2014 Toyota Tundra SR5 Build

[Fergie]

Good looking truck and some solid fish you landed there. I'm partial to the Tundra in general, and youve got a decent build going.

Pretty much all my outings are based on where I can fly fish, and am planning on a WY trip this summer to complete their Cutt Slam.

 

[redthies]

Good lucking truck and some solid fish you landed there. I'm partial to the Tundra in general, and youve got a decent build going.

Pretty much all my outings are based on where I can fly fish, and am planning on a WY trip this summer to complete their Cutt Slam.

I use my truck as my hunting and fishing vehicle too. White is a great choice for eliminating bush scratches…

 

[huntsonora]

I purchased some 18+ LED headlights and a TRD Pro grille and hoodbulge and did the swap with my father.

Extremely happy with the updated looks. Looks much less geezer spec and the light output on the LED's is incredible, its night and day.

Looks great! Are these headlights plug and play or do you have to use an adaptor?

 

[RedSun]

Any updates with your truck?

I bought the Fuel wheels with 35” Toyos on them, but the seller was a lying jerk. He said he had no rub and that they only put the tires 1/2” or so outside the fenders on his Tundra. On mine (same amount of lift) the rub is heinous and they poke over 1”, closing in on 1.5”.

My wife hit black ice doing 60 and hit a tree with the p-side of the truck. She was unhurt, and the truck wasn’t too bad, but when pulling it out, the tow guy managed to hook the front bumper on a wire fence and messed it up. Insurance will cover all the damages, and it sounds like I can buy a proper bumper instead of just getting more plastic. I’m looking at the Coastal bumper, but thinking of getting the full tubing they offer. There are tons of deer hit where I live, so full coverage is a must. I love the look of yours, and hope the full tubing can be made to look good too.

Is there enough clearance to keep the bars away from the body? When you built it, could you have spaced the bumper a bit further out from the mounting plate?

Apologies its been such a long time that i've been on here. I have a slew of updates for the truck that i'll be posting shortly. I plan on being more active here.

Sorry to hear about your truck. How's it doing now? Did you go with the Coastal Bumper? I specifically spaced the bar further out and angled it forward a bit for preference to keep it a bit from the body.

Looks great! Are these headlights plug and play or do you have to use an adaptor?

They require a wiring harness adapter but its plug and play with that, very simple.


I realized I haven't updated this thread in a long time. I'm going to be updating it with posts from my Tundras.com build thread starting back in 2023 where I left off here.

A lot has changed in life. I ended up buying a property in north Georgia and moved there from Maryland back in 2023. Its a homestead out in the mountains that I bought as a fixer upper, so i've been working at it constantly.

I've really come to love this truck more than ever. I previously used it a lot as a toy camping/offroading and for occasional hauling. Since we moved its really been a tool around the homestead. To start off with I had to do mold remediation in the house and had to haul off a lot of material.

I also ended up buying a tractor that was a bit of a project. Left out in a field for years and years. Here it was on her voyage back home.

Its a Yanmar YM2000 that i had been slowly rebuilding. My first diesel and a lot of fun. Very old school and very Japanese - overbuilt and well thought out. It reminds me of the Tundra. Got it running and used it quite a bit on the property.

My first big project was starting our garden. Cleared a portion and worked the dirt with a blade and then tilled it.

Neighbors watched me the whole time.

Built a fence and a gate for the plot.

Garden was tough the first year. It was a constant battle of pests and disease from the clay getting on the leaves from constant rain. This was from early May 2023.

I've since overhauled this with raised beds and its been much more successful.

 

[RedSun]

Also did some fall camping exploring north GA just as the leaves were at their peak. We drove up to Helen. Rode a couple trails and starting to learn this area a lot more.

Went a few miles on a trail and found this great spot by a stream.

My dog was having a great time.

It was a quick weekend stay but was glad to get out in the fall. Miles of trails littered in leaves with the colors turning was such a great way to spend the weekend.

 

[RedSun]

In addition to the big move and buying a new property, I clearly wasn't busy enough, so my wife and I had our first child. She had some trouble getting in and out of my truck, so it was a great excuse to pick up some "steps" for the truck. And by steps I mean a set of RCI sliders. Found them on FB Marketplace for a steal from a guy who sold his Rock Warrior for a new Trailhunter Tacoma.

I looked up some install instructions and tips but personally I found the easiest way to do this by yourself is with two floorjacks. I had these sliders mounted in about an hour by myself.

Everything lined up with the factory holes. I did not drill the additional holes RCI recommends. The previous owner did not and never had issues with hard wheeling.

I also installed a full set of Talon's skid plates/cat shields. Fit perfectly with my TRD Pro skid. They've come in handy many times already through trails.

 

[RedSun]

Now that this thread is more up to speed, this is what i've been up to lately over the last month.

I picked up a GFC V2 recently. I enjoyed our RTT and rack setup a lot. We've done countless nights in it. However, with the baby, going up a ladder, having an open bed, and having way more gear made it impractical. So after a ton of research I went with a GFC. It was the perfect solution for a daily driver.

Prior to the install I followed SoCalExpedition's tutorial video on sealing the bed. The beds on these and Tacomas are like swiss cheese as the holes where the bedrail covers clip in lead directly to the wheel well where dirt and water can intrude.

I stopped to pick up the camper during a trip we were doing coming back down from Maryland. Doing this while at my in-law's parking pad and not at my home shop was annoying but made me appreciate my home shop that much more. I started by removing the bed rail covers. I pulled the factory plastic bedliner as well. I knew these were bad, but it was so convenient for me with how much I use the bed. Well it came back to bite me. I found two rust patches in the bed requiring repair. Thankfully not completely through but will require some cutting and welding soon. Let this be a lesson to you to say NO to plastic bedliners. They just trap dirt and moisture. I knew this was true but was too lazy to remove it and I'm paying for it now. Could be worse though.

Sealed with HVAC tape. Then i poked small holes where the clips would go from the rail covers and also put a bed of SikaFlex as extra protection against water and dust intrusion.

I then made the trip to meet Josh at Apex Overland for install of the GFC V2. Had a great experience there with a quick professional install. It was my first time being at a shop and it was nice not breaking my back for once. This was really the cherry on top for this truck. I feel like its really "complete" now. It looks absolutely awesome.

I drove a few hundred miles with it on and could not feel it on the truck. My avg MPG prior to the GFC was about 15.5. I now get about 14.5. The fact that its sub 300lbs makes a huge difference of how it does not change driving dynamics of the truck compared to something like a slide in camper. In addition, the entire drive was through severe thunderstorms and the bed stayed bone dry.

The camper itself is optioned with no windows (no room for leaks) and has two beef bars that I plan to run a solar setup with. Other than that I got some Plano cases for camping supplies that I can quickly load in or out of the truck when we go camping to keep the bed functional for truck stuff as my daily driver. I cant stress enough just how high quality everything is on this. The billet and extruded aluminum parts are really a work of art.

I had to get a pic with my Ford too. One of the most reliable trucks ever made next to one of the most reliable tractors ever made. This is a Ford 3000 I picked up last year and have been slowly restoring. I've completed the entire front half including motor. Hope to dive into the rest of it later this summer. I sold my Yanmar as I needed a bigger tractor.

 

[RedSun]

Prior to going out for our first camping trip, the truck was due for some regular maintenance including front and rear diff, oil, and brakes.

Say what you want about spacers, but I have run these Spidertrax 1.25" spacers for about 50k miles now. Torque specs still the same as when I put them on. Extremely happy with them. I went with a set of Centric coated rotors and Centric pads. Calipers are ugly but they're original to the truck nothing was seized including the pins. Highlights the importance of greasing them.

Started to stretch its legs on some trails. We were solo so I wish I was able to get some more pictures of some of the trails I went down. Really pushed the truck and it did excellent. One of the trails was through a large river crossing and then up some very steep rocky and muddy switchbacks. I ran into a group of Jeeps at the end who were all on 37s+ and heavily modified. They all looked at me like I was crazy. I was definitely nervous through a fair bit of it. My skids and sliders took an absolute beating.

Ended up camping out near a stream. Compared to my RTT and rack, this was like being in a hotel. I am extremely happy with the GFC. Its really in a class of its own and I completely understand why they are so popular now.

Had a pretty bad storm come through and still stayed bone dry.

We plan on doing another trip at the end of this month.