Project Redrock Toyota Tacoma Build
A 2021 Tacoma TRD Off-Road transformed for real trail work — Icon Stage 3 suspension with RXT UCAs, 4.56 regear, Cooper STT Pro 285s, and a full armor package. Still a daily driver.
Tacoma Build Houston — What the Owner Wanted
Platform
2021 Toyota Tacoma TRD Off-Road DCSB · 3.5L V6 · 6-speed manual · Stock: 3.91 rear gear ratio, 265/70R16 Falken WildPeak AT3W, factory Bilstein shocks, electronic rear locker
What She Wanted
The customer — a League City teacher and weekend wheeler — bought the Tacoma specifically as a platform for this build. She had been researching 3rd gen Tacoma builds for over a year, knew she wanted Icon suspension, and came to Iron Ridge with a clear priority list: geometry-correct suspension first, tires and wheels second, armor and recovery third. She commutes daily from League City to the Medical Center and needed the build to behave on the highway. She also wanted to be able to run moderate East Texas trail systems within a month of pickup.
What We Told Her
Her research was solid. Icon Stage 3 with RXT UCAs is exactly the right call for a Tacoma that needs to perform daily and trail. We talked her through the regear decision — the stock 3.91s are acceptable with 285/75R17, but she's planning 35s within two years, so 4.56 now saves a second drivetrain job later and gives her better low-speed trail control immediately. We also confirmed the TRD Off-Road electronic rear locker is a genuine asset on the trail and should be engaged before technical sections, not during.
Lifted Tacoma Build — Component by Component
Every component selected for the 3rd gen Tacoma platform, this owner's terrain, and a daily driver that still needs to highway cruise at 75 mph without complaint.
Suspension
Wheels & Tires
Drivetrain / Regear
Armor
Recovery
Lighting
Project Redrock — Texas Trail Results
Project Redrock left the bay in four shop days. The Icon Stage 3 with RXT UCAs transformed the Tacoma's ride character — the 2.5 CDCV coilovers are compliant enough for the daily Medical Center commute and stiffen appropriately on rough terrain where the Icon piggyback rears prevent the wallowing that unbuffered extended-travel shocks can produce on washboard surfaces.
The 4.56 regear made the Tacoma's 3.5L V6 feel like a different engine with the 285/75R17 Cooper STT Pros. First and second gear low-range now bite with the authority the platform should have had at this tire size. Highway cruise at 75 mph sits comfortably in the V6's power band. The owner reported better fuel economy than she had on the stock 265s at stock gear ratio — the math works out when you regear correctly for the tire.
The CBI sliders have contacted red clay boulders at Barton Warnock and on East Texas sand/mud routes twice without structural consequence. The ADD bumper and Warn VR EVO 10 have not been deployed for recovery yet — the Rigid D-SS ditch lights have changed how she approaches night runs on forest roads.
Planned year 2 additions: ARB front air locker with on-board compressor and a rear bumper with swing-out tire carrier. The drivetrain and suspension are specced to support both.
Project Redrock — Finished Rig
Build Your Tacoma
Project Redrock is one build path. Yours starts with how you use the rig. See our Tacoma platform page or learn about regearing your Tacoma after lifting.
Tacoma Build Houston — Common Questions
Tacoma Builds for Houston and Surrounding Communities
Iron Ridge Off-Road builds Tacomas for customers across the Greater Houston metro and Southeast Texas. Our shop on Westheimer Rd is set up for 3rd gen Tacoma platform work year-round.