Haggis' Multi-Use Tundra Build

Haggis

Appalachian Ridgerunner
Thanks for the compliments folks!

Here's a slightly better shot of the truck in my driveway.
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We spent some time comparing the differences of the Access Cab with the Double Cab....


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Jim's running 255/85/16 Cooper STs while I went with the Dean SXTs in 285/75/16s. Both sets of tires are brand new or close enough to be called new. The 255s are 1/4" taller on the truck than the 285s and, as would be expected, his frame, crossmember, and rails are 1/4" higher. My sister Beth thought were were total geeks for running around the trucks and measuring everything. Did you know that the DC front fenderwells are an 1/2" longer than the AC? And that the front window on the Ac is 2.5" shorter than the Double?
 
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jim65wagon

Well-known member
...and the backseat legroom makes my kids jealous! The hard work paid off well, the truck looks great! Jay will be quite happy that we relented and paid for the spring swap for the coilovers. It was fun wrenching again, and new vehicles are so easy...no greasy mess.

Such geeks are we, we also noted that while his wheels look excellent on my truck the 285s would require more than the 1.5" lift the 255s require.

Now we have to figure out the overhead sword hanger...
 

BigAl

Expedition Leader
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You guys are not right:elkgrin: I don't know how I missed this thread. The new truck looks awesome. Are you doing bumpers? what else? again , it looks great
 
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Haggis

Appalachian Ridgerunner
You guys are not right:elkgrin: I don't know how I missed this thread. The new truck looks awesome. Are you doing bumpers? what else? again , it looks great

I was going to PM you Al about the new truck so you wouldn't drive by me in the night while I'm waiting around a campfire for you to show up.

Well the budget I set for the first phase is about used up, but I've got the OEM rims to sell and a few other items that might add some fundage to the Tundra Fund. When Phase 2 starts, next will be a set of sliders. I'm leaning towards the Demello bolt on sliders so I can remove them and repaint them as the salt takes their toll on the finish. I like the Stubbs slider better but they're weld on and refinishing them would be more of a chore. As far as bumpers, I don't really like any of the front bumpers that are out there. They're all to massive and stick out to far for me. Still weighing options there, Jim and I talked about doing some measuring and maybe having a couple custom bumpers fabbed up. Something that follow the factory bumper line abit more closely.
 

BigAl

Expedition Leader
I was going to PM you Al about the new truck so you wouldn't drive by me in the night while I'm waiting around a campfire for you to show up.

There is no hope, I like to think I know jeeps, but still couldn't recognise yours as an LJ:snorkel: Maybe you could buy a flare gun to shoot at me.

Did you trade the LJ? Your toy will look great with a canoe on the roof. Good luck with the sliders, I'd like a set for my Ford but no one has any I like and I'm not motivated enough to make a pair yet.:)
 

Haggis

Appalachian Ridgerunner
Did you trade the LJ? Your toy will look great with a canoe on the roof.

The LJ is still in the garage and will be for a long time. I might have bought a Toyota but I'll always be a Jeep guy first. Instead I traded in the Dodge. Over the winter all the quad doors on the Ram started to rust through the pinch welds and the door skins were seperating. Plus rust was starting in the front drivers fender and both bumpers. No one makes aftermarket doors for the quad cab and the used doors I found were going to cost $2000 for all four plus shipping. Add a fender at $275 and new bumpers ($1000+) to the lot. Buy the time I switched everything over and had it painted I was going to have over $6000 in a $5000 truck. So with much sadness the Dodge went away.

We were going paddling this weekend but Cam tore a ligament on the ball of his foot Monday and is now on crutches for a few weeks. So no canoe trip this weekend.
 

Haggis

Appalachian Ridgerunner
First Road Trip in the Tundra

Rutted, rock strewn roads, scenic vistas, firelight flickering in the dark of night....unfortunately that wasn't to be.

Instead I had a log home to appraise for a client in southern Ohio. Jackson, Ohio to be exact. So the family and I loaded up Fafhrd with stain and caulking samples, some tools, a cooler and a suitcase and hit the freeways. Man, is this truck a nice freeway cruiser. The kids loved all the extra room in the rear seats and Michelle liked drivng the Toyota much more than she did the Dodge. She drove about twice as much as she usually does, thouh I did have to inisit she keep on driving past the Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. She and my boy Cam are huge Steeler fans, and those two would have spent all day geeking out while Allison and I would have gone comatose from boredom. I've never been in southern Ohio before, but there is some nice territory down there close to the Kentucky line. After looking at the house we decide to head back home via Wheeling and Pittsburgh so we could stop at the Wheeling Cabelas store Sunday morning and then spend the rest of the day at the Pittsburgh Zoo. We stopped Saturday night just west of Wheeling for the night, found a room, ate a meal and went to watch the Star Trek movie. All in all, even though it was alot of time just sitting in the truck, we had a good weekend.

The truck preformed great. It rides smooth, handles well and is very comfortable for all of us. We set the cooler upfront in the bed so all we had to do was lower the power rear window (now officially known as the airlock) and Allison would grab cold drinks for the Haggis crew. Gas mileage was still 17 mpg and the truck liked to run around the 75 mph mark. You had to watch your right foot, this truck thinks it's a sports car. We're looking forward to putting some more miles on this thing, but next time alot more dirt and gravel and alot less freeeway.
 

Haggis

Appalachian Ridgerunner
Rutted, rock strewn roads, scenic vistas, firelight flickering in the dark of night....unfortunately that wasn't to be.

But this time it was.

Over Memorial Day weekend we met up with some of our ExPo friends for a Mini-Mon and got to enjoy all of the above and some good times with some good friends. Fafhrd got to stretch his springs on some washes, stream crossings and some mud holes. After 13 years of running Dodges it took a little getting use to the new manners of the Toyota, but it preformed quite well. I just had to stick my head out the window a few times just to check on tire placement and it's nice not to worry about dragging a front diff. Any ways here's some shots of Tundrabird 2 on the WV forest roads near Thomas...

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Haggis

Appalachian Ridgerunner
Here's a shot of our on-board water system...

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As usual it will serve multiple purposes but it will mainly be used to transport water to Log Home chinking/caulking jobs where there is no water supply and as camp water supply for washing/cleanup duties. I got this 25 gal ATV sprayer from Tractor Supply for $119.00 complete with tank, 30# psi pump with auto shut-off, power leads (with switch, inline fuse, and battery terminal clips), 5" fill hole, out feed hose and sprayer. I took the sprayer head off, used a 3/8 barb x 1/2 MPT brass male adapter then a CPVC Union to attach a 6 position garden hose sprayer. On the Jet position it shots water a good 40'. I mounted it on some scrap 1/2 pressure treated plywood added strengthing cleats and casters. Then I built a top shelf (with a 8" hole in the middle to access the water fill cap) so our travelling cooler can ride on top. Sprayed the "structure" with Duplicolor rattlecan bedliner and called it done. It will be sweet on our Expo East OBX trip this September.
 
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jim65wagon

Well-known member
Dang! That looks good, Mark. If I didn't already have a tank setup, I'd be jealous and heading to the TSC! Nice work. I know you'll enjoy the water!
 

Borrego60

Rendezvous Conspiracy
Nice looking start to a very nice tundra. I purchased a 03 limited new loaded and this is what I have turned it into.Iwent ARB Sahara bar, warn 9000x,procomp 1079 wheels with locking rings,33" bfg at tires,extream outback compressor,ham radios,and RCD 6 inch lift installed in my garage at home,rhino coated bed a nd a snug top shell. I do have a lot more to type about but will leave it for another time.Everything on this truck I did myself,remember it was a stock 03 limited 4x4.
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Haggis

Appalachian Ridgerunner
Dang! That looks good, Mark. If I didn't already have a tank setup, I'd be jealous and heading to the TSC! Nice work. I know you'll enjoy the water!

Thanks dude, especially since your watertank is it's inspiration. The only real shortcoming of this setup is thats it's abit bulky. It measures 18" wide, 18" high, and 39" long so it's not as compact as yours, but it still fits under the rails of the bed and holds 5 more gallons of water. But since I'm running the cap and have the top shelf I can stack gear on top to compensate for the bulk. Also I built it so it fits in the back of the "Mouser" so I can roll to work in the Jeep with it too.
 

Haggis

Appalachian Ridgerunner

That's a good lookin' Tundra. We almost ended up with an '06 that same color of green, but got a much better deal on this one. Are you happy with the ARB bumper? I'd like to have a HD bumper on this one mainly because of this being a high deer strike part of the world, but I'm not real happy the way all the available aftermarket bumbers for the Tundra stick out so far.

Everything on this truck I did myself,remember it was a stock 03 limited 4x4.

That's my approach also. I like to know how everthing went together so if there's a problem further on down the road I have a good understanding of how to mend it and make it right. I'll tell you though, I was really surprised how easy it was to put a mild lift on this thing as compared to the Jeeps and Dodges I tinkered with before.
 

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