Toyota Tacoma Modifications

[awonderingdawn]

What modifications have you made to your Toyota Tacoma? My boyfriend is looking for ideas (I guess he's bored and wants to spice up his truck a bit). Did you choose to do the Tacoma modifications yourself- or have them done professionally? If you can, please post pictures- as much as I'm interested in reading about your Tacoma mod ideas, I'm interested in seeing them too!

 

[tbplus10]

What year truck is it?
I have lots of mods and tricks on my 99.
Some might work on the newer gen trucks but youll need to re-engineer a little for differences.
All my mods were completed by me.
Some that come to mind right away are:
Bypassed the factory r/r e-locker wireing so it can be used in 2wd also.
Opened up the air intake box, removed the air baffles, and replaced the corregated air inlet tube with a smooth tube. makes the intake louder but with a good reusable dry filter it increased hp on the dyno by 6hp and torque by 4lbs. Normaly aspirated.
Installed a shifter mounted thumb throttle.
Installed sepparate line lock brakes for front and r/r axles.
Installed cutting brakes for the r/r axle.
Bed bar mounted back-up lights.
Under hood and under truck work lights (not look at me neons, real work lights)
Underhood air compressor and aux tank with hose bib at frt grill and under r/r bumper.
Power cable and class IV hitchs at both ends that attach a 9000lb Ramsey winch, along wit additional attachment points for side or r/r pulls and block atachment.
Under hood mig welder, 2nd battery and 200amp mean green alternator.
Weather tech floor mats, removable nylon seat and partial carpet covers
Overhead shelf
C.B. radio with weather band, ham radio.
Hand held spotlights with cigarrette lighter connections and battery clips.
The list goes much further.

 

[toyotafan]

Yeah, it's pretty much wide open for mods, but being in Alaska you might have special things that need to be added for cold weather, ice, snow, etc, that people in the lower parts of North America don't have to deal with.

I think about comfort first and foremost when I start to modify a vehicle. I went as far as to put new seats in a CJ5 Jeep I had once because they weren't comfy enough for me and/or give me enough leg room. External lighting is still an issue, although not as much of an issue anymore as factory lights and/or aftermarket LED or HID lights give you a lot of light. Then things like lift, better tires, performance exhaust and the like are good areas to start for actually improving performance offroad.

 

[MuddyTacoma]

You're in Alaska, should be more than a few outfitters that will help you get some ideas, i think the trick will be doing the work yourself if you don't have a heated place to do it as it's going to be pretty cold up there pretty soon isn't it?

 

[awonderingdawn]

What year truck is it?
I have lots of mods and tricks on my 99.
Some might work on the newer gen trucks but youll need to re-engineer a little for differences.
All my mods were completed by me.
Some that come to mind right away are:
Bypassed the factory r/r e-locker wireing so it can be used in 2wd also.
Opened up the air intake box, removed the air baffles, and replaced the corregated air inlet tube with a smooth tube. makes the intake louder but with a good reusable dry filter it increased hp on the dyno by 6hp and torque by 4lbs. Normaly aspirated.
Installed a shifter mounted thumb throttle.
Installed sepparate line lock brakes for front and r/r axles.
Installed cutting brakes for the r/r axle.
Bed bar mounted back-up lights.
Under hood and under truck work lights (not look at me neons, real work lights)
Underhood air compressor and aux tank with hose bib at frt grill and under r/r bumper.
Power cable and class IV hitchs at both ends that attach a 9000lb Ramsey winch, along wit additional attachment points for side or r/r pulls and block atachment.
Under hood mig welder, 2nd battery and 200amp mean green alternator.
Weather tech floor mats, removable nylon seat and partial carpet covers
Overhead shelf
C.B. radio with weather band, ham radio.
Hand held spotlights with cigarrette lighter connections and battery clips.
The list goes much further.

Wow- you've done a lot! That's awesome. So funny that you have a HAM radio- it's practically the only kind of radio I can't find in Alaska. VHF is the notoriously popular one up here. In some remote areas, where I spent my teen years, it's the only form of wireless communication, because there are no cell signals.

What is the most useful modification you've made? All of yours seem targeted towards functionality rather than comfort- so which one do you find yourself using the most?

 

[awonderingdawn]

Yeah, it's pretty much wide open for mods, but being in Alaska you might have special things that need to be added for cold weather, ice, snow, etc, that people in the lower parts of North America don't have to deal with.

I think about comfort first and foremost when I start to modify a vehicle. I went as far as to put new seats in a CJ5 Jeep I had once because they weren't comfy enough for me and/or give me enough leg room. External lighting is still an issue, although not as much of an issue anymore as factory lights and/or aftermarket LED or HID lights give you a lot of light. Then things like lift, better tires, performance exhaust and the like are good areas to start for actually improving performance offroad.

We do have the truck lifted and we have pretty great tires on it already. We haven't looked at getting better lights- but that modification would make a lot of sense in Alaska when we're only getting 6 hours of daylight in the winter.

 

[awonderingdawn]

You're in Alaska, should be more than a few outfitters that will help you get some ideas, i think the trick will be doing the work yourself if you don't have a heated place to do it as it's going to be pretty cold up there pretty soon isn't it?

It really depends what part of Alaska you're in (mind you we're a huge state- nearly the size of Maine to west Texas- about 1/3 of the US). Some parts are getting pretty cold already, but in Anchorage the climate is pretty moderate. We're still getting into the 60's- which is pretty warm for us.

 

[tbplus10]

VHF makes sense for your location because its very popular, but HAM has better reach, especially in the backwoods.
My truck from the factory, at the time I ordered it, was well appointed, pwr wndows pwr locks, cruise control, tilt wheel, pwr drvrs seat, am/fm w/10disc cd and premium spkr pkge, leather heated seats, every option but a sunroof.
So I never needed creature comforts added.
I bought the truck through a military new car program while stationed in Siccilly and started modding it while my wife, daughter, and I traveled Europe on weekends and vacations.
You need to assess what will work for your conditions.