2003 Tundra AC, Finally posting a thread!

[Climbermac]

How you build the rig is a really subjective question. I mostly built out of need and when I had some funds. I'd take a trip and if something didn't perform well or broke or didn't exist all together I'd try to fix it... If I had it to do over, I guess the real game would be deciding the ultimate use for the rig and built to that end. Suspension is a place a lot of guys start and then they add more and more weight and by the end they need to beef the suspension up even more: it really sucks to spend twice.

I would have to say my biggest piece of advice is build the truck for YOU and YOUR USE. I see a lot of rigs that are covered in the newest coolest gadgets and sometimes with owners that don't have almost any "need" for them. If that's what you like do it but a stock Toyota 4wd with AT tires will go a LOT farther than people give them credit for. I do see it less with the Toyota world (I'm admittedly biased) than others and less in the Overland world than the "Offroad community" but there are still trends. I have a friend who busts on me all the time for my big Lightforce spotties and says I should ditch them for an LED bar: WHY? There is nothing wrong with my lights, I happen to like how they the look and it's MY truck. It is also a bit easier with the Tundra because you have to make or customize most all of the add on's so you can put your own personal spin on things.

Over all: have fun, as for where exactly to start, fix the things that bug you and get it out on some dirt, repeat.

 

[rickashay]

How you build the rig is a really subjective question. I mostly built out of need and when I had some funds. I'd take a trip and if something didn't perform well or broke or didn't exist all together I'd try to fix it... If I had it to do over, I guess the real game would be deciding the ultimate use for the rig and built to that end. Suspension is a place a lot of guys start and then they add more and more weight and by the end they need to beef the suspension up even more: it really sucks to spend twice.

I would have to say my biggest piece of advice is build the truck for YOU and YOUR USE. I see a lot of rigs that are covered in the newest coolest gadgets and sometimes with owners that don't have almost any "need" for them. If that's what you like do it but a stock Toyota 4wd with AT tires will go a LOT farther than people give them credit for. I do see it less with the Toyota world (I'm admittedly biased) than others and less in the Overland world than the "Offroad community" but there are still trends. I have a friend who busts on me all the time for my big Lightforce spotties and says I should ditch them for an LED bar: WHY? There is nothing wrong with my lights, I happen to like how they the look and it's MY truck. It is also a bit easier with the Tundra because you have to make or customize most all of the add on's so you can put your own personal spin on things.

Over all: have fun, as for where exactly to start, fix the things that bug you and get it out on some dirt, repeat.

Good advice right here^. After building 4 trucks (well 3.5... the Tundra isn't done YET) it's so true. Hell my 4Runner went through 3 different suspension setups before I was settled. When I approached the Tundra all I thought about was the end goal. Not what can I afford now, or what do I want to put on the truck today, but rather what is my goal and how do I get there most efficiently. Easier said than done sometimes though... I think pinpointing exactly what your needs are is the hardest part. My one piece of advice is to build the truck around your chosen tire size. Do not hesitate and then go larger later, as it often creates a whole can of worms to step up a size.

 

[dfout]

Thanks, that is probably the best advice I've gotten so far. Its hard starting from scratch with absolutely no knowledge of what I am doing. Ive spent most of my free time in the outdoors, but I mostly camp off of horseback or backpacking. This is a whole new area for me, and so far I'm pretty hooked on it. Being in college, funds are definitely the biggest issue, but luckily I've been able to get some help on custom work that has saved me a ton. Hopefully this spring i'll be able to take a trip with the outfit that I have so far and see what gaps I need to fill.
This summer I am planning on attempting sections of the Trans America Trail, so ill definitely know what I need after that trip!

 

[blueranger501]

I am considering a 456 regear with my 285s. What are your highway Rpms at 65/70/75/80? Just don't want to go nuts overreving but don't want to go through all the effort for 4.30.

Thanks!

 

[Climbermac]

I don't think overreving is going to be an issue. I just took a 130 mile highway run in the rig and this is the report:
Speedo reads 60mph~1800rpm
Speedo reads 70mph~2100rpm
Speedo reads 80mph~2500rpm
Now just to give some details on the situation. This was between 5500' and 7500' elevation in pretty cool, non-windy weather on a Tundra weighing in at about 6800#. Even pushing 80 up a steep hill in climbing gear it wouldn't go above 3100rpm. I noted that the "speedo reads" because my actual speed is just below that reading.

HTH

 

[blueranger501]

Very interseting, as the your gears are getting you back to a close actual speed. For example, my speedo read on 285s and stock gears are:

60 (3rd gear) 2700

4th Gear:
65 ~2100
70 ~2250
75 ~2400

I would say you need to add ~5mph to the speedo read, either way, thats no bad at all! Almost makes me want to go 4.88s on 285s for some real fun!

Sometime a long ways a way I will consider 35s, until then my Cooper AT3s only have 3,000 miles on them. Less weight, lets parts to break.

Thanks for the intel.

-Bryan

 

[Climbermac]

I would say you need to add ~5mph to the speedo read, either way, thats no bad at all! Almost makes me want to go 4.88s on 285s for some real fun!

Just to be clear, I am actually now under the indicated speed. I compared with a GPS speedo, at 60 on the speedo I am going right about 57mph. I think if I ran 295's it would be pretty much dead on. When I was running 285's with stock gears the rubber overdrive was about 5mph+ over the speedo. If you are even remotely considering bigger than 285's I would go 4.56 no question. Yes, 4.88 could even be a fair choice as 35's with 4.56 will likely bring the powerband back to where you are with stock gears on 285's. I also think the 4.88's might prove almost too tall off road in L4, 1st. The 4.56 are LOW compared to stock, 4.88's with 285's might make L4, 1st super low, great for crawling but I find the shift pattern is hard to nail down, the truck needs an autostick so you can lock in a gear and have it HOLD. YMMV

 

[TravelsWithRalph]

tundra looks great. I'd be interested in the specs on your Alcan spring packs. What amount of lift and what amount of extra load rating did you go with?

 

[Mako1114]

I'd be interested to see some close-up pics and build details of your home-fabbed tire carrier as I have a Ruenel bumper on my Titan and have wanted to add a tire carrier for some time now.

Cheers

 

[Climbermac]

Wow, I guess I've been busy the last 5 months! I didn't really realize that much time shot past.

@ReChaps158- I'd need to look at the build doc for the exact numbers but if I had to guess: 3"+ in lift over stock and 350-400# I didn't want so much extra capacity as to adversely effect the "less loaded" ride. I'll hunt around for the order info and let you know if I was way off.

@Mako1114- I'm actually thinking of messing with the bumper shortly and will likely be shooting some detail pics of before and after... stay tuned.

To that end, it's summer again and I somehow have a fat list to try and get done before another long trip. Luckily this list isn't as structural as last years. Unfortunately I had to start with unplanned structural repairs. I noticed a strange clicking and odd feeling in the steering a few weeks back and stupidly ignored it. Then I went wheeling with some friends, on some pretty tame fire roads. Having fun I put a tire up on a nice boulder at lunch and opened up the new crack in my lower ball joint! I also found that I had destroyed my LCA bushings and my steering rack was in bad shape. I limped home and went to visit a friends shop. The LCA's and ball joints weren't a huge surprise as they had a lot of miles and trails on them. The steering rack on the other hand was a "new" Toyota with 20k at best, the stealership wouldn't even consider discussions that the part was bunk. In the end I had a rack put together by Rack Doctor in SC. All said and done it drives like a new truck and honestly I don't think the steering has ever felt this good. My friend who did the rack and the alignment said it was the nicest re-man rack he has ever seen, "it honestly looked like a custom built part not a re-man" major props to Rich at Rack Doctor!

With that settled the new list includes mostly lots of light!
40" SR bar, camp lights, rear floods, rock lights, LED headlights and a few other adjustments here and there.

More to come.

 

[AaronK]

Ooooh details on your LED headlight plans please

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[Climbermac]

LED headlights are actually already in. Nothing too fancy there, Lifetime LED High output 70w H4 replacements from Southeast Overland. Super simple install on a well backed product and crazy bright output. I'm still playing with the focus a bit to optimize the output but it is a substantial improvement over the PIAA Superwhite H4's I was running. I honestly didn't notice much about my headlight output until I started driving my wives '13 XC60 with active bi-xenon headlights, holy crap do they light up the road! The LED's in the Tundra feel a good deal closer to the Volvo and the color temp is much better, a very crisp white.

I didn't take and comparison pics as the web is FULL of them but I'll snap some of the various light source outputs on a nice dark trail when the rest of the lights go in.

 

[AaronK]

So you just dropped them into the stock housing? Is there the glare issue like you get putting an HID drop in into a housing designed for halogens?

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[rickashay]

So you just dropped them into the stock housing? Is there the glare issue like you get putting an HID drop in into a housing designed for halogens?

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Yes, headlight housings are designed for the bulb output they are spec'd for. There will be some negative consequences (for oncoming drivers) with the LED bulbs in a factory housing. From all the examples I've seen the output is better than a drop-in HID but still not perfect. IMO, retrofits are still the ultimate way to go, but I do see the cost savings and simplicity as a large benefit for people who want more output.

 

[Climbermac]

Yes, headlight housings are designed for the bulb output they are spec'd for. There will be some negative consequences (for oncoming drivers) with the LED bulbs in a factory housing. From all the examples I've seen the output is better than a drop-in HID but still not perfect. IMO, retrofits are still the ultimate way to go, but I do see the cost savings and simplicity as a large benefit for people who want more output.

That's pretty much where I stood with it. The HID option had too many potential issues. I've had my eye on these LED units for some time and there are a number of folks running them on a few forums out there and reporting back with mostly solid feedback. I agree that a full retro would be the ideal choice for optimum output but from a cost/simplicity standpoint this was the option for me. I also really liked the fact that, in the event of a failure or breakage, I can buy a set of H4 halogens in nearly any place that sells oil and I can have them in and running in a matter of minuets.