Little as Possible, Much as Necessary Tacoma Build

[GWNavigator]

Just got my emblem today, so thought it may be time to start a build thread. My take on modifying my vehicles is to make as few modifications as possible, but as many modifications as I think are necessary. This in turn helps me keep things reliable, save weight and - best of all - keep costs under control.

Previous Long-Bed Build - 2010 Tacoma SR5, OME/Dakar lift, 255/85/16 KM2's, Avid Offroad Sliders and Front Bumper Bars, Rigid Dually D2 Drivers Lights, Softopper.


My current overland build is a 2016 Tacoma TRD Offroad and is a work-in-process. This vehicle has a tall order for a mid-sized truck: charge and tow a ~3500 lb trailer, carry a family of four (two small kids) plus two 55lb dogs and their gear for trips up to 3-weeks in duration. Thought about moving into a full-sized truck, but in the spirit of experimentation and pure stubbornness, I'm determined to see if this can work. This is how she sits today:


Modifications so far:

- Bilstein 6112/5160 coilovers and rear shocks.
- Wheeler's 1.5" add-a-leaf.
- Firestone Ride-Rite Airbags.
- 17" Konig six-shooter wheels.
- BFG K02 275/70/17's
- Pelfreybilt under-hood mount for trailer charge cable and breaker.
- Tekonsha P3 brake controller for trailer.
- Hondo Garage/RAM mount device holder.
- Softopper
- Bed Rug bed mat.
- Hi-Lift rail mounts.

Planned/Future:

- Full set of aluminum skid plates.
- Bolt-on sliders.
- Aluminum front bumper & winch.
- Aluminum rear bumper with dual swing outs for spare and extra fuel.
- Supercharger!

I'll try to update this thread with more details on each of the mods as well as future plans. Thanks for reading!

-Dan.

 

[Levidale]

Man I love tacos! Nice rig!

 

[Boort]

@GWNavigator

My current overland build is a 2016 Tacoma TRD Offroad and is a work-in-process. This vehicle has a tall order for a mid-sized truck: charge and tow a ~3500 lb trailer, carry a family of four (two small kids) plus two 55lb dogs and their gear for trips up to 3-weeks in duration. Thought about moving into a full-sized truck, but in the spirit of experimentation and pure stubbornness, I'm determined to see if this can work. This is how she sits today:

Modifications so far:
- Bilstein 6112/5160 coilovers and rear shocks.
- Wheeler's 1.5" add-a-leaf.
- 17" Konig six-shooter wheels.
- BFG K02 275/70/17's
- Pelfreybilt under-hood mount for trailer charge cable and breaker.
- Tekonsha P3 brake controller for trailer.
- Ram mount device holder.

I'll try to update this thread with more details on each of the mods as well as future plans. Thanks for reading!
-Dan.

I look forward to seeing how your truck turns out. Esp how well she tows that 3500 # trailer after your mods. Last year I added all of the wiring to tow and charge a camp trailer with a Tekonsha Prodigy P2 controller, then found that my 97 v6 with 300k was not very happy trying to pull it anywhere but on the flats. (Very NOT happy in CO. Mountains.)
I'm kinda surprised to hear that your 2016 did not come with the charging cable and brake controller hookup? I thought that all of the TRD models had that since the early 2000's.

Boort

 

[GWNavigator]

@GWNavigator


I look forward to seeing how your truck turns out. Esp how well she tows that 3500 # trailer after your mods. Last year I added all of the wiring to tow and charge a camp trailer with a Tekonsha Prodigy P2 controller, then found that my 97 v6 with 300k was not very happy trying to pull it anywhere but on the flats. (Very NOT happy in CO. Mountains.)
I'm kinda surprised to hear that your 2016 did not come with the charging cable and brake controller hookup? I thought that all of the TRD models had that since the early 2000's.

Boort

Thanks @Boort. The Tacoma w/ the towing package comes with a 7-pin connector all wired up as well as the wiring harness to connect the brake controller. The cable I installed was for charging the trailer battery off the main truck battery (preferably while the truck is running). Though a harness is provided for the brake controller (in the drivers side foot well) a built-in controller itself is not an option on the Tacoma. To be honest I don't suspect the Tacoma will be too happy towing uphill, but hopefully if I keep it between 50-55 mph it will be tolerable. I will definitely post on how it goes. A TRD supercharger would be nice under these circumstances, as would a diesel-powered wrangler, but those options will have to wait until either becomes available, if ever.

 

[Jeff Graham]

I love your approach. This is the way all overland rigs should be built.

I may steel "as Little as Possible, as much as Necessary"
Reminds me of the off road driving Mantra "as Slow as you can, as fast as you must"

 

[Boort]

@GWNavigator

To be honest I don't suspect the Tacoma will be too happy towing uphill, but hopefully if I keep it between 50-55 mph it will be tolerable.

The guy down in Boulder that I bought my trailer from had taken it all around the west behind his Tacoma. I think he was driving a 2nd Gen v6, So it's doable.

As far as I know neither LCE nor Maguson are making a super charger for the 2016+ v6. Not sure if they are working on it of if there is something about that engine (VVT-i 2?) that makes it very difficult to add the super charger. I keep hoping that Toyota will bring out a Tacoma with the 4.7 v8 (They showed one off at one of the SEMA shows a while back but nothing came of it.)

Boort

 

[GWNavigator]

Suspension Install: Bilstein 6112's, 5160's, Wheeler's 1.5" single leaf add-a-leaf, Ride-Rite Airbags

Apologies in advance for the wordiness of this post. If you're more into picture books than words then I won't blame you for moving on.

A pic of the suspension install in-process:

Now let me focus on the gotcha's since nobody wants to hear about the parts that worked-out textbook.

One problem I ran into with the 6112's up front was the OTC clamshell spring compressor not fitting the OEM coilovers because the gaps between the rungs of the spring were too narrow. Plan B - took them to a local shop to disassemble them for $40 so that I could reuse the top mounts. Then, much to my delight, the compressor didn't fit the 6112's springs either because the shock tube is so thick there isn't enough clearance between the tube and the spring. What is one to do when vehicle is on jacks and no working suspension to be installed? Plan B, 2.0 - install using the no-spring-compressor method.

Now this was sketchy, and not my preferred way of doing things but I felt I had little choice - notice my vehicle is half-way in the garage. I couldn't just lights-out and deal with it the next day. So I dropped the LCA, shoved-in the loosely assembled coilover and while I guided the assembly (my body in harms way, not my partner's), my awesome wife started to raise the floor jack (safe on opposite side of the truck). Problem with this approach is two-fold. First, the LCA does not rise up in a straight vertical line - it is on an arc. The floor jack on the other hand tends to want to rise in a straight vertical line. The seating of the jack onto the LCA is therefore not static, it moves as the LCA is raised. Not a fan of these two elements not cooperating with one another.

Second issue is the truck just doesn't care to sit in one place. As the coil compresses more and more vertical force is applied to the corner of the truck, and the truck isn't getting any heavier to compensate for it. So, by the time I got to the end of compression, the jack stand was an inch or so below the frame and the entire front corner of the truck was resting on the floor jack and LCA (with the dynamic footing). Well, have to say, buttoning up the coilover and the LCA was the fastest I moved all day. Pretty much same story on the passenger side.

Here is a pic of the rear post-install:


This part had it's own set of challenges, none as adrenaline-inducing as the front end. In fact, mostly everything here went as planned. Adding the leaf into the stack was a little tricky, especially trying to keep everything aligned while inserting the leaf bolt. What you notice that is different here, and the cause of much grief, to be honest, is the air bag install. Now the YouTube video of the guy doing this had a narrator voicing-over the install. That should've tipped me off as it was likely due to the actual tech cursing like a sailor as he contorted his hands to near breaking point, trying to get the frame mount bolts torqued - all eight of them (4 per side). Yes, with elf-sized yoga hands that have Maori warrior strength, this is an easy job. For me, it took me close to two hours (yes, you read that right) to torque 8 bolts. This assembly is not EVER coming off, at least not the conventional way.

Last issue I encountered was the air fitting on the passenger side being broken. This air fitting conveniently is located in the center of the 4 torture bolts. These standard elbow air fittings from Firestone, to be honest, could be better designed. Fortunately I was able to remove it, order a better air fitting from Amazon, and replace it the next day. Pressure was set to 5 PSI since then and has stayed there since the install. So... that pretty much sums up the install.

My Personal Lessons Learned:

1. Pay a shop to assemble the coilovers for me. This would run roughly $150. Not worth the risk, time and hassle of messing around with an expensive but still amateur-grade spring compressor that doesn't fit. Once assembled, getting them installed on the truck is easy but also most costly to have a shop do (was quoted anywhere from $900 to over $1000).

2. Plan to spend a lot of time installing simple air bags, due to the install steps being a severe ergonomic challenge. Take a couple of preemptive ibuprofen.

3. If I really want to save time, buy a replacement leaf stack like OME Dakars instead of adding a leaf to the existing stack. Though this I would likely do over again as it really wasn't too bad.

4. If possible, next time, move the entire vehicle into the garage while doing the install. Take the time to empty the back of garage in case you need to close up shop in a hurry or overnight and the vehicle is not yet drivable.

In the end, this is my second suspension install and though this time I had different challenges, I am super happy with the results. Thanks go out to my awesome wife who isn't afraid of getting her hands dirty and pitching-in when I am desperate, and also to my kids who are eager to help and, as it turns out, make great helpers when checking air-bags for leaks.

Will try to include more photos as I get them.

Thanks for reading!

 

[CTDiscovery]

Lovely Build!

CT

 

[Boort]

@GWNavigator

Thank you for posting the challenges of such an upgrade. Too often these are glossed over or edited out to bask in the glow of the new equipment.
I esp. took note of the lessons learned and what to do next time section.

Boort

 

[Justin Forrest]

Cool truck. I really like those Konig rims.

 

[GWNavigator]

Hondo Garage Device Holder

Just a quick pic of the Hondo Garage Un-Holey Dash Mount, paired with the 1" RAM ball, RAM double-socket arm and RAM X-Grip holder. Previously I used the same RAM arm and X-Grip on a ProClip dash attachment. I liked the ProClip - was solid and effective. The Hondo solution is less bulky though and even more solid:

 

[GWNavigator]

Conqueror 440 UEV

Picked up my trailer from Ohio this past week. The airbag/AAL combo worked like a charm and the trailer was remarkably stable. The Tacoma power plant worked ok, but could use a bit more torque up the higher altitude passes. However, overall, it is very doable and I'm pleased with the setup. Here are a couple of images from the return trip: