army and will leave it at that, my wife and I have 3 children ages 18,16, and 6. My wife works with the local school district, so you can imagine with all of our schedules, I does get challenging at times to step back and spend good quality time with my family. With that said my wife and I decided to take on Toyota ownership head on as a team. Follow along and hopefully along the way we can all learn some things beneficial to us all.

Good for you guys. My wife hates my truck and all the money I spend on it. She doesn understand hobbies.

 

[mcharfauros]

23December2017

Working on more chrome deletion, my MESO Ultimate Turn Signals arrived. It was an easy install which added a subtle difference to the overall look of the truck.

Before

After

 

[mcharfauros]

Good for you guys. My wife hates my truck and all the money I spend on it. She doesn understand hobbies.

Yea I’m pretty stoked she’s been on board most of the way, but sometimes she’s sees the pricing on certain things and starts shaking her head.

 

[mcharfauros]

15Jan2018

We got some snow, so my wife and I decided to just take a drive on some back roads. Nothing crazy just a quiet enjoyable time for us.

A few shots from that morning.

 

[Mr. Nobody]

On 13July2017 Having had my previous SR5, I had already ordered a set of aftermarket wheels, which were sitting in my storage. I went with a set of 16x8 Stealth Custom Series SR8’s in a Matte Dark Bronze finish. At the time SCS was out of lug nuts, so I ordered a set from Wheelers. This was my first major purchase for the truck, and really the first time I ever bought a new set of wheels so the options were pretty overwhelming. I wasn’t sure if the color would be too much, but when they showed up via UPS and I opened the box I really didn’t care. I kept hinting to my wife that the wheels were collecting dust in the storage and needed some tires, so she was kind enough to sign off on some new tires provided I could find some type of deal. Having had the BF Goodrich A/T KO2’s on my work truck, I decided that those where the set is look for. It just so happened that Sam’s Club had a promo going on, so we loaded up the wheels and off we went.

Cash into the truck Totals:


Wheels: $715
Tires: $630
Lugnuts: $45
Total: $1390

Wheels/Tires/Nuts: $1390
Sold OEM Wheels/Tires: - $900

Total Cash into truck: $490




29June2017 Wheels Arrived


View attachment 1819


12July2017 Wheelers Lug nuts arrived.

View attachment 1821


13July2017 Off to Sam’s Club for Tires



View attachment 1822
View attachment 1824View attachment 1823

What a difference a set of wheels and tires makes. Looks awesome.

22July2017

I came across a Craigslist post for a lift kit. A local 3rd Gen Tacoma owner stated he recently bought a new home, and had to trade in his truck. So he was selling his brand new lift kit which was still in the packaging. I wasn’t really looking to do a lift at the time, and still not to knowledgeable on all the major components. I looked into the kit which contained assembled Bilstein 5100 front struts with Old Man Emu 887 coils, rear Bilstein 5100 shocks, new U-bolts, and a set of Maxtrack 1” cast lift blocks. I looked into what the kit would cost online, and at the price he was asking compared to retail, I thought it was a great deal at $300, so I went ahead and bought the kit and had it installed at my local dealership.

Lift Kit: $300. Sold:OEM Suspension $250
Install: $180
Total: $480

Total: $230 into Light Lift Kit


Before:


View attachment 1843

After:

View attachment 1842

Aaaaaannd then it looks even better. Nice score. That's a pretty solid suspension. If you wanted to make it even better you should look into a rear leaf pack. The block works, but a leaf pack will be better especially since you're actually using your truck.

 

[Noodski44]

@mcharfauros, dude nice build so far. Looking really good so far. I've had my truck about 5 months, I feel like I've done so much and I've only spent about $2500. I've added new wheels, tires, with new led lights, rock lights, ditch lights, weather tech mats, n-fab steps (which I'll be selling, since I'm getting sliders made) and a custom grill. I also added a few little decals to make it my original rig. I'm interested in following your future build.

And thank you for your service.

 

[951_yota]

What a difference a set of wheels and tires makes. Looks awesome.




Aaaaaannd then it looks even better. Nice score. That's a pretty solid suspension. If you wanted to make it even better you should look into a rear leaf pack. The block works, but a leaf pack will be better especially since you're actually using your truck.

I would agree that when you can swap the block for an AAL. Just a few hundo’s is all and you will need longer u bolts. Truck looks very nice!

 

[mcharfauros]

What a difference a set of wheels and tires makes. Looks awesome.




Aaaaaannd then it looks even better. Nice score. That's a pretty solid suspension. If you wanted to make it even better you should look into a rear leaf pack. The block works, but a leaf pack will be better especially since you're actually using your truck.

Thanks @Mr. Nobody ! Appreciate it, yea I already went ahead in March and bought the new suspension. Problem is time, haven’t had a good day or two to tackle it, but will get to it soon, since the truck has to be ready for our trip in July. Maybe the condensed timeline is the kick in the ass I need to get going.

 

[mcharfauros]

I would agree that when you can swap the block for an AAL. Just a few hundo’s is all and you will need longer u bolts. Truck looks very nice!

@951_yota Appreciate the feedback, I did end up getting a full leaf pack a few months ago with a u-bolt flip kit from Relentless Fabrication. Thanks boss

 

[mcharfauros]

@mcharfauros, dude nice build so far. Looking really good so far. I've had my truck about 5 months, I feel like I've done so much and I've only spent about $2500. I've added new wheels, tires, with new led lights, rock lights, ditch lights, weather tech mats, n-fab steps (which I'll be selling, since I'm getting sliders made) and a custom grill. I also added a few little decals to make it my original rig. I'm interested in following your future build.

And thank you for your service.

@Noodski44 thanks for following along, really appreciate it! To me it seems like a never ending project, once I find some type of limitation I do what I can to make it a non factor. I’ll definitely be staying tuned to you and your rig.

 

[Mr. Nobody]

Thanks @Mr. Nobody ! Appreciate it, yea I already went ahead in March and bought the new suspension. Problem is time, haven’t had a good day or two to tackle it, but will get to it soon, since the truck has to be ready for our trip in July. Maybe the condensed timeline is the kick in the ass I need to get going.

You said it, "condensed timeline." GET AFTER IT!!! Then post pics, because we all want to see. Haha