2006 Tundra DC Build

[trailbikerider]

Hello everyone! I purchased this truck back in August, I was browsing Autotrader one night and found this for sale at a Honda dealership down in Phoenix. Ironically enough, I had just moved back home to Michigan from Phoenix last November. At any rate, I had a friend down there look at it for me, and I purchased it. It had 103,000 miles and Carfax showed it spent it's life in Washington state and most recently in Florida.... so I'm not really sure how it wound up on a dealer lot in Arizona??

I've been busy at work modifying it since then, basically replicating all of the modifications I had on my old 3rd gen 4Runner. The plan is to take it on a week-week and a half trip to southwestern Colorado next summer; about the only thing left I want to do before then is install a set of sliders, and build a sleeping platform for the bed (I'm headed down to Kentucky sometime in the next few weeks to trade my ARE tonneau for a snugtop paint matched bed cap).

Modifications:

Wheels/Tires & Suspension

• LT255/80R17 Falken Wildpeak A/T3W
• 1.25" Hubcentric Spacers
• 17x7.5 Toyota 4Runner TRD Off Road Wheels
• Front Bilstein 5100s on the 4th notch
• Rear Bilstein 5100s
• Toytec 1.5" Lift Block
• Toytec Diff Drop

Car Audio

• Kenwood KMM-BT322U Head Unit
• Rockford Fosgate R165-S 6.5" Front Door Speakers
• Rockford Fosgate R1525X2 5.25" Rear Door Speakers
• Kenwood KSC-SW11 8" Powered Subwoofer

Lighting

• The Retrofit Source H1 Retrofit Kit
• Nokya Hyper Yellow Fogs
• LED Dome Lights, Reverse Lights, License Plate Lights, Cab Light
• Switched LED Strips in the Cap

"Performance"

• Magnaflow 11225 Muffler

Exterior

• Snugtop Super Sport Cap

Maintenance

• (Toyota) Lower Ball Joints - 103,xxx
• (Sankei - 555) RF Outer Tie Rod End - 103,xxx
• (Power Stop & Durago) - Front Brakes - 103,xxx
• (Stoptech) Stainless Front Brake Flex Hoses - 103,xxx
• (Moog) RF Inner Tie Rod Boot - 103,xxx
• (Continental) Serpentine Belt - 105,xxx

Here are some of the dealership's photos before I took delivery;

Untitled by Blake Nichols, on Flickr

Dealer Photos:

tundrasurprisehonda by Blake Nichols, on Flickr

tundra6 by Blake Nichols, on Flickr

tundra5 by Blake Nichols, on Flickr

tundra4 by Blake Nichols, on Flickr

tundra3 by Blake Nichols, on Flickr

tundra2 by Blake Nichols, on Flickr

tundra1 by Blake Nichols, on Flickr

 

[trailbikerider]

Had the previous set of tires (LT265/70R17 Falkens) mounted up on the new 2018 4Runner Trail wheels not long after I got it;
Untitled by Blake Nichols, on Flickr

 

[trailbikerider]

Installed a set of front 5100s at the 4th perch, new OEM lower ball joints and bolts and a Toytec diff drop shortly thereafter;

Untitled by Blake Nichols, on Flickr

Followed that up with an H1 Retrofit using parts from TRS. Around the same time, I was having issues with the audio after installing a new headunit and front door speakers, so I ended up having to bypass the factory JBL amplifier and installed a powered 8" Kenwood subwoofer in it's place.


Untitled by Blake Nichols, on Flickr

Untitled by Blake Nichols, on Flickr

After installing the front 5100s, I decided I wanted to lift the rear. Installed a 1.5" Toytec lift block and rear 5100s;

Untitled by Blake Nichols, on Flickr

That brings us to now, I just installed a set of skinny 33s (LT255/80R17 Falkens) and a set of hubcentric 1.25" wheel spacers. On that note, does anyone have a need for some 1,000 mile old Falken Wildpeaks in 265/70/17?

 

[tennesseewj]

Looks good! Did the PO already replace the timing belt prior to trade-in? Good timing if so.

You gonna swap that sweet spoiler onto your Snugtop so you don't lose the +5 hp?

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

 

[trailbikerider]

Looks good! Did the PO already replace the timing belt prior to trade-in? Good timing if so.

You gonna swap that sweet spoiler onto your Snugtop so you don't lose the +5 hp?

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

That's the iffy part, there's no recorded history of it being done, but there's a sticker on the timing cover that I can sort of make out as saying 88,xxx miles... I still need to pop the inspection cover off and visually inspect it before I decide whether I should replace it or not.

That hideous spoiler was the very first thing to go haha.

 

[trailbikerider]

Here's a few photos of my old '02 4R. I owned it for about a year and a half, and it introduced me to the off-roading/overlanding community. I moved back home to Michigan from Arizona about a year ago, and sold it this past March due to poor fuel economy.... now here I am back in another Toyota truck. If I could redo it, I would have kept the 4Runner; I absolutely loved it.

Most of these pictures are from a trip we did on the Backway to Crown King trail, and then up Senator Highway to Prescott, AZ. Others are from Flagstaff near the San Francisco Peaks, a few from Four Peaks, and some from Broken Arrow in Sedona.

Untitled by Blake Nichols, on Flickr

DSC_1064 by Blake Nichols, on Flickr

DSC_1077 by Blake Nichols, on Flickr

Untitled by Blake Nichols, on Flickr

Untitled by Blake Nichols, on Flickr

Senator Highway by Blake Nichols, on Flickr

Senator Highway by Blake Nichols, on Flickr

DSC_1059 by Blake Nichols, on Flickr

DSC_1054 by Blake Nichols, on Flickr

DSC_1040 by Blake Nichols, on Flickr

Broken Arrow by Blake Nichols, on Flickr

Broken Arrow by Blake Nichols, on Flickr

Broken Arrow by Blake Nichols, on Flickr

Four Peaks Run by Blake Nichols, on Flickr

 

[JduRunner]

I had heard that size was coming for the AT3W soon. Where did you find them and what was the price?!

 

[trailbikerider]

I had heard that size was coming for the AT3W soon. Where did you find them and what was the price?!

I found them (I think) the day they came out on eBay, through a vendor called Tire Buyer. I paid just under $700 shipped and after tax.

 

[karlmagnum]

I like the new stance of your truck. I think adding steel bumpers would be a nice idea also.

 

[bowhunter29]

I'm thinking of going with the same tire on my DC. I have the same 5100 setup, on the 4th notch. Did you find it necessary to have the wheel spacers? I'm just curious how much rub there would be without them.


thanks,
jeremy

 

[trailbikerider]

I like the new stance of your truck. I think adding steel bumpers would be a nice idea also.

Thanks! The plan eventually is to add them. Even though the truck has lived in a rust-free climate it's entire life, I think the salt air of Florida got to the rear bumper. It's pretty rusty on the backside and is starting to bust through the front. My guess is after this winter I'll end up having to replace the rear bumper, and I'll be looking for a high clearance steel option.

I'm thinking of going with the same tire on my DC. I have the same 5100 setup, on the 4th notch. Did you find it necessary to have the wheel spacers? I'm just curious how much rub there would be without them.


thanks,
jeremy

I haven't tried them without, but my guess is you would definitely be rubbing the frame rails without.

 

[trailbikerider]

Drove down to Northern Kentucky over the weekend and swapped my ARE tonneau cover for this Snugtop Cap. It's not quite as nice as I was led to believe; there's a lot of peeling paint that I'm going to attempt to make look better. However, it will work for my purposes.

With a planned trip to southwestern Colorado next summer to do some camping and wheeling, I put together a list of things the truck needs before then:

• Sliders (likely going with a set of Stubbs HD-SKO)
• Light bar in the lower grille
• F&R Diff, Transfer Case and Transmission fluid changes
• Full Size Spare
• Rear diff breather extension
• Build a platform in the bed for camping
• Install lighting in the cap

Speaking of my trip, I wouldn't mind a little input. I'm planning on a week to possibly even a week and a half, with four days of that being travel time (Two day drive from Michigan there and a return trip), which leaves anywhere from 3-6 days in Colorado. As of right now, I'm going to spend my time in the Ouray, Telluride, Lake City area. The must do trails I want to do are:

• Black Bear Pass
• Imogene Pass
• Engineer Pass

What else should I see while I'm out there? It looks like possibly Ophir and Cinnamon passes might be worth a look. Beyond that, this is my first time in Colorado, other than when I drove through on my way to Arizona. Any input is appreciated!

Screen Shot 2018-10-31 at 8.44.38 PM by Blake Nichols, on Flickr

 

[Kya]

All of those passes are doable in your double cab, except Black Bear: the switch backs are just too tight. If you're that close to southern Colorado and have never been to Utah, Moab. I'd say go the distance because Moab is freakin amazing.

 

[trailbikerider]

All of those passes are doable in your double cab, except Black Bear: the switch backs are just too tight. If you're that close to southern Colorado and have never been to Utah, Moab. I'd say go the distance because Moab is freakin amazing.

I'll assume you've tried because I see you have a DC yourself, but I had talked to a few different people with first gen DCs who said it was doable, just a little tight in the switchbacks. It's going to be a real bummer if I can't, that's the one trail I've been wanting to do the longest.

 

[Kya]

I have not tried Black Bear. So true, that I can't say for sure. If you have talked with other 1st gen double cab owners who have done it, FKNA that is awesome! It's one of those things where, by the time you find out it's doable or not, you're already committed. I was never brave enough to try. Can't wait to see the pics when you do it!