sixstringsteve
Well-Known Member
- Location
- UT
congrats tyson, I sometimes miss my old 4-door taco. If you're thinking of modifying it, hit up Mesha, he's got some KILLER deals on Trail Gear right now.
What vehicle should I get next?
- Thread starter Cascadia
- Start date
Cascadia
Undecided
- Location
- Orem, Utah
I'm thinking about it. Main issue I'm trying to figure out is bumpers. I need a rear bumper that is tow rated and all of the bumpers available through him say they are not rated for towing.
sixstringsteve
Well-Known Member
- Location
- UT
you can get a tow hitch that sits under the bumper.
Cascadia
Undecided
- Location
- Orem, Utah
True. I'll have to look into it. I like the stock look but know it won't be enough protection on a trail with all the extra overhang.
Cascadia
Undecided
- Location
- Orem, Utah
Cascadia
Undecided
- Location
- Orem, Utah
Now I need to figure out what to do with it. I want a very mild build for now but don't know much about Toyota stuff or IFS stuff. So I'll take suggestions or ideas. I want a rear bumper, sliders, and I wouldn't mind a front bumper but I can't find any I like. I would also like some skids and a somewhat flexier rear spring.
LT.
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Los Alamos, New Mexico
Cascadia
Undecided
- Location
- Orem, Utah
Thanks LT. I know a lot of the websites for toyota stuff, I just can't seem to find a front bumper that I like. They all look too prerunnerish for me. I like the allpro sliders and rear bumper though.
Cascadia
Undecided
- Location
- Orem, Utah
That is a good looking bumper. I shouldn't have looked at it for so long without looking at the price, even with your pricetag warning. Do you know what size tires you can run with the old man emu lift from Kurt? Maybe Kurt will chime in. I'm looking to run 33's for now.
- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
I 2nd the OME suspensions, I had one on my FJ80 and it was nice, then we lifted my wife's '03 4Runner with OME from Kurt and it really changed that vehicle for the better. OME is quality stuff that is well thought out and works well.,
Another option is CBI Fab for a front bumper- http://www.cbioffroadfab.com
http://www.cbioffroadfab.com/product_info.php?cPath=27_28&products_id=73
sixstringsteve
Well-Known Member
- Location
- UT
BEAUTIFUL truck Tyson! nice score!
x2
Cheap:some pucks and an add-a leaf will fit 33's in there. It's not the right way to lift it, but I have friends with that setup and they've been fine for 5 years
Ideal (in my opinion): OME lift
Overkill: Icon 2.5" coilovers, better UCA's, and alcan rear springs.
Make sure you check the ball joints on the front, they like to go boom if neglected.
Anything other than a stock front bumper is going to reduce your approach angle. Personally, I'd just leave the stock bumper. My front bumper NEVER touched anything on my taco (or my other yotas for that matter).
If you are sure you want a front bumper, shrockworks gets my vote. super spendy and super long wait time, but excellent quality and design. It has a much better approach angle than the ARB bumper. Be prepared to pay for it though and wait 3-4 months for it to come in.
You can get away with keeping the stock font bumper, but you're right to replace the rear bumper. That's an absolute necessity. With such a long wheelbase and overhang, I dragged my rear bumper quite a bit in moab. I really liked my Allpro one. It's one of my favorite bumpers. It looks a lot better in person than on the website, and people have added extra triangulation to be able to tow with them.
On my DC, I had the allpro sliders with the kickout. I personally liked the kickout, but I think that's more a matter of personal preference. THe kickout saved my bed from a lot of rocks, but it also got me hung up every now and then.
I'd also go for some skid plate protection. Bud Built makes a nice combo for IFS/Belly skid. Super beefy, and nice to not have to worry.
One more thing worth doing is plating the rear frame. TG makes plates I believe. Some of those taco frames get tweaked when you tow or put a big load in the bed. Not the end of the world, but you can see if the bed is sagging by the crack between the bed and cab. If the crack is bigger at the top than at the bottom, then the frame has been tweaked.
I would see if you could get by on stock gearing with 33's. If there's even a question of going to 35's, don't regear 'till you're sure which size tire you'll run. I had the 3.4L auto on mine, and 4.88s were PERFECT with 35s.
I also recommend an elocker guard to keep the rocks off your locker motor.
x2
Cheap:some pucks and an add-a leaf will fit 33's in there. It's not the right way to lift it, but I have friends with that setup and they've been fine for 5 years
Ideal (in my opinion): OME lift
Overkill: Icon 2.5" coilovers, better UCA's, and alcan rear springs.
Make sure you check the ball joints on the front, they like to go boom if neglected.
Anything other than a stock front bumper is going to reduce your approach angle. Personally, I'd just leave the stock bumper. My front bumper NEVER touched anything on my taco (or my other yotas for that matter).
If you are sure you want a front bumper, shrockworks gets my vote. super spendy and super long wait time, but excellent quality and design. It has a much better approach angle than the ARB bumper. Be prepared to pay for it though and wait 3-4 months for it to come in.
You can get away with keeping the stock font bumper, but you're right to replace the rear bumper. That's an absolute necessity. With such a long wheelbase and overhang, I dragged my rear bumper quite a bit in moab. I really liked my Allpro one. It's one of my favorite bumpers. It looks a lot better in person than on the website, and people have added extra triangulation to be able to tow with them.
On my DC, I had the allpro sliders with the kickout. I personally liked the kickout, but I think that's more a matter of personal preference. THe kickout saved my bed from a lot of rocks, but it also got me hung up every now and then.
I'd also go for some skid plate protection. Bud Built makes a nice combo for IFS/Belly skid. Super beefy, and nice to not have to worry.
One more thing worth doing is plating the rear frame. TG makes plates I believe. Some of those taco frames get tweaked when you tow or put a big load in the bed. Not the end of the world, but you can see if the bed is sagging by the crack between the bed and cab. If the crack is bigger at the top than at the bottom, then the frame has been tweaked.
I would see if you could get by on stock gearing with 33's. If there's even a question of going to 35's, don't regear 'till you're sure which size tire you'll run. I had the 3.4L auto on mine, and 4.88s were PERFECT with 35s.
I also recommend an elocker guard to keep the rocks off your locker motor.
Last edited:
Cascadia
Undecided
- Location
- Orem, Utah
Thanks for those links Greg.
Steve, lots of good info there. I'm not dead set on a front bumper, it would just complete the package. I just want 33's for now. I don't want to have to do a ton of work and turn it into a crawler. I just want to be able to go out and have fun. I'll have to look at my suspension and see what's already been done. I only saw a 1 inch block in the rear and nothing in the front. Mainly I think I want more flex in the rear that it currently has. The front seems decently flexy.
Steve, lots of good info there. I'm not dead set on a front bumper, it would just complete the package. I just want 33's for now. I don't want to have to do a ton of work and turn it into a crawler. I just want to be able to go out and have fun. I'll have to look at my suspension and see what's already been done. I only saw a 1 inch block in the rear and nothing in the front. Mainly I think I want more flex in the rear that it currently has. The front seems decently flexy.
- Location
- Bountiful, land of rocks
Wait, a Toyota product has a weakness? I thought they were INVINCIBLE and will never break until they are above 300K (I kid, I kid.... Just get that attitude from a lot of the owners)
IMO, I'd recommend against the Icon coil overs. When I was doing my research looking in to which lift I wanted to put on my truck, I had no budget, so if the Icon/King/etc coil overs were the best option, I would have used them. What I was told by many guys is for a daily driver in our environment (salty roads, harsh winters, etc) they will break down fast so plan to rebuild them often. I did not want to always be working on my truck, or worries about if I needed to replace the seals on my coil overs. The OME kit always came highly recommended as to being able to withstand our environment much much better. So if this is a daily driver (which it sounds like it is) then I'd skip the fancy bling coil overs.
That CBI Bumper Greg posted looks pretty nice too, but by the time you get it setup, it's the same cost (maybe even more) than the Shrockworks. As mentioned, Shrockworks has a big lead time so it may save you that.
LT.
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Los Alamos, New Mexico
A friend of mine frequents the Tacoma forums and there are a few threads on some killer bumpers. SixStringSteve has got to be the resident expert on Toyota trucks around here. I count three trucks he has built and they all have been top notch. I don't think anyone knows Toyota trucks better than him.
LT.
LT.
Cascadia
Undecided
- Location
- Orem, Utah
- Location
- Sandy, Ut
Lots of great options out there for Tacoma bummer options, I've installed just about all of the ones mentioned in this thread on Tacomas over the years. All have their own trade-offs, while the ARB does sacrifice some approach angle, its for good reason, full frontal protection, winch ready and most importantly the only bumper that is air-bag approved. If you look under the shell of the ARB and see the engineered crush (and replaceable) cans, for the amount of engineering they are bar none the best value imo. They are not for everyone and if your goal is a 'rock-crawled' centrict build one of the higher clearance bumpers might me the better solution.
As for front suspension, I'm 100% with Caleb. My opinion is unwavering on that I've seen countless case of maintenance needs with coilover setups. They are high performance setups but if used day to day in Utah's winters, etc you can expect to rebuild every few years if not sooner. And when will they fail? Often not in your driveway
As for front suspension, I'm 100% with Caleb. My opinion is unwavering on that I've seen countless case of maintenance needs with coilover setups. They are high performance setups but if used day to day in Utah's winters, etc you can expect to rebuild every few years if not sooner. And when will they fail? Often not in your driveway