Toyota recently hosted a measuring session event for the all-new 2024 Toyota Tacoma at the SEMA Garage in Diamond Bar, California. If you don’t know what that means, it’s where companies can scan the vehicle’s measurements for accessories before it hits the showroom floor. It’s similar to how phone cases are seemingly ready to go right after a new phone is launched.
A handful of companies showed up to this event to not only get their first look at this all-new truck but to also gain some very important information. Our friends over at Cali Raised were one of those companies. They were super awesome to give us some behind-the-scenes photos.
The SEMA Garage gives aftermarket companies access to special high-tech equipment to get every detailed measurement and spec of the new truck to start making 3rd party accessories. Check out the photos below to see exactly what the process looks like!
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What Information Was Gathered?
During this measuring session, companies had around a couple of hours with the truck. They were allowed to perform 3D scanning of the truck along with various pre-removed parts that Toyota provided such as suspension and air intake components.Â
Toyota also allowed for their trucks to be partially disassembled further and inspected. In my YouTube video covering this, you can see Cali Raised scanning the lower valance after they removed some of the covering. This will hopefully lead to a Stealth Bumper coming very soon!
Prinsu shared on their social media fitting one of their roof racks to make sure everything fits just right. It also allowed them to see if there was any potential room for improvement.
Relations Race Wheels was able to mock up a set of wheels to see what the ideal offset may be for this new platform. That’ll be important after learning that 0 offset on the 3rd Gen Tundra is already fairly aggressive.
I’m not sure exactly how many companies were able to attend this event, however, it seems that there was a good variety. They all seemed to have learned a lot about the new Tacoma in the very short time they had with it.
How Does This Benefit Us?
The benefit to these companies getting their hands on the new truck this early hopefully means mods coming out sooner for new 4th Gen owners.
The off-road community loves tinkering and modifying our vehicles. Typically, when a new vehicle comes out, aftermarket companies always want to get their hands on one ASAP for R&D purposes. They usually achieve this by buying their own. Or, if a private party “donates” their vehicle in exchange for testing prototype parts.
By Toyota hosting this measuring event, I would assume that it expedites this process by 3-6 months. After the event, these companies have all of the information they need to render parts, CNC cut them, cast new wheels, fabricate a front bumper, etc. What’s left, essentially, is to wait for the final fitment on a production vehicle. Then, it’s off to mass production.
I’m sure this was grossly oversimplified and that there is a lot more going into this internally. What it translates to us as a consumer, though, is that aftermarket parts will be available for the 4th Gen fairly soon. At this rate, there may even be parts available for pre-order before most of us receive our trucks!
Why Does Toyota Do This?
Toyota loves the aftermarket scene and the support that its vehicles receive from enthusiasts. Chief Engineer, Sheldon Brown, has mentioned several times at press events that he is looking forward to seeing these trucks modified with what aftermarket companies come up with. He stated that Toyota gave us the template, and now we get to be as creative as we want with it.
Toyota already has plenty of its own accessories coming for this truck. Those include roof racks, rock sliders, bed racks, and more. They did not make it difficult to add accessories to this truck, either. They put a lot of thought into what an owner may want to add to it and likely the following owners to come after that.
I’m excited to see what companies come up with. Toyotas are always the fastest vehicles to have aftermarket support, and a lot of it too.
Final Thoughts
I’m so excited about this new 4th Gen platform and what aftermarket companies come up with in the years to come. I do think that this truck will be a great evolution from the 3rd Gen for many individuals.
What are you most excited about aftermarket support on? Let us know in the comments below!
