Are these the biggest tyres ever? Specialist 44-inch treads for ice and snow driving aren’t often seen in New Zealand – we simply don’t have enough frozen trails.
Arctic Trucks Iceland has been an innovator in the design and re-engineering of modern 4x4 vehicles for polar exploration and travel for over 30 years. When the company was asked to transform a stock 2017 Toyota Tacoma Double Cab TRD Pro into a one-of-a-kind rig on 44s, they were both qualified and eager to oblige.
Gisli Jonsson, director of engineering at Arctic Trucks, was put to the task of building something extra special for the client, who had envisioned a truck that could be used as a daily driver and also be capable of traversing glaciers on weekend off-road adventures. Jonsson and the team at the Arctic Trucks “Special Projects” shop in Reykjavik worked vigorously for the next eleven months to accomplish this goal.
Work began by disassembling the rig, and then the company began building a custom frame using a chromoly, fully boxed design that was sandblasted and powdercoated. From there, the vehicle underwent significant alterations, including a series of body mods so that big 44-inch ty|res could be fitted.
In the end, Arctic Trucks created a Tacoma that can handle the toughest terrain that Iceland has to offer. Read on to learn more about this amazing truck.