2006 1st-Gen Tundra Doublecab Build

[FJR Colorado]

My search for a replacement for the beloved T100 ended up coming down to finding the very best 1st Gen Tundra I could find. I narrowly missed on a couple of prospects that may have been perfect. I really wanted to get a 2006 for the best possible engine & transmission. Had to be a doublecab (now CrewMax).

Finally found a very nice grey 2006 SR5 doublecab. Very clean Arizona vehicle with 115K miles. Just had timing belt and WP done. 1 owner. Had put Bilsteins all the way around...

First mod was adding this topper that was a CL find...

The topper is very light yet very secure. Front window opens. Both sides have windoors with secure locking T-handles. The ambi doors are kind of cool. I like that it is white and stays cooler. My husky likes it...

The truck came with brand new cheap street tires. Discount Tire was good about taking them as trade-in on a new set of GY Duratracs. These are working out superbly.

I had my mechanic go through it. Swapped out the coolant for pure Toyota red. Nailed a minor electrical issue. All is good to go...

So, what should I do next?

 

[huntsonora]

Great truck! Love the color! I would do an extended diff breather and sliders but thats just me

 

[FJR Colorado]

Great truck! Love the color! I would do an extended diff breather and sliders but thats just me

Thanks! It rides very smoothly. The 4.7L V8 is just great. I also don't have it weighed down like the old T100 with a bull bar, fiberglass topper, lift and over-sized tires.

I took it up to my mountain retreat this past weekend on its maiden voyage and it feels like driving a hot rod; especially climbing the hills.

I have the FJ Cruiser nicely-modded and that will remain the primary off-roading vehicle. The Tundra will serve as an "Adventure Truck"... the kind of thing I'll load up the kids and dog in and trek off to Yellowstone, Santa Fe or wherever... plus regular weekend runs up to the mountain property...

Most of the mods will therefore will not be offroad-centric. I'll be looking at things like adding expedition functionality (fridge?) plus ergonomic storage, good lighting and emergency preparedness. I'd like to hear from others who may be in a similar planning phase.

 

[huntsonora]

I have a build going on my truck and I bought mine to serve the same purpose as you. It's just a great drive train and I'm glad I picked mine up.

There is quite a following of 1st Gen tundras on this forum, you should check out the tundrabirds thread. Best of luck and I can't wait to see what you end up doing with it

 

[mtndude23]

I'm also in a similar spot as you with my DC. I just sold my AC, and got to start work on building. I use it for extened camping and hunting trips. So a sleeping platform with storage underneath would be something to consider. Then a rear tire swingout-it comes in handy for many things besides holding the tire-hanging wet clothes on etc.

 

[FJR Colorado]

I'm also in a similar spot as you with my DC. I just sold my AC, and got to start work on building. I use it for extened camping and hunting trips. So a sleeping platform with storage underneath would be something to consider. Then a rear tire swingout-it comes in handy for many things besides holding the tire-hanging wet clothes on etc.

It's amazing how huge the back seat is on a DC and then you still get the 6.5' (or so) bed. I don't think you can buy a new CrewMax with anything over a 5.5' bed.

It does make the turning radius wide; but not a problem since this will not be a primary offroad vehicle.

I really love that rear power sliding window as well. The topper has a sliding front window so it works out well for serving the Husky his paw-bender sundae at the GoodTimes drive-thru

I'm not really new to 1st Gens since I've had a 2001 Sequoia for a bit now (and freaking love it!); but this DC is working out even better than I may have hoped. I was originally thinking of waiting for the 2015 TRD Pro to come out before making a move. But I'm very pleased that I went for the 1st Gen.

I still might get a TRD Pro at some point but this Doublecab is going to be part of the stable for a very long time to come.

 

[FJR Colorado]

So, started getting the topper in good shape. Cleaned it up a lot. Lubricated all locks, hinges and locking mechanisms. Silicon caulked any voids. Used high-grade marine silicon caulk on the roof rivets.

Removed all window screens as they provide almost no real protection but greatly reduce visibility.

This topper had some cool door stoppers which hold them wide open. I needed to expand how they protruded in order to avoid hitting the tail lights. A couple of black rubber grommets did the trick.

Much better...

Came up with a good way to mount short shovels (round and flat) through the use of magnetic mounts and QuickFists...

Installed poor man's LED track lights...

One bummer of this topper is that it was too short to fill the void beneath the doors on a Tundra. I think I came up with a good way to make up the shortfall both inside and outside...

So, for upcoming ideas, I was thinking of someway to create an awning... perhaps by clamping a tarp across the wide open doors and than having a regular awning pole arrangement for the other 2 corners... thoughts?

Another idea is a completely separate electrical system for the topper only. Solar panels would be mounted to the roof...

These would feed into a deep cycle battery (either in the bed or beneath the bed along the chassis).

Connected to the battery would be 12V outlets for an ARB fridge, 12V fan, maybe a few lights and a laptop/phone charging station. I would just turn the fridge on a few days before the next adventure would commence.

Again, this entire system would be non-integrated to the Tundra's system. Anybody done something like that? What am I over-looking or failing to realize?

Any suggestions on an ideal kit for such a set-up?

 

[rambrush]

I have a Gem Top Work Master on mine and something you might experience is the flexing of the soft frame. On mine it has broke and loosened up the screws/bolts holding it on under the ambo doors. I have pretty much given up on those fasteners and rely only on the mounts along the bed sides.
I thought that going with weld on sliders it would stiffen things up but so far that has not helped out back.

 

[FJR Colorado]

I have a Gem Top Work Master on mine and something you might experience is the flexing of the soft frame. On mine it has broke and loosened up the screws/bolts holding it on under the ambo doors. I have pretty much given up on those fasteners and rely only on the mounts along the bed sides.
I thought that going with weld on sliders it would stiffen things up but so far that has not helped out back.

Yeah, I had to engineer a filler section underneath the ambi-doors. It now has oak sanded and finished with linseed oil on the interior. The exterior is aluminum. A also fabricated some steel clamps at the base of the doors to firmly connect the base of the door frame to the bed. This has reduced vibration considerably.

The aluminum sub-frame on the Unicover seems very strong. Almost feels like you could mount a RTT up there (which I do not plan on).

I'd like to hear from others with Unicover experience. I was blown away when I first saw it on Craig's List. Then a bit disappointed with the fitting issue as mentioned. But now that I have that licked, it is growing on me big-time. It is far lighter than my old fiberglass unit. I think it looks cool. The white color keeps my dog much cooler.

 

[trailscape]

Interested to see how you like this topper. I really want one of these for my '01. Was that topper actually made for the Tundra?

 

[FJR Colorado]

Interested to see how you like this topper. I really want one of these for my '01. Was that topper actually made for the Tundra?

So far I'm digging it now that I got the fitment issues and such worked out.

It may have been made for a similar sized Chevy (only the rear panel was too short by about 1.5"). But so far my remedy is working very well.

I bought it from a guy in Boulder who had it on a 1st Gen Tundra work truck. He works for a prominent surveying company and it had all kinds of stickers regarding that.

However, I really wanted something larger such as a Tufport or the old Callen. Somebody sent me a link to another one that also has possibilities... http://belairshells.com/wood-n-alum

So, I'll see how it goes...

 

[FJR Colorado]

Say, maybe one of you knowledgeable folks can advise on the best way to tap into the Tundra's system and turn on the 3rd brake light?

 

[p nut]

When I had my Tacoma with a shell, I just tapped into one if the rear brake lights. Spliced it in, used a harness for when I took the cab off. Pretty easy. Good looking truck by the way.

 

[trailscape]

I'd been wondering about cross-compatibility with these types of shells. If you ever do upgrade and want to sell I'd be glad to take it off your hands.

I have an ARB awning mounted to mine using a set of racks purchased from vantech. I keep an ARB fridge in the back running off an optima yellowtop and 100w solar.

So far I'm digging it now that I got the fitment issues and such worked out.

It may have been made for a similar sized Chevy (only the rear panel was too short by about 1.5"). But so far my remedy is working very well.

I bought it from a guy in Boulder who had it on a 1st Gen Tundra work truck. He works for a prominent surveying company and it had all kinds of stickers regarding that.

However, I really wanted something larger such as a Tufport or the old Callen. Somebody sent me a link to another one that also has possibilities... http://belairshells.com/wood-n-alum

So, I'll see how it goes...

 

[FJR Colorado]

I'd been wondering about cross-compatibility with these types of shells. If you ever do upgrade and want to sell I'd be glad to take it off your hands.

I have an ARB awning mounted to mine using a set of racks purchased from vantech. I keep an ARB fridge in the back running off an optima yellowtop and 100w solar.

That may be a possibility. This whole truck and topper thing came together very quickly. I'll give the topper a few months and if it works out then great; if not, you have first dibs and I'd sell it to you cheap.

I'd like to see some pics of your ARB/solar power set-up. Sounds like exactly what I need to do. What controller do you use? (EDIT: ah, now I see your post in the other thread. Thanks!!)