I started int he jeep world and in 2000 I bought a 1974 CJ-5 it was a MESS.. but had a solid frame, working 304 V-8.... of which over the next 2 years this all changed....
body was junk, it got sawzalled off... frame off and discovered some issues t-case had a cracked off lower ear on the D20 t-case.. I found another, but this one did not have holes in the case for the T-10 trans shift rods here it begins.. T-18a (6.32:1 granny gear) swap D20 T-case (2.06:1)... new fiberglass body, fenders and new steel windshiled frame, new painless wiring harness. custom dash panel with rebuilt original speedometer, Dometic heater.. then found the ignitiion system on the 304 was junk, and among other issues with it I found a AMC 360 V-8 from an 84' grand wagoneer and swapped that in, upgraded the oiing system with bits from bulltear.com, front discs conversion, power steering conversion, and a few other mods, including rebuilding the stock D30 front axle, some 15x8" american racing steelies, and 32x11.5" mud king radials...
wheeled it a bit with a buddy of mine that had a 92 YJ on 35's 350/350 swap, but he blew the trans, and retired his jeep, and got married, kids, yaddah yaddah... I too lost interest, and the jeep sat, I worked... bought a house, moved the jeep over, and in the driveway it sits... done a little work here and there to it.. and at one poiint attempted to sell it... now onto my DD rig...
2018 my wifes car 2007 mazda 6 sport was on its last legs (bent valves in 2 cylinders (out of 4 that's bad)... and I hated my current ride (2013 Mazda CX-5 AWD), she loved the CX-5, and I am the breadwinner of the house so I figured I needed a new ride... so I went shopping....
called the wife a day after recieving the diagnosis that the car needed $1800 worth of work, I had taken the day off work, and went car shopping.. I found this truck online listed online for 31k 2016 Tacoma TRD OFroad with 20k miles on it. I went looked at it.. thought it was cool, but figured I should look at other dealers offerings.. I looked and was close to pulling the salesman for a 2016 dodge rebel (white was not my color of choice, and I didnt need a fullsized truck), I looked at a ZR2 diesel... 42k?!? wow... ok jeeps... ummm again overpriced for what they are... I went back to the toyota dealer, and asked about the tacoma. took a test ride... I was sold.. it had all the features I wanted. offroad capable (with better tires...
fresh from the dealers in october..
I started watching youtube overlanding videos................. I joined Tacomaworld.com
I figured I needed a place to sleep, and a rtt seemed like a great purchase...
KBvoodoo high rise bed bars:
ARB Simpson III with annex:
need some light Cali Raised ditch light brackets, and lights...
fast forward to my first trip with tacomaworld.com group from Maine, PA, VT, NH we had 19 tacomas's show up to ride from greenville, Me up into the NMW (north maine woods)... some rigs stockish like me, some rigs built out with suspension, and larger tires, bed racks, and all the gear...
met some great people from the east coast and saw some great mods done to their trucks, and saw some things that I would like to incorporate into my truck:
the truck did well and i was able to hang @45-50mph on the logging roads with stock suspension, and about 300#'s of gear and cooler in the bed and my clothes stuffed in a bag in the back seat. I had installed a CB radio, and I had got myself a Baofeng UV-5R+ to listen in on FRS frequencies until I can get my Ham license (currently studying)... when I get my license I plan to install a hardwired ICOM 5100A....
end of trip 300 miles of mud and dusty road grime (this stuff is like cement, when washing off)
then I got the bug and started saving $$ for mods..
265/70/17 (31.7") goodyear duratracs on Method Racing 305NV 17x8.5 0offset:
the predator steps met a few rocks..... so....
Modtown offroad HD sliders, they were raw steel so I had Performance Paint, and powder of Auburn, Me make them pretty:
so far this is all I have done, but there is another part out to Powder today:
SSO slimline Hybrid 20" BD S8 cutouts (I just ordered the lightbar/harness from polyperformance, they offer LEO/servicemember discount), and a Smitybilt x2o 10k comp winch.
with all this weight going on the truck I've decided that suspension is next, then i can add full skids, and larger tires after the lift:
planned mods:
*Dobinson's MRR/MRA 3 way adjustable suspension system with 2" lift coils, and full leaf packs (they get better reviews that OME, or ICON RXT), truck will get 2" of lift and wil be sufficient to fit 33" tires
*RCI full skids, as well as LCA skids.
hopefully I can get the suspension and skids purchased and installed before september (planning a run through NMW from greenville, Me (caribou checkpoint) all the way up through to Allegash (north Maine border, out to Fort Kent to fuel up, and back in, and down. doing a pre-run on July 5th-8th (planning/mapping the route for a trip in september)
body was junk, it got sawzalled off... frame off and discovered some issues t-case had a cracked off lower ear on the D20 t-case.. I found another, but this one did not have holes in the case for the T-10 trans shift rods here it begins.. T-18a (6.32:1 granny gear) swap D20 T-case (2.06:1)... new fiberglass body, fenders and new steel windshiled frame, new painless wiring harness. custom dash panel with rebuilt original speedometer, Dometic heater.. then found the ignitiion system on the 304 was junk, and among other issues with it I found a AMC 360 V-8 from an 84' grand wagoneer and swapped that in, upgraded the oiing system with bits from bulltear.com, front discs conversion, power steering conversion, and a few other mods, including rebuilding the stock D30 front axle, some 15x8" american racing steelies, and 32x11.5" mud king radials...
wheeled it a bit with a buddy of mine that had a 92 YJ on 35's 350/350 swap, but he blew the trans, and retired his jeep, and got married, kids, yaddah yaddah... I too lost interest, and the jeep sat, I worked... bought a house, moved the jeep over, and in the driveway it sits... done a little work here and there to it.. and at one poiint attempted to sell it... now onto my DD rig...
2018 my wifes car 2007 mazda 6 sport was on its last legs (bent valves in 2 cylinders (out of 4 that's bad)... and I hated my current ride (2013 Mazda CX-5 AWD), she loved the CX-5, and I am the breadwinner of the house so I figured I needed a new ride... so I went shopping....
called the wife a day after recieving the diagnosis that the car needed $1800 worth of work, I had taken the day off work, and went car shopping.. I found this truck online listed online for 31k 2016 Tacoma TRD OFroad with 20k miles on it. I went looked at it.. thought it was cool, but figured I should look at other dealers offerings.. I looked and was close to pulling the salesman for a 2016 dodge rebel (white was not my color of choice, and I didnt need a fullsized truck), I looked at a ZR2 diesel... 42k?!? wow... ok jeeps... ummm again overpriced for what they are... I went back to the toyota dealer, and asked about the tacoma. took a test ride... I was sold.. it had all the features I wanted. offroad capable (with better tires...
fresh from the dealers in october..
I started watching youtube overlanding videos................. I joined Tacomaworld.com
I figured I needed a place to sleep, and a rtt seemed like a great purchase...
KBvoodoo high rise bed bars:
ARB Simpson III with annex:
need some light Cali Raised ditch light brackets, and lights...
fast forward to my first trip with tacomaworld.com group from Maine, PA, VT, NH we had 19 tacomas's show up to ride from greenville, Me up into the NMW (north maine woods)... some rigs stockish like me, some rigs built out with suspension, and larger tires, bed racks, and all the gear...
met some great people from the east coast and saw some great mods done to their trucks, and saw some things that I would like to incorporate into my truck:
the truck did well and i was able to hang @45-50mph on the logging roads with stock suspension, and about 300#'s of gear and cooler in the bed and my clothes stuffed in a bag in the back seat. I had installed a CB radio, and I had got myself a Baofeng UV-5R+ to listen in on FRS frequencies until I can get my Ham license (currently studying)... when I get my license I plan to install a hardwired ICOM 5100A....
end of trip 300 miles of mud and dusty road grime (this stuff is like cement, when washing off)
then I got the bug and started saving $$ for mods..
265/70/17 (31.7") goodyear duratracs on Method Racing 305NV 17x8.5 0offset:
the predator steps met a few rocks..... so....
Modtown offroad HD sliders, they were raw steel so I had Performance Paint, and powder of Auburn, Me make them pretty:
so far this is all I have done, but there is another part out to Powder today:
SSO slimline Hybrid 20" BD S8 cutouts (I just ordered the lightbar/harness from polyperformance, they offer LEO/servicemember discount), and a Smitybilt x2o 10k comp winch.
with all this weight going on the truck I've decided that suspension is next, then i can add full skids, and larger tires after the lift:
planned mods:
*Dobinson's MRR/MRA 3 way adjustable suspension system with 2" lift coils, and full leaf packs (they get better reviews that OME, or ICON RXT), truck will get 2" of lift and wil be sufficient to fit 33" tires
*RCI full skids, as well as LCA skids.
hopefully I can get the suspension and skids purchased and installed before september (planning a run through NMW from greenville, Me (caribou checkpoint) all the way up through to Allegash (north Maine border, out to Fort Kent to fuel up, and back in, and down. doing a pre-run on July 5th-8th (planning/mapping the route for a trip in september)
