I'm building my 2008 DC 5.7 as a doitall and promo vehicle for my business, which is aftermarket HD and performance for the 2nd gen Tundra (I'll leave it that since I'm not a vendor). I've been considering starting a build thread about it up in the Toyota section... maybe it's time?
Are you guys sure you drove a 5.7L??
IMO the truck is good, very capable, but not perfect. The chassis is based on the new 200 series Land Cruiser... it's very overbuilt in the wear and tear department, much more so than any 1/2 ton I have seen to date. Huge brakes, big rear axles, wheel bearings, U-joints, ball joints... much of it would qualify for 3/4 and 1 ton usage. :Wow1:
There are no traction differentials yet available for the 10.5" axle that comes with the 5.7L. ARB has one in developement, but the economy is likely to have shelved it for a bit. I believe (?) the 9.5" axle that comes on the smaller engined trucks should accept the the ARB for the 100 (98 - 07) and 200 (08 and up) series cruiser. The front 8.7" diff should have the ARB available any time now. The stock A-trac actually works pretty dang well.
There are plenty of suspensions out there.
Mileage... some guys get high teens on the highway. I saw 14 - 16mpg mix, but then the big tires went on. Towing things is usually 9 - 12mpg. The new 4.6 is available in 2010 models, it might pull better number yet.
Feel free to ask any more questions.