audioguy102
New member
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2025
- Messages
- 4
What's up guys, i've been lurking the forum alot and finally decided to post about my project truck Ruby.
This is the day I got her circa 18th of Oct 2023
She was completely stock california owned all of its life (no rust
) and actually the carfax showed the original owners had lived around my area which I thought was cool.
My brother (pictured) knew the current owner from his job and he had just had the engine replaced preventatively and just wanted to get something more fuel efficient, Imagine that. I showed up only knowing that it was a 4x4 and red. I remember telling my brother that if it had the Factory E-locker I would be buying it on the spot. Low and behold it did. Long story short I took it home for a steal of a price and I was stoked.
First thing I did to it was take the ugly running boards off of it to make it look more like a truck. Also gave it a wash.
First trip with Ruby wasn't long after owning her. A couple of friends at the time all hopped in an we went to Anza Borrego. It was my first time being there and it was super cool. Lots of slot canyons and hikes. We saw a couple of jets in the sky which was cool too.
Was a super fun trip but I could tell it needed some upgrades.
Out with the old and in with the new bilstein 5100s front and rear. I remember hating not buying the struts fully assembled messing with the sketchiest spring compressor known to man. NEVER AGAIN. I dont have any photos after cuz I didnt change the ride hight at that point.
Fast forward a bit and I installed Deaver J59s on the rear. Just a SOA 8 leaf pack that gave me a 1.5inch lift rides real nice. You can see in the photo the stink bug look. At some point I raised the front of the truck but I have no documentation of it so I mustve been pissed and not wanted to take any photos.
Fast forward again to NEW WHEELS AND TIRES
I went with 33inch Falken Wildpeak AT4s. Couple reasons being that they were cheaper than BFG K03s and comparable performance and also I could get amazon to deliver them to me
The wheels I picked up for free99 from a tacoma world member who was local to me. Just my luck. I love the OEM+ vibes. I believe they're second gen TRD Offroad wheels.
Side note, I love small truck big tires but for the time being the 33s will work great without having to worry about regearing and other stuff like that.
Went to Johnson Valley to shoot a bit and explore. I really need to go to the desert more.
If there's any fans of Interstellar they actually shot a bit of it around these coordinates.
Fast forward again and I added some lights to the shell. For the vibes of course
Next I went to Kernville to visit the Kern river and do some mild adventuring.
Hiked up to see a firewatch tower only to hear chainsaws and a couple of guys demolishing it. RIP lol. Def didnt' trespass.
Trip was fun.
Beers consumed 0
Cows seen 2
Horses seen 8
Yellowjacket attacks 10 at least
Steaks ate 3
After After that I grabbed my tacoma guys and we went to Big Bear. Absolutely shocking to me that we all have 1st gens.
The gold one is more of an overland setup. Hes got RTT, awning, old man emu setup, the whole nine. The green one is interesting though. Its got a big boy solo LT kit, Kings, and dual cases. I heavily influenced my friend to buy that one
Trip was great. We ended up staying in a cabin rather than camping in the cold. The mud was fun and the vibes with the cold weather were sick. Lots of cool trails up there to do. My buddy with the green taco had some trouble locking and unlocking his cases a couple of times but we just kept at it until it worked.
Check out that flex/tuck. What you dont see is the front of the fender being pulled out
Beers had 1 or 2 (not from me)
Girls kissed 0
Rocks thrown at my windshield 50billion
Good times had? Yes
This is the day I got her circa 18th of Oct 2023
She was completely stock california owned all of its life (no rust
) and actually the carfax showed the original owners had lived around my area which I thought was cool.My brother (pictured) knew the current owner from his job and he had just had the engine replaced preventatively and just wanted to get something more fuel efficient, Imagine that. I showed up only knowing that it was a 4x4 and red. I remember telling my brother that if it had the Factory E-locker I would be buying it on the spot. Low and behold it did. Long story short I took it home for a steal of a price and I was stoked.
First thing I did to it was take the ugly running boards off of it to make it look more like a truck. Also gave it a wash.
First trip with Ruby wasn't long after owning her. A couple of friends at the time all hopped in an we went to Anza Borrego. It was my first time being there and it was super cool. Lots of slot canyons and hikes. We saw a couple of jets in the sky which was cool too.
Was a super fun trip but I could tell it needed some upgrades.
Out with the old and in with the new bilstein 5100s front and rear. I remember hating not buying the struts fully assembled messing with the sketchiest spring compressor known to man. NEVER AGAIN. I dont have any photos after cuz I didnt change the ride hight at that point.
Fast forward a bit and I installed Deaver J59s on the rear. Just a SOA 8 leaf pack that gave me a 1.5inch lift rides real nice. You can see in the photo the stink bug look. At some point I raised the front of the truck but I have no documentation of it so I mustve been pissed and not wanted to take any photos.
Fast forward again to NEW WHEELS AND TIRES
I went with 33inch Falken Wildpeak AT4s. Couple reasons being that they were cheaper than BFG K03s and comparable performance and also I could get amazon to deliver them to me
The wheels I picked up for free99 from a tacoma world member who was local to me. Just my luck. I love the OEM+ vibes. I believe they're second gen TRD Offroad wheels.
Side note, I love small truck big tires but for the time being the 33s will work great without having to worry about regearing and other stuff like that.
Went to Johnson Valley to shoot a bit and explore. I really need to go to the desert more.
If there's any fans of Interstellar they actually shot a bit of it around these coordinates.
34°28'53.9"N 116°40'41.9"W
Fast forward again and I added some lights to the shell. For the vibes of course
Next I went to Kernville to visit the Kern river and do some mild adventuring.
Hiked up to see a firewatch tower only to hear chainsaws and a couple of guys demolishing it. RIP lol. Def didnt' trespass.
Trip was fun.
Beers consumed 0
Cows seen 2
Horses seen 8
Yellowjacket attacks 10 at least
Steaks ate 3
After After that I grabbed my tacoma guys and we went to Big Bear. Absolutely shocking to me that we all have 1st gens.
The gold one is more of an overland setup. Hes got RTT, awning, old man emu setup, the whole nine. The green one is interesting though. Its got a big boy solo LT kit, Kings, and dual cases. I heavily influenced my friend to buy that one
Trip was great. We ended up staying in a cabin rather than camping in the cold. The mud was fun and the vibes with the cold weather were sick. Lots of cool trails up there to do. My buddy with the green taco had some trouble locking and unlocking his cases a couple of times but we just kept at it until it worked.
Check out that flex/tuck. What you dont see is the front of the fender being pulled out
Beers had 1 or 2 (not from me)
Girls kissed 0
Rocks thrown at my windshield 50billion
Good times had? Yes
