Purple Lizard Maps 2010 Tundra build

[mike h]

I'm building a 2010 Tundra and figured I'd throw the shopping list out here for review. I had built a nice 1996 80 Series, sold it and bought a 2008 supercharged Taco, but we found the Taco to be too small and really missed the interior comforts of the Cruiser. Once I drove the Tundra with a 5.7 motor and gazed across the half-acre back seat it had me hooked. After looking for a while we bought a 2010 Platinum CrewMax with 45,000 miles. I wanted white/red rock but they are hard to find on the east coast so black/grey is what we ended up with. It will be debadged shortly, I can only take so much chrome...

Suspension and armor is first on my list so I'm zeroing in on:

1. Old Man Emu 3 inch w/ leafs and Slee running board sliders from Christo. I prefer the boards especially traveling with dogs.

2. BudBuilt stainless skids (free shipping for another week).

3. UCA'a from somebody.... haven't really determined which brand makes sense over another. Also haven't determined if a diff drop is needed, I know it may interfere with the skids.

I hated the 20in wheels but they are growing on me. May just keep them and pay up for the bigger rubber instead of looking for a smaller diameter wheel set. I liked the Goodyear Silent Armors on the Cruiser but 20s do limit tire choices. I don't want a much larger tire but I do want to fill the wheel wells to match the Emu lift. If I can't find a 20 that makes sense I can find a set of Toyota 18 wheels and go from there. My assumption is 20s will become more available as the industry is moving that direction.

My use is mainly back country dirt roads and easier trails with long road trips to get there, cross country style, a few weeks out at a time. So we can avoid the "Ya know a Tundra isn't an 80 Series" threads. I'm very aware the Tundra is a gargantuan beast in a parking lot and it feels about twice as big on trails, and I'm actually loving it.

Once the suspension/alignment is worked out I'll add bumpers and a winch, possibly a long range gas tank, and really with the purpose of this build that is pretty much all I see it needing to explore 98% of this continent. The above list (1-3) will happen at the same time in the next two weeks, and I'll do tires a week or so later.

I decided against Icon suspension because in east coast conditions I feel they will need frequent rebuilds and my last three builds all had Emu, it has been maintenance free and delivers a fine ride for the money. Loved the Slee sliders on my 80. BudBuilt is the only option for full skids, stainless makes sense for east coast salt, and since the Platinum has no skids it will take care of that.

These Tundra's a bit rare in 'ExPo' style, most of the Tundra-boards are about 10-inch lifts which is why I'm asking for input from fellow ExPo folks. And yes, the build will be heavily documented.

Thanks!

 

[NorthernWoodsman]

Welcome to Expo and congrats on the new Tundra. ...but, we're gonna need to see pics before we're allowed to offer any input...:ylsmoke:

 

[mortonm]

Looking forward to it.

If it were me I would drop down to 18s and run 285 75 R 18s (34.8 x 11.2)

What height tires were you hoping to run ?

 

[mike h]

Here is a picture of the Tundra on our tree cutting expo behind the house. Bone stock.

Slee sliders and a complete Emu suspension kit with SPC UCA's are on the way, along with BudBuilt stainless front, engine and gas tank skids.

Still researching wheel/tire options. Being fairly obsessed with tires, my favorite the past few years on the 80 Series Cruiser was the Goodyear Silent Armors. Prior to that I ran a set of Nitto Terrain Grapplers, both were very good on the heavy 80 Series and wore well. I give the Goodyears an edge on snow and ice.

Slee suggests a 33/33.5 (285ish) for the mild Emu lift. The 20s are growing on me, rubber is expensive in 20s but I'm not sure I want to deal with another set of rims. As I understand it, the lift will bring the wheels inboard a little bit. Guestimating how far out aftermarket wheels may stick is always a pain, in the New England climate I do not want wheels outboard of the fenders, they will throw too much liquid and stones up. I do not want aftermarket flares, the truck is plenty wide and flares are rust enablers.

I think 18s would be ideal, but I haven't found a wheel I trust to fit… yet?

The other consideration on tire size is I do want to be able to run 4 chains, so even with a mild lift I can't fill the wheel wells too much because I need that extra inch for chains.

The dealer put on new OE rubber when I bought this last month, which are nothing special. However, I must admit with the traction control they work amazingly well. In 4-Low the traction control is disabled, so playing between hi/low on snowy back roads quickly proved how well the traction gadgets work, it was all over the place in low but tracked really well in hi with the computer assist. With 'real' tires it should be pretty capable. The 80 Series Cruiser was always fun and competent in the snow, but now I realize how much better the vehicles can drive with the traction control systems. It really makes a big truck with excessive HP totally fun and manageable on wet/snow conditions.