Expedition-ifying a 2000 Tundra
- Thread starter devinsixtyseven
- Start date
devinsixtyseven
Explorer
I need to pop the bed off to look at battery mounting, but the compressor is one of those little bitty ARB units and will fit nicely in an ammo box. With a couple holes for ventilation and drainage, and a hole to run the snorkel, I'll be mounting it behind the cab out of harm and heat's way, right hand side, front of the wheel well. there's a lot of room there, and it'll be protected by the sliders.
I bounced off the belly skid a couple times this weekend, glad I added it.
I bounced off the belly skid a couple times this weekend, glad I added it.
devinsixtyseven
Explorer
The new rear axle is ready to bolt up! The e-brake lines are on order, should be here in a couple weeks. At this point I need to shoot some paint at the u-bolts and plates and the drop over to the driveshaft shop...then it'll be time for the front, hopefully just in time for the Expedition Portal Trophy! The rough part is deciding between an ARB front or an open front, since I have to regear the front.
The brake lines went a lot easier than I thought they would. Right now everything is "there", not necessarily pretty but everything works and the only new lines are a single line to the driver's side front wheel, and the lines on the rear axle...everything else I was able to reuse what was already on the truck.
A lot of the mods I'm about to make aren't really "expedition" mods, more like capability mods...massively strong rear axle, lockers, dovetail, etc.
There are also a few other much more important things I need to throw money at, so once the axles are finished I'll be giving the build a break for a while, unless it's something I already have parts for, like the bed cage and shock hoop.
-Sean
The brake lines went a lot easier than I thought they would. Right now everything is "there", not necessarily pretty but everything works and the only new lines are a single line to the driver's side front wheel, and the lines on the rear axle...everything else I was able to reuse what was already on the truck.
A lot of the mods I'm about to make aren't really "expedition" mods, more like capability mods...massively strong rear axle, lockers, dovetail, etc.
There are also a few other much more important things I need to throw money at, so once the axles are finished I'll be giving the build a break for a while, unless it's something I already have parts for, like the bed cage and shock hoop.
-Sean
devinsixtyseven
Explorer
The axle is hung on the truck, and it's been around the neighborhood a couple times...progress, progress. Couple more pics on TS, too.
The wiring on the back of the truck is very exposed to the wheel well and the elements. It looks like it can be moved inside the frame rail, out of the grime and gunk, fairly easily.
The factory wrapping is so-so...tape kind of strung everywhere, split loom supported by the lines at nodes rather than lines supported by loom-constructed nodes...I redid the all the loom and routing from the back of the cab, right before the forward bed mount. There are enough holes in the crossmembers next to the inside of the C-channel to route the wiring, except around the driver's side upper shock mount...it's not hard to go around the mount so the wiring is protected from dirt below and the bed above. If the wiring were about 4' longer, or I felt like splicing every single line in the loom (8 to 10, IIRC), it could be run on top of the gas tank crossmember to the passenger side frame rail, where it can run inside the C-channel all the way back...no need to wrap around the passenger side shock mount since it's forward of the axle.
This routing should be much cleaner (I shook a ton of dust and grit out from the original loom as it sat over the frame in the wheel well), and easier to deal with when the bed is on and off, and particularly when working with the cage. The loom I used is also the minimum size for the wiring it supports, so it's not as bulky as the OEM harness.
It's also shiny bling bling red now, because red loom costs the same as black loom
.
The wiring on the back of the truck is very exposed to the wheel well and the elements. It looks like it can be moved inside the frame rail, out of the grime and gunk, fairly easily.
The factory wrapping is so-so...tape kind of strung everywhere, split loom supported by the lines at nodes rather than lines supported by loom-constructed nodes...I redid the all the loom and routing from the back of the cab, right before the forward bed mount. There are enough holes in the crossmembers next to the inside of the C-channel to route the wiring, except around the driver's side upper shock mount...it's not hard to go around the mount so the wiring is protected from dirt below and the bed above. If the wiring were about 4' longer, or I felt like splicing every single line in the loom (8 to 10, IIRC), it could be run on top of the gas tank crossmember to the passenger side frame rail, where it can run inside the C-channel all the way back...no need to wrap around the passenger side shock mount since it's forward of the axle.
This routing should be much cleaner (I shook a ton of dust and grit out from the original loom as it sat over the frame in the wheel well), and easier to deal with when the bed is on and off, and particularly when working with the cage. The loom I used is also the minimum size for the wiring it supports, so it's not as bulky as the OEM harness.
It's also shiny bling bling red now, because red loom costs the same as black loom
.devinsixtyseven
Explorer
For you guys in the Front Range area, Rocky Mountain Driveline did a great job on the new rear driveshaft, they were fast! and it was reasonably priced as well.
4.88 gears and 315/75/16 tires feel REALLY good :REOutArchery02:. The ratio should work up to a 37" tire, which I plan to run for DD duty for a nearly spot-on stock gear & tire ratio, and really mellow double track since they won't flex all the way
With the 35.5" Q78 Swampers I'll be getting hopefully next season, I think it'll be about perfect...plenty of kick for charging up the hills on I70, and plenty of room to crawl slow when aired down. If I were to jump out next to the truck as it idles in low range L, it would be a fast walk or a really really slow jog. Like I figured years ago, it runs a little higher in the RPM range than a bone stock base model Tundra on 245/70/16 tires...hardly "screaming on the highway" material, and I expect it'll be about perfect with the 37s (actually about 36-1/2" diameter).
-Sean
4.88 gears and 315/75/16 tires feel REALLY good :REOutArchery02:. The ratio should work up to a 37" tire, which I plan to run for DD duty for a nearly spot-on stock gear & tire ratio, and really mellow double track since they won't flex all the way
With the 35.5" Q78 Swampers I'll be getting hopefully next season, I think it'll be about perfect...plenty of kick for charging up the hills on I70, and plenty of room to crawl slow when aired down. If I were to jump out next to the truck as it idles in low range L, it would be a fast walk or a really really slow jog. Like I figured years ago, it runs a little higher in the RPM range than a bone stock base model Tundra on 245/70/16 tires...hardly "screaming on the highway" material, and I expect it'll be about perfect with the 37s (actually about 36-1/2" diameter).
-Sean
devinsixtyseven
Explorer
It's amazing the changes you consider when you have time to think over the future use and intent of your build.
I got a front air locker through one of our on-board vendors (thanks Kurt!!!), Longfield is doing a cryo and heat treat on the 4.88 gears, and I'm very pleased to say great customer service from both. Offroad Solutions will be doing the setup, hopefully next week...I can't wait!
Both lockers will be driven by the CKSA12...it has enough volume that I think it'll do just fine even with the length of tube I'm running to the rear. I do forsee an eventual switch to full pneumatic, but I want to make the ARB blinky lights work first. Call it the geek in me.
Got some front suspension pieces coming soon, including something really, really cool from Camburg.
Expedition-wise, this winter I'd like to finally do the shifting of components, water, tool and gear storage I've been talking about for months. It's easy to make lots of suspension and drivetrain mods and miss the whole point of adding all those pieces.
I got a front air locker through one of our on-board vendors (thanks Kurt!!!), Longfield is doing a cryo and heat treat on the 4.88 gears, and I'm very pleased to say great customer service from both
. Offroad Solutions will be doing the setup, hopefully next week...I can't wait!Both lockers will be driven by the CKSA12...it has enough volume that I think it'll do just fine even with the length of tube I'm running to the rear. I do forsee an eventual switch to full pneumatic, but I want to make the ARB blinky lights work first
. Call it the geek in me.Got some front suspension pieces coming soon, including something really, really cool from Camburg.
Expedition-wise, this winter I'd like to finally do the shifting of components, water, tool and gear storage I've been talking about for months. It's easy to make lots of suspension and drivetrain mods and miss the whole point of adding all those pieces.
Blacknmuddy
Observer
any updates?
devinsixtyseven
Explorer
Many, many updates...the seven month build saga is done. The suspension and drivetrain have been completely redone. Here's everything, old and new, I'm very happy and might decrease the front spring rate and lower the ride height at both ends, but that's it. The steering knuckles and outer tie rod ends need a revisit but nothing critical right now. Windshield washer fluid res needs moved as well. I'm not happy yet with the emergency brake, but haven't had a chance to really investigate...it is fine as a parking brake at least, but not sure there's sufficient pedal leverage to clamp on steep hills.
The front got an RD90 with 4.88 thermal treated gears, Camburg LT with custom upper arm and full heim steering, and 700# springs. WMS front is 74", rear is 72", it looks "normal" or at least proportional.
Probably headed to Moab next weekend to see how it really works. So far, it's been great what little it's been driven in the dirt, and I'm very glad I got the RD90...it's already proven beneficial in the snow and helped me get "unstuck" a couple times already.
Why LT...width, stability, strength, and clearance to the frame with very large tires. The truck is extremely stable, sits under 7' tall, could be lowered another couple inches at both ends and get back most of the clearance with a larger tire vs only improving belly clearance with a "lift". Current tires are ~35" (34.6) BFG AT/KO, probably sitting around 34" right now since they're getting rather worn, new grind tires will probably be 36" SXs, long haul/easy road tires a set of used 37" Baja T/As, and next season 38.5" TrXus M/T for winter and deep snow. "Stock" final drive ratio at 4.88 needs a 38" tire.
Time to go play again, and think about "expedition" mods vs improving the suspension and drivetrain.
-Sean
The front got an RD90 with 4.88 thermal treated gears, Camburg LT with custom upper arm and full heim steering, and 700# springs. WMS front is 74", rear is 72", it looks "normal" or at least proportional.
Probably headed to Moab next weekend to see how it really works. So far, it's been great what little it's been driven in the dirt, and I'm very glad I got the RD90...it's already proven beneficial in the snow and helped me get "unstuck" a couple times already.
Why LT...width, stability, strength, and clearance to the frame with very large tires. The truck is extremely stable, sits under 7' tall, could be lowered another couple inches at both ends and get back most of the clearance with a larger tire vs only improving belly clearance with a "lift". Current tires are ~35" (34.6) BFG AT/KO, probably sitting around 34" right now since they're getting rather worn, new grind tires will probably be 36" SXs, long haul/easy road tires a set of used 37" Baja T/As, and next season 38.5" TrXus M/T for winter and deep snow. "Stock" final drive ratio at 4.88 needs a 38" tire.
Time to go play again, and think about "expedition" mods vs improving the suspension and drivetrain.
-Sean
Overland Hadley
on a journey
devinsixtyseven said:
Take some pictures while you are in Moab, and post them up. It would be great to see your rig in action.
jim65wagon
Well-known member
Yes pics!
devinsixtyseven
Explorer
It's been a LONG time since I've been here!
With the cost of fuel, construction finally finished, and a lot of tooling and material sitting around, I finally pulled the bed about a month and a half ago, maybe two months now, and got to work! This first rear cage is fairly simple...it bolts down to existing holes, it's light gauge tube, and it's a lot of practice and learning experience.
This project is affectionately referred to as "Zip Tie Removal". The rear shock reservoirs and the brake prop valves were, until recently, held on by a bunch of zip ties.
Since the bed's gone, the weight bias requires two prop valves in series when the truck's empty, and barely one when full...the usual fuel/water/spare/tools/etc. that weigh ~800#+. In addition to a bracket for the valves, all the rear brake lines were hand-bent and located from the union under the driver's side of the cab to the soft line over the axle.
I also made a couple tabs to better mount the headlights to the fiberglass fenders, and fixed one of the smaller cracks in the fenders.
Then I got to bending tube!
The goal of all this was to drop the weight of the truck 300-500# (inner bed ~300#, tailgate 50#, Can-Back 80#, back seat 50#, carpet 20#, etc), more securely carry 30g fuel and 10g water, cooler, spare and tools, bring the bedsides in (ie dovetail), and achieve 14-16" of vertical rear wheel travel while mounting the shocks outside the frame (new rear axle is much wider than stock)--edit--which will make me feel a heckuva lot better about moving really fast across harsh terrain on large tires! There are already places here in CO where Katie and I have been, that normally require two or three hours to access on rough roads, we've been able to access them in under an hour.
Also flipping the shackle over will provide a more consistent spring rate, tho it will negate the benefits of Toyota's tension-hung design. The arc of the OEM shackle provides a benefit to droop, and a rising rate to full compression. I'm doing that part last.
Recent picture:
Sorry, that's all I got. At this point there are two braces at the rear, the top has a cross-brace, front and rear braces, and the first floor tube in front. Right now there's a 37" TA/KX, a cooler, and a couple gas cans stuck in there for fit-up...looks like I'll be able to do everything I wanted, plus carry two mountain bikes. I have some old action shots but they're not hosted anywhere since TS recycled the photo gallery and I haven't had time to repost them. The bracing on top of the assembly should be good holding several hundred pounds, for example if I ended up carrying an extra cooler and water or whatever...and otherwise it's a perfect place to lash down drybags, snowboards, etc...
Looking rather seriously at Radflo shocks & hydro bumps for the rear. Many more ideas but it's all talk right now...must finish this first, hopefully suspension cycled and shocks mounted some time in October...and there's still room for the shocks next to the cooler, if they have to go inside the frame after all.
Building this cage is quite a learning experience. I still have a ways to go, before I'm comfortable building towards the design in the first post .
With the cost of fuel, construction finally finished, and a lot of tooling and material sitting around, I finally pulled the bed about a month and a half ago, maybe two months now, and got to work! This first rear cage is fairly simple...it bolts down to existing holes, it's light gauge tube, and it's a lot of practice and learning experience.
This project is affectionately referred to as "Zip Tie Removal". The rear shock reservoirs and the brake prop valves were, until recently, held on by a bunch of zip ties.
Since the bed's gone, the weight bias requires two prop valves in series when the truck's empty, and barely one when full...the usual fuel/water/spare/tools/etc. that weigh ~800#+. In addition to a bracket for the valves, all the rear brake lines were hand-bent and located from the union under the driver's side of the cab to the soft line over the axle.
I also made a couple tabs to better mount the headlights to the fiberglass fenders, and fixed one of the smaller cracks in the fenders.
Then I got to bending tube!
The goal of all this was to drop the weight of the truck 300-500# (inner bed ~300#, tailgate 50#, Can-Back 80#, back seat 50#, carpet 20#, etc), more securely carry 30g fuel and 10g water, cooler, spare and tools, bring the bedsides in (ie dovetail), and achieve 14-16" of vertical rear wheel travel while mounting the shocks outside the frame (new rear axle is much wider than stock)--edit--which will make me feel a heckuva lot better about moving really fast across harsh terrain on large tires! There are already places here in CO where Katie and I have been, that normally require two or three hours to access on rough roads, we've been able to access them in under an hour.
Also flipping the shackle over will provide a more consistent spring rate, tho it will negate the benefits of Toyota's tension-hung design. The arc of the OEM shackle provides a benefit to droop, and a rising rate to full compression. I'm doing that part last.
Recent picture:
Sorry, that's all I got. At this point there are two braces at the rear, the top has a cross-brace, front and rear braces, and the first floor tube in front. Right now there's a 37" TA/KX, a cooler, and a couple gas cans stuck in there for fit-up...looks like I'll be able to do everything I wanted, plus carry two mountain bikes
. I have some old action shots but they're not hosted anywhere since TS recycled the photo gallery and I haven't had time to repost them. The bracing on top of the assembly should be good holding several hundred pounds, for example if I ended up carrying an extra cooler and water or whatever...and otherwise it's a perfect place to lash down drybags, snowboards, etc...Looking rather seriously at Radflo shocks & hydro bumps for the rear. Many more ideas but it's all talk right now
...must finish this first, hopefully suspension cycled and shocks mounted some time in October...and there's still room for the shocks next to the cooler, if they have to go inside the frame after all.Building this cage is quite a learning experience
. I still have a ways to go, before I'm comfortable building towards the design in the first post .
Last edited:
jim65wagon
Well-known member
:lurk:
devinsixtyseven
Explorer
Those springs will cycle a hair under 14" with the stock shackle and hanger.
On their own, the springs do about 9" droop with the weight of the axle and tires, so ~10" top to bottom for a 60.5" long spring.
The stock, hurting, rusted hangers, shackles and bump brackets are off the frame, leaf packs are taken apart and ready to be cleaned up.
On their own, the springs do about 9" droop with the weight of the axle and tires, so ~10" top to bottom for a 60.5" long spring.
The stock, hurting, rusted hangers, shackles and bump brackets are off the frame, leaf packs are taken apart and ready to be cleaned up.
devinsixtyseven
Explorer
It's starting to take shape! Rear suspension needs to be finished before I can finish the sides of the assembly, but I've checked the space and it should work out great, with all six fuel cans under the front, both water jugs behind them, the cooler in the middle (it opens with the top flush against the top of the cage), and a 37" spare tire wedged in the back of the assembly.
The top should work out beautifully for lashing down drybags and other soft goods.
The recovery ladders seem like they'll fit quite well at the bottom of the assembly.
There's a good space front and center for a couple Pelican cases.
With a cross brace between the spare and the cooler, there will be a safety support in front of the tire, a way to stiffen the assembly side to side, and another spot to lash down the cooler.
I'm pretty certain with a couple of tube clamps that I can setup up a removable RTT between that upper deck and a removable crossmember!
Also got a pair of new spring plates done up by ORS for my larger rear axle...the Total Chaos pieces were the wrong dimensions, and they were kind enough to say "go ahead and make a set that fits your build."
The leaf springs are in the background, stripped, prepped and ready for POR-15.
I'm keeping the OEM inverted shackle because of the travel advantage and spring rate characteristics that it provides, but making a new shackle hanger and shackle that will allow the spring to twist without damaging itself or the hanger.
This spare Tundra axle is stock length with a manual CV joint, Downey outer boot and 930-style inner boot over an OEM inner CV joint, for the Alpine Tundra (Gary aka RoundOut's truck) during the 2008 Expedition Trophy! The splines are covered with split foam pipe insulation, then a fresh shop rag for some compressible bulk (and to have a pair of shop rags handy), covered with a capped section of 2" sch40 PVC, with the rags zip-tied down to protect the base of the bearing surfaces and dust sheilds. It will be vacuum packed tonight, for clean, easy storage and transport. The only thing that would make this better is an ammo can or something, with foam to hold the joints steady.
devinsixtyseven
Explorer
Paint is drying on the reconstituted leaf springs. Each pack has a Baja Bushing at each end, and every leaf is covered in POR-15.
One pint of POR-15 is not enough to cover a 60.5" 8-1/2 leaf Alcan pack...I ran out on the second coat at the last main leaf, very frustrating, and threw a layer of Chassiscoat on instead...not the same thing at all, but equally durable. Unfortunately it takes much longer to dry than POR-15, which is ready for a second coat in 3-5 hours depending on climate and temperature, and cures overnight.
Tried to add a coat of Hardnose paint over the POR-15. Not gonna do that again. It stinks to high heaven, goes on runny and tacks up quickly. One pint was enough for two coats on one pack. Awkward! So I may end up with zebra-striped leaves or just rattlecan them black. Hardnose also takes about four days to fully cure, so they're stinking up the front porch right now.
Important note...POR-15 (like most things) doesn't stick to zinc-plated steel, which means it doesn't matter how much you get on the edges of your Baja Bushings, it'll come off pretty easily when you're ready.
Next time, four coats of POR-15 and nothing else.
One pint of POR-15 is not enough to cover a 60.5" 8-1/2 leaf Alcan pack...I ran out on the second coat at the last main leaf, very frustrating, and threw a layer of Chassiscoat on instead...not the same thing at all, but equally durable. Unfortunately it takes much longer to dry than POR-15, which is ready for a second coat in 3-5 hours depending on climate and temperature, and cures overnight.
Tried to add a coat of Hardnose paint over the POR-15. Not gonna do that again. It stinks to high heaven, goes on runny and tacks up quickly. One pint was enough for two coats on one pack. Awkward! So I may end up with zebra-striped leaves
or just rattlecan them black. Hardnose also takes about four days to fully cure, so they're stinking up the front porch right now.Important note...POR-15 (like most things) doesn't stick to zinc-plated steel, which means it doesn't matter how much you get on the edges of your Baja Bushings, it'll come off pretty easily when you're ready.
Next time, four coats of POR-15 and nothing else.