Ultimate dedicated hunting rig?

A lot of love for the mid-sized trucks. I had a Raptor and it went about anywhere I asked it too but its as wide as a dually which made it a tight fit through the brush. I've been looking at the Tacomas, and the ZR2 has front/rear lockers, no doubt a highly capable truck but I'm not sure I can made the adjustment to a mid-size.

@WRO how is the ride on that Tacoma? that's a good looking truck, impressive what a lift kit and tires does for the appearance.
 
A lot of love for the mid-sized trucks. I had a Raptor and it went about anywhere I asked it too but its as wide as a dually which made it a tight fit through the brush. I've been looking at the Tacomas, and the ZR2 has front/rear lockers, no doubt a highly capable truck but I'm not sure I can made the adjustment to a mid-size.

@WRO how is the ride on that Tacoma? that's a good looking truck, impressive what a lift kit and tires does for the appearance.

It was good stock, but I put Bilstein 8112/8110's and Dakar medium rear leafs on it. Now it literally drives like a sports car on road and its a beast off road. I spend alot of time hunting the desert, this made a huge difference.
 
I run a 94 4runner but I believe the 3rd gen with a manual and 3.4L, 5-6in susp lift on 35s is the way to go. Better off road than a truck, sleep in it, one of the most reliable engines ever. I would go with a land cruiser after that.
 
I'm debating going to pick one up next year...
Diesel, manual Hilux from Mexico. Marlin Crawler RCLT suspension with internal bypass King coils up front. Alcan springs and 3.5" bypass in the rear. 38x12.50 Toyo M/T and Nitro 5.29 gears. Factory rear locker, LSD up front, RCV CV axles and chrome moly shafts in the rear.
I'll custom build a modular aluminum flatbed system. It will allow me to switch between a dog box or canvas topper with spots for a spare and recovery gear.
All in would still be cheaper than a brand new stock Tacoma. We get the shaft here in the States when it comes to trucks.


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A lot of love for the mid-sized trucks. I had a Raptor and it went about anywhere I asked it too but its as wide as a dually which made it a tight fit through the brush. I've been looking at the Tacomas, and the ZR2 has front/rear lockers, no doubt a highly capable truck but I'm not sure I can made the adjustment to a mid-size.

@WRO how is the ride on that Tacoma? that's a good looking truck, impressive what a lift kit and tires does for the appearance.

I came across some bear hunters on a rough road down here. The kind of road I hate to even ride an atv on. The front group was in a raptor and the rear group in a tacoma. The guy driving the tacoma had let a ton of air out of his tires and said he still couldnt keep up with the raptor without throwing dogs out the back or breaking his neck. Thats the first time I ever had any interest in a raptor.
 
I came across some bear hunters on a rough road down here. The kind of road I hate to even ride an atv on. The front group was in a raptor and the rear group in a tacoma. The guy driving the tacoma had let a ton of air out of his tires and said he still couldnt keep up with the raptor without throwing dogs out the back or breaking his neck. Thats the first time I ever had any interest in a raptor.
My stock suspension was good,but once I changed it I'd go head to head with any raptor on rough roads.

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1999 Grand Cherokee, gets me anywhere I want to go, has a bombproof I-6 engine, and I can sleep in it. I drive it to work on the daily as well.

Just bought a new Unlimited Wrangler but hitting the trails with it hurts with every bump and scrape :D.
 
How much did the upgrades run you?
I'm a little over 5 in the suspension, I installed it all my self. Money well spent. I'm probably another 5 in bumpers, sliders, skid plates, lights, winch, speakers etc. Another couple in wheels and tires..12k total

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I've always wondered - how much aftermarket stuff does it take to transform a "truck" to a "rig"? Is it quantity or $ amount? Or, is it simply appearing on hunting television that triggers the name change?
 
Only negative to the Raptor is the wheelbase width. They are wider than a lot of the roads I want to go on.

If it could go faster than 45 mph, my 1960 Willys is perfect, but it needs a tow to get there.

Jeremy
 
I came across some bear hunters on a rough road down here. The kind of road I hate to even ride an atv on. The front group was in a raptor and the rear group in a tacoma. The guy driving the tacoma had let a ton of air out of his tires and said he still couldnt keep up with the raptor without throwing dogs out the back or breaking his neck. Thats the first time I ever had any interest in a raptor.
My neighbor does really well and is a Raptor fanatic. He always has two and he is on his sixth set in the three years I've lived next to him.

He let me drive his new Shelby Baja last weekend. We jumped some railroad tracks going up and down the hill at 85mph and you could barely even feel it.

They're awesome rigs.
 
I've always wondered - how much aftermarket stuff does it take to transform a "truck" to a "rig"? Is it quantity or $ amount? Or, is it simply appearing on hunting television that triggers the name change?

Some of it is bullshit to be honest, I broke a set of shocks that were supposed to be great before I found one that worked. I've been in a bunch of tacomas with different suspensions in them. I would not go with Icon or Fox personally, I would stick with kings, ADS, or the high end bilsteins and of the 3 the bisteins are the most well rounded. Do not add blocks or an AAL to the rear, do a full replacement pack from OME or Deaver. I also did UCA's. Overall I am pretty happy with my truck, I am going to regear it and lock it front and rear with air lockers and eventually put twin turbo's on it. When it stops being my daily, I'll put a full LT kit on it.
 
I'll see if I can find a pic of my last "rig". Although I miss it for all the good stuff, the fuel mileage and power sucked.

2001 Xterra had 3" SL, 2" BL, rear bumper, winch, front locker and a bunch of other fun stuff. It went just about everywhere an ATV could, if I folded the front seat forward I could sleep in the back with the rear seat down. It had a nice matte silver colour from all the BC backcountry pin striping.

I've been thinking about finding another early square headlight Xterra and swapping out the drivetrain to an LS (of course hahahaha) and maybe a solid axle swap up front and run 35s without the need for a body lift. Then make a custom trailer to pull behind with a RTT, some onboard water and room for a few other goodies.

You yota guys can hate all you want, I don't mind.
 
I'll see if I can find a pic of my last "rig". Although I miss it for all the good stuff, the fuel mileage and power sucked.

2001 Xterra had 3" SL, 2" BL, rear bumper, winch, front locker and a bunch of other fun stuff. It went just about everywhere an ATV could, if I folded the front seat forward I could sleep in the back with the rear seat down. It had a nice matte silver colour from all the BC backcountry pin striping.

I've been thinking about finding another early square headlight Xterra and swapping out the drivetrain to an LS (of course hahahaha) and maybe a solid axle swap up front and run 35s without the need for a body lift. Then make a custom trailer to pull behind with a RTT, some onboard water and room for a few other goodies.

You yota guys can hate all you want, I don't mind.


Nothing wrong with an xtra once you get enough tire under it to keep the anchors...er, I mean spring hangers, from catching on everything. We ran one for a couple seasons a few years back. Beat on it pretty good. It worked. Sure sucked on fuel though!
 
3rd gen toyota xtra cab, tons and 40s, 118" WB, linked on factory coils, 5.3 LS, unsure about trans, 3 speed atlas case. Bed would be double bobbed of course, with a matching canopy. I'd build bumpers and fender bars from DOM, 2x4 .188 wall for sliders. Hot rodded 8274 up front, m10000 under the back. Wire rope in both, no winch rope for a truck that gets used. Build it with the flattest belly possible.
It would fit places here, and have the jam for the mud up north. Of course, as soon as I finished it, I would realize where I'd gone wrong, and start building a new one.

This is close to the 2nd gen I built and then parted out for a 1st gen build.

The pics are before I cut the back of the frame off and tubed it with custom 4 link and air shocks.
 

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