mmaaxx requested that I share a little bit of what I've been up to with the Tacoma up North. So here it goes.
I purchased the Tacoma back in 07 to be my DD as I have my 81. I think where everything went wrong is when I got the Off-Road package! Sure I thought... I'll need a locker for mild camping trips and backcountry skiing.
So here it is. I don't have build photo's but for future updates I'll get some shots to share.
This is how she sat at Race City a week after I bought her 07
No Mods:
First Off Road trip for the Tacoma at Airplane 08
First Mods:
- OME 885 Coils/OME Shocks
- OME AAL/OME Shocks
- Mickey Thompson 285/70/16 MTZ
- Pro Comp Wheels
- Topper
Poser Shot by Powerderface Trail 08
Next Mods:
- All-Pro Plate Bumper (Nudged a tree in a really tight section in Crowsnest)
- All-Pro Skid Plate
- All-Pro 1" Uniball UCA
Second CT4WD trip to Waiparous 09
- Light Force 240's
- PIAA 510
- T-Max 10,000
- All-Pro Sliders
- All-Pro Locker skid
- High Lift mount
- ARB H/O Compressor
CT4WD 2 Day Trip to Crowsnest 09
- All-Pro Long Travel W/Fox 2.5
- All-Pro 3" Rear Leafs W/Fox 2.0
- All-Pro X-Fer Case Skid
MCR8 Trip to the Rubicon 09
- Yakima Bars
- Roof Basket
- Rotax Fuel Cell
- Scepter Water Can
In Canmore 09
- Camping Labs Roof Top Tent
- Upgraded All-Pro Plate Bumper
In Exshaw 10
- All-Pro rear bumper
- OME HD leaf added to the All-Pro Pack
- Front Yakima bars
In Moab 10
- Custom Tube Rack by Yota Chad
- Hutchinson Bead Locks
- Mickey Thompson MTZ 315's
In McLean Creek 10
- Amsteel Blue Winch Line
- Safari Snorkle
- Updated LT Cromo Lower Control Arms
Upcoming
- Marlin Taco Box w/4.7's
- Waeco Fridge
- ARB Front Locker w/4.56
- Re-gear rear 4.56
Here's the write up for the All-Pro Long Travel Kit. I'm not sure if this would fit the Hilux or not.
I'd like to thank Sarah at All-Pro for really making this happen.
I've had the pleasure of working alongside All-Pro and National 4WD to get the Tacoma and our Association outfitted with parts and I can say by working with Sarah, she's awesome!
The kit arrived just in time for the National 4WD open house and the shocks came at 2PM the day before the event.
The Parts & Install Review:The All-Pro Long Travel Kit includes some really beefy looking parts. The UCA's look very similar to the regular All-Pro UCA's just wider.
The LCA's are really beefy as they are some solid pieces of art. The one thing that's missing is wheel stops for stopping your wheel from over turning, which the steering rack ends up doing. You can see the Lower uni-ball that allows for more travel.
The stronger steering linkages are really nice looking pieces and look fairly beefy as well.
So out comes the OME coils, OME shocks, spindles, CV's, and steering. You'll notice that the rear also came out and will be replaced with All-Pro's 3" kit with Fox Shocks.
The hardest part of the tear down was getting the outer's off the axle! A member of CT4WD and tech from a Toyota dealer in town mentioned that you need to point the inner cage all the way around till you find the weakness in the C clip.. then just have at'er! These take a long time to take off...eh!
The installation was fairly straight forwards. Basically bolt in the steering linkages...
Then bolt in the lowers and uppers....
Weld and paint the spindle gusset...
Bolt on the lower uni-ball...
Install the shock...
Pound the CV's back on the new axles.. and have a Tim Horton's Ice Cap.
Pound the CV into the diff and connect the spindle to the UCA and LCA. Instal the extended front brake lines
The rear shocks look extremely nice! These just bolt in along with the leaf pack, U-bolt flip and extended rear lines.
The on-road review:So far I can only provide an on-road review as the CV boot popped off before our trail run on Sunday. On the road....all I can say is AMAZING! The Fox shocks are set up to soak up the larger bumps really well.
On the first test run, oriontaco, JJ and myself hit some speed bumps about 4" at 50K/h and barely felt it through the front but did feel a little kick from the leafs out back. Driving over the pothole littered road it was very controlled and the shocks did a great job of soaking up the initial hit.
On the loading ramp the All-Pro LT kit almost got the same point as the 81 with Marlin's 4" leaf kit. This is pretty impressive! The American Expedition Vehicles rep's white Jeep 4Dr Rubicon made it a foot higher. Once everything breaks in I believe this will flex out a little more!
Next will be a trail report after I hit the Crowsnest Pass Thursday and Friday.... Rocks, Dirt, and roots...