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

[mcharfauros]

17Feb2018

My wife was getting irritated with me not fitting her truck with upgrades. I ordered a set of Stealth Custom Series Stealth 6’s along with a set of 32” Goodyear Duratracs picked a weekend and got the mounted.


Had to cut off the UPS guy on his route since it was a surprise and didn’t want them delivered to the house.

Finally fitted

 

[mcharfauros]

In addition to the wheels/tires setup, I was working during the holiday season to secure a new Eibach Pro-Truck Lift Kit for the 4runner. I was initially told from Eibach that the kit would be ready the last week of December 2017, then turned into 2/23/2018, After numerous release dates getting pushed back on 2April2018 the kit finally arrived. The kit included ride height adjustable front struts, new springs front and rear, and extended rear shocks. It was a good starting point for the 4runner.

 

[mcharfauros]

14April2018

I took the 4runner to the diy shop on post to try my hand at installing the lift kit. It was way easier than I thought. I just took my time, triple check all the torque specs, and before I knew it I was done. I was pretty stoked to have it all done, I called my wife to come take a look at the finished product, she was happy with the look, but still worried about it since it was the first time I ever attempted something on this scale. She gave me a thumbs up, took it in for an alignment, and we where good to go.

 

[mcharfauros]

Over the months of March - April I did a few things here and there.


Picked up a set of Baja Designs Squadron Sport LEDs for fog lights. Got them new on eBay in a bidding war for $160 but paid retail for the fog pocket kit via Baja Designs.

After a long wait the first parts of the suspension system started to show up.

Told my daughter that they were the new babies, so she set them up for the night.

Visit my buddy up in Illinois got to meet some awesome Taco guys, and scope out their killer built rigs.

My buddy GT’s 1990 RHD diesel Land Cruiser

GT’s awesome 2nd gen on 35’s

Chandler’s beast of a build on 37’s

GT’s Kimberly Kamper straight out of Australia. Who has beadlock son their trailer? GT does!

Toyotas everywhere

Spare wheels finally arrived as well.

The pile keeps growing

Picked up a used KB Voodoo rack with a rust issue, had it media blasted, then re-coated with rattle can.

 

[Tyler]

I know I’m late to this, but your progress has been awesome so far. I really dig the matching wifer rig and the wheels she has. Looking forward to seeing where they continue to go.

 

[mcharfauros]

I know I’m late to this, but your progress has been awesome so far. I really dig the matching wifer rig and the wheels she has. Looking forward to seeing where they continue to go.

@Tyler appreciate it brotha! We are pretty stoked with them as well, progress has been slow, but we are having fun along the way.

 

[mcharfauros]

28April2018

Thanks to Craigslist again I came across a front and rear set of ARB Summit Bumpers. The title said “2015-current Tacoma Bumpers”, so after some digging they were definitely for 3rd gens. I couldn’t believe it, so I called the guy and he said yes they were still available and that he just needed them gone. The problem was that it was six hours away up in Indiana. After talking with the guy it was settled, so I talked to my wife about it, and she gave my the green light.

The Craigslist post screen shots.






ARB Front Summit Bumper

ARB Rear Summit Bumper

The story I got regarding these bumpers is that ARB stopped by 4 Wheel Parts in Indianapolis in route to an event and wanted their demo truck fitted with new gear prior to arrival at the event. The guy I spoke with said the ARB guys just left the old bumpers there and didn’t say anything about it.


Front

Rear

The story was sounded far fetched but when I compared the pictures of the truck in the shop, and the truck on the ARBUSA website, I could see they even had the same license plates. So off I went to pick them up that Saturday.

ARB Demo Truck in shop at 4 Wheel Parts

ARB Truck on arbusa.com

The guys at the shop were awesome, they boxed up the bumpers and set them outside ready for me to pick them up. They also separated all the components and consolidated it all into one box, and got it loaded on the truck.

 

[Tyler]

I feel like I’ve somehow never seen the ARB rear until now. You using them or selling them?

 

[mcharfauros]

I feel like I’ve somehow never seen the ARB rear until now. You using them or selling them?

@Tyler Yes using them, I did indeed fit it to my truck, it’s definitely not the sexy pick in terms of high clearance, but definitely built tough with durability in mind. In talking with ARB USA out in Washington, the ARB Rear Summit Bar was release in July of 2017 so it’s really only been available for less than a year. The ARB Tacoma Trucks, The Mountain State Overland guys, and myself are the only ones I’ve seen out there using it. I didn’t know if I’d like it on there but after taking a few hits to the rear panel, definitely glad I went this route.

 

[Silent_Taco4x4]

Congrats @mcharfauros on your finds and awesome build! I have loved following along with your write ups! I keep checking CL weekly hoping to find those killer deals like you have, hopefully one of these days I'll hit on something.

 

[mcharfauros]

Thanks @Silent_Taco4x4 I appreciate it! We have been pretty lucky with the finds, being a budget build paying retail for some products are not an option for us. What I have noticed is that there has been a huge increase of Tacoma owners jumping on the off road or overland scene who just buy the next best thing that comes up. Shortly followed by them getting tired of it, don't like pinstripes, or just not what they thought it would be. They then start selling the gear/parts at a fraction of the cost, sometimes it make sense for us to make a move on those products.

 

[Tyler]

@Tyler Yes using them, I did indeed fit it to my truck, it’s definitely not the sexy pick in terms of high clearance, but definitely built tough with durability in mind. In talking with ARB USA out in Washington, the ARB Rear Summit Bar was release in July of 2017 so it’s really only been available for less than a year. The ARB Tacoma Trucks, The Mountain State Overland guys, and myself are the only ones I’ve seen out there using it. I didn’t know if I’d like it on there but after taking a few hits to the rear panel, definitely glad I went this route.

Is the rear high clearance? I can’t really tell.

 

[Ron]

This thread is fantastic! I wish I could find deals like that out here!

 

[mcharfauros]

Is the rear high clearance? I can’t really tell.

@Tyler The ARB Rear Summit Bumper doesn’t give as much clearance as majority of the aftermarket ones offered from various vendors. The main tube however does move up about 1” over OEM, at the same time it works with the factory tow hitch, as we all know the tow hitch is always the first to hit when ascending obstacles, while the side wings wrap around the entire panels giving awesome protection.

 

[Bkautz]

Nice build man very nice!

 

[mcharfauros]

@Bkautz thanks boss, Appreciate it!

 

[mcharfauros]

5May2018

After sitting on the bumpers for week, I decided to give it a shot and get the rear bumper fitted. I didn’t get much photos of the process, because if any of you know anything about ARB’s instructions they are long drawn out and the bumper has a million pieces. It took me roughly an hour to inventory the hardware, another hour to give the instructions a once over. Before I knew it it was lunchtime and only managed to remove the OEM Bumper.


This hole is the only cutting I had to do just behind the lower rear fenders in order to run a support beam from the chassis to the wing panel that wraps around the truck at the ass end corners.

With the main tube fully secured to the frame, everything else kinda fell into place. I torqued down everything and buttoned up the loose ends, and finally finished up while the sun was going down.



I’ll update this post later with some pictures of the finished installation.

 

[solscooter]

wow. coming along nice

 

[Bkautz]

Man I love this thread updates all day!!

 

[mcharfauros]

Man I love this thread updates all day!!

@Bkautz thanks boss, just trying to get it current.

 

[mcharfauros]

6May2018

My family and I just got back from Sunday Mass, and I get a text from my buddy asking if I wanted to go wheeling. Our other buddy Steve just completed his suspension overhaul and wanted to take it out on some tracks. I told him “heck yea, I’ll be there in an hour” they also wanted to see how the ARB Rear Summit Bumper turned out since they’ve never seen one.

Now being new to the Offroad scene my truck isn’t built up as well as my their rig’s, so the name of the game was pretty much try and keep up with them. They are both twin locked, on 35’s, with full @TOTAL CHAOS built OEM length front suspensions. So off I went to meet up with them.

I don’t know how those guys on Instagram do it, they seem to have a plan to get all the great shots while wheeling. For us as even as a group It’s hard to take pictures when you’re out there wheeling but we got a few pics from that Sunday.

Steve banged up his new @TOTAL CHAOS lower control arms here.

I picked up a straggler.

GT came down so hard on a rock it moved is bumper enough to cave in his bed quarter panel

This one is where he bent his spring hanger pretty good.

All in all it was a pretty awesome day, I got to learn more about safety, technical driving, evaluating terrain and obstacles. These guys have been doing this for a while, so getting great info from their experience was great. Long story short, the Black Taco with the little 31” tires hung in there, I passed on 3 tracks they killed but for the most part the truck did everything I asked her, and handled it exceptionally. My biggest takeaways were knowing the capabilities of both myself and the rig, which are a direct reflection of experience and money put into the rig.

 

[4WheelYoda]

I'm horrible with pictures too. I'm to busy driving.

 

[mcharfauros]

I'm horrible with pictures too. I'm to busy driving.

The way we wheel over here all that picture taking really won’t be tolerated for long, just a matter of time before someone in the group says “hurry the fuck up” over the radio.

 

[4WheelYoda]

The way we wheel over here all that picture taking really won’t be tolerated for long, just a matter of time before someone in the group says “hurry the fuck up” over the radio.

Haha it’s usually me and my dad on the trails and we’re taking in the scenery and totally forget. And when my fiancé is with us she just doesn’t take em unless we say so haha

 

[Jay]

Same suspension kit except I run 888s little softer. How do you like the Wilco tire holder
Thought about it but the high clearance is in my area.

 

[mcharfauros]

Same suspension kit except I run 888s little softer. How do you like the Wilco tire holder
Thought about it but the high clearance is in my area.

Wasn’t crazy about the Wilco, it’s an awesome design, just wasn’t for us. Will eventually move to a high clearance later and work out the tire mounting solutions as we go along

 

[mcharfauros]

2June2018

I got these Relentless Fabrication Hi-Lift Jack rail mounts. They came in the mail around lunchtime so it was the perfect 5 minute mod for the day. I really dig the design, and love how the built in reverse lip can rest on the ledge of the inner bedside, allowing the weight of the jack to be supported by the ledge, rather that the rail alone. I will however look into stainless steel t-slot nuts, after dealing with the steel black oxide ones in the past, I’m over them.

 

[mcharfauros]

Since I have a rear locker, is it okay for me to run a light bar? Either way, I went with The SDHQ Built Behind The Grille Dual Bar Mount, paired with a Baja Designs S8 30” Amber Light Bar mounted on the lower side. I really like the look, and DRL feature, as far as functionality I really can’t say, since I haven’t taken it out on the trail yet, but definitely looking to get it dialed in Off Road in terms or real world trail use.

DRL Backlight on Baja Designs S8

Amber Driving/Combo

 

[951_yota]

Since I have a rear locker, is it okay for me to run a light bar? Either way, I went with The SDHQ Built Behind The Grille Dual Bar Mount, paired with a Baja Designs S8 30” Amber Light Bar mounted on the lower side. I really like the look, and DRL feature, as far as functionality I really can’t say, since I haven’t taken it out on the trail yet, but definitely looking to get it dialed in Off Road in terms or real world trail use.

DRL Backlight on Baja Designs S8

View attachment 2870

Amber Driving/Combo

View attachment 2871

You need a light for top of behind grille now haha. Cant stop with just one.

 

[Tacoma.prod]

Really awesome thread! Thanks for sharing. I’ll be referencing this thread often (once I’ve got the funds, lol).