zidaro
Explorer
Winter 2017. Progression!!!
In current form 2015. Damn near perfect!
and how we travel often (04/17)
Purchased Spring 2010
Standard overnighter in Mammoth- 1' to 3'
Been driving Toyota 4x4's since I was in High School and love them. First a box stock Standardcab '86 which i promptly sank in Azuza Canyon, CA. Then i picked up a repo'ed '85 extracab that i built for Glamis duning and exploring Anza Borrego and Baja, then converted it to a crawler that has been on many trails like Rubicon, Sledgehammer, Wrecking Ball, Fordyce, etc... Toyotas are great, dependable vehicles and I plan to own atleast one for the rest of my life.
I now have a family, wife and 5yo girl, so my interests have changed. I now own 3 Toys. I own an '87 4runner that i am building to be a 4 seater all-a-round desert/rock/trail explorer. My wife has a '10 4runner Limited (beautiful and capable), and I now have a Tundra Crewmax 4x4.
The Tundra is my Daily Driver.
I live in the Eastern Sierras at 8000ft. and see quite a bit of snow from Oct. to May- 600+ inches a season. There are 100's of miles of dirt roads and 2track to explore right out my door. Lakes, climbing spots, singletrack(pedal or motor). A capable, reliable, comfortable 4x4 is mandatory.
We carry dirt-bikes, cords of wood, and the 4runner on a carhauler (not all at once).
We have purchased a slide-in Poptop camper that fits us great and weighs 1600# dry.
Very important to me is to place as much stuff in the cab of a vehicle as is possible to avoid having exposure to weather, dust, people. CREWMAX is perfect for this. Cab is huge, but a bed is still avail. for hauling. A full size dirtbike will fit diagonally with the gate closed, 2 bikes and the gate is open.
My favorite things about the Crewmax-
-5.7L Engine- Holy Cow, this aint no 22re if ya know what im sayin'. I am getting 17mpg on mountain roads, 22mpg if im headed South on straight hwy's to lower elevations. My stock '87 4runner 22re gets 16mpg.
-HUGE cab and reclining rear seats
-Comfortable interior that has decent bucket seats, bluetooth, steering wheel stereo, cellphone controls, xm radio
-backup camera mirror - this is a great feature for EVERY vehicle on the road or trail, there will be one in my 4runner.
-vertical rear window slider- huge opening to the world
-windshield wiper defroster- live in snow country w/o one and you will know why its sweet.
-cab adjustable headlights- great when you have a load in the back to avoid blinding oncoming traffic, or adjust up on trails to get better light ahead of you
-tailgate slowdown when dropped, my girl can open the gate and not have a dented skull or me fretting.
Not Stoked on-
-Traction Control limits the power too much and instead of powering one wheel when one is slipping, the LSD brakes the wheel that is slipping. If you are in the snow, it keeps you from sliding, but sometimes it feels as though the truck is stopping instead of getting traction. Very different feeling from the VSC in the '10 4runner- give it gas and it searches for traction and accelerates.
-TRD suspension package- better than stock, but still only a slight upgrade. TRD should be the basic 4x4 package and TRD should be a major improvement, something like the Raptor. makes washbaord tolerable, but could be sooo much better. wont absorb a "hit".
-Tires- what is the point of a 10K tow rating with "C" class tires - not to mention there is no way these are any good on anything but smooth dirt roads and icy highways. good 4 MPG though. Again- its Toyotas TRD package that comes up short.
- no Locker- TRD package???
This build thread is meant to be both my experiences and trips with the truck and the modifications I see necessary to fulfill my needs in a vehicle that will see lots of backcountry and cross-country trips with my family. I want a reliable vehicle that is comfortable everywhere, capable of long distance travel, self-recovery(to an extent), and looks good doing it.
I should mention- I bought this truck back in April when Toyota was GIVING these things away. Great Financing, matching down payments, and well below INVOICE was all had. I originally was looking for an '04 TACO DoubleCab but it was going to cost me as much as this did in the end (used vehicle financing not good).
I'm have just now started to mod the Tundra after having it a half a year and getting to know it. I will attempt to catch up to the point i am at right now with the thread. So I will move fast in the beginning and then screech to a slow crawl.
I love this truck and cant wait to make improvements on a solid platform.
If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions- feel free.
set of Weathertech floormats- they are great and seem to direct the crap in the right direction. I have the carpet mats over the weathertechs on all but drivers side cuz they feel sooo much better on the toes.
7 pin adapter and DC plug mounted in bed for slide-in power and ARB fridge (if i dont have it in the cab where it belongs)
the only performance mod that i will be doing- an AFE Dryflow filter and intake box. Makes more noise and cant say there was a huge boost in power, but its a bigger cleaner and uses no oil to foul the sensors, debate is still open on this one. OK- i may add a smaller, quiet, performance exhaust cuz the stock muffler is HUGE.
interior shot
In current form 2015. Damn near perfect!
and how we travel often (04/17)
Purchased Spring 2010
Standard overnighter in Mammoth- 1' to 3'
Been driving Toyota 4x4's since I was in High School and love them. First a box stock Standardcab '86 which i promptly sank in Azuza Canyon, CA. Then i picked up a repo'ed '85 extracab that i built for Glamis duning and exploring Anza Borrego and Baja, then converted it to a crawler that has been on many trails like Rubicon, Sledgehammer, Wrecking Ball, Fordyce, etc... Toyotas are great, dependable vehicles and I plan to own atleast one for the rest of my life.
I now have a family, wife and 5yo girl, so my interests have changed. I now own 3 Toys. I own an '87 4runner that i am building to be a 4 seater all-a-round desert/rock/trail explorer. My wife has a '10 4runner Limited (beautiful and capable), and I now have a Tundra Crewmax 4x4.
The Tundra is my Daily Driver.
I live in the Eastern Sierras at 8000ft. and see quite a bit of snow from Oct. to May- 600+ inches a season. There are 100's of miles of dirt roads and 2track to explore right out my door. Lakes, climbing spots, singletrack(pedal or motor). A capable, reliable, comfortable 4x4 is mandatory.
We carry dirt-bikes, cords of wood, and the 4runner on a carhauler (not all at once).
We have purchased a slide-in Poptop camper that fits us great and weighs 1600# dry.
Very important to me is to place as much stuff in the cab of a vehicle as is possible to avoid having exposure to weather, dust, people. CREWMAX is perfect for this. Cab is huge, but a bed is still avail. for hauling. A full size dirtbike will fit diagonally with the gate closed, 2 bikes and the gate is open.
My favorite things about the Crewmax-
-5.7L Engine- Holy Cow, this aint no 22re if ya know what im sayin'. I am getting 17mpg on mountain roads, 22mpg if im headed South on straight hwy's to lower elevations. My stock '87 4runner 22re gets 16mpg.
-HUGE cab and reclining rear seats
-Comfortable interior that has decent bucket seats, bluetooth, steering wheel stereo, cellphone controls, xm radio
-backup camera mirror - this is a great feature for EVERY vehicle on the road or trail, there will be one in my 4runner.
-vertical rear window slider- huge opening to the world
-windshield wiper defroster- live in snow country w/o one and you will know why its sweet.
-cab adjustable headlights- great when you have a load in the back to avoid blinding oncoming traffic, or adjust up on trails to get better light ahead of you
-tailgate slowdown when dropped, my girl can open the gate and not have a dented skull or me fretting.
Not Stoked on-
-Traction Control limits the power too much and instead of powering one wheel when one is slipping, the LSD brakes the wheel that is slipping. If you are in the snow, it keeps you from sliding, but sometimes it feels as though the truck is stopping instead of getting traction. Very different feeling from the VSC in the '10 4runner- give it gas and it searches for traction and accelerates.
-TRD suspension package- better than stock, but still only a slight upgrade. TRD should be the basic 4x4 package and TRD should be a major improvement, something like the Raptor. makes washbaord tolerable, but could be sooo much better. wont absorb a "hit".
-Tires- what is the point of a 10K tow rating with "C" class tires - not to mention there is no way these are any good on anything but smooth dirt roads and icy highways. good 4 MPG though. Again- its Toyotas TRD package that comes up short.
- no Locker- TRD package???
This build thread is meant to be both my experiences and trips with the truck and the modifications I see necessary to fulfill my needs in a vehicle that will see lots of backcountry and cross-country trips with my family. I want a reliable vehicle that is comfortable everywhere, capable of long distance travel, self-recovery(to an extent), and looks good doing it.
I should mention- I bought this truck back in April when Toyota was GIVING these things away. Great Financing, matching down payments, and well below INVOICE was all had. I originally was looking for an '04 TACO DoubleCab but it was going to cost me as much as this did in the end (used vehicle financing not good).
I'm have just now started to mod the Tundra after having it a half a year and getting to know it. I will attempt to catch up to the point i am at right now with the thread. So I will move fast in the beginning and then screech to a slow crawl.
I love this truck and cant wait to make improvements on a solid platform.
If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions- feel free.
set of Weathertech floormats- they are great and seem to direct the crap in the right direction. I have the carpet mats over the weathertechs on all but drivers side cuz they feel sooo much better on the toes.
7 pin adapter and DC plug mounted in bed for slide-in power and ARB fridge (if i dont have it in the cab where it belongs)
the only performance mod that i will be doing- an AFE Dryflow filter and intake box. Makes more noise and cant say there was a huge boost in power, but its a bigger cleaner and uses no oil to foul the sensors, debate is still open on this one. OK- i may add a smaller, quiet, performance exhaust cuz the stock muffler is HUGE.
interior shot
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