My big dilemma now is 255/85 vs 285/75........
I ordered the James Baroud wall kit for my awning tonight. I hope it's as nice as it looks on the interwebs.:088:
Flyer's '02 Tundra adventure build
- Thread starter Flyer69
- Start date
My big dilemma now is 255/85 vs 285/75........
I ordered the James Baroud wall kit for my awning tonight. I hope it's as nice as it looks on the interwebs.:088:
Really enjoying your thread Flyer. Just noticed you're on the central coast. I'm up here in Paso. I'm also finally just about at the stage to start my Tundra build thread as well. I have some drawers in the making with aux battery water tank etc. Would love to check out your rig sometime! That awning with walls is going to be great.
Thanks Mob! I'm down in Los Osos. I'm interested in your ideas for drawers and aux battery setup. I'll be home May 26th, so we can try to meet up sometime after.
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Thought some of those pictures looked like Osos. Just finished building my brothers drawers for his toyota. Learned a few things, can't wait to start on mine if I can ever find a day off from work. Glad to see a local on Expo.
What are you using for the framework for the drawer unit? I'm planning to TIG weld up a frame made from 1" aluminum square tubing. I'll use Baltic birch or that MDO stuff for the drawers.
We used baltic birch through out the drawers. We also utilized the skateboard bearing idea on square metal tubing. We used a kreg jig and wood glue to piece it all together. If you're a welder aluminum frame would be the way to go. Those drawers were a little on the heavy side. Have you seen the other Expo user who has a tundra and made is drawer system from aluminum? Here it is.
Yes, I've seen that one, and it's really nice. My goal is slightly different though, as I intend to create a flat platform (over 2 side-by-side drawers) so we can kick the kids out of the RTT! :ylsmoke: I need to keep the last 18" or so of the bed open because I regularly haul fuel in a drum for my boat, so my drawers will be roughly 4' long and will not open much farther than the edge of the tailgate. The drawers will hold my camp kitchen stuff, tools, recovery gear, tarp, maybe chairs, etc., and I'll use tubs for firewood, wetsuits, and whatever won't fit in the drawers. I have a lot of (I think...) great ideas, so I just need to begin a mock-up out of wood.
So... you think the birch drawers were too heavy? Do tell. Did you find an alternative?
So... you think the birch drawers were too heavy? Do tell. Did you find an alternative?
Sounds like an interesting set up you have planned. I really want my drawers to be as long as possible but will be sacrificing length as well but from the opposite side. I'm saving the area right behind the wheel wells for a aux battery/water tank/inverter/compressor/etc. I'll still have a solid sleeping platform through out though.
I don't think the plywood drawers are TOO heavy. But if you can use aluminum you'd be saving some weight obviously. The real only disadvantage is weight as far as I can see. The birch ply drawers turned out real nice though. I can wait to start on mine.
I don't think the plywood drawers are TOO heavy. But if you can use aluminum you'd be saving some weight obviously. The real only disadvantage is weight as far as I can see. The birch ply drawers turned out real nice though. I can wait to start on mine.
TwoTrack
Buy Once, Cry Once
Do you know the backspacing on those wheels?
Unfortunately I don't have any front pics and I've changed my setup a little bit. I tried finding some pics from the front But no luck. This pic shown is with spidertrax 1.25"
I believe they are 4.5. They are takeoffs from a base model regular cab first gen tundra.
toyotech
Expedition Leader
OEM steel are the only ones I know that will fit out tundras without wheel spacers.
Well, it's been a long time since I posted any progress so here we go...
I discovered my lower ball joints had some play in them, and shortly thereafter I saw a 1st gen Tundra on the freeway with the right front wheel folded back due (most likely...) to catastrophic ball joint failure! That was enough of an excuse to move my front end rebuild up to # 1 on the priority list! After a ton of research, I decided on a set of Camburg UCA's. I also bought a new set of Toyota OEM lower ball joints, lower control arms, outer tie rod ends and sway bar bushings. I bought the entire LCA as a unit rather than trying to replace the bushings. In my research I discovered that it is a royal pain to press the old bushings out and new ones in, and often the LCA gets destroyed in the process. I also bought a diff drop kit and some braided stainless brake lines from Wheelers.
As I disassembled the front end, I found the upper ball joints were actually in pretty good shape... not bad for almost 200k miles. The instructions provided by Camburg with the UCA's were very clear and easy to follow, which no doubt saved me a lot of grief. Once I had everything apart, I cleaned up everything as best I could and hit it with some flat black Rustoleum. I also bought some weld-on spindle gussets from Total Chaos, but decided to wait on installing those until I replace my wheel bearings, which seem just fine for now. Thorough inspection showed my CV Boots were intact, so I left them alone for now.
A couple of things I didn't expect:
1. The left rear LCA cam bolt was completely seized in place (installed dry at the factory apparently) and required a sawzall and 3 carbide blades to remove it. I bought a replacement from Light Racing and they shipped it overnight to me at no extra charge!
2. One of the 4 bolts that attach the lower left ball joint to the LCA wouldn't torque up and I thought I had somehow stripped it. I backed it out and found that the bolt itself had stretched! I got so lucky it didn't snap off in the LCA!! I immediately ordered 8 replacement bolts from my local Toyota dealer, so that set me back a couple of days, but in the end I am grateful.
I used every bit of the special sticky grease Camburg provided on the UCA bushings.
After torquing everything up and a quick trip to The Tire Store in SLO for a pro alignment, the truck now drives better than new! Everything is tight and smooth like butter. I found a set of covers for my CO's at Poly Performance and slapped 'em on. They should help keep everything a lot cleaner and maybe slow down shaft wear due to grit. I'm super happy with the results. I'll probably replace the 14" 650# springs with some 15" or 16" 700#ers when I add a winch.
I discovered my lower ball joints had some play in them, and shortly thereafter I saw a 1st gen Tundra on the freeway with the right front wheel folded back due (most likely...) to catastrophic ball joint failure! That was enough of an excuse to move my front end rebuild up to # 1 on the priority list! After a ton of research, I decided on a set of Camburg UCA's. I also bought a new set of Toyota OEM lower ball joints, lower control arms, outer tie rod ends and sway bar bushings. I bought the entire LCA as a unit rather than trying to replace the bushings. In my research I discovered that it is a royal pain to press the old bushings out and new ones in, and often the LCA gets destroyed in the process. I also bought a diff drop kit and some braided stainless brake lines from Wheelers.
As I disassembled the front end, I found the upper ball joints were actually in pretty good shape... not bad for almost 200k miles. The instructions provided by Camburg with the UCA's were very clear and easy to follow, which no doubt saved me a lot of grief. Once I had everything apart, I cleaned up everything as best I could and hit it with some flat black Rustoleum. I also bought some weld-on spindle gussets from Total Chaos, but decided to wait on installing those until I replace my wheel bearings, which seem just fine for now. Thorough inspection showed my CV Boots were intact, so I left them alone for now.
A couple of things I didn't expect:
1. The left rear LCA cam bolt was completely seized in place (installed dry at the factory apparently) and required a sawzall and 3 carbide blades to remove it. I bought a replacement from Light Racing and they shipped it overnight to me at no extra charge!
2. One of the 4 bolts that attach the lower left ball joint to the LCA wouldn't torque up and I thought I had somehow stripped it. I backed it out and found that the bolt itself had stretched! I got so lucky it didn't snap off in the LCA!! I immediately ordered 8 replacement bolts from my local Toyota dealer, so that set me back a couple of days, but in the end I am grateful.
I used every bit of the special sticky grease Camburg provided on the UCA bushings.
After torquing everything up and a quick trip to The Tire Store in SLO for a pro alignment, the truck now drives better than new! Everything is tight and smooth like butter. I found a set of covers for my CO's at Poly Performance and slapped 'em on. They should help keep everything a lot cleaner and maybe slow down shaft wear due to grit. I'm super happy with the results. I'll probably replace the 14" 650# springs with some 15" or 16" 700#ers when I add a winch.