Anyone got any opinions on priority of mods ? I mean what is the most important stuff to do? Lift/Suspension so I don't scrape the belly? I'm planning on doing all those one at a time. I'm just slightly reluctant to "armour her up" with skid plates and sliders as I really don't want to add another ton to her weight and also don't want to go on that serious trails. I prefer just slightly deteriorated roads, fields, and streams..
I'd consider shocks as fairly necessary. Lift, probably not crucial. You want suspension capable of supporting whatever weight you carry comfortably. Stock is fine if stay stock, but higher rate springs if you push the cargo limit and start bolting on stuff. I have lift and a suspension, though, so it's hypocritical of me to say no. It does ride better than stock, which I feel is usually too soft and uncontrolled. But I wore out my stock suspension before replacing it at least.
I used to say armor is a luxury but I think sliders are pretty important. Not steps, but frame-mounted sliders capable of supporting the truck. It's a jack point, a place to stabilize during recovery maybe, a way to get stuff on the roof and a back up for a just-in-case you get on a bad line. I know it's a debated point, it's 100 lbs of mostly never used weight that you'll be glad you have that one time.
I run a heavy duty front skid plate that I only committed to once my factory splash plate was sufficiently dented to demonstrate I needed it. I don't have belly pans, though. I had more skids on my old truck and used them, but I was pushing it into harder stuff than I do with my Tacoma. So the extent of armor you need is really dependent on how much you intend to do with it. I will eventually replace my stock plastic TRD fuel tank guard with a decent aluminum one. But otherwise, meh, I'm not into trying to beat my truck up that much anymore.
Also how important is airing up and down, getting a compressor
Being able to air down and air up I think is important enough to justify spending money on a decent compressor. The risk of a flat is always there, so a plug kit and compressor is I think good insurance even if you carry multiple spare tires, much less just one spare. I have an MV-50, which is hit or miss on quality. You don't need to budget $500 or anything, but I'd spend enough to get a compressor you can trust. The Viair 300P is probably what I'd buy personally.
Rear Bumper to get the tire out from under her, or front bumper to hold a winch?
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Can you put the spare on the roof? Seems like a seriously heavy thing to throw up there or to have to get it down for that matter. Still learning. Everything is new, though I do know how to drive.
I've never had a rear swing out for the tire. I've driven pickups, which means I have more overhang than you will in a 4Runner, and left the tire in the stock location. Got through the Rubicon that way despite that being a faux pas. I've driven lots of stuff almost as hard. You don't
need to move the spare tire.
Is it better not being hung under the back? Sure, in theory you can puncture the tire or it could hang you up. But it won't 99.99% of the time. It's a low priority mod IMHO if you're after getting bang for your money. It's high priority if you want to look cool, though.
I will say, though, that having it in the stock location means it's covered in mud, which isn't great. So hanging it from the back is easier to get to it and keep things clean. I'll also say I'm sketching up what I want to do about a rear bumper on my truck now and I'll be building it to accommodate a swing-out, but I won't be putting a tire on it. The swing-out will only be for the bike rack. The reasons I'm doing a bumper on this truck are the same as on my previous truck, to give a bit of protection (being a pickup I do tail drag a lot) and to add good recovery points and free up the receiver for the rack. Right now I can't carry the bike rack when I 4 wheel because I need the receiver for the shackle adapter.
More than anything, get a few essential items and use your truck. Even stock it's probably more capable than you are willing to risk.
