It’s been a few years now since we completed our Project Venture Toy Tacoma, and we’ve managed to put some roads, trails, and rocks under it. This project started life as a 2001 2WD Prerunner and was transformed into a rig capable of crawling trails or transporting us to our favorite back-country camp spots.
We stripped out the old axle and suspension components, added a transfer case, and swapped in two new straight axles on new suspension components. We figured it was time to revisit the truck and give you a short update on how it has performed and some further thoughts on the build.
The truck has the 3.4L V-6 engine and the four-speed auto tranny. Both of these have proven to be reliable and the combination yields good power, and the overdrive spins fine on the highway with the 5.13 axle gears and 37-inch tires. Depending on what we’re doing at the time, gas mileage seems to be about 11 to 14 mpg.
With the truck essentially complete, we’ve been getting out on the trail and doing some camping and ’wheeling after the lengthy build process. We’re pleased with the results and think the overall package was a success. We have the ability to travel the highways to our ’wheeling destinations, carry a fair bit of cargo, and tackle some reasonably difficult trails along the way. The 125-inch wheelbase can get a little long in tighter turns, but offers excellent stability and the ability to climb well. We continue to look forward to getting some more trail miles behind us.
Behind the auto tranny, we...
Behind the auto tranny, we installed an Inchworm Prerunner adapter to turn the 2WD output into a 4WD-style output. That is followed by a 2.28:1 Toyota gear reduction box, then a 3:1 Atlas II transfer case. We thought long and hard about how we wanted to configure this drivetrain. The drivetrain we chose was pricey and required a lot of sheetmetal rework of the cab floor. But, it offers a great combination of gearing options to cover highway, fire roads, and washes, and then on down to slow speeds for crawling over the rocks. With the gearing choices we also benefit from effective compression braking on steep ascents. The Atlas makes a bit of gear noise through the shifter, but that’s to be expected from the heavy-duty gears.
Our foundation started with...
Our foundation started with a set of Solid Axle-built Dana 60 units to provide plenty of axle strength. The front is 65 inches from flange to flange and the rear full-floater comes in at 64 inches. This yields us an outside track width just shy of 80 inches. This width provides good stability while still being able to fit through fairly tight trails without a lot of fuss. The Solid Dana 60s are stuffed with ARB Air Lockers, Yukon 5.13 gears, 35-spline alloy shafts, and Warn hubs up front. Both differentials are high-pinion units and use 1350 yokes.
We did have one issue with...
We did have one issue with the Dana 60 rear axle. After about six months it developed an annoying leak at the outer drive flange plate. We replaced the oil seal on the back of the wheel hub, but found some months later that oil was seeping out of the axle again. A closer look this time during disassembly revealed that there was weld splatter bits on the spindle where the seal rode. This was cutting into our oil seal over time. We removed the offending material, installed a new seal, and the axle is holding oil fine now.
All-Pro leaf packs prop up...
All-Pro leaf packs prop up the rear and their 5-inch version spring gives us good ride height and we are pleased with how well they flex to compliment the front articulation. Over time they’ve settled in about an inch or so, but that’s to be expected. We use Bilstein 7100 reservoir shocks on the tail and the ability to adjust the reservoir nitrogen pressure is a nice feature to provide some bit of tuning. The effort we put into raising the gas tank 3 inches has proven to be well worth it. There are still some light scrapes on the tank skidplate but we’re happy with the improved belly clearance. Reroute of the exhaust higher was also worth the time and effort.
Front suspension comes from...
Front suspension comes from All-Pro Off-Road. We took their Taco Supreme kit and mated it to the Dana 60 with some bracket changes at the axle end. This three-link kit went cleanly on the frame after all the stock IFS was cut and ground away. The 12-inch-travel Walker Evans coilovers provide a smooth ride and the 300-pound spring rate is a comfortable choice both on and off the highway. We’re using the adjustable reservoir model and like being able to tweak the damping to suit the terrain we’re on. We typically run them looser on most trails and on the snug side on the road. The linked suspension has proven to be stable and articulates well.
We’ve been pleased with the...
We’ve been pleased with the 37x12.50R17 Mickey Thompson Radial MTZ tires. They provide a decent highway ride for an aggressive mud tire and hook up well in the dirt. When aired down a bit they stick well in the snow and have good rock traction, as well. The rubber tends to chunk out a bit in the gnarly rocks, but that’s when we’re grinding them pretty hard on sharp edges. We like the look and performance of the Mickey Thompson Classic II wheels that were beadlocked by the folks at OMF and topped with a set of their scalloped rings. One thing of note though is that the location of the valve stem on the beadlocked Classic II makes it a bit harder to get an air chuck on, but the stems are well protected. Next time we swap tires, we might consider drilling holes for a more accessible valve stem location.
We used an All-Pro hydro-ported...
We used an All-Pro hydro-ported Toyota IFS steering box mounted to the reinforced front frame rail and supplemented it with a 1.5-inch-diameter PSC assist cylinder driven by a PSC high-performance pump. The combination results in a slightly light road feel on the highway, but the setup shines on the trail when you want to make tight turns at slow speeds. Due to clearance issues we couldn’t mount the steering rods on top of the upper knuckle arms, so we mounted them at mid-height. Since this is not a hardcore rock-crawler, steering-rod clearance on trails has not been a problem.
Peer inside and you’ll find...
Peer inside and you’ll find an Offroad Solutions ’cage wrapped around the Mastercraft Baja RS reclining seats. We’ve found these seats to be super comfortable, and having a suspension seat that leans forward and backwards in an extended cab truck is a plus. We maintain the choice of running the stock 3-point seatbelts along with the ability to swap to 3-inch wide Mastercraft lap belts.
We’ve had occasion to use...
We’ve had occasion to use the Ramsey Patriot Profile 9,000-pound winch to extract the Tacoma and others on the trail, and we have had zero issues with its performance. Since the initial build we’ve added a set of KC HiLites Apollo Series driving lights up front to give us a little more distance illumination while running dirt roads at night. These compact 5-inch halogen lights fit well in tight spaces and their Polymax housings keep the added weight low.
We also added a ScanGauge...
We also added a ScanGauge II unit plugged into the OBD test port to monitor some of the diagnostic parameters of our drivetrain. In addition to the ability to monitor instant and trip mpg, we can watch a number of our engine control parameters as well as use it for any troubleshooting we may need to do in the future.
The Tacoma uses lower body...
The Tacoma uses lower body armor in the form of 1.75-inch tubing sliders from Stubbs Welding. We used their slider model that has the curved front portion and kickout in the rear. We’ve dropped the truck down on these numerous times and can attest to their beefiness, and the kicked design has provided excellent body protection.