Ultimate dedicated hunting rig?

mtwarden

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I have a 2013 with a 2.5 inch lift. It has 285/70/17 tires on it, and the front tires do rub on the back of the fender well when turned about halfway if the suspension is articulated much at all. But the tires are mounted on -10mm offset wheels, so I think the offset creates more of a rub there with the tires pushed out further than factory. The other spot you might rub is the front cab mount, so lots of guys putting 33" tires on tacomas do the CMC (cab mount chop) mod that requires welding to relocate the cab mount on the frame.

Mine doesn't rub very badly or very often, so I haven't taken a sawzall to the fender well yet, but the previous owner had already done the CMC, so I don't have any feedback if I would've rubbed without that done.

Thanks —think I'll stick w/ the 275/70's, it's about 32.2" I'm currently running 265/70's w/ no rubbing lock to lock on the stock suspension.

The other size I'm looking at is 255/75R17, it's just a hair over 32" as well—slightly narrower, which doesn't bother me, but only offered in C rating in the KO2 (and not offered at all in the O3)
 

WRO

WKR
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I ran these in a 275 75 17 and loved them.
 
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I ran these in a 275 75 17 and loved them.
That's what I have on right now as well, in 35's.

This thread needs more pics.
 
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Thanks —think I'll stick w/ the 275/70's, it's about 32.2" I'm currently running 265/70's w/ no rubbing lock to lock on the stock suspension.

The other size I'm looking at is 255/75R17, it's just a hair over 32" as well—slightly narrower, which doesn't bother me, but only offered in C rating in the KO2 (and not offered at all in the O3)
I think it's a good call if you aren't building a crazy offroad rig. The 285's were already on my truck when I bought it, but I'm pretty sure I will go narrower whenever these tires are done.

My truck isn't regeared, so it struggles a bit with the 285's and added weight from a bumper, skid plates, and sliders. I think the 255 pizza cutters are a great option and seem really popular on the tacoma forums.

My 285's are the nitto ridge grapplers in c-rating, and I haven't had any punctures yet with quite a few forest roads and trails over the last 2 years with the truck. I'll probably go with c-rated tires again when I replace as long as I can find them in the size I want since the C's seem to be less common than the E's.
 

WRO

WKR
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I think it's a good call if you aren't building a crazy offroad rig. The 285's were already on my truck when I bought it, but I'm pretty sure I will go narrower whenever these tires are done.

My truck isn't regeared, so it struggles a bit with the 285's and added weight from a bumper, skid plates, and sliders. I think the 255 pizza cutters are a great option and seem really popular on the tacoma forums.

My 285's are the nitto ridge grapplers in c-rating, and I haven't had any punctures yet with quite a few forest roads and trails over the last 2 years with the truck. I'll probably go with c-rated tires again when I replace as long as I can find them in the size I want since the C's seem to be less common than the E's.
C’s are way lighter and help mileage.

1731609501231.jpeg

My old taco..
 
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C’s are way lighter and help mileage.

View attachment 790905

My old taco..
IMG_8255.jpeg

Yeah I think my bigger problem is the aerodynamics and weight from bumper, skids, and rock sliders. I still average 17 mpg so not horrible by second gen standards.

The truck was built when I bought it, but I couldn’t pass up a second gen with only 16k miles and $10k worth of suspension and offroad upgrades for the same price as if it was factory.
 

WRO

WKR
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View attachment 790906

Yeah I think my bigger problem is the aerodynamics and weight from bumper, skids, and rock sliders. I still average 17 mpg so not horrible by second gen standards.

The truck was built when I bought it, but I couldn’t pass up a second gen with only 16k miles and $10k worth of suspension and offroad upgrades for the same price as if it was factory.
I did an aluminum front bumper and skids which helped with weight a bunch..
 

Bama67

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My truck the last 3 years has been a Gladiator Rubicon. It hasn't been any trouble and can go anywhere.
Compared to my long bed Super Duty it's like driving a more comfortable UTV.
The only thing that would make it perfect was if I could sleep in the bed comfortably.
 
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I would build a samurai, that would be the most useful to me. There are lots of kits to put fuel injected motors (I would probably go with a 22re) and you can easily put power steering on them. Keep it modest, 31x10.50 tires, not jacked up high

I would love to have one, it’s just hard to justify because I like just having one versatile rig that works well for everything I do, and a samurai project is going to be around 15k$
I had a samurai
Make sure to put wheel spacers or something on it.

We called it flippy magee
She liked to roll over.

Absolutely the most terrifying thing I’ve ever ridden or driven in.
 

The Guide

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I'm 6'6" with a long torso. I've always been a fullsize guy due to needing 42" to 44" of head room (seat to ceiling) for comfortable driving. Do any of the smaller offload capable SUV's have good headroom for a tall guy? I already have a 1991 Suburban (last of the solid axle square bodies) but she gets 10 mpg unless I have a tailwind when I get 11mpg. I just want an idea of what to look at. I live in Montana and hunt from the 1500' prairie to 12,000' mountains for reference.

Jay
 

Bigdee06

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I'm 6'6" with a long torso. I've always been a fullsize guy due to needing 42" to 44" of head room (seat to ceiling) for comfortable driving. Do any of the smaller offload capable SUV's have good headroom for a tall guy? I already have a 1991 Suburban (last of the solid axle square bodies) but she gets 10 mpg unless I have a tailwind when I get 11mpg. I just want an idea of what to look at. I live in Montana and hunt from the 1500' prairie to 12,000' mountains for reference.

Jay
I had a 2003 Chevy S-10 SR2 that was just as roomy as a fullsize truck in all respects except that you sat closer to the passenger. Headroom and legroom were great and they really are capable and dependable trucks. The 4.3 v6 in a small truck was plenty of power and decent fuel mileage. I still wish I had kept that truck.
 

The Guide

WKR
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I had a 2003 Chevy S-10 SR2 that was just as roomy as a fullsize truck in all respects except that you sat closer to the passenger. Headroom and legroom were great and they really are capable and dependable trucks. The 4.3 v6 in a small truck was plenty of power and decent fuel mileage. I still wish I had kept that truck.
I have a '22 GMC Canyon AT4 crew cab that has power seats that allow me to slam the drivers seat to the floor and I fit great. It is super roomy for a compact truck. Unfortunately, they don't make an SUV on this platform.

Jay
 
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I'm 6'6" with a long torso. I've always been a fullsize guy due to needing 42" to 44" of head room (seat to ceiling) for comfortable driving. Do any of the smaller offload capable SUV's have good headroom for a tall guy? I already have a 1991 Suburban (last of the solid axle square bodies) but she gets 10 mpg unless I have a tailwind when I get 11mpg. I just want an idea of what to look at. I live in Montana and hunt from the 1500' prairie to 12,000' mountains for reference.

Jay
Most newer pickups (and probably suv) have electric seats and they probably have 7-8” of up/down travel.

I’m 6’ even and just got a new taco and all the way down on the seat is way too low, and it obviously has front/rear adjustment and seat angle too

The zr2 i just got rid of had a good amount of adjustment too, but not like the Tacoma
 
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