TundraBirds Go! Picture Thread for Tundras and T-100s

[Stone_Blue]

Yeah, Derek's truck was one of the main inspirations for me over on Tundra Solutions. Our trucks are the same year and color...I loved the way his looked, (IIRC, he even had 255/85s on at one point), and I'm trying to catch up with him on mods...One of these days our trucks may be twins...LOL

Derek, when was your truck built, anyway?...Mine is 3rd week of Aug 99. If they hadnt started producing the Tundies early for the model year (Feb 99), mine would have been off the line the first week of production for the '00 model year...lol

 

[scheefdog]

So the 885s on the bottom notch of the 5100 would give you about a 2" lift then right? That is if the coils are 2" longer than stock and the spring rate is similar to the stock ones. That sounds like the ticket to me because you are not compressing the spring to gain lift.

Also, if you are not planning on carrying more than the weight of a topper in your bed regularly than I would recommend staying away from an AAL in the rear. The ride would be better with a 1" block in the rear to keep the rear suspension softer than the front.


I have a question on rear leafs. Does anyone have the 3 leaf add a leafs from Wheelers? What do you think of them if you have at least the weight of a topper all the time?

edit: a little more info...
I have a Toytec AAL and it is too stiff for daily uses. With 700lbs in the bed(FWC) it handles well. I'm thinking of switching my rear leaf setup to something that rides better daily and I can always add air-bags or a similar solution for carrying my camper.

 

[Falkon]

I have the Wheelers 3 leaf AAL and 5100's in the rear. I also have an ARE Tonneau. I am getting some pretty pronounced bouncing of the rear, usually precipitated by braking at speeds above 40.

I cannot swear its the AAL, but that is my suspicion. More weight, along the lines of a camper, may settle them a bit.

I am contemplating adding 1" blocks because I need a bit more lift and I'm hoping it may clear up the bounce. If not, I hear Deaver makes a nice custom replacement pack.

The AAL is a great option for the price and I am not trying to steer you away from them, just sharing my experience.

Best of luck!


- Chris

 

[Rattler]

I have an '04 DoubleCab Taco. I am running Bilsteins 5100s with 10MM spacers on top of them. Bilstein 5100s, custom AALs and "1 blocks out back. I was going to go with the OME Dakar leafs but heard too many complaining. I ended up with @ 3 1/4 lift altogther up front. The Bilsteins have provided a spectacular ride loaded for camping or empty.

Now back to your Tundras. . . . . .

 

[trailscape]

2002 Tundra

Work in progress.. Been upgrading the suspension and trying to get a decent setup going for some extended road trips.

 

[JCMatthews]

I would want to keep it at around 2.5" and not planning on a bumper or winch. But my thought on going with the 885's was to keep them at the bottom position of the 5100's for a better ride rather than having them up a notch or two and compressed somewhat. Let me know how those 885's ride in your truck I'm very curious as to how they compare to stock.

I am running Bilstien 5100s one notch from the top. I have added AAL springs in the rear. I have netted 2"of lift in the front, and 1 1/2" in the rear. The ride is firm empty, however it is certainly not jarring or bouncy. Once it has a load it is very nice. I ran it with an ARE tonneau and now a shell, and it is great. I also have 265 75 17s and there is room for more, but they don't look too small.

 

[Eview326]

View attachment 158033

More Details of your shelf you built with the rear seats removed. I just removed my rear seats and am thinking of ways to finish it off back there.

 

[trailscape]

More Details of your shelf you built with the rear seats removed. I just removed my rear seats and am thinking of ways to finish it off back there.

Hope this helps. I didn't document much in the process.

The back is hinged to fold up for easy installation/removal. It bolts into the existing holes using longer bolts and fender washers. You could probably built it flush to the floor, but I wanted access to underneath it.



I got everything from home depot. They have some wood project panels that work great. I trimmed down the back height and the width of the bottom panel so I could still recline the driver seat.



I trimmed the wood around the seatbelts because I didn't want to remove anything I didn't need to.

 

[Derek24]

Looks like Derek24 has done just that. He says he gets a full 3 inches out of them on the second to bottom setting. I'm in the same boat, I want to lift my truck up front to 2.5 and add an inch in the back with ALL. I want to go with the Bilsteins but I'm afraid if I lift it to 2.5" with stock coils the ride will be a bit harder. Softer the better for me.

Derek is running camburg upper control arms though so 3 inches isn't a big deal. For us with stock upper control arms that's not possible. I had a terrible time with my camburgs on my last tundra. It was so hard keeping their balls clean. I would always have squeaking up front in the heim joint. I really don't want to go through that again.

So Derek the setup you have, would you say the suspension upfront is harder after putting the 885 coils?

So far so smooth! It rides great and handles washboard roads really well. Got back from a 1500 mile expo trip last month though the Mojave road and had no problems. I would say it rides like a stock truck, but better looking with the lift. It seems to have settled only a little bit since I installed everything. In the rear I have the Wheelers 3 leaf pack made by Alcan and I'm liking that as well. It rides smooth, smoother than the AAL I had before, but payload is down a bit, nothing as extreme as the Deaver full leaf pack I had at one point, super soft! I like the OME springs for the fact you do not have to compress the spring using the 5100s compared to stock springs and gain lift by moving the notch to the top. Never like the idea of a compressed spring, takes away what it was engineered for. Put it this way, I went from $1100 Icon coilovers to OME springs and 5100s and I'm a lot happier. I you plan on flying through the desert I say coilovers, but if getting to a destination in comfort and enjoying the ride along they way which most of us do, This setup works great!

Yeah, Derek's truck was one of the main inspirations for me over on Tundra Solutions. Our trucks are the same year and color...I loved the way his looked, (IIRC, he even had 255/85s on at one point), and I'm trying to catch up with him on mods...One of these days our trucks may be twins...LOL

Derek, when was your truck built, anyway?...Mine is 3rd week of Aug 99. If they hadnt started producing the Tundies early for the model year (Feb 99), mine would have been off the line the first week of production for the '00 model year...lol

Thanks for the kind words! We are close to being twins, well at least brothers born close together lol! Not sure exactly when my was made, I think November of 99 if I remember seeing that before. Ill have to check that out now!

 

[Petrolburner]

Nicely done Trailscape!

 

[Eview326]

Got around to doing some maintenance this past weekend on the Tundra. Changed spark plugs, front dif, x case, rear dif fluids, rear brakes and replaced the rusted out stock open rear axle with an LSD rear axle from a double cab.

Stock rear





Replacement



Also got around to fixing my power steering rack leak. Had a universal fitting on the low pressure return line that was leaking everywhere. Got a Toyota specific fitting from low range off road and no more leaks.

 

[ExpoScout]

Near Corolla, NC:

 

[Stone_Blue]

Eview, what year/model is your Tundra?...If you dont mind me asking, around how much did you pay for the new axle, was it complete drum-to-drum, did you get it local or have it shipped?

The axle in my '00 looks as bad as, if not worse than your original, so I'm thinking about doing the same and replacing everything drum-to-drum...If the DC is 2"-3" wider than AC, that would be a plus, as I could dump my rear wheel spacers.

 

[Eview326]

Exactly what I did is dumped my rear spacers too and it matches the front now perfect.

Found the axle locally on CL with one side damaged due to an accident. Think I paid $350 for it. Then it took forever to find another shaft!! Finally found one locally on eBay and paid $200 for it. So that plus brakes and oil say $600 plus my fuel and travel. Well worth it though.

It's a 2002 SR5 access cab.

 

[Stone_Blue]

Kewl!!...SO was it a TOTAL bolt-on?...EVERYTHING matched up with absolutely no mods?