How it happened:
I was driving on a grated 2 lane wide dirt road in 4HI when the transmission overheated. I was loaded down with about 400lbs of gear and 2 people, 285/70r17 tires aired down to 20psi (2k miles on the truck.) I've done that road in a built and loaded down 4th gen 4runner and a...
It's the CX Evolve by ARE. I chose it because it came with the headliner carpet standard and the demo models in the store seemed to have better seals than the Leer and Snugtop shells. Good seals were important to me because of cold weather/windy camping, and I've had 2 shells in the past that...
What's great about this generation is Toyota listened to how their buyers used their trucks, then created a trim level for every category of user with the ability to modify it even further. SR for fleet and work trucks, SR5 for the budget conscious, Sport for all around, Off-Road for off road...
I went with alldogs offroad springs front and rear. The front have a +15% increase in spring rate and 1.5" lift which feels just about right. The rears need to be loaded down with a couple hundred pounds to ride well and sit somewhere around +2-3" over stock unloaded (I didn't measure, just...
I experienced this on my offroad with the regular turbo 4. The transmission overheated and went into limp mode multiple times on a grated dirt road that went from 4k ft to 8k ft elevation. I even crossed an Astro van that was making its way down which really pissed me off ? Putting it into 4lo...
Not necessarily a big problem but I've hit the kickout on rocks where it would have otherwise cleared. Not a big deal but I'd prefer to clear than to hit.
Build thread and review of my 2025 Tacoma TRD Off Road Long bed
I really wanted the rear locker, so I went with the OR trim stripped down with no options.
The goal with this build was to keep it as close to stock as possible and as cheap as possible while still gaining real off-road benefits...