'07 Toyota Tacoma, Access Cab, TRD Off-Road build...

Owners Name & City- Mike R., Sandy, UT

Make, Model & Year of Vehicle- 2007 Toyota Tacoma TRD Off-Road Access Cab

Engine- 4.0L 1GR-FE V6

Transmission- Automatic

T-Case- Low, 2.57:1; High, 1.00:1 (I think)

Axles- IFS front

Suspension- Old Man Emu coilovers with Nitrochargers on front, Old Man Emu Dakar Leaf Springs with Nitrochargers on back

Wheels and Tires- OME17" aluminum wheels with 33"X12.50 Nitto Mud Grapplers

Winch- Warn XD9000, recently rebuilt

Favorite Trails- Need to take this thing out more to figure this out...

Other-
Kind of cool that there's not very many of these on this forum... at least, not many that I can see. I'm planning on taking my beautiful black, stock access cab tacoma and making it a bit more trail-worthy.

I'm a relative newbie to rockcrawling, as most of my experience comes from driving my buddies' built-up FJ, and bullet-proof Defender. But now he's married, so I need to carry my own weight.

I'm excited to enjoy some local trails (e.g. Snakes) as well as getting more acquainted with Moab and surrounding areas. I'm originally from Boise, so I'm also relatively new to Utah.

Anticipated plans:

*17" black steel wheels w/ spacers (thinking a 295/70/R17 tire... either Toyo *MT's or Goodyear MTR's or whatever I can get affordably)
*Demello rear wrap-around bumper (requires body cutting)
*ARB front bumper with Warn XD9000 winch and hellas
*IFS skid plate (All-Pro)
*Sliders (All-Pro, sized for FJ Cruiser... doesn't cover the whole body, but it should do...)
*OME 3" lift
*I'm also wanting to put in some kind of buggy seats, for passengers in the bed... hmmm. Ideas?
*Trying to decide if I can figure out a sway bar quick disconnect
*Need to modify the existing fenders
*Once the above are done, I'll be interested in trimming down weight and upping performance...

The black taco, as it currently stands. 16" wheels, 265/75/16 tires, no lift, no body modifications, no armor.

...with yours truly.

Demello rear bumper and Spidertrax 1.5" spacers.

ARB front bumper with Warn XD9000 winch (recently serviced and rebuilt at Six States) and big ol' Hella's.

17" taco alloy wheels that I'm planning on painting black. Will be mounted with 33's.

Still need to get a lift done, some IFS skid plate and some sliders.

 

[lewis]

I would do an OME lift if it were mine. Cruiseroutfitters is a good source for them.
Also CBI offroad makes some good sliders.
When I built my own rear bumper I thought of cutting the body but just couldn't do it.
Does bud built make a skid for it?
Make sure and post some pics.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

I'd second the OME kits, the 2nd generation Tacomas work really well with the OME setups. OME offers 3 different front coil choices and 2 different rear leaf choices, so its really easy to dial in your needs with a suspension that will hold up to off-road use and often more damaging, Utah winters. I'd be happy to help you out with the OME and ARB products, no shipping for locals and I'm very familiar with all the Toyota options. LMK

 

[sixstringsteve]

I second the idea to consult Kurt at cruiseroutfitters for your purchase. He knows more about toyotas and what works than anyone I know.

 

[RTR]

Thanks for all the input. I had almost settled on the OME suspension. And I was leaning towards the CBI sliders, in case I couldn't find any used, and so as to avoid shipping costs. It's also pretty cool that they're from my home state of Idaho.

I'll try to post up pictures, later tonight... though they won't be very exciting, as nothing has been done, as of yet.

 

[lewis]

Thanks for all the input. I had almost settled on the OME suspension. And I was leaning towards the CBI sliders, in case I couldn't find any used, and so as to avoid shipping costs. It's also pretty cool that they're from my home state of Idaho.

I'll try to post up pictures, later tonight... though they won't be very exciting, as nothing has been done, as of yet.

Which part of Idaho? Came out of twin falls area myself.

 

[Taco4life]

I will third the OME kits, I got one from Cruiseroutfitters nearly 5 years ago for my Tacoma and still drive it daily. If you are on a budget check out the trail-gear sliders. Post up a picture of your truck.

 

[ttora4runner]

Sounds like you got some good plans for your Tacoma.

 

[nrspence]

I'd second the OME kits, the 2nd generation Tacomas work really well with the OME setups. OME offers 3 different front coil choices and 2 different rear leaf choices, so its really easy to dial in your needs with a suspension that will hold up to off-road use and often more damaging, Utah winters. I'd be happy to help you out with the OME and ARB products, no shipping for locals and I'm very familiar with all the Toyota options. LMK

Kurt just gave me a kickass deal on 886 coils, and 9000 front shocks (the burn up Deal Ha Ha). In a few weeks ill be getting Dakar rear leafs from him.
Nate

 

[RTR]

Bump for some pics.

Which part of Idaho? Came out of twin falls area myself.

I'm from Boise. I moved down here to Utah a little over two years ago. I have a buddy with a tricked out FJ, and a Defender. He's been kind enough to always let me tag along and drive his rigs, but I figured that it's time to get my own truck trail-worthy.

 

[RTR]

UPDATE: A set of Nitto Mud Grapplers should be arriving on my doorstep, sometime today. I’m going to try to install the OME lift kit, this weekend. (Thanks Kurt!) Anyone want to PM me their phone numbers, as independent consultants, in case I run into serious problems? I’m going to try to install it with a couple of more-competent-than-I buddies, so all should work out (knock on wood.)

Two more question: Is it true that Autozone loans out tools for free, so long as you leave a deposit? (See here for link…) Is there anything on this list other than the Coil Spring Compressor, that I’m going to need?

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Feel free to ring me if you run into any issues, I'll be around off and on all weekend. Did you grab those Toyota OEM leaf bushings? If not its now something I'm stocking here.

The coils will be a PITA to assemble with coil compressors but its doable. Alternative is to have a shop with a strut compressor assemble them. I've got a press setup here that we could use to assemble them. We need to re-use your upper strut mount so you will need to take off the existing coil/strut first. LMK

 

[RTR]

Feel free to ring me if you run into any issues, I'll be around off and on all weekend. Did you grab those Toyota OEM leaf bushings? If not its now something I'm stocking here.

The coils will be a PITA to assemble with coil compressors but its doable. Alternative is to have a shop with a strut compressor assemble them. I've got a press setup here that we could use to assemble them. We need to re-use your upper strut mount so you will need to take off the existing coil/strut first. LMK

Thanks, Kurt... If I were doing the job at my place (as your neighbor), I'd most certainly take you up on it. I'm probably going to be wrestling this bear in a shop in North Salt Lake, so I might just punt and see what happens. It looks like the job is postponed for another couple of weekends, anyways. In other news, I now have five 33X12.50XR17 Nitto Mud Grapplers stacked in my garage… let’s hope that they actually fit under the truck!
Does anyone have any bright ideas for painting aluminum wheels black?


Pictures of said tires...

Pictures of said lift kit...

 

[Spork]

Looks like a cool project. My tacoma is about 10 years older than yours, it's cool seeing some of the newer taco's getting used.

 

[RTR]

Well, the wheels have been stripped, cleaned, primed, and painted (we'll see how long they last.)

The tires have been mounted, balanced, and by no means will they currently fit under the truck. Slowly and steady wins the race, I guess.

 

[RTR]

Probably the sketchiest installation of an ARB bumper, ever. On the other hand, I was able to make it a one-man job.

Front view...

I guess the truck is a real ham for the camera. I was bit worried about clearance for the front of the tire, but I believe that, even at full stuff, it should be fine.

Driver's side view...

Picture of wheel clearance (though it's not a perfect at-level view)...

Now, my problem is with the all-pro skid plate that I tried to install: Has anyone ever had any problems with the fitment of the skid plate matching up to the factory bolts? The widths between the bolt holes was correct, but distance from the front holes and back holes didn't fit.

Any ideas?

 

[sixstringsteve]

that's looking great!

 

[Greg]

The truck looks great, much better with the ARB bumper and lights!

 

[Fester]

Now, my problem is with the all-pro skid plate that I tried to install: Has anyone ever had any problems with the fitment of the skid plate matching up to the factory bolts? The widths between the bolt holes was correct, but distance from the front holes and back holes didn't fit.

Any ideas?

I also had problems with the skid plate, bumper, customer service, etc. with All Pro. I had the bumper on and off 3 times trying to get it to fit properly. Finally enlarged almost every mounting hole for the bumper and skid. I've also busted the two rear mounting bolts on the skid (the ~1/4" factory bolts). I'll need to come up with something else there, for now it's just held by the front bolts. I wish I would have gone with an ARB or something different. Your truck looks good.

 

[RTR]

Took the butt off, today. It looked something like this...

Then I did a little cutting, on the rear of the side panels...

A little bit of spray-on rubberized/textured paint...

Then on to some installing of the rear, wrap-around Demello bumper, solo and a la sketch...

After eating ham and doing the Easter thing... I was able to finish the job...

Just a few more things to do to button up this rear bumper.