Sunnier Finally Got 4x4!! Need Help Building It:

Welcome to "does that Tacoma have a V6?" Land!


For suspension, since you are in the magical land of San Diego where rust doesn't exist, I would consider Camburg or Total Chaos upper control arms with uniballs. They have some difference in geometry but I went Camburg because they were $150 cheaper. A lot of people also like the Light Racing (I think) upper arms, which use a flipped ball joint. They're a bit cheaper but I have no experience with them.

Pair your choice with Icon extended travel coilovers, or if you want look into the ADS option that Jimmy has. I have no experience with those but am a bit worried how similar they are to Fox and I have had enough problems with Fox to not wish them on you. With 4wd I wouldn't recommend more than 2" of lift, less if possible. Look into 930 boots for the front shafts.

For rear suspension your options are to leave it alone, or get a 3 pack (cheap and works, Wheelers has a heavy duty version) or drop several hundred on a full leaf pack (expensive and makes rear shock choice a homework assignment). Many go with Deaver, I went Alcan because I wanted some control over how high and how much weight to carry.

For skid plates therebos no better than Skid Row. I also have an OR Fab plate but it's a pretty thoughtless design and honestly doesn't bolt up without modifications.

See if you have wheel spacers in there, unusual that stock rims and 285 tires don't rub the stock upper arm. If you have spacers in your wheels and dont fancy that starfish wheel, start considering a wheel with 3.5 to 4" of backspace.

For tire size, stay 285/75, otherwise you'll need to do seriously invasive surgery.

 

Long travel

 

It’s CA homie, we steal our tundras round here

 

^^What Luis said.

 

Here’s the suspension you need, cuz it’s what I’m planning:
- ICON extended travel fronts/ 2.5 rear(cdcv or not)
- Total chaos uca’s
- Deaver leaf pack and U-bolt flip kit from Archive Garage

 

And throw in some TC spindle and upper coil bucket gussets just because.

 

Congrats @Sunnier !!! I've always admired you for your 2WD blazing the trails like a PRO! Since I had a 2WD as well, I always said, "If Sunnier can do it ... then 2WD is viable". LOL I look forward to the great adventures this baby will give you. Cheers to you brother!

 

Just go MT's! It's not your DD, tires are everything when you're wheeling.

 

Congrats on the truck

 

Hot metal fab makes sliders for your truck. http://www.hotmetalfab.com/new-products/gen1-maxx-protection-diy-rock-sliders

 

Congrats brother!! Looks great and sounds like you’re well on your way to having a BA overlander!!

 

boo. go blue or go home.

 

i'm moving slow. i just realized what that meant. how cool would that have been?

 

King only makes a front 2.5 for the 1st gens(non resi). No rear option.

 

double boo

 

There isn't a lot of first hand experience with them, the top mount uses a lot of spacer and the shock travel is barely 4". They don't seem to make one for extended travel like Icon/Camburg/Fox do.

Shelling out that much cash, I would rather go Icon and forget the reservoir.

 

Sounds like a pirate speaking but it’s available.

 

Nice pick-up! pun intended lol
Cant wait for the next SoCal trip! maybe i'll get to see "the hulk" in person.. (my suggestion for the name of your new rig)

 

Hi, Guys! Got some decent sleep today and am thrilled to find all this good stuff to catch up on. I'll be sneak-reading to catch up as time permits today/ tonight. Thanks everyone who chimed in.

 

Hahaha! Not broken. That's my poor use of the mark-up tool to conceal a face in the photograph. I was excited to post up and realized if only takenbthe one pic.

Hahaha! I bought it but Ima drive it like its stolen!!

 

….or Shrek

 

Thanks for the specific info, ideas, and opinions. I want to tag along as much as I can with you 1st gen guys, and hope to learn what you've learned by listening and watching-- and avoid a bunch of interim mods on the way to a set-up that works.

And thanks as well for the PM link to that awesome Tundras Solutions thread. That has info to help me better understand stuff I've been learning in snippets on here, because the author just defines stuff and explains how its works, doesn't weigh in with his preferences. I love opinions, but when they're opposite, it'll be nice to have this reference I can turn to understand what's actually being compared. Thank you, Luis!

 

Hahaha! This "Hulk" think is catching on. Maybe I could call it "Bruce" when it's not in Full-Beast mode....

 

Dang it, not caught up but I gotta get the kid and get to work. I'll check back soon.

 

I think you’d be amazed at how well these 1st Gens do when kept in stock mode. Those MT tires look sufficient for off road. Maybe get a second set of rims with ATs and swap as needed depending on your mode. Darkness and Casper are pretty dialed in on the off road stuff due to trial and error.

My 02’ is a TRD as well. She has been kept stock and done some towing and hauling as well as some off road stuff years ago. From my readings on these 1st Gens, once you start getting jiggy with suspension mods its a never ending tail chase fixing things. Also, not many options available out there.

Those tires are similiar in size to mine and really like the feel compared to the smaller original factory size. Any bigger and the engine would be overwelmed unless you regear both diffs higher. I can barely make it over a parking stop at the mall with 3.91 OEM gears.

The rear leafs are still firm after all these years. Don’t see a need to mess with them. Did re-build the front suspension in all OEM due to the heaviness up there.

 

So.... for fun... would there be long travel shocks I could fit on without cutting the bed right away, start with the right components but do it in stages? Or is there no point. I did see LT 1st gens on a TC site, I think it was Mark sent me.

Hmmn, maybe I need to take Bruce @papasmurf whatever he drinks, to check out his just done LT 2nd gen and hear him talk.

 

dude... come over for a beer/wine/whiskey and we can chat

 

I'll start researching this stuff. Icons are at the top of my list right now. Well, Icon or ADS. CRCV "clickers", yes. As for the resi's, I don't *need* them, but I might later.

 

@01erionracing he knows some stuff about 1st gens... so does @Rheywood456

but since neither of them are local i can help you out with fab and build stuff.

shoot me a PM with your number

 

@Sunnier Congrats and welcome to gen 1 club!