- First Name
- Chris
- Joined
- Mar 20, 2025
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- 1
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- 3
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- 17
- Location
- San Diego, CA
- Vehicle(s)
- 2025 Toyota Tacoma TRD Off Road Long Bed Ice Cap
- Thread starter
- #1
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. The truck is mainly used as a camping vehicle in Southern California where I'll be doing a lot of highway driving followed by dirt roads, jeep trails, and desert washes. I pulled from the experience I gained from previous builds (2nd gen 4runner, 4th gen 4runner, 1st gen Tundra, 5th gen F350) to come up with something simple and clean, but functional and capable.
1st things first - tires
285/70r17 Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac RT Load Range E
The #1 most important mod IMO. I worked at a ski resort for 10 years and this was the tire we ran on our company vehicles - they ROCK in the snow. I ran Nitto Ridge Grapplers, BFG Ko2, and General AT2 before this and I've liked the performance of RT tires recently, but that's subjective. One thing I'll say is to be mindful of the tire's weight. The Duratrac RT have an uncomfortable ride when they're unloaded, feel heavier in the steering, and dropped my mpg from 21 to 17. The lane tracing assist also has trouble steering the tires in turns so you really have to pay attention to it. Although 285/75r17s are tempting because they'd look better, I don't think the drawbacks of an even heavier tire would be worth the minimal off-road gain. Just my $.02 though.
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With the tires on, it was time for a shakedown run on a blue rated jeep trail to see what the truck's limitations were. And I found that the stock truck was surprisingly capable and really only needed a few minor changes; Predator steps had to go and so did the stock exhaust, some rock sliders to protect the rocker panels, and a minor front lift to gain a little bit of clearance and shift the static height of the struts up to gain more up travel (at the expense of down travel.) I had fully expected to install Kings in the future because that's what I ran in the past, but the stock Bilsteins are so good for what they are that it's getting hard to justify the cost of Kings (or any premium 2.5 shock.)
So the build came about, which I'll split into 3 categories; the bare minimum, the necessary, and the frivolous.
The bare minimum:
Remove predator steps
Axle dump exhaust (I went with NYTOP)
The necessary:
285/70r17 or 33x11.5r17 tires (Goodyear Duratrac RT)
Rock sliders (Cali raised)
Alldogs offroad front and rear springs
Ditch lights (Rigid)
The frivolous:
ARE shell
Bajarack roof rack
Spidertrax 1" wheel spacers
Amazon 8 gallon water tank
Amazon awning
Pelican case
I've been using this setup for a few months now and there isn't much I would change. Maybe bed stiffeners? Does anyone have thoughts on those? I've also thought about installing Bulletproof fab rear bumper skid plates, not because I've needed them
, but it would be nice to have the peace of mind back there. If I could go back, I'd get the trail edition rock sliders from Cali raised instead of the step edition because the kickout hangs out just a little too far. Otherwise, this has gotten me through 99% of what's out there except for OHV specific areas with rock sections or trails meant for crawlers and jeeps. Of course it would be nice to have more lift, full skids, front locker, better shock damping, bigger tires, etc, etc. But if you leave out the frivolous stuff I added, this relatively simple build is the best bang per dollar I've found for the 4th gen Tacoma.
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. The truck is mainly used as a camping vehicle in Southern California where I'll be doing a lot of highway driving followed by dirt roads, jeep trails, and desert washes. I pulled from the experience I gained from previous builds (2nd gen 4runner, 4th gen 4runner, 1st gen Tundra, 5th gen F350) to come up with something simple and clean, but functional and capable.
1st things first - tires
285/70r17 Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac RT Load Range E
The #1 most important mod IMO. I worked at a ski resort for 10 years and this was the tire we ran on our company vehicles - they ROCK in the snow. I ran Nitto Ridge Grapplers, BFG Ko2, and General AT2 before this and I've liked the performance of RT tires recently, but that's subjective. One thing I'll say is to be mindful of the tire's weight. The Duratrac RT have an uncomfortable ride when they're unloaded, feel heavier in the steering, and dropped my mpg from 21 to 17. The lane tracing assist also has trouble steering the tires in turns so you really have to pay attention to it. Although 285/75r17s are tempting because they'd look better, I don't think the drawbacks of an even heavier tire would be worth the minimal off-road gain. Just my $.02 though.
With the tires on, it was time for a shakedown run on a blue rated jeep trail to see what the truck's limitations were. And I found that the stock truck was surprisingly capable and really only needed a few minor changes; Predator steps had to go and so did the stock exhaust, some rock sliders to protect the rocker panels, and a minor front lift to gain a little bit of clearance and shift the static height of the struts up to gain more up travel (at the expense of down travel.) I had fully expected to install Kings in the future because that's what I ran in the past, but the stock Bilsteins are so good for what they are that it's getting hard to justify the cost of Kings (or any premium 2.5 shock.)
So the build came about, which I'll split into 3 categories; the bare minimum, the necessary, and the frivolous.
The bare minimum:
Remove predator steps
Axle dump exhaust (I went with NYTOP)
The necessary:
285/70r17 or 33x11.5r17 tires (Goodyear Duratrac RT)
Rock sliders (Cali raised)
Alldogs offroad front and rear springs
Ditch lights (Rigid)
The frivolous:
ARE shell
Bajarack roof rack
Spidertrax 1" wheel spacers
Amazon 8 gallon water tank
Amazon awning
Pelican case
I've been using this setup for a few months now and there isn't much I would change. Maybe bed stiffeners? Does anyone have thoughts on those? I've also thought about installing Bulletproof fab rear bumper skid plates, not because I've needed them
, but it would be nice to have the peace of mind back there. If I could go back, I'd get the trail edition rock sliders from Cali raised instead of the step edition because the kickout hangs out just a little too far. Otherwise, this has gotten me through 99% of what's out there except for OHV specific areas with rock sections or trails meant for crawlers and jeeps. Of course it would be nice to have more lift, full skids, front locker, better shock damping, bigger tires, etc, etc. But if you leave out the frivolous stuff I added, this relatively simple build is the best bang per dollar I've found for the 4th gen Tacoma.
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