Trapping Rig

Ok I baught my Tacoma last year and this was my first year running it on the line. I don't think I will ever trap out of anything else. I wasn't as organized as I would have liked to be and it drove me crazy all season long so I am here for some advice... I know a bunch of you guys trap out of tacos and have for a while. I skin all my coyotes hot on the line so I need a better way to store my skinning rig? I replaced my leaf springs before the trappings season started and bent my driver side already. I am going to put air bags on it for next year for sure so I think I have that part handled. Put a rack on the back for extra fuel and I have 2 spair tires for those really fun days and allows me have more room in the bed of my truck. So how do you guys organize everything from trap boxes, wax dirt (a must for me on my coyote line), skinning rigs, skinning gear, tool box with all the essentials, etc,etc,etc. I have a quad all set up and all that is ready to go I am just talking trapping out of a truck. Help me out and let's see some pictures.


I did put a lite bar on it for checking the early morning coyote line but it got stolen about a week after I put it on. Just ordered a new one again today... Amazon special again.

Put a front receiver hitch on it and build a short skinning pole to go into it. Leave it in when on the line.
Run good new quality grade A tires and you won't need 2 spares.
Carry a good quality tire patch hit and a 12v air pump.
Just put quality rear leaf spring from a spring shop. never have had much luck with les schwab air bags. always get leaks get them repaired and they leak again.
One quality jerry can should work.
get rid of the cross the back box they take up to much room (sometimes they work for trappers).
Nice area to have a light bar stolen.
If you have to have 2 spares buy a Thule rack for the cab with the bars and tie on up there to keep the bed of truck more open.
Second thing just before season go over your truck with a fine tooth comb. Linkages, U-joints, fluid changed. Break downs during season is what will cost you money ie, time and money.

Jeez Lance, I can tell you what I use but you may catch a lot less following my advice. Lol. I also use a first gen taco. Man I love that truck. So I finally this last season got a remote controlled spot light. I store it in the cab but didn't do my anticipated night trapping because of all the snow we got hit with. I did love using it to and from my cat line traveling in the dark. On the leaf spring issue I went with airbags for assistance and they have been worth their weight in gold. I didn't spend the extra for the on board compressor (which would be worth it), I went with a 12v job from Amazon for 60 bucks that I can use in any vehicle and on any tire. Guys warned me air bags are good at first but I have had no issues after two seasons on them. On the tire issue I still have the stock spare under the truck and run quality tires. I bought my truck used with 72,000 miles on it 14 years ago and now have 230,000 HARD Nevada miles with never a flat. Knock on Wood!! I use a regular toolbox that carries my tire chains, handyman jack, tow chain, and chain saw. Of all I've only needed the saw. Between the tool box and tailgate I store my traps a dozen per milk crate, then my buckets of wax dirt and one with lure and bait. I also carry a small propane grill for chorizos and what not for lunch. Oh and my Weiser Trapping bag. That's about it. I don't catch enough to worry about a skinning rig. But one day with some instruction I may have to figure that out. Even the critters come to see my set up! LOL

All good suggestions. Love the idea of the remote controlled spotlight.

I would only add that a Detroit locker rear end was a great investment, as was the 9,000lb Warn winch with receivers on the front and the back so you can use it on whatever end of the vehicle you need it at the time.

Oh, and you need to wrap it.

Well I bought a 2001 with 90k on it. Didn't trap this year but all this info will be very helpful for sure. I definitely will be getting a winch for the snow issues along with some chains. Keep the info coming sure will be handy!!

Rap it? Oh Wrap it! yeah need that tooo!

The locker rear end has been the biggest help. It converts it to sort of a posi rear end. Most of the time I can go places in "two wheel drive" that most other rigs can't get to. Then when I put it in 4 WD, it will go places you shouldn't go.

I've trapped for so long without lockers I've forgotten about them.
Also a highlift jack with a base plate for it and hooks for the jack to hook onto your wheels to lift them and get unstuck. Been there done that one to many times.
Chains are good also a tow rope.

Thanks for the info everyone. I have thought about the locker as well Tracy but if I can't make it in 4 low not sure I need to be in there but that is when things get fun too lol. I actually just ordered a bumper about 2 weeks ago for the front and will get a rope wench to put in it later this summer. Have read some reviews on them and they look like it will work well and is about 15lbs lighter. I would like to get one with the built in compressor as well.

Dawgs I did a little over haul of the truck last year before season. New timing belt, water pump, brakes, upgraded to 17" rims, Mastercraft Courser MXT tires, starter, fuel pump... Just to name a few. Will do plugs, ball joints,etc, etc this year.

I thought about the wrap as well but price here locally is about $1100 I think it was. I found the Raptor liner with sprayer and everything online for about $400-$500 to do my entire truck. Want to have it done by end of summer.... Thinking a desert tan.

Moneyspots I dig that light idea as well. I like being able to move the lite. Wish I would have made this post before I order the dang light bar.

Ok what about shocks guys? I put the bilstein 5100s on em last summer and an not sure I like em all that much.

I wouldn't put 17" rims on anything. Tires cost twice as much.
Always just put super duty nitrogen shocks on always have over shocked our trucks.
Well sage you've did the good thing on the important things that keep the truck running.
Are you going to pack your own juniper tree with you? Since you're in NV something there isn't anything to anchor to out there. lol Been there and stuck a lot. lol
The jack base and hook got them at Sportsmans Warehouse.

All good stuff guys. My truck has the push button trd elocker.  If there is someone out there that has never off roaded with a locker you don't know what your missing. It should be against the law to manufacture a truck without one, lol. You can also use a handyman/high lift jack like a winch. Obviously not with the push of a button. I would love to have a winch and if I did get one I would have the set up like yours Tracy. My first truck ever was an 84 Toyota with a winch on front. The winch was awesome going forward but when I was stuck I needed to go backwards. And I second the negative side of bigger rims. Mine are 15" and the rubber around them is a lot cheaper. The disadvantage of 15" is the load range of the tires offered but the yota isn't that heavy. Lance keep the light bar and add the spotlight later. I plan on adding a light bar some day. Maybe to my next truck in the lineup. I'm not sure how much longer I'm going to keep the green one. Also on the shocks my stock billsteins went the first 200,000 miles. Probably a few more miles than they should of. I probably should of just replaced them with the same oem billsteins but ended up with a smoking deal on Rancho 5000 on the rear. I finally just replaced the entire front struts after just changing the shocks only at one point. I now have Monroe struts from Amazon that were like $90 each. I've had them two seasons now and haven't had an issue. They ride awesome.

An old front end guy once told us the smoother and better the ride the faster you will travel and take your front ends out. Wish they made trucks real trucks instead of beefed up cars.

Dawgz, That is an interesting  comment on front ends. I worked in a shop years back and performed all aspects of front end repair and alignments on all makes of trucks at that time. I have a good friend that swore off Toyota because he had nothing but issues with his Tacoma rack and pinyon. That being said, I guess it depends on what kind of luck you personally have with a make and model of truck. I have seen them all (straight axels included along with independent) fail premature of what anyone would believe they should. People comment quite often on front ends of trucks but what are they calling front ends? That is a broad statement to me. For myself I have the original ball joints and outer tie rod ends on my 230,000 mile survivor with no sign of wear. I still can't believe it but I check them at every 5000 mile service interval I perform. I wish I could say the same for my rack and pinyon and front wheel bearings. But on the other hand I still have most of the stock components i.e. Fuel Pump, starter, alternator, and AC. Also have the original front diff and axles (half shaft/cv components). However I have had no luck with a 2007 and now 2010 tundra front diff and axles (i.e. Front end).

We've owned Toyota's since the 80's. The worst one for the front end was a 2001. It wasn't holding up and we didn't trap hard out of it. Also the seats sat so bad our knees were always above our hips, putting to much stress on the knees and back. Sold it with the lowest miles on one we've ever owned.
Have a 2011 with 79k and have drove the heck out of it and have never had a front end problem with it. I think it all has to do with the year/ and if they've changed parts etc.
The front end guy was working on an old 78 Ford 3/4 ton. He was the best in the Boise valley at the time. But I've never forgotten what he had said and it does make sense.

Great technical advice on the Toyotas. I ran one back in 1982 to 87, the ball joint model, and loved it. I rolled it off a back road in Montana one time, all the way around and landed on its wheels. But broke out the front windshield. Pulled my line and drove home to Utah without a windshield at 18 degrees, bundled up like a mummy.

I went with a Nissan Titan about six years ago. Beefed it up. Put a 100 gallon aux gas tank in it. And tore it apart in 40 k miles. Nissan trucks don't hack it.

Broke out the check book and bought a Raptor three years ago. Damn. What a truck. Designed to go very fast on very rough roads. Baja stuff. 420 hp. An off road monster. Bad to the bone.

I certainly don't race it but can go 30 to 40 mph on roads that would have tore that Titan to pieces going 10. Can now run 80 sets per day in rough country versus 50. Short bed, 32 gallon gas tank, a 12 v to 110 ac converter to recharge electric drills or anything else. When you go from dirt to pavement you here all this clanking when the truck self adjusts to pavement.

I know they are very pricey. I feel funny scratching it up. And I have really scratched it up. But that is why you buy a four wheeler.

Worked on the yota fora week before the rondezvous. She is coming along nicely! U-Pol raptor liner is pretty good stuff.

Looks good brother.

Looking god Lance. Nothing wrong with some DIY on a trapping rig.

Rope instead of cable for the winch - awesome. Had it for many years now and it out performs cable hands dow. There is twice as much on the spool to find a juniper with, it's of course lighter, save the weight of a roller fairlead and has a higher breaking weight. Has UV protection so it lasts forever. The beauty of the rope is you can go nearly backwards to an anchor point to get out of a jamb. I have even ran mine down under the truck and behind me to pull out. Having a winch that mounts on a receiver is great just not convenient as it always protrudes out there and hits stuff, like the ground.

I have always ran side boxes rather than cross beds. Leaves you more room in the bed. If you have some fab skills you can utilize the factory rope hook bolt holes to support a framework for the side boxes as well as your overhead rack.

Get ya a piece of rect tubing for the rear bumper and build your skinning rig into that. Lots of room under there to hide and permanently mount the winch. The pole can easily be part of the bumper/attach to.

I have never tried airbags. Expedition leaf springs have always worked for me. I put this lift on my current '02 4cyl stick shift and it is the best Tacoma lift I have ever had and Iv'e had a few:

http://toyteclifts.3dcartstores.com/Ultimate-Tacoma-lift-with-Bilstein-shocks_p_394.html

Darn you Lance. Now you have me wanting to paint mine.

ML

You can see here my side boxes and the steel support that ties into the rope hook bolts. Also installed some lighting into the box for night work.

This truck is now running the mountains of CO.



I tried to replace that '02 with this '14.  Should have just bought my wife a car 'cause thats what you get with the new trucks. Great for running down the highway but not the truck in the desert that the older ones are.

ML 

I agree with ML. I have friends with newer tacomas but my 01 does better on fuel and 4 wheeling.

Boy you have got my gears a turning now! I like the idea of the side boxes and still being able to keep my rack. I will have to look around and see what I can find.

I am still planning on spraying my rack and my gas cans (they are already rusting fairly badly.)
You did give me an idea on where to mount my skinning rig now, as well as the the lighting in the back... days off can't come soon enough now.

Going to be a long night at working searching the web for some tool boxes now.

Lance in my first post pic you can just barely make out a piece of 4X1/4 flat bar that spans across the front of the bed flat to the bed.  It has a piece of small angle iron welded to it for strength and attaches to the rope hook bolts. It holds up the front ends of the tool boxes as well as strengthens the front of the bed.  Rope hooks on it allow you to tie down motorcycles/quads and not destroy the front of the bed.

I always kept the drivers side box "clean" (clothes, food, skinning bag, guns and ammo) and the passenger side "dirty" (trapping stuff) Running cage traps takes a lot of bed. With my style I could get 36 cage traps and everything to set them into the short bed tacoma.

This is the '14. I might have been going through a mid life crisis or something when I built it up. If I could do it all over again I would have spent the dough on the '02 because it is a much better hunting/trapping rig.

I framed and cut a hole in the top for night hunting but have never built the hatch. Only hunted out of it one season.  Flat awesome for night hunting but driving around with that 350 pound topper gets pretty old.  Had custom leafs and shocks built for it but wish I had done airbags.

The thing on the top of the topper is an extending skinning pole.

ML

Real nice set up ML. You can sure put a ton of money in these rigs!

Man mercer I looked and looked for some side tool boxes that'll work for me but never found any. I did get a side opening tool box and have half tools and the rest my trapping gear. Much more organized and ready to go this year. My skinning rig is now pinned to the top of my rack which allows for easy removal and very easy to put back.... No longer bouncing around in the back of the truck.

Finally got my bumper put on. Will put the wench in after trapping season... Out of money for this project for now.

Dam nice job Lance!

Don't let your wench hear you talking like that Lance. . . .