My Toyota Tacoma has gone through many iterations over the years. In search of the perfect build, I made many changes to the setup. Some of these changes could have been avoided, and money could have been saved. However, it is all part of the fun in working towards the perfect build.
Stock
My Toyota Tacoma is a 2020 TRD Off-Road Premium. The stock suspension came loaded with Toyota Tuned Bilstein 4600 monotube shocks in the front and rear. For tires, it was equipped with Goodyear Wrangler All-Terrain Adventure with Kevlar tires in size 265/70/R16, these were wrapped around TRD Off-Road Alloy 16×7 6-lug wheels. The stock truck also came with a rear differential locker and bed liner. This is a very capable setup, and I trailed the stock rig for quite a while, even taking it to Moab, Utah.
Version 2
The biggest learning lesson from the stock truck was that the Goodyear tires did not last long. I shredded through those after 1 trip to Moab, UT. The next upgrade I got was BFG KO2s in a 265/70/R16, Bilstein 5100s to replace the rear suspension, an RCI half-height bed rack, and an iKamper Mini 2.0 rooftop tent. I also threw on some steel RCI skid plates to cover the engine, transfer case, transmission, and exhaust.
Version 3
My third iteration of the build before we get to the current form is where most of my “tasteful” modifications were made. I removed the RCI bedrack and iKamper to reduce weight, added RCI canted rock sliders and a gas tank skidplate for more armor. I also added black rhino 16” wheels with Micky Thompson Baja Boss AT 265/75/R16 tires. This stepped up the tire size slightly, which made me have to do a cab mount chop. I also added Icon Stage 4 suspension in the front and rear with the Icon add-a-leaf package in the back and icon upper control arms in the front. This is where my truck really started to look like my own rather than just any other traditional Tacoma on the road. I took this build all the way to North Carolina and camped the whole way there, traveling 15 states in 10 days.
Let me know what vehicle and build you have in the comments below!
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