2005 Tundra novice build - "The Rez"
- Thread starter Kpack
- Start date
blueranger501
Observer
I paid to have new ones pressed in. No way I was tackling that myself.
Kpack
Adventurer
I'm definitely behind on rotating my tires. I've done it a couple of times since I bought them, but it's been a good amount over 5K since the last time. How often should I be rotating if I'm not running a sway bar? 3K?
Do you remember how much it was to have new ones pressed in? I'll probably just give the truck to the shop to have them deal with getting the LCA's off. If it's anything like the original shocks and UCA were on my truck, then I really don't want to mess with it. Lots of cutting, rust, etc. I don't have time for that.
toyotech
Expedition Leader
Kpack
Adventurer
I finally had a chance to hit the trails today. Went up into the mountains with my friend and his Jeep. We hit the Tripod Flats trail in the middle of the Manastash area, part of the Wenatchee National Forest. The trail was awesome and very rough. Everywhere his Jeep went, my Tundra went without a problem....just point it where you want it and it went there.
The trail starts off with a steep uphill, with tight turns. The trail is extremely rocky and makes for a very rough ride. There are several technical obstacles on the sections that we went on, a couple of which required the locker to get through. Lots of off-camber and very tight spots. Several times I found the top edge of my cab within 2 inches of large trees due to the off-camber areas. Dust was everywhere, making some of the uphill sections slick, and really making a mess of the interior of the truck.
We made it to Tripod Flats and took some time exploring the "cabin" and associated campground that people had built there over the years. The little cabin itself is close to 30 years old, and is in surprisingly decent condition. We didn't have time to explore the entire trail, so we went back the way we came with one detour onto the Lost Lake trail. That trail was extremely tight and very technical. Thank goodness for sliders because I had to use them several times to make the turns around some trees. Several water crossings with deep holes, near vertical ledges, log crossings, large rocks, off-camber, etc. We again ran out of time and couldn't explore the entire trail.
Short video of a couple of spots. The camera never allows you to see the steepness of inclines unfortunately.
Thoughts after this run:
The trail starts off with a steep uphill, with tight turns. The trail is extremely rocky and makes for a very rough ride. There are several technical obstacles on the sections that we went on, a couple of which required the locker to get through. Lots of off-camber and very tight spots. Several times I found the top edge of my cab within 2 inches of large trees due to the off-camber areas. Dust was everywhere, making some of the uphill sections slick, and really making a mess of the interior of the truck.
We made it to Tripod Flats and took some time exploring the "cabin" and associated campground that people had built there over the years. The little cabin itself is close to 30 years old, and is in surprisingly decent condition. We didn't have time to explore the entire trail, so we went back the way we came with one detour onto the Lost Lake trail. That trail was extremely tight and very technical. Thank goodness for sliders because I had to use them several times to make the turns around some trees. Several water crossings with deep holes, near vertical ledges, log crossings, large rocks, off-camber, etc. We again ran out of time and couldn't explore the entire trail.
Short video of a couple of spots. The camera never allows you to see the steepness of inclines unfortunately.
Thoughts after this run:
- Sliders are a must. Without them I would've had lots of rear body damage. The rear kick-outs on my sliders really helped to get the rear end around when I had no other options.
- Duratrac's performed excellent on the trails. Lots of grip and strong sidewalls. I had many direct rock strikes to the sidewalls and no obvious damage can be seen.
- Locker is a great backup option. Only had to use it a handful of times, but I probably could have gotten through with just 4LO if I tried really hard.
- 4LO on this truck is very capable
- Power steering was making tons of noise towards the end....reservoir is full, but I think I'm going to do a flush and then install a small cooler (what did you use toyotech??)
- I need more articulation in the rear
- I need to set up my suspension differently for running on washboard Forest Service roads. Every trail around here requires miles on washboard in order to reach the trailhead. My current setup makes for a VERY bumpy ride, even with tires deflated.
- Do you other Tundra owners notice your bed bouncing all over the place when you hit washboard? I look in my mirrors and the bed is flexing like crazy. I'm carrying 120 lbs of sand back there to try and soften up the suspension a bit, but it doesn't seem to help. My tailgate bushings are shot so that thing bounces and makes tons of noise, but the bed flex is a whole different story.
toyotech
Expedition Leader
Sorry. I take that back. Cupping is not normal and bad. Usually from bad shocks. You sure it's cupping and not feathering. I usually see feathering from other bad alignments (toe) and or lack of tire rotation.
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Kpack
Adventurer
Honestly it's hard for me to tell what I'm seeing. I can just tell that the lugs are not wearing evenly. I'll see if a chalk test tells me anything, and if there's something that can be photographed.
I don't notice any of the classic bouncing from bad shocks, but then again I bought these coilovers used with a lot of miles on them, so they are definitely due for a rebuild. I just haven't done it yet because they still feel normal.
toyotech
Expedition Leader
Cupping is basically able to be seen. You see a pattern of what you would see if I was to take a cup scoop from say a container of sugar. Hence cupping.
Feather is harder to see. It's more felt with your hands running over the tire. You'll feel sharp edges as you run your hand over it. This is more common in either bad toe alignment and or lack of rotations.
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Kpack
Adventurer
Sounds more like feathering then to me. I can run my hand across it and feel that some lugs are higher than others, and that it is generally uneven. Probably alignment and lack of rotations in my case. I think it's been well over a year since I rotated, and that means it's been well over 5K miles. Plus if my LCA bushings are shot then my alignment is likely off now.
Will depend on if your tires are directional or not.
toyotech
Expedition Leader
bkg
Explorer
this. I do a 5-tire rotation on the Tacoma...