Any reason there are not a lot of Sequoia builds?

[stom_m3]

Digging up an old post.

I bought a new 2010 Sequoia ltd in January. One of the most comfortable family mobiles made that still had 4x4 capability. And, I admit, I didn't buy the Sequoia to be an ultimate expedition rig but a family hauler that I could beat an occassional camping fire road with.

That said, I've taken it on 3 road trips so far and it's worked great (granted not used as an expedition rig and still bone stock). On the last road trip, we went to Mammoth/Inyo area and met up with a my friend and his family with his '00 Ford Expedition (stock w/ AT geolander tires).

With 4x4's in hand and family's buckled, we decided to do some trail beating and exploring to see where all of these random dirt roads ended. We took various fire roads on our basic map and had a great time though we quickly knew that we needed to make our vehicles much more off road worthy. The realization came after I high centered on packed snow with the stock tires quickly showing their limit. It didn't take very long to get unstuck but provided me a few more gray hairs as we were not ready to start trail exploring. That said, we really have the bug to start making our rigs more capable of handling light duty exploring. Here's what I have planned so far. Comments welcome.

- Front Suspension, Icon c/o's with Total Chaos Upper Control Arms, 2.5" lift.
- Rear Suspension, Custom Deaver springs 2.5" lift, shocks TBD (leaning towards Bilstein 5100 or some other custom rear shock. I've been told I can run stock.)
- Tires, Toyo Open Country MT 275/65/20
- Rims, either KMC Monster or MHT Fuel Octane 20x9 with a 6" backspace.

I still need to look into new bumper/winch combos as well as a roof rack. I'm curious to know what other's do with their 5th tire. I don't believe it will fit where the stocker currently sits.

I understand that the Sequoia is not the most ideal platform as an expedition rig from a size/weight perspective but I love the size and space.

Any other information on using a Sequoia as an expedition rig would be highly appreciated. Thanks,

steven

 

[Pskhaat]

There is so much more room in a Sequoia than there is in a LC

When deciding between the 100 and the 1st gen Sequoia the only true size difference from which we could benefit was the space behind the 3rd row. Sometimes I actually wish I had had a Tree vs. the 100.

- Tires, Toyo Open Country MT 275/65/20
- Rims, either KMC Monster or MHT Fuel Octane 20x9 with a 6" backspace.

You can put a great set of 18" OEM steels on there. Are you sure you mean 6" backspace? maybe. I would think a 9" wheel with a 275mm width would be too wide a wheel. A 7" would be just about perfect, and Toyota put 275mm width on 8" wheels.

 

[xcmountain80]

Hows this?

http://forum.ih8mud.com/95-gen-toyota-trucks/312885-bored-building-02-sequoia-mild-build.html

 

[soonenough]

- Tires, Toyo Open Country MT 275/65/20
- Rims, either KMC Monster or MHT Fuel Octane 20x9 with a 6" backspace.

You might give some thought to the wheels and tires before making a purchase. If you were going to be running stock 20's that's one thing, but if you're going to spend money on a set of wheels, you might want to consider something smaller (16" - 18"). I'm sure that running 20's offroad can be done with relative success, but it's probably not ideal. Not only will there be many tire choices available for smaller wheels, but if you really start getting into more aggressive terrain, the likelihood of damaging your tires increases, and replacing 20" MTs is probably not cheap.

As mentiond previously, there are plenty of good-looking wheels (and many OEM choices) in the 17" or 18" size. With the money you save on the initial investment vs. 20's, you could probably afford some other gear or spend it on gas for a trip. Just my .02

 

[stom_m3]

You can put a great set of 18" OEM steels on there. Are you sure you mean 6" backspace? maybe. I would think a 9" wheel with a 275mm width would be too wide a wheel. A 7" would be just about perfect, and Toyota put 275mm width on 8" wheels.

I was thinking about 18" rims too as it would provide an extra 1" of tire but I still want to have decent stiffness in the sidewall for the street. I would still have to get aftermarket 18" or 20" because of the tire size increase; from 31.9 to 34.5". The taller tire interferes with the UCA which is also why I need a 6" back space on the rim.

Here's a pic of a Sequoia with 20x9 and 275/65/20's Goodyear DuraTracs on a 2.5" lift. This is not my car but I'm hoping mine looks this good when I'm done!

 

[Pskhaat]

I was thinking about 18" rims too as it would provide an extra 1" of tire but I still want to have decent stiffness in the sidewall for the street. I would still have to get aftermarket 18" or 20" because of the tire size increase; from 31.9 to 34.5"

Planning on drifting or powersliding her? :bike_rider: You should be fine with a 70+ aspect ratio tire, are you saying you want larger wheels to facilitate a larger overall diameter with a lower aspect ratio?

When you say aftermarket wheels, are you looking for that because you want to bring your stance outward? correct for KPI/KPA? Spacing your stance outward with wide tires will also facilitate body rub on larger tires vs. keeping them stock'ish width and within the wheel well.

The taller tire interferes with the UCA which is also why I need a 6" back space on the rim.

IIRC the new Tree's have a +55mm offset, yes? If so, that puts OEM backspacing at 6.66". With your 9" wheel at 6" BS puts you at....moving INWARD 25.3mm or a whole inch inward? Was I doing maths right?

 

[97kurt]

A friend of mine had an 04, toytec lift, 285/70/17 tires, modified tundra skid plates and Stubbs welding made a set of weld on sliders that I put on it. The frame on the sequoia is tapered so the tundra sliders would not fit it.

All in all it did really well offroad but he ended up selling it and getting an 80 series.

Only pics I could find of it.

 

[stonehenge]

I built a pretty nice one. :victory:

http://www.trucktrend.com/roadtests...finishlinewest_2009_toyota_sequoia/index.html

 

[stom_m3]

I built a pretty nice one. :victory:

http://www.trucktrend.com/roadtests...finishlinewest_2009_toyota_sequoia/index.html

Love the SEMA Sequoia. I reference that link all of the time! Actually that's where I got the idea for the KMC monster wheels. Love it. Have you done a lot of off roading with it. When I first went through your pics on Smugmug, I couldn't believe you loaded your SUV with boulders! Very cool ride. Have you done any other modifications since?

 

[stom_m3]

A friend of mine had an 04, toytec lift, 285/70/17 tires, modified tundra skid plates and Stubbs welding made a set of weld on sliders that I put on it. The frame on the sequoia is tapered so the tundra sliders would not fit it.

All in all it did really well offroad but he ended up selling it and getting an 80 series.

Only pics I could find of it.

Insane picture! Did he get unstuck? I don't think I'll be taking it to that level but you never know. I guess if you are stuck between a rock and a hard place you have no choice. Wow.

steven

 

[stom_m3]

Planning on drifting or powersliding her? :bike_rider: You should be fine with a 70+ aspect ratio tire, are you saying you want larger wheels to facilitate a larger overall diameter with a lower aspect ratio?

When you say aftermarket wheels, are you looking for that because you want to bring your stance outward? correct for KPI/KPA? Spacing your stance outward with wide tires will also facilitate body rub on larger tires vs. keeping them stock'ish width and within the wheel well.

IIRC the new Tree's have a +55mm offset, yes? If so, that puts OEM backspacing at 6.66". With your 9" wheel at 6" BS puts you at....moving INWARD 25.3mm or a whole inch inward? Was I doing maths right?

The stock wheel is a 20" and I like the looks of it so I was thinking about staying with it. The only 17" rims that fit over the brakes are the TRD 17's. I was thinking about the 275/65/20 because Off Road Warehouse told me that was the largest I could fit without rubbing. I'm not any more educated to know different. I'll have to look into the backspacing as you pointed out above. I'm open to trying a 275/75/18 as well. I'll have to see what tires are available in or around that size. Possibly go with a 285. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[stonehenge]

Love the SEMA Sequoia. I reference that link all of the time! Actually that's where I got the idea for the KMC monster wheels. Love it. Have you done a lot of off roading with it. When I first went through your pics on Smugmug, I couldn't believe you loaded your SUV with boulders! Very cool ride. Have you done any other modifications since?

We had that vehicle for a little over a year. we tested numerous parts and accessories for the new Sequoia before it was turned in to Toyota to be crushed.

It was a tough day to see it go but we had our fair share of fun with it and took it places where most with a 50K SUV fear to tread. We loaned it to several magazines and dealerships to get some input and for the most part it was used as a "what if" vehicle. most people do not mod their sequoias this much so to some it was rather startling. The way you saw it the mag and on my smugmug page was in fact how it looked right up until 3 days before it went back TMUSA.

I'm glad you liked it, and when we told people we filled the back with boulders they didn't believe it either. :Wow1:

if you need help with yours feel free to call or email me.

Andy

 

[97kurt]

Insane picture! Did he get unstuck? I don't think I'll be taking it to that level but you never know. I guess if you are stuck between a rock and a hard place you have no choice. Wow.

steven

Yeah, we were following a group of jeeps and it was just a very tight turn to make.

 

[slus]

A friend of mine had an 04, toytec lift, 285/70/17 tires, modified tundra skid plates and Stubbs welding made a set of weld on sliders that I put on it. The frame on the sequoia is tapered so the tundra sliders would not fit it.

All in all it did really well offroad but he ended up selling it and getting an 80 series.

Only pics I could find of it.

oh damn, now I want a sequoia.

 

[Patio]

1st Gen Sequoia Pics

I found some pics of a modded Sequoia on TC's website.