Joe's 4WD Pages: 2004 Toyota Tacoma

I purchased this 2004 Toyota Tacoma in May 2004 after getting fed up with the Land Rover Discovery. Realizing that my '94 would never again be a decent daily driver, I decided I wanted some something new, reliable, better mpg, and decently capable.

My interests in 4-wheeling changed over the years. I find it much more enjoyable to go out and explore, find and see things, and camp than to go wheeling for the sake of wheeling. Understand I am not denigrating rockcrawling, bogging, difficult obstacles, etc. - I just found that mild to medium rides with scenery and history are more satisfying. I also grew weary of the toll on the vehicle and the risk of not being able to drive home.

With that in mind, and coupled with living in an urban area, I wanted something that would be nimble on road and trail, extremely reliable, and provide good fuel economy. Simplicity of design and ease of maintaining were also very important to me. Finally, I also needed a truck for the various home and yard projects. Knowing what I know about Toyotas, there was no other choice.

This Tacoma is a standard cab with the 2.7L I-4 3RZ-FE engine, W59 5-speed transmission,4.30:1 gears, standard ABS, and it has an actual old-fashioned floor shift lever for 4WD! It has three options: air conditioning, cold weather package, and 4WD. Everything else is manual or absent, and it's perfect for the two of us.

As of January, 2006, all I have done to it is: Longer-term plans:
  • A.R.E. Mpulse cab-high fiberglass shell. This shell is fantastic! It has very clean lines and matches the Tacoma perfectly; A.R.E. uses the same paint; it has a tilt-in front window and tinted side windows with screens. Very very nice and good-looking shell for the money.
  • I Herculined the bed. Note: don't do this outside on a day when there is a chance of rain! I was halfway done when it started pouring rain. Overall it turned out ok, but due to the rain the Herculiner dripped on the front wall of the bed, and somewhat around the wheelwells.
  • Yokohama Geolandar AT+II tires, 265/75R16 (roughly a 31.5x10.5R16). They have been excellent in dry, rain, and snow. Update 1/06: These tires have become useless in snow and spin a lot in the rain! They'll be getting cut up shortly. The stock BFG Rugged Trails were useless, but at least BFG made them round.
  • I scored a deal on some stock 2004 Tacoma alloys - they obviously look much nicer and are lighter-weight than the stock steelies.
  • Kenwood AM/FM/CD player in place of the stock AM/FM/CASS. Surpisingly it sounds good with the factory speakers.
  • Added intermittent wipers.
  • Front Range Offroad Fabrications Rear Bumper
  • Hella Yellowstar headlights. Not for the bling - but yellow light doesn't reflect off snow and rain like whiter lights, so these headlights are great for our weather.
  • Husky floor liners. Gotta remember to dump the snow and water regularly so it doesn't spill onto the carpet.
  • Either pizzacutter tires (235/85R16) or 285/75R16. I dig the pizzacutters for a variety of reasons - less rolling resistance, less weight. less protrusion. Depends on how the lift turns out.........
  • (late January '06): I have a bead on a fantastic deal for a lift setup, with front diff geared with 4.88's and an ARB. More to come!
  • I wanted TrueTracs front and rear, but with the previous item that ain't going to happen, and I'm ok with that! I'll probably put one in the rear axle with 4.88's.
  • Currently figuring out which used bucket seats would be best for this thing. Tacoma buckets are off the list - possibly 4Runner? Camry? Accord?
  • Front bumper and winch? Possibly... but not a priority.

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